Freezing System for Oil and Gas Conduits
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing safety systems for inflammable substances in oil and gas installations fail to function after explosions or earthquakes, leading to uncontrolled pressure, leaks, and fire spread due to displaced equipment, resulting in potential environmental disasters.
Innovation Solution
A freezing system is implemented in conduits and valves using fluid nitrogen or a similar medium to create a closing plug, either externally or internally, and can be combined with water for faster freezing, with a portable and sub-surface network to maintain functionality even under rubble or great depths.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If existing safety systems are used to monitor and control dangerous substances, then normal safety monitoring is maintained, but the systems fail to function after explosions or earthquakes due to displaced equipment
Solution Approach 1:
The freezing system is pre-installed in conduits and valves throughout the installation. In normal operation, the system remains dormant until an emergency is detected. When an explosion or earthquake occurs, the pre-positioned freezing system can immediately activate to form ice plugs, rather than requiring deployment after the fact. This preliminary preparation ensures reliability when most needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces water as an intermediary substance that mediates between the freezing system and the dangerous substances. Water is injected into the conduit and frozen to form an ice plug that seals the leak. This intermediary approach allows the system to stop dangerous substance flow without requiring direct mechanical intervention with the damaged conduit or valve.
2Productivity
If conventional freezing methods are used to form a plug, then the plug formation is slow and may not be sufficient for large conduits or difficult-to-freeze media
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines two freezing approaches: external freezing (spraying freezing medium onto the outside of the conduit) and internal freezing (injecting freezing medium inside the conduit). This merging of external and internal freezing methods accelerates plug formation and ensures effectiveness even for large conduits or substances with low freezing points. The dual approach compensates for the limitations of either method alone.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the physical parameters of the freezing process by using a combination of external and internal freezing medium injection. This parameter change (from single-method to dual-method freezing) increases both the speed and reliability of plug formation, addressing the contradiction between productivity and effectiveness.
3Ease of repair
If the freezing system is installed above ground for easy access, then maintenance is easier, but the system becomes vulnerable to damage from explosions and earthquakes
Solution Approach 1:
The freezing system components (nozzles, injection points, control elements) are nested within or integrated into the existing conduit and valve structures. This nesting protects the critical freezing components from external damage while maintaining their functionality. The system is embedded in the infrastructure it protects, similar to how a nested doll protects smaller elements within larger ones.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a portable freezing system that can be rapidly deployed to protect critical infrastructure before damage occurs, or immediately after an event. The system is pre-positioned and can activate within seconds, cushioning against the full impact of potential disasters. This prior cushioning approach maintains reliability without requiring above-ground components that would be vulnerable.
4Device complexity
If fluid nitrogen is sprayed externally onto the conduit, then the freezing process is simpler, but it is slower and less effective for large openings or cracks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges external spraying (simpler) with internal injection (faster) freezing methods. The external nozzles provide straightforward spraying, while internal injection points deliver freezing medium directly to the leak location. This combination maintains relative simplicity while dramatically improving freezing speed and effectiveness for large openings or cracks.
Solution Approach 2:
The freezing system is segmented into multiple independent injection and spraying points along the conduit. Rather than relying on a single complex mechanism, multiple simple freezing points work in parallel. This segmentation allows the system to maintain simplicity at each point while achieving high overall productivity through coordinated action across multiple locations.
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 freezing system effectively stops the flow of dangerous substances by forming a plug in burst conduits and valves, preventing environmental disasters and minimizing damage to the environment, tourism, and fishing activities.
Implementation Method 1
a closing plug is formed by the freezing system in these conduits and valves, thereby stopping the flow of dangerous substances
Implementation Method 2
spraying fluid nitrogen or a similar freezing medium onto the valve
Implementation Method 3
By injecting both water and nitrogen in a certain space via separate conduits, the freezing of the target installations can be performed even faster
Implementation Method 4
the medium in the conduit or valve does not become frozen itself, but that the closing plug is exclusively formed by the injected water
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to an improved safety device, for oil and gas installations, which installations comprise one or more conduits for the transport of oil and/or gas, and one or more valves, wherein the safety system comprises a freezing device, which can be provided substantially around a conduit and/or a valve, wherein the freezing device cools the conduit and/or valve in such a way, preferably by using liquid nitrogen of freon, that the medium in the conduit and/or the valve freezes.