Hydrogen deembrittlement

Definition

Hydrogen deembrittlement is a process used to remove hydrogen from materials such as steel that may be contaminated with hydrogen through various manufacturing and maintenance processes. Contamination with hydrogen can cause the material to become brittle, compromising its strength and ductility. To prevent potential brittle fracture, hydrogen deembrittlement is performed through tempering after the galvanizing process.

Process

During hydrogen deembrittlement, the material is heated in a circulating air furnace to a temperature between 180°C and 400°C (the temperature depends on the material) to remove the hydrogen contained in the material. The duration of the process depends on the thickness of the component and typically lasts about 2 hours. It is important to note that hydrogen deembrittlement should be performed within 24 hours after coating.

We recommend treating all workpieces with a hardness above 40 HRC that have been coated using the Armoloy TDC process through hydrogen deembrittlement.

Specifications

For the tempering process, we require the following information: 

• Material designation 
• Hardness (HRC) 
• Galvanizing process used

Advantages

• Prevention of brittle fracture 
• Reduction of material stresses and homogenization of the structure

Materials

• Hard steel parts with a hardness above 40 HRC