TY - JOUR A1 - Campari, Alessandro A1 - Konert, Florian A1 - Razavi, Nima A1 - Sobol, Oded A1 - Alvaro, Antonio T1 - Hydrogen-assisted cracking: A deep learning approach for fractographic analysis N2 - Hydrogen handling equipment suffers from interaction with their operating environment, which degrades the mechanical properties and compromises component integrity. Hydrogen-assisted cracking is responsible for several industrial failures with potentially severe consequences. A thorough failure analysis can determine the failure mechanism, locate its origin, and identify possible root causes to avoid similar events in the future. Postmortem fractographic analysis can classify the fracture mode and determine whether the hydrogen-metal interaction contributed to the component’s breakdown. Experts in fracture classification identify characteristic marks and textural features by visual inspection to determine the failure mechanism. Although widely adopted, this process is time-consuming and influenced by subjective judgment and individual expertise. This study aims to automate fractographic analysis through advanced computer vision techniques. Different materials were tested in hydrogen atmospheres and inert environments, and their fracture surfaces were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy to create an extensive image dataset. A pre-trained Convolutional Neural Network was finetuned to accurately classify brittle and ductile fractures. In addition, Grad-CAM interpretability method was adopted to identify the image regions most influential in the model’s prediction and compare the saliency maps with expert annotations. This approach offered a reliable data-driven alternative to conventional fractographic analysis. KW - Failure analysis KW - Fractographic analysis KW - Hydrogen embrittlement KW - Material compatibility PY - 2026 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-646610 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.commatsci.2025.114366 SN - 0927-0256 VL - 262 SP - 1 EP - 16 PB - Elsevier Science CY - Amsterdam [u.a.] AN - OPUS4-64661 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Campari, Alessandro A1 - Konert, Florian A1 - Sobol, Oded A1 - Alvaro, Antonio T1 - A comparison of vintage and modern X65 pipeline steel using hollow specimen technique for in-situ hydrogen testing N2 - The transition toward a hydrogen-based economy requires a widespread transport and distribution network, and repurposed natural gas pipelines are a viable option. An assessment of the hydrogen-induced degradation of pipeline steels is needed to inject H2 gas into the existing infrastructure safely. The conservative and standardized method consists of in-situ tensile tests in an autoclave filled with high-pressure hydrogen gas. A proposed alternative method involves using a hollow specimen as containment volume and applying the gas pressure in the inner cavity. This technique has lower costs and shorter test preparation time but is not standardized yet. This study aims to evaluate and compare the tensile properties of API 5L X65 pipeline steel in two states: vintage and modern. The influence of the surface roughness is investigated through parallel tests with drilled and reamed specimens. Hydrogen tests are compared with reference tests in an inert environment. A significant hydrogen-induced decrease in tensile properties is observed, and no significant difference between vintage and modern X65 can be drawn. The reduction in tensile properties is more significant in specimens with higher inner surface roughness. The evaluation of surface conditions appears crucial when assessing the HE susceptibility of hydrogen transport and storage equipment. KW - Hydrogen embrittlement KW - Hollow specimen technique KW - Pipeline steel KW - SSRT PY - 2024 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-603013 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engfailanal.2024.108530 VL - 163 SP - 1 EP - 15 PB - Elsevier Ltd. AN - OPUS4-60301 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Konert, Florian A1 - Campari, Alessandro A1 - Nietzke, Jonathan A1 - Sobol, Oded A1 - Paltrinieri, Nicola A1 - Alvaro, Antonio T1 - Evaluation of the tensile properties of X65 pipeline steel in compressed gaseous hydrogen using hollow specimens N2 - Hydrogen has great potential on the path towards decarbonization of the energy and transport sectors and can mitigate the urgent issue of global warming. It can be sustainably produced through water electrolysis with potentially zero emissions, and efficiently used (e.g., in fuel cell systems). Despite its environmental advantages, hydrogen-metal interactions could result in the degradation of the mechanical properties of several structural materials. In order to determine the magnitude of the material degradation in relation to hydrogen exposure, extensive material testing is required. The standardized procedure for in-situ testing for the quantification of the impact of compressed gaseous hydrogen (CGH2) relies on the utilization of an autoclave around the tested specimen. Such test set-up is complex, expensive, time-consuming and requires special equipment, trained personnel, and strict safety procedures. A relatively recent method to circumvent these issues and provide affordable results consists of using hollow specimens, thus applying the hydrogen pressure inside rather than outside the specimen. It allows to reduce the volume of hydrogen by several orders of magnitude and to perform the tests more efficiently and in a safer manner. This study focuses on evaluating the tensile properties of X65 vintage pipeline steel tested in a high-pressure hydrogen environment using hollow specimens. Tests are performed in 6 MPa H2 and Ar at the nominal strain rate of 10−6 s−1 to evaluate the reduced area at fracture and the elongation loss. The effect of surface finishing on crack initiation and propagation is investigated by comparing two different manufacturing techniques. In this way, this study provides insights into the applicability of a novel, reliable, and safe testing method which can be used to assess the hydrogen-assisted ductility loss in metallic materials. KW - Mechanical Engineering KW - Hydrogen Embrittlement KW - SSRT KW - Hollow specimen KW - Pipeline steel KW - In-situ tensile test PY - 2024 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-595887 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prostr.2024.01.074 SN - 2452-3216 VL - 54 SP - 1 EP - 8 PB - Elsevier B.V. AN - OPUS4-59588 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -