Phenomenon of embrittlement in titanium shells from hydrogen exposure

Abstract

Increasing the reliability of equipment used for production, transportation, storage and utilization of hydrogen is directly related to solving the problem of hydrogen embrittlement of metals. Without a fundamental physical theory, it is necessary to predict the bearing capacity of metal structures on the basis of obtained experimental data on the effect which hydrogen have on metal properties. This paper presents a solution (based on the method of discrete orthogonalization proposed by S.K. Godunov) of a physically-nonlinear problem of stress distribution in a titanium shell. Since hydrogen, most notably, reduces plastic properties of metals utilized in structural elements, a critical point was determined where the intensity of shear deformation is maximal. It was found how the intensity changes at a critical point of a shell if the pressure within the device rises to an emergency level. Such a rise of the pressure in the shell could lead to appearance of plastic deformation regions, and hydrogen exposure is manifested in reduced breaking stress and changed fracture pattern. © 2019 Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd.