Hot-Salt Stress-Corrosion of Titanium Alloys: Generation of Hydrogen and its Embrittling Effect

Alloy specimens of Ti-8A1-lMo-lV were salt-coated and exposed to conditions conducive to hot-salt stress-corrosion. Subsequent tensile tests revealed that ductility was strain-rate and temperature sensitive. Embrittlement was more pronounced at slow crosshead speeds in the vicinity of ambient temperature. After salt-exposure ductility was restored by vacuum annealing. Substantial increases in hydrogen content were measured in embrittled specimens. These results demonstrate that hydrogen can be generated during elevated temperature exposure to salt and that the subsequent embrittlement is a manifestation of the phenomenon of slow-strain-rate hydrogen embrittlement.