Corrosion under insulation (CUI) is among the key concerns for the integrity of process equipment and pipelines. Various measures to detect and fix the damages from CUI pose significant maintenance expenditures in hydrocarbons processing facilities. The key reason behind CUI is the limitation of thermal insulations to absorb the moisture and soak the underneath metal from wicking action. Other than CUI, trapped moisture in the soaked thermal insulations causes heat loss from process systems, thereby posing the risk of additional damage mechanisms and increased operating expenditures. This study addresses the impact of robust drain openings and insulation standoffs on the CUI rate of carbon steel under four different testing conditions, namely isothermal wet, isothermal wet-dry, cyclic wet, and cyclic wet-dry, respectively. Corroded specimens were further characterized using surface topography and scanning electron microscope. The impacts of temperature and moisture cycling on the corrosion attributes were also characterized using the linear polarization resistance method followed by an investigation of corrosion modes via optical microscopy. Insulation standoffs in conjunction with robust drain opening resulted in the lowest corrosion rate. With insulation standoffs and drain openings, the cyclic temperature conditions caused higher metal loss than that in isothermal conditions.
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1 June 2021
Research Article|
April 08 2021
Influence of Robust Drain Openings and Insulation Standoffs on Corrosion Under Insulation Behavior of Carbon Steel
Ahmad Raza Khan Rana;
Ahmad Raza Khan Rana
‡
*Integrity Products & Supplies Inc. Sherwood Park, T8H 0B8 Alberta, Canada.
‡Corresponding author: [email protected].
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Mingzhang Yang;
Mingzhang Yang
**Chemicals and Materials Engineering Lab, University of Alberta, Edmonton, T6G 1H9 Alberta, Canada.
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Jamal Umer;
Jamal Umer
***Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Engineering & Technology, Lahore 54890, Pakistan.
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Tom Veret;
Tom Veret
****Department of Mechanical Engineering Université de Technologie de Troyes (UTT), 12 rue Marie Curie-CS 42060 10004 Troyes, France.
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Graham Brigham
Graham Brigham
*Integrity Products & Supplies Inc. Sherwood Park, T8H 0B8 Alberta, Canada.
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‡Corresponding author: [email protected].
Online ISSN: 1938-159X
Print ISSN: 0010-9312
© 2021, NACE International
2021
CORROSION (2021) 77 (6): 681–692.
Citation
Ahmad Raza Khan Rana, Mingzhang Yang, Jamal Umer, Tom Veret, Graham Brigham; Influence of Robust Drain Openings and Insulation Standoffs on Corrosion Under Insulation Behavior of Carbon Steel. CORROSION 1 June 2021; 77 (6): 681–692. https://doi.org/10.5006/3749
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