hydrogen with structural materials can lead to uncontrolled hydrogen uptake resulting in degradation and ultimately premature failure.

Understanding and controlling hydrogen-material interactions is, therefore, critical to ensuring the safe, reliable, deployment of hydrogen technologies. While significant progress has been made in understanding hydrogen uptake through electrochemical charging methods, there remains a lack of data on gas-phase hydrogen permeation under service-relevant conditions.

This PhD aims to address this gap by investigating hydrogen permeation and its influence on the mechanical properties of structural materials (including alloys based on stainless steel, nickel, aluminium and/or carbon steel) under controlled pressure and temperature conditions.

Hydrogen flux and transport kinetics will be quantified to determine permeation coefficients, alongside assessing the influence of microstructural features such as defects, dislocations, precipitates, grain boundaries, and phase distributions. Materials will be characterised before and after hydrogen exposure using techniques including scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermal desorption spectroscopy (TDS), and mechanical testing. The outcomes of this PhD will provide critical insight into hydrogen-induced microstructural changes, mechanical degradation, and long-term performance, supporting materials selection for hydrogen infrastructure applications.

hydrogen with structural materials can lead to uncontrolled hydrogen uptake resulting in degradation and ultimately premature failure.

Understanding and controlling hydrogen-material interactions is, therefore, critical to ensuring the safe, reliable, deployment of hydrogen technologies. While significant progress has been made in understanding hydrogen uptake through electrochemical charging methods, there remains a lack of data on gas-phase hydrogen permeation under service-relevant conditions.

This PhD aims to address this gap by investigating hydrogen permeation and its influence on the mechanical properties of structural materials (including alloys based on stainless steel, nickel, aluminium and/or carbon steel) under controlled pressure and temperature conditions.

Hydrogen flux and transport kinetics will be quantified to determine permeation coefficients, alongside assessing the influence of microstructural features such as defects, dislocations, precipitates, grain boundaries, and phase distributions. Materials will be characterised before and after hydrogen exposure using techniques including scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermal desorption spectroscopy (TDS), and mechanical testing. The outcomes of this PhD will provide critical insight into hydrogen-induced microstructural changes, mechanical degradation, and long-term performance, supporting materials selection for hydrogen infrastructure applications.