Effect of environment on ductile-brittle transition of high purity as-rolled chromium were experimentally investigated using a small punch (SP) test in ten different atmospheres. The ductile-brittle transition temperature (DBTT) of pure chromium is sensitive to the test environment. DBTT under the environment of water or air is lower than that in vacuum. Also the ductility of chromium at room temperature in air is higher than that in a dry hydrogen gas atomosphere.
The values of the SP energy are higher in a wet gas atmosphere than that in a dry gas atmosphere. This result is contrary to the observation in high-strength steels or intermetallic compounds in which the ductility becames poorer when tested in a wet gas atmosphere.
