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PUBLICATIONS

Fatigue crack growth rates of API X70 pipeline steel in a pressurized hydrogen gas environment

Published

Author(s)

Elizabeth S. Drexler, Andrew J. Slifka, Robert L. Amaro, Nicholas Barbosa, Damian S. Lauria, Louis E. Hayden, Douglas G. Stalheim

Abstract

Hydrogen is known to have a deleterious effect on metal, but pipelines will still be the most cost- effective means of transporting hydrogen gas and sour gas. Rather, it is the codes and standards, such as ASME B31.12, that will guide the design of pipelines and account for the effect of hydrogen. It has been shown repeatedly that the strength of the steel is inversely related to the ductility of the material in hydrogen gas. However, the fatigue properties with respect to strength are not as well documented or understood. Here we present the results of fatigue crack growth tests on API X70 from two sources, tested in air, 5.5 MPa and 34 MPa pressurized hydrogen gas, and at 1 Hz and 0.1 Hz. These frequencies were chosen to allow time for the corrosive hydrogen to migrate to the highly stressed region at the crack tip. At these hydrogen pressures, the fatigue crack growth rate increases above that of air for all values of the stress intensity range (ΔK) greater than ~7 MPa•m0.5. The effect of hydrogen is particularly sensitive at values of ΔK below ~15 MPa; above that value, the FCGR remains approximately two orders of magnitude higher than that of air.
Proceedings Title
Proceedings of the 23rd International Offshore (Ocean) and Polar Engineering Conference
Volume
37
Issue
5
Conference Dates
June 30-July 5, 2013
Conference Location
Anchorage, AK
Conference Title
23rd International Offshore (Ocean) and Polar Engineering Conference
Pub Type
Conferences

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DOI Link

Keywords

fatigue, FCGR, hydrogen, hydrogen-assisted cracking, pipeline, steel, X70
Metals

Citation

Drexler, E. , Slifka, A. , Amaro, R. , Barbosa, N. , Lauria, D. , Hayden, L. and Stalheim, D. (2013), Fatigue crack growth rates of API X70 pipeline steel in a pressurized hydrogen gas environment, Proceedings of the 23rd International Offshore (Ocean) and Polar Engineering Conference, Anchorage, AK, [online], https://doi.org/10.1111/ffe.12133 (Accessed March 13, 2025)

Issues

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Created December 21, 2013, Updated November 10, 2018