Reduction in fretting fatigue strength of austenitic stainless steels due to internal hydrogen

Fretting fatigue is one of the major factors in the design of hydrogen equipment. The effect of internal hydrogen on the fretting fatigue strength of austenitic stainless steels was studied. The internal hydrogen reduced the fretting fatigue strength. The reduction in the fretting fatigue strength became more significant with an increase in the hydrogen content. The reason for this reduction is that the internal hydrogen assisted the crack initiation. When the fretting fatigue test of the hydrogen-charged material was carried out in hydrogen gas, the fretting fatigue strength was the lowest. Internal hydrogen and gaseous hydrogen synergistically induced the reduction in the fretting fatigue strength of the austenitic stainless steels. In the gaseous hydrogen, fretting creates adhesion between contacting surfaces where severe plastic deformation occurs. The internal hydrogen is activated at the adhered part by the plastic deformation which results in further reduction of the crack initiation limit.