LAUSR

Abstract Hydrogen transport ahead of a crack tip is critical to understand the hydrogen-assisted cracking in steels. With this objective, a micromechanics-based model (Taylor relation) has been applied for finite element simulations of hydrogen transport in high-Mn steel. A sensitivity analysis regarding the influence of boundary condition, crack-tip radius, and initial hydrogen concentration on the hydrogen distribution is performed. The results indicate that stress-dependent boundary condition realistically presents the hydrogen transport, which is influenced by hydrostatic stress gradient and trap multiplication during plastic deformation. With strong plastic strain (small crack-tip radius) or deep traps (deformation twin), the total hydrogen peak moves towards the crack tip due to the dominant role of trapped hydrogen. However, the effect of trapped hydrogen will decrease with an increase of initial hydrogen concentration in the specimen. The simulations show useful implications for hydrogen embrittlement in high-Mn steels.