Inspection Technique for CUI Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd.

Process & Production Technology Center

(Corrosion under Insulation) by Toyokazu T ADA

Using Fiber Optical AE Sensor Hidehiko S UETSUGU

Hisakazu M ORI

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. Development of a CUI inspection
technique which doesn’t require the removal of insulation and which is applicable to explosion-proof petrochemical
plants is strongly needed. So we focused attention on optical fiber Doppler sensors which already have the explo-
sion-proof characteristics, and we tried to develop a new CUI inspection technique using them. The development
of this new inspection technique is explained.

This paper is translated from R&D Report, “SUMITOMO KAGAKU”, vol. 2010-I.

Introduction Technology Center since 2007. In 2007, we fabricated a

mock-up pipe (pipe simulation) as shown in Fig. 1 and
1. Handling of Corrosion Under Insulation in conducted an investigation into applying detection of
Japan and Overseas corrosion swelling using a fiber optic acoustic emission
Corrosion under insulation (CUI in the following) (AE in the following) sensor. Starting in 2008, we began
started getting close attention in chemical plants, petro- working on the development of environmental noise
leum refineries, power generating facilities and other separation techniques that included on-site applica-
plants in the developed nations in Europe and the tions. In 2008, we also investigated insulation structures
Americas as well as Japan in the 1980s. This was due to for corrosion resistance (exterior plate structures), and
the fact that insulation that had previously been used in we have carried out investigations into the selection of
locations at 149°C or higher started being used in tem- optimal undercoating materials for a temperature range
perature ranges of 100°C or lower after the first oil cri- of 60°C to 100°C. We continued these investigations in
sis in 1973. In Japan, the High Pressure Gas Safety 2009, but we will discuss the status of development of
Institute of Japan issued a report on external corrosion inspection methods using fiber optic AE sensors here.
in 1988, and the Engineering Advancement Association
of Japan (ENAA in the following) carried out an investi-
gation into the application of nondestructive testing
techniques and monitoring techniques from 2007
through 2011. According to a 2007 ENAA report,
guided wave ultrasound, real time radiography and
pulsed eddy current nondestructive inspection tech-
niques have been developed and applied at working
sites, but they are not yet complete. Therefore, estab-
lishing priorities and visual inspection where the insula-
tion is peeled off of the entire length of all surfaces are
recommended.1)

2. Handling of Inspections at Sumitomo Chemical

The following shows how inspections have been han-
dled by the Sumitomo Chemical Process & Production Fig. 1 Photo of the mock-up pipe

SUMITOMO KAGAKU 2010-I 1

 Inspection Technique for CUI (Corrosion under Insulation) by Using Fiber Optical AE Sensor

Development of CUI Inspection Techniques
Using Fiber Optic AE2)
CUI in carbon steel equipment and pipes has become
a deterioration phenomenon that has intensified in re-
cent years particularly in chemical plants that have
been operating for many years. In particular, exterior vi-
sual inspection of pipes installed outside in pipe racks
that are in high places is difficult, and also, since the
total distance is large, no CUI inspection methods have
been established that are more effective than visual in-
spection with the insulation removed. In addition, the
fact that 70 to 80% of the costs for these inspections is
scaffolding and tearing down the insulation is one major
problem. Therefore, there was a strong requirement for
development of CUI inspection techniques for pipes
that did not require the work of removing the insulation
and worked for plant facilities requiring protection from
explosions. We focused on fiber optical Doppler (FOD
in the figures) sensors, which have explosion preven-
tion properties from the beginning and attempted to de-
velop new CUI inspection techniques.
1. Comparison and problems in CUI inspection
methods for conventional pipes
Table 1 gives the characteristics of various inspection
methods that have been applied to pipes up to now.
Methods that have good inspection accuracy can only
carry out inspections at short distances, and methods ca-
pable of long-distance inspections (approximately 5m)
have poor inspection accuracy. Therefore, most opera-
tions carry out inspections where the insulation is re-
moved as described previously, but even if complete tear-
down inspections are carried out at great expense, corro-
sion is only found in 2 and 3 systems out of every 1000
systems. The problem is that the efficiency is very poor.
2. Principles of AE monitoring using fiber optical
Doppler3)
We focused on the relationship between corrosion
and AE to establish an inspection method that was ef-
fective for pipe CUI. Fig. 2 is a conceptual diagram of
the AE generating mechanism. First of all, peeling and
cracking of local corrosion products (corrosion
swelling) occur because of the progress in active corro-
sion. At this time, the strain energy that has accumu-
lated inside is released as minute elastic waves. Since
these elastic waves are comparatively low frequency
elastic waves from the audible to 500kHz, it is known
for propagating in a wide range. Therefore, the pres-
ence of corrosion can be sensed by detecting the AE
caused by the peeling and cracking of the corrosion
using an AE sensor to detect the elastic waves as AE. In
other words, we can consider improving the CUI in-
spection efficiency by tearing down the insulation and
carrying out visual inspections only on pipes where AE
has been observed.
Corrosion Tubercles
AE sensor
of Iron Rust
Crack…
AE (audible sound~about 500kHz)

