The thick and thin-plate specimen of 316L austenite stainless steel was charged with hydrogen using a cathodic charging technique. A high temperature homogenization treatment was applied to the thick specimens after hydrogen charging and copper electr...
The thick and thin-plate specimen of 316L austenite stainless steel was charged with hydrogen using a cathodic charging technique. A high temperature homogenization treatment was applied to the thick specimens after hydrogen charging and copper electroplating to remove the hydrogen concentration gradient. For the thin plate, despite the short diffusion distance of hydrogen predicted by the diffusion-controlled model for a semi-infinite, the Vickers hardness measurements revealed the full effect of hydrogen in the center of the cross-sections of thin-plate specimens as well as in the vicinity of the outer surfaces, which appears to be due to the short-circuit diffusion mechanism along the grain boundaries. The room-temperature tensile properties of both undeformed and deformed (20, 40%) samples were examined and compared. Hydrogen softening was apparent in both types of samples. For example, the 40% deformed sample showed an approximately 17 and 7% lower yield and tensile strength, respectively, after hydrogen charging at a strain rate of 2x10?⁴s?¹with a concomitant decrease in ductility compared to that without hydrogen.