TY - CONF A1 - Grimault de Freitas, Tomás T1 - Utilization of the Tubular Specimen Technique for the Qualification of Metallic Materials for Hydrogen Technologies N2 - As the world shifts to a decarbonized economy, the demand for hydrogen-based technologies is rapidly increasing. In order to make optimal use of hydrogen as an energy carrier, the infrastructure for hydrogen storage and transport in particular, must meet high technical safety standards. The indispensable basis for such safety assessments are the material properties, which must be evaluated under operating conditions that are as real as possible. The conventional method for the assessment of the material properties in gaseous hydrogen is conducted by testing materials in high-pressure hydrogen gas in a pressure vessel (autoclave). It is an established method that allows to perform common standardized tests such as tensile, fatigue and crack growth tests under varying hydrogen conditions. However, this method is complex and entails high costs due to extensive safety regulations. The hollow specimen technique is a more efficient test method, which can be used to assess the mechanical properties of materials under high-pressure hydrogen gas. The procedure is conducted by enclosing high-pressure gas into a hole along the axis of the tensile test specimen. Recently, this method has been successfully performed at pressures up to 1000 bar and over a wide range of temperatures. Due to the low hydrogen volume needed, this method requires minimal safety regulation; therefore, the costs are reduced when compared to the conventional autoclave technique. This method is now in a standardization process, which has been initiated by Japan as a new working package in ISO (TC 164/SC 1/WG 9). The following contribution presents preliminary results obtained testing common grades of metastable austenitic stainless steel. For this purpose, the mechanical properties and fracture surface of solid and tubular specimens were assessed and compared using slow strain rate tensile (SSRT) test as part of the preliminary work at the Fraunhofer IWM. In a similar way, pipeline steels evaluated under hydrogen atmospheres using the geometry adapted by BAM will be presented. Within the framework of the TransHyDE flagship project, more results with the goal of supporting the standardization of the hollow specimen technique are expected to be obtained. T2 - ZwickRoell Forum for High-Temperature Testing CY - Fürstenfeld, Austria DA - 03.05.2023 KW - Hydrogen KW - H2Hohlzug KW - TransHyDE KW - Tubular specimen technique KW - Innovation PY - 2023 AN - OPUS4-57417 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Michler, T. A1 - Grimault de Freitas, Tomás A1 - Oesterlin, H. A1 - Fischer, C. A1 - Wackermann, K. A1 - Ebling, F. T1 - Tensile testing in high pressure gaseous hydrogen using conventional and tubular specimens: Austenitic stainless steels N2 - Eight commercial austenitic stainless steels were tensile tested in reference atmosphere, in gaseous high-pressure hydrogen and in gaseous hydrogen precharged condition using conventional (CS) and tubular specimens (TS). For all configurations, 0.2 yield strength and ultimate tensile strength were comparable. In reference atmosphere, reduction of area of CS was higher compared to TS, whereas in gaseous high pressure hydrogen reduction of area of CS was lower compared to TS. In gaseous hydrogen precharged condition reduction of area of CS and TS were comparable for the severely affected grades. The differences in necking behavior between CS and TS are explained by different competitions between necking and hydrogen assisted crack initiation and growth especially for the tests in high pressure hydrogen gas. KW - Hydrogen KW - Hydrogen Embrittlement KW - Tensile Test KW - Conventional and Tubular Specimen KW - Austenitic Stainless Steel KW - High Pressure Gaseous Hydrogen PY - 2023 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2023.03.248 SN - 0360-3199 VL - 48 IS - 65 SP - 25609 EP - 25618 PB - Elsevier BV AN - OPUS4-58185 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Grimault de Freitas, Tomás T1 - State of the Art in the Qualification of Metallic Materials for Hydrogen Technologies N2 - The hydrogen economy is one of the main solutions for achieving climate neutrality in Europe. Metallic materials, predominantly steels, are the most common structural materials in the various components along the hydrogen supply chain. Ensuring their sustainable and safe use in hydrogen technologies is a key factor in the ramp-up of the hydrogen economy. This requires extensive materials qualification, however, most of the accepted, and standardised test methods for determining the influence of gaseous hydrogen on metallic materials describe complex and costly procedures that are only available to a very limited extent worldwide (e.g., autoclave technique). The hollow specimen technique is presented as an alternative method that can overcome the limitations of current techniques and complement them. To standardise the technique, a process has been initiated by ISO in 2021. Knowledge gaps for tests with the technique in hydrogen have been identified by DIN. The H2HohlZug project, which falls under the umbrella of TransHyDE, aims to address the identified knowledge gaps and provide a foundation for a comprehensive standardisation of the hollow specimen technique. T2 - E-World Energy & Water CY - Essen, Germany DA - 20.02.2024 KW - Hydrogen KW - Hydrogen Embrittlement KW - Hollow Specimen Technique KW - High-Pressure Gaseous Hydrogen KW - Standardisation KW - H2HohlZug KW - TransHyDE PY - 2024 AN - OPUS4-59564 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Grimault de Freitas, Tomás T1 - Closing the gaps towards the Standardisation of the Hollow Specimen Method for Tests in High-Pressure Hydrogen Gas N2 - Metallic materials, mainly steels, are the most commonly used structural materials in various components throughout the hydrogen supply chain. Ensuring their sustainable and safe use in hydrogen technologies is a crucial factor in the development of the hydrogen economy. This is particularly important since hydrogen can promote crack formation and ultimately lead to premature failure in these materials when combined with mechanical load. This process is commonly known as Hydrogen Embrittlement and can occur in a large number of steels used for the hydrogen technologies.[1] Extensive materials qualification is required for the rapid implementation of hydrogen technologies, however, most accepted, and standardised test methods for determining the effect of gaseous hydrogen on metallic materials describe complex and costly procedures (e.g. in-situ autoclave technique) that are only available to a very limited extent worldwide. The hollow specimen technique is a simple and economical method that has the potential to overcome the limitations of the current methods and complement them for qualifying metallic materials under high-pressure hydrogen gas. Unlike the conventional autoclave technique, this method requires significantly lower amounts of hydrogen, resulting in fewer safety measures and no need for complex equipment or a specialised laboratory. The technique's low investment and testing costs, simple operation, and shorter testing time make it an optimal for widespread use around the world, thereby increasing the output of results. Initial studies have demonstrated the feasibility of assessing hydrogen effects in metallic materials using the hollow specimen technique. This led to the establishment of an ISO committee to standardise the method, however, there are open questions that currently prevent the technique from being standardised for hydrogen testing. These open questions relate to specimen geometry, inner hole surface and gas quality and are being addressed in the TransHyDE - H2HohlZug project. The aim of the project is to systematically address and close the gaps towards the standardisation of this technique for tests in hydrogen. The project is divided into four work packages. First, the elastic-plastic behaviour of a hollow tensile specimen is compared with that of a conventional solid tensile specimen of identical external dimensions using finite element methods (3D-FEM) and subsequently validated by experimental results. In the second, the influence of the inner hole surface quality of the specimen on the hydrogen effects is evaluated. Five different methods of producing the inner axial hole were chosen to ensure different average roughness values and residual stresses (drilling vs. EDM), and also to ensure a good representation of the more common and easily accessible processes (drilling and reaming) to the more complex ones (EDM and honing). Next, the influence of gas purity (different compositions) and purging process (different routines) is evaluated. Finally, an optimal specimen geometry, inner hole production process, gas quality and purging process are proposed from each working package and its reproducibility and repeatability is evaluated in a round robin with national and international partners. This contribution presents the structure and milestones of the project, followed by initial results regarding the influence of different manufacturing and finishing processes on the inner hole surface of the hollow specimen and its response to hydrogen effects. T2 - MPA Seminar 2024 - Materials, Processes, Applications CY - Stuttgart, Germany DA - 08.10.2024 KW - Hydrogen KW - Hydrogen Embrittlement KW - Tensile Test KW - High-Pressure Gaseous Hydrogen KW - Hollow Specimen Technique KW - Standardisation KW - TransHyDE KW - H2HohlZug PY - 2024 AN - OPUS4-61286 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Nietzke, Jonathan T1 - H2HohlZug: Standardisation of a New, Cost-effective Method for Material Characterisation for the Hydrogen Economy N2 - The feasibility of the method for slow strain tensile tests has been demonstrated in several studies, leading to the establishment of the ISO/TC 164/SC 1/WG 9 ISO committee for its standardisation. Questions have emerged during this process, that currently prevent the method from being standardised for hydrogen testing. These questions relate to specimen geometry, specimen manufacturing and gas quality and are being systematically addressed in the TransHyDE-H2HohlZug project. T2 - TrasnsHyDE Abschlusskonferenz CY - Berlin, Germany DA - 25.03.2025 KW - Hydrogen KW - Hydrogen Embrittlement KW - High-Pressure Gaseous Gas KW - Hollow Specimen Technique KW - TransHyDE KW - H2HohlZug PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-62823 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Pfretzschner, Beate A1 - Schaupp, Thomas A1 - Hannemann, Andreas A1 - Schultz, Michael A1 - Griesche, Axel T1 - On the Genesis of Artifacts in Neutron Transmission Imaging of Hydrogenous Steel Specimens N2 - Hydrogen-charged supermartensitic steel samples were used to systematically investigate imaging artifacts in neutron radiography. Cadmium stencils were placed around the samples to shield the scintillator from excessive neutron radiation and to investigate the influence of the backlight effect. The contribution of scattered neutrons to the total detected intensity was investigated by additionally varying the sample-detector distance and applying a functional correlation between distance and intensity. Furthermore, the influence of the surface roughness on the edge effect due to refraction was investigated. KW - Refraction KW - Neutron imaging KW - Hydrogen KW - Supermartensitic steel KW - Backlight KW - Scattering PY - 2020 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-506587 DO - https://doi.org/10.3390/jimaging6040022 VL - 6 IS - 22 SP - 1 EP - 10 PB - MDPI CY - Basel, Switzerland AN - OPUS4-50658 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Nietzke, Jonathan A1 - Rhode, Michael A1 - Mente, Tobias A1 - Kannengießer, Thomas T1 - Experimental and numerical characterization of hydrogen diffusion in thick-walled submerged arc welded joint of S420G2+M offshore steel grade N2 - Offshore wind turbines are an important goal in national energy strategies worldwide. Foundation structures are manufactured from submerged arc welded (SAW) plates with thicknesses up to 200 mm. In that connection, high-strength steels like the S420G2+M are more and more applied offering the possibility for increased stability and load-bearing capacity of the foundations. These offshore steel grades can show a susceptibility for delayed hydrogen assisted cold cracking of the weld joints. For that purpose, a minimum waiting time (MWT) of up to 48 h (dependent on applied standards) is recommended before non-destructive testing is allowed and conducted. But this concept is based on older steel grades that have been used for three or more decades. Nowadays, the metallurgical improvements (clean steels, proper rolling, and heat treatment) of base materials and well as welding consumables must be anticipated. Hence, the MWT concept should be critically discussed as it is assumed to be very conservative. For that reason, the focus of this study was to investigate the diffusion behavior in S420G2+M steel and its multi-layer SAW joint. Electrochemical permeation experiments were carried at room temperature. Boundary conditions were anticipated in terms of using different sample thicknesses. From the experimental data, hydrogen diffusion coefficients and absorbed diffusible hydrogen concentrations had been calculated. It was shown that hydrogen diffusion in the base material is increased compared to the weld metal. In addition, the sample