Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Strain Rate and Temperature Effects on Hydrogen Embrittlement of Stable and Metastable High-Entropy Alloys

  • Published:
Physical Mesomechanics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The strain rate and temperature effects on the hydrogen embrittlement behavior of Fe-20Mn-20Ni-20Cr-20Co and Fe-30Mn-10Cr-10Co (at %) high-entropy alloys were investigated. The Fe-20Mn-20Ni-20Cr-20Co high-entropy alloy exhibits a mechanically stable face-centered cubic (FCC) structure. The as-annealed microstructure of the Fe-30Mn-10Cr-10Co high-entropy alloy consists of a metastable FCC phase with a thermally induced hexagonal close-packed (HCP) martensite. After hydrogen precharging in a 100-MPa hydrogen gas atmosphere, tensile tests were carried out on the two high-entropy alloys. The hydrogen increased the yield strength of both alloys. With the increase in strain rate from 10–4 to 10–2 s–1, the yield strength of the hydrogen-charged Fe-20Mn-20Ni-20Cr-20Co alloy markedly increased, which indicates activation of the strengthening mechanism related to the thermal activation of dislocation motion associated with hydrogen atoms. In contrast, the strain rate effect on the yield strength was insignificant in the Fe-30Mn-10Cr-10Co alloy, where the FCC–HCP martensitic transformation dominated the onset of plasticity. In terms of failure, the combined hydrogen effects that increased the flow stress and decreased the work-hardening rate in the late deformation stage accelerated the occurrence of specimen necking, particularly at a high strain rate, e.g. 10–2 s–1 at 20°C. In addition, the elongation of the hydrogen-charged Fe-20Mn-20Ni-20Cr-20Co and Fe-30Mn-10Cr-10Co alloys increased with the strain rate, which indicates that the hydrogen transport by dislocation motion in late deformation stages assisted both modes of cracking (along grain boundaries and HCP martensite plates) in high-entropy alloys, which resulted in hydrogen-induced intergranular fracture and quasi-cleavage fracture, particularly at relatively low strain rates. Importance of the hydrogen transport by dislocation motion for brittle fracture at 20°C was supported by the test results at –100°C: brittle fracture occurred at higher stress and larger strain as compared to the cases at 20°C for both alloys.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 3.
Fig. 4.
Fig. 5.
Fig. 6.
Fig. 7.

Similar content being viewed by others

REFERENCES

  1. Zhang, L., Wen, M., Imade, M., Fukuyama, S., and Yokogawa, K., Effect of Nickel Equivalent on Hydrogen Gas Embrittlement of Austenitic Stainless Steels Based on Type 316 at Low Temperatures, Acta Mater., 2008, vol. 56, pp. 3414–3421. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2008.03.022

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  2. Koyama, M., Twinning-Induced Plasticity (TWIP) Steel, Encyclopedia of Materials: Metals and Alloys, 2022, vol. 2, pp. 95–105. https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-12-819726-4.00067-3

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Cantor, B., Multicomponent High-Entropy Cantor Alloys, Progr. Mater. Sci., 2021, vol. 120, p. 100754. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmatsci.2020.100754

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Gludovatz, B., Hohenwarter, A., Catoor, D., Chang, E.H., George, E.P., and Ritchie, R.O., A Fracture-Resistant High-Entropy Alloy for Cryogenic Applications, Science, 2014, vol. 345, pp. 1153–1158. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1254581

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  5. Zhao, Y., Lee, D.H., Seok, M.Y., Lee, J.A., Phaniraj, M.P., Suh, J.Y., Ha, H.Y., Kim, J.Y., Ramamurty, U., and Jang, J.I., Resistance of CoCrFeMnNi High-Entropy Alloy to Gaseous Hydrogen Embrittlement, Scripta Mater., 2017, vol. 135, pp. 54–58. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scriptamat.2017.03.029

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Luo, H., Li, Z., and Raabe, D., Hydrogen Enhances Strength and Ductility of an Equiatomic High-Entropy Alloy, Sci. Rep., 2017, vol. 7. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-10774-4

  7. Pu, Z., Chen, Y., and Dai, L. H., Strong Resistance to Hydrogen Embrittlement of High-Entropy Alloy, Mater. Sci. Eng. A, 2018, vol. 736, pp. 156–166. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msea.2018.08.101

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Nygren, K.E., Bertsch, K.M., Wang, S., Bei, H., Nagao, A., and Robertson, I.M., Hydrogen Embrittlement in Compositionally Complex FeNiCoCrMn FCC Solid Solution Alloy, Current Opinion Solid State Mater. Sci., 2018, vol. 22, pp. 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cossms.2017.11.002

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  9. Ichii, K., Koyama, M., Tasan, C.C., and Tsuzaki, K., Comparative Study of Hydrogen Embrittlement in Stable and Metastable High-Entropy Alloys, Scripta Mater., 2018, vol. 150, pp. 74–77. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scriptamat.2018.03.003

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Wang, H.Y., Koyama, M., Hojo, T., and Akiyama, E., Hydrogen Embrittlement and Associated Surface Crack Growth in Fine-Grained Equiatomic CoCrFeMnNi High-Entropy Alloys with Different Annealing Temperatures Evaluated by Tensile Testing under In Situ Hydrogen Charging, Int. J. Hydrogen Energy, 2021, vol. 46, pp. 33028–33038. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2021.07.136

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Nygren, K.E., Wang, S., Bertsch, K.M., Bei, H.B., Nagao, A., and Robertson, I.M., Hydrogen Embrittlement of the Equi-Molar FeNiCoCr Alloy, Acta Mater., 2018, vol. 157, pp. 218–227. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2018.07.032

