Segmented Concrete Pipe Liner with Welded Flex Joints
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Solution Overview
Problem
Concrete pipes used for sewage and industrial waste conveyance face issues with surface coatings failing to prevent infiltration of destructive liquids and gases, leading to damage and leakage due to inadequate bonding and permeability.
Innovation Solution
A liner with rib formations and interspaced joints that allow for expansion and contraction, featuring a labyrinth seal and weld material to secure the liner to the concrete shell, ensuring a tight bond and preventing infiltration while allowing for thermal and pressure variations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a continuous coating lining is applied to the concrete pipe, then the pipe surface is covered to prevent infiltration, but the coating fails to bond tightly and cracks under thermal and pressure variations
Solution Approach 1:
The liner is divided into multiple modular plates that can independently expand and contract. Each plate is secured to the concrete pipe with fasteners, allowing the lining to accommodate thermal and pressure variations without cracking while maintaining continuous coverage through the overlapping arrangement of plates.
Solution Approach 2:
The liner plates are designed with movable connections that allow dynamic adjustment to thermal and pressure changes. The plates can expand and contract independently while remaining secured to the concrete pipe, preventing bond failure and cracking that occurs with rigid continuous coatings.
2Reliability
If surface coatings are applied to prevent infiltration, then the concrete pipe is protected, but the coatings are permeable and allow liquids and gases to penetrate
Solution Approach 1:
The liner combines a polymeric material layer with a metallic fastening system. The polymeric material provides impermeability to liquids and gases, while the metal fasteners secure the liner to the concrete pipe. This composite construction achieves both protection against infiltration and resistance to permeable penetration.
3Reliability
If a rigid lining is applied to the concrete pipe, then the pipe surface is protected, but the lining cannot expand and contract with temperature and pressure variations
Solution Approach 1:
The liner is segmented into multiple plates with movable connections, allowing each section to independently expand and contract in response to temperature and pressure changes. This segmentation maintains protective coverage while providing the necessary adaptability to environmental variations.
Solution Approach 2:
The liner plates are constructed with flexible polymeric material that can deform elastically under thermal and pressure loads. This flexibility allows the lining to adapt to environmental changes while maintaining its protective function, preventing the cracking and failure associated with rigid linings.
4Reliability
If the liner is made completely rigid to prevent infiltration, then leakage is prevented, but the liner cannot accommodate thermal expansion without damaging the liner
Solution Approach 1:
The liner is divided into multiple plates connected by movable joints, allowing thermal expansion and contraction without generating damaging stresses. Each plate maintains its position relative to the concrete pipe through fasteners, preserving leak-proof performance while accommodating thermal movement through the segmented structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The liner incorporates dynamic elements that allow movement in response to thermal expansion. The plates can shift position relative to each other while remaining secured to the concrete pipe, maintaining leakage prevention while resisting thermal stress through controlled movement rather than rigid constraint.
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 solution provides a resilient, corrosion-resistant, and leak-proof lining that shields the concrete shell from internal contents and gases, maintaining structural integrity and preventing scaling and cracking, while allowing for thermal expansion and contraction.
Implementation Method 1
The space between the first side and the second side can be filled with a weld material to add rigidity to the rib formation while allowing it to flex
Implementation Method 2
The liner can expand and contract with temperature and pressure variations inside the transport area
Implementation Method 3
The liner can expand and contract with temperature and pressure variations inside the transport area
Data Source
AI summary
The liner includes a rib formation with a transverse section configured to mechanically lock the liner to a concrete shell and a joint to allow the rib formation to flex. The joint for the rib formation can comprise a first side spaced apart from a second side with each joined to the transverse section to allow each side to flex with respect to each other. The space between the first side and the second side can be filled with a weld material to add rigidity to the rib formation while allowing it to flex. Each of the first side and the second side can be combined at the other end to a shell. The combined rib formation and shell are spirally wound to create the liner.