• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.209-225
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• 2017

Development of high strength steel requires proper understanding of hydrogen behavior since the higher the steel strength the greater the susceptibility of hydrogen assisted cracking. This paper provides a brief but broad overview on hydrogen entry and transport behavior of high-strength ferritic steels. First of all, hydrogen absorption, diffusion and trapping mechanism of the steels are briefly introduced. Secondly, several experimental methods for analyzing the physical/chemical nature of hydrogen uptake and transport in the steels are reviewed. Among the methods, electrochemical permeation technique utilized widely for evaluating the hydrogen diffusion and trapping behavior in metals and alloys is mainly discussed. Moreover, a modified permeation technique accommodating the externally applied load and its application to a variety of steels are intensively explored. Indeed, successful utilization of the modified permeation technique equipped with a constant load testing device leads to significant academic progress on the hydrogen assisted cracking (HAC) phenomenon of the steels. In order to show how the external and/or residual stress affects mechanical instability of steel due to hydrogen ingress, the relationship among the microstructure, hydrogen permeation, and HAC susceptibility is briefly introduced.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.225-232
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• 2008

To understand the effect of the cyclic strain rate on the environmentally assisted cracking behaviors of SA508 Gr.1a low alloy steel in deoxygenated water at $310^{\circ}C$, the fatigue surface and a sectioned area of specimens were observed after low cycle fatigue tests. On the fatigue surface of the specimen tested at a strain rate of 0.008 %/s, unclear ductile striations and a blunt crack tip were observed. Therefore, metal dissolution could be the main cracking mechanism of the material at this strain rate. On the other hand, on the fatigue surfaces of the specimens tested at strain rates of 0.04 and 0.4 %/s, brittle cracks and flat facets, which are evidences of the hydrogen induced cracking, were observed. In addition, a tendency of linkage between the main crack and the micro-cracks was observed on the sectioned area. Therefore, at higher strain rates, the main cracking mechanism could be hydrogen induced cracking. Additionally, evidence of the dissolved MnS inclusions was observed on the fatigue surface from energy dispersive x-ray spectrometer analyses. Thus, despite the low sulfur content of the test material, the sulfides seem to contribute to environmentally assisted cracking of SA508 Gr.1a low alloy steel in deoxygenated water at $310^{\circ}C$.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.153-158
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• 2016

Light metal alloys of Mg, Ti, and Al undergo environmentally assisted cracking (EAC). Passive film breakdown and pitting are not only precursor events for stress corrosion, but can accelerate hydrogen evolution that is responsible for hydrogen embrittlement. This is clearly demonstrated in the case of Mg and Ti alloys. The so-called innocuous precipitates, which do not directly participate in either alloy strengthening or EAC can be effective precursors for initiating EAC. This aspect is highlighted using high strength aluminium alloys. Such behaviours lead to a paradigm shift in the design of alloys with resistance to EAC.

• Journal of Welding and Joining
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.27-36
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• 1988

In fabrication of various welded structures made of high strength steels, the occurence of hydrogen assisted cracking and embrittlement in HAZ is prime importance. The present work was carried out to clarify the effect of chemical compositions, especially B and/or Ti addition on the cold cracking susceptibility and HAZ embrittlement in low crabon equivalent steel. Tests results showed that the addtio of optimum boron content in steel with low Pem value i.e., below 0.20 % was the best way to improve the weldability as well as the mechanicla properties of $60kg/mm^2$ grade quenched and tempered high strength steels.

• Journal of Welding and Joining
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.13-20
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• 2014

A brief overview is given of the corrosion and hydrogen diffusion behaviors of high strength pipe steel in sour environment. Firstly, hydrogen adsorption and diffusion mechanism of the pipe steel is introduced. Secondly, the effect of iron sulfide film precipitated as a result of the corrosion reaction on the steel surface on hydrogen reduction reaction and subsequent hydrogen permeation through the steel is discussed. Moreover, the hydrogen diffusion behavior of the pipe steel under tensile stress in both elastic and plastic ranges is reviewed based on a number of experimental permeation data and theoretical models describing the hydrogen diffusion and trapping phenomena in the steel. It is hoped that this paper will result in significant academic contributions in the field of corrosion and hydrogen related problems of the pipe steel used in sour environment.

