Comparison of Decoupled and Coupled Analyses for Hydrogen Transport in Fracture Specimens

Hydrogen embrittlement is an important issue in many industries. Fracture resistance of metals is often weakened by the presence of hydrogen. In this paper, two diffusion models are compared for hydrogen transport analysis. One is the coupled model where the concentration of hydrogen in the lattice is integrated with mechanical properties. The other is the decoupled model in which the hydrogen diffusion is independent of the mechanical properties; but depends on the stress state. Finite element analyses are performed for a boundary layer specimen with a blunting crack and a four-point bend specimen with rounded notch. Hydrogen concentration profiles around the blunt crack (or notch) are compared under different boundary conditions and material properties. It is observed that, in spite of the difference in constitutive models, there is a similarity between hydrogen concentration in normal interstitial sites by the two models. In case that large plastic strain is present (such as those in low to moderate strength steels) there is a substantial difference in hydrogen concentration between the two models.