Research Progress on Hydrogen Embrittlement and Fracture Mechanics of Materials

Dear Colleagues, 

Hydrogen embrittlement (HE) is a problem of major concern in the engineering field. The synergistic action of a stress–strain state (applied load or manufacturing-induced residual stress) and the presence of hydrogen from diverse sources (manufacturing, environment, etc.) causes a premature failure in certain metals. This loss of mechanical performance at the macroscopic scale is due to hydrogen damage at the microscopic scale. Many approaches have been considered to analyze HE, including multi-scale analysis leading to a better understanding of the interactions of hydrogen and the metal microstructure (lattice) revealing the causes and evolution of this complex fracture phenomenon.

In this Special Issue, recent advances on the study of HE in metals are highlighted and discussed, including but not limited to the following: hydrogen damage (HD); hydrogen-enhanced localized plasticity (HELP); hydrogen-enhanced decohesion (HEDE); hydrogen-assisted fracture (HAF) and hydrogen-assisted cracking (HAC); hydrogen transport by diffusion and dislocation dragging; hydrogen and plasticity; hydrogen and dislocations; hydrogen trapping; role of stress–strain fields on HE; hydrogen-assisted fatigue; multiscale approaches to HE; computational approaches to the process of HE; microscopic approaches; fractographic analysis of the damage/fracture process.

It is our pleasure to invite you to submit a manuscript for this Special Issue. Full papers, communications, and reviews are all welcome.

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Materials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• Hydrogen embrittlement (HE)
• Hydrogen damage (HD)
• Hydrogen-enhanced localized plasticity (HELP)
• Hydrogen-enhanced decohesion (HEDE)
• Hydrogen-assisted fracture (HAF) and hydrogen-assisted cracking (HAC)
• Hydrogen transport by diffusion and dislocation dragging
• Hydrogen trapping
• Hydrogen-assisted fatigue
• Multiscale approaches to HE
• Computational approaches to HE
• Fractographic analysis