A MODEL TO PREDICT THE HYDROGEN EFFECT ON CRACK GROWTH RATE IN HIGH-STRENGTH STEELS

In this paper, the attention is focused on the mechanical fatigue behavior of high strength steels subjected to hydrogen embrittlement. These steels are widely used in pipeline applications: in this light, it is important to have analytical models predicting crack growth rates, for estimating residual fatigue life of the component. An analytical model is here described and used to fit experimental data, described in a parallel paper at this conference. Parameters used in the model are: hydrogen absence/presence, frequency and temperature. Once the model is validated, it is used to estimate residual fatigue life of the components, as test case. Comments are proposed about the influence, on crack growth rates, of hydrogen embrittlement combined with other considered factors.