Hydrogen trapping in bearing steels: mechanisms and alloy design

Hydrogen embrittlement is a problem which poses challenges both to technology and to the theory of metallurgy. In the presence of a hydrogen-rich environment, applications such as rolling bearings display a significant decrease in alloy strength and accelerated failure due to rolling contact fatigue. In spite of these problems being well recognised, there is little understanding as to which mechanisms are present in hydrogen induced bearing failure. This presentation discusses the results of computer aided hydrogen embrittlement resistant alloy and heat treatment design. The validation of the obtained results is also presented via subsequent mechanical testing, transmission electron microscopy and hydrogen embrittlement investigations of the designed alloy.