thickness had a significant on the calculated diffusion coefficients. The minimum and maximum diffusion coefficients had been used for numerical modelling of the hydrogen diffusion in the welding joint. It became clear that a MWT must be always regarded together with a critical initial diffusible hydrogen concentration for the evaluation of a possible delayed cracking as diffusion times were mostly > 48 h due to the thick plates. T2 - 4th International Conference on Metals and Hydrogen - Steely & Hydrogen 2022 CY - Ghent, Belgium DA - 11.10.2022 KW - Hydrogen KW - Submerged arc welding KW - Diffusion KW - Minimum waiting time KW - Electrochemical permeation PY - 2022 SP - 1 EP - 11 CY - Ghent, Belgium AN - OPUS4-56075 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Nietzke, Jonathan A1 - Konert, Florian T1 - Experimental and numerical characterization of hydrogen diffusion in thick-walled submerged arc welded joint of S420G2+M offshore steel grade N2 - Offshore wind turbines are an important goal in national energy strategies worldwide. Foundation structures are manufactured from submerged arc welded (SAW) plates with thicknesses up to 200 mm. In that connection, high-strength steels like the S420G2+M are more and more applied offering the possibility for increased stability and load-bearing capacity of the foundations. These offshore steel grades can show a susceptibility for delayed hydrogen assisted cold cracking of the weld joints. For that purpose, a minimum waiting time (MWT) of up to 48 h (dependent on applied standards) is recommended before non-destructive testing is allowed and conducted. But this concept is based on older steel grades that have been used for three or more decades. Nowadays, the metallurgical improvements (clean steels, proper rolling, and heat treatment) of base materials and well as welding consumables must be anticipated. Hence, the MWT concept should be critically discussed as it is assumed to be very conservative. For that reason, the focus of this study was to investigate the diffusion behavior in S420G2+M steel and its multi-layer SAW joint. Electrochemical permeation experiments were carried at room temperature. Boundary conditions were anticipated in terms of using different sample thicknesses. From the experimental data, hydrogen diffusion coefficients and absorbed diffusible hydrogen concentrations had been calculated. It was shown that hydrogen diffusion in the base material is increased compared to the weld metal. In addition, the sample thickness had a significant on the calculated diffusion coefficients. The minimum and maximum diffusion coefficients had been used for numerical modelling of the hydrogen diffusion in the welding joint. It became clear that a MWT must be always regarded together with a critical initial diffusible hydrogen concentration for the evaluation of a possible delayed cracking as diffusion times were mostly > 48 h due to the thick plates. T2 - 4th International Conference on Metals and Hydrogen - Steely & Hydrogen 2022 CY - Ghent, Belgium DA - 11.10.2022 KW - Hydrogen KW - Submerged arc welding KW - Minimum Waiting Time KW - Cold Cracking KW - Offshore steel grade PY - 2022 AN - OPUS4-56008 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Rhode, Michael T1 - Repair welding of pressurized in-service hydrogen pipelines - A review on current challenges and strategies N2 - As energy carrier of the future, green hydrogen can make a decisive contribution to a sustainable energy supply. Particularly important is the decarbonization of heavy industry. Therefore, a reliable supply of hydrogen must be guaranteed. A hydrogen pipeline grid can achieve this purpose. In Europe concrete plans for a hydrogen pipeline grid already exist, as the so called “European Hydrogen backbone”. As building a completely new pipeline grid is economically not justifiable, a dual-way strategy of repurposing natural gas (NG) pipelines and newly built pipelines is intended. Long distance pipeline grids require regular maintenance and repairs. For natural gas (NG) pipelines in-service welding is state of the art. Concepts such as hot-tapping (drilling into pressurized pipelines) and “stoppling” (sealing off pipeline sections after installing bypasses or pressure relieves) allow the repair of damaged pipeline sections or the installation of new branches without shutting the pipeline down, which in most cases isn’t possible from an economic standpoint. The EIGA 121/14 guideline already pointed out in 2014 that “a hydrogen hot-tap shall not be considered a routine procedure”. This shows that the determination of the transferability of these repair concepts to hydrogen pipelines is of utmost importance. Due to the degrading effects of hydrogen on mechanical proper-ties, commonly referred to as “hydrogen embrittlement” it is necessary to understand and investigate the occurring effects. In the special case of repair welding on in-service hydrogen pipelines an increased hydro-gen uptake due to a large heat input and microstructural changes in the material needs to be considered. Therefore, material degradation must be investigated to determine whether modifications of repair procedures are necessary to ensure a reliable and safe hydrogen transportation via pipelines. For this reason, this paper gives an overview on existing weld repair concepts and its risks and limitations in terms of hydrogen absorption and possible embrittlement effects when transferred to hydrogen pipelines. The complexity lies in a large variety of materials (low alloyed steels), pipeline diameters and corresponding welded joints. The material compatibility of materials in used (repurposed NG-pipelines) and new condition must be investigated. Particularly for repurposed/used pipelines the effect of a pre-matured/corroded inner surface and sometimes insufficient documentation of the material “history” needs to be considered. An overview on ongoing and completed R&D-projects with respect to repair concepts for hydrogen pipelines and hydrogen effects on pipeline materials is given. The focus hereby lies on possible methods of material testing and modeling. Its current difficulties, limits and possible solution will be discussed. T2 - IIW Intermediate Meeting, Com. II-A CY - Incheon, Republic of Korea DA - 12.03.2024 KW - Hydrogen KW - Repair welding KW - Pipelines KW - In-service PY - 2024 AN - OPUS4-59674 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Rhode, Michael A1 - Kannengießer, Thomas T1 - Call for interested people to contribute to series of comprehensive papers on welding and joining of components for sustainable energy systems N2 - Joining and welding technologies are of high importance for the manufacturing of components and parts used in sustainable energy generation, conversion, and transport. In that connection, offshore and on-shore installed wind turbines are of high interest for the generation of electrical energy as well as photo-voltaic systems (solar cells). The electricity can be either directly transported or conversed via power-to-gas e.g., to hydrogen. In that scope, electrolyzer up to MW-range are of interest as well as the conver-sion back to electricity via fuel cells. In addition, hydrogen is a key element of the decarburization of in-dustries as well as the mobility sector encompassing sea, air and land transportation driven by hydrogen or its derivates. Well-known examples cover the direct reduction of iron ore to replace the conventional blast furnace process up to gas turbines or fuel cells for home-end use. All mentioned technologies re-quire reliable components, which are to a high extend dependent on joining and especially welding pro-cessing of materials. Especially, the (petro-) chemical industry has many years of experience with both materials used in hydrogen applications. The challenge is e.g., the transition to mass production of sys-tem components of electrolyzers/fuel cells and for distribution grids. At this point, the scalability of cur-rently applied joining processes often limits the economic efficiency, whereas especially laser welding or additive manufacturing will be of high interest. In that connection, it is very important to provide answers by joint research of universities, institutes, and industrial companies. Very often, solutions are already available and “just” have to be investigated and adapted for the new application, like repair welding of NG pipelines. For that reason, we want to set up a series of comprehensive papers with the aforementioned title. The idea is to get an in-depth but manageable overview of the importance of joining technologies in sustaina-ble energy generation, conversion, and transport encompassing current processes, limitations, and fur-ther perspectives. In that connection, the additive manufacturing is gaining more and more attention. If applicable, current challenges in the adaption or creation of new standards/regulations shall be addressed. T2 - IIW Intermediate Meeting, Com. II-A CY - Incheon, Republic of Korea DA - 12.03.2024 KW - Hydrogen KW - Welding KW - Comprehensive study KW - Component manufatcturing KW - Additive manufacturing PY - 2024 AN - OPUS4-59676 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Bernardy, Christopher A1 - Konert, Florian A1 - Popiela, Bartosz A1 - Sarif, Raduan T1 - H2Safety@BAM: Competence Center for safe hydrogen technologies N2 - Presentation of the competence center H2Safety@BAM at the European PhD Hydrogen Conference 2024 in Ghent, Belgium. T2 - European PhD Hydrogen Conference 2024 (EPHyC2024) CY - Ghent, Belgium DA - 20.03.2024 KW - H2safety KW - Hydrogen KW - Safety KW - Competence center PY - 2024 AN - OPUS4-59756 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Erxleben, Kjell T1 - Component test for the assessment of in-service welding on/onto pressurized hydrogen pipelines N2 - Hydrogen is seen as the energy carrier of the future. Therefore a reliable infrastructure to transport hydrogen in a large scale is needed. A so called European hydrogen backbone out of long distance transmission pipelines is planned by European countries to create a hydrogen transport infrastructure. Due to economic reasons this will be achieved by new build pipelines such as repurposed natural Gas (NG) pipelines, converted to hydrogen useage. A general suitability for hydrogen service of low alloyed pipeline steel, as it is used for NG service today, is given. But in case of necessary in-service welding procedures in terms of e.g. hot-tapping and stoppling, the risk of a critical hydrogen uptake into the pipe materials due to much higher temeperatures while welding and the possibility of hydrogen embrittlement (HE) needs to be closely investigated. The presentation gives an overview of the current H2-SuD project, investigating the feasability of in-service welding on future hydrogen pipelines. Therefore, component-like demonstrators were developed to test (I) the additional hydrogen uptake due to in-service welding under hydrogen pressure and (II) to measure the temperature field due to different welding parameters and demonstrator geometries, especially on the inner pipe wall surface. Collected data will be used to validate a numerical simulation of the thermal field and additionally the hydrogen diffusion in the pipeline material. T2 - Presentation at The University of Manchester CY - Manchester, United Kingdom DA - 12.09.2025 KW - In-service KW - Hydrogen KW - Pipeline KW - Welding PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-64129 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Rhode, Michael T1 - Hydrogen trap characterization in 200 and 1,000 bar charged CoCrNi medium entropy alloy compared to steel AISI 316L N2 - Multiple principal element alloys (MPEAs) represent a new class of metallic materials. MPEAs, such as the CoCrNi medium entropy alloy (MEA), have attracted considerable research attention as potential materials to replace, for example, austenitic steels in high-pressure hydrogen environments. Due to the relatively new alloy concept, studies on the specific hydrogen diffusion and trapping behavior of high-pressure hydrogen-charged CoCrNi MEAs are rare so far. For this reason, a CoCrNi-MEA was investigated and compared to an austenitic stainless steel, AISI 316L. Both materials were subjected to high pressure hydrogen loading for two different pressures: 200 bar and 1,000 bar. After charging, thermal desorption analysis (TDA) was used with three heating rates from 0.125 K/s to 0.500 K/s to clarify the specific hydrogen desorption and trapping behavior. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to characterize hydrogen diffusion and trapping in 1,000 bar high-pressure charged CoCrNi. For this purpose, the underlying TDA spectra were analyzed in terms of peak deconvolution into a metallurgically justifiable number of defined peaks. The individual peak temperatures and activation energies “EA” were calculated. The following conclusions can be drawn from the results obtained: (1) Exposure to 200 bar or 1,000 bar leads to an increase in hydrogen absorption, regardless of the material investigated, expressed by a significantly increased desorption rate at 1,000 bar. However, the effusion peaks typically occur only at high temperatures. The (2) TDA showed that a four-peak deconvolution scenario was sufficient to describe the trapping behavior and the "EA" indicated the dominance of irreversible traps. In addition, the average trapping energy is higher than in the 316L. The (3) charge pressure related hydrogen solubility was in the order of: CoCrNi-MEA < 316L for both pressures and (4) charging at 1000 bar results in an average concentration of 49 wt.ppm (CoCrNi-MEA) and > 75 wt.ppm (316L). In summary, the CoCrNi-MEA was characterized by a reduced solubility, but very deep entrapment compared to the 316L. For this reason, further application potentials of the MEA may arise. T2 - FEMS Euromat 2025 - 18th European Congress and Exhibition on Advanced Materials and Processes CY - Granada, Spain DA - 15.09.2025 KW - Medium entropy alloy KW - Hydrogen KW - Trapping KW - Diffusion KW - High-pressure charging PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-64160 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Rhode, Michael T1 - Component test for the assessment of in-service welding on/onto pressurized hydrogen pipelines N2 - Hydrogen is the energy carrier of tomorrow and requires a reliable large-scale transport infrastructure. In addition to new pipelines, the conversion of existing natural gas (NG) pipeline grids is an essential part. The transport of hydrogen is fundamentally different from that of NG, as hydrogen can be absorbed into the pipeline material. Given the effects of hydrogen embrittlement, the material compatibility (low alloy steels in a wide range of strengths and thicknesses) must be investigated. However, pipelines e.g. require maintenance or the need for installation of additional outlets with the necessity of welding on/onto the pipelines while they are still in service, i.e. with gas flow under high pressure, such as the well-known "hot tapping". This in-service welding poses challenges for hydrogen operations. The challenge can be roughly divided into the possible austenitization of the inner pipe material exposed to hydrogen, the welding itself, which causes an increased temperature range. Both lead to a significant increase in hydrogen solubility and diffusivity compared to room temperature. In addition, possible surface reactions of the present iron oxides (e.g. magnetite or hematite) with the hot hydrogen should be considered. In this context, the knowledge of hydrogen pipelines is scarce due to the lack of operational experience. Fundamental experimental investigations are required to investigate the transferability from NG to hydrogen pipeline grids. For this reason, the present study presents a specially designed mock-up / demonstrator concept for the realistic assessment of the welding process conditions. The mock-up was designed to allow in-situ temperature measurement during the welding process as well as ex-post sample extraction for quantification of the absorbed hydrogen concentration. For safety reasons, the required volume of pressurized hydrogen was limited by inserting a solid cylinder to ensure a 1 cm thick layer of hydrogen gas. Welding experiments on the DN60 and DN200 pressurized mock-ups showed the possibility of safe welding on or onto pressurized hydrogen pipelines. Indeed, the austenitizing temperature was reached on the inner surface of the pipeline, especially on thinner-walled pipelines, using current welding parameter recommendations. This corresponded to an increased hydrogen uptake in the welded area of several ppm. From this point of view, the suggested component concept is a viable strategy for the screening of several materials and welding parameter combinations under realistic operational conditions. T2 - FEMS Euromat 2025 - 18th European Congress and Exhibition on Advanced Materials and Processes CY - Granada, Spain DA - 15.09.2025 KW - In-service welding KW - Pipeline KW - Hydrogen KW - Component test PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-64159 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Wilhelm, Eugen A1 - Mente, Tobias A1 - Rhode, Michael T1 - Waiting time before NDT of welded offshore steel grades under consideration of delayed hydrogen-assisted cracking N2 - Offshore wind turbines (OWT) are a major goal of the energy strategy of Germany encompassing the increase of the installed wind power. OWT components are manufactured from welded steel plates with thicknesses up to 200 mm. The underlying standards and technical recommendations for construction of OWTs encompass specifications of so-called minimum waiting time (MWT) before non-destructive testing of the weld joints is allowed. Reason is the increased risk of time-delayed hydrogen assisted cold cracking as hydrogen diffusion is very slow due to the very thick plates. The strict consideration of those long MWT up to 48 h during the construction of OWTs leads to significant financial burden (like disproportionately high costs for installer ships as well as storage problems (onshore)). In this study, weld joints made of S355 ML were examined in comparison with the offshore steel grade S460 G2+M. The aim was to optimize, i.e., reduce, the MWT before NDT considering varied heat input, hydrogen concentration and using self-restraint weld tests. This would significantly reduce the manufacturing time and costs of OWT construction. To quantify the necessary delay time until hydrogen-assisted cold cracks appear, acoustic emission analysis was applied directly after welding for at least 48 h. KW - Hydrogen KW - Welding KW - Cracking KW - Offshore KW - Steel PY - 2021 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-524959 DO - https://doi.org/10.1007/s40194-020-01060-5 SN - 0043-2288 VL - 65 SP - 947 EP - 959 PB - Springer Nature AN - OPUS4-52495 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Drexler, Andreas A1 - Konert, Florian T1 - Hydrogen Solubility in Steels – What is the Role of Microstructure? N2 - Hydrogen gas plays a key role in the European energy transition strategy. When transmitting and storing compressed hydrogen gas, safety is one of the most important conditions. With increasing hydrogen pressure and temperature, more hydrogen is absorbed by the steel components, such as pipelines or valves, and may lead to embrittlement. Although, a deep understanding of microstructure on the hydrogen solubility in steels is missing. Classical Sieverts’ law is only valid at high temperatures and low gas pressures. For that purpose, new theory is presented, which explains the role of microstructure on hydrogen solubility. Hydrogen trapping at microstructural defects is a thermally activated mechanism and causes an increase of the hydrogen solubility with decreasing temperatures. This mechanism has to be considered in cryogenic applications, such liquid or compressed hydrogen storage. T2 - EPRI Workshop on Hydrogen Embrittlement 2024 CY - Oxford, UK DA - 23.06.2024 KW - Hydrogen KW - Sieverts’ law KW - Hydrogen solubility in steels KW - Hydrogen trapping PY - 2024 AN - OPUS4-60477 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Rhode, Michael T1 - Joining technologies for hydrogen components: current need and future perspectives N2 - The study provides an overview of the aspects of joining and its importance in manufacturing of components for the more and more important field of hydrogen as key factor for the energy transition to a decarburized future. To this end, the fundamentals of the technology fields of hydrogen production, storage, transport, and application are presented and the state of the art of manufacturing of components for hydrogen technologies by joining is summarized. Based on representative examples from practice, research and development, the importance of joining technology in hydrogen technologies is clearly highlighted and perspectives for the future are derived. From a macroeconomic perspective, the focal points, or trends of joining technologies here include: the erection of new infrastructure for hydrogen storage and transport, and the safe conversion of existing natural gas infrastructure and its challenges for welded materials. In addition, we show the problems that are anticipated with in-service repair welding of hydrogen pipelines. In hydrogen applications, the efficient mass production of fuel cells and electrolysers is becoming increasingly important. For that reason, the importance of additive manufacturing is highlighted. Finally, the challenges for technical regulations and standardization by using hydrogen are shown. T2 - AJP 2023: 3rd International Conference on Advanced Joining Processes 2023 CY - Braga, Portugal DA - 19.10.2023 KW - Hydrogen KW - Infractstructure KW - Joining KW - Welding KW - Research PY - 2023 AN - OPUS4-58674 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Rhode, Michael A1 - Kromm, Arne A1 - Mente, Tobias A1 - Brackrock, Daniel A1 - Czeskleba, Denis A1 - Kannengießer, Thomas T1 - Component test for the assessment of delayed hydrogen-assisted cracking in thick-walled SAW joints for offshore applications N2 - Offshore wind turbines continuously increase in size and weight and demand adequate offshore foundations concepts like monopiles, tripods, or jackets. These components are typically constructed using submerged arc welding (SAW) with high-strength thick steel plates like the S420ML. During welding, the occurrence of delayed hydrogen-assisted cracking (HAC) must be anticipated. HAC is a critical combination of the local hydrogen concentration within a susceptible microstructure under certain mechanical load, i.e., the occurring (welding) residual stresses. The welding sequence of the thick-walled plates complicates the residual stress distribution due to the necessary repeated thermal cycling, i.e., welding seam/layer deposition to fill the joint. For that purpose, SAW with two-wire-technique was used to weld a specially designed and prototype-like mock-up of a real component with a thickness of 50 mm, filled with over 20 passes and a seam length of 1000 mm. Additional welded stiffeners simulated the effect of a high restraint, to achieve critical HAC conditions. The necessity of a minimum waiting time (MWT) before the NDT can be conducted (to exclude HAC) was critically verified by the application of ultrasonic testing of the welded joint at different time-steps of the NDT of up to 48 h after the completion welding. The residual stresses were determined by a robot XRD goniometer. Tensile residual stresses up to the yield limit are found both in the weld metal and in the heat-affected zone. Numerical modeling allowed the qualitative estimation of the hydrogen diffusion in the weld. No noticeable HAC occurrence was identified and confirms the high cracking resistance of the investigated material. Finally, the applicability of the MWT concept should be critically discussed. KW - Hydrogen KW - Cold cracking KW - Minimum Waiting Time KW - Offshore steel grade KW - Component test PY - 2023 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-591981 DO - https://doi.org/10.1007/s40194-023-01658-5 SP - 1 EP - 15 PB - Springer Science and Business Media LLC AN - OPUS4-59198 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Rhode, Michael T1 - Welding of in service hydrogen pipelines for repair and maintenance purposes Concepts and Challenges N2 - Hydrogen will make a decisive contribution to a sustainable large-scale energy supply, the transport of which will be based on long-distance pipeline grids. Previous material compatibility studies have shown that the currently used low-alloy pipe steels are generally suitable for hydrogen pipelines. However, this cannot be directly transferred to the case of repair welding. For technical and economic reasons, welding work on hydrogen pipelines in service is usually carried out during operation under continuous pressure and gas flow. In this context, concepts such as hot tapping and stoppling are well established in natural gas (NG) grids and crude oil transportation. In hot tapping, a pressurized pipeline is drilled by flanging a sealed, pressure-tight system consisting of a shut-off valve and drilling equipment. For this purpose, sleeves (made of preformed cylindrical half-shells) must be welded by longitudinal seams and then welded to the product-carrying pipeline by circumferential girth welds. Preheat temperatures of approximately 100 °C must be maintained for most manual metal arc (MMA) / shielded metal arc welding (SMAW) and 250 °C for the interpass temperature in multi-pass welding. This is particularly important for thin-walled pipelines because the austenitizing temperature is exceeded on the inside of the pipeline when the girth welds are welded. As a result, significantly higher hydrogen absorption in the pipeline steel is expected, with possible degradation of mechanical properties or cracking. T2 - MSE 2024: International Materials Science and Engineering Congress CY - Darmstadt, Germany DA - 24.09.2024 KW - Hydrogen KW - Repair welding KW - Pipelines KW - In-service PY - 2024 AN - OPUS4-61155 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Rhode, Michael T1 - Thickness and microstructure effect on hydrogen diffusion in creep-resistant 9 % Cr P92 steel and P91 weld metal N2 - Martensitic 9 %-Cr steels like P91 and P92 show susceptibility to delayed hydrogen assisted cracking depending on their microstructure. In that connection, effective hydrogen diffusion coefficients are used to assess the possible time-delay. The small number of available diffusion coefficients varies already at room temperature by several orders of magnitude (mostly regarded as result of present microstructure). Especially P91 weld metal diffusion coefficients are rare so far. For that reason, electrochemical permeation experiments had been conducted using P92 base metal and P91 weld metal (in as-welded and heat-treated condition) with different thicknesses. The diffusion coefficients are calculated by two methods (time-lag and inflection point method) were performed. The results show that, despite of microstructural effects, the sample thickness must be considered as it influences the calculated diffusion coefficients. Finally, the comparison of calculated and measured hydrogen concentrations (determined by carrier gas hot extraction) enables the identification of realistic diffusion coefficients. T2 - IIW Annual Assembly, Meeting of Commission IX-C CY - Online meeting DA - 15.07.2021 KW - Creep-resistant steel KW - Diffusion KW - Electrochemical permeation KW - Hydrogen KW - Welding PY - 2021 AN - OPUS4-53048 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Rhode, Michael T1 - Hydrogen embrittlement of steels N2 - Hydrogen assisted cracking of metals is a serious issue in the safety of components, espcially in case of welding. The current presentation gives an overview on specialized testing procedures at Department 9 including the quantitative determination of hydrogen. T2 - HYDROGENIUS BAM Joint Hydrogen Symposium CY - Online meeting DA - 06.07.2021 KW - Hydrogen KW - Embrittlement KW - Degradation KW - Carrier gas hot extraction KW - Welding PY - 2021 AN - OPUS4-53049 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Erxleben, Kjell T1 - Hydrogen determination in welded metallic materials: Necessity and challenges N2 - In the course of tomorrow's hydrogen-based energy transition, the construction of the corresponding infrastructure will play a central role. The majority of materials used to date are typically welded for component fabrication. In that context, steels are widely applied and can be prone to hydrogen embrittlement. For the evaluation of any hydrogen effect on, for example, the mechanical properties of a welded metallic material, the hydrogen content must be precisely determined. According to ISO 3690, carrier gas hot extraction (CGHE) can be used. In addition to the pure quantification of hydrogen, thermal desorption analysis (TDA) with varied heating rates can be used to determine and evaluate the bonding state at microstructural defects in the material. For both techniques, experimental and measurement influences have to be considered, which have a great effect on the result. For CGHE, for example, ISO 3690 suggests different sample geometries as well as minimum extraction times. The present study summarizes results and experiences of numerous investigations with different sample temperatures and geometries (ISO 3690 type B and cylindrical TDA samples) regarding: the influence of the sample surface (polished/welded), measurement accuracies depending on the sample volume. In particular, a deviating extraction temperature to the set temperature, can significantly falsify the measurement results. Based on the results, methods are shown to quickly reach the desired extraction temperature without having to physically interfere with the measurement equipment. This serves to substantially improve the reliability of hydrogen measurement through increased signal stability and accelerated hydrogen desorption. In general, an independent temperature measurement with dummy samples for the selected heating procedure is advisable to exclude possible unwanted temperature influences already before the measurement. In addition (and way more important), the methods described can be transferred directly to industrial applications. T2 - Eurocorr 2023 - The European Corrosion Congress CY - Brussels, Belgium DA - 27.08.2023 KW - Hydrogen KW - Carrier gas hot extraction KW - Welding KW - ISO 3690 KW - Measurement PY - 2023 AN - OPUS4-58305 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Erxleben, Kjell T1 - Repair welding of in service hydrogen pipelines N2 - In the course of tomorrow's hydrogen-based energy transition, the construction of the corresponding infrastructure will play a central role. In that context, large diameter long-distance transmission pipelines for hydrogen will be the backbone in the European Union with service pressures from 70 to 90 bar (e.g., depending on national regulations). It is a major goal to rededicate the existing LNG infrastructure despite the necessity of new pipelines. From that point of view repairing of such transmissions pipelines via welding can be necessary. For the LNG infrastructure, it is state of the art that repair welding is conducted at pipelines under service, i.e., the LNG is still flowing as pressurized gas in the steel pipes. The reason is that a shut-down of large diameter pipelines is not so easy or sometimes impossible. In fact, as long no oxygen enters the pipeline, there would be any combustion or (in the worst case) explosion. At the moment, it is entirely open if current repair welding procedures for LNG pipelines can be transferred to pure hydrogen pipelines. In opposite to LNG, hydrogen can be way easier absorbed to the pipeline steels and diffuses through the material. If it accumulates in susceptible regions, i.e., in the welded joint, hydrogen assisted embrittlement could occur. The planned welding procedure requires a so-called preheating and maintenance of the weld joint of up to 300°C for several hours. This temperature is way higher compared to the typical service temperature of max. 40 to 50°C at operational pressures of 100 bar. In accordance to API 941, these low-alloyed pipeline steels are subjected to short-term service loads, which they are not designed for. For that reason, a collaborative project between BAM and DVGW (German Association for Gas and Water professions) was initiated in 2022 to answer the following questions by experiments and numerical simulation of: (1) How many hydrogen is additionally absorbed during the heating of the material to max. 300°C under remaining operational pressures? (2) Is the hydrogen concentration sufficient to reach a critical condition? (3) Which material and weld microstructure is the most susceptible? (4) Is there a significant difference in the repair welding behavior of LNG pipelines that had been already in use for long-term? (5) Which welding parameters and joint dimensions must be ensured for safe repair welding repair of typical pipelines? For that reason, the present study gives an overview on the current practice in repair welding of in-service pipelines, the industrial importance of this topic for the hydrogen-based energy transition and summarizes first results. T2 - Eurocorr 2023 - The European Corrosion Congress CY - Brussels, Belgium DA - 27.08.2023 KW - Hydrogen KW - Repair Welding KW - Pipeline KW - In-service KW - High-pressure PY - 2023 AN - OPUS4-58334 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Rhode, Michael T1 - Standardization and examples for R & D activities on hydrogen technologies with respect to testing procedures in Germany N2 - This contribution briefly summarizes the standardization activities in accordance with the "Nationale Roadmap Wasserstofftechnologien" and presents selected results on the activities in Germany with scope on hydrogen transport in pipelines. The talk was given during a panel discussion to set-up a steering committee for standardization for hydrogen pipelines and welding , coordinated by the International Institute of Welding. T2 - IIW Annual Assembly, Meeting of Commission XI CY - Singapore DA - 19.07.2023 KW - Hydrogen KW - Welding KW - Pipelines KW - Standardization KW - Research PY - 2023 AN - OPUS4-57976 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Rhode, Michael T1 - Intended weld repair of in service hydrogen pipelines N2 - In the course of tomorrow's hydrogen-based energy transition, the construction of the corresponding infrastructure will play a central role. In that context, large diameter long-distance transmission pipelines for hydrogen will be the backbone in the European Union with service pressures from 70 to 90 bar (e.g., de-pending on national regulations). It is a major goal to repurposing the existing natural gas (NG) infrastructure despite the necessity of new pipelines. From that point of view repair welding or further welding of branch pipe etc. can be necessary during in-service, i.e., permanent flow of pressurized hydrogen. The reason is that a shut-down of large diameter pipelines is not easy or sometimes merely impossible. At the moment, it is entirely open if current repair welding procedures for NG pipe-lines can be transferred to pure hydrogen pipelines. For that reason, a collaborative project between BAM, DVGW (German Association for Gas and Water Professions) and a large number of gas grid operators, pipeline manufacturers and construction companies was initiated in 2023 to answer questions on: (1) How many hydrogen is additionally absorbed during the preheating and maintaining at interpass temperature under remaining operational pressures? (2) Is the hydrogen concentration sufficient to reach a critical condition? (3)Which material and weld microstructure are the most susceptible? (4) Is there a difference in the repair welding behavior of NG pipelines with materials in “used” condition? (5) Which welding parameters and joint dimensions must be ensured for safe repair welding? The final aim of this project is the publication of a recommended practice for repair welding of in-service hydrogen pipelines. For that reason, the present study gives an overview on: (A) current practice in repair welding of in-service pipelines and (b) plans for hydrogen pipelines and first results of international research projects. T2 - IIW Annual Assembly, Meeting of Commission XI CY - Singapore DA - 19.07.2023 KW - Hydrogen KW - Repair Welding KW - Pipelines KW - Research PY - 2023 AN - OPUS4-57975 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Konert, Florian T1 - Deep Dive: Visualizing hydrogen assisted cracks in hollow specimens utilizing µCT N2 - The Deep-Dive provides a short introduction and summary of the performed tests on API X65 Pipelinesteels. The aim of the tests is the visualization of hydrogen assisted crack popagation in hollow specimens. T2 - DAAD Green Hydrogen Workshop CY - Online meeting DA - 07.05.2024 KW - Hydrogen KW - Hollow specimen technique KW - µCT KW - Hydrogen embrittlement KW - Pipeline steel PY - 2024 AN - OPUS4-60001 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Rhode, Michael A1 - Mente, Tobias A1 - Kannengießer, Thomas A1 - Schaupp, Thomas A1 - Zavdoveev, Anatoly T1 - Challenges for testing hydrogen-assisted cold cracking in weld seams of high-strength steel grades N2 - Hydrogen can cause weld cold cracking even days after fabrication. In this respect, higher strength steels present a challenge to established cold crack testing. In general, the tolerable hydrogen concentration for crack prevention decreases with increasing material strength. In addition, advanced welding processes require changes in weld geometry and heat input. This directly influences the formation of crack-critical microstructures, e.g. in hardened areas of the heat-affected zone. The limits of use and application of modern cold cracking tests are evaluated by (1) the externally loaded Implant-test and (2) the self-restraint Tekken-test. In particular, external mechanical stresses, which cause additional mechanical loads on the components during welding, must be considered due to the component-specific stiffness of high-strength steels. Accompanying test methods for determining hydrogen concentration and diffusion in welds are presented, such as carrier gas hot extraction for determining hydrogen concentration (ISO 3690) or temperature-dependent diffusion coefficients. These values are of great importance for a holistic approach to the evaluation of the cold cracking sensitivity of high strength steels. KW - Hydrogen KW - Welding KW - Cold cracking test KW - High-strength steel PY - 2024 DO - https://doi.org/10.37434/tpwj2024.08.01 SN - 0957-798X VL - 2024 IS - 8 SP - 3 EP - 9 PB - International Association "Welding" CY - Kyiv, Ukraine AN - OPUS4-60946 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Erxleben, Kjell T1 - Component test for safety assessment of in-service welding on / onto pressurized hydrogen pipelines N2 - Hydrogen is the energy carrier of tomorrow for a fossil-free future. This requires a reliable transport infrastructure capable of transporting large quantities of hydrogen, e.g. for the steel and chemical industries. In addition to the construction of new pipelines, the conversion of existing natural gas (NG) networks is an essential part of global hydrogen strategies. The transport of hydrogen is fundamentally different from that of NG, as hydrogen can be absorbed into the pipeline material. Given the known effects of hydrogen embrittlement, the compatibility of the materials for the proposed pipelines (typically low alloy steels in a wide range of strengths and thicknesses) must be investigated. However, pipelines require frequent maintenance, repair, or the need to install additional outlets. In some cases, it is necessary to perform welding on or to the pipelines while they are still in service, i.e. with active gas flow under high pressure, such as the well-known "hot tapping". This in-service welding poses challenges for hydrogen operations in terms of additional hydrogen absorption during welding and material compatibility. The challenge can be roughly divided into the possible austenitization of the inner pipe material exposed to hydrogen, which can lead to sufficient hydrogen absorption, and the welding itself, which causes an increased temperature range. Both lead to a significant increase in hydrogen solubility and diffusivity of the respective materials compared to room temperature. In this context, knowledge about hot tapping on hydrogen pipelines is scarce due to the