FP7-FCH-JU-2011-1 -303422

MATHRYCE
Material Testing and Recommendations for Hydrogen Components
under fatigue

Existing codes and standards

Author(s)

Randy Dey CCS

Jader Furtado AL
Paolo Bortot - Tenaris

Contract Start Date

2012-10-01

Duration

36 months

Project Applicant

CEA - LITEN

FCH
Joint
Undertaking Project funded by the European Commission
Collaborative Project

D2.2 Existing codes and standards

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
INTRODUCTION
The deployment of a large hydrogen infrastructure with societal acceptance relies on the
development of appropriate codes and standards to ensure safety. Indeed, the effect of
hydrogen on metals properties is not as well understood as many of the other aspects of the
design and construction of pressure equipment. The main aim of the MATHRYCE project is to
develop an easy to implement methodology based on lab-scale experimental tests under
hydrogen gas to assess the service life of a real scale component taking into account fatigue
loading under hydrogen gas. The MATHRYCE project also aims to provide codes and standards
recommendations based on results and to disseminate them to European and international
standards bodies.
The first step in Review of existing codes and standards on H2 vessel design - Task 2.2 of the
MATHRYCE project, was to prepare a list of existing codes and standards for pressure vessels,
mainly type 1 cylinder in the presence of hydrogen. Note that Type 2, 3, 4 cylinders are also
included since they all have a metallic component in contact with hydrogen and subjected also
to fatigue loading. A short list of recognized standards for design of high pressure cylinders used
for storage and transportation of compressed gas including H2 was reviewed for their limits and
the different approaches used for fatigue design and qualification of gas cylinders.
In Europe, the harmonized European code EN 13445 is used by the European Community
member countries, but local codes such as the German code AD2000 and the French code
CODAP are also applied to the design of unfired pressure vessels. The ASME Section VIII, Div. 12-3 is used in USA, and KHK codes together with some related JIS standards are applied in
Japan. Most of the evaluated standards consider the possibility of hydrogen embrittlement and
hydrogen enhanced fatigue for steels at different levels and some of them require specific
design depending on the hydrogen pressure.
FINDINGS
A review of the existing codes and standards for hydrogen pressure vessels design has been
completed which highlights their limits concerning hydrogen fatigue-based design. Only
recently, the ASME Section VIII-Division III code through the KD-10 code case and the Japanese
KHK code through the S0220 standard have started to address the effect of hydrogen.
Considering that the fatigue of H2 reservoirs of hydrogen refueling stations will spend most of
its service life to initiate a crack and that fatigue crack propagation is fast when compared to
propagation in air or inert environment, another design methodology is required, which is the
main focus of the MATHRYCE project.
An updated and much more complete version of this deliverable will be published next June
2014. If you want it as soon as it will be published, please feel free to get in touch with us at:
oguerard@vitamib.com. Thanks.
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