ISO 17081:2004 specifies a laboratory method for the measurement of hydrogen permeation and for the determination of hydrogen atom uptake and transport in metals, using an electrochemical technique. The term "metal" as used in this International Standard includes alloys.

This International Standard describes a method for evaluating hydrogen uptake in metals, based on measurement of steady-state hydrogen flux. It also describes a method for determining effective diffusivity of hydrogen atoms in a metal and for distinguishing reversible and irreversible trapping.

ISO 17081:2004 gives requirements for the preparation of specimens, control and monitoring of the environmental variables, test procedures and analysis of results.

This International Standard may be applied, in principle, to all metals for which hydrogen permeation is measurable and the method can be used to rank the relative aggressivity of different environments in terms of the hydrogen uptake of the exposed metal.