Local crack arrestability and deformation microstructure evolution of hydrogen-related fracture in martensitic steel

Intergranular cracks in the uncharged specimen were arrested at low-angle prior austenite grain boundary (PAGB) segments of several micrometers. In contrast, even small, low-angle PAGB segments with sub-micrometer sizes impeded the propagation of hydrogen-related intergranular crack. At the hydrogen-related quasi-cleavage crack tip, the crystallographic orientation changed abruptly, and deformation microstructures developed, including the formation of low-energy dislocation structures. A certain degree of crack growth resistance (intrinsic crack growth resistance) in the hydrogen-related fractures could be attributed to the intense localized plastic works involved in the arrest of intergranular cracks and the propagation of quasi-cleavage cracks.