Characterization of hydrogen embrittlement sensitivity of 18CrNiMo7-6 alloy steel surface-modified layer based on scratch method

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to assess the hydrogen embrittlement sensitivity of carbon gradient heterostructure materials and to verify the reliability of the scratch method. Design/methodology/approach The surface-modified layer of 18CrNiMo7-6 alloy steel was delaminated to study its hydrogen embrittlement characteristics via hydrogen permeation, electrochemical hydrogen charging and scratch experiments. Findings The results showed that the diffusion coefficients of hydrogen in the surface and matrix layers are 3.28 × 10 −7 and 16.67 × 10 −7 cm 2 /s, respectively. The diffusible-hydrogen concentration of the material increases with increasing hydrogen-charging current density. For a given hydrogen-charging current density, the diffusible-hydrogen concentration gradually decreases with increasing depth in the surface-modified layer. Fracture toughness decreases with increasing diffusible-hydrogen concentration, so the susceptibility to hydrogen embrittlement decreases with increasing depth in the surface-modified layer. Originality/value The reliability of the scratch method in evaluating the fracture toughness of the surface-modified layer material is verified. An empirical formula is given for fracture toughness as a function of diffused-hydrogen concentration.