As hydrogen emerges as a key clean energy carrier, upgrading steel pipelines to safely transport it is critical.
Hydrogen is increasingly gaining attention as a promising energy source for a cleaner, more sustainable future. Using hydrogen to meet the energy demands for large-scale applications such as utility infrastructure will require transporting large volumes via existing pipelines designed for natural gas.
To better understand this problem, researcher Tonye Jack used the Canadian Light Source (CLS) at the University of Saskatchewan (USask) to capture a 3D view of the cracks formed in steels. Researchers have previously relied on two-dimensional imaging techniques, which don’t provide the same rich detail made possible with synchrotron radiation.
Tonye, a Ph.D. candidate in USask’s Department of Mechanical Engineering, and his colleagues studied different pipeline steels and showed that microstructure plays a critical role in how much hydrogen the steel absorbs and how it is distributed in the metal. Their research also revealed that when hydrogen enters the steel while the pipeline is in service, it causes more damage than if introduced during manufacturing or other pre-charging conditions.
The risk of steel failure due to hydrogen embrittlement depends on several factors such as the amount of hydrogen in the steel, the steel’s microstructure, stress conditions, and operating environment. However, Tonye emphasizes that how much hydrogen is retained in the steel and where it accumulates largely dictates its failure behaviour.
“We need to know the mechanism of failure and how to mitigate it,” he says.
While catastrophic pipeline failures are rare, his team’s findings are important as industries plan to transport hydrogen gas using high-strength natural gas pipelines. “These findings can help inform the production of safer pipelines,” he says. By refining the microstructure, manufacturers can design steels that are more resistant to cracking and hydrogen embrittlement.
“We tend to look at this as one failure is too many because of their economic importance,” says Tonye. “But the bigger concern is environmental, as pipeline failures can have devastating consequences.”
As society transitions to cleaner fuels, understanding the interaction of hydrogen and steel and mitigating hydrogen embrittlement is crucial to ensuring the safety and reliability of future hydrogen infrastructure, and of great importance to the global energy framework.
Source: Techxplore
