Internal Sharp Defect Burst Testing in Hydrogen

Completed

Hydrogen and Fuel Cells(Hydrogen, Other infrastructure and systems R&D)

Applied Research and Development

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (Mechanical, Aeronautical and Manufacturing Engineering)

Not Cross-cutting

Project Contact
SGN

Network Innovation Allowance

Ofgem

01 September 2024

31 March 2025

ENA months

£729,035

Energy

South East

Network Innovation Allowance

Project Contact, SGN

Two programmes have been specified as noted below:Programme 1 (All vessels to be manufactured from the same length of pipe) Internal crack, hydrostatic burst test. Internal crack, pneumatic hydrogen bust test (3-month soak with 96 hours heating) Internal crack, pneumatic hydrogen burst test no soak.Programme 2 (All vessels to be manufactured from the same length of pipe) Internal crack, hydrostatic burst test (smaller defect). Internal crack, pneumatic hydrogen bust test (3-month soak with 96 hours heating & smaller defect)Complimentary small-scale material testing shall be conducted to characterise the mechanical properties of the pipeline material. This encompasses testing in air (chemical composition, hardness, tensile and V-notch Charpy impact, fracture toughness) and testing in pressurised gaseous hydrogen (tensile and fracture toughness).Subject matter experts, Dr Andrew Cosham (Ninth Planet Engineering) and Gary Senior (Pipeline Integrity Engineers) will provide technical support to the project including analysis of results, specifying defect dimensions and incorporation of results into the LTS Futures Repurposing Blueprint.DNV Spadeadam shall fabricate and burst test five vessels with internal defects using the processes and procedures developed within the LTS Futures Work Package 2 testing programme. DNV shall supply all required materials and instruments to carry out this testing except for the pipeline material which is free issue from SGN and on-site already.Two rings of material shall be sent to the TWI test facility in Cambridge for machining and testing. SGN shall organise transport of material from DNV Spadeadam to TWI Cambridge. TWI shall perform laboratory scale mechanical testing including: Transverse Strip Tensile (in air) Charpy V-Notch (in air) Micrography (in air) Chemical Composition (in air) Hardness (in air) Round Bar Tensile Testing (in air and hydrogen) Fracture Toughness (in air and hydrogen)As the programme progresses, PIE shall support SGN in technical decisions and troubleshooting. PIE shall produce an overall final report, linking the small scale and full-scale testing with discussion of the results their relevance to the UK LTS. In order to fully understand the results of the previous burst tests, five additional burst tests shall be conducted on internal sharp defects via the same process as in LTS Futures. The aim of the additional burst tests is to: Gather additional learning on the initial internal crack LTS Futures test result; Evaluate the effect of preheating vessels on breakdown of surface oxide layer and hydrogen permeation; Evaluate internal defects of different dimensions; and, Measure overpressure generated during defect failure.Following the conclusion of the burst tests, some of the pipeline material will be sent to the TWI facility for machining and laboratory scale mechanical testing including:Transverse Strip Tensile (in air)Charpy V-Notch (in air)Micrography (in air)Chemical Composition (in air)Hardness (in air)Round Bar Tensile Testing (in air and hydrogen)Fracture Toughness (in air and hydrogen) DNV deliverables shall include: A final report detailing all elements of testing including fabrication, set-up, conditions, testing, instrumentation, and data. Electronic data sets for all tests (pressure, temperature and overpressure at failure). Test videos and photographs for all tests.TWI deliverables shall include: A final report detailing all elements of testing including machining, test setup, results, and discussion. Raw data sets for all testsPIE deliverables shall include: A final report encompassing the small-scale and full-scale testing with analysis relating results to the UK LTS.

The Internal Sharp Defect Burst Testing in Hydrogen project will build upon the pipeline defect burst pressure testing programme completed as part of the SGN LTS Futures project. Additional burst testing will provide a more comprehensive understanding of the effect of hydrogen gas on internal sharp pipeline defects. These tests will evaluate the vessel conditioning regime and test defects of different dimensions by examining the effect of preheating, repeatability of results and overpressure at the point of defect failure.

02/04/25