J - Integral and Slow Strain Rate Investigation of Pipeline Steels under Cathodic Conditions

Department

Departments of  Engineering and Applied Sciences/ Dipartimento di Ingegneria e Scienza Applicat (DISA) at University of Bergamo

Main research activities/topics/projects

The role of green hydrogen is becoming increasingly crucial, attracting significant interest from both the scientific community and industry. Several international initiatives, such as the North-East Brazil Green Energy Parks and Green Shipping Corridors, highlight its global relevance. Green hydrogen is a highly promising energy carrier and integrating it into existing natural gas transmission networks offers a potentially cost-effective solution. However, ensuring material compatibility with hydrogen is essential. Even though steels used in gas pipelines are generally resistant to hydrogen embrittlement (HE), this phenomenon can still occur under conditions of slow plastic deformation, often induced by soil movement. To address this, it is necessary to perform hydrogen charging in combination with mechanical testing, such as elastic-plastic tests, to replicate real-world conditions. This project focuses on investigating the mechanical behaviour of pipeline steels under realistic operating conditions. Slow strain rate tests and elastic-plastic fracture mechanics tests will be conducted simultaneously with electrochemical hydrogen charging. Hydrogen charging is performed in an alkaline solution, simulating the presence of water in soils. Tests are carried out in both air and hydrogen environments, and the effects of hydrogen embrittlement are analysed using the J-integral approach.

Working language

Italian and English

Duration in months (min-max)

PhD sandwich: 3-12

Post Doc: 3- 12