CRANES, LIFTING EQUIPMENT & WINCHES
New Technical Report Published Amid Growing Issues of Hydrogen Embrittlement
in Offshore Environments William Hackett issues technical guidance on the effects of Hydrogen Embrittlement for materials used in topside and subsea lifts, to help minimise risk to human life and improve operational integrity.
Report calls for greater scrutiny on material suitability rather than standard compliance to help: 1. Reduce the risk of operational failures and their frequencies to improve safety.
2. Reduce downtime and increase productivity to ensure better operating margins are achieved.
3. Reduce corrosion rates to extend life-time use, safely and sustainably.
4. Improve confidence offshore by reducing the risk of incorrect material selection.
William Hackett, world-leaders and pioneers of offshore lifting hoists and chains, recently announced the release of its industry report to help minimise the risk of Hydrogen Embrittlement (HE) and Stress Induced Corrosion Cracking (SICC). The report includes guidance on material choices used in topside and subsea lifts, and is seen as a major step forward in increasing awareness for offshore operators of the risks associated with HE and SICC.
Ben Burgess, Director of William Hackett Lifting Products, says: “There is a real concern across industry regarding the impact of HE and SICC on chains and links used in lift and hoist projects across offshore environments.”
Peer-reviewed by a number of organisations and authorities, the report – which can be downloaded at
https://williamhackett.co.uk/ H-embrittlement – takes a major step forward to explain the critical impact of HE.
Dr Emilio Martínez-Pañeda, Assistant Professor at Imperial College London and a world-recognised expert in hydrogen embrittlement, welcomed the report. While not directly involved in the report’s findings, Dr Martínez- Pañeda emphasised the challenging nature of hydrogen embrittlement and its important implications: “Hydrogen is famed for causing notorious structural integrity problems that are difficult to predict, and there is a need for new guidelines and solutions.”
“Based on our own experiences of how our products perform offshore, combined with the manufacturing expertise of McKinnon Chain and outcomes of detailed technical analysis by industry partners, we have identified that as material hardness exceeds 39-40 HRC, the risk of HE and SICC increases as the hardness values rise,” says Burgess.
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www.sosmagazine.biz November 2020
But the issue of HE is not limited to just one type of activity. Examples include the failure of G10 welded chain slings in a container fleet in Norway, to the USA where a global oil company had to withdraw a number of lifting appliances and promptly introduced an inspection regime before any future lift work was carried out.
The report also highlights that whilst products may be fully compliant with relevant International Standards, the reality is that when it comes to an offshore environment they may be wholly unsuitable.
“Meeting the specific International Standards should not be seen as a guarantee that specific equipment is fit for purpose in an offshore environment,” highlights Burgess. “Specific environmental and performance considerations for equipment used offshore needs to be a key part of the material specification and selection process.”
“To put this into context,” says Burgess, “a Grade 8 master link, when correctly heat treated, will provide toughness, tensile strength and resistance to
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