Corrosion Under Insulation

Part II
SABIC Saudi CUI Forum
By
Dik Betzig
Hi-Temp Coatings Technology Co.
bz@hitempcoatings.com
P +01 978 635 1110
C +01 978 844 0238
F +01 978 635 1124

Introduction
Hot liquor and other process vessels including
piping creates an unsafe environment due to
emission of radiant heat. Insulating the vessel
creates a potential corrosion environment under
the insulation. This presentation will discuss a
unique Thermal Interface Coating that provides
protection from corrosion, and replaces
conventional insulation with metal jacketing while
controlling radiant heat & condensation.

Is There a Cure for CUI?

Corrosion Costs and Preventative Strategies in the
United States reported the direct cost of
corrosion to be $276 billion per year, with that
number potentially doubling when indirect costs
are also considered. Corrosion costs have
doubled every 10 years since 1975.
Highest incidents of leaks in chemical industries are due
to CUI
81% occurs in piping diameters smaller than 4 inches
60% of piping maintenance is related to CUI

Contributing Factors to CUI

Environment
Rain water & condensation are most prominent
Water from fire protection
Water vapor penetration
Operating temperature
Ice
Chemical exposure

Operating Temperature
Optimum temperature ranges for aggressive
corrosion for both carbon steel and 300 series
stainless

Most aggressive 90C 120C

Carbon steel is 0C to 150C
Stainless steel is 60C to 150C
Below 0C corrosion is minimal due to relatively low
energy levels. Corrosion rates are dramatically reduced.
The formation of ice limits the amount of oxygen
available

Challenges for Insulation Systems

Insulation and piping need to be inspected
Claddings are often exposed to UV, grease, oil,
and chemical attacks
Traditional insulation and cladding systems are
difficult to install
For complex geometries i.e. valves, flanges, and
other shapes, rigid systems are not compatible
Costs for application are significant due to
expensive equipment
Reducing noise levels with metallic insulation
systems

Solving CUI
Clearly then, for most circumstances, corrosion
under insulation can be prevented in two ways:

By using a coating system which will prevent

corrosion in the potentially hot, wet conditions
existing under the insulation.

Design insulation which will not be easily

damaged and will prevent water ingress either by
nature of the insulation or by an alternative more
effective method of cladding.

Pathway for CUI

Water

Traditional Insulation
Pipe

Rockwool, fiberglass, or other

traditional types of insulation promote
corrosion, and also act as a carrier and
spread the corrosion to other areas of
the pipe or vessel.

Important Insulation Concepts

The basic law of heat transfer is that heat always
flows from hot to cold.
Heat transfer is affected but not correlated to air
movement.
Heat energy moves through matter, metal,
insulation, air, etc.

Offshore Platform

Heat Transfer

The transfer of heat is normally from a

high temperature object to a lower
temperature object. Heat transfer
changes the internal energy of both
systems involved according to the
First Law of Thermodynamics.

Heat Transfer Methods

Conduction transfer of heat through
temperature differential between objects
Convection transfer of heat through matter
caused by molecular excitation
Radiation Emission of electromagnetic energy
waves from emitting body
Emissivity ratio black body radiant emission

Stefan Boltzmanns Law

Radiation by black body

Emissivity of object

Hot objects other

than radiators

Constant for Thermal Conductivity

Defined as:
Q=Heat through cross section
A=Temperature difference T
Q/A= Heat flux

Guarded Heat Flux Method ASTM C518

ASTM C-177 test
Thermal conductivity:
K = P / [t * (Tm - Ta)]
P = power supplied to heater
T = specimen thickness (2X)
Tm = temperature of main heater
Ta = temperature of auxiliary heater

Guarded Hot
Plate Apparatus
ASTM C-177

Issues Affecting Conventional Insulation

Equipment design
Service temperatures
Insulation selection
Protective coatings
Weather barriers
Climate control
Maintenance procedures

