Effects of Hydrogen on Behaviour of Low Cycle Fatigue of 2.25Cr-1Mo Steel

The effects of hydrogen atoms on behaviour of low cycle fatigue of 2.25Cr-1Mo steel have been investigated in present work. The results indicate that the cyclic softening rate and low cycle fatigue life are respectively increased and reduced remarkably by hydrogen atoms. In addition, hydrogen atoms make the original stress amplitude of low cycle fatigue increase, which is because of the drag effect of hydrogen atoms on the moving dislocations. Analyses using electron microscopy show that hydrogen atoms accelerate crack initiation of low cycle fatigue from inclusion and transfer the source of low cycle fatigue crack from the surface of specimen to the inclusion, which results in the marked decrease of low cycle fatigue life. The increase of cyclic softening rate for hydrogen charged specimen is due to hydrogen atoms accelerating the initiating and growing of microvoids from the secondary phase particles in the steel. The reducing of the drag effect of hydrogen atoms on moving dislocations is also helpful to the increase of the cyclic softening rate.