Mapping Deuterium in Steel via Cryogenic Atom Probe Tomography Analysis
EMSL Project ID
50008
Abstract
The unintended incorporation of hydrogen (H) into steel is known to produce negative effects on mechanical properties, specifically causing what is known as hydrogen embrittlement. Knowing the concentration and location (distribution) of hydrogen is thus critical to correlating with mechanical properties, and ultimately needed to engineer solutions to mitigate the hydrogen embrittlement mechanism. Because atomic hydrogen is the smallest known atom with an atomic mass of 1, it is able to diffuse readily through steel materials (especially under vacuum conditions) making it challenging to detect and map its composition. Working with EMSL staff, we will utilize the Environmental Transfer Hub (ETH) and modified cryo Focused Ion Beam/Scanning Electron Microscopy (FIB/SEM) developed at EMSL to prepare steel specimens under cryogenic conditions for analysis with Atom Probe Tomography (APT). The premise underlying this approach is to cryogenically freeze steel specimens, thereby dramatically reducing the diffusivity of hydrogen, thus allowing it to be mapped by APT.
Project Details
Start Date
2017-08-10
End Date
2017-09-30
Status
Closed
Released Data Link
Team
Principal Investigator
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