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Metal brittleness problem overcome

07.12.2012

Scientists from McGill University and the Federal Polytechnic School of Lausanne in Switzerland have studied the brittleness of metals and found out how hydrogen affects this crucial property of metals.

Hydrogen, as the lightest element, easily dissolves and migrates inside metals, making them more brittle and prone to breakage. This phenomenon was discovered in 1875, and since then hydrogen embrittlement (the transition of a material from a ductile to brittle state) has been a constant problem in structural design in industries ranging from hand tools to aircraft and nuclear reactors. Despite decades of research, scientists still don't fully understand the physics behind hydrogen embrittlement. Because of this, it is difficult to create a reliable model that predicts the behavior of a structure in certain conditions or after many years. As a result, industrial designers are forced to resort to costly and dangerous trial and error.

For the first time, a group of scientists have been able to carefully study the behavior of hydrogen in a metal at the nanoscale. Thanks to this, it was possible to create a new model that for the first time is able to accurately predict the appearance of "hydrogen" embrittlement. The new model has already been successfully applied to predict the behavior of ferritic steel and is in full agreement with the results of experiments with real samples. Thus, metallurgists have received a valuable tool for the development of the next generation of strong and durable structural materials.

Under normal conditions, metals can undergo significant plastic deformation when subjected to a force. This plasticity is associated with the presence of nano- and microcracks, which create places for the movement of atoms (dislocations) and relieve stress in the metal.

Dislocations can be considered as "vehicles", and nano- and microcracks - as "transport units" of plastic deformation. Thus useful properties such as ductility and toughness are based on the performance of these structural features of metals. Unfortunately, these nano- and microcracks also attract hydrogen atoms, which create a kind of "plug" and block the movement of atoms. Ultimately, this leads to the destruction of the material - the metal does not bend, but breaks.

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