Hydrogen-induced damage in Ni-based superalloys at elevated temperatures

Abstract

The urgent need to decarbonize the energy and transport sectors motivates the use of hydrogen-containing fuels in gas turbines for power generation and aviation applications, exposing safety-critical components to hydrogen environments at elevated temperatures. Ambient-temperature hydrogen embrittlement has long been interpreted through the physical interactions between hydrogen and microstructural defects like interfaces and dislocations. Here we show that this understanding does not fully capture the behaviour at elevated temperatures, where vacancy-driven chemical reactions between hydrogen and specific microstructural constituents can markedly intensify embrittlement compared with ambient conditions. In a prototypical face-centred cubic Ni-based superalloy, our near-atomic-scale characterization and ab initio calculations reveal strong trapping of hydrogen atoms in carbon vacancies in carbides, driving their partial decomposition while simultaneously triggering localized methane formation at the carbide–matrix interface. As a result, the heterointerfaces are weakened, rendering them vulnerable to deformation-induced damage. Our work provides a physical foundation for mechanistic modelling of elevated-temperature hydrogen embrittlement in Ni-based alloys, an emerging area critical to hydrogen-fuelled turbines and related high-temperature technologies.

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Cite

BibTeX RIS

BibTeX

@article{kong2026hydrogeninduced,
  title = {{Hydrogen-induced damage in Ni-based superalloys at elevated temperatures}},
  author = {Shuai Kong and Xizhen Dong and Zheng Zhong and Jie Hou and Yubo Zhao and Baptiste Gault and Shaolou Wei and Aparna Saksena and Kai-Shang Li and Binhan Sun and Xian-Cheng Zhang and Dierk Raabe and Shan-Tung Tu},
  journal = {Nature Materials},
  year = {2026},
  month = jul,
  doi = {10.1038/s41563-026-02680-w},
  url = {https://hal.science/hal-05762000v1},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}

RIS

TY  - JOUR
TI  - Hydrogen-induced damage in Ni-based superalloys at elevated temperatures
AU  - Shuai Kong
AU  - Xizhen Dong
AU  - Zheng Zhong
AU  - Jie Hou
AU  - Yubo Zhao
AU  - Baptiste Gault
AU  - Shaolou Wei
AU  - Aparna Saksena
AU  - Kai-Shang Li
AU  - Binhan Sun
AU  - Xian-Cheng Zhang
AU  - Dierk Raabe
AU  - Shan-Tung Tu
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/07/27
JO  - Nature Materials
DO  - 10.1038/s41563-026-02680-w
UR  - https://hal.science/hal-05762000v1
AB  - The urgent need to decarbonize the energy and transport sectors motivates the use of hydrogen-containing fuels in gas turbines for power generation and aviation applications, exposing safety-critical components to hydrogen environments at elevated temperatures. Ambient-temperature hydrogen embrittlement has long been interpreted through the physical interactions between hydrogen and microstructural defects like interfaces and dislocations. Here we show that this understanding does not fully capture the behaviour at elevated temperatures, where vacancy-driven chemical reactions between hydrogen and specific microstructural constituents can markedly intensify embrittlement compared with ambient conditions. In a prototypical face-centred cubic Ni-based superalloy, our near-atomic-scale characterization and ab initio calculations reveal strong trapping of hydrogen atoms in carbon vacancies in carbides, driving their partial decomposition while simultaneously triggering localized methane formation at the carbide–matrix interface. As a result, the heterointerfaces are weakened, rendering them vulnerable to deformation-induced damage. Our work provides a physical foundation for mechanistic modelling of elevated-temperature hydrogen embrittlement in Ni-based alloys, an emerging area critical to hydrogen-fuelled turbines and related high-temperature technologies.
SN  - 1476-1122
SN  - 1476-4660
ER  -

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