Effect of hydrogen on tensile behaviour of micrometre-sized specimen fabricated from a metastable austenitic stainless steel

This study was conducted by micro mechanical testing and scanning white-light interferometry (SWLI) to clarify the intrinsic effect of hydrogen on tensile properties of a metastable austenitic stainless steel. The stress-strain behaviour of the micrometre-sized specimens exhibited two distinct strain hardening stages controlled by dislocation gliding and martensitic transformation. In-situ SWLI of the micrometre-sized specimens during the tensile test revealed that plasticity localization caused by hydrogen is predominantly responsible for the hydrogen embrittlement (HE) of the austenite stainless steel.