External Pipeline Plugging Tool with Welded Collars
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for plugging pipelines under pressure often fail to provide a reliable, leak-proof seal, especially when dealing with high temperature applications, as they rely on internal seals that can be compromised by rust, debris, or irregularities on the pipe surface.
Innovation Solution
The use of toroidal collars welded to the exterior of the pipeline, with containment fittings and a plugging tool that employs elastomeric or metallic seals to create a double block and bleed system, ensuring a secure seal by applying sealing cups to the external circumferential surface of the pipe, which can withstand high pressures and temperatures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If internal seals are used for plugging pipelines, then the sealing mechanism is simple, but the sealing reliability deteriorates due to rust, debris, or irregularities on the pipe surface
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the conventional sealing approach by placing seals on the external surface of the pipe rather than inside the pipeline. The sealing cups engage with elastomeric seals that are positioned on the outer circumference of the pipe, allowing the sealing mechanism to operate from the exterior side. This inversion enables the seals to be accessed and maintained without interrupting pipeline operations, thereby improving sealing reliability while managing complexity through strategic repositioning of sealing components.
2Reliability
If external seals are used on the pipeline, then the sealing reliability improves, but the device complexity increases due to additional collars and containment fittings
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the sealing system into distinct functional components: collars that are welded to the pipe exterior to provide mounting surfaces, containment fittings that house the sealing mechanism, and sealing cups with elastomeric seals that perform the actual sealing function. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently and facilitates maintenance by enabling access to sealing elements without removing the entire assembly, thus managing device complexity while maintaining high sealing reliability.
3Ease of manufacture
If internal plugging methods are used, then the installation process is simple, but the ability to withstand high temperatures deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent addresses temperature resistance by changing the material parameters of the sealing system. The elastomeric seals are selected from materials capable of withstanding high temperatures, and the collars and containment fittings are constructed from heat-resistant materials. This parameter change in material selection enables the external sealing system to maintain both installation feasibility and high-temperature resistance, overcoming the limitation of conventional internal plugging methods.
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
This method provides a consistent and superior leak-proof closure of the pipeline, improving sealing effectiveness and longevity by using external seals that can be thoroughly cleaned and maintained, ensuring reliable fluid containment even under high-pressure and high-temperature conditions.
Implementation Method 1
a first circumferential elastomeric seal and a second circumferential elastomeric seal which are positioned on the external circumferential surface of the pipeline
Implementation Method 2
elastomeric seals to create a double block and bleed system, ensuring a secure seal
Implementation Method 3
Each of the collars is a toroid that is severed to provide a set of two toroidal halves that are fitted together around the pipe
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention is a method of plugging a pipeline having an exterior surface including the steps of affixing to the exterior of the pipeline first and second spaced apart collars, welding each collar to the pipeline so that an operating space is provided between the collars, positioning a seal with each collar, affixing a containment housing to the opposed collars providing a confined space around the pipeline and surrounding the operating space between the collars, the confined space being accessed by a passageway, cutting and removing a length of pipeline between the collars providing opposed pipeline exterior end surfaces, positioning first and second seal cups between the collars, each seal cup having a forwardly extending circumferential lip of internal diameter greater than the external diameter of the pipeline, and applying force to move the seal cups away from each other, the circumferential lips of the seal cups engaging with the opposed seals to compress them into sealing engagement with the collars and with the pipeline exterior surfaces.