In july 2018, the bureau of safety and environmental enforcement bsee investigated a platform diesel generator fire that occurred inside of a generator enclosure. European federation of corrosion publications number 55corrosion underinsulation cui guidelines s. Rg2400 corrosion control gel applications polyguard. Corrosion under insulation cui is external corrosion due to the collection of water in annulus spaces, between the insulation and the metal surface. This article was originally published in the january 1988 national board bulletin. If undetected, the results of cui can lead to the shutdown of a process unit or an entire facility, and in rare cases it may lead to a process safety incident. The reason corrosion under insulation in food processing, beverage, and other industries which use ammonia refrigeration systems have serious safety, environmental, and business interruption concerns when corroded tanks and vessels begin showing leaks in the. Corrosion under insulation loop steam drum present by. Corrosion protection under insulation to ensure controllable processes with little energy loss, columns, equipment, and pipes in refineries are insulated. It appears your web browser is not configured to display pdf files. Remote visual inspection of compressor blades can help identify erosion and thinning.
Cui is common in refineries and process plants that typically operate equipment at elevated temperatures and can quickly lead to structural failure which can have catastrophic consequences. Save energy control process temperatures protect workers from high temperatures nace standard rp0198981 is a good source of information, but electrolytes will eventually find their way. Expert insulation workers were able to reduce the overall schedule, saving significant time. However, many times such plugs can be the source of moisture leakage. Solving corrosion under insulation utilizing foamglas. Download adobe acrobat or click here to download the pdf file. Corrosion under insulation cui cui has been recognized as a problem in many industries insulation is a necessary component of the system and is designed to. The document does not cover atmospheric corrosion or corrosion at uninsulated pipe supports but does discuss corrosion at insulated pipe supports. Corrosion under insulation cui mesa is the exclusive distributor and installer of the cortec corrologic system for cui in the united states and canada. For this corrosion to occur, water must collect in the insulation and oxygen must be present. These changes in operating temperature caused moisture from the atmosphere to condense on the outside of the pipe and then reevaporate. Corrosioncorrosion under insulation cui carbon steelstainless steelcoating. Cui is a particularly severe form of localized corrosion that has been plaguing chemical process industries since the energy crisis of the s forced plant designers to include much more insulation in their designs intruding water is the. The problem of corrosion under insulation us coatings.
When an ammonia refrigeration system in their plant. Ability to measure the steel thickness through the coating with thickness up to 250mm ability to inspect through nonconducting and nonmagnetic materials such as insulating materials like aluminum and. By its very nature cui tends to remain undetected until the insulation and claddingjacketing is removed to allow inspection or when leaks occur. It can happen when a corrosive fluid, including process fluids which have leaked, is trapped under insulation or fireproofing and kept in continued contact with the outside of pipes or vessels. Pect is capable of detecting corrosion hidden under insulation and offers the following advantages. Vapor corrosion inhibitors provide an effective answer to mitigation of steel surface corrosion under insulation. Corrosion under insulation cui is one of the costliest problems facing the petrochemical industry today. More lessons relearned from corrosion under insulation. Corrosion under insulation cui is a severe form of localized external corrosion which occurs in carbon and low alloy steel pipe that has been insulated. The most severe form of cui is the localized type that often occurs in carbon and low alloy steel components. The recommended practices in this standard are intended to provide the user with information that. Pdf corrosion under insulation cui is a very important issue in industry and its importance is being more and more acknowledged. Concern about corrosion under insulation is shown by major oil companies who operate above the arctic circle.
Pdf guidelines for reducing corrosion under insulation. Analysis of a corrosion under insulation failure in a carbon steel refinery hydrocarbon line article pdf available in case studies in engineering failure analysis 14. Pdf analysis of a corrosion under insulation failure in. Ultrasonic phasedarray inspection assists in quickly scanning, detecting, profiling and sizing of isolated pitting in pipes. Corrosion under insulation background affects carbon steel and ss equipment in the operating range of 4. Corrosionunderinsulation cui refers to the external corrosion of piping and vessels that occurs underneath externally cladjacketed insulation as a result of the penetration of water. Corrosion protection corrologic vpci658 effectiveness. Corrosion under insulation cui is external corrosion of pipes and vessels.
