• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.37 no.12
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• pp.1497-1502
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• 2013

When using hydrogen gas as an ecofriendly energy sources, it is necessary to conduct a safety assessment and ensure thereliability of the hydrogen pressure vessel against hydrogen embrittlement expected in the steel materials. In this study, by applying the in-situ SP test method, the gas hydrogen embrittlement behaviors in SA372 steel, which is commonly used as a pressurized hydrogen gas storage container, were evaluated. To investigate the hydrogen embrittlement behavior, SP tests at different punch velocities were conducted for specimens with differently fabricated surfaces at atmospheric pressure and under high-pressure hydrogen gas conditions. As a result, the SA372 steel showed significant hydrogen embrittlement under pressurized hydrogen gas conditions. The effect of punch velocity on the hydrogen embrittlement appeared clearly; the lower punch velocity case indicated significant hydrogen embrittlement resulting in lower SP energy. The fractographic morphologies observed after SP test also revealed the hydrogen embrittlement behavior corresponding to the punch velocity adopted. Under this pressurized gas hydrogen test condition, the influence of specimen surface condition on the extent of hydrogen embrittlement could not be determined clearly.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.33 no.7
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• pp.302-308
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• 2023

The influence of specimen geometry and notch on the hydrogen embrittlement of an SA372 steel for pressure vessels was investigated in this study. A slow strain-rate tensile (SSRT) test after the electrochemical hydrogen charging method was conducted on four types of tensile specimens with different directions, shapes (plate, round), and notches. The plate-type specimen showed a significant decrease in hydrogen embrittlement resistance owing to its large surface-to-volume ratio, compared to the round-type specimen. It is well established that most of the hydrogen distributes over the specimen surface when it is electrochemically charged. For the round-type specimens, the notched specimen showed increased hydrogen susceptibility compared with the unnotched one. A notch causes stress concentration and thus generates lots of dislocations in the locally deformed regions during the SSRT test. The solute hydrogen weakens the interactions between these dislocations by promoting the shielding effect of stress fields, which is called hydrogen-enhanced localized plasticity mechanisms. These results provide crucial insights into the relationship between specimen geometry and hydrogen embrittlement resistance.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Gas
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.9-14
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• 2011

A set of test was conducted on a SA-372 steel for CNG storage tank to study the effect of hydrogen embrittlement. Tensile tests were carried out several conditions such as CNG, HCNG and H2 gas environment including air and Ar under the 35 MPa. Also, the test speed was set at 4*10^-4/s and 4*10^-5/s respectively. To maintain the high pressure for environmental gas during test process, we chose MTS which was installed autoclave. Test results showed that tensile stress, elongation rate and cross sectional contraction under Ar and CNG charging condition were similar to that of reference of air. And there was little bit change with test speed variations. However, hydrogen added conditions such as HCNG and H2 were revealed noticeable change in elongation rate and cross sectional contraction. Tensile stress was still uniform for all conditions. From the results, the effect of hydrogen embrittlement was confirmed on the hydrogen enriched conditions. Also its effect was showed more strong with much hydrogen concentration and slower test speed.