Effect of Hydrogen on Work Hardening of Type 304L Austenitic Stainless Steel

The grain size and strain dependence of work hardening in Type 304L stainless steel were analyzed between 200 and 250 K where hydrogen damage is greatest. Tensile data were obtained for specimens of several grain sizes, both with and without prior exposure to hydrogen gas at 69 MPa pressure. The analysis suggests that hydrogen has little influence on lattice friction stress but has a large effect on dislocation interaction and the back stress of dislocation pileups. This report discusses this study