Hydrogen-assisted, intergranular, fatigue crack-growth in ferritic iron: Influences of hydrogen-gas pressure and temperature variation

Hydrogen-assisted, fatigue crack-growth in pure iron within a low stress-intensity range was ascribed to the emergence of intergranular fracture, the significance of which was emphasized by increased hydrogen-gas pressure, while conversely mitigated by an elevation of test temperature. Based on conventional thermodynamic theory, a single parameter, GB hydrogen-coverage (theta(x)), was used to derive a systematic, unified evaluation of such a complex reliance on the dual environmental variables. Furthermore, post-mortem microscopic analyses of the crack-wake deformation microstructures were employed to elucidate the contribution of dislocation activity regarding the triggering of IG fracture, which also varied significantly with the alteration of theta(x).