International Journal of Hydrogen Energy· 2026Q1
Competing effects of cold rolling on strength and hydrogen embrittlement susceptibility in superaustenitic 904L stainless steel: A small punch test approach
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- Q1SCImago
- 2026year
Short summary
Cold rolling 904L superaustenitic stainless steel up to 30% significantly increases its strength but also makes it more susceptible to hydrogen embrittlement, particularly at higher reduction levels.
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Key points
- Cold rolling 904L stainless steel up to 30% increased strength and reduced ductility/fracture toughness.
- No strain-induced martensite was observed after cold rolling under the tested conditions.
- Hydrogen embrittlement was limited in annealed and 10% cold-rolled samples.
- Significant hydrogen embrittlement occurred in 20% and 30% cold-rolled samples, affecting ductility and energy parameters.
- The Small Punch Test effectively captured the trade-off between cold-work strengthening and hydrogen embrittlement.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
Austenitic stainless steels resist hydrogen embrittlement but have low yield strength. Cold rolling increases strength but may affect hydrogen tolerance. This work uses the Small Punch Test (SPT) to evaluate hydrogen-assisted degradation in stable superaustenitic AISI 904L after 0, 10, 20 and 30% cold-rolling reductions. Hydrogen was introduced by high-pressure gas precharging (19.5 MPa, 300 °C, 24 h), and specimens were tested ex situ at different punch displacement rates. Cold rolling significantly increased strength while reducing ductility and fracture toughness. No strain-induced martensite was detected by EBSD and XRD under the investigated conditions. Hydrogen embrittlement was limited in the annealed and 10% cold-rolled conditions but became significant after 20 and 30% reduction. Hydrogen mainly affected ductility and energy-related SPT parameters, with greater effects at lower punch rates, stabilizing below 0.0025 mm/min. Results show that SPT captures the competing effects of cold-work strengthening and hydrogen degradation in the 904L conditions investigated.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2026 · DOI ↗
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Field: Metals and Alloys
Metals and AlloysMaterials Science