It was recalled that anodic chemical reaction and H embrittlement had been proposed as stress-corrosion cracking mechanisms. The former was possible in the case of plastic deformation-dominated (low yield-stress) metals, and the latter was possible in high-strength metals. In spite of the low yield-stress, a discontinuous cleavage-like fracture was nevertheless sometimes observed during the stress-corrosion cracking of ductile face-centered cubic alloys; which involved interaction between dislocations and H clusters. The problem, of which mechanism predominated, remained. The stress-corrosion cracking model was here analyzed on the basis of H diffusion, segregation towards the elastic-plastic stress field around a crack, and the interaction of dislocations and H around a crack tip. This was suggested to clarify the mechanism of stress-corrosion cracking in ductile and brittle materials.

The Mechanism of Hydrogen Embrittlement - the Stress Interaction between a Crack, an Hydrogen Cluster and Moving Dislocations. A.T.Yokobori: International Journal of Fracture, 2004, 128[1], 121-31