Automated device for surface hardening of damaged areas of welded joints of pipelines

Abstract

This utility model relates to strengthening pipeline damage zones at welded joints. The device comprises a loading unit with a deforming roller, a mechanism for rotating the loading unit around the pipeline axis, a mechanism for longitudinally feeding the loading unit along the pipeline axis, and a software control unit. The rotating mechanism includes a base with guide rollers and a faceplate with a toothed rim, mounting supports, and an electric drive mounted to rotate the faceplate with a toothed rim along the guide rollers. The longitudinal feed mechanism includes guides secured to a carriage, a radial movement mechanism, a stop secured to the base, and a screw pair, the screw of which carries a toothed wheel configured to interact with the stop to achieve longitudinal movement.The loading unit includes a power spring assembly mounted on guides secured to a platform, which is attached via brackets to the longitudinal feed mechanism guides. The power spring assembly is configured to transmit force to a lever with a deforming roller via an interconnected rocker arm, rods, a double-arm lever, and a spherical stop. A surface roughness meter is mounted in the same plane as the deforming roller and is configured to replicate the roller's trajectory with the sensing element of the roughness meter. This automatically determines the number of circular rolling operations before switching to the next horizontal rolling cycle. 3 sec. fil., 4 fig.

Description

[0001] This utility model relates to strengthening pipeline damage zones at welded joints caused by mechanical stresses arising during operation due to thermal stratification. This solution relates to devices for surface repair of nuclear unit pipelines made of composite materials, enabling repair work to be carried out without interrupting NPP operations.

[0002] The closest is "Automated device for surface hardening of damage zone of welded joints" patent of the Russian Federation 231708, published: 06.02.2025 Bulletin No. 4, a device including a loading unit with a deforming roller, a mechanism for circular movement of the loading unit around the pipeline axis, a mechanism for longitudinal feed of the loading unit along the pipeline axis and a software control unit, wherein the circular movement mechanism includes a base with guide rollers and a faceplate with a toothed rim, fastening supports and an electric drive installed with the possibility of setting the faceplate with a toothed rim in circular motion along the guide rollers, and the longitudinal feed mechanism includes guides secured to a carriage, a radial movement mechanism, a stop secured to the base and a screw pair, on the screw of which a gear wheel is installed, having the possibility of interacting with the stop to carry out longitudinal movement,wherein the loading unit includes a block of power springs mounted on guides secured to a platform that is attached by means of brackets to the guides of the longitudinal feed mechanism, and a rocker arm, rods, a double-arm lever and a spherical stop that are correspondingly interconnected with the possibility of transmitting force from the block of power springs to the lever with a deforming roller, and the software control unit is correspondingly connected to the said electric drive, characterized in that it is equipped with a precision positioning gear motor with a stepper electric motor connected to the said control unit, and the said gear motor is mounted on the radial movement mechanism with the possibility of setting in motion the longitudinal feed mechanism,and the said control unit is mounted on the gear motor and is designed with the capability of wirelessly transmitting and receiving information and controlling the said stepper motor with the capability of adjusting the feed rate, the size of the rolling zone and implementing the reverse function.

[0003] The disadvantage is the lack of full automation of the process and the lack of setting up rolling cycles for surface hardening of the damaged area of ​​welded joints depending on the material and thickness of the pipeline used, namely the lack of an option to control the quality of surface hardening of the damaged area of ​​pipelines at the welded joints.

[0004] The objective of the proposed technical solution is to eliminate this drawback, specifically adding the ability to automatically determine the number of circular rolling operations before switching to the next horizontal rolling cycle. This is achieved by incorporating a surface roughness meter, software-linked to the control unit, based on the Ra or Rz measured values ​​of the rolled surface (ISHP-210 surface roughness meter), transmitted via a USB data channel to the control unit. The ISHP is mounted in the same plane as the deforming roller so that the sensing element of the meter follows the roller's trajectory.

