This paper presents an overview of the continuing critical problem of corrosion under thermal insulation and also corrosion under fireproofing. Fireproofing (or fire resistant coatings) are applied to thermally protect structural steel and vessels in the event of a fire. Specifically the fire protective materials discussed in this paper are gunite and concrete, both of which afford excellent performance during exposure to high intensity process fires. The overview is based on the author's extensive experience with corrosion under thermal insulation (CUI) and corrosion under fireproofing (CUF) in the petroleum/petrochemical industry.
Keywords" corrosion, thermal insulation, concrete, gunite, polyurethane, cellular glass, perlite, coatings, ESCC, Fireproofing, CUI, CUF.