Fatigue crack growth behaviour of forged Ti–6Al–4V in gaseous hydrogen

Fatigue crack growth (FCG) tests were performed to evaluate the fatigue behaviour of forged Ti–6Al–4V in air and high-pressure gaseous hydrogen (15 MPa) at room temperature. The results indicate that the effect of gaseous hydrogen is dependent on the stress intensity factor (ΔK). The FCG rate was unaffected by hydrogen below a critical stress intensity, ΔK* ≈ 20 MPa√m. Above ΔK*, the FCG rate fluctuated and subsequently accelerated at higher ΔK values. The observed behaviour is attributed to the change in the fracture processes. A hypothesis is proposed that describes the FCG behaviour in gaseous hydrogen.