[1A3] Electromagnetic guided radar (EMGR) for online monitoring of corrosion under insulation (CUI)
Dr Prafull Sharma1, Dr Chiraz Ennaceur1 and Professor Hoi Yeung2
1CorrosionRADAR Ltd, Cambridge, UK
2Cranfield University, UK
Electro-Magnetic Guided Radar (EMGR) technique is introduced for monitoring of Corrosion Under Insulation (CUI) in industrial assets.
CUI continues to be a challenge to the integrity of process, chemical, power and other industrial plants. As this corrosion is not visible due to insulation and moisture can stay in the insulation for long periods, corrosion under insulation (CUI) is difficult to detect and locate. A number of NDT systems have been in use for CUI inspection with varying degree of success depending on applications. The industry still spend a huge amount of their maintenance budget on routinely opening up the insulation to inspect the pipes and equipment.
A new innovative sensor system invented using Electro-Magnetic Guided Radar (EMGR) is described in this paper. EMGR uses a thin flexible wave guide that can be installed next to and follow the profile of the pipe underneath the insulation. It exposes to the same condition of the pipe. An electromagnetic wave is injected at one end of the sensor, any irregularities along the sensor (e.g. due to sensor surface corrosion or change of electrical properties surrounding the sensor) will generate a reflection. Thus, by recording the time of flight of send and receive, the location of corrosion or moisture can be identified. It provides important data for asset manager to plan, schedule and target their efforts.
This paper will describe in more detail the principle of the corrosion with results from the field trials.
A new innovative sensor system invented using Electro-Magnetic Guided Radar (EMGR) is described in this paper. EMGR uses a thin flexible wave guide that can be installed next to and follow the profile of the pipe underneath the insulation. It exposes to the same condition of the pipe. An electromagnetic wave is injected at one end of the sensor, any irregularities along the sensor (e.g. due to sensor surface corrosion or change of electrical properties surrounding the sensor) will generate a reflection. Thus, by recording the time of flight of send and receive, the location of corrosion or moisture can be identified. It provides important data for asset manager to plan, schedule and target their efforts.
This paper will describe in more detail the principle of the corrosion with results from the field trials.