Table 1 Comparison of the CUI inspection Fig. 2 Image of AE technique

technique for pipes

Ultrasound Eddy Current Radio graphic

The AE method is superior for monitoring corrosion,
Inspection Testing (UT) Testing (ECT) Testing (RT)
method Ultrasonic guided and it is already being applied in some places such as
Pulsed ECT Real-Time RT
waves evaluation of corrosion damage on the bottoms of
Influence of tanks, but there are actually various of problems. Up to
YES NO YES
internal fluid
now the AE method has used piezoelectric sensors, but
Inspection of
Applicable Not Applicable Not Applicable there are problems such as: (1) they are easily affected
long distance
No need by wind, vibration, noise, abrasion noise from the fluid
Removal of
Need (Less than 80mm No need inside, etc. (2) If attempts are made at increasing the
insulations
in thickness)
sensitivity of the sensor, the range of measurement be-
Corrosion localized corrosion General localized corrosion
can be (10% depth level of corrosion like (φ2mm through comes a narrow band, so separation is impossible when
detected sectional area) concave wall hole) it overlaps with a noise frequency band. (3) Since the
Inspection resistance to electromagnetic noise is poor in cables,
Not good Not good Good
accuracy
use for long distances is impossible. (4) They do not

SUMITOMO KAGAKU 2010-I 2

 Inspection Technique for CUI (Corrosion under Insulation) by Using Fiber Optical AE Sensor
have explosion prevention properties. (5) The range of
temperature applications is limited. To solve these
problems, attention has been given to the fiber optic AE
technology that has been developed in recent years.
The image of telecommunications systems is strong
for fiber optics, but optical fibers can be used as sensors
by using their Doppler effect. Now, when light waves
from light source with acoustic velocity C and fre-
quency ƒ0 are incident to an optical fiber, we let the opti-
cal fiber be extended length L at velocity v (see Fig. 3).
Letting frequency ƒ0 be changed to ƒ1 because of the
Doppler effect at this time, frequency ƒ1 following the
change can be expressed as in Eq. 1 by the formula for
the Doppler effect.
Optical fiber
Light source
f0 v f1 = f0 – fd
Fig. 3 Model of Doppler effect of optical fiber
C–v v f0
f1 = f0 = f0 – · f0 (Eq. 1)
C C
Therefore, if we consider modulation of frequency ƒ1
following the change from frequency ƒ0 prior to inci-
dence by ƒd, we get Eq. 2.
v
fd = f0 · (Eq. 2)
C
ƒd can be expressed as in Eq. 4 using the formula for
the wave given in Eq. 3.
C = f0 · λ (Eq. 3)
v f0 1 dL
fd = f0 · = ·v= · (Eq. 4)
C C λ dt
Eq. 4 shows that the rate of expansion and contrac-
tion of the optical fiber can be detected as and fre-
quency modulation of the lightwave.
In other words, we can detect the strain (elastic
waves, changes in stress, etc.) applied to the optical
fiber by reading the frequency modulation ƒd of the opti-
cal fiber. Fiber optical Doppler sensors have been de-
veloped for sensors that make use of the Doppler effect
when these optical fibers expand and contract (see Fig.
4). To increase the sensitivity of these sensors and
make reception from all directions possible, the optical
fiber is wound into a coil; therefore, the it has the char-
SUMITOMO KAGAKU 2010-I
acteristics of being able to obtain an output proportional
to the rate of expansion and contraction of the fiber,
having a broad receiving band of 1 Hz to 1 MHz and
having a broad temperature range of –200°C to 250°C.
In addition, advantages of fiber optical Doppler sen-
sors include (1) having high insulation properties, (2)
having high resistance to electromagnetic noise, (3)
having explosion prevention properties and not generat-
ing electrical sparks, (4) being capable of long distance
measurements and (5) having a broad range of applica-
ble environments. Therefore, disadvantages (2)
through (5) for the conventional piezoelectric AE sen-
sors described previously can in principle be resolved
by using fiber optical Doppler sensors.
N: number of turns
Sensor
(fixing)
N
out
in f 0 – fd
Fig. 4 Principle of FOD sensor
Fig. 5 is a conceptual diagram of a fiber optic AE
monitoring system for pipe CUI. First, frequency ƒ0
lightwaves from a laser Doppler vibrometer light
source in a measurement circuit are introduced into the
to the optical fiber. The frequency of the lightwaves that
are incident to the fiber optical Doppler sensor receive
the AE arising because of the corrosion flaking and
cracking and are modulated to ƒ0 through ƒd. On the
other hand, the amount of frequency modulation is de-
tected using the heterodyne interferometric method.
Specifically, a reference light with frequency ƒM
(80MHz) is added using a frequency modulator
(AOM), creating ƒ0 + ƒM modulation. Furthermore, the
difference in frequency ƒM + ƒd of the laser light from
the sensor and the laser light from the measurement
circuit is introduced and ƒd is detected. It is converted
to voltage V by a frequency-voltage converter and out-
put. A frequency analysis (FFT) is used on the original
waveform data obtained at this time, and it is converted
into extracted data such that the horizontal axis is fre-
quency and the vertical axis is spectral power. This
waveform analysis is important as a technique for dis-
criminating noise and the AE caused by corrosion.
3
 Inspection Technique for CUI (Corrosion under Insulation) by Using Fiber Optical AE Sensor

