Hydrogen Trapping in Quenched and Tempered 0.42C-0.30Ti Steel Containing Bimodally Dispersed TiC Particles

The effect of tempering on hydrogen trapping in 0.42C-0.30Ti steel was studied by means of a hardness test, hydrogen thermal desorption spectrometry and high resolution transmission electron microscopy. In addition to the coarse undissolved TiC particles, fine TiC particles with a volume fraction up to 0.22% precipitated during tempering at temperatures above 500°C. Coherent TiC square platelets with a diagonal length of about 2 nm and a thickness of less than 1 nm precipitated at 550 and 600°C, acting as reversible hydrogen traps. Tempering at 700°C caused the fine TiC particles to lose their coherency with the matrix, resulting in a very limited increase in reversibly trapped hydrogen content compared to the samples tempered below 500°C without TiC precipitation. On the other hand, the coarse undissolved TiC particles with an average diameter of 2 μm, acting as irreversible traps, greatly enhanced the irreversibly trapped hydrogen content when tempered at 500°C and were accompanied by a decrease in hydrogen desorption rate peak temperature. Comparison of both types of TiC particles with the same volume fraction indicated that the fine coherent TiC platelets were more effective in trapping hydrogen than the coarse incoherent undissolved TiC particles.