CUI Hides. We Hunt.

Risk-ranked corrosion under insulation programs — find it before the leak announces it.

Plan a CUI Program

Corrosion Under Insulation (CUI) Inspection

Corrosion under insulation is the quiet destroyer of insulated piping and vessels: water gets past jacketing, sits against warm steel, and corrodes it for years behind a wall nobody looks behind. CIC delivers CUI inspection across Alberta — risk-ranked screening, targeted verification and documented condition data — before the first sign of trouble is a leak.

Why CUI Is So Dangerous

CUI concentrates exactly where inspection is hardest: under jacketing, at damaged sealant, around supports and low points, in systems cycling through the temperature ranges where trapped moisture never dries. The insulation that saves energy also hides the damage — so failures arrive looking sudden, on lines whose external paperwork said fine.

How We Hunt It

  • Susceptibility screening — service temperature, insulation condition, age and jacketing details rank where CUI lives first

  • External walkdown — damaged jacketing, failed sealant, staining and support details flag the entry points

  • Screening NDT — UT thickness and PAUT corrosion mapping through inspection windows and at stripped test locations

  • Targeted stripping — insulation removed where evidence points, not everywhere budget allows

  • Documentation — condition mapped by circuit, feeding your API 570/510 program and repair planning

The Economics: Strip Smart, Not Everywhere

Full insulation removal finds all the CUI and destroys the budget doing it. Risk-ranked programs put stripping money where screening evidence points — which is how facilities inspect ten times the pipe for the same spend. The deliverable isn't just findings; it's a defensible record of why each location was or wasn't opened.

Frequently Asked Questions

What temperature range is worst for CUI?

Carbon steel systems operating roughly between the freezing point and about 175°C are classic CUI territory — warm enough to keep trapped water active, cool enough that it never bakes off, with cyclic services the worst offenders. Your service conditions drive the susceptibility ranking we build from.

Can you inspect for CUI without removing insulation?

Screening methods — UT at inspection windows, profile radiography at supports and low points — narrow the hunt without full stripping. Verification still means opening the worst-ranked locations; the screening decides which ones earn it.