Hydrogen-Accelerated Fatigue of API X60 Pipeline Steel and Its Weld
In this work, the hydrogen fatigue of pipeline steel X60, its girth welds and weld defects were investigated through in situ fatigue testing. A novel in situ gaseous hydrogen charging fatigue set-up was developed, which involves a sample geometry that mimics a small-scale pipeline with high internal...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-03-01
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| Series: | Metals |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4701/13/3/563 |
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| author | Lorenzo Etienne Faucon Tim Boot Ton Riemslag Sean Paul Scott Ping Liu Vera Popovich |
| author_facet | Lorenzo Etienne Faucon Tim Boot Ton Riemslag Sean Paul Scott Ping Liu Vera Popovich |
| author_sort | Lorenzo Etienne Faucon |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In this work, the hydrogen fatigue of pipeline steel X60, its girth welds and weld defects were investigated through in situ fatigue testing. A novel in situ gaseous hydrogen charging fatigue set-up was developed, which involves a sample geometry that mimics a small-scale pipeline with high internal hydrogen gas pressure. The effect of hydrogen was investigated by measuring the crack initiation and growth, using a direct current potential drop (DCPD) set-up, which probes the outer surface of the specimen. The base and weld metal specimens both experienced a reduction in fatigue life in the presence of hydrogen. For the base metal, the reduction in fatigue life manifested solely in the crack growth phase; hydrogen accelerated the crack growth by a factor of 4. The crack growth rate for the weld metal accelerated by a factor of 8. However, in contrast to the base metal, the weld metal also experienced a reduction of 57% in resistance to crack initiation. Macropores (>500 µm in size) on the notch surface reduced the fatigue life by a factor of 11. Varying the pressure from 70 barg to 150 barg of hydrogen caused no difference in the hydrogen fatigue behavior of the weld metal. The fracture path of the base and weld metal transitioned from transgranular and ductile in nature to a mixed-mode transgranular and intergranular quasi-cleavage fracture. Hydrogen accelerated the crack growth by decreasing the roughness- and plasticity-induced crack closure. The worst case scenario for pipelines was found in the case of weld defects. This work therefore highlights the necessity to re-evaluate pipelines for existing defects before they can be reused for hydrogen transport. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T06:10:28Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8794e8866b6949e4a8f4c4183ef361d2 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2075-4701 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T06:10:28Z |
| publishDate | 2023-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Metals |
| spelling | doaj.art-8794e8866b6949e4a8f4c4183ef361d22023-11-17T12:39:30ZengMDPI AGMetals2075-47012023-03-0113356310.3390/met13030563Hydrogen-Accelerated Fatigue of API X60 Pipeline Steel and Its WeldLorenzo Etienne Faucon0Tim Boot1Ton Riemslag2Sean Paul Scott3Ping Liu4Vera Popovich5TU Delft Department of Materials Science & Engineering, Mekelweg 2, 2628 CD Delft, The NetherlandsTU Delft Department of Materials Science & Engineering, Mekelweg 2, 2628 CD Delft, The NetherlandsTU Delft Department of Materials Science & Engineering, Mekelweg 2, 2628 CD Delft, The NetherlandsTU Delft Department of Materials Science & Engineering, Mekelweg 2, 2628 CD Delft, The NetherlandsINTECSEA, Wilhelmina van Pruisenweg 2, 2595 AN Den Haag, The NetherlandsTU Delft Department of Materials Science & Engineering, Mekelweg 2, 2628 CD Delft, The NetherlandsIn this work, the hydrogen fatigue of pipeline steel X60, its girth welds and weld defects were investigated through in situ fatigue testing. A novel in situ gaseous hydrogen charging fatigue set-up was developed, which involves a sample geometry that mimics a small-scale pipeline with high internal hydrogen gas pressure. The effect of hydrogen was investigated by measuring the crack initiation and growth, using a direct current potential drop (DCPD) set-up, which probes the outer surface of the specimen. The base and weld metal specimens both experienced a reduction in fatigue life in the presence of hydrogen. For the base metal, the reduction in fatigue life manifested solely in the crack growth phase; hydrogen accelerated the crack growth by a factor of 4. The crack growth rate for the weld metal accelerated by a factor of 8. However, in contrast to the base metal, the weld metal also experienced a reduction of 57% in resistance to crack initiation. Macropores (>500 µm in size) on the notch surface reduced the fatigue life by a factor of 11. Varying the pressure from 70 barg to 150 barg of hydrogen caused no difference in the hydrogen fatigue behavior of the weld metal. The fracture path of the base and weld metal transitioned from transgranular and ductile in nature to a mixed-mode transgranular and intergranular quasi-cleavage fracture. Hydrogen accelerated the crack growth by decreasing the roughness- and plasticity-induced crack closure. The worst case scenario for pipelines was found in the case of weld defects. This work therefore highlights the necessity to re-evaluate pipelines for existing defects before they can be reused for hydrogen transport.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4701/13/3/563hydrogen embrittlementgaseous hydrogen fatiguepipeline steelweld defectsin situ mechanical testingcrack initiation |
| spellingShingle | Lorenzo Etienne Faucon Tim Boot Ton Riemslag Sean Paul Scott Ping Liu Vera Popovich Hydrogen-Accelerated Fatigue of API X60 Pipeline Steel and Its Weld Metals hydrogen embrittlement gaseous hydrogen fatigue pipeline steel weld defects in situ mechanical testing crack initiation |
| title | Hydrogen-Accelerated Fatigue of API X60 Pipeline Steel and Its Weld |
| title_full | Hydrogen-Accelerated Fatigue of API X60 Pipeline Steel and Its Weld |
| title_fullStr | Hydrogen-Accelerated Fatigue of API X60 Pipeline Steel and Its Weld |
| title_full_unstemmed | Hydrogen-Accelerated Fatigue of API X60 Pipeline Steel and Its Weld |
| title_short | Hydrogen-Accelerated Fatigue of API X60 Pipeline Steel and Its Weld |
| title_sort | hydrogen accelerated fatigue of api x60 pipeline steel and its weld |
| topic | hydrogen embrittlement gaseous hydrogen fatigue pipeline steel weld defects in situ mechanical testing crack initiation |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4701/13/3/563 |
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