Thermal insulation of piping, valves, tanks, and vessels is achieved by an INTEGRAL SYSTEM of corrosion mitigating coating, thermal insulation media, and external cladding. For many years the use of thermal insulation coatings TIC 's has been used for personal protection against burns, solar radiant heat gain protection and limited energy process preservation as an alternative to conventional insulation such as mineral wool or calcium silicate. However, the downside of these conventional systems is that they leave an air gap to the primed surface and when damage to the jacketing occurs then corrosion under insulation (CUI) can become a real issue for the plant as it can often go unseen for years. The thermal insulation coatings attempt to alleviate this issue as they are applied direct to the primed surface forming a monolithic barrier and can be inspected visually without removal of the insulation system. Hence CUI is no longer an issue.
There are many examples of these TIC on the market, but all have similar issues related to application and thermal performance. These materials were also uncompetitive compared to conventional insulation utilizing multiple inches for use in projects which required energy preservation.
This paper will detail the development, application and performance verification testing of a next generation thermal insulation system, Basecoat and Top-Coat, which now can compete with conventional thermal insulation but will be applied in less coats and give better thermal performance than 1st generation materials.
Thermal insulation is a material that restricts the flow of heat. Heat spontaneously flows from a high temperature region to a low temperature region, and the greatest heat flow occurs through the path of least resistance. For this reason, thermal insulation is used as a barrier between two bodies at different temperatures either to reduce heat loss from the hotter body or to reduce heat entry into the cooler body.
