Visualization of Hydrogen in Steels by Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry

Abstract

Secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) enables us to visualize hydrogen trapping sites in steels. Information about the hydrogen trapping sites in high-strength steels by SIMS is very important to discuss environmental embrittlement mechanism for developing steels with a high resistance to the environmental embrittlement Secondary ion image analysis by SIMS has made possible to visualize the hydrogen and deuterium trapping sites in the steels. Hydrogen in tempered martensite steels containing Ca tends to accumulate on inclusions, at grain boundaries, and in segregation bands. Visualization of hydrogen desorption process by secondary ion image analysis confirms that the bonding between the inclusions and the hydrogen is strong. Cold-drawn pearlite steels trap hydrogen along cold-drawing direction. Pearlite phase absorbs the hydrogen more than ferrite phase does. This article introduces the principle of SIMS, its feature, analysis method, and results of hydrogen visualization in steels.