Hydrogen-material interaction
It is well-documented that hydrogen has a detrimental effect on the mechanical properties of steels, especially on their ductility. This phenomenon is designated as hydrogen embrittlement or hydrogen induced cracking.
Even today, this phenomenon is not well understood. Moreover, hydrogen can still induce unpredictable failure of industrially relevant materials, although only a few ppms are present in the metal. Further investigation of the mechanisms that control this phenomenon is therefore essential.
High Strength Steels (HSS) are very prone to hydrogen related failure. Some steels show a ductility loss of 75% when charged with hydrogen! However, these materials are very interesting for the automotive industry and multiple structural applications due to their high strength/stiffness vs. weight ratio.
A detailed evaluation of the interaction between hydrogen and these steels is necessary to understand and predict potential hydrogen damage.
Current research projects
- CLUEDO: Development of innovative and reversible solid oxide fuel cell technologies
- HyFerrA: Hydrogen trapping in steels with ferrite/austenite interfaces
- ReadHY: Development of an innovative testing method towards a better understanding of hydrogen-metal interactions to secure gaseous hydrogen transportation
- MITHRIL
- HySource: Mitigating hydrogen uptake from different sources in gas pipelines for hydrogen transmission
- HyFit: Hydrogen embrittlement at different scales: fitness-for-service of gas pipelines for hydrogen transmission by laboratory scale investigations and modelling
- HyAPT: Hydrogen visualization at (strained) interfaces in high strength steels by cryo-atom probe tomography
- HEA: Elucidating the role of hydrogen on the deformation mechanisms of high entropy alloys: leading to hydrogen-resistant materials?
- AmpsAstray: Stray Current in Wind Turbines