To date, hydrogen flux monitoring devices have been only qualitatively used in the field to gauge environmental severity with respect to identifying changes from normal operating conditions. This paper discusses a methodology for extending the use of hydrogen flux monitoring equipment to quantitatively assess the severity of hydrogen charging and relate the response directly to the materials resistance or susceptibility to wet H2S cracking, This methodology incorporates the value of measured hydrogen flux, operating equipment variables, material of construction and its inherent susceptibility to cracking to determine the risk of cracking based on the severity of the operating environment. This methodology will allow more applicability of the hydrogen flux monitoring equipment to determine safety margins with respect to intermittent upset conditions or more prolonged changes in hydrogen charging severity resulting from changing production or process conditions.
Keywords: hydrogen, permeation, flux, diffusivity, monitoring, electrochemistry, H2S, hydrogen concentration, cracking, HIC, SOHIC, SSC, case history