Effect of High-pressure H2 Gas on Tensile and Fatigue Properties of Stainless Steel SUS316L by Means of the Internal High-pressure H2 Gas Method

For prohibiting a global warming, fuel-cell systems without carbon dioxide emissions are a one of the promising technique. In case of a fuel-cell vehicle (FCV), high-pressure H₂ gas is indispensable for a long running range. Although there are lot of paper for studying a hydrogen embrittlement (HE), there are few paper referred to the effect of high-pressure H₂on the HE phenomenon.
In this study, an effect of high-pressure H₂ gas on tensile & fatigue properties of stainless steel SUS316L were investigated by means of the internal high-pressure H₂ gas technique. Main findings of this study are as follows;

• Although there are almost no hydrogen embrittlement effect on the 0.2 % proof stress and tensile strength, elongation and reduction of area decrease in H₂ gas environment,
• For case of low Ni_eq material, fatigue life and fatigue limit decrease in H₂ gas environment,
• For case of low Ni_eq material, not a few α’ martensitic phase generated on the fatigue fractured specimen.