ISSN 3041-1815. Physicochemical Mechanics of Materials. 2026.
Volume 62, Issue 1

Assessment of metal structures integrity in hydrogen energy (Review)

Hembara O. V.
Lviv Polytechnic National University, Lviv, Ukraine.
Karpenko Physico-Mechanical Institute of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Lviv, Ukraine.
Holiian O. M.
Lviv Polytechnic National University, Lviv, Ukraine.

https://doi.org/10.15407/pcmm2026.01.005

Keywords

hydrogen embrittlement, hydrogen energy, structural materials, hydrogen resistance, integrity assessment of materials, integrity criteria, integrity assessment models.

Cite as

Hembara O. V. and Holiian O. M. Assessment of metal structures integrity in hydrogen energy (Review). Physicochemical Mechanics of Materials. 2026. 62(1), 005-016.

https://doi.org/10.15407/pcmm2026.01.005

Abstract

An up-to-date scientific and applied problem of assessing the integrity of metallic structu­res in the context of the development of hydrogen energy is considered. The wide imple­mentation of hydrogen power engineering, transport, metallurgy, chemical industry, and municipal services imposes increasingly strict requirements on the reliability of pipelines, high-pressure vessels, cylinders, compressors, and hydrogen refuelling station equipment. Current understanding of the mechanisms of hydrogen embrittlement of metals, in particular HELP, HEDE, and AIDE, which are considered as interrelated components of a multi-scale material degradation process, is sum­marized. Engineering integrity criteria which account for the influence of hydrogen are analyzed, including empirical indicators (RRA, Ni-equivalent, limiting values of strength and hardness), fracture toughness para­meters (KIH, KISCC, J-integral, fracture energy Wс(CH)), as well as fatigue life and hydro­gen-assisted cracking criteria. Special attention is paid to modern models for integrity assessment: diffusion models with trapping, coupled physicomechanical damage models, cohesive zone models, and phase-field approaches, as well as their role in developing sim­plified engineering methods for service life prediction of hydrogen infrastructure compo­nents. The main scientific and technical challenges and promising directions for further research, including the unification of integrity criteria, multi-scale inte­gration of models, and the implementation of probabilistic and digital approaches to durability assessment, are formulated.

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