Lw. Tsay et Ty. Yang, Reduction of hydrogen embrittlement in an ultra-high-strength steel by laser surface annealing, FATIG FRACT, 23(4), 2000, pp. 325-333
Citations number
37
Categorie Soggetti
Material Science & Engineering
Journal title
FATIGUE & FRACTURE OF ENGINEERING MATERIALS & STRUCTURES
This paper shows that laser beam irradiation improves the resistance to hyd
rogen embrittlement (HE) in an ultra-high-strength maraging steel. Localize
d laser irradiation of a peak-aged steel plate resulted in the formation of
a soft surface layer called the laser-annealed zone (LAZ). A composite reg
ion (CR) was formed when both the top and bottom surfaces of a peak-aged sp
ecimen were laser-annealed (LA) to leave an interior layer of untransformed
base metal (BM) sandwiched between the two LAZs. Slow strain rate tensile
tests showed that LA specimens had lower strength and ductility than the pe
ak-aged specimens when tested in air, but in a H2S solution, the soft LAZs
showed less susceptibility to HE than the BM. The fatigue crack growth rate
s (FCGRs) in the CR were lower than those in the BM regardless of testing e
nvironment and stress ratio (R). The retarded crack growth in the CR was at
tributed to the combination of residual compressive stresses and the soft m
icrostructures in the LAZs. The tensile fracture appearance of LA specimens
tested in a H2S solution exhibited intergranular fracture in the BM. Fract
ographs of the fatigue specimens tested in gaseous hydrogen revealed transg
ranular fracture in the LAZs and mainly quasi-cleavage fracture in the BM.