• Journal of Welding and Joining
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.34-39
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• 2005

It is required for the steel materials used in the sour environment to have sufficient resistance to hydrogen induced cracking(HIC). For line pipe steels, HIC resistance could be varied during pipe making process due to the large plastic deformation applied in the thick-wall pipe. In order to figure out such effect, HIC tests were performed not only in the plate condition but in the pipe condition and their results were compared in terms of cracking ratio. Test results demonstrated a detrimental effect of plastic deformation to HIC resulting in a substantial increase in the cracking ratio after pipe forming process. All of the cracks found in the pipe material were located in the outer layer of pipe where the tensile strain was resulted during pipe forming stage. In order to understand the HIC resistance of the pipe but in the plate condition, it was suggested to pre-strain the plate to some extent before the HIC test.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.164-169
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• 2007

Hydrogen induced cracking (HIC) was studied phenomenologically and the effect of microstructure on HIC was discussed for the steels having two different levels of nonmetallic inclusions. Steels having different microstructures were produced by thermomechanically controlled processes (TMCP) from two different heats which had the different level of nonmetallic inclusions. Ferrite/pearlite (F/P), ferrite/acicular ferrite (F/AF), ferrite/bainite (F/B) were three representative microstructures for all tested steels. For the steels with higher level of inclusions, permissible inclusion level for HIC not to develop was different according to steelmicrostructure. On the contrary, HIC occurred also at the martensite/austenite (M/A) constituents regardless of steel microstructure when they accumulated to a certain degree. It was proved that M/A constituents were easily embrittled by hydrogen atoms. Steels having F/AF is resistant to HIC at a given actual service condition since they covers a wide range of diffusible hydrogen content without developing HIC.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.4 no.6
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• pp.236-241
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• 2005

Hydrogen induced cracking (HIC) is one of the hydrogen degradation phenomena of linepipe steels caused by $H_2S$ gas in the crude oil or natural gas. However, NACE TM0284-96 standard HIC test method is hard to satisfy the steel requirements for sour service application since it uses more severe environmental conditions than actual conditions. Therefore, in order to use steels effectively, it is required to evaluate HIC resistance of steels in the practical range of environmental severity. In this study, HIC resistance of two high strength low alloy (HSLA) steels being used as line pipe steels was evaluated in various test solutions with different $H_2S$ pressures and pH values. The results showed that the key parameter affecting crack area ratio (CAR) is $H_2S$ partial pressure of test solution when the pH value of test solution is not over 4. Hydrogen diffusivity was not a constant value, but it was rather affected by the hydrogen ion concentration (pH value) in the solution.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Surface Engineering Conference
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• 2015.05a
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• pp.124-124
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• 2015

Acoustic microscopy and scanning electron microscopy were applied to non-destructively evaluate the hydrogen-induced cracking of API X-80 steels and to find the initiation time of the crack. The API X-80 steel had the average grain size of about $4-10{\mu}m$. The hardness was reduced from 240 to 202 [Hv] after exposing in HIC environment for 2-days. Friction coefficient and wear loss were 0.745 and 0.392 mm, respectively. Empirical equation of corrosion potential and corrosion rate of the steel with HIC time in $5%NaCl-0.5%CH_3COOH$ at $25^{\circ}C$ were $Eh\;(up)=0.06^*t[day]+0.2951$, $Eh(down)=0.376^*t[day]+0.5938$, respectively. HIC grew with micro-size after 1-day exposure. The HIC tended to propagate on the surface with Al, Si, Ti, and Mn.

