51316-7368-Toward the Development of an Inspection Tool for Corrosion Under Insulation

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Product Number: 51316-7368-SG

ISBN: 7368 2016 CP

Author: Yves Gunaltun

Publication Date: 2016

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Abstract: Corrosion under insulation (CUI) is a major problem for industry. Extensive removal and reinstatement of insulation for inspection is prohibitively costly. Guided wave testing (LRUT) is a long range ultrasonic technique that was developed in the mid-1990’s to provide the solution to CUI inspection for piping and pipelines and has been commercially deployed since the late 1990’s. The technology understanding and application of GWT has been continuously developed over the last 15 years but is still a screening technique which is currently unable to provide dimensions of CUI. Indications reported by LRUT must thus be followed up using a second NDT technique to confirm and quantify CUI damage.A project sponsored by the Gas Research Centre (GRC) Petroleum Institute Abu Dhabi has been established to improve on commercially available LRUT and develop an inspection tool to allow integrity management decisions to be made from LRUT inspections.In the first phase of the project an independent evaluation of the performance of LRUT was performed in terms of probability of detection (POD) for the system and operators/analysts. A purpose built test loop was constructed to be representative of real-world conditions including metal loss defects simulating CUI. Future phases will (i) evaluate and develop better understanding of key variables and factors affecting the performance of GWT aiming at developing best practice guidance and (ii) develop an inspection tool based directly on GWT data.The results of the first phase are presented in this paper with a number of interesting observations and lessons learnt that can aid in improving the outcomes from LRUT for CUI and for piping and pipelines in general.