Improved resistance to hydrogen environment embrittlement of warm-deformed 304 austenitic stainless steel in high-pressure hydrogen atmosphere

The resistance of warm-deformed 304 austenitic stainless steel to hydrogen environment embrittlement (HEE) was investigated by adjusting the deforming temperature and deforming strain in hydrogen atmosphere. Higher deforming temperatures (100 similar to 300 degrees C) can improve the resistance to HEE, while higher deforming strains weakened the resistance to HEE. Higher deforming temperatures caused a more uniform distribution of the high density dislocations and less deformation twins, which weakened hydrogen segregation to prevent hydrogen induced cracking. As the deforming strain increased, more primary deformation twins formed, which promoted the formation of strain-induced alpha' martensite and then accelerated the growth of hydrogen-induced cracks.