Interlocking Torque Teeth for Knuckle-Jointed Lance Segments
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional segmented lances used in tubular cleaning and inspection are prone to failure due to weak hinged connections, inability to compactly store, and potential damage to hoses and cables from sharp bends, leading to increased operational stresses and difficulties in storage and retrieval.
Innovation Solution
The Scorpion System employs a Knuckle-Jointed Lance (KJL) with articulated joints and pinned connections, allowing for compact spooling onto a reel, and features like interlocking torque teeth and a spooling notch to mitigate stress and prevent damage to hoses, along with an ear ledge feature to enhance stability and prevent slip critical failures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If conventional hinged connections are used between lance segments, then the structure allows for some flexibility, but the connection strength is insufficient leading to failure under operational stress
Solution Approach 1:
The connection structure is divided into multiple functional components: pinned connection for rotation, interlocking torque teeth for torsional resistance, and ear ledges with recesses for positional stability. This segmentation allows each component to address a specific weakness without requiring complete redesign of the entire connection assembly.
Solution Approach 2:
The connection assembly combines multiple material properties and structural features: metallic pins for shear strength, toothed interfaces for torsional engagement, and precisely machined ledges for positional constraint. This composite approach creates a connection that simultaneously achieves flexibility, strength, and stability.
2Strength
If the lance is made rigid to withstand operational stresses, then strength improves, but the ability to spool compactly onto a reel deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The lance transitions between two dynamic states: during spooling, the pinned connections allow segments to rotate relative to each other, enabling compact coiling; during operation, the interlocking torque teeth and ear ledges engage to provide rigid structural integrity. This dynamic adaptability resolves the contradiction between flexibility and strength.
3Ease of operation
If the lance segments are allowed to deflect radially to enable spooling, then ease of storage improves, but the rigidity in the longitudinal direction deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
Radial deflection capability is localized to the pinned connections between segments, allowing spooling flexibility only where needed. The longitudinal rigidity is maintained through the interlocking torque teeth and ear ledge features that constrain movement in the axial direction. This local differentiation of mechanical properties resolves the contradiction between storage flexibility and operational rigidity.
4Volume of moving object
If sharp bends are allowed in the lance during spooling, then compact storage is achieved, but hoses and cables inside the lance are damaged
Solution Approach 1:
The ear ledges and recesses are designed to cushion and distribute the bending stresses that occur during spooling. These features absorb the mechanical shock and prevent stress concentration at critical points, thereby protecting the hoses and cables from damage while still enabling compact storage configuration.
Data Source
AI summary
A Knuckle Jointed Lance (KJL), comprising a segmented lance including a plurality of elongate and hollow KJL segments in a concatenated string thereof. The first segment end of one KJL segment is rotatably connected to the second segment end of a neighboring KJL segment via a pinned connection. Neighboring pairs of KJL segments together provide an interlocking toothed connection such that each interlocking toothed connection restrains relative torsional displacement between the neighboring pair of KJL segments. In other embodiments, pinned connections also provide ears, each with cooperating ear ledges and ear ledge recesses to strengthen the pinned connection.