Measurement circuit (Laser Doppler Vibrometer)

Optical fiber
HM
f0 f0
f0
Corrosion f0 Light source

FOD Sensor Acousto-Optic

Modulator (AOM) (80MHz)
f 0 + fM
f 0 – fd f 0 – fd fd
Output Voltage
HM fM + fd
Detector
AE caused by flaking of rust

6000
3.00E+08
4000
Power spectral (a.u.)

2.50E+08

Voltage (mV)
The noise and AE are sorted. 2000
2.00E+08
0
1.50E+08

1.00E+08 –2000
Fast Fourier
5.00E+07 –4000
transform (FFT)
0.00E+00 –6000
0 50000 100000 150000 200000 0 500 1000 1500 2000
Sampled data Frequency (Hz) Original data Time (µsec)

Fig. 5 Image of optical fiber of CUI

3. Mock-up piping for investigating CUI inspec-
tions
Up to now there have been actual records of fiber
optic AE evaluations of areas with loosening base rock
that accompanies underground storage tank excava-
tion, but there are no records of use in CUI evaluations.
Therefore, we fabricated mock-up piping like that
shown in Fig. 6 to investigate the possibilities of devel-
oping CUI inspection technology using fiber optic AE.
Insulation was applied to a 5m carbon steel pipe, and
heated silicon oil was circulated inside the pipe by a
heating device. In addition, corrosion was accelerated
artificially by pure water and salt where the amount
dripped was finely adjusted to an extent giving rise to
wetting and drying to efficiently generate CUI and fur-
ther by heating to 60 to 70°C using silicon oil. A fiber
optical Doppler sensor is positioned at any location on
this mock-up piping and data collected regarding AE
from this corrosion site.
In this investigation, we used a commercial layered
fiber optical Doppler sensor that was a 65m optical fiber
wound into a layered coil shape (see Fig. 7). This sen-
sor is characterized by having an increased sensitivity
because the optical fiber is installed in a layered form.
Even though it has a broad band, it has the same or
greater receiving sensitivity than a narrow band con-
ventional piezoelectric AE sensor. When the layered
fiber optical Doppler sensor is installed on the piping, it

pure water + salt

+ 70°C heating
Accerelate the corrosion
intentionally

Silicon oil heating

device in piping FOD sensor
Insulation Carbon steel piping

70°C

Fig. 6 Mock-up piping for CUI inspection investigation

SUMITOMO KAGAKU 2010-I 4

 Inspection Technique for CUI (Corrosion under Insulation) by Using Fiber Optical AE Sensor

