Rehabilitation Packer Roll Guide for Curved Pipe Positioning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Rehabilitation packers face difficulties in being guided easily and reliably within pipes, especially in curved sections, due to their design and expansion mechanisms.
Innovation Solution
The rehabilitation packer features an elongate base body with flexible, rotatable guide means, such as rollers or wheels, that can be expanded using a flowable medium to facilitate navigation through pipes with varying cross-sections and curvatures, allowing precise positioning and easy transportation by rolling against the inner wall without obstructing the repair process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a rehabilitation packer is inserted into curved pipes or channels for repair, then the packer can reach and repair defects in difficult-to-access locations, but the packer cannot be easily or reliably guided inside the pipe
Solution Approach 1:
The guide means is designed with rotatable bodies (rollers or wheels) that can rotate freely to adapt to the curvature of the pipe. This dynamic capability allows the guide means to change its configuration continuously as it moves through curved sections, enabling reliable guidance while maintaining adaptability to complex pipe geometries
Solution Approach 2:
The guide means acts as an intermediary element between the packer body and the pipe wall. The rotatable bodies in the guide means facilitate movement through curved sections by rolling along the pipe inner surface, mediating the interaction between the rigid packer structure and the curved pipe geometry
2Ease of operation
If guide means with rotatable bodies is added to the base body, then the packer can be guided more easily through curved sections, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The guide means utilizes a flexible structure with rotatable bodies that can adapt to pipe curvatures. This flexible design allows the guide means to conform to the pipe geometry while maintaining its guiding function, achieving ease of operation through curved sections without requiring overly complex rigid mechanisms
Solution Approach 2:
The guide means changes its operational parameters (rotation of bodies, contact points with pipe wall) dynamically as it moves through the pipe. This parameter adaptation allows the same structural elements to handle various curvature radii and pipe configurations, reducing the need for multiple specialized components
3Force
If the base body is expanded inside the pipe using a flowable medium, then the repair material can be pressed against the area to be repaired, but the expansion mechanism may be obstructed in curved sections
Solution Approach 1:
The guide means with rotatable bodies dynamically adapts its configuration during movement through curved sections, maintaining contact with the pipe wall while allowing the base body to expand. The rotation capability enables the guide means to navigate curves without creating obstructions that would prevent proper expansion and application of repair material
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 solution enables easier and more precise guidance of the rehabilitation packer within pipes, including curved sections, by using rotatable bodies that can be adjusted and removed as needed, enhancing the packer's ability to reach and repair defects without impeding the repair process.
Implementation Method 1
at least two rotatable bodies which are suitable and designed to roll relative to an inner wall of the object
Implementation Method 2
The base body is flexible and can be expanded by means of a flowable medium that can be supplied to it
Data Source
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AI summary
Rehabilitation packer (1) for rehabilitating objects, and in particular pipes, channels, and the like, comprising an elongated base body (2) that can be inserted into the object to be rehabilitated and expanded within the object, wherein this base body (2) is flexible and expandable by means of a flowable medium that can be supplied to this base body. According to the invention, at least one guide means (4) is arranged on the base body to guide this base body relative to an inner wall of the object, wherein this guide means has at least one rotatable body (42) that is suitable and designed to roll relative to the inner wall of the object.