CMN 2026

Elastoplastically accommodated hydride formation and delayed cracking modeling using a phase-field framework

  • Montoya, Andrés (Universidad Rey Juan Carlos)
  • Lucarini, Sergio (BCMaterials)
  • Martínez-Pañeda, Emilio (University of Oxford)

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Hydride formation in zirconium-based and titanium alloys is a key mechanism driving hydrogen embrittlement and delayed cracking in applications such as nuclear fuel cladding and aerospace structures. Although hydride precipitation, hydrogen transport, and fracture have been extensively studied, predictive models capable of capturing crack initiation and growth without predefined crack paths or loading trajectories remain limited. We present a unified phase-field framework coupling hydrogen diffusion, hydride formation, elastoplastic deformation, and fracture. We employ a mean-field homogenization approach to model hydride precipitates, explicitly incorporating transformation eigenstrains and matrix plastic accommodation. Fracture is described using a phase-field formulation, enabling crack nucleation and propagation to emerge naturally from the coupled energy functional. Simulations under sustained loading show that plastic material behavior significantly influences hydride formation, stress redistribution, and delayed crack initiation. The proposed framework provides a predictive, physics-based tool for assessing hydride-induced delayed cracking in hydrogen-exposed structural alloys.