Baptiste Gault What is Hydrogen Embrittlement and What Can Be Done To Prevent It?
Dr. Baptiste Gault is Group Leader of Atom Probe Tomography in the Department of Microstructure Physics and Alloy Design at the Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung GmbH. An ERC-Consolidator group leader in the same department, Gault is also a Part Time Reader in the Department of Materials at Imperial College London. Having completed his PhD at the University of Rouen in 2007, Gault has also worked at the University of Sydney, Oxford University and Elsevier Ltd. A founding editor of Materialia, Baptiste Gault was awarded the highly prestigious Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize for 2020 for his outstanding research in the field of materials sciences.
Area of Research
Microstructure Physics
since 2018
ERC – Consolidator group leader
Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung (more details)
Department of Microstructure Physics and Alloy Design
since 2016
since 2013
Visiting Academic
University of Oxford
Department of Materials
2012-2015
Senior Publisher
Materials Science | Elsevier Ltd. (Oxford)
2012
Assistant Professor
Structural Materials Characterisation | McMaster University, Canada
2010-2012
Senior Research Associate
The University of Sydney
Nuclear Materials Scientist (Australian Nuclear Science & Technology Organisation)
2007-2009
Atom Probe Scientist
The University of Sydney
Australian Centre for Microscopy & Microanalysis
2007
Ph.D.
Groupe de Physique des Matériaux UMR CNRS 6634, Université de Rouen, France
2003
Master (DEA)
Groupe de Physique des Matériaux UMR CNRS 6634, Université de Rouen, France
1998-2002
BSc & MSc of Physical Sciences (Physics & Chemistry)
Université du Havre, Université Paris 7 and Université de Rouen, France
Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung
DüsseldorfNovel alloys for automotive lightweight design and airplane turbines, materials for sustainable energy conversion and storage, and the development of big data and machine learning methods – these are just a few examples of the research areas that are being investigated by the scientists of the Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung. The team of engineers, material scientists, physicists, and chemists develops tailored materials and methods for mobility, energy, infrastructure, and information. To this end, the researchers study complex materials with atomic precision under real environmental conditions.
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Having played an acknowledged role in the 2011 Fukushima disaster, it has long been understood that hydrogen penetration can accelerate the deterioration of structural materials. In this video, BAPTISTE GAULT analyzes this process of hydrogen embrittlement and puts forward ideas as to how it can be combated. Focusing on steel in the first instance, Gault employs atom probe tomography to pin down the scale and location of hydrogen penetration. Suggesting that hydrogen’s potential to do damage is related to its atoms’ ability to roam, Gault proposes that particles be introduced to trap them/restrict their movement. The research has undoubted potential application beyond steel, in titanium and nickel alloys as well in the broader realm of hydrogen fuel.
LT Video Publication DOI: https://doi.org/10.21036/LTPUB10846
Solute Hydrogen and Deuterium Observed at the Near Atomic Scale in High-Strength Steel
- Andrew J. Breen, Leigh T. Stephenson, Binhan Sun, Yujiao Li, Olga Kasian, Dierk Raabe, Michael Herbig and Baptiste Gault
- Acta Materialia
- Published in 2020
