Development of an Accelerated Hydrogen Embrittlement Test for Manganese Phosphated Steels

The methodology, development, and validation of an accelerated hydrogen embrittlement test for quality assurance/quality control of manganese phosphated components are discussed. Various incremental step load testing profiles were evaluated and compared against the performance of the existing 200 hour sustained load test. Some step load profiles were too short in time duration to enable sufficient hydrogen diffusion to concentrate at the notch root and cause embrittlement, while others were held at too high of a load for too long and enabled room temperature creep. A 55 hr. incremental step load test was determined to be as sensitive as the existing 200 hour sustained load test for manganese phosphate and is proposed to be available as an option for future quality assurance/quality control testing for hydrogen embrittlement.