An electro-chemo-mechanical framework for predicting hydrogen uptake in metals due to aqueous electrolytes

Abstract: We present a theoretical and numerical scheme that enables quantifying hydrogen ingress in metals for arbitrary environments and defect geometries. This is achieved by explicitly resolving the electrochemical behaviour of the electrolyte, the hydrogen and corrosion reactions, the kinetics of surface adsorption, and hydrogen uptake, diffusion and trapping in mechanically-deforming solids. This new framework is used to produce maps that relate the absorbed hydrogen with the applied potential, specimen geometry and fluid velocity. We also present simplified versions of our generalised model, and benchmark predictions of these and other existing models against the generalised electro-chemo-mechanical results, establishing regimes of validity.