[0005] The essence of the proposed device is explained by the drawings, where Fig. 1 shows a general view of the device, a) front view, b) side view; Fig. 2 shows a separate mechanism for longitudinal feed of the loading unit with a deforming roller along the pipeline axis, a top view; Fig. 3 shows a separate loading mechanism, a front view; Fig. 4 shows a general side view of the installation with a prototype pipeline placed inside it.

[0006] The device includes:

[0007] 1 - base;

[0008] 2 - control unit;

[0009] 3 - guide rollers;

[0010] 4 - faceplates with toothed rim;

[0011] 5 - mounting supports;

[0012] 6 - electric drive;

[0013] 7 - guides;

[0014] 8 - carriage;

[0015] 9 - radial movement mechanism;

[0016] 10 - brackets;

[0017] 11 - deforming roller;

[0018] 12 - screw pair;

[0019] 13 - gear wheel;

[0020] 14 - stop;

[0021] 15 - power spring block;

[0022] 16 - guides;

[0023] 17 - platform;

[0024] 18 - rocker arm;

[0025] 19 - rods;

[0026] 20 - double-arm lever;

[0027] 21 - spherical stop;

[0028] 22 - lever;

[0029] 23 - pipeline;

[0030] 24 - high-precision geared motor with stepper motor;

[0031] 25 - surface roughness meter (SRM).

[0032] The device includes a mechanism for the circular movement of the loading unit, which is a detachable structure and consists of a base 1 with guide rollers 3 and a faceplate with a toothed crown 4, mounting supports 5 and an electric drive 6; a longitudinal feed mechanism for the loading unit, including guides 7, secured to a carriage 8, a radial movement mechanism 9, on which a precision positioning gear motor with a stepper electric motor 24 is mounted, secured to the radial movement mechanism 9, controlled by a control unit 2, which operates with the aid of a computer program, and the control unit 2 itself is mounted on the precision positioning gear motor with a stepper electric motor 24, wherein the high-precision gear motor with a stepper electric motor 24 has the ability to adjust the feed rate and the size of the rolling zone, as well as a reverse function, depending on the commands received as a result of the programmable control unit,receiving information during the rolling process from the roughness meter 25, brackets 10 are mounted on the guides 7, on which the loading unit with the deforming roller 11 is attached, while the surface roughness meter 25 is installed in the same plane with the deforming roller 11, so that the sensitive element of the ISP 25 follows the trajectory of the roller 11, and a high-precision gear motor with a stepper electric motor 24 is also fixed on the brackets 10, which in automatic mode after each completed rolling cycle, using the readings from the surface roughness meter 25 and a previously specified program, calculates and applies a new force to the loading mechanism depending on the material used for the pipeline 23 and the required surface roughness, axial movement is carried out by means of a screw pair 12, on the screw of which a gear wheel 13 is mounted, interacting with a stop 14,fixed on the base 1; the loading mechanism consists of a block of power springs 15 mounted on guides 16 fixed on a platform 17, the platform 17 is fastened to brackets 10, the force from the block of power springs 15 is transmitted by means of a rocker 18 and rods 19 through a double-arm lever 20 and a spherical stop 21 to a lever 22 with a surface roughness meter 25, a deforming roller 11 with sensors for the position of the deforming roller in the circumferential and axial directions and a force sensor on the deforming roller (the sensors are not shown due to their internal placement and in order not to clutter the drawing), controlled by a control unit 2 for wireless transmission and reception of information using a computer program.

[0033] The device operates as follows.

