Long
term integrity …
… minimises
life cycle costs
Reducing
heat gain and preventing Corrosion under Insulation (CUI) are major
cost-control objectives for plant operators. However, achieving these
goals depends on long-lasting, watertight cladding. FibaRoll and
FibaShield prevent water entry into insulation by providing a strong
mechanical barrier with watertight seams and excellent adhesion at
terminations.
Reducing
heat gain
In
gas, LNG and petrochemical plants, much of the purpose of insulation
is to prevent liquids from gaining heat while they are running at
operating temperatures below ambient. By gaining heat, cold liquids
may be lost through boil off or have to be re-liquefied using
valuable energy, hence increasing costs.
However,
insulation systems are designed to be dry and, if they do become wet,
the insulation value is reduced and therefore heat gain increases.
FibaRoll and FibaShield systems provide a strong mechanical barrier
with watertight seams, thus avoiding wet insulation. This is why some
of our biggest applications have been on cold or cryogenic
applications, totalling nearly one million square metres of materials
– projects like Sakhalin LNG/OPF (400,000 sqm), Nanhai
Petrochemical (250,000 sqm) and LNG Import Terminals in Spain (60,000
sqm).
Furthermore,
FibaRoll and FibaShield are specified with PAP foils rather than
mastics, making the costs and application time attractive against
traditional systems.
Reducing
the risks of CUI
CUI
is a particularly insidious form of corrosion because it is so
difficult to spot, hidden as it is under insulation and cladding. It
is caused by the presence of water and a breakdown in the coating
system.
Water
is able to enter the insulation due to inadequate sealing of metal
cladding - at overlaps between sheets and at terminations. A further
reason for the cladding being compromised is the fact that foot
traffic bends the metal, leading to water entry.
Why
do coatings break down? Sometimes they are damaged during
construction and never properly repaired; in other cases they are
damaged during operation or the wrong coating specified originally.
The
solution is to use FibaRoll and FibaShield. These systems can be used
on all temperature ranges but are best employed from minus190°C to
plus 120°C.
FibaRoll
is hand applied from rolls, normally as sheets in an uncured form or
as FibaClad, which is supplied in cured sections and mouldings.
Because of the strong nature of the cladding it is often used to clad
vessels prior to erection. This technique is further described in our
“Construction” page.
FibaShield
Pre-Insulated Pipes are insulated/clad prior to welding and are 12m
lengths which combine continuous closed cell insulation and a
continuous jacket.