Hydrogen interactions with overload in modifying fatigue crack growth rate recovery in an HSLA steel

A systematic investigation of the effects of hydrogen on fatigue crack growth retardation due to overload is presented. The effect of compressive stress ahead of the crack tip on modulating crack growth is discussed. The hydrogen concentration, through its influence on hydrogen availability ahead of the crack tip, is shown to influence crack growth rate recovery after overloads. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.