E!9069 Steel Pipeline Inspection for Corrosion Evaluation under Thermal Insulation

The focus of the SPICE project is the development of a system for the monitoring of pipes and pipeline systems under thermal insulation. Such systems are an essential and vital part of the infrastructure of many separate industrial sectors and plant insulation is everywhere. A medium-sized oil refinery for example, contains over 200 km of insulated piping and more than 130,000 m2 of insulated equipment, vessels and tanks. Temperatures often exceed 600C and insulation is vital for optimum operational and economic efficiency. The specific problem which SPICE solves is the detection of corrosion on steel pipes under thermal insulation (CUI), covered with thick, heavy lagging and finally surrounded with an outer metal cladding. Any water which enters can collect and be trapped and at high temperatures, accelerates the corrosion process causing severe and catastrophic corrosion to occur very quickly between scheduled maintenance inspections. Current inspection techniques such as radiography, ultrasonics, eddy current, magnetic particle and penetrants require highly localised inspection. They are expensive to perform, require extensive preparation and often involve shutting down operations. In contrast the SPICE system: - does not require removal of outer cladding or thermal insulation. This reduces monitoring costs dramatically. - can scan the entire surface of very long lengths of insulated pipeline. - is quick and relatively inexpensive to install into new builds or retrofit into existing infrastructure and ageing assets. - can not only instantly detect both sudden catastrophic leaks and breaches but also detect and locate the gradual long-term changes of progressive corrosion under thermal insulation in very large, dense pipeline networks. - provides a complete monitoring system giving continuous real-time monitoring. The SPICE corrosion monitoring system is based on Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS).

We will deliver a novel system (SPICE) for detection of corrosion defects under thermal insulation based on Electrical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS). Only now with the modern computer processing power and algorithms, it is possible to use EIS for real-time detection of corrosion and other mechanical defects under thermal insulation in distributed industrial infrastructures such as overland pipelines and industrial plants. Hardware parts and a special software will be developed in the project. There are globally over 2 million km of overland pipelines, of which 30% are within Europe or supplying resources to the EU. This includes pipes in chemical plants, refineries etc. Corrosion defects are often hidden under layers of insulation often covered in metallic outer cladding. Early detection with existing SoA is difficult and costly. We will develop a novel SPICE corrosion detection system to aid in preventing leakages which are environmentally damaging and economically costly. The project result is a fully-functional industrial prototype of the SPICE corrosion detection system installed on a Client site. The system comprise of a number of NTIs (Nodal Transceiver Interfaces), a hub to coordinate signals sent wireless from the NTIS and a control system with SPICE control software. Revenues will be generated from the sale of complete new SPICE system, installations, hardware maintenance contracts, training of client?s staff and software license renewal fees. Converting this result into a highly marketable commercial product is expected to follow on within a period of 18-24 months after the end of the project.