Operating Hydrogen Gas Transmission Pipelines at Pressures above 21 MPa

Published

November 12, 2018

Author(s)

Andrew Slifka, Elizabeth S. Drexler, Robert L. Amaro, Peter Bradley, Damian Lauria

Abstract

The economical and efficient transportation of hydrogen gas is necessary for it to become a widespread source of energy. One way to improve the economics is to lower the cost of building hydrogen gas pipelines. The recent modification to the ASME B31.12 Code for Hydrogen Piping and Pipelines begins to lower the cost of building pipelines for hydrogen service by allowing high- strength steel that will provide the same margin of safety with thinner pipe walls. Less steel directly impacts the cost of materials and welding. A means of improving efficiency would be to increase the hydrogen gas pressure to increase the volume of products transmitted through the pipeline. The recent B31.12 code modification characterized dozens of fatigue crack growth tests conducted in hydrogen gas pressurized up to 21 MPa with an upper boundary to the combined datasets. Here, different pipe geometries, strengths, and pressures with established design protocols were evaluated to determine if the code would require further modifications should linepipes be designed for higher hydrogen gas pressures, up to 34 MPa. It was determined that the current codes and safety margins would be adequate for those pressures for steels up to and including API-5L Grade X70.

Citation

Journal of Pressure Vessel Technology-Transactions of the ASME

Pub Type

Journals

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Keywords

ASME B31.12, Code, Hydrogen, Pipeline, Steel

Citation

Slifka, A. , Drexler, E. , Amaro, R. , Bradley, P. and Lauria, D. (2018), Operating Hydrogen Gas Transmission Pipelines at Pressures above 21 MPa, Journal of Pressure Vessel Technology-Transactions of the ASME, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=924868 (Accessed August 8, 2025)