PSI - Issue 81

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ScienceDirect

Procedia Structural Integrity 81 (2026) 41–46

© 2026 The Authors. Copy from the contract: 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 DMDP 2025 organizers Keywords: Steel; Piepeline; Hydrogen; Embrittlement; Operation; Mechanical properties; Crack growth resistance Abstract This study addresses the development of serviceability criterion for the transmission of hydrogen through existing natural gas pipeline infrastructure. Given the unique properties of hydrogen, including its potential to cause hydrogen embrittlement and impact material integrity, assessing the suitability of current pipelines is critical. The research focuses on evaluating material compatibility, structural integrity, and safety requirements under operational pressures and conditions specific to hydrogen transport. The criterion is based on determining the fracture toughness of hydrogen pre-charged specimens at a low loading rate of specimens with cracks and comparing the obtained values with the maximum permissible ones, taking into account operational conditions and the possible presence of crack-like defects. This approach aims to facilitate the sustainable repurposing of gas pipelines, supporting the transition to a hydrogen economy while maintaining safety and performance standards. 1. Introduction Hydrogen produced from renewable sources plays a vital role in building a sustainable society. The development of the hydrogen economy faces certain technical challenges, particularly in transporting significant volumes of hydrogen. One of the promising ways to solve the problem is to repurpose natural gas transit pipelines for hydrogen service (Laureys et al. (2022), Zapukhlyak et al. (2022), Kappes and Perez ( 2023), Télessy et al. (2024), Zvirko et al. (2025)). Transit pipelines are considered critical infrastructure, since violations of their integrity cause significant negative consequences. When reprofiling gas infrastructure for hydrogen transportation, it is necessary to take into account many factors that determine the safe and reliable operation of pipelines (Laureys et al. (2022), Cao 2024)). This, in particular, is the well-known negative effect of hydrogen on the mechanical properties of steels (Depover et al. (2014), Boukortt et al. (2018), Campari et al. (2023), Hoschke et al. (2023), Zekun et al. (2025), Chowdhury et al. (2025), Jack et al. (2025), León - Cázares et al. (2025), Nykyforchyn et al. (2025), Santana et al. (2025)), as well as the degradation of long-operated pipeline steels (Meshkov et al. (2015), Zhu (2015), Zvirko et al (2017), Zvirko (2017, 2021), Hrabovskyy et al. (2024), Kryzhanivskyi et al. (2025), Nengjun et al. (2025)). Since the existing pipelines are designed for natural gas transportation, the interaction of hydrogen with pipe steels, combined with operational degradation, requires the development of new criteria for assessing their serviceability under hydrogen exposure. VIII International Conference “In - service Damage of Materials: Diagnostics and Prediction“ (DMDP 2025) Serviceability criterion for hydrogen transmission pipeline Olha Zvirko a, *, Oleh Venhryniuk a , Dmytro Demianchuk a , Andrii Bohdan b , Yaroslav Dubyk b a Karpenko Physico-Mechanical Institute of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, 5, Naukova St., Lviv 79060, Ukraine b IPP-CENTRE, 5B, Budindustrii St., Kyiv 01013, Ukraine

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +380-32-263-2133. E-mail address: olha.zvirko@gmail.com

2452-3216 © 2026 The Authors. Copy from the contract: 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 DMDP 2025 organizers 10.1016/j.prostr.2026.03.008