CUI Detection and analysis

CUI Detection

Overview:

The new iCON^TM solution is a new generation of technologically advanced hardware and software.

iCON^TM significantly reduces the burden and challenges of operational, economic and safety issues which CUI (Corrosion Under Insulation) represents.

Suitable for (but not limited to) industries such as:  

• • Power plants
  • Pulp and paper mills
  • Oil and gas refineries
  • Chemical plants
  • Pharmaceutical producers
  • Food and beverage manufacturers

Existing inspection techniques such as radiography, ultrasonics, eddy current, magnetic particle and penetrants require highly localised inspection and at a minimum, the removal of the outer cladding and often the underlying insulation as well.

These techniques are very expensive to perform (often prohibitively so) not only in manpower but often resulting in the loss of production because of the need to shut down or limit operations. To make matters worse, the current techniques used for inspection are very slow and only cover very small areas at a time.

The burden of inspection can often be further increased when dealing with dense clusters of closely-packed insulated pipework which is highly problematic in many industrial settings and in some instances it is not possible at these locations. Complex pipe networks often require the use of access platforms, scaffolding and ropes etc. to gain access to the regions of interest; not only does this increase the time and cost of inspection but also presents and increased safety risk.

Conventional inspection methods can be seriously affected by adverse weather conditions, limiting access and can also affect the results delivering potentially unreliable data, decisions made on unreliable data could lead to catastrophic incidences.

In contrast, iCON^TM will detect both sudden catastrophic leaks and gradual long-term changes of the progression of CUI in very large, distributed pipeline networks.

The iCON^TM system offers the ability for continuous 24/7 monitoring, is low cost, easy to deploy, offers high sensitivity to surface corrosion and is a fully automated supervision and alert system.

Principal of Operation

Electrical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) is a well-established and proven method for the detection of corrosion.

The game-changer is that Inspection Tech have a world first by miniaturising the technology so that it can be taken out of the laboratory and deployed in the field to provide distributed in-situ sensors to provide continuous 24/7 detection and location of corrosion in the entire length of systems such as distributed networks of insulated pipework.

The system is made up of a network of miniature EIS units, each being a node in a distributed network of in-situ corrosion sensors. Each node is attached to the exposed metalwork outside of existing insulation. Each node is called a “Nodal Transducer interface” or “NTi”.

All NTis are integrated via local hubs and routers into a SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) system and operable from a single control centre. Each system is supplied with our in-house detection & complex wave analysis software iCon Watch Guard^TM which monitors the entire network of insulated pipelines, 24 hours a day. iCon Watch Guard^TM is capable of detecting the smallest changes in the surface of metal pipes and alerting control room operators based pre-determined thresholds.

Each NTi has a unique locational address and are easily retrofitted at strategic nodes of a pipeline network, such as junctions, valves, flanges and other places which are normally free of thermal insulation during day to day operations and so are ideal places to make electrical connections.

The NTis have been designed to be future proof and additional monitoring sensors can be added to each node or can connect to existing equipment already deployed, such as temperature probes, flow meters, or ultrasound transducers

All telemetry data is securely stored in the Microsoft Azure cloud and as such is accessible by any authorised user from anywhere on the planet with access to the internet.

Deployment is rapid: With no lengthy capex bids, the iCON^TM solution is provided on a low cost monthly contract.