The following is a discussion of the article entitled “The Role of Hydrogen on Sulfide Cracking of Low-Alloy Steels” by B. J. Berkowitz and F. J. Heubaum, published in Corrosion, Vol. 40, No. 5, p. 240, 1984.
DISCUSSION by E. Herzog, 9, quai de Tourville, 44000 Nantes, France.
The authors concluded that H uptake by steel is the primary cause of the failure of steels in hydrogen sulfide environments in the presence of stress, whereas sulfide stress corrosion cracking (SCC) does not have a solid theoretical or experimental background. Hydrogen sulfide does increase H uptake in steel, as do other elements in acid media, for instance, arsenic and selenium.
The present author tried to perform experiments by separating the actions of H and S ions. This approach was done with solutions in the pH range of 7.5 to 9 with NaHS and Na2S solutions. Tensile specimens of AISI...
