Hydrogen Embrittlement of Submicrocrystalline Ultra-Low Carbon Steel Produced by High-Pressure Torsion Straining

The tensile property and hydrogen embrittlement (HE) behavior in the submicrocrystalline ultra-low carbon steel produced by HPT straining were investigated. Elongated grains with 300 nm thickness and 600 nm length with high dislocation density were formed by the HPT straining at a rotation-speed of 0.2 rpm under a compression pressure of 5 GPa. The engineering tensile strength of the HPT processed ultra-low carbon steel for > 5 turns was 1.9 GPa, which is similar to the value of maraging high-alloy steels. The elongation increased with strain (at 5 to 10 turns), is caused by the reduction of the stress concentration due to the existence of continuously recrystallized grains. HE occurred in the HPT processed specimen for 5 turns with high tensile strength of 1.9 GPa under hydrogen atmosphere. However, its HE was suppressed via recovery process by annealing at low temperature while maintaining the high strength.