Susceptibility of aluminium and its alloys towards hydrogen embrittlem
ent has been well established. Still a lot of confusion exists on the
question of transport of hydrogen and its possible role in stress corr
osion cracking. This paper reviews some of the fundamental properties
of hydrogen in aluminium and its alloys and its effect on mechanical p
roperties. The importance of hydrogen embrittlement over anodic dissol
ution to explain the stress corrosion cracking mechanism of these allo
ys is also examined in considerable detail. The various experimental f
indings concerning the link between hydrogen embrittlement and stress
corrosion cracking are also discussed.