Hydrogen influence on Cr-Si alloys

• Applicant: Dr. Nataliya Yadzhak
• Subject Area: Mechanical Properties of Metallic Materials and their Microstructural Origins
• Term: since 2026
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 575677013

Hydrogen is considered nowadays as an important factor in future development directions in economy, energy security and environment protection. However, from the material sciences point of view, hydrogen often has a detrimental impact on metallic materials by causing their embrittlement and leading to premature failure. The proposed project focuses on fundamental research on understanding the interaction between hydrogen and microstructure of the Cr-Si alloys. The correlations between the hydrogen concentration and physical and mechanical properties of the alloys will serve as the fundamental indicators of the hydrogen effects. In addition, the changes in the chemical composition of the alloys towards different sensitivity to hydrogen embrittlement, mainly due to the role of intermetallic phases, will contribute to the materials science research on the fundamental level. This project is developed in cooperation between the group of Metals and Alloys of the University of Bayreuth (UBT) and the Department of Diagnostics of Materials Corrosion-Hydrogen Degradation at the Karpenko Physico-Mechanical Institute of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. The project is being submitted under the DFG international funding measure on cooperation with developing countries and extended DFG special programme for Ukraine. The working group at UBT specialises in the development and characterisation of novel alloys and has experience with working on Cr-Si alloys, while the research group at KPMI provides extensive expertise on hydrogen influence on metallic materials. The combination of the expertise of both groups allows conducting high-level research within the proposed project.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: Ukraine
• Major Instrumentation: Wasserstoffanalysator
• Instrumentation Group: 1510 Geräte zur Elementaranalyse
• International Co-Applicant: Professorin Dr. Olha Zvirko