• Journal of Welding and Joining
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.1-6
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• 2014

This study aims at manufacturing SA welded API-X70 line-pipe with sour gas resistance. A pipe was manufactured by JCO bending process and SA welding using the API-X70 plate guaranteed HIC resistance. SA welded pipe was expanded in order to reduce the residual stress. The evaluation of a pipe for resistance to HIC and SSCC were performed by the RS D 0004 and RS D 0005 standards. For verification that a pipe has acceptable resistance to HIC, fullscale test was carried out. Results showed no cracking for the HIC and SSCC.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.96-102
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• 2007

The resistance of the linepipe steel to hydrogen-induced cracking (HIC) and sulfide stress cracking (SSC) is very important for steel to be used in sour oil/gas environments. Welding of steels is necessary to the construction of pipe-line transporting oil/gas. In this study, HIC and SSC resistance of an electric resistance welded (ERW) steel plate which belongs to API X70 grade was evaluated by using NACE TM0284-96A and NACE TM0177-96A methods. HIC and SSC fracturing behavior was investigated by observing fractured surfaces using optical microscopy (OM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It was discussed in terms of metallurgical parameters such as the distribution of primary microstructure, second phases and inclusions. Results showed that the weld joint of ERW steel is more sensitive than base metal to HIC and SSC. This is due to difference in the contribution of metallurgical parameters to HIC and SSC nucleation and propagation.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.257-266
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• 2008

AHydrogen induced cracking (HIC) was phenomenologically studied in terms of the effect of nonmetallic inclusions and hot rolling process parameters. By comparing the level of non-metallic inclusions in two different kinds of commercial grade steels having different HIC resistance, the role of non-metallic inclusions in HIC occurrence was investigated. Change in inclusion morphology and distribution during hot rolling was also studied throughout slab, rolling at austenite recrystallization region (roughing mill; RM) and rolling at austenite non-recrystallization region (finish mill; FM). In addition, the contribution of RM and FM parameters to HIC was investigated from the standpoint of change in inclusion morphology during hot rolling processes. As a result, HIC was closely related to the separation of large complex inclusion during hot rolling process. Large complex inclusions originated from the improper Ca treatment, after which equilibrium composition of slag should have resulted in eutectoid composition. By controlling the equilibrium slag composition equivalent to eutectoid one, HIC resistance could be improved due to the reduced size of inclusions. In addition, change in reduction/pass in RM had an effect on HIC resistance of steels while that in FM did not. Increase in the reduction/pass in the latter stage of RM improved HIC resistance of steels by enhancing the void enclosure around inclusions.

• Journal of Welding and Joining
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.9-13
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• 2004

지하로부터 채굴되는 천연가스의 황화수소가스 농도가 일정 수준 이상이면 이를 사우어가스(sour gas)분위기라고 하는데, 이러한 분위기에 강재가 노출되면 수소유기균열(hydrogen induced cracking, 이하 'HIC균열'이라고 함)이 발생할 위험성이 높아진다.(중략)

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Surface Engineering Conference
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• 2014.11a
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• pp.155-155
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• 2014

The oxide film was formed in hydrogen induced cracking (HIC) environment by potentio-dynamic method. Corrosion potentials and rates of the X-65 and X-80 line pipe steels were -0.3495 $V_{SHE}$, $2.833{\times}10^{-3}A/cm^2$ and 0.2716 $V_{SHE}$ and $2.533{\times}10^{-3}A/cm^2$, respectively. Surface composition analysis of the oxide film contained sulfur. Thermodynamic analysis of the HIC solution chemistry suggested that the oxide phase consisted of iron sulfate. Dynamic nano-indentation method applied to determine nano-hardnesses of the oxide film and base metal hardness.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.131-136
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• 2023

The aim of this study was to investigate effects of microstructure control on hydrogen diffusivity, trap activation energy, and cracking behaviors of high-strength steel using a range of experimental techniques. Results of this study showed that susceptibility to hydrogen induced cracking (HIC) was significantly associated with hydrogen diffusivity and trap activation energy, which were primarily influenced by the microstructure. On the other hand, microstructural modifications had no significant impact on electrochemical polarization behavior on the surface at an early corrosion stage. To ensure high resistance to HIC of the steel, it is recommended to increase the cooling rate during normalizing to avoid formation of banded pearlite in the microstructure. However, it is also essential to establish optimal heat treatment conditions to ensure that proportions of bainite, retained austenite (RA), and martensite-austenite (MA) constituents are not too high. Additionally, post-heat treatment at below A₁ temperature is desired to decompose locally distributed RA and MA constituents.