Objectives of the project include: Enable the use of high strength steel hydrogen pipelines, as significant cost savings can result by implementing high strength steels as compared to lower strength pipes. Demonstrate that girth welds in high-strength steel pipe exhibit fatigue performance similar to lower-strength steels in high-pressure hydrogen gas. Identify pathways for developing high-strength pipeline steels by establishing the relationship between microstructure constituents and hydrogen-accelerated fatigue crack growth (HA-FCG)
A GeNi alloy diffusion barrier for contacts on bismuth antimony telluride is proposed. Multiple gold contact diffusion barriers were tested at different thermal aging conditions in air and reducing atmospheres. Among all diffusion barriers, the GeNi alloy barrier shows the best performance for bulk samples with no substantial degradation of the contact resistance, no contact color change, and no change of thermoelectric properties. We observed DAu-GeNi = (9.8 ± 2.7) × 10-20 m2/s within the GeNi alloy barrier, which is 4 times smaller than DAu-BiSbTe. The presence of the initial Ge layer also proves to be effective in reducing nickel diffusion yielding DNi-BiSbTe = (8.57 ± 0.49) × 10-19 m2/s. During GeNi alloy formation, Ge diffusion into BiSbTe produces GeTe, which apparently blocks the van der Waals gaps eliminating Au and Ni fast diffusion pathways. Thermal aging of BiSbTe nanowires shows that Au and Ni diffusion degrades the thermoelectric power factor, whereas the GeNi alloy barrier sample is mostly preserved. The GeNi alloy barrier is a reliable solution to long-term thermal applications of BiTe-based materials.
One of the most efficient methods for supplying gaseous hydrogen long distances is by using steel pipelines. However, steel pipelines exhibit accelerated fatigue crack growth rates in gaseous hydrogen relative to air. Despite conventional expectations that higher strength steels would be more susceptible to hydrogen embrittlement, recent testing on a variety of pipeline steel grades has shown a notable independence between strength and hydrogen assisted fatigue crack growth rate. It is thought that microstructure may play a more defining role than strength in determining the hydrogen susceptibility. Among the many factors that could affect hydrogen accelerated fatigue crack growth rates, this study was conducted with an emphasis on orientation dependence. The orientation dependence of toughness in hot rolled steels is a well-researched area; however, few studies have been conducted to reveal the relationship between fatigue crack growth rate in hydrogen and orientation. In this work, fatigue crack growth rates were measured in hydrogen for high strength steel pipeline with different orientations. A significant reduction in fatigue crack growth rates were measured when cracks propagated perpendicular to the rolling direction. A detailed microstructural investigation was performed, in an effort to understand the orientation dependence of fatigue crack growth rate performance of pipeline steels in hydrogen environments.