Pipe Rerounder Assembly for Oval-to-Round Coil Deployment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Flexible pipes change their cross-sectional shape from circular to oval during winding, leading to kinking issues during deployment, which existing technologies fail to effectively address.
Innovation Solution
A rerounder system that includes a housing sliding along a bar, clamp arm assemblies, and rollers or die plates to reshape the pipe from an oval to a circular cross-section, reducing kinking by minimizing bending and pipe slack during uncoiling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If flexible pipe is wound into a coil for transport, then transport efficiency is improved, but the cross-sectional shape changes from circular to oval causing kinking during deployment
Solution Approach 1:
The rerounder system is positioned ahead of the pipe during deployment to pre-correct the cross-sectional shape before the pipe enters the deployment line. This preliminary action prevents kinking from occurring during subsequent deployment operations, resolving the contradiction between efficient coiled transport and reliable deployment.
2Reliability
If the pipe cross-section is reshaped during deployment, then kinking is prevented, but additional equipment and system complexity are introduced
Solution Approach 1:
The rerounder system acts as an intermediary device between the pipe coil and the deployment line. It includes a housing with a rounded interior surface that passively reshapes the pipe cross-section through geometric constraint rather than active mechanical force, reducing system complexity while maintaining deployment reliability.
3Ease of operation
If clamp arm assemblies are used to secure the pipe, then pipe positioning is improved, but friction and bending forces increase
Solution Approach 1:
The clamp arm assemblies are designed with flexible, rounded surfaces that conform to the pipe outer diameter. This flexibility allows the clamps to secure the pipe without creating sharp edges or concentrated friction points, minimizing bending forces and damage to the pipe during handling and deployment.
Data Source
AI summary
A pipe deployment system that includes a vehicle or trailer. A coil of pipe couples to the vehicle or trailer. A rerounder system is supported by and couples to the vehicle or trailer. The rerounder system changes a cross-sectional shape of the pipe. The rerounder system rotates relative to the vehicle or trailer to facilitate loading of the coil, and un-loading of the product on the coil.