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Hydrogen embrittlement and fracture toughness of a titanium alloy with surface modification by hard coatings

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Abstract

The effect of hydrogen embrittlement on the fracture toughness of a titanium alloy with different surface modifications was investigated. Disk- shaped compact- tension specimens were first coated with different .hard films and then hydrogen charged by an electrochemical method. Glow discharge optical spectrometry (GDOS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and x- ray diffractometry (XRD) were applied to analyze the surface characteristics. The results revealed that fracture toughness of the as- received titanium alloy decreased with the increase of hydrogen charging time. Fracture toughness of the alloy after plasma nitriding or ion implantation, which produced a TiN x layer, decreased as well, but to a lesser extent after cathodic charging. The best result obtained was for the alloy coated with a CrN film where fracture toughness was sustained even after hydrogen charging for 144 h. Obviously, the CrN film acted as a better barrier to retard hydrogen permeation, but it was at the sacrifice of the CrN film itself.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. of Materials Engineering, Tatung Institute of Technology, 10451, Taipei, Taiwan

    S.- C Lee & C.- C Huang

  2. Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, Tatung Institute of Technology, 10451, Taipei, Taiwan

    W.- Y Ho

  3. Dept. of Mechanical Engi- neering, Louisiana State University, 70803, Baton Rouge, LA, USA

    E.I Meletis & Y Liu

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  1. S.- C Lee
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  2. W.- Y Ho
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  3. C.- C Huang
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  4. E.I Meletis
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  5. Y Liu
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Lee, S.C., Ho, W.Y., Huang, C.C. et al. Hydrogen embrittlement and fracture toughness of a titanium alloy with surface modification by hard coatings. JMEP 5, 64–70 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02647271

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