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The hydrogen permeation experiment, performed with a stepwise permeation sequence involving "1 st permeation-desorption-2 nd permeation under loading, demonstrates that fine blister cracks are frequently observed on the steel surface in hydrogen charging side after the 2 nd permeation under the load over 95% of yield strength of the steel. To accommodate the experimental phenomena under the loading conditions, a numerical model is developed for determination of hydrogen diffusion parameters of the sour-resistant ferritic steel evaluated under tensile stress in plastic ranges. To solve the modified diffusion equation, a numerical finite difference method (FDM) is employed. The diffusion parameters determined by curve-fitting with the newly proposed diffusion equation indicates that, with the transition of mechanical domain from local-plasticity to generalized-plasticity, a big increase in the crack formation rate and hydrogen capture rate per irreversible trap are observed. It suggests that the transition probability for hydrogen transport from interstitial lattice site to irreversible trap site increases with the stress level. The high-strength ferritic steels used in the petrochemical industry suffer frequently from hydrogen assisted cracking (HAC) problem when they are used in a sour environment containing H 2 S. 1-3 Atomic hydrogens which result from the reduction of H + ions dissociated from H 2 S become the hydrogen molecule by the recombination reaction (H + H → H 2 ). Since H 2 S dissolved in aqueous environment suppresses this recombination reaction, the hydrogen atoms are easily adsorbed on the steel surface and diffuse into the steel matrix.4,5 The hydrogen atoms absorbed in the steel are reversibly or irreversibly trapped at various metallurgical defects in the steel, often resulting in the HAC failure. 2,6 With the depletion of high quality oil and gas, the HAC failure may become serious engineering problem for the highstrength steel pipes transporting and/or processing the low quality oil and gas containing a large amount of H 2 S.The HAC problem can be classified into two categories depending on the source of hydrogen and stress level; one is hydrogen induced cracking (HIC) occurring under no applied stress 2,6 and the other is sulphide stress cracking (SSC) occurring under applied tensile stress or residual stress. 7,8 In order to understand clearly HAC failure of the steels, the combined effect of hydrogen and applied stress should be evaluated together. A number of considerable efforts have been directed to evaluate the influence of applied tensile stress on the hydrogen diffusion behavior in the steel employing the electrochemical permeation technique.9-12 It has been generally accepted that the applied tensile stress in elastic range has no significant effect on the hydrogen diffusivity but increases the steady-state permeation flux due to the elastically expanded lattice. 10,12,13 On the other hand, a significant decrease in the permeation current has been observed in body centered cubic (BCC...

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