Hydrogen effects on X80 pipeline steel in high-pressure natural gas/hydrogen mixtures

Blending hydrogen into existing natural gas pipelines has been proposed as a means of increasing the output of renewable energy systems such as large wind farms. X80 pipeline steel is commonly used for transporting natural gas and such steel is subjected to concurrent hydrogen invasion with mechanical loading while being exposed to hydrogen containing environments directly, resulting in hydrogen embrittlement (HE). In accordance with American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standards, the mechanical properties of X80 pipeline steel have been tested in natural gas/hydrogen mixtures with 0, 5.0, 10.0, 20.0 and 50.0vol% hydrogen at the pressure of 12 MPa. Results indicate that X80 pipeline steel is susceptible to hydrogen-induced embrittlement in natural gas/hydrogen mixtures and the HE susceptibility increases with the hydrogen partial pressure. Additionally, the HE susceptibility depends on the textured microstructure caused by hot rolling, especially for the notch specimen. The design calculation by the measured fatigue data reveals that the fatigue life of the X80 steel pipeline is dramatically degraded by the added hydrogen.     

Effects of surface oxide films on hydrogen permeation and susceptibility to embrittlement of X80 steel under hydrogen atmosphere

Hydrogen embrittlement (HE) induced by hydrogen permeation is a serious threat to the hydrogen transmission pipeline. In this study, oxide films were prepared on X80 steel by applying high-temperature oxidation, blackening treatment and passivation in concentrated H₂SO₄, and their effects on hydrogen permeation and HE susceptibility of X80 substrate were studied by conducting hydrogen permeation tests and slow strain rate tension (SSRT) tests. A numerical diffusion model was established to quantitatively determine the resistance of these oxide films to hydrogen permeation. Results showed that the oxide film prepared by high-temperature oxidation presented the highest resistance to hydrogen permeation with the ?_m/?_f value of 3828, and the corresponding HE index decreased from 38.07% for bare X80 steel to only 4.00% for that covered with oxide film. The characteristic of the corresponding fracture surfaces changed from brittle features such as quasi cleavage facets and secondary cracks to typical ductile dimple feature.     

Effects of CH4 and CO on hydrogen embrittlement susceptibility of X80 pipeline steel in hydrogen blended natural gas

The slow strain rate tensile experiments are carried out to investigate the tensile properties of X80 pipeline steel in hydrogen blended natural gas environments with different H₂/CH₄/CO contents. Mechanical properties and fracture morphologies are further analyzed. The results show that the hydrogen embrittlement susceptibility of X80 steel can be inhibited by the presence of CH₄/CO, and the inhibition mechanisms are discussed. When the CH₄ contents increase above 20 vol%, the inhibition on hydrogen embrittlement of X80 steel is stabilized. By comparison, the inhibitory effect of CO is more significant.     

Effect of microstructure inhomogeneity on hydrogen embrittlement susceptibility of X80 welding HAZ under pressurized gaseous hydrogen

Hydrogen embrittlement (HE) of high-grade pipeline welded joint is a threat to hydrogen gas transport. In this research, slow strain rate tension (SSRT) tests in high-pressure hydrogen gas, combined with hydrogen permeation tests and microstructure analysis were conducted on X80 steel, intercritical heated-affected zone (ICHAZ), fine-grained heat-affected zone (FGHAZ) and coarse-grained heat-affected zone (CGHAZ). The change of HE susceptibility from high to low was CGHAZ, FGHAZ, ICHAZ, and base metal. Microstructure was the important factor influencing hydrogen permeation and susceptibility to HE. Susceptibility to HE was increased in the order of “fine-grained massive ferrite (MF) and acicular ferrite (AF)”, “fine-grained granular bainite (GB) and MF”, “coarse-grained GB and bainite ferrite (BF) embedded with martensite-austenite (M-A) constitute”. The fine-grained MF and AF in base metal with lower hydrogen diffusivity can impede the embrittlement behaviour, while the coarse-grained GB and BF with higher hydrogen diffusivity in CGHAZ increased its susceptibility to HE.     