[0034] A circular motion mechanism is attached to a predetermined damaged area of ​​the pipeline 23, which is fixed inside the base 1 by fastening supports 5, with the help of the control unit 2, the automatic mode of rolling the pipeline 23 is set, the electric drive 6 is activated and the rotation speed of the circular motion mechanism of the loading unit is set, while the electric drive 6 sets the faceplate with the toothed crown 4 in circular motion along the guide rollers 3 of the base 1.Upon completion of the rolling cycle, control unit 2 retrieves data transmitted via the USB channel from surface roughness meter 25 and, according to a preset program, calculates and applies a new force to the loading mechanism depending on the material used for pipeline 23 and the required (operator-specified) surface roughness. The precision positioning gearmotor with stepper motor 24 then drives the longitudinal feed mechanism of the loading unit by the program-specified amount of movement. The rolling cycle is then repeated. After the damaged area has been completely passed along guides 7, radial movement mechanism 9 begins to move, setting a new rolling depth. The rolling and longitudinal movement cycles are then performed in the reverse direction. The high-precision gearmotor with stepper motor allows for discretely increasing the degree of pressure of roller 11 against pipeline 23, i.e.: one step - a conventional unit of pressing - is one pulse from the control unit 2 - one unit of pressing, the reversing function of the high-precision geared motor with a stepper electric motor 24, which allows for automatic passage back and forth in the longitudinal direction, is adjusted by the control unit 2 using a computer program. In this case, the force from the block of power springs 15 is transmitted by means of the rocker arm 18 and the rods 19 through the double-arm lever 20 and the spherical stop 21 to the lever 22 to the deforming roller 11, which is pressed against the pipeline 23, with the help of commands from the control unit 2 for wireless transmission and reception of information, the force for the deforming roller 11 is set using the computer program, and automatic adjustment of the position of the deforming roller in the circumferential and axial directions is carried out and automatic determination of the sufficiency of the rolling in using the data received from the roughness meter 25, transmitted via the USB channel.After completing the surface hardening procedure for the damaged area of ​​pipeline 23, the device is dismantled and the residual stresses are assessed.

[0035] The technical result of the claimed device is the ability to automatically carry out restorative repairs of critical areas of pipelines made of composite materials without stopping the technological processes of nuclear power plants; automation of the process of strengthening the damaged area of ​​​​pipelines in the area of ​​​​welded joints, due to the implementation of technical automation means: a surface roughness meter, position sensors for a deforming roller in the circumferential and axial directions; a force sensor on a deforming roller; a high-precision geared motor with a stepper electric motor, a control unit and wireless transmission, transmission via a USB channel and reception of information, implementing work with the help of a computer program.

Claims

1. An automated device for surface hardening of a damaged zone of welded joints of pipelines, comprising a loading unit with a deforming roller, a mechanism for circular movement of the loading unit around the axis of the pipeline, a mechanism for longitudinal feed of the loading unit along the axis of the pipeline and a software control unit, wherein the circular movement mechanism includes a base with guide rollers and a faceplate with a toothed rim, fastening supports and an electric drive installed with the possibility of setting the faceplate with a toothed rim in circular motion along the guide rollers, and the longitudinal feed mechanism includes guides secured to a carriage, a radial movement mechanism, a stop secured to the base, and a screw pair, on the screw of which a toothed wheel is mounted, configured to interact with the stop to perform longitudinal movement, wherein the loading unit includes a block of power springs installed on guides secured to the platform,which is attached by means of brackets to the guides of the longitudinal feed mechanism, wherein the power spring unit is configured to transmit force to the lever with the deforming roller by means of a rocker arm, rods, a double-arm lever and a spherical stop connected to each other, wherein the software control unit is connected to the said electric drive, and a high-precision gear motor with a stepper electric motor is installed on the radial movement mechanism, characterized in that the surface roughness meter is installed in the same plane with the deforming roller and is configured to repeat the trajectory of the roller by the sensitive element of the roughness meter.

2. The device according to paragraph 1, characterized in that the control unit is connected to the surface roughness meter via a USB channel.

3. The device according to paragraph 1, characterized in that the stepper motor is designed with the possibility of discretely increasing the degree of pressing of the roller to the pipeline.

4. The device according to paragraph 1, characterized in that the roughness meter is designed with the ability to obtain data for automatically determining the adequacy of the running-in.

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