Session: 09-04-02 fracture and toughness for H2 pipelines

Paper Number: 133937

133937 - Influence of Hardness on Hydrogen-Assisted Fracture in Pipeline Steels 

Abstract: 

To decarbonize the energy sector, there are international efforts to displace carbon-based fuels with renewable alternatives, such as hydrogen. Storage and transportation of gaseous hydrogen are key components of large-scale deployment of carbon-neutral energy technologies, especially storage at scale and transportation over long distances. Due to the high cost of deploying large-scale infrastructure, the existing pipeline network is a potential means of transporting blended natural gas-hydrogen fuels in the near term and carbon-free hydrogen in the future. Much of the existing infrastructure in North America was deployed prior to 1970 when greater variability existed in steel processing and joining techniques often leading to microstructural inhomogeneities and hard spots, which are local regions of elevated hardness relative to the pipe or weld. Hard spots, particularly in older pipes and welds, are a known threat to structural integrity in the presence of hydrogen. High-strength materials are susceptible to hydrogen-assisted fracture, but the susceptibility of hard spots in otherwise low-strength materials (such as vintage pipelines) has not been systematically examined. Assessment of fracture performance of pipeline steels in gaseous hydrogen is a necessary step to establish structural integrity of pipeline infrastructure for hydrogen and must include comprehensive understanding of microstructural anomalies (such as hard spots), especially in vintage materials. In this study, fracture resistance of pipeline steels is measured in gaseous hydrogen with a focus on high strength materials and hardness limits established in common practice and in current pipeline codes (such as ASME B31.12). Elastic-plastic fracture toughness measurements were compared for several steel grades to identify the relationship between hardness and fracture resistance in gaseous hydrogen.     

 

Sandia National Laboratories is a multimission laboratory managed and operated by National Technology and Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC., a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International, Inc., for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-NA-0003525.

Presenting Author: Joe Ronevich Sandia National Laboratories

Presenting Author Biography: Joe is a Principal member of the technical staff at Sandia National Laboratories in Livermore CA. He works in the Hydrogen Effects on Materials Laboratory focusing on understanding the influence of microstructure on hydrogen assisted fracture of metals.

Authors:

Joe Ronevich Sandia National Laboratories
Milan Agnani Sandia National Laboratories
Michael Gagliano Electric Power Research Institute
Jonathan Parker Electric Power Research Institute
Chris San Marchi Sandia National Laboratories