Hydrogen embrittlement creates complications for clean energy storage, transportation
Methods reveal understanding of the location of hydrogen in ferritic
steels

Date:
October 6, 2020
Source:
American Institute of Physics
Summary:
Hydrogen is becoming a crucial pillar in the clean energy movement,
and developing safe and cost-effective storage and transportation
methods for it is essential but complicated, because hydrogen can
cause brittleness in several metals including ferritic steel. Recent
advancements provide insight into the embrittlement process and
a review of various methods improves the understanding of the
structure, property, and performance of ferritic steels subjected
to mechanical loading in a hydrogen environment.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
As the global energy market shifts from coal, petroleum fuel, and natural
gas to more environmentally friendly primary energy sources, hydrogen
is becoming a crucial pillar in the clean energy movement. Developing
safe and cost-effective storage and transportation methods for hydrogen
is essential but complicated given the interaction of hydrogen with
structural materials.


========================================================================== Hydrogen can cause brittleness in several metals including ferritic
steel -- a type of steel used in structural components of buildings,
automobile gears and axles, and industrial equipment. Recent advancements
in experimental tools and multiscale modeling are starting to provide
insight into the embrittlement process.

A review of various methods, published in Applied Physics Reviews,
from AIP Publishing, has improved the understanding of the structure,
property, and performance of ferritic steels that are subjected to
mechanical loading in a hydrogen environment. While there are many
studies of stainless steel, the researchers concentrated on ferritic
steel, a cheaper steel that is used in the construction of pipelines
and other large structures.

"Determining the location of the hydrogen in the host metal is the
million- dollar question," said May Martin, one of the authors.

Specifically, understanding where the hydrogen goes under strain in a
bulk material is critical to understanding embrittlement.

"We haven't answered this question but by combining techniques, we are
getting closer to that answer," said Martin.

The researchers highlighted several combinations of techniques and
methods, including atom probe tomography. APT is a measurement tool
that combines a field ion microscope with a mass spectrometer to enable
3D imaging and chemical composition measurements at the atomic scale,
even for light elements like hydrogen.

Other techniques that show promise are 2D mapping by secondary ion
mass spectrometry to answer the question of where hydrogen lies in
a material. Ion mass spectrometry is a technique used to analyze the composition of solid surfaces and thin films by sputtering the surface of
the specimen with a focused primary ion beam and collecting and analyzing
the ejected secondary ions.

The researchers said it is particularly in the last decade that
large advances have been made in hydrogen embrittlement, thanks to
the development of new experimental capabilities. As new experimental techniques are refined it is expected the field will continue to develop
at a remarkable pace.

"As the field expands, we hope our paper is a good resource for those
getting into the field," said Martin.


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by American_Institute_of_Physics. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. May L. Martin, Matthew J. Connolly, Frank W. DelRio, Andrew
J. Slifka.

Hydrogen embrittlement in ferritic steels. Applied Physics Reviews,
2020; 7 (4): 041301 DOI: 10.1063/5.0012851 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/10/201006114309.htm

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