Insulation driven stress corrosion cracking has been a persistent failure mechanism for carbon steel assets operating in Northern Alberta since 2014. Cracks have occurred on uncoated carbon steel operating between 70 °C and 190 °C and exposed to wet mineral wool insulation. All cracks in the field have been associated with mineral wool insulation produced between the years of 2000 and 2013; however, more recent vintages are also expected to be susceptible based on laboratory analysis. A group of 5 operating companies formed a joint industry project in 2021 to share information and investigate this failure mechanism. This paper provides an update on progress made over the past year, with a focus on the identification of the root cause and the development of a suitable test method to identify susceptibility.

Subject
Test methods, Insulation materials, Water, Materials, Insulation, Intergranular stress corrosion cracking, Inspection, Minerals, Wool, U bends, Carbonate cracking, Carbon steel, Stress corrosion cracking
Keywords:
Stress corrosion cracking (SCC), intergranular stress corrosion cracking (IGSCC), mineral wool insulation, pipeline, pressure vessel, CPP, SSRT, RSRT
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2025
GOV
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