FOD sensor
Piping Flange
FOD sensor

Fixed by screw clamp

Fixed by U-shaped bolt

Install and remove easily

Fig. 7 FOD sensor installation

80 400
is secured using a U-bolt, and when it is installed on a AE hits/1 hour
70 350
Total AE hits
flange, it is secured with a clamp. Either is extremely
AE hits/1 hour (hits) 60 300
easy to install and remove, and like piezoelectric AE

Total AE hits
50 250
measurements, sending and receiving is possible 40 200
increase in
through a commercial contact medium. 30 temperature 150
decrease in
20 Pure temperature 100
Water
4. Results of measurements with mock-up piping4) 10
Salt 50

(1) Results of AE detection investigations at the initial 0 0

112911
112912
112913
112914
112915
112916
112917
112918
112919
112920
112921
112922
112923
11300
11301
11302
11303
11304
11305
11306
11307
11308
11309
11310
11311
11312
11313
11314
stages of corrosion
We carried out tests investigating AE detection in the Measurement date
initial stages of corrosion in November 2007. The state Fig. 9 AE hits by initial corrosion
of corrosion on the piping at this time is shown in Fig.
8. Corrosion swelling has yet to arise, and the parts that
look white are salt that has recrystallized. The fiber op- was an abrupt increase in AE after the start of the pure
tical Doppler sensor was installed at a position 300mm water and salt dripping and after the increase in temper-
from the site of the corrosion. The AE detection results ature. In addition, the AE converges after a certain
are shown in Fig. 9. The bar graph shows the number amount of time, and the AE increases when the oil tem-
of AE hits per hour, and the plotted line shows the cu- peratures lowered. The increase in the number of AE
mulative AE hits. hits when the wetting and drying and changes in tem-
This proves that AE measurements are possible at perature are applied in this manner is a major character-
initial stages of corrosion like this. In addition, there istic of AE.
In addition, the AE waveforms recorded at this time
are grouped into three patterns, ones that have frequen-
cies exceeding 100kHz, ones at 50 to 100kHz and ones
at 10 to 50kHz as shown in Fig. 10. These results can be
said to be due to the fiber optic AE being able to receive
a broad band. In measurements on actual equipment, it
is important to selectively receive the AE in a frequency
band from these three patterns of frequencies that does
not overlap measurement noise. In addition, the lower
the frequency for the AE, the further the propagation is,
but since it is easy for management noise to arise on the
Fig. 8 Corrosion of piping (1st monitor: 11/2007) low frequency side, it is necessary to measure the AE

SUMITOMO KAGAKU 2010-I 5

 Inspection Technique for CUI (Corrosion under Insulation) by Using Fiber Optical AE Sensor

6000 Peak above 100kHz

3.00E+08

Power spectral (a.u.)

4000
2.50E+08

Voltage (mV)
2000
2.00E+08
0
1.50E+08
–2000 1.00E+08
–4000 5.00E+07
–6000 0.00E+00
0 500 1000 1500 2000 0 50000 100000 150000 200000
Time (µsec) Frequency (Hz)

6000 Peak between 50k-100kHz

3.00E+08

Power spectral (a.u.)

4000
2.50E+08
Voltage (mV)

2000
2.00E+08
0
1.50E+08
–2000 1.00E+08
–4000 5.00E+07
–6000 0.00E+00
0 500 1000 1500 2000 0 50000 100000 150000 200000
Time (µsec) Frequency (Hz)

800 Peak between 10k-50kHz

7000000
600

Power spectral (a.u.)

