Hydrogen Permeation in Iron at Low Temperatures.
Abstract:
This report contains the manuscript of a thesis by M. Surkein, MS candidate in Ocean Engineering at the University of Rhode Island. A study of concentration, thickness and temperature effects on hydrogen permeation in iron was conducted. This study was performed using a gas phase hydrogen charging technique. Initial experiments were to observe the permeation fluxes to see if steady states were reached. Once steady states were reached, the effects of electroplated palladium surface coatings were measured by varying the palladium surface and by using uncoated inlet or exit surfaces. Variations in specimen thickness and in inlet hydrogen pressure demonstrated that the overall transport rate was not dependent on surface effects. Comparisons between gas phase charging experiments led to the tentative conclusion that differences in shapes of the permeation curves obtained by the two techniques are due to differences in hydrogen flux levels produced by the two different charging techniques.