Adjustable In-Pipe Brush With Collapsible Flexible Support
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional brushes used for cleaning oil, gas, and water well casings and liners face challenges due to varying clearance levels, where a brush sized for one area may be too large for another, leading to inadequate cleaning or damage.
Innovation Solution
An adjustable device with an axial support, collars, and a flexible support system that distends and flattens to accommodate varying diameters, equipped with brush members, cameras, and light sources for visualization and effective cleaning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If a brush is sized to clean one portion of the casing, then cleaning effectiveness is improved for that area, but the brush becomes too large to penetrate other areas with significant debris accumulations or liners
Solution Approach 1:
The brush assembly incorporates a collapsible flexible support structure that allows the brush to dynamically change its diameter. The flexible support can be compressed to reduce the brush diameter for penetrating obstructed areas, then expanded to provide effective cleaning contact with the casing walls, enabling the same brush to adapt to varying clearance conditions throughout the pipeline
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the physical parameter of brush diameter by compressing the flexible support structure. This parameter change allows the brush to transition between different size states - a larger diameter for cleaning effectiveness and a smaller diameter for penetration capability - resolving the contradiction between cleaning effectiveness and adaptability
2Adaptability or versatility
If a brush is made small enough to penetrate heavily obstructed areas, then penetration capability is improved, but the brush becomes too small to adequately clean the less obstructed areas
Solution Approach 1:
The collapsible flexible support enables the brush to dynamically adjust its diameter based on the specific cleaning challenge. When encountering heavily obstructed areas, the brush compresses to a smaller diameter for penetration. Once past obstructions, the flexible support expands to provide sufficient brush contact area for effective cleaning of the casing walls
Solution Approach 2:
The flexible support structure is divided into multiple segments or sections that can independently compress and expand. This segmentation allows different portions of the brush to adapt to local conditions, with some sections compressing to navigate obstructions while others maintain cleaning contact with the casing
3Manufacturing precision
If the flexible support is distended, then brush contact with casing walls is improved for effective cleaning, but the brush cannot penetrate areas with significant debris accumulations
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible support structure is designed to be dynamically adjustable between distended and compressed states. The system allows the operator to compress the flexible support to reduce brush diameter for penetrating debris accumulations, then release to allow natural distension for effective cleaning contact, making the device easy to operate in varying conditions
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The device ensures thorough cleaning by adjusting to fit different clearance levels, preventing damage while effectively removing debris from casings and liners, and allows for real-time visualization of cleaning progress.
Implementation Method 1
A spring is fixedly attached to the second collar and the third collar and extends between the two
Data Source
AI summary
A device for cleaning the interior of a pipeline includes an axial support, a first collar fixedly attached to a first location on the axial support, a second collar fixedly attached to a second location along the axial support, and a third collar slidingly engaged with the axial support. The second collar is located between the first collar and the third collar. A flexible support is fixedly attached to the third collar and the first collar and extends between the two. Brush members are disposed along an exterior surface of the flexible support. When the third collar is at a first position along the length of the axial support, the flexible support is distended. When the third collar is at a second position along the length of the axial support, where the second position is more distant from the first collar than the first position, the flexible support is flattened.