Equipment for the Evaluation of Environmental Effects on Advanced Steels for Automotive and Pipeline Applications

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We are requesting several tools focussed on environmental degradation - e.g. hydrogen-induced delayed cracking (DHC) and environmentally assisted cracking - on the next generation of advanced high strength steels and press hardened steels for automotive weight reduction and safety enhancement, and the current and next generation of pipeline steels. This research will be placed within McMaster University's Centre for Automotive Materials and Corrosion (CAMC). The tools requested include a slow-strain rate tensile frame and environmental control system, an essential tool for assessing the effects of environmental exposure on the reduction of mechanical properties of advanced steels, Mg alloys and advanced Al alloys for automotive systems and for pipeline steels, particularly those destined for sour gas service. We are also requesting a hydrogen sensor for integration with a thermal desorption apparatus and hydrogen permeation apparatus which we will assemble using some existing CAMC equipment and such items as gas-tight fittings. The hydrogen sensor and thermal desorption apparatus are essential to determine the degree of hydrogen adsorption from the corrosive environments we expose our samples to and to determine the microstructural features in our alloys that absorb the hydrogen. Using this information, we can design treatments to mitigate the effect or to predict damage to the materials during service. The hydrogen sensor and permeation apparatus will be used to assess the efficacy of barrier coatings on hydrogen ingress into our materials. Finally, we are requesting two standalone potentiostats, essential tools for any electrochemical measurements, H charging of samples or plating applications. The lack of functioning potentiostats within the CAMC at this time is significantly impeding progress by our HQP, a situation which will only worsen as our research directions expand to include essential environmental exposure assessments on the next generation of automotive and pipeline materials.