Hydrogen-enhanced fatigue crack growth in steels and its frequency dependence

Abstract

In the context of the fatigue life design of components, particularly those destined for use in hydrogen refuelling stations and fuel cell vehicles, it is important to understand the hydrogen-induced, fatigue crack growth (FCG) acceleration in steels. As such, the mechanisms for acceleration and its influencing factors are reviewed and discussed in this paper, with a special focus on the peculiar frequency dependence of the hydrogen-induced FCG acceleration. Further, this frequency dependence is debated by introducing some potentially responsible elements, along with new experimental data obtained by the authors. This article is part of the themed issue ‘The challenges of hydrogen and metals’.