Efeito do hidrogênio na propagação de trincas no aço 2 1/4 Cr-1 Mo utilizado em reatores de hidroprocessamento

Abstract

The hydroprocessing reactors used in petroleum refineries are usually composed of a base metal coated with a double layer of austenitic stainless steel. These materials have different thermo-elastic properties that cause high stress coating during shutdown of the reactor, leading to nucleation and propagation of cracks. Furthermore, the wall of the reactor is subject to a corrosive environment, hydrogen-rich, high pressure and temperature. Thus, there is the possibility of hydrogen embrittlement, which would reduce the ductility, the stress intensity threshold for the propagation of cracks and the failure time of the material. For a better study of these problems, the work was divided into two parts: computer simulation of the reactor wall and experimental. First, we conducted a computer simulation of the wall of a typical hydroprocessing reactor, comprising the base metal 21/4Cr-1Mo (ASTM A387 grade 22 Class 2) and double layer coating of stainless steel type 309 (buttering) and 347 . This simulation showed by the stress distribution along the wall of the reactor, with and without the presence of a crack, the potential of the thermal stress cracks spread coating. In the experimental part, the steel under study (21/4Cr-1Mo) was hydrogenated in the state characterized and compared with results obtained for the non-hydrogenated state. Furthermore, the hydrogen embrittlement was quantified by determining the fracture toughness of the material, in both states, through the use of J-integral. The computational results confirmed the high probability of a crack reaching the interface coating with the base metal after a few cycles on-off. However, there remain possibly this crack plasticized. Since the experimental results confirm the high susceptibility to hydrogen embrittlement of the material under study.