New insights into hydrogen-assisted intergranular cracking in nickel

Fuente: arXiv
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Autores principales: Quan, S., Zafra, A., Martínez-Pañeda, E., Wu, C., Harris, Z. D., Cupertino-Malheiros, L.
Formato: Preprint
Publicado: 2025
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author Quan, S.
Zafra, A.
Martínez-Pañeda, E.
Wu, C.
Harris, Z. D.
Cupertino-Malheiros, L.
author_facet Quan, S.
Zafra, A.
Martínez-Pañeda, E.
Wu, C.
Harris, Z. D.
Cupertino-Malheiros, L.
contents We characterize the grain boundary (GB) susceptibility to hydrogen-assisted intergranular cracking in pure nickel as a function of coincident site lattice value ($Σ$-n), over a wide range of hydrogen concentrations (4 to 14 wppm). Cracks on the surface and within the bulk material were identified across the entire gauge region of the specimens. The susceptibility of GBs to crack initiation and propagation was evaluated by separating cracks containing single GB or multiple GBs. A larger loss in fracture strain, a smaller reduction in area, and an increase in the percentage of intergranular fracture indicated a higher degree of embrittlement at elevated hydrogen concentrations. The number of cracks was significantly higher on the surface than in the bulk for the most severe hydrogen charging conditions ($\geq$ 8 wppm), while a similar number was observed for lower concentrations. The propensity for hydrogen-assisted intergranular cracking at different types of GBs on the surface and in the bulk material was consistent, indicating that while cathodic charging can promote surface cracks, it does not significantly impact the GBs relative susceptibility. The $Σ$-3 boundaries were the most resistant to cracking, as evidenced by the considerably lower fraction of these GBs exhibiting intergranular cracking at all hydrogen concentrations considered. This contrasts literature findings for Ni alloys and can be explained by the segregation energies and reductions in the cohesive strength with hydrogen, with less favorable trapping at the $Σ$-3 boundaries. No evidence of plasticity-mediated cracking initiation was observed.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2512_02979
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle New insights into hydrogen-assisted intergranular cracking in nickel
Quan, S.
Zafra, A.
Martínez-Pañeda, E.
Wu, C.
Harris, Z. D.
Cupertino-Malheiros, L.
Materials Science
Applied Physics
Chemical Physics
We characterize the grain boundary (GB) susceptibility to hydrogen-assisted intergranular cracking in pure nickel as a function of coincident site lattice value ($Σ$-n), over a wide range of hydrogen concentrations (4 to 14 wppm). Cracks on the surface and within the bulk material were identified across the entire gauge region of the specimens. The susceptibility of GBs to crack initiation and propagation was evaluated by separating cracks containing single GB or multiple GBs. A larger loss in fracture strain, a smaller reduction in area, and an increase in the percentage of intergranular fracture indicated a higher degree of embrittlement at elevated hydrogen concentrations. The number of cracks was significantly higher on the surface than in the bulk for the most severe hydrogen charging conditions ($\geq$ 8 wppm), while a similar number was observed for lower concentrations. The propensity for hydrogen-assisted intergranular cracking at different types of GBs on the surface and in the bulk material was consistent, indicating that while cathodic charging can promote surface cracks, it does not significantly impact the GBs relative susceptibility. The $Σ$-3 boundaries were the most resistant to cracking, as evidenced by the considerably lower fraction of these GBs exhibiting intergranular cracking at all hydrogen concentrations considered. This contrasts literature findings for Ni alloys and can be explained by the segregation energies and reductions in the cohesive strength with hydrogen, with less favorable trapping at the $Σ$-3 boundaries. No evidence of plasticity-mediated cracking initiation was observed.
title New insights into hydrogen-assisted intergranular cracking in nickel
topic Materials Science
Applied Physics
Chemical Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.02979