The effect of hydrogen on the deterioration of austenitic steels during wear at cryogenic temperature

The present work deals with the deformation behaviour and the microstructural deterioration of austenitic CrNi- and CrMn high nitrogen-steels during friction in liquid hydrogen at 20 K. The modified microstructure within the wear scar is studied by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction methods. Diffraction studies of wear scars reveal the importance of twinning during deformation at 20 K. This increase of twinning can be attributed to a hydrogen-induced reduction of stacking fault energy (SFE) in the austenitic steels. Interactions between twin boundaries and planar dislocation structures along with locally increased stresses led to the formation of extensive crack networks. The amount of hydrogen-induced surface cracks depends on the alloy composition and is not necessarily correlated to the wear resistance of the austenitic steels.