Abstract
Across the globe tremendous efforts are invested in developing efficient electrolyzers, fuel cell technologies and innovative transport and storage methods for hydrogen. Despite the given attention and the urge for exploiting renewable energy possibilities, qualification and research on the impact of hydrogen on metallic materials in many cases lacking in this value chain. This is also the case for existing natural gas grids which are considered as suitable infrastructure to transport hydrogen.
In this context, existing testing procedures to define the impact of gaseous hydrogen on the mechanical properties under varying pressure and temperature conditions are based on a complicated and expensive method. In this method a compact tensile (CT) sample is tested in an autoclave compressed with hydrogen. As a consequence, the method cannot be realized at the producers and suppliers of relevant materials and components and the availability of testing and qualification facilities is strongly limited.
The following contribution presents the development of an alternative method based on hollow tensile specimen. Here, the hydrogen is compressed within the tested sample, reducing the amount of hydrogen and complexity of the test procedure and enabling a simpler evaluation process. Within the frame of this work, differences between the conventional tensile test procedure and the hollow sample procedures with inert gas and with hydrogen are shown and compared for typical pipeline steel.