Effect of fatigue damage on the hydrogen embrittlement sensitivity of X80 steel welded joints

The effects of fatigue damage on the hydrogen embrittlement (HE) sensitivity of X80 steel welded joints, obtained using flux-cored arc welding method, were investigated in the study. Results show that both the yield and tensile strength increased for all the hydrogen-charged welded joints and decreased with the accumulation of fatigue damage. The fracture surface is the mixture of local quasi-cleavage (QC) surrounded by shallow dimples ductile fracture for hydrogen-charged welded joints, whilst that of hydrogen-free welded joint is typical dimple ductile fracture. The presence of fisheye morphology might be related to the hydrogen, local strain accumulation in the vicinity of inclusions and dislocations evolution caused by the cyclic load. The mechanism is the synergistic action of hydrogen-enhanced decohesion (HEDE) and hydrogen enhanced localized plasticity (HELP). However, the pinning effect of hydrogen on the dislocation motion is the dominant role.     

Effect of plastic deformation at room temperature on hydrogen diffusion of S30408

Understanding the influence of plastic deformation on diffusion is critical for hydrogen embrittlement (HE) study. In this work, thermal desorption spectroscope (TDS), slow strain rate test (SSRT), feritscope, transmission electron microscope (TEM) and TDS model were used to study the relation between plastic deformation and hydrogen diffusion, aiming at unambiguously elucidating the effect of plastic deformation on hydrogen diffusion of austenitic stainless steel, S30408. An effective method was developed to deduce apparent hydrogen diffusion coefficient of austenitic stainless steel in this paper. Results indicate apparent hydrogen diffusion coefficient decreases firstly and then increases with increasing plastic deformation at room temperature. Hydrogen diffusion effected by plastic deformation is a complicated process which is suggested to be divided into two processes controlled by dislocation and strain-induced martensite, respectively, and the transition point is about 20% strain demonstrated by experiments in this case.     

Effect of grain size on hydrogen embrittlement in stable austenitic high-Mn TWIP and high-N stainless steels

Two stable austenitic steels, 20Cr-11Ni-5Mn-0.3N (wt%) stainless steel (STS) and 18Mn-1.5Al-0.6C (wt%) twinning-induced plasticity steel (TWIP), were investigated to understand the effect of grain size on hydrogen embrittlement (HE). Grain refinement promoted HE in the STS but suppressed HE in the TWIP. These opposite effects occurred because the steel composition affected deformation mechanism. Cr-N pair enhanced short-range ordering (SRO) in STS, which promoted planar slip and delayed mechanical twinning. In contrast, TWIP exhibited mechanical twinning which was more active in coarser grains. Final dislocation density after tensile deformation was increased by grain refinement in STS, but was decreased in TWIP. The damaging effects of hydrogen on strain energy at interfaces and on interfacial bonding strength were controlled by dislocation density; therefore, increase in dislocation density led to increase in susceptibility to HE.     

Effect of hydrogen and strain rate on nanoindentation creep of austenitic stainless steel

The effect of hydrogen and strain rate on nanoindentation creep of austenitic stainless steel was investigated by nanoindentation loading and creep tests. The loading segment mainly reflects dislocation nucleation, but creep mainly indicates dislocation movement. The strain rate significantly influences dislocation nucleation, resulting in increased creep displacement with strain rate. The interaction between hydrogen and dislocation is responsible for the increased creep displacement in 310S steel. Hydrogen greatly enhances the displacement burst after small strain rate due to increased dislocation nucleation rate. Hydrogen slightly enhances creep of 304 steel as hydrogen diffuses through strain-induced α′ martensite to accumulate under the indenter before creep and enhances dislocation movement.     

The synergistic effects of hydrogen embrittlement and transient gas flow conditions on integrity assessment of a precracked steel pipeline

