Effect of Hydrogen on Creep Properties

It is expected that high-temperature hydrogen technologies, such as the solid oxide fuel cell and high-temperature water electrolysis, will play important roles in the hydrogen society. In this study, creep tests of JIS SUS304, SUS304L and SUS310S austenitic stainless steels and SUY-1 pure iron were carried out in hydrogen and argon at 873 K. For all the materials, the creep rate in the secondary creep region in hydrogen environment was increased. It resulted in reduction of the creep life. In argon, the fracture surface of the SUS304 changed from dimple to intergranular fracture with the increase in the creep life. In hydrogen, this change was delayed. Regarding the mechanism, it was confirmed that the effect of carbide formation, HELP and HTHA were not activated in this study. Instead, enhanced dislocation climb mediated by an increased vacancy density is a plausible mechanism, although further investigation is needed.