Things have to be taken care during the weld repair of an in-service pressure

vessel exposed to hydrogen:

The following sequence can be followed to reduce the risk of cracking
problems due to hydrogen when welding is carried out on in-service vessels
exposed to hydrogen,
1 Carry out a hydrogen bake out
2 Use a low hydrogen electrode
3 Controlled Deposition Welding (CDW)
4 Provide a slower rate of cooling during critical range (~400 deg F)
5 Carry out PWHT after welding.

We already know the presence of atomic hydrogen in weld pool will lead to
cracking problems during and after welding. The chance of cracking
increases if the base metal already contains hydrogen. It can happen if the
vessel is exposed to high temperature high pressure hydrogen service or as
result of aqueous corrosion (like wet H2S corrosion or Hydrogen
embrittlement). In such cases a hydrogen bake-out (out-gassing) of base
metal is always advisable.

In simple words, Hydrogen Bake-Out is heating the steel to higher

temperature, holding it for some time so that all the hydrogen defuses out of
base metal leaving it hydrogen free.
As an initial step of hydrogen bake-out, it is advisable to conduct a
metallurgical review to assess whether the procedure is acceptable.

When developing a WPS for weld repair of in-service pressure vessel exposed
to hydrogen, hydrogen bake out is an essential variable (PCC-2 article
4.1.18). The minimum soaking temperature and time of Hydrogen Bake-out
shall be specified in WPS.
The rules given in API 510 for local PWHT and CDW for local heating can be applied for
hydrogen bake-out too. Temperature shall be monitored by a suitable number of
thermocouples -at least two (API 510-2014 Art 8.1.7.4.2).
The preheat temperature shall be checked to assure that 4 in. (100 mm) of the material
or four times the material thickness (whichever is greater) on each side of the weld joint
will be maintained at the minimum temperature during welding. When the weld does not
penetrate through the full thickness of the material, the minimum preheat temperature
need only be maintained at a distance of 4 in. (100 mm) or four times the depth
of the repair weld, whichever is greater on each side of the joint (API 510-2014 Art
8.1.7.4.3.3 f.5). Usually we ensure the bake-out temperature on each side of weld joint
for a length of 6 inch.
There are many factors which affects the duration and temperature of hydrogen bake
out. Procedure usually followed is heating to a temperature of 300 deg C (API 571-2011
Art 4.5.6.6 says 200 deg C or higher) and holding for 4 hours. If it is not effective, a
second stage heating to metals PWHT temperature and holding for 1 hour or less will
be effective.
Step 2 : When to carry out bake out
Its always most effective to carry out hydrogen bake-out after weld joint preparation.
But if metal removal is aggressive or if hydrogen content is more, cracks can be
appeared during joint preparation. In that case bake-out is advisable before weld
preparation.

If there is lining on pressure vessel there are chances that hydrogen concentration is
more on lining than base metal. In such cases during bake-out hydrogen may diffuse
from high concentration region to low concentration region from lining to base metalmaking hydrogen bake-out ineffective. So its advisable to remove the lining-at least for
6 inches on each side of weld- before carrying out hydrogen bake-out.
Some examples where hydrogen bake-out may be needed are,
1) Hydrogen reformer piping and pressure vessels (especially reformer heater
tubes)
2) Rectors and connected pressure vessels in KHDS and DHDS units.
3) Cr-Mo reactors, drums and exchanger shells on hydro-processing units and
catalytic reforming (esp if hardness is above 235 BHS)
4) Equipments susceptible to Hydrogen Embrittlement (API 571-2011 Art 4.5.6.4).
5) Equipments with cathodic protection (especially with ICCP)
6) Storage spheres made with high strength steels.
7) Equipments susceptible to Wet H2S corrosion (API 571-2011 Art 5.1.2.3)
8) Equipments in HF acid/ wet H2S/ H2 service with
a. Wet H2S concentration above 50ppm and temperature above 150 deg C
b. CS with hardness more than 200 BHN
c. Low alloy steel with hardness above 235 BHN
d. Steels more than 90 ksi strength
It is also mentioned in a literature (Ref: A primer on hydrogen bake-out published by
inspectioneering) that ASTM A-106 piping less than 12 inch (12.7mm) thick is unlikely to
be recommended for bake-out, even if it is in wet H2S service, because it rarely
accumulates enough hydrogen to become a problem. But for welded piping made from
plate such as SA-516 material, a bake-out is recommended
Usually time is the major constrain during in-service pressure vessel welding since most
of the repairs will be carried out during plant shutdowns. So in olden times hydrogen
bake-out was often undervalued/ignored while developing WPS for in-service welding.

But presently hydrogen bake-out is viewed as one of the major factor in reducing the
problems associated with delayed cracking during the welding of in-service pressure
vessels exposed to hydrogen service.