Fretting fatigue properties under the effect of hydrogen and the mechanisms that cause the reduction in fretting fatigue strength

Fretting fatigue, which is a composite phenomenon of metal fatigue and friction, is one of the major factors in the design of mechanical components as it significantly reduces fatigue strength. Since hydrogen can influence both fatigue and friction, fretting fatigue is one of the important concerns in designing hydrogen equipment. The authors carried out the fretting fatigue tests on austenitic stainless steels in order to characterize the effect of hydrogen and to explain the mechanism responsible for hydrogen embrittlement. In this study, the significant reduction in fretting fatigue strength due to hydrogen is shown including other factors influencing the fretting fatigue strength such as surface roughness, hydrogen content and the addition of oxygen. The cause of the reduction in the fretting fatigue strength in hydrogen is local adhesion between the contacting surfaces and subsequent formation of many small cracks. Furthermore, hydrogen enhances crack initiation under fretting fatigue conditions. Transformation of the microstructure from austenite to martensite is another possible reason. A hydrogen charge also reduces the fretting fatigue strength. The cause is the reduction in the crack growth threshold, ΔK_th, due to hydrogen.