Key Words:PERMEATION PROPERTIES; GRAIN-BOUNDARIES; MICROSTRUCTURE; EMBRITTLEMENT; MEMBRANES; DIFFUSIVITY; SOLUBILITY; PERFORMANCE; BEHAVIOR; FILMS
Abstract:Nb-based dual-phase alloys are one of the most promising candidates for hydrogen purification. To solve their brittle fracture in hydrogen-containing atmospheres, the ductile-to-brittle transition-hydrogen concentration (DBTC) is a significant reference index, and the dissolved hydrogen concentration should be controlled below the lower limit of the DBTC, i.e., 0.72 H/M (atomic hydrogen to metal ratio). In this study, hydrogen permeable Nb-Ti-Fe alloys were designed and developed by using the above DBTC concept. Four hyper-eutectic Nb-Ti-Fe alloy membranes were prepared, and their hydrogen solubility was systematically analyzed by corresponding pressure-composition isotherms (PCT curves). The results show that all these samples had a linear relationship between the hydrogen concentration and square root of the hydrogen pressure between 0.1 and 0.4 MPa, which is in accordance with the Sieverts' law. The hydrogen solubility of the specimens containing the primary TiFe phase was lower than 0.72 H/M, but the alloys with the primary Nb phase had a value that was much higher. The latter was completely broken during the test, even if the feed hydrogen pressure was reduced to 0.15 MPa. Based on the above results and DBTC concept, novel insights into the design of Nb-Ti-Fe hydrogen permeable alloys were elucidated; that is, an improvement in both the hydrogen permeability and hydrogen embrittlement resistance can be attained by controlling the hydrogen solubility. Following this concept, a Nb5Ti58Fe35Cu2 alloy was successfully developed that exhibited a high permeability of 4.32 x 10(-8) mol H-2 m(-1) s(-1) Pa-0.5 at 673 K, which is 2.7 times than that of a pure Pd membrane under the same test conditions. The present work demonstrated the feasibility and applicability of the DBTC concept in the design of dual-phase Nb-Ti-Fe hydrogen permeable alloy membranes. (C) 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Volume:901
Issue:wu
Translation or Not:no