Study of localized plastic deformation of stainless steel electrically saturated with hydrogen

The effect of hydrogen embrittlement on the mechanical properties and plastic flow localization parameters in tensile tested corrosion resistant high-chromium steel has been investigated. The studies were performed for the original test samples of high-temperature tempered steel with sorbitic structure and after electrolytic hydrogenation for 6, 12 and 24 hours. It is found that the mechanical properties of stainless steel are affected adversely by hydrogen embrittlement. With the registration of the loading curve plastic-strain localization patterns were studied using a double-exposure speckle photography method. The hydrogenated counterpart of alloy has a lower degree of ductility relative to the original alloy. However, the plastic flow is of localized character and the evolution of localized-strain center distributions follows the law of plastic flow. The autowave parameters (autowave velocity and autowave length) were measured for the every state of high-chromium steel under investigation and the difference between them is of grate significance. The velocity of ultrasonic Rayleigh waves was measured simultaneously in the investigated steel in tension. It is shown that the dependence of the velocity of ultrasound in active loading is determined by the law of plastic flow, that is, the staging of the corresponding diagram of loading.