lack of operational experience. Fundamental experimental investigations are required to investigate the transferability from natural gas to hydrogen pipeline networks. For this reason, the present study presents a specially designed mock-up / demonstrator concept for the realistic assessment of the welding process conditions. T2 - Materials Week 2025 CY - Frankfurt am Main, Germany DA - 02.04.2025 KW - In-service KW - Hydrogen KW - Pipeline KW - Repair welding PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-62874 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Kaiser, Sebastian T1 - Evaluation of welding on in-service pressurized hydrogen pipelines by component testing N2 - Hydrogen transportation is fundamentally different from natural gas (NG) as it can be absorbed into the pipeline material. However, pipelines require frequent maintenance or repair, in some cases on or onto the pipelines while they are still under pressure. This in-service welding causes challenges for hydrogen operations. They can be roughly divided into: (1) possible austenitization of the inner pipe material exposed to hydrogen, and (2) welding itself with its temperature cycles. Both lead to a significant increase in hydrogen solubility/diffusivity of the materials. Fundamental investigations are required due to the missing service experience. The present study introduces a specially designed demonstrator concept for the assessment of the welding processing conditions. The mock-up was designed to enable temperature measurement during welding as well as ex-post extraction of samples for the quantification of the absorbed hydrogen. The necessary pressurized hydrogen volume was limited by the insertion of a solid cylinder. Welding experiments on the pressurized mock-ups (DN50 and DN200) have shown that the austenitization temperature is nearly reached on the inner surface of the pipeline. This corresponds to a significant hydrogen absorption of several ppm in the welded joint, especially for thin-walled pipelines. Nonetheless, a potential hydrogen assisted cracking was not identified. T2 - 24. Werkstofftechnisches Kolloquium CY - Chemnitz, Germany DA - 02.04.2025 KW - Pipeline KW - In-Service KW - Welding KW - Hydrogen PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-62917 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Kaiser, Sebastian A1 - Erxleben, Kjell A1 - Rhode, Michael A1 - Kannengießer, Thomas T1 - Repair Welding of In-Service Hydrogen Pipelines - Concepts and Challenges N2 - Hydrogen is set as the energy carrier of tomorrow for a more sustainable fossil fuel free future. As this necessitates a reliable transport infrastructure, repurposing of the existing natural gas grid is planned. With regards to the well-known effect of hydrogen embrittlement, the compatibility of utilized materials must be investigated. First comprehensive studies on pipeline material hydrogen compatibility indicate that these materials can be applied to a certain extent. Nonetheless, the material compatibility is currently of high interest and focus of numerous research projects worldwide. However, pipelines require frequent maintenance and repair work. As part of these, in some cases it is necessary to do weldments onto pipelines while they are pressurized. This in-service welding introduces additional challenges for the material compatibility. Due to the resulting high temperatures, the metallurgical changes in the material and of course the presence of high-pressure hydrogen in the pipeline, additional investigations need to be conducted to ensure that no critical material degradation because of increased hydrogen absorption occurs and an overall material compatibility is given. For this reason, the present paper introduces in-service welding on pipelines. An overview of current research projects that deal with the application of in-service welding specifically on hydrogen pipelines and the emerging problems when applying these techniques on hydrogen pipelines is given. Methods of material testing, their limits and possible solutions are presented and discussed. T2 - 2024 15th International Pipeline Conference CY - Calgary, Alberta, Canada DA - 23.09.2024 KW - Hydrogen KW - Pipeline KW - Welding KW - In-Service PY - 2024 SN - 978-0-7918-8856-8 DO - https://doi.org/10.1115/IPC2024-133052 SP - 1 EP - 6 PB - The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) CY - New York AN - OPUS4-62262 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Erxleben, Kjell T1 - Challenges in repair welding of in-service h2-pipelines N2 - Hydrogen will be one of the most important energy carriers of tomorrow. For the necessary large-scale and long-distance transportation, a reliable pipeline infrastructure is required. It is meanwhile in the most countries accepted to follow a two-way strategy by (I) repurposing the existing natural gas (NG) grid combined with (II) the installation of new pipelines. For example, in Europe a so-called European Hydrogen Backbone (EHB) is planned for 2040. Currently, 28 countries work together to establish a hydrogen pipeline grid of several thousands of kilometers. In that connection, a wide number of materials are used with different thicknesses, strength levels, chemical composition, surface conditions and so on. Worldwide research projects suggest the general compatibility of the currently applied pipeline steels e.g., in Germany the “SysWestH2” project. Nonetheless, the hydrogen gas grid will require regular inspections, repair, and maintenance. In addition, sometimes pipeline tees are required to connect new grids or pipelines the existing infrastructure. From that point of view, existing concepts from NG-grids must be investigated in terms of the transferability to hydrogen service. An overview on occurring challenges for this hydrogen transition, especially for in-service weld repair procedures is given in this presentation. T2 - AMPP 2024 - The Association for Materials Protection and Performance CY - Genoa, Italy DA - 09.06.2024 KW - In-service KW - Pipeline KW - Repair welding KW - High-pressure KW - Hydrogen PY - 2024 AN - OPUS4-60327 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Erxleben, Kjell A1 - Kaiser, Sebastian A1 - Rhode, Michael A1 - Kannengiesser, Thomas A1 - Kromm, Arne T1 - In-service and repair welding of pressurized hydrogen pipelines–a review on current challenges and strategies N2 - Hydrogen is the energy carrier for a sustainable future without fossil fuels. As this requires a reliable transportation infrastructure, the conversion of existing natural gas (NG) grids is an essential part of the worldwide individual national hydrogen strategies, in addition to newly erected pipelines. In view of the known effect of hydrogen embrittlement, the compatibility of the materials already in use (typically low-alloy steels in a wide range of strengths and thicknesses) must be investigated. Initial comprehensive studies on the hydrogen compatibility of pipeline materials indicate that these materials can be used to a certain extent. Nevertheless, the material compatibility for hydrogen service is currently of great importance. However, pipelines require frequent maintenance and repair work. In some cases, it is necessary to carry out welding work on pipelines while they are under pressure, e.g., the well-known tapping of NG grids. This in-service welding brings additional challenges for hydrogen operations in terms of additional hydrogen absorption during welding and material compatibility. The challenge can be roughly divided into two parts: (1) the possible austenitization of the inner piping material exposed to hydrogen, which can lead to additional hydrogen absorption, and (2) the welding itself causes an increased temperature range. Both lead to a significantly increased hydrogen solubility in the respective materials compared to room temperature. In that connection, the knowledge on hot tapping on hydrogen pipelines is rare so far due to the missing service experiences. Fundamental experimental investigations are required to investigate the possible transferability of the state-of-the-art concepts from NG to hydrogen pipeline grids. This is necessary to ensure that no critical material degradation occurs due to the potentially increased hydrogen uptake. For this reason, the paper introduces the state of the art in pipeline hot tapping, encompassing current research projects and their individual solution strategies for the problems that may arise for future hydrogen service. Methods of material testing, their limitations, and possible solutions will be presented and discussed. KW - In-service KW - Hydrogen KW - Repair welding KW - Pipeline PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-638944 DO - https://doi.org/10.1007/s40194-025-02127-x SN - 0043-2288 SP - 1 EP - 24 PB - Springer Science and Business Media LLC AN - OPUS4-63894 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Rhode, Michael T1 - Diffusion and trapping of gaseous hydrogen charged CoCrFeMnNi-HEA vs. austenitic steel AISI 316L at pressure up to 1000 bar N2 - First studies on the mechanical behavior of high-entropy alloys (HEAs) in high-pressure hydrogen environment are available. In contrast, the underlying hydrogen absorption, diffusion and trapping in these HEAs like the Cantor-alloy was less in the scientific scope so far. For that reason, the CoCrFeMnNi-HEA was compared to a conventional AISI 316L austenitic steel, by exposing to high-pressure hydrogen charging at 200 bar and very-high pressure at 1,000 bar. Thermal desorption analysis (TDA) was applied with different heating rates (0.125 K/s to 0.500 K/s). The underlying TDA spectra were analyzed in terms of a reasonable peak deconvolution to into a defined number of peaks and the calculation of the activation energies for the respective and predominant hydrogen trap sites. Both materials show a comparable hydrogen diffusivity. The obtained activation energies suggest that in case of the CoCrFeMnNi-HEAs an interaction of the austenitic phase as well as the direct atomic bonding of hydrogen to the metal atoms are the dominant traps, since “impurities” such as carbides or inclusions are only present in trace amounts. Available literature suggests that the Cr and Mn-content is here of special interest for the direct hydrogen bonding at solute atoms. T2 - MSE 2024: International Materials Science and Engineering Congress CY - Darmstadt, Germany DA - 24.09.2024 KW - High-entropy alloy KW - Hydrogen KW - Trapping KW - Diffusion KW - High-pressure charging PY - 2024 AN - OPUS4-61156 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Konert, Florian T1 - Evaluation of the tensile properties of X65 pipeline steel in compressed gaseous hydrogen using hollow specimens N2 - Hydrogen has great potential into the decarbonization process of the energy and transport sectors, thus helping to mitigate the urgent issue of global warming. It can be sustainably produced through water electrolysis with potentially zero emissions, and efficiently used in fuel cell systems. Despite its environmental advantages, hydrogen is an extremely flammable substance and its interaction with most metallic materials could result in their mechanical properties degradation to an extent that could make them inherently unsafe. Extensive material testing under realistic operating conditions is required to determine the criteria under which hydrogen-induced damage is to be expected. In-situ slow strain rate tensile (SSRT) test is an option that allow the quantification of the behavior of metals in hydrogenated environments. The standardized procedure for testing in-situ the pressurized gaseous hydrogen effect on metals consists of the utilization of an autoclave as a containment volume. Testing inside an autoclave is difficult, expensive, and time-consuming, and requires specialized equipment and trained personnel. A relatively recent method to circumvent these issues and provide affordable and reliable test results consists in using hollow specimens as the gas containment volume, thus applying the hydrogen pressure inside rather than outside the specimen. This experimental setup allows us to minimize the volume of hydrogen and perform the tests safely and effectively. This study focuses on the evaluation of tensile properties of X65 pipeline steel, which was in vervice for natural gas transport, tested in a high-pressure hydrogen environment using hollow specimens. A constant nominal strain rate of 1ꞏ10-6 s-1 is applied. Tests are performed with different manufacturing techniques for the drilling process, which results in difeerent surface conditions. The effect of the roughness on the HE was investigated. For the evaluation the effect on the reduced area at fracture (RA) and the elongation loss were determined. Further fractographic analysis were performed. In this way, this study provides insights on the applicability of novel, reliable, and safer testing method which can be used to assess HE, particularly in relation with hydrogen-induced loss of ductility in metallic material. T2 - ICSI 2023 | 5th International Conference on Structural Integrity CY - Funchal, Portugal DA - 29.8.2023 KW - Hydrogen KW - Hollow-specimen KW - SSRT KW - Ferritic steel KW - Hydrogen embrittlement PY - 2023 AN - OPUS4-58141 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Kaiser, Sebastian A1 - Rhode, Michael T1 - Repair welding of pressurized in-service hydrogen pipelines: A review on current challenges and strategies N2 - As energy carrier of the future, green hydrogen can make a decisive contribution to a sustainable energy supply. Particularly