Register      Login
Australian Energy Producers Journal Australian Energy Producers Journal Society
Journal of Australian Energy Producers
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Coatings for corrosion under insulation (CUI) protection—accelerated testing methodology

Neil Wilds
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

International Paint

The APPEA Journal 53(1) 127-134 https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ12010
Published: 2013

Abstract

Corrosion under insulation (CUI) is a serious issue in the oil and gas industry, with failures often occurring without warning and having devastating effect. When expensive redesign is not possible or practical, operators have a number of options open to them to mitigate the risk of CUI; these include the use of various protective coatings or thermally sprayed metals. Despite a number of technologies presently available, the industry is yet to establish an accepted laboratory test method for the performance benchmarking of products. This has, in the past, damaged confidence in some solutions and hampered the selection and further development of CUI coatings. As a result, the subject of accelerated laboratory testing for CUI coatings is now receiving significant attention across the industry with joint industry programs proposed in both Europe and North America.

This paper will examine state-of-the-art accelerated CUI testing, evaluating the advantages and disadvantages of the existing methods available. It will then offer a detailed description of a test method that has been in use since 2004, testing more than 300 specimens and assessing a wide range of coating technologies. The reproducibility of the test program will be established by the presentation of a range of data including results obtained from a third-party test house. The third-party results will then be correlated with a seven-year case study from an end user perspective provided by Santos, a major Australian oil and gas exploration and production company, from experiences at their Port Bonython facility in SA.

Neil Wilds began his career with International Paint in 1986 as a chemist developing high solids and fast cure epoxies. After spending 10 years in a development-focused role Neil moved to the global support team providing technical assistance to the International Paint core range of products. In this role Neil further developed his lab and technical skills, and gained valuable experience in the field carrying out extensive in-service inspections of coatings across the North and Norwegian seas. His extensive knowledge of coating development, as well as product support and infield use, lead to his appointment as Technical Manager in charge of specialty coatings in 2011. Neil presently manages all aspects of support and development for the specialty coating areas of concrete and concrete repair, temperature resistant coatings, and heavy duty coatings. He is also responsible for technical resources based in India, southeast Asia, Australasia, Japan, and Korea.

neil.wilds@akzonobel.com