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Study of the effect of heat treatment on hydrogen embrittlement of AISI 4340 steel

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Abstract

Delayed failure tests were performed on fully-quenched AISI 4340 steel tempered at 500 and 700° C, subjected to sustained tensile loads and cathodically charged with hydrogen (current density 10 mA cm−2) in an aqueous solution of 0.1 N sulphuric acid. The aim was to study the effect of the microstructure on the behaviour of steel towards the embrittling action of hydrogen. The tests were carried out with two different research techniques in order to highlight this behaviour better. This was done with a view to making the use of the steel safer. With the methods used the results obtained, although substantially different from each other, showed that thermodynamically more stable structures are less sensitive to the phenomenon of hydrogen embrittlement.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Scienze dei Materiali e della Terra, Università di Ancona, Via Brecce Bianche, 60131, Ancona, Italy

    E. Quadrini

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  1. E. Quadrini
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Quadrini, E. Study of the effect of heat treatment on hydrogen embrittlement of AISI 4340 steel. J Mater Sci 24, 915–920 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01148778

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01148778

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