important is the decarbonization of heavy industry. Therefore, a reliable supply of hydrogen must be guaranteed. A hydrogen pipeline grid can achieve this purpose. In Europe concrete plans for a hydrogen pipeline grid already exist, as the so called “European Hydrogen backbone”. As building a completely new pipeline grid is economically not justifiable, a dual-way strategy of repurposing natural gas (NG) pipelines and newly built pipelines is intended. Long distance pipeline grids require regular maintenance and repairs. For NG pipelines in-service welding is state of the art. Concepts such as hot-tapping (drilling into pressurized pipelines) and “stoppling” (sealing off pipeline sections after installing bypasses or pressure relieves) allow the repair of damaged pipeline sections or the installation of new branches without shutting the pipeline down, which in most cases isn’t possible from an economic standpoint. The EIGA 121/14 guideline already pointed out in 2014 that “A hydrogen hot-tap shall not be considered a rou-tine procedure, […]”. This shows that the determination of the transferability of these repair concepts to hydrogen pipelines is of utmost importance. Due to the degrading effects of hydrogen on mechanical properties, commonly referred to as “hydrogen embrittlement” it is necessary to understand and investigate the occurring effects. In the special case of repair welding on in-service hydrogen pipelines an increased hydrogen uptake due to a large heat input and microstructural changes in the material needs to be considered. Therefore, material degradation must be investigated to determine whether modifications of repair procedures are necessary to ensure a reliable and safe hydrogen transportation via pipelines. For this reason, this paper gives an overview on existing weld repair concepts and its risks and limitations in terms of hydrogen absorption and possible embrittlement effects when transferred to hydrogen pipelines. The complexity lies in a large variety of materials (low alloyed steels), pipeline diameters and corresponding weld-ed joints. The material compatibility of materials in used (repurposed NG-pipelines) and new condition must be investigated. Particularly for repurposed/used pipelines the effect of a pre-matured/corroded inner surface and sometimes insufficient documentation of the material “history” needs to be considered. An overview on ongoing and completed R&D-projects with respect to repair concepts for hydrogen pipelines and hydrogen effects on pipeline materials is given. T2 - 77th IIW Annual Assembly and International Conference, Meeting of Commission II-A "Metallurgy of Weld Metals" CY - Ixia, Rhodes Island, Greece DA - 07.07.2024 KW - Hydrogen KW - Pipeline KW - In-Service Welding PY - 2024 AN - OPUS4-60757 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Erxleben, Kjell A1 - Kaiser, Sebastian A1 - Rhode, Michael A1 - Kannengießer, Thomas A1 - Hadick, C. A1 - Schu, K. T1 - Quantification of hydrogen uptake during in-service hydrogen pipeline welding N2 - Hydrogen must be transported on a large scale from producers to consumers to ensure the energy transition. The necessary pipeline grid is achieved by conversion of the natural gas (NG) grid and building new pipelines. Welding during service as part e.g. of “hot-tapping” is unavoidable for maintenance/repair/expansion. Based on existing studies, the basic material compatibility of (low-alloyed) pipeline steels with hydrogen is postulated. However, this cannot be assumed for the case of in-service welding on pipelines in pressurized condition. The reason is the increased temperature e.g. by preheating and (in particular) during welding of the single passes. As a result, the inner pipeline surface undergoes multiple short-term heating but to high temperatures. In particular, the first passes can result in a temperature close to the austenitic transformation of the material for small wall thicknesses. Both increase the hydrogen uptake into the welded joint. If hydrogen embrittlement is likely to occur, depends on the hydrogen uptake, which must be quantified. For this purpose, welding experiments on pressurized demonstrators were conducted. The hydrogen uptake at 100 bar was compared to reference experiments with nitrogen. A new sample extraction routine for the quantification of the weld-zone specific hydrogen uptake was established. Comprehensive experiments with different steels (P235, L360, L485), wall thicknesses (4.1 mm to 7.8 mm) and diameters (DN50 and DN200) were conducted. In addition, the influence of the welding layer sequence on the hydrogen uptake between single- and multi-layer welds was investigated. Analytical approaches were used to approximate the hydrogen uptake in the respective weld zones. The main findings were that the layer sequence and especially the wall thickness have a large influence on the hydrogen uptake. T2 - 20th Pipeline Technology Conference ptc2025 CY - Berlin, Germany DA - 06.05.2025 KW - In-service KW - Hydrogen KW - Pipeline KW - Repair welding KW - component test PY - 2025 SP - 1 EP - 12 AN - OPUS4-63166 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Erxleben, Kjell T1 - Component test to simulate critical conditions of hydrogen assisted cracking in submerged arc welded offshore steel N2 - Offshore Wind Turbines (OWT) are a key factor in tomorrow's sustainable energy generation. The ever� increasing installation depth and weight of OWTs require suitable foundation concepts such as monopiles or tripods. Typically, mild steels such as S420ML are used with plate thicknesses of up to several hundred mm, resulting in high restraints in the welded joints. The large plate thickness requires high-efficiency welding processes such as submerged arc welding (SAW) with multiple wires. Due to the very high stiffness and plate thickness of the large-scale offshore structure, a susceptibility to time� delayed hydrogen assisted cracking (HAC) may occur. For this reason, a minimum waiting time (MWT) of up to 48 h must be considered before NDT is conducted. The evaluation of the crack susceptibility is complex due to the component size and stiffness of real offshore structures. For this purpose, a near-component test geometry has been developed to transfer the real stiffness conditions to laboratory (i.e. workshop) scale. The 350 kg mock-up consisted of heavy plates (thickness 50 mm, seam length 1,000 m) joined by a 22-pass submerged-arc weld. Additional stiffeners simulated the effect of high restraint or shrinkage restraint of the weld. Extreme scenarios of hydrogen absorption during welding were simulated by using flux in dry (HD < 5 ml/100g Fe) and wet (HD > 15 ml/100g Fe) conditions. Weld residual stresses were determined using a robotic X-ray diffractometer. Areas of critical tensile residual stress (at the yield strength level) were found in the weld metal and in the heat affected zone, suggesting that these weld subzones are the most critical in the case of hydrogen ingress. To identify possible delayed cracking, the welds were inspected by phased array ultrasonic testing (PAUT) after welding, 6 h, 12 h, 24 h, and a maximum of 48 h. Summarized, no significant occurrence of HAC was detected, indicating the high crack resistance of the welded joint, i.e., a suitable combination of base material, welding consumable and parameters. T2 - Materials Week/Steel Innovation CY - Frankfurt am Main, Germany DA - 02.04.2025 KW - Cold cracking KW - Component test KW - Hydrogen KW - Minimum waiting time KW - Offshore steel grade PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-62873 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Rhode, Michael T1 - Characterization of hydrogen trapping in a CoCrFeMnNi high-entropy alloy charged up to 1000 bar high-pressure hydrogen N2 - First studies on the mechanical behavior of high-entropy alloys (HEAs) in high-pressure hydrogen environment are available. In contrast, the underlying hydrogen absorption, diffusion and trapping in these HEAs like the Cantor-alloy was less in the scientific scope so far. For that reason, the CoCrFeMnNi-HEA was compared to a conventional AISI 316L austenitic steel, by exposing to high-pressure hydrogen charging at 200 bar and very-high pressure at 1,000 bar. Thermal desorption analysis (TDA) was applied with different heating rates (0.125 K/s to 0.500 K/s), see Fig. 1a to d. The underlying TDA spectra were analyzed in terms of a reasonable peak deconvolution to into a defined number of peaks and the calculation of the activation energies for the respective and predominant hydrogen trap sites. Both materials show a comparable hydrogen diffusivity. The obtained activation energies suggest that in case of the CoCrFeMnNi-HEAs an interaction of the austenitic phase as well as the direct atomic bonding of hydrogen to the metal atoms are the dominant traps, since “impurities” such as carbides or inclusions are only present in trace amounts. Available literature suggests that the Cr and Mn-content is here of special interest for the direct hydrogen bonding at solute atoms. In addition, the trap occupancy rate must be considered in terms of a pressure-related hydrogen absorption. The derived apparent hydrogen solubility was in the order: 316L < CoCrFeMnNi-HEA for both charging pressures. Especially, the 1,000 bar values lead to noteworthy results with > 70 wt.ppm for the AISI 316L and >130 wt.ppm for the CoCrFeMnNi. In fact, both the hydrogen diffusion and trapping data on gaseous high-pressure hydrogen charged HEAs are rare so far. The results of the present study allow a deeper understanding of hydrogen trapping in the regarded CoCrFeMnNi-system. T2 - 78th IIW Annual Assembly and International Conference CY - Genoa, Italy DA - 26.06.2025 KW - Hydrogen KW - Thermal desorption analysis KW - High-pressure charging KW - Trapping KW - Diffusion PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-63542 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Erxleben, Kjell A1 - Kaiser, Sebastian A1 - Rhode, Michael A1 - Kannengießer, Thomas A1 - Hadick, C. A1 - Schu, K. T1 - Component test concept for evaluation of in-service welding on pressurized hydrogen pipelines N2 - Hydrogen is set as the energy carrier of tomorrow and most countries will achieve large-scale hydrogen transport through the conversion of the natural gas (NG) grid and the construction of new pipelines. The interaction between hydrogen and the pipeline materials differs fundamentally from that of NG, as hydrogen is readily absorbed into the material. Considering the possible hydrogen embrittlement (HE), the compatibility of the pipeline materials (low-alloyed steels with a wide strength/thickness range) must be investigated. However, pipelines require intervention for maintenance, repair, or grid expansion with welding on/onto the pipelines while in service, i.e. the well-known "hot tapping" and "plugging" or “stoppling”. The challenges compared to NG can be broadly divided into the possible austenitization of the inner pipe material exposed to hydrogen and the welding itself. Both result in a significant increase in hydrogen solubility and could potentially pose challenges in terms of HE. Emphasis is placed on the word "could" because knowledge of "hot tapping" on hydrogen pipelines is scarce due a lack of service experience. To this end, this study proposes a concept for a component-like demonstrator with the objectives: (1) safe feasibility of "hot tapping" on pressurized model hydrogen pipeline sections, (2) facilitate ex-post sample extraction for the purpose of quantifying the absorbed hydrogen concentrations, and (3) ensure in-situ temperature measurement during welding to monitor the pipeline surface temperature. For safety reasons in the event of an unintentional "burn-through", a solid cylinder was inserted in the demonstrator to restrict the hydrogen gas volume to a small, pressurized layer. Reference pipeline surface temperature measurements were ensured on comparable, unpressurized geometries. The investigated range of welding conditions was investigated for representative material/thickness combinations (DN50 to DN200), suggesting the feasibility of the demonstrator for the determination of reliable in-service welding conditions for both installed and new pipelines for hydrogen service. T2 - 20th Pipeline Technology Conference ptc2025 CY - Berlin, Germany DA - 06.05.2025 KW - In-service KW - Hydrogen KW - Pipeline KW - Repair welding KW - component test PY - 2025 SP - 1 EP - 11 AN - OPUS4-63168 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Erxleben, Kjell T1 - Component test concept for evaluation of in-service welding on pressurized hydrogen pipelines N2 - Hydrogen is set as the energy carrier of tomorrow and most countries will achieve large-scale hydrogen transport through the conversion of the natural gas (NG) grid and the construction of new pipelines. The interaction between hydrogen and the pipeline materials differs fundamentally from that of NG, as hydrogen is readily absorbed into the material. Considering the possible hydrogen embrittlement (HE), the compatibility of the pipeline materials (low-alloyed steels with a wide strength/thickness range) must be investigated. However, pipelines require intervention for maintenance, repair, or grid expansion with welding on/onto the pipelines while in service, i.e. the well-known "hot tapping" and "plugging" or “stoppling”. The challenges compared to NG can be broadly divided into the possible austenitization of the inner pipe material exposed to hydrogen and the welding itself. Both result in a significant increase