Hydrogen-induced ductility loss of precipitation-strengthened Fe-Ni-Cr-based superalloy

A brittle-like faceted morphology of a precipitation-strengthened Fe-Ni-Cr-based superalloy after charging via exposure to high-pressure hydrogen gas (100 MPa) at elevated temperature (543 K) was interpreted based on multiple electron microscopy observations: scanning electron microscopy (SEM), electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) and electron channeling contrast (ECC) imaging. The observation results revealed that the brittle-like facets were derived from intergranular cracking accompanied by hydrogen-assisted microvoid nucleation at the grain boundaries (GBs). Deformation twinning also played a crucial role in triggering the final grain boundary separation due to local stress concentration at its intersection with the GBs after severe strain hardening; such a process has not yet been considered to explain the hydrogen-induced ductility loss of this type of alloy.