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  12. Koyama, M., Wang, H.Y., Verma, V.K., Tsuzaki, K., and Akiyama, E., Effects of Mn Content and Grain Size on Hydrogen Embrittlement Susceptibility of Face-Centered Cubic High-Entropy Alloys, Metall. Mater. Trans. A, 2020, vol. 51, pp. 5612–5616. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11661-020-05966-z

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Koyama, M., Tasan, C.C., and Tsuzaki, K., Overview of Metastability and Compositional Complexity Effects for Hydrogen-Resistant Iron Alloys: Inverse Austenite Stability Effects, Eng. Fract. Mech., 2019, vol. 214, pp. 123–133. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engfracmech.2019.03.049

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Hirata, K., Iikubo, S., Koyama, M., Tsuzaki, K., and Ohtani, H., First-Principles Study on Hydrogen Diffusivity in BCC, FCC, and HCP Iron, Metall. Mater. Trans. A, 2018, vol. 49, pp. 5015–5022. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11661-018-4815-9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Li, Z., Pradeep, K.G., Deng, Y., Raabe, D., and Tasan, C.C., Metastable High-Entropy Dual-Phase Alloys Overcome the Strength–Ductility Trade-Off, Nature, 2016, vol. 534, pp. 227–230. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature17981

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  16. Li, Z.M., Tasan, C.C., Pradeep, K.G., and Raabe, D., A TRIP-Assisted Dual-Phase High-Entropy Alloy: Grain Size and Phase Fraction Effects on Deformation Behavior, Acta Mater., 2017, vol. 131, pp. 323–335. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2017.03.069

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  17. Ichii, K., Koyama, M., Tasan, C.C., and Tsuzaki, K., Localized Plasticity and Associated Cracking in Stable and Metastable High-Entropy Alloys Pre-Charged with Hydrogen, Proc. Struct. Integr., 2018, vol. 13, pp. 716–721. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prostr.2018.12.119

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. George, E.P., Curtin, W.A., and Tasan, C.C., High Entropy Alloys: A Focused Review of Mechanical Properties and Deformation Mechanisms, Acta Mater., 2020, vol. 188, pp. 435–474. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2019.12.015

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  19. Takaki, S., Furuya, T., and Tokunaga, Y., Effect of Si and Al Additions on the Low Temperature Toughness and Fracture Mode of Fe-27Mn Alloys, ISIJ Int., 1990, vol. 30, pp. 632–638. https://doi.org/10.2355/isijinternational.30.632

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Hao, C., Koyama, M., and Akiyama, E., Quantitative Evaluation of Hydrogen Effects on Evolutions of Deformation-Induced ε-Martensite and Damage in a High-Mn Steel, Metall. Mater. Trans. A, 2020, vol. 51, pp. 6184–6194. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11661-020-06021-7

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Yang, C.L., Zhang, Z.J., Zhang, P., and Zhang, Z.F., The Premature Necking of Twinning-Induced Plasticity Steels, Acta Mater., 2017, vol. 136, pp. 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2017.06.042

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  22. Koyama, M., Gondo, T., and Tsuzaki, K., Microstructure Refinement by Low-Temperature Ausforming in a Fe-Based Metastable High-Entropy Alloy, Metals, 2021, vol. 11, p. 742. https://doi.org/10.3390/met11050742

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Koyama, M., Terao, N., and Tsuzaki, K., Revisiting the Effects of Hydrogen on Deformation-Induced γ-ε Martensitic Transformation, Mater. Lett., 2019, vol. 249, pp. 197–200. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matlet.2019.04.093

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Sipos, K., Remy, L., and Pineau, A., Influence of Austenite Predeformation on Mechanical Properties and Strain-Induced Martensitic Transformations of a High Manganese Steel, Metall. Trans. A, 1976, vol. 7, pp. 857–864. https://doi.org/10.1007/Bf02644083

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Koyama, M., Kaneko, T., Sawaguchi, T., and Tsuzaki, K., Microstructural Damage Evolution and Arrest in Binary Fe–High-Mn Alloys with Different Deformation Temperatures, Int. J. Fracture, 2018, vol. 213, pp. 193–206. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10704-018-0307-6

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

This research was funded by JSPS KAKENHI (JP20H02457, JP21K04702) and the Elements Strategy Initiative for Structural Materials (ESISM) of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT) of Japan (JPMXP0112101000).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University, 9808577, Sendai, Japan

    M. Koyama & K. Tsuzaki

  2. Elements Strategy Initiative for Structural Materials, Kyoto University, 6068501, Kyoto, Japan

    M. Koyama & K. Tsuzaki

  3. Faculty of Engineering, Kyushu University, 8190395, Fukuoka, Japan

    K. Ichii & K. Tsuzaki

  4. Research Center for Structural Materials, National Institute for Materials Science, 3050047, Tsukuba, Japan

    K. Tsuzaki

Authors
  1. M. Koyama
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. K. Ichii
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. K. Tsuzaki
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to M. Koyama.

Additional information

Translated from Fizicheskaya Mezomekhanika, 2022, Vol. 25, No. 3, pp. 5–14.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Koyama, M., Ichii, K. & Tsuzaki, K. Strain Rate and Temperature Effects on Hydrogen Embrittlement of Stable and Metastable High-Entropy Alloys. Phys Mesomech 25, 385–392 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1029959922050010

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S1029959922050010

Keywords:

Search

Navigation