A review of cohesive zone modelling as an approach for numerically assessing hydrogen embrittlement of steel structures

Simulation of hydrogen embrittlement (HE) requires a coupled approach; on one side, the models describing hydrogen transport must account for local mechanical fields, while, on the other side, the effect of hydrogen on the accelerated material damage must be implemented into the model describing crack initiation and growth. This study presents a review of coupled diffusion and cohesive zone modelling as a method for numerically assessing HE of a steel structure. While the model is able to reproduce single experimental results by appropriate fitting of the cohesive parameters, there appears to be limitations in transferring these results to other hydrogen systems. Agreement may be improved by appropriately identifying the required input parameters for the particular system under study. This article is part of the themed issue 'The challenges of hydrogen and metals'.