Evaluation of hydrogen trapping and diffusion in two cold worked CrMo(V) steel grades by means of the electrochemical hydrogen permeation technique

Hydrogen diffusion kinetics, which is influenced by the hydrogen trapping and de-trapping phenomena within the steel microstructure, plays an important role on the behaviour of steel components under hydrogen environments. Hence, the complex interaction between hydrogen atoms and steel microstructure must be analyzed in order to discuss the impact of hydrogen on the structural damage. Quenched and tempered low-alloy ferritic steels from the Cr-Mo family, with and without vanadium, have been subjected to different plastic deformation ratios by cold rolling. Dislocation densities have been determined by the analysis of the peak broadening on X-Ray diffractograms. Hydrogen diffusion kinetics was characterized by means of hydrogen permeation transients. In addition, binding energies between hydrogen atoms and microstructure were also determined using thermal desorption analysis (TDA). The analysis of the results highlights the influence of dislocations density and vanadium carbides on the hydrogen diffusion kinetics. In the 2.25Cr1Mo steel grade, hydrogen apparent diffusion coefficient decreased after the cold-work due to the increase in the density of traps (mainly related to dislocation core, ΔETL = 55–60 kJ/mol). Nevertheless, after 10% of plastic deformation, apparent diffusion coefficient ‘saturates’ according to the ‘plateau’ determined in the dislocation density evolution at higher deformation levels. Due to the vanadium addition (+0.31%), hydrogen apparent diffusion coefficient was notably reduced (compared to that obtained in the V-free steel grade). Hydrogen trapping and diffusion are the result of the interplay between vanadium carbides (ΔETL = 35 kJ/mol) and dislocation core.