Hydrogen Pressure Testing Systems - Customer Case with MPA (Materials Testing Institute) Stuttgart
Hydrogen Pressure Testing Systems - Customer Case with MPA (Materials Testing Institute) Stuttgart
Video credit: Zwick Roell GmbH
The central mission of the Materials Testing Institute at the University of Stuttgart is the technology transfer from science into industry. For their future challenge in hydrogen technology, the MPA provides one of the world's leading labs to ensure the safety and reliability of these structures and they are very proud to have in ZwickRoell a very competent and very powerful partner.
Hydrogen is a promising energy carrier for the future. Unfortunately, it has a degrading effect on almost all metals and their material properties. So that's why the MPA Stuttgart studied these effects in a pressurized hydrogen gas atmosphere. For these purposes, they use multiple hydrogen pressure testing systems by ZwickRoell. The test systems contain several hydraulic load frames with an attached autoclave. The MPA worked closely together with ZwickRoell to improve these systems for future purposes and also for further modifications. The systems are used to perform tensile tests, fatigue tests, and fracture mechanics tests for up to 1000 bar.
A very important test for hydrogen uses is the slow strain rate test which can also perform with all these systems. High demand for materials qualifications for pipeline steels is emerging. The purpose is to qualify these materials to transport hydrogen in existing pipelines.
Besides such industry projects, the MPA also performs research projects in terms of hydrogen with new technologies, such as additive manufacturing with its very special microstructure. Regarding microstructures, the MPA Stuttgart has an electron microscopy lab with several SEM and TEM to study these microstructures and the effects hydrogen has on these materials.
Another field where hydrogen will play an important role in energy production. It will be used in engines and compressors and therefore also the high-temperature properties have to be studied. So therefore ZwickRoell and MPA Stuttgart work closely together to develop hydrogen pressure testing systems for a carbon-free future.
Summary: Fatigue testing, fracture mechanics, slow strain rate testing(SSRT) in a high-pressure hydrogen environment up to 1,000 bar. ZwickRoell servo-hydraulic testing machines up to 100 kN.