We are reporting in this study the hydrogen permeation in the lattice structure of a steel pipeline designed for natural gas transportation by investigating the influence of blending gaseous hydrogen into natural gas flow and resulted internal pressure values on the structural integrity of cracked pipes. The presence of cracks may provoke pipeline failure and hydrogen leakage. The auto-ignition of hydrogen leaks, although been small, leads to a flame difficult to be seen. The latter makes such a phenomenon extremely dangerous as explosions became very likely to happen. In this paper, a reliable method is presented that can be used to predict the acceptable defect in order to reduce risks caused by pipe failure due to hydrogen embrittlement. The presented model takes into account the synergistic effects of transient gas flow conditions in pipelines and hydrogen embrittlement of steel material due to pressurized hydrogen gas permeation. It is found that blending hydrogen gas into natural gas pipelines increases the internal load on the pipeline walls due to overpressure values that may be reached in a transient gas flow regime. Also, the interaction between transient hydrogen gas flow and embrittlement of API 5L X52 steel pipeline was investigated using Failure Assessment Diagram (FAD) and the results have shown that transient flow enhances pipeline failure due to hydrogen permeation. It was shown that hydrogen embrittlement of steel pipelines in contact with the hydrogen environment, together with the transient gas flow and significantly increased transient pressure values, also increases the probability of failure of a cracked pipeline. Such a situation threatens the integrity of high stress pipelines, especially under the real working conditions of hydrogen gas transportation.     

Hydrogen embrittlement behavior in the nugget zone of friction stir welded X100 pipeline steel

Hydrogen-induced damage is an inevitable challenge in pipeline safety applications, especially, the fusion welded joints owing to microstructure heterogeneity caused by welding process. In this work, X100 pipeline steel was subjected to friction stir welding (FSW) at rotation rates of 300–600 rpm under water cooling, and the relationship among the microstructure, hydrogen diffusivity, and hydrogen embrittlement (HE) behavior of the nugget zone (NZ) were studied. The NZ at 600 rpm had the highest effective hydrogen diffusion coefficient (D_eff) of 2.1 × 10^?10 m²/s because of the highest dislocation density and lowest ratio of effective grain boundary. The D_eff decreased with decreasing rotation rate due to the decrease of dislocation density and the increase of ratio of effective grain boundary, and the lowest D_eff of 1.32 × 10^?10 m²/s was obtained at 300 rpm. After hydrogen charging, the tensile strength of all specimens decreased slightly, while the elongation decreased significantly. As the rotation rate decreased, the elongation loss was obviously inhibited, and ultimately a lowest elongation loss of 31.8% was obtained at 300 rpm. The abovementioned excellent mechanical properties were attributed to the fine ferrite/martensite structure, low D_eff, and strong {111}//ND texture dramatically inhibiting hydrogen-induced cracking initiation and propagation.     

Effect of microbial hydrogen consumption on the hydrogen permeation behaviour of AISI 4135 steel under cathodic protection

The feasibility of microbial hydrogen consumption to mitigate the hydrogen embrittlement (HE) under different cathodic potentials was evaluated using the Devanathan-Stachurski electrochemical test and the hydrogen permeation efficiency η. The hydrogen permeation efficiency η in the presence of strain GA-1 was lower than that in sterile medium. The cathodic potential inhibited the adherence of strain GA-1 to AISI 4135 steel surface, thereby reducing the hydrogen consumption of strain GA-1. The adherent GA-1 cells were capable of consuming ‘cathodic hydrogen’ and reducing the proportions of absorbed hydrogen, indicating that it is theoretically possible to control HE by hydrogen-consuming microbes.     

Dependence of hydrogen embrittlement on hydrogen in the surface layer in type 304 stainless steel

Hydrogen embrittlement (HE) together with the hydrogen transport behavior in hydrogen-charged type 304 stainless steel was investigated by combined tension and outgassing experiments. The hydrogen release rate and HE of hydrogen-charged 304 specimens increase with the hydrogen pressure for hydrogen-charging (or hydrogen content) and almost no HE is observed below the hydrogen content of 8.5 mass ppm. Baking at 433 K for 48 h can eliminate HE of the hydrogen-charged 304 specimen, while removing the surface layer will restore HE, which indicates that hydrogen in the surface layer plays the primary role in HE. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and scanning tunnel microscopy (STM) observations show that particles attributed to the strain-induced α′ martensite formation break away from the matrix and the small holes form during deformation on the specimen surface. With increasing strain, the connection among small holes along {111} slip planes of austenite will cause crack initiation on the surface, and then the hydrogen induced crack propagates from the surface to interior.     

