Dual Sealing Plug Assembly With Isolation Zone for High-Pressure Pipes
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional sealing plugs fail to effectively seal pipes under high pressure conditions, leading to potential safety hazards and leaks, especially when dealing with flammable, caustic, or carcinogenic liquids, and are compromised by solid debris or material swelling, compromising worker safety and profitability.
Innovation Solution
A sealing plug assembly with two separate sealing elements and an isolation zone, allowing for product trapping and removal via a bleed lance, enhancing sealing integrity and safety under high pressures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a conventional single sealing element is used, then the device complexity is low, but the reliability of sealing under high pressure deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing element is divided into two separate sealing elements (first sealing element and second sealing element) positioned at different locations within the plug assembly. Each sealing element can independently contact the pipe interior surface at different zones, providing redundant sealing barriers that enhance reliability under high pressure conditions without requiring a completely new complex system
2Reliability
If sealing elements protrude around the exterior, then the sealing effectiveness is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The first and second sealing elements are nested within the plug assembly structure, with each sealing element positioned in recesses or designated zones of the plug body. The sealing elements protrude into the pipe interior when the plug is inserted, while the plug housing contains and supports them, creating a nested configuration that enhances sealing without excessive external complexity
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure provides a sealing plug assembly for stopping flow of a product in a pipe, the assembly having two sealing elements and having an isolation zone in the assembly which can be drained by a bleed lance to maintain pressure in the isolation zone within a safe limit. The present disclosure further provides sealing elements, bleed lances, systems, and methods of using the same. A benefit of the sealing plug assembly, and methods of using the same, can include forming safer seals during line stopping and the efficiency of recovering product.