Asset Intelligence Report

A PRIMER ON
HYDROGEN BAKE-OUT
AUGUST 2014

A Higher Level of Asset Integrity Intelligence

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Overview
Hydrogen bake-out is a process used in the oil & gas,
chemical, and petrochemical industries to drive
trapped hydrogen out of steel. Under certain operating
conditions atomic hydrogen can form and dissolve
into the steel equipment. This hydrogen can cause the
steel to become bri!le and prone to fractures via a
process known as hydrogen embri!lement

Hydrogen bake-out is a process where hydrogen is

driven out of the equipment prior to welding. If the
process is not performed, hydrogen has the potential
Figure 1. The four basic factors involved in hydrogen
to build up at the weld site, eventually causing weld embrittlement.
failure or what is known as “hydrogen cracking.” This
cracking can occur during welding or there can be
Techniques and Methodology
some delay between the completion of the weld and
the formation of hydrogen cracks, usually within 48 A hydrogen bake-out involves heating steel to an
hours. Thus, if traditional inspection is carried out too elevated temperature and allowing time for hydrogen
soon a"er welding is completed on susceptible to diffuse out of the steel, leaving it hydrogen-free and
materials, these cracks may not be detected and as a weldable. Unfortunately there is uncertainty over the
result, a faulty weld/equipment could unknowingly be exact amount of time and temperature that is needed
put into service. to effectively bake out hydrogen in order for a weld
repair to be applied successfully. There are rules-of-
History and Development thumb and/or “in-house” recommendations for weld
inspection delays, but there is no firm basis for these
The phenomenon of hydrogen embri!lement was first
times.
discovered in 1875. Since that time it has become a
consistent problem in several industries. Even today, it
A common rule-of-thumb is to bake the steel at 600°F
is not fully understood what the underlying causes
(316°C) for four hours, or at least one hour per inch of
behind hydrogen embri!lement are or what
thickness.
determines when and where it will occur.

Several key issues play a role in the potential success

Engineers had been trying to understand and combat
of the hydrogen bake-out process, such as:
this insidious form of degradation for many years, and
• The amount of hydrogen charged in the steel from
eventually the hydrogen bake-out process was
the process exposure or corrosion
discovered. The exact origins of the term “baking” are
• The number of hydrogen traps (interfaces at
unknown. References to the name can be found as far
inclusions and precipitates, and voids at hydrogen
back as the early 1940s; however the process itself
blisters or hydrogen induced cracks [HIC])
might be older. • The solubility and diffusivity of hydrogen in the alloy
• The thickness of steel

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• The alloy’s susceptibility to hydrogen embrittlement
• Whether or not the equipment is weld overlaid/
clad with a corrosion resistant alloy, or bare
Industry Applications
Hydrogen bake-outs should be used on susceptible
steel equipment to remove atomic hydrogen (H+) and
prevent it from cracking during or a"er welding. The
bake-out process can prevent weld cracking that can
lead to dangerous, expensive, and time-consuming
problems.
That said, while hydrogen bake-outs can be useful in
preparation for weld repairs, they are not always
needed. Not all steel that has been in operation
requires a baking process. One easy way to determine
if the steel will crack is to run a weld bead and wait 24
hours; afterwards perform nondestructive examination
(NDE) to determine if cracking has occurred in the
material. If the ferritic steel is hydrogen charged from
the process itself (not from welding), then there are a
couple of things that will determine the need for a
bakeout:
• Is the steel in hydrogen charging service? If not,
then no bake-out should be required?
• ASTM A-106 piping less than 1⁄2 inch (12.7mm) thick is
unlikely to be recommended for bake-out, even if it
is in wet H2 S service, because it rarely accumulates
enough hydrogen to become a problem.
• On the other hand, for welded piping made from plate,
such as A-516 piping, a bake-out is recommended.
• In general, always plan bake-outs on thick walled
vessels, or at least build that step into the repair plan.
Codes, Standards, and Best
Practices
1. AMS 2759/9D - Hydrogen Embri!lement Relief
(Baking) of Steel Parts
Asset Intelligence Report: A Primer on Hydrogen Bake-Out
Figure 2. Atomic hydrogen diffusing into metal in the
presence of a recombination poison.
2. ASTM G142 - Standard Test Method for Determination
of Susceptibility of Metals to Embrittlement in Hydrogen
Containing Environments at High Pressure, High
Temperature, or Both
3. ASTM F519 - Standard Test Method for Mechanical
Hydrogen Embri!lement Evaluation of Plating/
Coating Processes and Service Environments
4. ASTM F1459 - Standard Test Method for Determination
of the Susceptibility of Metallic Materials to Hydrogen
Gas Embrittlement (HGE)
5. ASTM F1624 - Standard Test Method for Measurement
of Hydrogen Embrittlement Threshold in Steel by the
Incremental Step Loading Technique
6. ASTM F1940 - Standard Test Method for Process Control
Verification to Prevent Hydrogen Embrittlement in Plated
or Coated Fasteners
7. NACE TM0284-2011, Evaluation of Pipeline and
Pressure Vessel Steels for Resistance to Hydrogen-
Induced Cracking
Further Reading
1. 99 Diseases of Pressure Equipment: Hydrogen
Bake-out, May/June 2006, Inspectioneering Journal
2. The Hype about Hydrogen Bake-Outs!, May/June
2013, Inspectioneering Journal
3. A Discussion on Hydrogen Bake-Outs: Part II,
January/February 2014, Inspectioneering Journal
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