6000000
Voltage (mV)

400
200 5000000
0 4000000
–200 3000000
–400 2000000
–600 1000000
–800 0
0 500 1000 1500 2000 0 50000 100000 150000 200000
Time (µsec) Frequency (Hz)

Fig. 10 Data of original AE and Frequency spectrum pattern

pattern at as low a frequency as possible that does not
overlap with the noise.
(2) Results of investigations into distances where AE is
detectable
In January 2008 we conducted verifications of the dis-
tances at which AE could be detected. The state of cor-
rosion on the piping at this time is shown in Fig. 11.
Corrosion swelling has arisen, and in the progress of
the corrosion can be seen. We installed the fiber optical
Doppler sensor at positions 2,000mm, 3,000mm and
3,900mm from the site of the corrosion. Fig. 12 shows
the AE detection results at the 3,900mm position. In
this manner we confirmed that it was possible to detect
AE at a sufficient sensitivity even at maximum distance
of 3,900mm. In addition, we found that the 50k to
100kHz frequencies were detected the most out of the
three AE patterns. If no noise is present in this range of
frequencies in measurements on actual equipment,
which are a problem we will take up later, we can effi-
ciently detect AE caused by corrosion.

Distance 3,900mm
60
100k-150kHz
AE hits/30 minutes (hits)

50 50k-100kHz
10k-50kHz
40

30

20

10

0
0-30 30-60 60-90 90-120 120-150 150-180 180-210 210-240

Elapsed time (minute)

Fig. 11 Corrosion of piping
(2nd monitor: 01/2008) Fig. 12 AE hits by corrosion progress at 3,900mm

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 Inspection Technique for CUI (Corrosion under Insulation) by Using Fiber Optical AE Sensor

(3) Comparison of AE detection results on the piping
and flange parts
In March 2008 we compared AE detection on the pip-
ing and flange parts. The state of corrosion on the pip-
ing at this time is shown in Fig. 13. The corrosion
swelling has grown further, and cracking heads ap-
peared in part of the corrosion swelling. Fiber optical
Doppler sensors were installed on the pipe at 3,900mm
and on a flange part at 3,950mm from the site of the cor-
rosion is shown in Fig. 14.
Fig. 13 Corrosion of piping (3rd monitor: 03/2008)
FOD sensor
confirmed that there was excellent AE detection on the
flange part. If it is possible to detect AE on the flanges,
we can expect to only remove the insulation from the
flange parts to make AE measurements.
(4) Investigation of corrosion progress and number of
AE hits
To make a comparison with the number of AE hits
from the corrosion site in January 2008 and the number
of AE hits from the corrosion site in March 2008 after
the corrosion had progressed further, we installed a
fiber optical Doppler sensor at the same 3,900mm posi-
tion and compared the results of measurements. The
results of that comparison are shown in Fig. 16. How-
ever, the AE measurements in January 2008 were only
made up to 240 minutes. As is clear from this figure, we
can see that the number of AE hits in March has clearly
increased with the progress in the corrosion compared
with those in January (an approximately tenfold AE hit
number at 240 minutes). The AE method cannot quan-
tify the area of the corrosion or depth of material reduc-
tion, but if the volume of the corrosion swelling
increases, the probability of AE hits increases. There-
3,950mm fore, we can consider the possibility of evaluations
3,900mm using the degree of correlation with the progress of the
corrosion by counting the number of AE hits.

AE hits/30 minutes (03/2008)

AE hits/30 minutes (01/2008)
Fig. 14 The position of FOD sensor installation Total AE hits (03/2008)
Total AE hits (01/2008)
500 3000
450
AE hits/30 minutes (hits)

2500
Fig. 15 shows a comparison of the results for AE de- 400
350 Total AE hits
2000
tection on the piping and flange parts. While these re- 300
sults show poorer sensitivity than on the pipe itself, we 250 1500
200
1000
150

AE hits/30 minutes (on piping) 100

500
AE hits/30 minutes (on flange) 50
Total AE hits (on piping) 0 0
Total AE hits (on flange) 0-30 60-90 120-150 180-210 240-270 300-330
500 3000 30-60 90-120 150-180 210-240 270-300 330-360
450 Elapsed time (minute)
AE hits/30 minutes (hits)

2500
400
350 Fig. 16 Comparison of the number of AE hits
Total AE hits

2000
300
01/2008 and 03/2008
250 1500
200
1000
150
100
500 Fiber Optic AE Measurements in Actual Equip-
50
0 0 ment5)
0-30 60-90 120-150 180-210 240-270 300-330
30-60 90-120 150-180 210-240 270-300 330-360
Elapsed time (minute)
1. Selection of stationary equipment and environ-
Fig. 15 Comparison of the situation of AE hits mental noise separation
piping and flange As was discussed earlier, it is possible to inspect

