Forensic Investigation of Stainless Steel 316 Hydrogen-Membrane and Ammonia-Cracking Reactors Through Mechanical Testing
Knowledge of alloy behavior under industry-relevant conditions is critical to hydrogen production and processing, yet it is currently limited. To understand more about the impact of hydrogen damage on stainless steel 316 under realistic in-service conditions, we conducted a forensic investigation of...
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MDPI AG
2025-05-01
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| Series: | Corrosion and Materials Degradation |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2624-5558/6/2/17 |
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| author | Alexander Ilyushechkin Veronica Gray Riley Ingle Lachlan Carter Liezl Schoeman |
| author_facet | Alexander Ilyushechkin Veronica Gray Riley Ingle Lachlan Carter Liezl Schoeman |
| author_sort | Alexander Ilyushechkin |
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| description | Knowledge of alloy behavior under industry-relevant conditions is critical to hydrogen production and processing, yet it is currently limited. To understand more about the impact of hydrogen damage on stainless steel 316 under realistic in-service conditions, we conducted a forensic investigation of two reactors exposed to various hydrogen-processing conditions. We examined samples of reactor walls exposed to hydrogen-containing atmospheres for >100 and ~1000 h at elevated temperatures during hydrogen separation and ammonia cracking. The samples were characterized by tensile testing, stretch–bend testing, and three-point bending. A loss in ductility and strength was observed for the reactor wall material compared with both untreated materials and materials annealed in neutral atmospheres at the same temperatures used during reactor operation. The three-point bend testing, which was conducted on inner and outer pipe-surface material extracted via electrical discharge machining, showed larger changes in the flexural modulus of exposed reactors but increases in the elastic limit. Microstructural observations revealed that hydrogen may play a role in stress relaxation, possibly promoting normalization at lower-than-expected temperatures. We also observed that materials exposed to ammonia undertake more damage from nitriding than from hydrogen. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-a0cba1645e5743b9b4c077dd1ddf908a |
| institution | Matheson Library |
| issn | 2624-5558 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Corrosion and Materials Degradation |
| spelling | doaj-art-a0cba1645e5743b9b4c077dd1ddf908a2025-06-25T13:39:15ZengMDPI AGCorrosion and Materials Degradation2624-55582025-05-01621710.3390/cmd6020017Forensic Investigation of Stainless Steel 316 Hydrogen-Membrane and Ammonia-Cracking Reactors Through Mechanical TestingAlexander Ilyushechkin0Veronica Gray1Riley Ingle2Lachlan Carter3Liezl Schoeman4CSIRO Energy, Pullenvale, QLD 4069, AustraliaSchool of Mechanical, Medical and Process Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD 4001, AustraliaCSIRO Energy, Pullenvale, QLD 4069, AustraliaCSIRO Energy, Pullenvale, QLD 4069, AustraliaCSIRO Energy, Pullenvale, QLD 4069, AustraliaKnowledge of alloy behavior under industry-relevant conditions is critical to hydrogen production and processing, yet it is currently limited. To understand more about the impact of hydrogen damage on stainless steel 316 under realistic in-service conditions, we conducted a forensic investigation of two reactors exposed to various hydrogen-processing conditions. We examined samples of reactor walls exposed to hydrogen-containing atmospheres for >100 and ~1000 h at elevated temperatures during hydrogen separation and ammonia cracking. The samples were characterized by tensile testing, stretch–bend testing, and three-point bending. A loss in ductility and strength was observed for the reactor wall material compared with both untreated materials and materials annealed in neutral atmospheres at the same temperatures used during reactor operation. The three-point bend testing, which was conducted on inner and outer pipe-surface material extracted via electrical discharge machining, showed larger changes in the flexural modulus of exposed reactors but increases in the elastic limit. Microstructural observations revealed that hydrogen may play a role in stress relaxation, possibly promoting normalization at lower-than-expected temperatures. We also observed that materials exposed to ammonia undertake more damage from nitriding than from hydrogen.https://www.mdpi.com/2624-5558/6/2/17hydrogenmechanical propertiesausteniticstainless steel |
| spellingShingle | Alexander Ilyushechkin Veronica Gray Riley Ingle Lachlan Carter Liezl Schoeman Forensic Investigation of Stainless Steel 316 Hydrogen-Membrane and Ammonia-Cracking Reactors Through Mechanical Testing Corrosion and Materials Degradation hydrogen mechanical properties austenitic stainless steel |
| title | Forensic Investigation of Stainless Steel 316 Hydrogen-Membrane and Ammonia-Cracking Reactors Through Mechanical Testing |
| title_full | Forensic Investigation of Stainless Steel 316 Hydrogen-Membrane and Ammonia-Cracking Reactors Through Mechanical Testing |
| title_fullStr | Forensic Investigation of Stainless Steel 316 Hydrogen-Membrane and Ammonia-Cracking Reactors Through Mechanical Testing |
| title_full_unstemmed | Forensic Investigation of Stainless Steel 316 Hydrogen-Membrane and Ammonia-Cracking Reactors Through Mechanical Testing |
| title_short | Forensic Investigation of Stainless Steel 316 Hydrogen-Membrane and Ammonia-Cracking Reactors Through Mechanical Testing |
| title_sort | forensic investigation of stainless steel 316 hydrogen membrane and ammonia cracking reactors through mechanical testing |
| topic | hydrogen mechanical properties austenitic stainless steel |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2624-5558/6/2/17 |
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