Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research – Enterprise and Engagement) Professor Julie Cairney
A Faculty of Engineering team led by Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research – Enterprise and Engagement), Professor Julie Cairney, was awarded $519,346 for a collaboration with CITIC Metal, Microscopy Solutions and several universities in South Korea and China, to research hydrogen embrittlement in steels .
A major impediment to a safe hydrogen economy, hydrogen embrittlement in steels is a process which occurs when metals become brittle due to the introduction and diffusion of hydrogen into the material.
Storable hydrogen fuel is cheap, clean, storable, and produced without emissions – leaving only water when burned. It is poised to become a reality for Australia, and this project aims to understand hydrogen embrittlement in steels to allow for the design of safe, hydrogen-compatible future gas infrastructure.
The research team aims to determine how hydrogen affects the deformation behavior of steel, providing the fundamental information required to develop alloys that can safely transport and store hydrogen.
The researchers hope a systematic investigation on the effects of hydrogen on micro-components in steel will pave the way for new alloy manufacturing.
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