Heat Exchanger Pipe Deployment Using Protective Casing
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Solution Overview
Problem
The installation of ground coupled heat exchanger systems is costly and disruptive to landscaping due to the need for trench digging and well drilling, and existing methods often damage the fragile heat exchanger pipes.
Innovation Solution
A method using a piloted drill head with a protective outer casing and umbilical system to deploy heat exchanger pipes through bore holes, minimizing excavation and pipe damage, and allowing for reuse of equipment to create a wide mesh of pipes with minimal disruption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If heat exchanger pipes are laid horizontally in trenches or vertical wells, then the heat exchanger system can be installed, but the installation cost increases significantly and landscaping is disrupted
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the installation process into separate functional components: a sacrificial mole for creating the pathway, a protective casing for safeguarding the pipe during installation, and the heat exchanger pipe itself. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently and facilitates efficient deployment through minimal excavation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces intermediate protective structures (casing and mole) that mediate between the installation process and the heat exchanger pipe. The sacrificial mole creates a protected pathway through the ground, while the casing provides additional protection during pipe deployment, thereby reducing direct disturbance to landscaping while enabling reliable installation.
2Ease of operation
If a drill is used to bore horizontal bore holes and drag heat exchanger pipes into the bore holes, then pipe installation is achieved, but the fragile heat exchanger pipes are often damaged
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies beforehand cushioning by introducing a protective casing that surrounds the heat exchanger pipe during the drilling and installation process. This casing acts as a cushioning barrier that protects the fragile pipe from mechanical damage while being dragged through the bore hole, thereby maintaining pipe integrity while enabling easy installation operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The protective casing serves as an intermediary between the drilling operation and the heat exchanger pipe. It absorbs the mechanical stresses and damages that would otherwise be transmitted directly to the fragile pipe, allowing the drill to operate effectively while the pipe remains protected throughout the installation process.
3Reliability
If traditional trench digging or well drilling methods are used, then heat exchanger pipes can be installed, but significant excavation and landscaping disruption occur
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the ground-penetrating function into a specialized sacrificial mole that creates a narrow pathway through minimal excavation. This segmented approach concentrates the disturbance to a small, localized area rather than requiring extensive trenching or well drilling, thereby reducing overall landscaping disruption while maintaining reliable pipe installation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs flexible protective casings that can bend and conform to the bore hole geometry created by the mole. This flexibility allows the casing to protect the pipe through tight curves and varying ground conditions without requiring rigid, extensive excavation, thereby minimizing landscaping disruption while ensuring reliable pipe deployment.
Data Source
AI summary
A new system for and a method of deploying a heat exchanger pipe. A bore hole is drilled from an access ditch location to a terminal ditch location using a piloted drill head powered via an umbilical attached to the piloted drill head. A casing is attached to the piloted drill head and disposed about the umbilical into the bore hole from the access ditch location to the terminal ditch location. At the terminal ditch location, the piloted drill head is removed from the casing and the umbilical and a heat exchanger pipe is attached to the umbilical. The umbilical is withdrawn from within the casing deployed in the bore hole to pull the heat exchanger pipe into the casing. The casing is then withdrawn from the bore hole leaving the heat exchanger pipe in the bore hole.