KIC

Prevention of
Corrosion Under Insulation
150 years

Vanmarsenille Chris
Oktober 15, 2015

150 years

Corrosion Under Insulation

Damage Mechanism
Chlorides, Air Pollutants
Water
Paint / Coating

Jacketing

CS / SS pipe

Insulation
Scale Formation/Corrosion

Water (with impurities) penetrates insulation

Insulation collecting moisture, liquid contacting equipment surface
Water evaporating and condensing in a loop
Concentration of impurities on equipment surface
Diffusion of water underneath paint or coating, coating spalling off
Continuous (hidden) corrosion process
2

150 years

Corrosion Under Insulation

Effect of Preventive Measures

Extent of Preventive Measures / Decreasing Failure Probability / Lower Life-Cycle-Costs

150 years

Corrosion Under Insulation

Examples

Damaged Jacketing

Openings

Carbon Steel

Stainless Steel

Increase plant efficiency

OPTIMIZED
Reliable operation

C
U
I

STABILIZED

LICENSE TO OPERATE

Ensure Safety &

Compliance
4

150 years

Corrosion Under Insulation

Impact in the Industry
CUI is impacting all industry branches (esp. the chemical and
petrochemical)
CUI is impacting all the sites
OSBL assets such as pipe racks and tanks
ISBL assets at the sites

CUI is leading to major incidents

CUI MI Fora, 2015

150 years

Corrosion Under Insulation

CUI Life Cycle

DESIGN

Ergonomics
Avoid cladding perforations
Selection coating

CONSTRUCTION

Good surface preparation

Special attention piping supports
Protect insulation against moisture

MAINTENANCE
Avoid damaging
of cladding
Repair damaged
insulation

INSPECTION

Adequate visual inspection

Supporting NDT techniques
Remove insulation at
suspicious/damaged
locations

150 years

BASF Path Forward: Global CUI Task Force

Organizational Set-Up

Global Site Committee

Task Force CUI Antwerp Site

Lead: C. Vanmarsenille, (ESP/P)
WG Design & Construction:
Lead: (ESP/PM)
WG Inspection & Maintenance:
Lead: (ESP/B)
Task Force CUI NA
Mat. Eng. (NCE/T)
Mech. (NCE/F)
Mech. (NCE/G)
Next Task Force CUI ?

ESP / GTG

Sponsor
(Tech. support)

on demand (expanded)
CMT / CPT

Global Leadership team

Techn. Expertise

Steering Committee

Implementation
Support Team AP

Core Task Force

Expertise & Concept

Lead: N.N

Lead: GTG/M
ESP/B
Mat. Eng. (GTG/MM)
Inspection (GTG/MI)
Mech. Des. (GTG/MD)
Mat.Eng. (NCE/T)
Mat. Eng. (NCE/T)
Inspect. (PTQ/P)
Mat. Eng. (ACT/D)
Inspect. (CTE/Q)
Inspect. (SA/TRD)
Corr. Protect. (EST/CS)
on demand:
N.N. (GUS) , N.N. (ZOT)

Alignment by topic

Sponsor
(Management support)

Operation
Implementation
Maintenance
Support
Team EU
Engineering
Lead: N.N.

Operation
Implementation
Maintenance
Support
Team NA
Engineering
Lead: S. Brandenburg

Operation
Implementation
Maintenance
Support Team SA
Engineering
Lead: N.N.
Operation
Maintenance
Engineering

150 years

Corrosion Under Insulation

CUI Life Cycle approach

I New plants
and revamp

II Existing
plants

III Awareness

Main Topic

Steps

Examples

Prevention
(design &
construction)

Design

- Evaluation of need of
insulation
- Personell protection

Construction (contractors)

- Importance of QA/QC
Process (sites and
projects)

Risk Assessment

- Takes into account

age, condition of
cladding, of paint,
temperature, product,

Inspection & Maintenance Strategies

- Visual external insp.

- CUI local inspection

NDT Methods

- Some exp. with IR

Awareness and Training

- Address CUI as part of

design and preventive
maintenance

Detection,
Mitigation,
Prevention
(maintenance)

Awareness

Staffs & Contractors Training on CUI

150 years

From Creating Awareness to Personal Involvement

Foto : lekkende pijp

Hole as result of
corrosion under
insulation.

Potential for a
severe incident.

We want good prevention, do not count on your luck!

9

150 years

CUI what is it ?
Corrosion, Under Insulation of your piping and equipment
It affects
Carbon Steel Localised areas of corrosion
Stainless Steel External Chloride Stress Corrosion Cracking

When
1.

Water or moisture gets into the insulation and on the metal

2.

The coating is damaged / end of life

3.

The temperature range favours CUI

Resulting in risks : RELEASE / RISK OF FIRE /

CUI

=> Act before it bites you !

Do not tolerate CUI => eliminate it, be proactive

CUI is hidden => know where to look & to inspect
10

150 years

CUI Critical Factors

Water ingression in insulation is a CUI driver
Condition of insulation

Condition of jacketing
Condition of silicon sealing
Condition of painting
Damaged painting exposes the metal
Paint degrades after 10 years
Operating temperature range contributing to CUI
Carbon steel :

-15C to 175C (API571: 10 F to 350F)

Stainless steel :

50C to 150C (API571: 140F to 400F)

Unfavourable operating conditions

Sweating operation (below dew point) resulting in condensation on metal
Cyclic and intermittent operation: cycles of condensation
Chlorides: coastal / sea climate, plume of nearby cooling towers,
11

150 years

CUI Suspected Locations

Areas
exposed to

Water
ingress

Acid
Vapours

Process
Spills

Plume of
cooling
towers

Sprinkler
& steam
vents

Steam tracing systems with tracing leaks

Dead legs
Holes or openings in jacketing
Damaged coatings
Hardened, old, or missing silicon sealing
Pipe supports, hangers
Protrusions through insulation
Termination of insulation at flanges & piping components
Termination of insulation in a vertical pipe

12

150 years

CUI What do I need to do?

Preventing CUI is everyones responsibility!
Everybody has a role in prevention and detection!

Designers:
Use mesh wire for personnel protection
Use insulation only when necessary
Select the right coating system

Hang support and damaged jacketing

Personnel
Protection mesh : wire cages
13

150 years

CUI What do I need to do?

Construction & Maintenance
Prevent water ingress
=> good design & maintenance practices
Good surface preparation & coating,
including all field welds!
Strong Quality Control of painting, insulation and cladding

Cover open ends when insulation is removed

INTERNAL

CUI MI Fora, 2015

14

150 years

CUI What do I need to do?

Operators
Look for and report damaged insulation or cladding
Report leaks: product, steam tracing,
All
Do NOT walk on insulation, do NOT damage the cladding

Walking on insulation Cladding

damage Water ingress CUI

INTERNAL Look

CUI MI Fora, 2015

for and report

15

150 years

Challenges

Implementation of awareness
feedback of observed defects
maintenance budget
Information and scoping and scheduling of the inspection programs for equipment
and piping, including the increased CUI focus for the inspections
Supervisors and inspectors
Sufficient inspectors with CUI focus
Sufficient qualified supervisors for painting / insulation
Sufficient scaffolding supervisors
CUI guidelines require upgrade of local standards implementation

16

Thank You!

150 years