CUI takes place under insulating material in the oil & gas, chemical, and food processing industries,
to name but a few industries affected, costs millions of dollars on a yearly basis. In this article,
the major factors that lead to corrosion under insulation are examined and the major types of
units and equipment that get affected are discussed. CUI appearance is also discussed. Further,
an important section of the article looks at how corrosion under insulating materials can be
prevented, as well as preventive inspection and monitoring practices, including the use of a
probe array sensor inserted to detect its formation at thermally insulated pipeline field joints.
By Dr. Arwind Kumar Dubey, Senior Integrity Engineer, Intertek, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Introduction
The corrosion that takes place under
insulation material is a major problem.
It has been a primary problem in the oil &
gas, chemical, food processing, and other
industries for many years and has cost
many millions of dollars in inspection and
repair of process pipes and pipelines.
The American Petroleum Institute code,
API 570 Inspection, Repair Alteration
and Re-rating of In-service Piping Systems,
(June 1993), identifies Corrosion Under
Insulation (CUI) as a special concern.
In 2003, the European Corrosion Federation
reported that most leaks in the refining
and chemical industries were due to CUI,
rather than process leaks. When insulation
material becomes wet (because of poor
installation practices, subsequent abuse or
failure to specify good vapor barriers and
waterproofing materials), it creates the
potential for corrosive failure of the piping.
Whether pipes are above ground or buried,
proper design and installation techniques
can control corrosion. CUI is one of the
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CORROSION
CUI appearance
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(B)
Fig. 2A & 2B show the appearance of CUI after the removal of insulating material in a
petrochemical plant.
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CORROSION
Control of CUI
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Fig. 3. A corrosion fuse inserted probe array sensor for CUI monitoring.
References
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