When an abandoned oil field in the netherlands was reopened, the whole piping system was. Definition what does corrosion under insulation cui mean. Corrosion under insulation cui is a problem in the industrial sector, including refining, petrochemical, power, industrial, onshore and offshore industries and it is a real threat to the on stream reliability of many of todays plants. Here a leak can cause safety and environmental concerns, and international headlines as well. Corrosion under insulation cui is one of the degradation phenomena that have become a serious problem in recent years especially in chemical plants that have been operating for a long time. Corrosionpedia what is corrosion under insulation cui. It can easily be missed if the mechanical integrity inspection team is not aware of the changing. The following article is a part of the national board technical series. Typically, it uses lowfrequency guided ultrasonic waves that propagate along the pipe wall and can detect external or internal corrosion. Corrosion under insulation cui is a very important issue in industry and its importance is being more and more acknowledged. However, what we usually see under insulation is localized corrosion. Corrosion under insulation, and 4 examples from the u. There is no doubt that industry has taken the issue of corrosion under insulation cui seriously over the last 40 years.
Prorox ps 960 with wrtech en prorox ps 960 with wrtech en prorox ps 960 is a mandrel wound pipe section. This location becomes more susceptible to corrosion when enclosed in an insulation system. The following referenced documents are indispensable for the application of this document. Corrosion under insulation cui guidelines efc pdf free. It cost more to put the insulation on, than it cost to run without it, but that equation changed. The main problem with this technique is that corrosion under insulation tends to. Corrosion under insulation cui on industrial piping is. Corrosion under insulation cui is a major problem for petroleum and. Corrosion under insulation inspection and prevention. Corrosion under insulation cui guidelines 2nd edition. Recently we discussed the basics of high temp coatings. Corrosion under insulation cui is the corrosion of piping and vessels that occurs beneath insulation as a result of water penetration.
The technology requires insulation be removed, however, only in a very small circumferential location. External corrosion of carbon steel piping, pressure vessels and structural components resulting from water trapped under insulation in conjunction with other variables that accelerate and drive the corrosion external chloride stress corrosion cracking of austenitic and duplex stainless steel under. The cui problem was one of the first to be tackled by the team who developed rg2400 at polyguard. Development of a cui inspection technique which doesnt require the removal of insulation and which is applicable to explosionproof petrochemical. A large portion of this money is spent on expensive items such as external piping inspection, insulation removal and reinstallation, painting and pipe replacements. Service safety quality innovation assessment of corrosion under insulation and engineered composite wraps using pulsed eddy current techniques. Although the cause of the fire was inconclusive, the onsite investigation. This is a localized external corrosion occurring in equipment made of insulated carbon and lowcarbon steels. Maintenance manager keephills power plant alberta, canada brandsafway completed insulation services for over 70,632 square feet in nine months, with more than 58,000 accidentfree labor hours. The insulation sections are made out of stone wool and are produced with an innovative water repellent binder called wrtech to mitigate the risk of corrosion under insulation. The corrosion itself is most commonly galvanic, chloride, acidic, or alkaline corrosion. Sabpa033 corrosion management program cmp manual basic requirements and deployment activities to be published in 2012 saudi aramco drawings standard drawing aa036242 library drawing da950035, 2005 saudi aramco inspection procedures 00saip74 inspection of corrosion under insulation and fireproofing. Corrosion under insulation cui for pipelines and vessels cui is a widespread problem with few solutions until now.
Api rp 583, corrosion under insulation and fireproofing, covers the design, maintenance, inspection and mitigation practices for pressure equipment, piping, and storage tanks due to external corrosion under insulation cui and corrosion under fireproofing cuf. Corrosion under insulation has been around since insulation started being put on. Appendix d case studies of 1 a national oil company, 2. C wet insulation is the root cause cui rate depends on temperature and internalexternal containment sources. This situation can cause corrosion under insulation cui. The document does not cover atmospheric corrosion or corrosion at uninsulated pipe supports but does discuss corrosion at.
For the love of physics walter lewin may 16, 2011 duration. Corrosion under insulation in the 1970s, the united states had an energy crisis. Corrosion under insulation cui is a commonly occurring problem in many industries and among different types of assets including piping systems and pressure vessels in onshore and offshore environments. The water can come from rain water, leakage, deluge system water, wash water, or sweating from temperature cycling or low temperature operation such as refrigeration units. It can happen when a corrosive fluid, including process fluids which have leaked, is. Corrosion under insulation cui is a major safety threat to chemical processes with pipes and pressure vessels for moving and storing fluids. Corrosion under insulation cui is a major safety threat to chemical processes with pipes and pressure vessels for moving and storing fluids where anions and cations are transported via water to pipe surfaces to corrode away pipe surfaces. Before the 1970s, any system below 300 degrees did not make economic sense to insulate. These coatings are often used in process facilities such as refineries, oil and gas, and petrochemical plants. This area may have some special feature, a defect in the metal such as a crevice, or stress in the metal adjoining a weld line. Api rp 583 corrosion under insulation and fireproofing. Pdf corrosion under insulation and fireproofing henrique.
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