SUMITOMO KAGAKU 2010-I 7

 Inspection Technique for CUI (Corrosion under Insulation) by Using Fiber Optical AE Sensor

pipes without tearing down insulation even if it cannot

N
be called complete, but there is no method for equip-
ment other than tearing down insulation and visual in- Ladder
spection. Therefore, we selected an operating vertical
FOD sensor FOD sensor
reactor (3.8m inside diameter, column length approxi- ch3 ch2
mately 28m) where CUI might be revealed as the equip- Junction box
ment to be targeted for measurements. There was a
plan for the insulation to be removed from the entire
φ4,000mm
surface of the column in this equipment and to perform
FOD sensor
the work of eliminating the corrosion that had arisen ch4
due to CUI by surface preparation. Therefore, fiber opti-
cal Doppler sensors were installed along with this work, FOD sensor
ch1
and after the corrosion had been removed, AE measure-
ments were made. We investigated the separation of
the AE from corrosion under conditions that included
the environmental noise due to the fluid inside. More-
AE monitor
over, if a CUI inspection method that is more efficient system

than visual inspection is established for stationary

equipment like vertical reactors, installation of scaffold-
Fig. 18 The position of FOD sensor installation
ing and tearing down the insulation will become unnec-
and wiring for signal cable
essary, which has great merit in terms of costs.

2. Attachment of fiber optical Doppler sensors to
vertical reactor
The positions for attaching the fiber optical Doppler
sensors to the vertical reactor are shown in Fig. 17 and
Fig. 18. Four (four channels) fiber optical Doppler sen-
sors were attached at intervals of approximately
3,000mm with a pitch of 90° around the circumference
positioned vertically at 9,500mm based on the girth line
for the lower mirror and body of the main body of the
reactor.
Pass partition
A A'
Heat exchanger
As is shown in Fig. 19, the fiber optical Doppler sen-
sors were protected by a waterproof case. After the sur-
face coating on the outside of the reactor was removed
with sandpaper, they were glued using a heat resistant
epoxy resin adhesive and secured from the top using
aluminum tape. The signal cables extending from the
fiber optical Doppler sensors were each collected in a
jack box as ch1, ch2, ch3 and ch4 (see Fig. 20), and a
cable was extended from there to the ground. When AE
measurements are made, a terminal box installed on
the aboveground part and a fiber optical Doppler inter-
ferometer installed in a vehicle are connected by a cable
(see Fig. 21). One of the major merits of this method is
that, once the fiber optical Doppler sensors are con-
nected to the actual equipment, inspections can easily

Heat exchanger A–A'

17500

13500
Heat
exchanger
9500
Air nozzle
5500

1440

Fig. 19 The condition of FOD sensor installation on

Fig. 17 Structure of the vertical reactor the vertical reactor

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 Inspection Technique for CUI (Corrosion under Insulation) by Using Fiber Optical AE Sensor

However, the AE shown in Fig. 23, which was de-

tected after the removal of the corrosion, is not caused
by corrosion. It can be assumed to be environmental
noise that could not be eliminated by filtering using cur-
rent waveform processing techniques. Being able to
separate out this environmental noise as precisely as
possible is extremely important for using this technol-
ogy at actual sites.

Fig. 20 Connection of 4ch FOD sensor to junk

250
BOX ch1
ch2

AE hits/30 minutes (hits)

200 ch3
ch4
150
AE recorder
100
FOD interferometer
50

0
0–30 30–60 60–90 90–120 150–180
10:05–10:35 10:35–11:05 11:05–11:35 11:35–12:05 12:35–13:05

Fig. 22 AE hits/30 minutes before removing rust

Fig. 21 AE measurement condition in which FOD 250

interferometer and collection analysis ch1
AE hits/30 minutes (hits)

device are loaded into car 200 ch2

ch3
150 ch4

be carried out from the aboveground part which is at a 100

distance from the sensors.

