One of the challenges of using hydrogen is its damaging effect on metals, which is summarized in the term hydrogen embrittlement. Deleterious effects are especially strong if the material is subjected to cyclic loads which can lead to fatigue failure.
The effects of hydrogen on cyclic strength of materials will be demonstrated. Especially the regime of long lifetimes is affected by the influence of hydrogen. Examples of the influence of hydrogen on metals used in engines will be shown and first experimental results from tests in hot hydrogen gas will be presented.
Herwig Mayer is professor for Applied Physics at the Institute of Physics and Materials science at BOKU University. His scientific interests are the fatigue strength of materials and conditions to avoid failure even after long in-service lifetimes. New methods for accelerated fatigue testing at very high numbers of load cycles are developed. He was visiting researcher at the Univ. of Pennsylvania and the Univ. of Michigan and in research laboratories of Ford and GM, he is member of the editorial board of the Int. J. Fatigue and of Fatigue Fract. Eng. Mater. Struct. and has authored and co-authored more than 100 publications in peer-reviewed journals.