in hydrogen solubility and could potentially pose challenges in terms of HE. Emphasis is placed on the word "could" because knowledge of "hot tapping" on hydrogen pipelines is scarce due a lack of service experience. To this end, this study proposes a concept for a component-like demonstrator with the objectives: (1) safe feasibility of "hot tapping" on pressurized model hydrogen pipeline sections, (2) facilitate ex-post sample extraction for the purpose of quantifying the absorbed hydrogen concentrations, and (3) ensure in-situ temperature measurement during welding to monitor the pipeline surface temperature. For safety reasons in the event of an unintentional "burn-through", a solid cylinder was inserted in the demonstrator to restrict the hydrogen gas volume to a small, pressurized layer. Reference pipeline surface temperature measurements were ensured on comparable, unpressurized geometries. The investigated range of welding conditions was investigated for representative material/thickness combinations (DN50 to DN200), suggesting the feasibility of the demonstrator for the determination of reliable in-service welding conditions for both installed and new pipelines for hydrogen service. T2 - 20th Pipeline Technology Conference ptc2025 CY - Berlin, Germany DA - 06.05.2025 KW - In-service KW - Hydrogen KW - Pipeline KW - Repair welding KW - Component test PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-63170 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Erxleben, Kjell T1 - Quantification of hydrogen uptake during in-service hydrogen pipeline welding N2 - Hydrogen must be transported on a large scale from producers to consumers to ensure the energy transition. The necessary pipeline grid is achieved by conversion of the natural gas (NG) grid and building new pipelines. Welding during service as part e.g. of “hot-tapping” is unavoidable for maintenance/repair/expansion. Based on existing studies, the basic material compatibility of (low-alloyed) pipeline steels with hydrogen is postulated. However, this cannot be assumed for the case of in-service welding on pipelines in pressurized condition. The reason is the increased temperature e.g. by preheating and (in particular) during welding of the single passes. As a result, the inner pipeline surface undergoes multiple short-term heating but to high temperatures. In particular, the first passes can result in a temperature close to the austenitic transformation of the material for small wall thicknesses. Both increase the hydrogen uptake into the welded joint. If hydrogen embrittlement is likely to occur, depends on the hydrogen uptake, which must be quantified. For this purpose, welding experiments on pressurized demonstrators were conducted. The hydrogen uptake at 100 bar was compared to reference experiments with nitrogen. A new sample extraction routine for the quantification of the weld-zone specific hydrogen uptake was established. Comprehensive experiments with different steels (P235, L360, L485), wall thicknesses (4.1 mm to 7.8 mm) and diameters (DN50 and DN200) were conducted. In addition, the influence of the welding layer sequence on the hydrogen uptake between single- and multi-layer welds was investigated. Analytical approaches were used to approximate the hydrogen uptake in the respective weld zones. The main findings were that the layer sequence and especially the wall thickness have a large influence on the hydrogen uptake. T2 - 20th Pipeline Technology Conference ptc2025 CY - Berlin, Germany DA - 06.05.2025 KW - In-service KW - Hydrogen KW - Pipeline KW - Repair welding KW - Component test PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-63165 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Rhode, Michael T1 - Thickness and microstructure effect on hydrogen diffusion in creep-resistant 9 % Cr P92 steel and P91 weld metal N2 - Martensitic 9 %-Cr steels like P91 and P92 show susceptibility to delayed hydrogen assisted cracking depending on their microstructure. In that connection, effective hydrogen diffusion coefficients are used to assess the possible time-delay. The small number of available diffusion coefficients varies already at room temperature by several orders of magnitude (mostly regarded as result of present microstructure). Especially P91 weld metal diffusion coefficients are rare so far. For that reason, electrochemical permeation experiments had been conducted using P92 base metal and P91 weld metal (in as-welded and heat-treated condition) with different thicknesses. The diffusion coefficients are calculated by two methods (time-lag and inflection point method) were performed. The results show that, despite of microstructural effects, the sample thickness must be considered as it influences the calculated diffusion coefficients. Finally, the comparison of calculated and measured hydrogen concentrations (determined by carrier gas hot extraction) enables the identification of realistic diffusion coefficients. T2 - IIW Intermediate Meeting, Comm. IX-C "Welding of creep and heat-resistant materials" CY - Online meeting DA - 08.03.2021 KW - Hydrogen KW - Welding KW - Diffusion KW - Creep-resistant steel KW - Electrochemical permeation PY - 2021 AN - OPUS4-52239 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Rhode, Michael T1 - Diffusion in high-pressure hydrogen charged multi-principal element alloys CoCrFeMnNi and CoCrNi vs. AISI 316L N2 - Multi-principal element alloys (MPEAs) are innovative materials that have attracted extensive research attention within the last decade. MPEAs are characterized by a solid solution of equiatomic metallic elements. Depending on the number of elements, they are also referred as high entropy alloys (HEAs with n ≥ 4 elements like CoCrFeMnNi) and medium-entropy alloys (MEA with n = 3 elements CoCrNi). Depending on the alloy concept, MPEAs show exceptional properties in terms of mechanical performance or corrosion resistance at extreme environments. In that connection, hydrogen and its challenges for the most metallic materials gets more and more important. MPEAs are candidate materials for the substitution of conventional materials like austenitic stainless steels e.g., at very high-pressure up to 1000 bar. Those pressures are typically reached in valves or compressors for refueling of tanks with operational pressure of 700 bar. So far, the susceptibility of HEA/MEAs to hydrogen assisted cracking (if any) and the especially the underlying hydrogen uptake and diffusion was not within the scientific scope and not investigated in detail yet. For that reason, we focused on the hydrogen absorption the characterization of the hydrogen diffusion and trapping at elevated temperatures in a CoCrFeMnNi-HEA (each element with 20 at.-%) and CoCrNi-MEA, each element with 33.3 at.-%). As reference grade, the commercially available austenitic stainless steel AISI 316L was investigated. High-pressure hydrogen charging was conducted at different pressures in autoclave environment with maximum value of 1,000 bar. Thermal desorption analysis (TDA) via carrier gas hot extraction with coupled mass spectrometry was used with a max. heating rate of 0.5 K/s up to 650 °C. The measured desorption spectra of the different samples were deconvoluted into a defined number of individual peaks. The individually calculated peak temperatures allowed the definition of activation energies for predominant trap sites in the respective materials as well as the percentage share of the totally absorbed hydrogen concentration. The results present for the first time the complex interaction of both MPEAs and high-pressure hydrogen charging. A deconvolution of four peaks was selected and a main desorption peak was identified the dominant hydrogen trap containing the biggest share of the absorbed hydrogen concentration. The chemical composition an austenitic phase of both MPEAs is responsible for delayed hydrogen diffusion and strong, but mostly reversible, trapping. The comparison with the 316L samples showed significantly higher activation energies in the MPEAs, whereas hydrogen was also trapped at very high extraction temperatures. The absorbed maximum hydrogen concentration at 1,000 bar was 130 ppm for the CoCrFeMnNi-HEA, 50 ppm for the CoCrNi-MEA and 80 ppm for the 316L. It is interesting that the CoCrFeMnNi-HEA has obviously a way higher trapping capability compared to the conventional austenitic 316L, which could be a major advantage in terms of resistance to hydrogen assisted cracking. T2 - 47th MPA-Seminar CY - Stuttgart, Germany DA - 10.10.2023 KW - High-entropy alloy KW - Hydrogen KW - Diffusion KW - Thermal desorption analysis KW - Multiple-principal element alloy PY - 2023 AN - OPUS4-58675 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Rhode, Michael A1 - Wetzel, Annica A1 - Oczan, Ozlem A1 - Nietzke, Jonathan A1 - Richter, Tim A1 - Schröpfer, Dirk T1 - Hydrogen diffusion and local Volta potential in high- and medium-entropy alloys N2 - High-entropy alloys (HEAs) are characterized by a solid solution of minimum five and medium-entropy alloys (MEAs) of minimum three principal alloying elements in equiatomic proportions. They show exceptional application properties, such as high-strength and ductility or corrosion resistance. Future HEA/MEA-components could be exposed to hydrogen containing environments like vessels for cryogenic or high-pressure storage where the hydrogen absorption and diffusion in these materials is of interest. In our study, we investigated the HEA Co20Cr20Fe20Mn20Ni20 and the MEA Co33.3Cr33.3Ni33.3. For hydrogen ingress, cathodic charging was applied and diffusion kinetic was measured by high-resolution thermal desorption spectros-copy using different heating rates up to 0.250 K/s. Peak deconvolution resulted in high-temperature desorption peaks and hydrogen trapping above 280 °C. A total hydrogen concentration > 40 ppm was identified for the MEA and > 100 ppm for HEA. This indicates two important effects: (1) delayed hydrogen diffusion and (2) considerable amount of trapped hydrogen that must be anticipated for hydrogen assisted cracking phenomenon. Local electrochemical Volta potential maps had been measured for the hydrogen free condition by means of high-resolution Scanning Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy (SKPFM). T2 - Symposium on Materials and Joining Technology CY - Online meeting DA - 07.09.2020 KW - Hydrogen KW - High-entropy alloy KW - Diffusion KW - Scanning kelvin probe force microscopy KW - Corrosion PY - 2020 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-511684 DO - https://doi.org/10.1088/1757-899X/882/1/012015 VL - 882 SP - 1 EP - 15 PB - IOP Publishing CY - Bristol AN - OPUS4-51168 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Rhode, Michael A1 - Nietzke, Jonathan A1 - Richter, Tim T1 - Hydrogen diffusion and desorption characteristics of a CoCrFeMnNi high entropy and a CoCrNi medium entropy alloy N2 - High-entropy alloys (HEAs) are innovative high-performance materials that have attracted more and more research attention. HEAs are characterized by a solid solution of typically five equiatomic metallic elements. In addition, medium-entropy alloys (MEA, with three elements) are of interest and become more and more important. Depending on the alloy concept, HEAs and MEAs show exceptional mechanical properties, especially high-strength and ductility combinations at both cryogenic and elevated temperatures combined with excellent corrosion resistance. Future structural HEA/MEA components can be exposed to potential applications with hydrogen containing environments like high-temperature water in pressurized nuclear reactors or aerospace structures. Other potential applications could be in materials for vessel walls in the field of cryogenic and high-pressure hydrogen storage. So far, the susceptibility of HEAs/MEAs to hydrogen assisted cracking (if any) and the hydrogen diffusion is not investigated in detail yet and can limit or extend possible applications of HEA/MEA as structural materials. In our work, we focused on the hydrogen absorption, diffusion, and distribution in a HEA (CoCrFeMnNi the original Cantor-alloy) and a MEA (CoCrNi). Cathodic hydrogen charging was carried out for the hydrogen ingress, and thermal desorption analysis (TDA) revealed complex hydrogen trapping in both alloy types up to 300 °C. The absorbed total hydrogen concentrations were > 100 ppm for the HEA and > 40 ppm for MEA. In addition, the assessment of the peak deconvolution is not trivial and must consider both experimental and microstructure influences. T2 - 4th International Conference on Metals and Hydrogen - Steely & Hydrogen 2022 CY - Ghent, Belgium DA - 11.10.2022 KW - Hydrogen KW - High-entropy alloy KW - Multiple principal element alloy KW - Thermal desorption analysis KW - Diffusion PY - 2022 SP - 1 EP - 11 CY - Ghent, Belgium AN - OPUS4-56076 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Nietzke, Jonathan T1 - Hydrogen diffusion and desorption characteristics of a CoCrFeMnNi high entropy and a CoCrNi medium entropy alloy N2 - Future structural components made of the novel high-entropy (HEA) or medium-entropy alloys (MEA) components can be potentially exposed to hydrogen containing environments like high-temperature water in pressurized nuclear reactors or aerospace structures. Further applications are vessels wall materials for cryogenic or high-pressure hydrogen storage. So far, the susceptibility of HEA/MEAs to hydrogen assisted cracking (if any) and the hydrogen diffusion is not investigated in detail yet and can limit or extend possible applications of HEA/MEA as