Embrittlement of steel due to its exposure to hydrogen is a well-established phenomenon, which diminishes its ductility and toughness. However, there is limited research on how hydrogen, which evolves from the corrosion process, affects the yield strength of mild steel in the long-term. This paper presents the results obtained from a long-term investigation on hydrogen evolving from a corrosion reaction, which causes embrittlement of mild steel. Both mechanical tests and microstructural analyses on corroded steel specimens are performed at three different intervals for one year. Time-dependent relations for predicting the corrosion rate and its subsequent hydrogen release were derived by analysing the test results. Moreover, relations for predicting the change in yield strength as a function of hydrogen content, corrosion rate and compositional element change were developed, along with one single equation considering all these factors. Furthermore, fractography analysis was performed to observe HE effect and reasons for the decline in yield strength. The analysis revealed hydrogen induced micro cracks, micro pores, intergranular cracks, grains deformation and hydrogen blisters.

钢由于暴露于氢而脆化是众所周知的现象，这降低了钢的延展性和韧性。但是，关于腐蚀过程中产生的氢如何长期影响低碳钢的屈服强度的研究很少。本文介绍了从长期研究中发现的腐蚀反应产生的氢的结果，腐蚀反应会导致软钢脆化。腐蚀钢试样的机械测试和微观结构分析均以三种不同的间隔进行，为期一年。通过分析测试结果得出了预测腐蚀速率及其随后释放氢的时间相关关系。此外，用于预测屈服强度变化与氢含量之间关系的关系，研究了腐蚀速率和组成元素的变化，以及考虑了所有这些因素的一个方程。此外，进行了断层扫描分析以观察HE效应和屈服强度下降的原因。分析显示氢引起的微裂纹，微孔，晶间裂纹，晶粒变形和氢气泡。