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 - 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 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 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 -