structural materials. In our work, we focused on the hydrogen absorption, diffusion, and distribution in a HEA (Co20Cr20Fe20Mn20Ni20, the original Cantor-alloy) and a MEA (Co33.3Cr33.3Ni33.3). Conventional cathodic hydrogen charging was carried out for the hydrogen ingress in the materials. Thermal desorption analysis (TDA) via carrier gas hot extraction with coupled mass spectrometry revealed complex hydrogen trapping in both alloy types up to 300 °C. The absorbed total hydrogen concentrations were ≥ 70 ppm for the HEA and approximately 40 ppm for the MEA-type. Although both materials have different chemical composition, the TDA spectra were comparable. In addition, it was shown that the consideration of the sample geometry is an important influence on the sample temperature. It decreases the effective applied heating rate, which must be anticipated for each hydrogen peak after deconvolution of the spectra. This increases the activation energy and shifts the peak to lower temperatures. As a result, microstructure effects can be separated from experimental boundary conditions like the concentration gradient due to the charging process and later thermal activation. T2 - 4th International Conference on Metals and Hydrogen - Steely & Hydrogen 2022 CY - Ghent, Belgium DA - 11.10.2022 KW - High-entropy alloy KW - Diffusion KW - Hydrogen KW - Thermal desorption analysis KW - Trapping PY - 2022 AN - OPUS4-56007 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Grimault de Freitas, Tomás T1 - Repair Welding on Future Pressurized Hydrogen Pipelines N2 - Hydrogen is the energy carrier for a sustainable future without fossil fuels. This requires a reliable transport infrastructure. In this context, the conversion of existing natural gas (NG) grids is an essential part of the worldwide hydrogen strategies, in addition to the construction of new pipelines. Given the known effects of hydrogen embrittlement, the compatibility of the materials already in use (typically low alloy steels in a wide range of strengths and thicknesses) must be investigated. Initial comprehensive studies of the hydrogen compatibility of pipeline materials indicate that these materials can be used to a certain extent. However, pipelines require frequent maintenance and repair. In some cases, it is necessary to perform welding on pipelines while they are under pressure, such as the well-known tapping of natural gas grids. This in-service welding presents additional challenges for hydrogen operations in terms of additional hydrogen absorption during welding and material compatibility. The challenge can be roughly divided into the possible austenitization of the inner pipe material exposed to hydrogen, which can lead to sufficient hydro- gen absorption, and the welding itself, which causes an increased temperature range. Both lead to a significant increase in hydrogen solubility and diffusivity of the respective materials compared to room temperature. In this context, knowledge about hot tapping on hydrogen pipelines is scarce due to the lack of operating experience. Fundamental experimental investigations are required to investigate the possibility of transferring the state-of-the-art concepts from natural gas to hydrogen pipeline grids to ensure that no critical material degradation occurs due to the potentially increased hydrogen uptake. For this reason, the presentation will present the state of the art in hydrogen pipeline hot tapping, including current research projects and their solution strategies in terms of pressurized mock-ups and basic testing scenarios. T2 - ASTM Conference on Hydrogen Materials CY - La Rochelle, France DA - 03.06.2025 KW - Component Test KW - Hydrogen KW - In-service welding KW - Pipeline PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-63332 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Rhode, Michael T1 - Development of a component test for assessment of delayed hydrogen assisted cracking susceptibility of thick walled submerged arc welded high strength offshore steels N2 - Offshore Wind Turbines (OWT) are a key factor in tomorrow's sustainable energy generation. The ever-increasing installation depth and weight of OWTs require suitable foundation concepts such as monopiles or tripods. Typically, mild steels such as S420ML are used with plate thicknesses of up to several hundred mm, resulting in high restraints in the welded joints. The large plate thickness requires high-efficiency welding processes such as submerged arc welding (SAW) with multiple wires. Due to the very high stiffness and plate thickness of the large-scale offshore structure, a susceptibility to time-delayed hydrogen assisted cracking (HAC) may occur. The evaluation of this crack susceptibility is very complex due to the component size and stiffness of real offshore structures. For this purpose, a near-component test geometry was developed to transfer the real stiffness conditions to laboratory (i.e. workshop) scale. The 350 kg mock-up studied consisted of heavy plates (thickness 50 mm, seam length 1,000 m) joined by a 22-pass submerged-arc weld. Additional stiffeners simulated the effect of high restraint or shrinkage restraint of the weld. Extreme scenarios of hydrogen absorption during welding were simulated by using flux in dry (HD < 5 ml/100g Fe) and wet (HD > 15 ml/100g Fe) conditions. Weld residual stresses were determined using a robotic X-ray diffractometer. Areas of critical tensile residual stress (at the level of the yield strength) were found in the weld metal and in the heat affected zone, suggesting that these weld sub-zones are the most critical in the case of hydrogen ingress. To identify possible delayed cracking, the welds were tested by phased array ultrasonic testing (PAUT) after welding, 6 h, 12 h, 24 h, and a maximum of 48 h. Summarized, no significant occurrence of HAC was detected, indicating the high crack resistance of the welded joint, i.e., a suitable combination of base material, welding consumable and parameters. T2 - MSE 2024: International Materials Science and Engineering Congress CY - Darmstadt, Germany DA - 24.09.2024 KW - Hydrogen KW - Offshore wind turbine KW - Component test KW - Submerged arc welding KW - Minimum waiting time PY - 2024 AN - OPUS4-61154 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Rhode, Michael T1 - Assessment of in-service welding conditions for pressurized hydrogen pipelines via component test N2 - Hydrogen is the energy carrier of tomorrow. This requires a reliable transport infrastructure with the ability to carry large amounts of hydrogen e.g. for steel industry or chemical industry. The conversion of existing natural gas (NG) grids is an essential part of the worldwide hydrogen strategies, in addition to the construction of new pipelines. In this context, the transportation of hydrogen is fundamental different from NG as hydrogen can be absorbed into the pipeline material. Given the well-known effects of hydrogen embrittlement, the compatibility of the materials for the intended pipelines must be investigated (typically low alloy steels in a wide range of strengths and thicknesses). However, pipelines require frequent maintenance, repair or the need for installation for further outlets. In some cases, it is necessary to perform welding on or onto the pipelines while they are still in service, i.e. with active gas flow under high pressure, e.g. such as the well-known “hot tapping”, see Fig. 1a. This in-service welding causes challenges for hydrogen operations in terms of additional hydrogen absorption during welding and the material compatibility. The challenge can be roughly divided into the possible austenitization of the inner pipe material exposed to hydrogen, which can lead to sufficient hydrogen absorption, and the welding itself, which causes an increased temperature range. Both lead to a significant increase in hydrogen solubility and diffusivity of the respective materials compared to room temperature. In this context, knowledge about hot tapping on hydrogen pipelines is scarce due to the lack of operating experience. Fundamental experimental investigations are required to investigate the transferability from NG to hydrogen pipeline grids. For this reason, the present study introduces a specially designed mock-up / demonstrator concept for the realistic assessment of the welding processing conditions, see Fig. 1b. The mock-up was designed to enable in-situ temperature measurement during welding as well as ex-post extraction of samples for the quantification of the absorbed hydrogen concentration, see Fig. 1c. For safety measures, the necessary pressurized hydrogen volume was limited by the insertion of a solid cylinder ensuring a 1 cm hydrogen gas layer. Welding experiments on the pressurized mock-ups with the diameters DN50 and DN200 have shown that the austenitization temperature can be reached on the inner surface of the pipeline, especially on thinner-walled pipelines, using current welding practices. This corresponds to an increased hydrogen uptake in the welded area of several ppm T2 - 1st Conference on Hydrogen in Materials Science and Engineering (H2-MSE) CY - Siegburg, Germany DA - 11.02.2025 KW - Hydrogen KW - Pipeline KW - In-service welding KW - Component test PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-62544 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Kaiser, Sebastian T1 - Component-like demonstrator for determination of temperature field and inner surface temperatures during in-service welding of hydrogen pipelines N2 - Hydrogen is considered as one of the most important energy carriers in the future. The necessary large-scale transport over long distances requires a suitable pipeline infrastructure. Current plannings encompass a dual-way strategy of repurposing existing natural gas (NG) pipelines, supplemented by the construction of new hydrogen pipelines. In some cases, such as necessary grid extensions or installation of bypasses in case of repair work, techniques like “hot tapping” are applied. These techniques include so-called in-service welding on pressurized pipelines and are state-of-the-art for NG grids and oil pipelines. The existing NG pipeline grid consists of a wide range of materials with different strengths, diameters, and wall thicknesses. In this context, the material compatibility is crucial. The main difference between hydrogen and NG is that hydrogen can both penetrate the material and cause hydrogen embrittlement. In that connection, in-service welding encompasses elevated temperatures for a certain time during the typically multi-layer welding process. Locally even austenitization temperature can be reached or surpassed. Austenite has a higher hydrogen solubility at a significantly lower diffusion rate, which could lead to a critical hydrogen accumulation. Especially the inner pipe surface temperature is from utmost interest, as this interface is exposed to the pressurized hydrogen (up to 100 bar). However, direct measurement of the locally occurring temperatures is very challenging. For this reason, a component-like geometry was developed. The geometry consists of a pipeline segment with a metal sheet joined to the pipe segment, representing similar heat dissipation conditions as in the field. In addition, typical welding parameters were applied that are currently used in the NG grid. This allows the welding of realistic multi-layer fillet welds on the outer pipe wall with simultaneous temperature measurement using manifold thermocouples at defined positions: (1) adjacent to the weld seam on the outer pipe surface, (2) on the inner pipe surface and (3) on the welded metal sheet. To ensure realistic conditions, manual shielded metal arc welding (SMAW) and gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) was investigated. The effects of different wall thicknesses and welding heat inputs on the temperature distribution and peak temperatures achieved on the inner pipe surface during welding vary depending on the chosen method. Peak temperatures above austenitization temperature up to 1078 °C have been measured on L245 pipes with wall thickness of 3.6 mm. For pipes made from higher strength materials, such as L485, with a wall thickness of 8 mm, peak temperatures between 607 °C and 755 °C were recorded. Temperature and austenitization directly affects hydrogen diffusivity and solubility, showing the importance of the findings. The temperature profile and cooling conditions influence the mechanical properties of the material as well. For this reason, metallurgical investigations are carried out to assess the hardness and microstructure of the welds. Hardening up to 248 HV10 was detected in the heat-affected zone (HAZ) of the top layer, which could lead to a locally increased susceptibility to hydrogen assisted cracking. Meanwhile, the minimum hardness found in the HAZ of the root layer was as low as 144 HV10, indicating a softening. The results of this study provide valuable insights into the suitability of existing materials and geometries for hydrogen transport. Secondly, the data collected will serve as a basis for planned numerical simulations to further improve knowledge and optimize welding processes to ensure the integrity and safety of hydrogen pipelines. T2 - 78th IIW Annual Assembly and International Conference, Meeting of Commission II-C: "Testing and Measurement of Welds" CY - Genoa, Italy DA - 22.06.2025 KW - Pipeline KW - Welding KW - Inner-surface temperature KW - Temperature measurement KW - Hydrogen PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-63637 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -