Exploring the hydrogen embrittlement behavior in nickel-economized austenitic stainless steel: Investigating the role of manganese in modifying hydrogen-induced crack mechanisms

The hydrogen embrittlement (HE) susceptibility in nickel-economized austenitic stainless steels (NEASSs) with varying manganese content was explored based on the statistical results of hydrogen-induced cracks (HICs) characterization after slow strain rate tensile (SSRT). With almost the same initial microstructure, manganese modifies the deformation patterns of NEASSs by adjusting stacking fault energy, which essentially influences the initiation and propagation mechanisms of HICs and eventually results in different brittle fracture modes. Additionally, different ways of HIC initiation and propagation caused significant differences in brittle-fracture areas and HICs lengths after SSRT tests, which resulted in great variations in HE susceptibility between NEASSs.