A deformation-diffusion interactive model to study crack-tip behaviour and predict crack growth rate under fatigue and hydrogen-embrittlement conditions

Hydrogen is accepted as a cleaner and more sustainable energy source, since it carries abundant energy and does not produce any effluent gas from burning when compared to fossil fuels. However, long-term degradation in mechanical properties, attributed to hydrogen embrittlement, is reported for metallic materials exposed to gaseous hydrogen, leading to accelerated crack growth behaviour under fatigue. In this paper, a visco-plastic deformation-diffusion interactive model is developed to study fatigue crack growth behaviour in a nickel-based superalloy under hydrogen-embrittlement condition. In the model, cyclic deformation is described by visco-plasticity constitutive model, while hydrogen diffusion is simulated by a modified form of Fick’s first law of diffusion which can address hydrogen diffusion driven by the hydrostatic stress gradient. In particular, trapped hydrogen, expressed as dependent on both diffusible hydrogen concentration and inelastic strain, is considered in the modelling of hydrogen diffusion. The model also describes the effects of hydrogen concentration on mechanical deformation by considering its influence on the evolution of isotropic hardening as well as on the strain state. Interaction between cyclic deformation and hydrogen diffusion is therefore studied for a crack tip in a compact tension specimen subjected to fatigue and hydrogen attack, showing a strong dependency on both loading frequency and stress intensity factor range. Subsequently, a two-parameter criterion is proposed for fatigue crack growth prediction, which accounts for the contributions of both cyclic deformation and hydrogen diffusion. The predictions show a good agreement with experimental data in terms of crack growth rate under fatigue and hydrogen-embrittlement conditions.