An electrochemical technique was used to study the effect of an elastic stress upon H permeation in a ferritic stainless steel. It was found that, in the stressed or unstressed condition, the H diffusivity always increased with the charging current, while the activation energy remained essentially constant. The imposition of elastic strains increased the activation energy for diffusion, but the variation in diffusivity was inconsistent. The average partial molar volume of H in the alloy, as deduced from the enhanced flux, was of the order of 2.3cm3/mol.

Hydrogen Transport in ferritic Stainless Steel under Elastic Stress. L.C.Hwang, T.P.Perng: Materials Chemistry and Physics, 1994, 36[3-4], 231-5