A fully autonomous, in-situ, moisture monitoring system for corrosion under insulation (CUITEST)

Mitigating the effects of Corrosion Under Insulation (CUI) has been identified as a significant opportunity for

improved efficiencies in North Sea oil fields. Recent studies have confirmed that there is a lack of high

performance technologies to combat CUI. 3-Sci's new CUITEST is a novel electromagnetic (EM) path loss

measurement technology that monitors approximately 50 metres of pipeline for moisture ingress without

requiring regular protrusions into the insulation. Simulations show that this path loss measurement tool could

detect moisture content distributed over great lengths, which overcomes the shortcomings of many other CUI

monitoring systems. Experimental validation of these results will be obtained within the project, with eventual

integration of this CUITEST tool into 3-Sci's explosive atmosphere certified wireless mesh network. This will

enable synchronised autonomous measurements to be conducted on pipelines located between any two

battery powered CUITEST discrete units.