Influence of high pressure hydrogen environment on tensile and fatigue properties of stainless steels at low temperatures

Hydrogen environment embrittlement (HEE) of stainless steels in the environment of high pressure and low temperature hydrogen gas was evaluated using a very simple mechanical properties testing procedure. In the method, the high-pressure hydrogen environment is produced just inside the hole in the specimen. In this work, the effects of HEE on fatigue properties for austenitic stainless steels SUS304L and SUS316L were evaluated at 298 and 190 K. The effects of HEE on the tensile properties of higher strength stainless steels, such as strain-hardened 316, SUS630, and other alloys, SUH660 and Alloy 718 were also examined. The less effect of HEE on fatigue properties of SUS316L and tensile properties of strain-hardened 316 were observed compared with SUS304L and other steels at room temperature and 190 K.