A decrease in the stacking fault energy of austenitic stainless steels was explained in terms of H-H pair-formation in the faulted zone. The high tendency of H atoms to bond was expected to be satisfied by the neighboring octahedral interstices of the hexagonal close-packed phase. The enormous binding energy was suggested to be an explanation for the large decrease in the stacking fault energy which was produced by such a low H pair concentration.

Stacking Fault Energy Decrease in Austenitic Stainless Steels Induced by Hydrogen Pair Formation J.D.Hermida, A.Roviglione: Scripta Materialia, 1998, 39[8], 1145-9