Research of hydrogen absorption by metals

The main disadvantage of the methods used when studying the nature and rate of interaction of hydrogen with structural materials is the difficulty of determining the rate of interaction of components at characteristic concentrations of hydrogen in metals 1 – 5 ppm. The paper presents the results of a study of the interaction of hydrogen with metals in a continuous mode using an installation that allows determining kinetic parameters up to a temperature of 1000°C in the case of both gas release and absorption. The principle of operation of the installation is based on a comparison of changes in gas volumes in two isolated, almost identical cells (an inert sample is placed in one and a test sample in the other). Both cells are pre-filled with the test gas. The relative volume change in the tank with the active sample is measured with a differential zero pressure gauge and regularly compensated to the initial zero pressure drop value by introducing or removing part of the gas from the reaction volume. It is shown that when nickel interacts with hydrogen, the gas absorption pattern has a smooth temperature dependence, which is quantitatively related to the shape of the metal sample. For powdered nickel, the absorption is higher than for sheet nickel. The rate of hydrogen absorption by spongy titanium has a threshold character — it increases abruptly at a temperature of about 600°C. The kinetic characteristics of the interaction of hydrogen with a multicomponent alloy at 820°C were determined. The results obtained and the proposed technique can be used in studies of the interaction of gases with solids, including studies of the kinetic parameters of the interaction of hydrogen with metals and alloys.