Investigation of the hydrogen induced cracking behaviour of API 5L X65 pipeline steel

The effect of microstructural features on the hydrogen induced cracking (HIC) susceptibility of two API 5L X65 pipeline steels were investigated by cathodic charging, hydrogen permeation and hydrogen microprint experiments. Microstructural evaluation after hydrogen charging revealed cracks at the mid-thickness (segregation zone) of both plates. However, more severe cracks were observed in the plate with higher dislocation density and residual stresses. The plate with lower plastic strain and more {111}-oriented grains had less severe cracks. Inclusions found along the crack path, comprising of Si-enriched oxides and carbides contributed to the initiation and propagation of cracks. The variation of the trapping behaviour and hydrogen diffusion through the plates were examined. The results confirmed that a higher ratio of reversible to irreversible traps contributes to increasing HIC severity in steels. Additionally, hydrogen transport through the steels was most prominent along the grain boundaries, indicating the importance of grain boundary character to HIC.     

Effect of the loading mode and temperature on hydrogen embrittlement behavior of 15Cr for steam turbine last stage blade steel

The hydrogen embrittlement of 15Cr martensitic stainless steel, for steam turbine last stage blades, was systematically studied by using slow strain rate tensile (SSRT) test and constant loading tensile (CLT) test at room temperature and 80 °C to simulate the service conditions. It was shown that, despite the lower hydrogen concentration absorbed during SSRT, the hydrogen-induced fracture strength of 15Cr steel for SSRT was lower than the threshold fracture strength for CLT. This was due to the remarkable enhancement in local hydrogen concentration due to the transportation of hydrogen by mobile dislocation during SSRT. In addition, although the higher hydrogen concentration was absorbed during SSRT at 80 °C, the hydrogen embrittlement susceptibility of 15Cr steel for SSRT at 80 °C was lower than that at room temperature, because the degree of local hydrogen accumulation decreased at a higher temperature.     

Hydrogen induced blister cracking and mechanical failure in X65 pipeline steels

The present work aims to investigate the role of hydrogen induced blisters cracking on degradation of tensile and fatigue properties of X65 pipeline steel. Both tensile and fatigue specimens were electrochemically charged with hydrogen at 20 mA/cm² for a period of 4 h. Hydrogen charging resulted in hydrogen induced cracking (HIC) and blister formation throughout the specimen surface. Nearly all the blisters formed during hydrogen charging showed blister wall cracking (BWC). Inclusions mixed in Al-Si-O were found to be the potential sites for HIC and BWC. Slow strain rate tensile (SSRT) test followed by fractographic analysis confirmed significant hydrogen embrittlement (HE) susceptibility of X65 steel. Short fatigue crack growth framework, on the other hand, specifically highlighted the role of BWC on accelerated crack growth in the investigated material. Coalescence of propagating short fatigue crack with BWC resulted in rapid increase in the crack length and reduced the number of cycles for crack propagation to the equivalent crack length.     

The dependence of hydrogen embrittlement on hydrogen transport in selective laser melted 304L stainless steel

The mechanical property and hydrogen transport characteristics of selective laser melting (SLM) 304L stainless steel were investigated by tensile tests and thermal desorption spectroscopy (TDS). The heat treatment affected the hydrogen embrittlement (HE) susceptibility and the treatment at 950 °C showed the larger HE effects. Cellular structures and melt-pool boundaries were dissolved at 850 and 950 °C, respectively. TDS results indicate that the hydrogen diffusivity of the as-received SLM 304L was lower than that of wrought 304L and the hydrogen diffusion activation energy increased with the recrystallisation degree, which was related to the dislocation density. Dislocations, rather than strain-induced martensite, were the main cause of HE owing to the high austenite stability of the samples. The pre-existing dislocations in the SLM 304L sample heat-treated at 950 °C for 4 h affected the hydrogen transport behaviour during sample stretching and led to severe HE.     

