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Gaseous hydrogen-induced cracking of Ti-5Al-2.5Sn

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Abstract

The kinetics of hydrogen-induced cracking have been studied in the Ti-5Al-2.5Sn titanium alloy having a structure of acicular α platelets in a β matrix. It was observed that the relationship between hydrogen-induced crack growth rate and applied stress intensity can be described by three separable regions of behavior. The crack-growth rate at low stress-intensity levels was found to be exponentially dependent on stress intensity but essentially independent of temperature. The crack-growth rate at intermediate stress-intensity levels was found to be independent of stress intensity but dependent on temperature in such a way that crack-growth rate was controlled by a thermally activated mechanism having an activation energy of 5500 cal per mole and varied as the square root of the hydrogen pressure. The crack-growth rate at stress-intensity levels very near the fracture toughness is presumed to be independent of environment. The results are interpreted to suggest that crack growth at high stress intensities is controlled by normal, bulk failure mechanisms such as void coalescence and the like. At intermediate stress-intensity levels the transport of hydrogen to some interaction site along the α-β boundary is the rate-controlling mechanism. The crack-growth behavior at low stress intensities suggests that the hydrogen interacts at this site to produce a strain-induced hydride which, in turn, induces crack growth by restricting plastic flow at the crack tip.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. NASA-Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif

    Dell P. Williams (Research Scientist) & Howard G. Nelson (Research Scientist)

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  1. Dell P. Williams
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  2. Howard G. Nelson
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Williams, D.P., Nelson, H.G. Gaseous hydrogen-induced cracking of Ti-5Al-2.5Sn. Metall Trans 3, 2107–2113 (1972). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02643219

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