Influence of the hydrogen skin effect on the nature of the fracture of steel specimens

The influence of hydrogen saturation of steel specimens on the results of their standardized testing for resistance to hydrogen cracking has been carried out. The simulation took into account the hydrogen skin effect observed when metal samples being charged with hydrogen in various electrolyte solutions. The classical decohesion model of hydrogen embrittlement HEDE was used. It was shown that, despite the microscopic skin depth, the effect led to a dual fracture pattern, when the specimen’s cross-sectional view exhibited both a hydrogen brittleness area and a normal destruction one. The comparison of calculated results with experimental ones showed the strong influence of the hydrogen skin layer on the results of standardized metal testing. This skin effect plays a significant role in the destruction propagation over a metal sample and should be taken into account when conducting industrial tests, simulations and experimental studies.