Multi-scale Modeling of Hydrogen Embrittlement in High-Strength Steels

Mechanical properties of high-strength steels are greatly influenced by hydrogen residing in the metal causing a well-known phenomenon of Hydrogen Embrittlement (HE). Hydrogen atoms enter the microstructure of high-strength steels reaching different defects such as dislocations, grain boundaries, cracks, and voids causing the material capacity for plastic deformation to decrease. Such degradation in the performance of high-strength steels leads to embrittlement resulting in catastrophic failure in structures. The current work is devoted towards developing reliable multi-scale computational models that incorporate HE in high-strength steels. These models will be able to capture materials behavior over several length scales incorporating different effects. The dominant HE mechanisms in high-strength steels are studied at the convenient length scale. The suggested framework is structured around multi-scale analysis starting from the atomistic-scale and up to the macroscale that leverages the state-of-the-art in bottom-up predictive models and cutting-edge materials characterization.