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A Comparison of Mechanical Properties and Hydrogen Embrittlement Resistance of Austempered vs Quenched and Tempered 4340 Steel

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An Erratum to this article was published on 18 March 2008

Abstract

This study was conducted to compare the hydrogen embrittlement (HE) resistance of austempered 4340 steel with quenched and tempered (Q&T) 4340 steel with an identical yield strength (YS) of 1340 MPa (194 ksi). A baseline comparison showed that the austempered steel with a lower bainite microstructure exhibited higher hardness, tensile strengths, Charpy V-notch (CVN) impact toughness, and ductility at both low 233 K (−40 F) and ambient temperatures, as compared to the Q&T steel with a martensite microstructure. After machining and just prior to testing, subsized CVN specimens and notched bend specimens were immersed in hydrochloric acid-water baths. The HE resistance was higher for the austempered steel than the Q&T steel. No differences in room-temperature CVN energy resulted from hydrogen charging of the austempered and Q&T steels vs their unexposed counterparts. However, in the notched bend specimens, the hydrogen charging caused significant peak load decreases (40 pct) for the Q&T steel, while the austempered steel exhibited only small (6 pct) decreases in peak load. Intergranular (IG) fracture occurred solely in the charged Q&T bend samples, which is further evidence of their embrittlement.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank all the test technicians at Stork Climax Research Services (CRS) and Terry Lusk at Applied Process, Inc., for meticulously conducting the experiments. The authors also acknowledge the guidance that Stork CRS metallurgical engineers Rick Gundlach and Art Griebel provided with the hydrogen charging and bend testing procedures, respectively.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Stork Climax Research Services, Wixom, MI, 48393, USA

    John M. Tartaglia (Engineering Manager and Senior Metallurgical Engineer), Kristen A. Lazzari (Engineering Associate) & Grace P. Hui (Engineering Associate)

  2. Technologies Division, Applied Process, Inc, Livonia, 48150, MI, USA

    Kathy L. Hayrynen (Technical Director)

Authors
  1. John M. Tartaglia
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  2. Kristen A. Lazzari
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  3. Grace P. Hui
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  4. Kathy L. Hayrynen
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to John M. Tartaglia.

Additional information

Manuscript submitted January 23, 2007.

An erratum to this article can be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11661-008-9521-6

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Tartaglia, J., Lazzari, K., Hui, G. et al. A Comparison of Mechanical Properties and Hydrogen Embrittlement Resistance of Austempered vs Quenched and Tempered 4340 Steel. Metall Mater Trans A 39, 559–576 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11661-007-9451-8

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