The experiment study to assess the impact of hydrogen blended natural gas on the tensile properties and damage mechanism of X80 pipeline steel

Environmental hydrogen embrittlement has become a non-negligible problem in the hydrogen blended natural gas transportation. To qualitatively study the degradation mechanism of X80 steel used in the natural gas pipelines, the slow strain tensile experiments are carried out in this work. The nitrogen and hydrogen are adopted to simulate the hydrogen blended natural gas to explore the tensile properties of X80 steel. According to the volume proportion of hydrogen, the test atmospheres are divided into the reference atmosphere and the hydrogen-contained atmospheres of 1%, 2.2% and 5%. The tensile experiments of the smooth and notched specimens are conducted in the above gas atmospheres. Mechanical properties and fracture morphologies after stretching are further analyzed. The results show that the hydrogen blended natural gas has little effect on the tensile and yield strengths. Distinguished from the hydrogen volume proportion of 1% and 2.2%, with the increase of hydrogen proportion, the effect of hydrogen on mechanical properties of specimens increases significantly. Moreover, the deteriorated mechanical properties of notched specimens are more seriously than those of smooth specimens. This work provides the basis for safe hydrogen proportion for X80 pipeline steel when transporting hydrogen blended natural gas.     

Hydrogen embrittlement characteristics of hot-stamped 22MnB5 steel

Hydrogen embrittlement (HE) characteristics of 22MnB5 steel (U-bent specimen) manufactured using hot-stamping process at various temperatures were experimentally and numerically investigated. Steel resistance to HE was examined through delayed failure tests under static and cyclic loading during hydrogen charging. First, the low cyclic loading caused severe HE, in which a clear difference in the extent of HE was obtained depending on the hot-stamped sample, which directly affected the microstructural characteristics and stress–strain distribution. The hot-stamped samples with large martensite phase showed low resistance to HE compared with those with small martensite phase because of the high concentration of hydrogen trapped in the phase boundaries. Moreover, the dual phase (ferrite and martensite) of the hot-stamped samples reduced their resistance to HE, which is caused by the hydrogen trapped in the laminar-shaped pearlite phase. The resistance to HE was improved by low-temperature heating at 200 °C for 1 h because of the generation of ε-carbides as trap sites as they render the hydrogen non-diffusible. Furthermore, the internal strain in the U-bent sample could accelerate HE because of the high concentration of hydrogen. These results were verified by experimental and numerical analyses. Thus, the hydrogen trapping mechanism was proposed as a valid mechanism for HE in 22MnB5.     

Comparison of tensile properties of X60 pipeline steel tested in high pressure gaseous hydrogen using tubular and conventional specimen

Developing engineering standards for the hydrogen economy requires extensive materials testing at relevant operating conditions, i.e. in gaseous hydrogen at various pressures and temperatures. One method to satisfy the need for a high and affordable output of test results is materials testing using tubular specimens where the hydrogen pressure is applied inside the tube. This study focused on the comparison of tensile properties of X60 pipeline steel tested in high pressure gaseous hydrogen using tubular (TS) and conventional specimen (CS) tested in an autoclave. The reduction of area (RA) of TS showed comparable trends known from literature for CS upon a variation of strain rate and residual oxygen content. However, when the identical X60 steel was tested in ambient air, RA of the TS was lower compared to the CS. When tested in hydrogen, RA of the TS is higher compared to the CS. Both could be interpreted and explained by differences in the necking behavior, with and without hydrogen.     

Evaluation of hydrogen induced cracking behavior of API X70 pipeline steel at different heat treatments

The microstructure of API X70 pipeline steel was modified by applying different heat treatments including water-quenched, water-sprayed, and water-quenched and tempered. Hydrogen induced cracking behavior was investigated on the X70 steel at these heat treatments. Two test methods, Japanese Industrial Standard (JIS) and vacuum thermal desorption, were used to release hydrogen from reversible and irreversible traps. The experimental results showed that the highest amount of discharged hydrogen in reversible and irreversible traps was related to the water-sprayed and as-received steels. The hydrogen discharged content from reversible traps reached to a saturation level after 8 h of charging, and it decreased considerably when the steels were charged for 15 h and 24 h. Hydrogen discharge tests proved that a higher amount of hydrogen inside steel is not a reliable measure for HIC evaluation. HIC test results also document that the water-quenched steel with agglomerated martensite particles had the highest susceptibility to HIC. Texture study results show that a low fraction of important texture components, such as {023}, {321} and {332}, cannot be reliably used to evaluate HIC. As a result, a novel method of manufacturing of pipeline steels with an optimized texture is required to increase safety and reliability of transportation of sour gas and oil.