50

0
3. AE measurement results before and after repair 0–30 30–60 60–90 90–120 120–150 150–180
of corroded parts 11:00–11:30 11:30–12:00 12:00–12:30 12:30–13:00 13:00–13:30 13:30–14:00

The results of AE measurements before and after the
removal of the corrosion due to CUI that had arisen on
the equipment by surface preparation are shown in Fig.
22 and Fig. 23, respectively. As a result, a large amount
of AE was detected in the state where the corrosion due
to CUI was present, and after the corrosion had been re-
moved, the number of AE hits was reduced to approxi-
mately 1/10. Therefore, we assumed that we were also
able to detect AE that can be thought of as being caused
by corrosion on actual equipment. In addition, there
was also a large difference in the number of AE detec-
tions by each of the sensors before removal of the cor-
rosion. In visual inspections after the insulation was
removed, multiple corrosion sites were found to be
present in the vicinity of the sensors where there were
many AE detections. In this manner, we were able to
confirm that there was a good correlation between the
state of corrosion and the state of AE detection in tests
carried out using actual equipment.
Fig. 23 AE hits/30 minutes after removing rust
4. Investigation of environmental noise separation
The typical AE waveforms detected before and after
the removal of the corrosion and the AE waveforms
from corrosion that were obtained in the investigations
with the CUI mock-up piping are shown in Fig. 24
through Fig. 26, respectively. Since the rise of the
waveforms, the duration, etc. have a very similar shape,
it can be assumed that separating the environmental
noise out using the shape of the waveforms will be diffi-
cult.
Next, the frequency distributions for the peak fre-
quency (frequency with the largest amplitude in the fre-
quency spectrum) and the barycentric frequency
(frequency that is the center of gravity for the area of
the frequency spectrum) for a measurement time of
three hours of AE detected before and after the removal

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 Inspection Technique for CUI (Corrosion under Insulation) by Using Fiber Optical AE Sensor

500 Frequency distribution

400 2500
300 Peak Frequency

AE hits/3 hours (hits)

200 2000 Barycentric frequency
Voltage (mV)

100
0 1500
–100
–200 1000

–300
500
–400
–500
0 500 1000 1500 2000 0
~50 50–100 100–150 150–200 200–250 250–300 kHz
Time (µsec)
Fig. 27 Frequency distribution of AE obtained
Fig. 24 Representative Waveform of AE obtained
before removing rust
before removing rust

Frequency distribution
1000
800 120
Peak Frequency
600

AE hits/3 hours (hits)

100 Barycentric frequency
400
Voltage (mV)

200 80

0
60
–200
–400 40
–600
20
–800
–1000 0
0 500 1000 1500 2000 ~50 50–100 100–150 150–200 200–250 250–300 kHz

Time (µsec)
Fig. 28 Frequency distribution of AE obtained
Fig. 25 Representative Waveform of AE obtained after removing rust
after removing rust

Next, the frequency distributions for the maximum

6000
amplitude and number of AE hits for a measurement
4000
time of three hours of AE detected before and after
2000 the removal of the corrosion are shown in Fig. 29 and
Voltage (mV)

Fig. 30, respectively. There are many small maximum

0
amplitudes for AE before the removal of the corrosion,
–2000
and as the maximum amplitudes increase, the number
–4000 of AE hits decreases. On the other hand, while the
–6000
shape of the distribution for AE after removal of the cor-
0 500 1000 1500 2000
rosion is roughly similar to the AE before removal, a
Time (µsec)
clearly significant difference can be seen in this fre-
Fig. 26 Representative Waveform of AE obtained quency distribution instead of the small maximum am-
from mock-up piping
plitudes being the most common. Therefore, we
attempted a comparison using the m value (shape pa-
of the corrosion are shown in Fig. 27 and Fig. 28. Both rameter for the distribution function) to make a more
of the frequency bands are substantially the same as the easily understood numerical conversion for these re-
corrosion AE frequency band (10kHz to 150kHz) ob- sults. The m value is the slope of the distribution graph
tained in the investigations with the CUI mock-up pip- line obtained when two axes in the graphs for the fre-
ing. In addition, since the frequency distributions for quency distributions of the maximum amplitude and
the AE peak frequency and the barycentric frequency hits for AE shown in Fig. 29 and Fig. 30 are shown log-
before and after the removal of the corrosion have very arithmically. The corrosion AE m values obtained for
similar distribution shapes, it can be assumed that envi- the AE detected before and after the removal of the cor-
ronmental noise separation by frequency analysis will rosion and in the investigations with the CUI mock-up
be difficult. piping are shown in Fig. 31.