Design & Specification

THE CAUSES:
The original design of equipment is the start of CUI problems
Failure to design and specify protective coatings
Design and specifications of the insulation system itself are a
result of CUI
No single insulation, shape, size, or configuring will perform
well in every use

THE CURE:
Understand the environment, the insulation system, purpose
of the insulation, condensation control, etc.
Specify insulation system that is customized for your
requirements
Make sure to consider the need for the proper type of
protection coating

Maintenance
THE CAUSE:

Understand sealant problems

Small holes in weather barrier
Wet insulation
Sections of insulation removed for normal operations
and inspections
Failing to reseal and patch insulation properly after
inspection

THE CURE:
Provide a systems approach to conventional insulation
in a form of thermal interface coating to be used in
conjunction with the proper corrosion protective primer

Summary
We have seen that CUI can be a huge, difficult to
detect, problem that costs millions of dollars. We
have highlighted how everything from design
through maintenance can contribute to CUI.
Finally, we will discuss how it can be easily
prevented through a new technology using a
thermal interface coating system.

WHAT IS A THERMAL INTERFACE COATING?

Seamless composite insulation
Replaces conventional insulation
100% adherent thermal barrier
Protection against high temperature
Protection against high humidity
Protection against low temperature

Characteristics

Thermal shock resistant to 250C

Thermal Cycling from 0C to 200C ASTM-2485
Ambient temperature air-dry
Prevents Stress Corrosion Cracking
Ambient and Hot Application to 300F
VOC of <100 gram/liter.

Benefits of Insulation Coatings

Unaffected by UV rays (past 1300 hours of accelerated

aging)
Non-combustible during application and after insulation
Low chloride content (less than 20 ppm & less than 18 ppm
halogen)
With exception of cold/wet applications the coating can be
applied without shutdown up to 150C (300F)
Radiant heat barrier average .39% transmittance
Remains flexible to -35C
Contains no solvents
Cleans up with water
Dry fall during application 5-7 feet

Uses
Power Plants, Refineries
LNG pipelines & vessels
Chemical & Pharmaceutical Facilities
Offshore/Marine
Equipment for chillers
Personnel safety ASTM-C1055
Swage treatment plants/bio diesel tanks

R-value (Insulation)
The R-value is measure of thermal resistance in heat
transfer.
The thermal resistance SI-units are Km2/W
1 ft2Fh/Btu 0.1761 Km2/W
or
1 Km2/W 5.67446 ft2Fh/Btu
Calculated from thermal conductivity, k, and thickness of
material

General Performance Data I

1.

Anti-condensate [atmospheric]:
HTC primer 1027 & 850 series @ 6-8 miles DFT, to-coat
with XX-TIC-707.

0F-150F [0C-66C]

TIC-707 60-100 mils

200F-350F [93C121C]

TIC-707 80-120 mils

General Performance Data II

2.

Insulation:
HTC primer 1027 series @ 12-20 mils DFT, top-coat with
TIC-707

0F-150F [0C-66C]

80-100 mils DFT

200F-350F [93C177C]

100-200 mils DFT

Thermal Conductivity of TIC-707

Test specimen:

TIC-707 (Insulating Coating)

Testing lab:

Geosciences LTD. San Diego, CA

Size:

12 x 12 x 1 (Carbon Steel)

Testing Procedure:

ASTM-C-177

Temp Range:

42oC [107F]

Thermal Conductivity:

0.057

Btu/hr, ft, F

0.68

Btu/hr, ft2, F/in

k = 0.68

Btu, in/ ft2,hr, F

k = 0.084

kcal/m, hr, C

Theoretical Treatment of Heat Transfer by

Conduction
A quantitative expression relating to the rate of heat
transfer, the temperature gradient and the nature of
the conducting medium is attributed to Fourier (1822)
qx

= -k

A
Heat flux= heat
flow rate per unit
area in direction x

dT
dx

Temperature
gradient along x

K=thermal
conductivity
of material

A = area normal
to heat flow

Example R-values
Note: These examples use the non-SI definition
Vacuum insulated panel
Aerogel
Phenolic foam insulation
Urethane
Cellulose, fiberglass, rock wool
Snow
Absolute still air

