This is part of the Microstructure Series Seminars.
ABSTRACT:
The effect of hydrogen is seen across materials science, be it in steel making, nuclear materials, or renewable energy, and is wide spreading. These effects can be both positive and negative but are tied together by the fundamental understanding of the interaction of hydrogen in materials.
One example of this is the negative effects of interstitial hydrogen in titanium alloys. Ongoing research into the diffusion of hydrogen during hot salt stress corrosion cracking has provided some understanding towards the process of failure, however there is space to explain the fundamental mechanisms and interaction of hydrogen in this process. Here, we investigate the role microstructural hydrogen traps can play in improving the resilience of titanium and try to understand whether microstructure or chemistry is the ruling driver in hydrogen embrittlement.
Alternatively, hydrogen can be used in the extraction of iron. Currently the reduction of iron ores accounts for 30% of global CO2 emissions in manufacturing and 8% of emissions globally. Hydrogen can be used as an alternative extraction method to carbon, with current studies into low temperature gaseous hydrogen use showing promising results. Electrolytic extraction is an alternative viable method, and in understanding the interaction of hydrogen during this extraction process, appropriate methods can be developed. Here, we discuss how we can apply knowledge of metallic corrosion to improve electrode material, and design and understand the relationship between the electrolyte and electrode corrosion.
SPEAKER BIO:
Dr. Abigail Ackerman is a Royal Academy of Engineering Fellow at Imperial College London, studying the effects of hydrogen in engineering alloys. Her research is focused on sustainable metallurgy and supporting ethical practices in the development of metallurgical advances.
Abigail completed her BSc in Physics with Planetary Science at the University of Leicester in 2014. She then moved the Imperial College London to complete her PhD with Prof. David Dye on the topic of Microstructure Control in Ti-6Al-2Sn-4Zr-6Mo, sponsored by Rolls-Royce plc., and industrially supervised by Prof. David Rugg.
Abigail has previously worked with Dr. Stella Pedrazzini and Prof. Mary Ryan, designing and building unique corrosion test equipment to replicate in service conditions in gas turbine engines and industrial boilers, and with Prof. Baptiste Gault on understanding hydrogen embrittlement in titanium alloys.
Abigail is passionate about supporting diversity and inclusion in materials science and is active in mentoring and outreach. She is currently working to move metallurgy into a new, more sustainable era.