Eitan Dabah

Imaging of hydrogen in steels using neutrons

Abstract We investigated the hydrogen distribution spatially and temporally in technical iron at room temperature. Samples were charged electrochemically and subsequently analysed by means of neutron radiography and tomography. The radiographic images allowed for a time-resolved analysis of hydrogen fluxes. The three-dimensional distribution of hydrogen measured by neutron tomography delivered valuable information for the damage analysis of hydrogen-induced cracks. For the first time hydrogen concentration gradients inside the material could be detect directly together with the cracks. The neutron radiography and tomography results were gained at the Research Reactor BER II of the HZB in Berlin.

Hydrogen Interaction with Residual Stresses in Steel Studied by Synchrotron X-Ray Diffraction

The residual stress state in a material has an important role in the mechanism of cracking, induced or assisted by hydrogen. In this contribution, the beamline EDDI in BESSY II instrument in Berlin was used in order to investigate the influence of hydrogen upon the residual stresses state existing in a Supermartensitic stainless steel sample. The method used for investigating the residual stresses is the “sinus square ψ” method. This method involves the usage of high energy X-ray diffraction in order to measure the residual stress state and magnitude. It was found that hydrogen presence has a significant influence upon the magnitude of the residual stresses, as its value decreases with high hydrogen content. This effect is reversible, as hydrogen desorbs from the sample the residual stress magnitude gains its initial value before hydrogen charging.

In situ synchrotron X-ray radiation analysis of hydrogen behavior in stainless steel subjected to continuous heating

Hydrogen generally causes lattice distortions and phase transformations when introduced into a metallic crystal lattice. For the investigations reported in this contribution, hydrogen thermal desorption analysis has been carried out to observe the influence of hydrogen desorption on the lattice of super martensitic stainless steel during continuous heating. The lattice expansion parameter and the phase transformations have been monitored during the thermal desorption process, and the influence of hydrogen on such characteristics has been evaluated. It was found that hydrogen has a significant influence on both the lattice parameter and on the thermal expansion. However, hydrogen has no influence on phase transformation during thermal desorption. The hydrogen’s desorption behavior in this process was also observed and it turned out that hydrogen desorbs in two stages, i.e., firstly diffusible hydrogen and trapped hydrogen afterward.

In Situ Measurements of Hydrogen Diffusion in Duplex Stainless Steels by Neutron Radiography

Hydrogen embrittlement (HE) is a widely known phenomenon and under investigation already for more than a century. This phenomenon, though thoroughly studied, is not yet completely understood, and so far, there are several suggested mechanisms that try to explain the occurrence of HE. One important factor of understanding the HE phenomenon and predicting hydrogen-assisted failure is the descent knowledge about the hydrogen transport behaviour in the material. Neutron radiography is a proven method for tracking hydrogen diffusion and it was applied successfully in various research studies. In the presented study, we examined the hydrogen effusion behaviour in duplex stainless steel by means of neutron radiography and calculated the effective diffusion coefficient from the obtained transmission images.

Energy Dispersive Synchrotron Diffraction for In‐Situ Analyses of Hydrogen Behavior in Steels

The extent of hydrogen embrittlement phenomenon is dependent on the interaction of hydrogen with the material i.e. diffusion behavior, lattice distortions, phase transformations and residual stresses developments. For the better understanding of the hydrogen interaction with the metal, possibilities of performing in-situ observations of the mentioned factors has to be accomplished. The EDDI (Energy Dispersive Diffraction) beamline at the BESSY II facility in Berlin provides this possibility and was used in order to investigate the aspects of this phenomenon in in-situ scale.

Thermal Stability of Retained Austenite in Low Alloyed TRIP-Steel Determined by High Energy Synchrotron Radiation

TRIP-steels offer a good combination between strength and ductility. Therefore TRIP-steels are widely used in the automobile industries. The aim of this work is to study the stability of involved phases during heating and to identify the kinetics of the occuring phase transformations. For that purpose, in-situ diffraction measurements, using high energy synchrotron radiation were conducted. The analysis revealed the decomposition of the metastable austenitic phase into carbide and ferrite along the heating process and the regeneration of the austenite by further heating of the sample.