About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
2026 TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition
|
| Symposium
|
Steels in Extreme Conditions
|
| Presentation Title |
JIMM Early Career Leader International Scholar Lecture: Revisiting the Role of Hydrogen: From Embrittler to Enhancer of Strength and Ductility in Steels |
| Author(s) |
Yuhei Ogawa, Osamu Takakuwa, Haruki Nishida, Kaneaki Tsuzaki, Akinobu Shibata |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Yuhei Ogawa |
| Abstract Scope |
Hydrogen is traditionally considered detrimental to structural metals due to hydrogen embrittlement, which reduces strength and failure resistance. However, our recent studies reveal that in some austenitic steels, dissolved hydrogen can strengthen materials while maintaining or even enhancing ductility. This arises from solid solution-hardening and hydrogen-assisted deformation twinning: hydrogen atoms hinder dislocation mobility like other interstitial solutes, while twins formed under the presence of hydrogen successively introduce twin-matrix boundaries that boost strain-hardening. Experiments on Fe-Cr-Ni steels such as Type310S (Fe-24Cr-19Ni) and Type309S (Fe-23Cr-13Ni) containing ~7500 atomic ppm hydrogen demonstrated an improved strength–ductility balance, with “tensile strength × uniform elongation” rising by ~30% compared to uncharged alloys. This presentation highlights key microstructural factors, compositional effects, and deformation processes behind this non-traditional function of hydrogen, with particular focus on chromium’s role in hydrogen solubility and twin formation, suggesting new alloy design strategies for hydrogen-related applications. |
| Proceedings Inclusion? |
Planned: |