• Journal of Welding and Joining
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.42-46
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• 2016

Hydrogen assisted cracking (HAC) is one of the most complicated problem in welding. Huge amount of studies have been done for decades. Based on them, various standards have been established to avoid HAC. But it is still a chronic problem in industrial field. It is well known that the main causes of the hydrogen crack are residual stress, crack susceptible micro structures and a certain critical level of hydrogen concentration. Even though the exact generating mechanism is unclear till today, it has been reported that the hydrogen level in the weld metal should be managed less than a certain amount to prevent it. Matsuda studied that the residual hydrogen level in the weld metal can be varied even if the initial hydrogen content is same. It is also insisted in this report that the residual hydrogen concentration is in stronger correlation with hydrogen crack than the initial hydrogen content. But, in practical point of view, the residual hydrogen is still hard to consider because measuring hydrogen level is time and cost consuming process. In this regard, numerical analysis is the only solution for considering the residual hydrogen content. Meanwhile, Takahashi showed the possibility of predicting the residual hydrogen by a rigorous FE analysis. But, few commercial software suitable for solving the weld metal hydrogen has been reported yet. In this study, two dimensional thermal - hydrogen coupled analysis was developed by using the commercial FE software MARC. Since the governing equation of the hydrogen diffusion is similar to the heat transfer, it is shown that the heat transfer FE analysis in association with hydrogen diffusion property can be used for hydrogen diffusion analysis. A series of simulation was performed to verify the accuracy of the model. For BOP (Bead-On-Plate) and the multi-pass butt welding simulations, remaining hydrogen contents in the weld metal is well matched with measurements which are referred from Kim and Masamitsu.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.7 no.5
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• pp.243-251
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• 2008

Magnesium alloys become popular research topic in last decade due to its light weight and relatively high strength-to-weight ratio in the energy aspiration age. Almost all structure materials are supposed to suspend stress. Magnesium is quite sensitive to corrosive environment, and also sensitive to environmental assisted cracking. However, so far we have the limited knowledge about the environmental sensitive cracking of magnesium alloys. The corrosion fatigue (CF) test was conducted. Many factors' effects, like grain size, texture, heat treatment, loading frequency, stress ratio, strain rate, chemical composition of environment, pH value, relative humidity were investigated. The results showed that all these factors had obvious influence on the crack initiation and propagation. Especially the dependence of CF life on pH value and frequency is quite different to the other traditional structural metallic materials. In order to interpret the results, the electrochemistry tests by polarization dynamic curve and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy were conducted with and without stress. The corrosion of magnesium alloys was also studied by in-situ observation in environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM). The corrosion rate changed with the wetting time during the initial corrosion process. The pre-charging of hydrogen caused crack initiated at $\beta$ phase, and with the increase of wetting time the crack propagated, implying that hydrogen produced by corrosion reaction participated in the process.

• CORROSION AND PROTECTION
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.30-38
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• 2013

Austenitic stainless steels and Ni-base alloys are widely used as structural materials for major components and piping system in pressurized water reactors (PWRs). These austenitic alloys are known to be susceptible to environmental assisted cracking (EAC), such as environmentally-assisted fatigue (EAF) and primary water stress corrosion cracking (PWSCC) during long-term exposure to PWR primary water environment. In this paper, the current understanding on the phenomena and mechanisms of these EAC are briefly introduced using experimental results and literature review. The mechanisms for EAF and PWSCC for austenitic stainless steels and Ni-base alloys are discussed. Currently, austenitic stainless steels are known to be more susceptible to EAF, while less susceptible to PWSCC than Ni-base alloys. The possible explanations to such behaviors are proposed and discussed in view of the role of hydrogen and internal oxidation.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.102-109
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• 2019

The hydrogen diffusion and trapping model with a numerical finite difference method (FDM) was modified and extended to accommodate $H_2S$ corrosion and scale forming processes of high-strength steel under tensile stress condition. The newly proposed diffusion model makes it possible to clearly understand combined effect of tensile stress and $H_2S$ corrosion process on hydrogen diffusion behaviors. The core concept of this theoretical approach is that overall diffusion behavior is separated into diffusion process through two respective layers: an outer sulfide scale and an inner steel matrix. Diffusion coefficient values determined by curve-fitting permeation data reported previously with the newly proposed diffusion model indicate that the application of tensile stress can contribute to continual increase in the diffusivity in the sulfide scale with a high density of defect. This suggests that the scale with a lower stability under the stress condition can be a key parameter to enhance hydrogen influx in the steel matrix. Consequently, resistance to hydrogen assisted cracking of the steel under tensile stress can be decreased significantly.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.63-69
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• 2012

Adhesion and mechanical reliability of silicon/epoxy/polyimide interfaces are critical issues for flexible electronics. Bonds between these interfaces are mainly hydrogen bonds, so their adhesion is weaker than cohesive fracture toughness and vulnerable to moisture. In order to enhance adhesion and suppress moisture-assisted debonding, UV/Ozone treatment and innovative sol-gel derived hybrid layers were applied to silicon/epoxy/polyimide interfaces. The fracture energy and subcritical crack growth rate were measured by using a double cantilever beam (DCB) fracture mechanics test. Results showed that UV/Ozone treatment increased the adhesion, but was not effective for improving reliability against humidity. However, by applying sol-gel derived hybrid layers, adhesion increase as well as suppresion of moisture-assisted cracking were achieved.