Hydrogen in Metals

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Hydrogen is ubiquitous in metals, it enters during production and from corrosion during service. Hydrogen causes embrittlement, hardening and internal damage. Hydrogen can reduce fracture toughness and, in some metals, hydrogen can precipitate forming brittle hydrides that crack under load. The process is called Delayed Hydride Cracking (DHC) and it is a particular problem for zirconium alloys that are used in chemical and nuclear plants as pressure boundaries. The consequence of cracking under pressure can be violent release of high temperature steam. Failure of zirconium alloys used to contain nuclear fuel could mean release of radioactivity during reactor operation and later when the spent fuel is in long-term storage. Currently, safe operation with zirconium alloys is ensured by placing very conservative limits on operating conditions.