A study was made of the influence of plastic deformation upon the electrochemical permeability of H. Membrane-specimens of FeE690T steel were deformed in the cold state by rolling or tension, and H diffusion was measured by using the classical Devanathan-Stachursky technique. The effective diffusion coefficients were determined according to the time dependences of the intensity of H flow from the reverse side of the membrane. They were characterized by the well-pronounced dependence on the level of strain. Moreover, the diffusion of H was simulated by taking into account the phenomenon of seizure of H atoms by traps formed in the presence of plastic strains. The linear diffusion equation was used to compute the time dependence of permeation of H for various densities of the traps. The effective coefficients of H diffusion were determined from the permeation curves. The accumulated results were in good agreement with the experimental data.

Hydrogen Permeation in Plastically Deformed Steel Membranes. W.Dietzel, M.Pfuff, G.G.Juilfs: Materials Science, 2006, 42[1], 78-84