Development of Compatibility Assessment Model for Existing Pipelines for Handling Hydrogen-Containing Natural Gas

Overview

Main Objective

The project will use data analytics-based modeling techniques to create a comprehensive compatibility assessment model. This model will be utilized to determine the capability of existing pipelines to transport blended and pure hydrogen gas, while accounting for hydrogen caused embrittlement. The researcher will also develop a publicly available software tool that operators can use to determine which existing pipelines are suitable for pure hydrogen or blended gas. Also, the software will identify what modifications would be needed to make a pipeline suitable for hydrogen transportation.

Public Abstract

study is aimed at investigating the Hydrogen Embrittlement (HE) of pipeline materials and evaluating their suitability for handling blended and pure hydrogen gas. The application of the existing HE models is limited due to the complicated hydrogen permeation process and various factors affecting the embrittlement phenomena. Furthermore, the available data is insufficient and does not cover a variety of field conditions for transferring the models to blended gases. Nevertheless, preliminary studies indicate that Data Analytics Based (DAB) models could be used to predict the impact of HE on mechanical properties. Therefore, with the appropriate model formulation and extensive training and testing, it is possible to develop an integrated DAB model to predict HE failure under various conditions for different types of pipelines. Hence, this project aims to use DAB modeling techniques in order to build a comprehensive compatibility assessment model for the use of existing pipelines to transport blended and pure hydrogen gas. An easily queryable database will be developed using publicly available experimental measurements and simulation databases in order to build the components of the DAB model. Additionally, new measurements will be obtained using an existing experimental setup to expand and enhance the database. We evaluate the performance of different data analytics methods in terms of their suitability for predicting HE. Methods that demonstrate acceptable performance will be included in the compatibility assessment model. The project's main deliverable will be the development of a computational tool (software) based on the compatibility assessment model. The tool determines whether existing pipelines are suitable to transport pure hydrogen or blended gases and whether modifications, such as adjusting gas processing operations and/or adding HE-inhibiting molecules, are necessary.

Anticipated Results: Software to evaluate the compatibility of a pipeline for blended gas transportation and identify required modifications.

Potential Impact on Safety: Reduces the likelihood of existing pipeline failure in blended gas and pure hydrogen transportation.

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