New approaches to understanding hydrogen embrittlement in steels

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The aim of the first project is to develop a fundamental understanding of hydrogen embrittlement in steels, using a variety ofcharacterisation techniques including cryogenic Focussed Ion Beam (FIB) and Atom Probe Tomography (APT).The anticipated major expansion in hydrogen production, transportation and utilisation calls for massive investments ininfrastructure. One of the biggest challenges of the hydrogen economy is storage and transport. Current hydrogen storagetechnology involves either physical storage systems such as pressurised canisters (typically made from steel, which may beembrittled by the cryogenic temperatures and hydrogen exposures- or the synergistic effects of both) or materials such ashydrides which can store hydrogen in a reacted form, that will then need to be extracted. Hydrogen embrittlement in steel atcryogenic temperatures is poorly understood - and the lack of mechanistic insights means that material selection or bespokealloy development remains challenging. Steels that are resistant to embrittlement at room temperature are certainly availablebut tend to be expensive, and their behaviour under cryogenic temperatures has not been well-explored. Improved fundamentalunderstanding of the processes of hydrogen dissolution in the metal, and the role of microstructural features that act ashydrogen trap sites, will assist in screening steels for hydrogen service. This iCASE project will therefore focus on theexperimental investigation of hydrogen dissolution, diffusion and distribution in different steels - with the steels studied andcharacterized under cryo-conditions. Using new experimental facilities at Imperial, we have a chance to create a step-changein understanding the properties.