Microstructure, mechanical properties and hydrogen embrittlement behaviour of wire arc additive manufactured AISI 316L under high-pressure gaseous hydrogen environment

V, B, Paulchamy, J, Pazhani, A, Batako, A ORCID: 0000-0002-4613-7067, P, S and M, AX (2026) Microstructure, mechanical properties and hydrogen embrittlement behaviour of wire arc additive manufactured AISI 316L under high-pressure gaseous hydrogen environment. Results in Engineering, 32. ISSN 2590-1230

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Abstract

Hydrogen is highly alluring globally due to its role in the renewable energy revolution and decarbonization potential. However, effective hydrogen storage poses substantial challenges in materials, as they are inclined to failure. In general, AISI 316L is preferred for hydrogen storage due to its resistance to Hydrogen Embrittlement (HE) behavior. To effectively control HE-based failures, a new material category developed via Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) using Cold Metal Transfer (CMT) technology is proposed. The significance of CMT technology lies in its low heat-generating ability and high arc stability. As a result, the likelihood of austenite-to-martensite transformation is reduced, allowing the material to retain the FCC phase. CMT process in terms of its low heat input characteristics. Which prevents the material from becoming brittle and reduces the risk of failure in a hydrogen environment. This work develops additively manufactured AISI 316L samples with linear and weaving deposition patterns to investigate failure behaviour. The samples are characterized before and after gaseous hydrogen charging at 80 bar using a Sieverts apparatus. The optical imaging results indicate that the weaving pattern of metal-deposited samples maintains higher austenite phase stability than the linear pattern. The UTS of the hydrogen-exposed linear- and weaving-pattern samples are 765 MPa and 801 MPa, respectively. EBSD results revealed that the hydrogen-exposed weaving pattern does not affect grain boundaries or the grain internal state. Based on various analyses in a hydrogen environment, weaving patterns are found to be highly resistant to HE and maintain the ductility of the as-printed samples.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	4014 Manufacturing Engineering; 40 Engineering; 7 Affordable and Clean Energy; 40 Engineering
Subjects:	T Technology > TA Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General)
Divisions:	Engineering and Built Environment
Publisher:	Elsevier
Date of acceptance:	18 August 2026
Date of first compliant Open Access:	29 September 2026
Date Deposited:	29 Sep 2026 14:24
Last Modified:	29 Sep 2026 14:24
DOI or ID number:	10.1016/j.rineng.2026.112534
URI:	https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/29565

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