29 Hydrogen-Assisted Fracture in Forged Type 304L Austenitic Stainless Steel

Austenitic stainless steels generally have good resistance to hydrogen-assisted fracture; however, structural designs for high-pressure gaseous hydrogen are constrained by the low strength of this class of material. Forging is used to increase the low strength of austenitic stainless steels, thus improving the efficiency of structural designs. Hydrogen-assisted fracture, however, depends on microstructural details associated with manufacturing. In this study, hydrogen-assisted fracture of forged type 304L austenitic stainless steel is investigated. Microstructural variation in multi-step forged 304L was achieved by forging at different rates and temperatures, and by process annealing. High internal hydrogen content in forged type 304L austenitic stainless steel is achieved by thermal precharging in gaseous hydrogen and results in as much as 50% reduction of tensile ductility.