Hydrogen embrittlement susceptibility of over aged 7010 Al-alloy

Slow strain rate testing (SSRT) was carried out on over aged 7010 Al-alloy in laboratory air, glycerin and 3.5 wt.% NaCl solution with and without cathodic charging to study the hydrogen embrittlement susceptibility of the alloy in over aged condition. It was found that the over aged alloy exhibited high resistance to stress corrosion cracking (SCC) than hydrogen embrittlement (HE). The high SCC resistance is due to the modification in the grain boundary precipitate morphology and chemistry due to over aging, however it is suggested that the dislocations in the alloy are not completed annealed during over aging to arrest HE.