Corrosion under insulation (CUI) is one of the most significant issues facing industrial facility owners, engineers, and maintenance personnel who work with above-ambient process piping and equipment. Unfortunately, CUI can be very difficult to detect, often only being discovered after it has caused significant damage. There are several non-destructive methods for detecting in-situ metal loss without removing the insulation, such as infrared scanning. However, such methods involve costly equipment and can evaluate only a small area at a time. The most predictable and cost-effective method to manage CUI is a systematic inspection program. In this program, specially-trained workers carefully cut cores out of the insulation system, perform a visual inspection of the base metal, and then install properly sealed inspection plugs. Other methods involve removing a small percentage of the insulation in CUI-prone areas, inspecting the base metal, and then re-covering the exposed pipe with new insulation and cladding. Many facilities departments tasked with creating and implementing an effective CUI-inspection program report very limited budgets and available personnel to carry out this critically important task, which must continue in perpetuity.
Fortunately, to facilitate the creation of safe industrial environments, an organization called ASTM International developed test methods and material standards to ensure insulation products meet performance and material standards. ASTM International plays an important role in providing the technical data and physical properties for a broad range of materials, including insulation. It has a long reputation as a credible, non-biased source for test methods and material standards, and as such can be an essential resource for specifiers who are looking for insulations with excellent CUI performance.