SUMITOMO KAGAKU 2010-I 10

 Inspection Technique for CUI (Corrosion under Insulation) by Using Fiber Optical AE Sensor

600
ing and that the frequency distribution of the AE after
500 the removal of the corrosion differed. These results
AE hits/3 hours (hits)

400 suggested that it would be possible to separate AE due

300 to corrosion and the pseudo-AE due to the environmen-

200
tal noise by finding the m value.
However, to use this separation technique at actual
100
sites, we will require the accumulation of more funda-
0
mental data based on laboratory results and the accu-

49 0
00

55 0
58 0
00
13 0
16 0
19 0
22 0
25 0
28 0
00

34 0
37 0
40 0
43 0
46 0
0

0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

0
0
0
0
0
31

52
10
40
70
10

Maximum amplitude (mV) mulation of separation data for AE due to corrosion and
environmental noise through the accumulation of tests
Fig. 29 Distribution of AE hits and maximum
amplitude obtained before removing rust with actual equipment on site.

Summary
40
35
The AE arising from corrosion swelling was captured
AE hits/3 hours (hits)

30
roughly in the frequency range of 10kHz to 150kHz. In
25
20 addition, it was shown that AE could be captured even
15 at a maximum length of 4,000mm. This shows that it is
10 possible to inspect a range of 8,000mm left him right
5
with a single sensor, and since there was plenty of mar-
0
gin in the sensitivity, we can assume that even longer
55 0
58 0
00
13 0
16 0
19 0
22 0
25 0
28 0
00

34 0
37 0
40 0
43 0
46 0
49 0
00

0
0
0
0

0
0
0
0
0
0

0
0
0
0
0
0
0

31

52
10
40
70
10

Maximum amplitude (mV) distances can be inspected. In addition, even if the sen-
sor was installed on a flange part, it was possible to cap-
Fig. 30 Distribution of AE hits and maximum
amplitude obtained after removing rust ture the AE from the pipe part in the same manner.
Furthermore, AE that was thought to be caused by cor-
rosion could also be detected in actual equipment, and
Mock-up piping it was suggested that separation of corrosion AE from
4.0
Before remove rust
y = –2.6719x + 10.183 After remove rust environmental noise would be possible by carrying out
3.5
y = –2.2302x + 8.5901 evaluations of the m values (shape parameter). Since
3.0
fiber optic AE sensors have explosion prevention from
log AE hits

2.5
the beginning, normal installation of the sensor parts
2.0 y = –1.7142x + 6.0529
may also be performed in plants that have where explo-
1.5
sions must be prevented such as petrochemical plants.
1.0

0.5
We hope to accumulate more data in the future and
“m” means the slope of approximate straight-line
0.0
move toward making this practical rapidly.
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0

Log Maximum amplitude (mV)

References
Fig. 31 Comparison by m value (Shape parameter)
1) S. Hara, K.Yamamoto, Bosei kanri, 53 (3), 106
(2009).
In these results, the m values for AE before and after 2) T. Tada, H. Mori, H. Cho, Y. Machijima, JSNDI fall
the removal of the corrosion were –2.23 and –1.71, re- conference 2008, 243 (2008).
spectively, and the m value for the AE from the corro- 3) K. Kageyama, H. Murayama, K. Uzawa, I. Ohsawa,
sion in the CUI mock-up piping was –2.67. It was found M. Kanai, Y. Akematsu, K. Nagata and T. Ogawa,
that the AE frequency distribution before the removal Journal of Lightwave Technology, 24, 1768 (2006).
of the corrosion was very similar to the AE frequency 4) Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd, Patent applying.
distribution from the corrosion on the CUI mock-up pip- 5) Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd, Patent applying.

SUMITOMO KAGAKU 2010-I 11

 Inspection Technique for CUI (Corrosion under Insulation) by Using Fiber Optical AE Sensor

PROFILE

Toyokazu TADA Hisakazu MORI

Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd. Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd.
Process & Production Technology Center Process & Production Technology Center
Researcher Researcher

Hidehiko SUETSUGU
Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd.
Process & Production Technology Center
Senior Research Associate

SUMITOMO KAGAKU 2010-I 12