45/in
10/in
7/in
6/in
3/in
1/in
5/in

[Convection heat greatly reduces the insulation value to roughly R-1]

Typical Heat Loss for Steam Lines

(MMBtu/yr)

Measuring Temperature

Temperature on any surface is due to heat energy

flux
Electronic thermal couples only sense heat flux
from visible light to near infrared range
Glass mercury thermometer visible light to mid
infrared range
Human hand can sense heat flux from visible light
to far infrared range
TIC-707 reflect the longer wave length energy flux
mostly in near and far infrared range

TIC-707 Testing Apparatus

TIC 707 Test

Apparatus

TIC 707
Test Cells

HTC R&D
Lab

TIC-707 Mixing

Does not settle but has a dry-looking layer on top

Need to Invert cans at least 8 hours before use.
Use paddle mixer and slow speed (300-500 RPM)
Keep mixing until uniform
Use slow agitation during mixing do not over-mix.
Pour off and re-seal material not immediately used.
Agitate during application to prevent separation.

Spray Application Equipment

Air operated jiffy mixer or heavy duty electric jiffy mixer.
Paddle-type slow speed mixing blade.
(a.) Binks 2001 gun #599 Fluid Nozzle
#262 Air Nozzle
#54-2065 Ring
***********or***********
(b.) Graco #248091 Spray gun
#287227 6.4 mm Fine Finish Nozzle
Remove all filters and screens from spray equipment.
Agitate to prevent separation during application.

Recommended
Spray Guns

Hi-Temp XXTIC-707

Easy, multi-pass application

Orange-peel finish for ambient application
Coarse finish for hot surface application
Dries at ambient or hot applied.
Thinning: Not needed
Clean up: Water

Problems with traditional insulation

If traditional insulation is chosen, it must be

done ONCE installed.
Impossible to see corrosion with traditional
insulation
Insulation / jacketing takes up more space and
weighs more.
Difficult and expensive to insulate and jacket
while unit is hot.
Insulation is subject to failure by water
saturation.

Typical Application of XXTIC-707 16 DIA

methane gas Pipe

Blast to SSPC SP6 commercial blast

Apply one coat of HTC 1027 primer at @ mils DFT 8-12
hrs
Apply first coat of XX-707 40-50 mils 3-4 hours dry
time
Apply second coat XX-707 40-50 mils in tandem with
first coat
Apply final coat of XX-707 at 40-50 mils for a total of
120-150 mils DFT

Summary/Conclusion
A new type of coating system has been developed to act as a thermal
interface using a systems approach. The system is a
composite design that will consist of a corrosion
inhibitive/barrier primer coating as a first layer consistent with
the requirements discussed in part I of this form. This will then
be top-coated with a TIC thermal insulative coating, thickness
will vary depending on application requirements.
The new seamless tightly adherent composite is the ultimate solution
for CUI and gives the owner the capabilities of visual inspection
without damage and makes restoration work cost effectively.
In addition to the ability of insulating and providing corrosion control,
personal protection, sound control, and low temperature
service requirements are also addressed with this new
technology.

References
McGowan, Nancy. Innovation and Environmentally Benign
Solution for Corrosion Under Insulation (C.U.I.) for Steam
Process Piping. NAVSEA 1996. Jun. 6, 1996.
Abayarathna, Dharma. Measurement of Corrosion Under
Insulation and Effectiveness of Protective Coatings, NACE
1997.
Corrosion of Metals Under Thermal Insulation ASTM STP
880 W.I. Pollock and J. Barnhart, Eds., for ASTM 1985.
Preventing Corrosion Under Insulation in chemical
Manufacturing Facilities. Bruce Rutherfor, JPCL, July,
1998.
The Control of Corrosion Under Thermal Insulation and Fire
Proofing Materials A Systems Approach. NACE RPO 19898, Item No. 21084 NACE International 1998.