Protection of metal interfaces against hydrogen-assisted cracking

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Hachet, Guillaume, Wei, Shaolou, Tehranchi, Ali, Dong, Xizhen, Lestang, Jérémy, Zhang, Aochen, Sun, Binhan, Zaefferer, Stefan, Gault, Baptiste, Ponge, Dirk, Raabe, Dierk
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Hachet, Guillaume
Wei, Shaolou
Tehranchi, Ali
Dong, Xizhen
Lestang, Jérémy
Zhang, Aochen
Sun, Binhan
Zaefferer, Stefan
Gault, Baptiste
Ponge, Dirk
Raabe, Dierk
author_facet Hachet, Guillaume
Wei, Shaolou
Tehranchi, Ali
Dong, Xizhen
Lestang, Jérémy
Zhang, Aochen
Sun, Binhan
Zaefferer, Stefan
Gault, Baptiste
Ponge, Dirk
Raabe, Dierk
contents Enabling a hydrogen economy requires the development of materials resistant to hydrogen embrittlement (HE). More than 100 years of research have led to several mechanisms and models describing how hydrogen interacts with lattice defects and leads to mechanical property degradation. However, solutions to protect materials from hydrogen are still scarce. Here, we investigate the role of interstitial solutes in protecting critical crystalline defects sensitive to hydrogen. Ab initio calculations show that boron and carbon in solid solutions at grain boundaries can efficiently prevent hydrogen segregation. We then realized this interface protection concept on martensitic steel, a material strongly prone to HE, by doping the most sensitive interfaces with different concentrations of boron and carbon. This segregation, in addition to stress relaxations, critically reduced the hydrogen ingress by half, leading to an unprecedented resistance against HE. This tailored interstitial segregation strategy can be extended to other metallic materials susceptible to hydrogen-induced interfacial failure
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2509_17364
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Protection of metal interfaces against hydrogen-assisted cracking
Hachet, Guillaume
Wei, Shaolou
Tehranchi, Ali
Dong, Xizhen
Lestang, Jérémy
Zhang, Aochen
Sun, Binhan
Zaefferer, Stefan
Gault, Baptiste
Ponge, Dirk
Raabe, Dierk
Materials Science
Applied Physics
Enabling a hydrogen economy requires the development of materials resistant to hydrogen embrittlement (HE). More than 100 years of research have led to several mechanisms and models describing how hydrogen interacts with lattice defects and leads to mechanical property degradation. However, solutions to protect materials from hydrogen are still scarce. Here, we investigate the role of interstitial solutes in protecting critical crystalline defects sensitive to hydrogen. Ab initio calculations show that boron and carbon in solid solutions at grain boundaries can efficiently prevent hydrogen segregation. We then realized this interface protection concept on martensitic steel, a material strongly prone to HE, by doping the most sensitive interfaces with different concentrations of boron and carbon. This segregation, in addition to stress relaxations, critically reduced the hydrogen ingress by half, leading to an unprecedented resistance against HE. This tailored interstitial segregation strategy can be extended to other metallic materials susceptible to hydrogen-induced interfacial failure
title Protection of metal interfaces against hydrogen-assisted cracking
topic Materials Science
Applied Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.17364