Composite Pipeline Spool for Transient Surge Mitigation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current pipeline systems are unable to effectively mitigate transient pressure surges and over-pressure events caused by valve closures and pipeline obstructions, leading to potential structural damage, especially in non-metallic pipelines, as they lack the necessary elasticity to absorb and attenuate hydraulic forces effectively.
Innovation Solution
The Transient Mitigation Device (TMD) system, comprising a composite pipe made from polymeric materials with structural reinforcement fibers, is designed to mitigate surge pressures by allowing hoop expansion and energy absorption, functioning as a continuous piece within the pipeline to reduce pressure waves and prevent damage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If traditional rigid pipeline systems are used, then structural strength is maintained, but the ability to mitigate transient pressure surges is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The pipeline incorporates a flexible outer shell or liner that can expand and contract to absorb transient pressure surges. This flexible component is designed with specific elastic properties to deform under surge conditions while maintaining structural integrity, thereby providing surge mitigation without compromising overall pipeline strength.
Solution Approach 2:
The pipeline system uses composite material construction combining rigid structural layers with flexible surge-absorbing layers. The composite structure integrates materials with different mechanical properties, where the rigid components provide structural strength and the flexible components provide surge mitigation capability, resolving the contradiction between strength and reliability.
2Reliability
If pipeline elasticity is increased to absorb surge pressures, then surge mitigation improves, but structural strength decreases
Solution Approach 1:
A flexible shell or liner is introduced as a separate component within the pipeline structure. This flexible element is specifically designed with high elasticity to absorb surge pressures through controlled deformation, while the surrounding rigid structural components maintain the overall structural strength, thus resolving the trade-off between elasticity and strength.
Solution Approach 2:
The flexible surge-absorbing component is nested within the rigid pipeline structure. The flexible element is positioned inside the rigid pipeline walls or as an inner liner, allowing it to deform and absorb surge energies independently while being contained and supported by the rigid outer structure, thereby maintaining both strength and surge absorption capability.
3Reliability
If non-metallic pipeline materials are used, then corrosion resistance improves, but ability to withstand transient pressures deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The pipeline employs composite material construction where non-metallic materials (such as polymers or composites) provide corrosion resistance while being combined with reinforcement layers or structural components that provide the necessary transient pressure resistance. The composite structure integrates the advantages of both material types, achieving both corrosion protection and surge withstand capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The non-metallic pipeline incorporates a flexible shell or liner design that allows controlled elastic deformation to absorb transient pressure surges. This flexible non-metallic structure maintains corrosion resistance while its elastic properties enable it to withstand and mitigate transient pressures through deformation rather than rigid resistance.
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 TMD system effectively attenuates surge pressures, reducing the risk of pipeline damage by converting kinetic energy into manageable forces, and is capable of withstanding pressures five times the maximum operating pressure, providing a solution for both short-term and long-term burst pressures.
Implementation Method 1
The TMD device is not currently available in the industry, and with this invention it can be provided, for example, in the form of a short section installed in a rigid sleeve... The TMD system is a composite pipe made from polymeric materials. The structural reinforcement fibres, in multiple layers, bear the pressure load, and have an elastic modulus, and flexibility that provides for maximum deflection
Implementation Method 2
The TMD system effectively attenuates surge pressures, reducing the risk of pipeline damage by converting kinetic energy into manageable forces
Data Source
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AI summary
A device and method to mitigate transient events in a transported medium of fluids and gases subjected to surges, and over pressure events caused by the transient state of a transported medium in a continuous pipeline, where the device has one or more concentrically positioned multilayered composite pipes encased in an outer spool pipe with an annulus space between the spool pipe and the multilayered composite pipes, with flanged adaptors at each end of the device for inline installation in a pipeline, with a management system for receiving, processing and transmitting information gathered in combination with existing pipeline monitoring, and acoustical detection system for receiving and processing of acoustic transmission due to an acoustical wave. Mitigation of pressure events is achieved by energy dissipation and expansion of the multilayered composite pipes and reduction of amplification of pressure waves is achieved by initiation of active counter waves by expansion of the multilayered composite pipes to sinusoidal shape.