Effects of charging conditions on the hydrogen related mechanical property degradation of a 3 Cr low alloyed steel

Abstract

Abstract In this work, the susceptibility of a 3 Cr low alloyed steel to hydrogen degradation of its mechanical properties was investigated to simulate the outside pipeline environment condition by a series of electrochemical hydrogen permeation measurements, surface characterization and tensile tests. Results show that the amount of hydrogen charging into the 3 Cr low alloyed steel specimen is affected by the external charging conditions, such as the hydrogen charging time and charging current density. The diffusivity of hydrogen at room temperature in 3 Cr low alloyed steel has been determined as 2.87 × 10−8 cm2 × s−1. The reduction of ductility with charging time becomes obvious in the tensile experiments.