Mechanical Properties of Stainless Steel Spring Wire after Hydrogen Absorption under High Hydrogen Pressure Atmosphere

The demand for a fuel cell as a clean energy source will increase significantly in the automotive and home appliance field. Structural steels (especially, spring steels ), used under high hydrogen pressure in the fuel cell may cause hydrogen embrittlement and delayed fractures; therefore, there is a strong demand for the development of new materials which have excellent resistance to hydrogen embrittlement. The authors have developed an austenitic stainless steel spring wire that maintains high fatigue strength even after hydrogen absorption