Hydrogen Embrittlement

by:
Daniel H. Herring Although many of the most severe hydrogen
The Heat Treat Doctor, President
The HERRING GROUP, Inc.
embrittlement problems have occurred in
P.O. Box 884 aircraft applications, it should be remembered
Elmhurst, IL 60126-0884 USA
www.heat-treat-doctor.com that it doesnt have to fly in order to die.

Embrittlement is a phenomenon that causes loss of

ductility in a material, thus making it brittle. There are
a number of different forms including:
Environmentally Induced Cracking.
Stress Corrosion Cracking.
Hydrogen Embrittlement.
Corrosion Fatigue.
Liquid Metal Embrittlement.
Of these, hydrogen embrittlement is responsible for a
surprising number of delayed failures and problems
with products produced from wire, especially if they
undergo secondary processing operations such as
plating. The factors (see Figure 1) responsible for this
type of failure include having a susceptible material,
an environment conductive to attack and the presence Fig. 1 Factors contributing to
hydrogen embrittlement.
of stress (internal or applied). Once two of these three
factors are present, failure is inevitable. How Hydrogen Gets In
Hydrogen embrittlement is also known as hydrogen It is generally agreed that hydrogen, in atomic form,
induced cracking or hydrogen attack. Materials that will enter and diffuse through a metal surface whether
are most vulnerable include high-strength steels, ti- at elevated temperatures or ambient temperature.
tanium and aluminum alloys and electrolytic tough Once absorbed, dissolved hydrogen may be present
pitch copper. Hydrogen embrittlement mechanisms either as atomic or molecular hydrogen or in combined
(see Figure 2) can be aqueous or gaseous and involve molecular form (e.g., methane). Since these molecules
the ingress of hydrogen into the metal, reducing its are too large to diffuse through the metal, pressure
ductility and load bearing capacity. Stress below the builds at crystallographic defects (dislocations and
yield stress of the susceptible material then causes vacancies) or discontinuities (voids, inclusion/matrix
subsequent cracking and catastrophic brittle failures interfaces) causing minute cracks to form. Whether this
(see Figure 3). absorbed hydrogen causes cracking or not is a complex

Fig. 2 Hydrogen embrittlement mechanisms.

xx Wire Forming Technology International/Fall 2010

interaction of material strength, external stresses and
temperature.
Sources of hydrogen include heat treating atmos-
pheres, breakdown of organic lubricants, the steelmak-
ing process (e.g., electric arc melting of damp scrap),
the working environment, arc welding (with damp
electrodes), dissociation of high pressure hydrogen Fig. 3 Hydrogen
embrittlement and
gas and even grinding (in a wet environment). failure of a hard
Parts that are undergoing electrochemical surface treat- chromium-plated
ments such as etching, pickling, phosphate coating, chain conveyor bolt.
corrosion removal, paint stripping and electroplating
are especially susceptible. Of these, acid cleaning is the
most severe, followed by electroplating at high cur-
rent (these are less efficient and create more hydrogen
even though they produce a better plated structure),
electrolysis plating and conversion coatings.

Nature & Effect of Hydrogen Attack

Although the precise mechanism(s) is the subject of
active investigation, the reality is that components fail
due to this phenomenon. It is generally believed that
all steels above 30 HRC are vulnerable, as are materials
such as copper, whether tough pitch or oxygen-free,
titanium and titanium alloys, nickel and nickel alloys
and the like. Examples of hydrogen damage and ways
to avoid it include the following.
Problem: Internal cracking or blistering.
Solutions: Use of steel with low levels of impuri- Fig. 4 Intergranular fracture due to hydrogen
embrittlement (photo courtesy of Aston
ties (i.e., sulfur and phosphorus); modifying the Metallurgical Services Co., Inc.).
environment to reduce hydrogen charging; use of
surface coatings and effective inhibitors. particularly susceptible. Hydrogen embrittlement is
Problem: Loss of ductility. considered the Achilles heel of high strength ferrous
Solutions: Use of lower strength (hardness) or high steels and alloys.
resistance alloys; careful selection of materials of And nonferrous materials are not immune to attack.
construction and plating systems; heat treatment Tough-pitch coppers and even oxygen-free coppers
(bakeout) to remove absorbed hydrogen. are subject to a loss of (tensile) ductility when ex-
Problem: High temperature hydrogen attack. posed to reducing atmospheres. Bright annealing in
Solutions: Selection of material (for steels, use of hydrogen bearing furnace atmospheres, oxy-acety-
low and high alloy Cr-Mo steels, selected Cu alloys, lene torch brazing and furnace brazing are typical
nonferrous alloys); limit temperature and partial processes that can create hydrogen embrittlement of
pressure H2. these materials.
Since a metallurgical interaction occurs between atomic The attack in these copper alloys involves the diffusion
hydrogen and the crystallographic structure, the abil- of atomic hydrogen into the copper and subsequent
ity of the material to deform or stretch under load is reduction of cuprous oxide (Cu2O) to produce water
inhibited. Therefore, it becomes brittle under stress vapor and pure copper. An embrittled copper often
or load. As a result, the metal will break or fracture at can be identified by a characteristic surface blister-
a much lower load or stress than anticipated. It is this ing resulting from expansion of water vapor in voids
lower breaking strength that makes hydrogen embrit- near the surface. Purchasing oxygen-free copper is no
tlement so detrimental. guarantee against the occurrence of hydrogen embrit-
In general, as the strength of the steel goes up, so tlement, but the degree of embrittlement will depend
does its susceptibility to hydrogen embrittlement. on the amount of oxygen present.
High-strength steel, such as quenched and tem- For example, CDA 101 (oxygen-free electronic) allows
pered steels or precipitation-hardened steels, is up to 5 ppm oxygen while CDA 102 (OFHC) permits

