A Mechanistic Study of Carbon Steel Cracking in 360°C Air and Hydrogen Environments

Thirty percent cold-worked (CW) carbon steel tensile specimens were exposed to 360°C air and hydrogen environments (2 MPa H 2 and 20 MPa H 2 ) under an applied load to produce intergranular creep cracking. In this study, cutting-edge microscopy techniques were applied to characterize cracking on multiple length scales and in three dimensions. The objective was to develop a better mechanistic understanding of creep cracking in carbon steel, and...