Strong resistance to hydrogen embrittlement of high-performance superalloy MP35N under 200 MPa (≈30,000 psi) H₂ gas pressure

ABSTRACT

Embrittlement of steels and alloys in contact with hydrogen gas under pressure is a key problem in metallurgy with important implications for a future energy economy based on hydrogen. Here we report stress–strain measurements recorded under 200 MPa (∼30,000 PSI) hydrogen gas pressure to evaluate the resistance of MP35N to embrittlement. We find that MP35N with a tensile strength of more than 1800 MPa does not suffer any strength loss, retains a significant amount of ductility and hence appears to be highly resistant to hydrogen embrittlement even under elevated stress when exposed over a time-scale of hours. This exceptional resistance to H-embrittlement seems to be unique among all high-performance steels and alloys of comparable strength and bears on the use of this material for high pressure H₂ research devices and storage applications.

KEYWORDS:

• Hydrogen embrittlement
• MP35N
• high pressure
• energy

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

S.K. & L.A. acknowledge financial support through an Emergence grant (HYDROMET) obtained by Sorbonne University. The SEM facility at IMPMC was supported by Région Ile de France [grant SESAME 2006 NOI-07-593/R], Institut National des Sciences de l’Univers (INSU)–CNRS, Institut de Physique–CNRS, Sorbonne Université, and the French National Research Agency (ANR) [grant ANR-07-BLAN-0124-01].