Fall 2010/Wire Forming Technology International xx

Hydrogen Embrittlement ...continued

up to 10 ppm. A simple bend test is often used to Temperature and pressure.

detect the presence of hydrogen embrittlement. Met- Presence of solutions or solvents that may undergo
allographic techniques (Figure 4) can also be used to some reaction with metals (e.g., acidic solutions).
look at the near surface and for the presence of voids
at grain boundaries. Type of alloy and its production method.
Amount of discontinuities in the metal.
How Hydrogen Gets Out? Treatment of exposed surfaces (barrier layers, e.g.,
Hydrogen absorption need not be a permanent condi- oxide layers as hydrogen permeation barriers on
tion. If cracking does not occur and the environmental metals).
conditions are changed so that no hydrogen is gener- Final treatment of the metal surface (e.g., galvanic
ated on the surface of the metal, the hydrogen can nickel plating).
re-diffuse out of the steel, and ductility is restored.
Performing an embrittlement relief, or hydrogen bake Method of heat treatment.
out cycle (the term bake-out involves both diffusion Level of residual and applied stresses.
within the metal and outgassing) is a powerful method
in eliminating hydrogen before damage can occur.
Low Hydrogen Concentrations
Some of the key variables include temperature, time Can Also Be Problematic
at temperature, and concentration gradient (atom Of concern today is embrittlement from very small
movement). quantities of hydrogen where traditional loss-of-
For example, electroplating provides a source of hy- ductility bend tests cannot detect the condition. This
drogen during the cleaning and pickling cycles, but by atomic level embrittlement manifests itself at levels as
far the most significant source is cathodic inefficiency. low as 10 ppm of hydrogen (in certain plating applica-
A simple hydrogen bake out cycle can be performed to tions it has been reported that 1 ppm of hydrogen is
reduce the risk of hydrogen damage (Table 1). problematic).
Caution: over-tempering or softening of the steel can Although difficult to comprehend, numerous
occur, especially on a carburized, or induction hard- documented cases of embrittlement failures with
ened part. hydrogen levels this low are known. This type of
embrittlement occurs when hydrogen is concen-
Table 1. Hydrogen Bake-Out Requirements
for High Strength Parts.
trated or absorbed in certain areas of metallurgical
instability.
This type of concentrating action occurs as a result
of either residual or applied stress, which tends
to sweep through the atomic structure, moving
the infiltrated hydrogen atoms along with it. These
concentrated areas of atomic hydrogen can then
coalesce into molecular-type hydrogen, resulting in
the formation of highly localized partial pressures
of the actual gas.

What Type of Parts Are Susceptible?

Although almost any type of part is subject to hydro-
Note: Per ASTM B 850-98 (2009), Standard Guide for
gen embrittlement, certain components such as fasten-
Post-Coating Treatments of Steel for Reducing the Risk ers and nuclear components are most susceptible.
of Hydrogen Embrittlement.

Ways to Avoid Hydrogen Embrittlement

Factors that Influence Hydrogen Steps that can be taken to avoid hydrogen embrit-
Embrittlement on Parts tlement include reducing hydrogen exposure and
The severity and mode of the hydrogen damage de- susceptibility, baking after plating (mandatory and as
pends on: soon as practical) and using test methods to determine
Source of hydrogenexternal (gaseous)/internal if a material is suspect.
(dissolved). Other options that could help in avoiding hydrogen
Exposure time. embrittlement include the use of lower strength

xx Wire Forming Technology International/Fall 2010

steels (not always viable), the avoidance of acid with aircraft/aerospace parts, a simple motto to
cleaning, the utilization of low hydrogen plating remember is that the part doesnt have to fly in
techniques and the reduction of residual and ap- order to die.
plied stress. The insidious nature of hydrogen embrittlement
continues to cause product failures during process-
ing and during service. These failures are often
Where to Go For Help?
catastrophic, leading to injury or damage to adjacent
A good, but relatively unknown source for information
structures, and are difficult to detect after the fact.
about the effects of hydrogen, is the NACE Interna-
For this reason, hydrogen damage can and must be
tional, The Corrosion Society (www.nace.org). Also,
avoided.
various ASTM specifications (www.astm.org) can also
help, including ASTM B850-98, 2009 (Standard Guide For additional information on dealing with hydro-
for Post-Coating Treatments of Steel for Reducing the gen embrittlement, visit the website listed below.
Risk of Hydrogen Embrittlement); ASTM F1113-97 (The www.heat-treat-doctor.com WFTI
Barnacle Electrode Method to Determine Diffusible Hy-
drogen in Steels); ASTM F519-08 (Standard Test Method References:
for Mechanical Hydrogen Embrittlement Evaluation of
Plating/Coating Processes and Service Environments); Herring, D. H., and Richard D. Sisson, Jr., The Heat
Treatment of Fasteners Embrittlement Issues, Fastener
and ASTM F1624-09 (Standard Test Method for Meas-
Technology International, December 2008.
urement of Hydrogen Embrittlement Threshold by the
Incremental Step Loading Technique). Herring, D. H., The Embrittlement Phenomena in
Hardened & Tempered Steels, Industrial Heating,
October 2006.
The Bottom Line
Herring, D. H., A Heat Treaters Guide to Hydrogen
Although many of the most severe problems associ-
Embrittlement, Industrial Heating, October 2004.
ated with hydrogen embrittlement have occurred

Fall 2010/Wire Forming Technology International xx