PSI - Issue 77

ScienceDirect Structural Integrity Procedia 00 (2026) 000–000 Structural Integrity Procedia 00 (2026) 000–000 Available online at www.sciencedirect.com Available online at www.sciencedirect.com ScienceDirect Available online at www.sciencedirect.com ScienceDirect

www.elsevier.com/locate/procedia

www.elsevier.com/locate/procedia

Procedia Structural Integrity 77 (2026) 424–431

© 2026 The Authors. Published by ELSEVIER B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0) Peer-review under responsibility of ICSI organizers Abstract This study presents the development and implementation of a numerical framework to assess the structural integrity of welded components subjected to hydrogen embrittlement (HE). The framework accounts for heterogeneous material properties and incorporates a hydrogen informed Gurson type damage model. Due to the inherent microstructural heterogeneity across the weld metal (WM) and heat affected zone (HAZ) regions, a spatially varying material response must be considered in numerical analysis. To address this, an element-specific property assignment strategy is adopted. The yield strength and hardening properties in the WM and HAZ regions are derived from a local hardness value, extracted from Vickers hardness maps of pipeline girth welds. Locally derived mechanical properties are assigned to each element in the numerical model to provide a description of the heterogeneous mechanical response. Different hydrogen-related parameters are assigned to the WM, HAZ and base metal, through explicit fusion line definitions based on a macro photograph of the girth welded joint. The proposed numerical framework allows for the detailed study of the HE in heterogeneous welded joints, capturing damage behavior and accounting for local variations in mechanical and hydrogen-related properties. It enhances the predictive capability of finite element simulations for assessing the integrity of girth welded pipelines operating in hydrogen environments. International Conference on Structural Integrity Modelling Hydrogen Embrittlement in Heterogeneous Welded Joints Behzad Vasheghani Farahani a,* , Margo Cauwels b , Fuhui Shen a , Tom Depover b , Kim Verbeken b , Wim De Waele a,c a Ghent University, Department of Electromechanical, Systems and Metal Engineering, Soete Laboratory, Technologiepark-Zwijnaarde 46, Zwijnaarde, 9052, Belgium. b Ghent University, Department of Materials, Textiles and Chemical Engineering, Sustainable Materials Science, Technologiepark-Zwijnaarde 46, Zwijnaarde, 9052, Belgium. c FlandersMake@UGent, corelab MIRO Abstract This study presents the development and implementation of a numerical framework to assess the structural integrity of welded components subjected to hydrogen embrittlement (HE). The framework accounts for heterogeneous material properties and incorporates a hydrogen informed Gurson type damage model. Due to the inherent microstructural heterogeneity across the weld metal (WM) and heat affected zone (HAZ) regions, a spatially varying material response must be considered in numerical analysis. To address this, an element-specific property assignment strategy is adopted. The yield strength and hardening properties in the WM and HAZ regions are derived from a local hardness value, extracted from Vickers hardness maps of pipeline girth welds. Locally derived mechanical properties are assigned to each element in the numerical model to provide a description of the heterogeneous mechanical response. Different hydrogen-related parameters are assigned to the WM, HAZ and base metal, through explicit fusion line definitions based on a macro photograph of the girth welded joint. The proposed numerical framework allows for the detailed study of the HE in heterogeneous welded joints, capturing damage behavior and accounting for local variations in mechanical and hydrogen-related properties. It enhances the predictive capability of finite element simulations for assessing the integrity of girth welded pipelines operating in hydrogen environments. International Conference on Structural Integrity Modelling Hydrogen Embrittlement in Heterogeneous Welded Joints Behzad Vasheghani Farahani a,* , Margo Cauwels b , Fuhui Shen a , Tom Depover b , Kim Verbeken b , Wim De Waele a,c a Ghent University, Department of Electromechanical, Systems and Metal Engineering, Soete Laboratory, Technologiepark-Zwijnaarde 46, Zwijnaarde, 9052, Belgium. b Ghent University, Department of Materials, Textiles and Chemical Engineering, Sustainable Materials Science, Technologiepark-Zwijnaarde 46, Zwijnaarde, 9052, Belgium. c FlandersMake@UGent, corelab MIRO

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +32 9 331 04 89. E-mail address: behzad.vasheghanifarahani@ugent.be * Corresponding author. Tel.: +32 9 331 04 89. E-mail address: behzad.vasheghanifarahani@ugent.be

2452-3216 © 2026 The Authors. Published by ELSEVIER B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0) Peer-review under responsibility of ICSI organizers 10.1016/j.prostr.2026.01.054 Information classification: Internal Information classification: Internal 2452-3216 © 2026 The Authors. Published by ELSEVIER B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0) Peer-review under responsibility of ICSI organizers 2452-3216 © 2026 The Authors. Published by ELSEVIER B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0) Peer-review under responsibility of ICSI organizers