Effect of Internal Hydrogen on Delayed Cracking of Metastable Low-Nickel Austenitic Stainless Steels

Metastable austenitic stainless steels, especially manganese-alloyed low-nickel grades, may be susceptible to delayed cracking after forming processes. Even a few wppm of hydrogen present in austenitic stainless steels as an inevitable impurity is sufficient to cause cracking if high enough fraction of strain-induced alpha'-martensite and high residual tensile stresses are present. The role of internal hydrogen content in delayed cracking of several metastable austenitic stainless steels having different alloying chemistries was investigated by means of Swift cup tests, both in as-supplied state and after annealing at 673 K (400 A degrees C). Hydrogen content of the test materials in each state was analyzed with three different methods: inert gas fusion, thermal analysis, and thermal desorption spectroscopy. Internal hydrogen content in as-supplied state was higher in the studied manganese-alloyed low-nickel grades, which contributed to susceptibility of unstable grades to delayed cracking. Annealing of the stainless steels reduced their hydrogen content by 1 to 3 wppm and markedly lowered the risk of delayed cracking. Limiting drawing ratio was improved from 1.4 to 1.7 in grade 204Cu, from 1.7 to 2.0 in grade 201 and from 1.8 to 2.12 in grade 301. The threshold levels of alpha'-martensite and residual stress for delayed cracking at different hydrogen contents were defined for the test materials.