Characterization of Hydrogen Trapping Systems and HIC Susceptibility of X60 Steel by Traditional and Innovative Methodologies

Hydrogen interaction with steels and metallic alloys, in general, is an old issue, but the interest in the phenomenon is incredibly increased in recent years. From the ’90s of the last century up to today, the papers about Hydrogen Embrittlement (Scopus, Elsevier, Amsterdam, [1]) are almost tripled! This establishes the growing attention on this topic, due also to the development of hydrogen-based economy. In Oil & Gas industry, hydrogen–steel interaction and related phenomena are often related to corrosion reactions, a consequence of the severe sour environments typical of this industrial sector. This is the reason why corrosion is the second most frequent cause of pipeline failures (Yang et al., Reliab Eng Syst Saf 159, 214–222, [2]), with the peculiar result of dangerous substances released in the environment, and it has translated into a continuous development of new technologies to monitor and control the ‘corrosion state’. The present work aims at characterizing the hydrogen susceptibility of X60 steel, a High-Strength Low-Alloy (HSLA) steel, widely used in Oil & Gas industry. The study is carried out by means of a rigorous approach based on traditional scientific techniques; moreover, an innovative solution was developed, validated and proposed to approach the possibility of on-field monitoring of operating pipelines.