UGent: Mechanical Construction – Soete Laboratory

General expertise of the research group

At Soete Laboratory, we are pushing the boundaries in fracture mechanics and tribology. As researchers we are active in both experimental and numerical research on fatigue, fracture, friction, wear, reliability and durability of machine parts and mechanical constructions. Within Soete Laboratory, the fatigue & fracture mechanics research group is headed by Prof. Wim De Waele and Prof. Stijn Hertelé. The activities of the group can be divided into three topics: Fatigue lifetime analysis, joining and additive manufacturing (Prof. De Waele) and quasi-static fracture and damage mechanics (Prof. Hertelé).

Specific hydrogen- related expertise & research topics

• Effects of hydrogen on mechanical properties of steel (embrittlement), mostly in a transport/storage context (pipelines)
• Effect of hydrogen on accelerated rolling contact fatigue failure of roller bearings

Available equipment/tools:

• Universal test rigs for small- and large-scale mechanical testing (up to 8 MN)
• In-house test procedures for advanced mechanical testing (e.g. low-constraint fracture toughness testing)
• Development of material models involving hydrogen diffusion, hydrogen assisted degradation and resulting material damage

Participating in FL/B/EU funded projects with H2 related research

• FWO research project on hydrogen embrittlement
• SIM SBO MaSiWEC
• See website: research.ugent.be

Main relevant publications

1. See website: biblio.ugent.be
2. Depover T, Hertelé S, Verbeken K. The effect of hydrostatic stress on the hydrogen induced mechanical degradation of dual phase steel : a combined experimental and numerical approach. ENGINEERING FRACTURE MECHANICS. 2019;221.