Fatigue Lifetime Assessment of Seamless Pipes for Hydrogen Gas Storage and Transport

To ensure the integrity of assets for the storage and the transport of hydrogen gas is key for the adoption of hydrogen as a reliable and safe source of energy and decarbonization vector. A fitness-for-service approach is well adapted to predict the lifetime of these structures in service. The process for determining the fatigue lifetime of seamless pipes for hydrogen gas transport or storage will be described, combining non-destructive assessment of surface imperfections and the resistance of the material to hydrogen stress cracking and hydrogen enhanced fatigue. Several case studies have been investigated, highlighting the strong impact on the fatigue lifetime of the ratio outer diameter to wall thickness, as well as the working pressure, the initial flaw size and shape, the fatigue crack growth rate, and the load ratio. It is discussed for which configurations hydrogen-enhanced fatigue can be disregarded and for which configurations an infinite longitudinal crack can be considered instead of a semi-elliptical crack for assessing fatigue lifetime.