Current Research Projects
Overview
Hydrogen and the deformation of alloys
Grant number: DP250101942
Funded by: Australian Research Council
CIs: Julie Cairney, Ranming Niu and Patrick Burr
Abstract
This project will provide a knowledge base for the solutions required for safe use of metals and alloys in hydrogen-rich service environments. Alloys can become brittle and catastrophically fail in the presence of hydrogen. Understanding this problem is a necessary requirement for the development of an Australian hydrogen industry. Advanced microscopy and modelling will be used to determine now hydrogen affects the strength of the individual subcomponents, or microstructures, that make up alloys, allowing us to build a mechanism map that will guide the development of embrittlement resistant alloys.
​
In-situ nanomechanical testing for materials under extreme environments
Grant number: LE240100049
Funded by: Australian Research Council
CIs: Xiaozhou Liao, Ranming Niu, Yi-Sheng Chen, Kourosh Kalantar-Zadeh, Julie Cairney, Huijun Li, Bernd Gludovatz, Chun Wang, Patrick Burr, Zhenguo Huang, Limei Yang, Srikanth Mateti, Qiran Cai, Thi Bang Tuyen Nguyen
Abstract
This project aims to establish a state-of-the-art in-situ nanomechanical testing capability for materials under extreme environments. A cutting-edge nanoindentation stage with customisable modules, as well as an optimally configured scanning electron microscope, will enable this capability for the first time in Australia. The expected outcomes will provide valuable insights into how microstructures affect mechanical properties at temperatures ranging from -150 to 1000 °C, strain rates from 10E-5/s to 10E5/s, and liquid environments. The resulting knowledge will guide the development of structural materials that withstand harsh environmental conditions, thereby advancing Australia's advanced manufacturing and sustainable energy sectors.
​
Reliable and high-strength green steels for hydrogen supply and export infrastructures
Grant number: 25.RP2.0289
Funded by: Future Energy Export CRC, Australia
CIs: Ranming Niu, Sima Aminorroaya, Bosheng Dong, Julie Cairney, Ben Quin, Henrik Giflo, Simon Butler
Abstract
High-strength steels are essential for hydrogen infrastructure, including pipelines, storage tanks, vessels, and offshore turbine bases, playing critical roles in Australia’s hydrogen supply and export value chains. However, hydrogen embrittlement that causes premature fracture, poses a significant barrier [1–3].
Giflo’s green steel has demonstrated excellent hydrogen resistance at room temperature in a preliminary study conducted by USyd for Giflo. This steel has sustainably recycled and manufactured to contain uniquely tailored copper nanoprecipitates. Supported by the literature [4,5] copper bearing steels may also show excellent corrosion resistance, making this steel a promising candidate for building marine hydrogen infrastructures, however, the steel’s properties have not yet fully-examined under conditions that reflect these harsh working environments.
This project aims to rigorously evaluate Giflo’s steels, including welded regions, under high-pressure hydrogen (electrochemically simulated hydrogen fugacity, equivalent to 50-100 bar), low-temperature(-150°C to room temperature), and marine conditions (Brisbane port seawater and simulated corrosive environment). Activities include environmental mechanical test, electrochemical corrosion studies, and microstructural analyses using advanced microscopy techniques [6]. These correlative studies will elucidate embrittlement mechanisms and assess the suitability of these steels for versatile hydrogen application scenarios.
The project will validate the steels’ applications for hydrogen transmission and storage, de-risking hydrogen export infrastructure. Through this extended collaboration, we will work towards creating new knowledge in green steelmaking and hydrogen embrittlement, leading to publications in prestigious journals; assessing a potential hydrogen-tolerant, cryo-compatible and corrosion resistant sustainable steel; training researchers, enhancing Australia’s hydrogen workforce. This project aligns with both FEnEx CRC’s missions and national hydrogen strategy, strengthening Australia’s global hydrogen export competitiveness.
​
Embrittlement-tolerant alloys for safe hydrogen transmission and storage
Grant number: LE240100049
Funded by: Australian Research Council
CIs: Julie Cairney, Yi-Sheng Chen, Ranming Niu, Hongzhou Lu, Chan Gyung Park, Georg Rosenthal, Wei Li, Jae Bok Seol
Abstract
Hydrogen embrittlement in steels is a major impediment to a safe hydrogen economy. This project will determine how hydrogen affects the deformation behaviour of steel, providing the fundamental information that is required to develop alloys that can be safely used in infrastructure for a future Australian hydrogen industry. We will utilise new technologies that allow us, for the first time, to determine the position of hydrogen atoms around micro-scale features and to compare it to local mechanical behaviour, determined by micro-mechanical tests. The systematic investigation of the effect of hydrogen on different micro-components within steel will allow the development of microstructure-guided alloy design principles.
​
Hydrogen Embrittlement mechanisms in steels for hydrogen enriched natural gas transport
Grant number: 25.RP2.0285
Funded by: Future Energy Export CRC, Australia
CIs: Sima Aminorroaya, Ranming Niu, Pang-Yu Liu, Julie Cairney
Abstract
Blending hydrogen with natural gas is a quick return strategy to reduce carbon emission [1]. The use of pipeline steels has been considered as the most economically viable and industrially compatible technology for the distribution of hydrogen enriched gas at low pressures [2]. However, the severe degradation of mechanical properties of steels due to the hydrogen embrittlement has remained a challenge facing the gas industry. Additionally, there is still no low-cost, high strength pipeline materials for hydrogen transmission in high pressure which can operate steadily and safely [3]. This has significantly restricted the development of hydrogen economy [2].
Austenitic stainless steels have shown reasonable resistance to hydrogen embrittlement due to their face-centred cubic (FCC) crystal structure, which presents high hydrogen solubility and lower diffusion rate relative to other crystal structures [2]. However, most common stainless-steel alloys lack the mechanical strength required for industrial gas transmission. In contrast, high strength low alloy steels meet cost-effectiveness, and high strength criteria but the embrittlement mechanisms in these steels are still not well understood [4]. This project will deploy new techniques to address a key knowledge gap – how hydrogen affects the mechanical behaviour of specific microstructures in austenitic stainless and high strength low alloy steels. This will allow us to identify the mechanisms of embrittlement in these alloys and to design new alloy chemistries and microstructures to improve mechanical strength of austenitic stainless steels and to enhance hydrogen resistance of high strength low alloy steels.
Our team at the USyd has recently demonstrated breakthrough microscopy workflows that can observe hydrogen atoms distribution at nanometre length scales using Cryogenic atom probe tomography and to measure the deformation behaviour of specific microstructures in the presence of hydrogen by an in-situ micromechanical testing of hydrogen-charged samples in the electron microscope [5, 6]. We will identify the hydrogen embrittlement mechanism in the high strength low alloy and austenitic stainless steels, describing the hydrogen deformation response of different microstructural features. This obtained new knowledge will then be used to inform the predictive maintenance and development of new alloys resistant to hydrogen at POSCO, tailored for safe operation in hydrogen gas environment, including hydrogen enriched natural gas.