Mobile Plastics Extrusion Plant for In-Situ Pipeline Manufacturing
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The high cost of transporting and welding individual lengths of pipes, particularly for plastics and steel pipelines, is a significant disadvantage in traditional pipeline construction methods, and there is a need for a more efficient and cost-effective solution to manufacture pipes in situ, especially in remote locations.
Innovation Solution
A mobile plastics extrusion plant comprising transportable components such as a container for raw materials, an extruded product forming assembly, a delivery system, a vacuum tank for cooling, and a haul-off assembly, all mounted on semitrailers to enable on-site manufacturing of extruded plastics products, reducing the need for welding and minimizing handling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If individual lengths of pipe are transported and welded together, then the pipeline can be constructed using traditional methods, but the cost of transportation and welding becomes considerable
Solution Approach 1:
The mobile extrusion plant is divided into separate transportable components (hopper assembly, extrusion assembly, cooling assembly, control assembly) that can be transported independently and assembled on-site, enabling local manufacturing without transporting finished pipe sections
Solution Approach 2:
The invention transitions from transporting finished pipe products (one-dimensional transport problem) to transporting raw materials and manufacturing equipment (adding the manufacturing dimension), fundamentally changing the logistics approach from product transport to in-situ production
2Ease of manufacture
If individual lengths of pipe are transported and welded, then traditional construction methods can be used, but welding costs and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The welding operation is completely extracted from the pipeline construction process by replacing it with continuous extrusion, eliminating the need for joining separate pipe sections and thereby removing welding complexity entirely
Solution Approach 2:
The extrusion process creates continuous pipe sections without interruption, maintaining continuous useful action throughout the manufacturing process and eliminating the discontinuous welding operations required by traditional methods
3Productivity
If pipe lengths are transported to remote locations, then the pipeline can be constructed, but transportation expense increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The mobile extrusion plant performs preliminary manufacturing action at the destination location rather than at a remote factory, producing pipe sections in-situ before they are needed for assembly, thereby eliminating long-distance transportation of finished products
Solution Approach 2:
The mobile extrusion plant acts as an intermediary between raw material supply and final pipeline assembly, performing the manufacturing function at the remote location and thereby eliminating the need to transport finished pipe sections
4Quantity of substance
If continuous extrusion is used to manufacture pipe in situ, then transportation and welding costs are reduced, but the complexity of the extrusion equipment increases
Solution Approach 1:
The extrusion plant is segmented into independent functional modules (hopper, extrusion, cooling, control) that can be transported and assembled separately, reducing the complexity burden of any single component while maintaining overall system functionality
Solution Approach 2:
The mobile extrusion plant is designed with dynamic capabilities for assembly, disassembly, and relocation, allowing the complex system to be broken down into simpler transportable units that can be reconfigured as needed
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 solution significantly reduces costs by eliminating the need for transporting and welding individual pipe lengths, improves product quality through continuous manufacturing, and prevents issues like toe-in irregularities that can lead to reduced pipeline lifetime.
Implementation Method 1
a transportable vacuum tank for cooling the extruded plastics product
Implementation Method 2
a screw conveyor for conveying the raw plastics material under pressure to the die and former assembly
Data Source
AI summary
A mobile plastics extrusion plant 10 for manufacturing an extruded plastics product in a remote location. The mobile plant 10 comprises the following components: a transportable container 16 for storing raw plastics material prior to extrusion, and a transportable extruded product forming assembly (in the form of a die and former assembly 12) for forming an extruded plastics product from the raw plastics material. The mobile extrusion plant 10 further comprises a transportable delivery system 18 for delivering the raw plastics material from the transportable container 16 to the die and former assembly 12 whereby, in use, the entire plant can be transported to a remote location and operated to manufacture an extruded plastics product.