THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES

ii The imminent emergence of the hydrogen fuel industry has resulted in an urgent mandate for very specific material testing. Although storage of pressurized hydrogen gas is both practical and attainable, demands for increasing storage pressures (currently around 70 MPa) continue to present unexpected material compatibility issues. It is imperative that materials commonly used in gaseous hydrogen service are properly tested for hydrogen embrittlement resistance. To assess material behavior in a pressurized hydrogen environment, procedures were designed to test materials for susceptibility to hydrogen embrittlement. Of particular interest to the field of high-pressure hydrogen in the automotive industry, austenitic stainless steels SUS 316 and 316L were used to validate the test programs. Tests were first performed in 25 MPa helium and hydrogen at room temperature and at-40oC. Tests in a 25 MPa hydrogen atmosphere caused embrittlement in SUS 316, but not in 316L. This indicated that alloys with higher stacking faul