Permeable Sock for Underground Drainage Pipe Protection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for installing underground pipes, particularly drainage pipes, face challenges such as damage from lateral hazards, water absorption leading to increased weight and contamination, and the need for costly and disruptive open trenching, with prior art solutions being inefficient and prone to premature pipe failure.
Innovation Solution
A permeable sock made from high-strength materials like long chain polyethylene, ultra-high density polyethylene, aramid, and liquid crystal polymers, which is wrapped around the pipe to form a protective sleeve with a low coefficient of friction, allowing sliding engagement and preventing bonding with the soil, and can be used in conjunction with directional drilling or other methods to install pipes without permanent attachment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional protective materials like hoses are used for pipe installation, then protection during installation is provided, but the materials absorb water leading to increased weight and contamination causing premature pipe failure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies porous high-density polyethylene material that allows water to pass through during installation but prevents contamination from entering the pipe. The porous structure provides filtration functionality while maintaining protection during the installation process, resolving the contradiction between protection and water absorption.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses composite protective structures combining different materials with specific properties - the outer protective layer provides mechanical protection while the porous HDPE layer provides filtration and prevents contamination. This composite approach resolves the contradiction by combining protection functionality with water rejection capability.
2Ease of manufacture
If open trenching is used for pipe installation, then pipe installation is achieved, but the process is costly and disruptive to surface activities
Solution Approach 1:
The protective covering is pre-installed on the pipe before installation into the borehole. This preliminary action ensures protection is in place before the pipe encounters lateral hazards during installation, eliminating the need for post-installation protection measures and reducing overall installation time.
3Reliability
If temporary protective casings are used during pipe installation, then protection from lateral hazards is provided, but the casings add complexity and cost to the installation process
Solution Approach 1:
The invention merges the protective covering function with the installation process itself. The porous HDPE covering serves as both the protective element and an integral part of the pipe system, eliminating the need for separate temporary casings and reducing overall system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The porous protective covering performs multiple functions simultaneously: it provides mechanical protection from lateral hazards, filters contaminants, allows water passage during installation, and prevents permanent bonding with soil. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for multiple separate protective systems.
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 provides a cost-effective, efficient, and durable protection for pipes during installation, reducing damage from hazards and contamination, while allowing for easier installation and maintenance, and eliminating the need for temporary protective casings, thus extending the service life of the pipes.
Implementation Method 1
A permeable sock made from high-strength materials like long chain polyethylene, ultra-high density polyethylene, aramid, and liquid crystal polymers
Implementation Method 2
which is wrapped around the pipe to form a protective sleeve with a low coefficient of friction, allowing sliding engagement and preventing bonding with the soil
Data Source
AI summary
A pipe protection apparatus includes a sheet of permeable material having an inner surface and an outer surface and a longitudinal direction and a width direction defined by two edges of the sheet along the longitudinal direction. A fastening structure is configured to join the two edges to form a seam as the sheet of permeable material is wrapped in the width direction around a drain pipe configured to be installed underground to form a sock along the longitudinal direction. The sock is configured to be installed underground with the drain pipe about which it is wrapped, yet to remain for a service life in non-bonding contact with the pipe.