Mechanical Properties of Super Duplex Stainless Steel 2507 after Gas Phase Thermal Precharging with Hydrogen

Thermal precharging of super duplex stainless steel 2507 with 125 wppm hydrogen significantly reduced tensile ductility and fracture toughness. Strain-hardened 2507 exhibited more severe ductility loss compared to the annealed microstructure. The reduction of area (RA) was between 80 and 85 pct for both microstructures in the noncharged condition, while reductions of area were 25 and 46 pct for the strain-hardened and annealed microstructures, respectively, after hydrogen precharging. Similar to the effect of internal hydrogen on tensile ductility, fracture toughness of strain-hardened 2507 was lowered from nearly 300 MPa m^1/2 in the noncharged condition to less than 60 MPa m^1/2 in the hydrogen-precharged condition. While precharging 2507 with hydrogen results in a considerable reduction in ductility and toughness, the absolute values are similar to high-strength austenitic steels that have been tested under the same conditions, and which are generally considered acceptable for high-pressure hydrogen gas systems. The fracture mode in hydrogen-precharged 2507 involved cleavage cracking of the ferrite phase and ductile fracture along oblique planes in the austenite phase, compared to 100 pct microvoid coalescence in the absence of hydrogen. Predictions from a strain-based micromechanical fracture toughness model were in good agreement with the measured fracture toughness of hydrogen-precharged 2507, implying a governing role of austenite for resistance to hydrogen-assisted fracture.