SOME ADVANCES IN STUDIES OF MATERIAL COMPATIBILITY OF PRESSURE VESSELS AND PIPELINES IN HYDROGEN ATMOSPHERE

As an ideal clean energy, hydrogen energy has attracted the attention of countries all over the world. Pressure vessels and pipelines are important technologies for large-scale, long-distance, safe and efficient transmission in hydrogen energy industry. However, in the process of long-term service, steels are prone to hydrogen embrittlement (HE) and failure, which brings great challenges to the application of hydrogen energy. This paper discussed the material compatibility of pressure vessels and pipelines in hydrogen atmosphere. Firstly, the typical HE mechanism and the mechanism of hydrogen penetration into steels were described, and then the HE characteristics of pressure vessels and high-grade pipelines were summarized. Aiming at the hydrogen induced failure of steels, the following measures are put forward: (1) improving heat treatment and processing technologies to avoid the hydrogen sensitive structures and control the inclusion characteristics (quantity and size) in steels; (2) reducing the sensitivity of hydrogen induced cracking in heat affected zones by improving welding process; (3) introducing effective hydrogen traps into steel can improve its HE resistance. This conclusion could lay foundations for the service safety research of pressure vessels and pipelines in the future.