Effect of V–Ti multi-microalloying on enhancing hydrogen embrittlement resistance in hot-stamping steel

Abstract

Hydrogen embrittlement (HE) has become a significant concern that limits the usage of ultra-high strength hot-stamping steel. In this work, the utilization of a novel approach employing V–Ti multi-microalloying has yielded substantial improvements in the resistance of hot-stamping steel to HE. The experimental findings demonstrate that V–Ti multi-microalloying effectively restrained the coarsening of precipitates, leading to the generation of high-density nanosized (V, Ti) C complex precipitates. The first principle calculation results indicate that V–Ti multi-microalloying improved the hydrogen trapping capacity of (V, Ti) C compared with TiC. Additionally, this approach refined the prior austenite grain size, fortifying the material's resistance to hydrogen-induced cracking.