Sequential Pipeline Pig Launcher With Integrated Pressure Chambers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional multiple pig launchers are complex, bulky, and expensive, making them impractical for subsea use, especially when they require frequent removal and re-use, and existing solutions are not suitable for efficient and safe operation over extended periods in the offshore oil and gas industry.
Innovation Solution
A pipeline pig launcher with a tubular body accommodating multiple pigs in series, where each pig has a chamber for launch pressure and a passageway allowing fluid flow through adjacent pigs, with individually controllable valves to manage fluid flow and pressure, enabling efficient and sequential launching of multiple pigs without the need for extensive reconfiguration or removal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a multiple pig launcher is used to launch several pigs successively, then the productivity is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple fluid inlets and valve systems into a single integrated control mechanism. The manifold structure merges multiple fluid pathways into one unified system, allowing sequential pig launching through coordinated operation of interconnected chambers rather than requiring separate complex piping for each pig.
Solution Approach 2:
The pig launcher is designed with multi-functional chambers that can serve different purposes at different times. The same chamber structure is used to contain multiple pigs sequentially, and the fluid distribution system universally serves all pigs through a single manifold, eliminating the need for dedicated specialized components for each pig.
2Reliability
If a multiple pig launcher is designed with separate inlets for each pig, then the reliability is improved, but the device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The launcher is divided into multiple sealed chambers, each containing a pig and equipped with its own fluid inlet pathway. This segmentation allows independent pressure control for each pig while maintaining overall system reliability through the unified manifold that coordinates fluid distribution across all chambers.
3Productivity
If a pig launcher is left underwater for extended periods, then the productivity is improved, but the reliability deteriorates due to corrosion and degradation
Solution Approach 1:
The pig launcher is designed as a temporary subsea installation rather than a permanent one. It is deployed for intermittent pig launching operations and then retrieved, avoiding the need for extremely durable materials and complex corrosion protection systems that would be required for long-term subsea deployment. The launcher accepts its limited service life in exchange for simplified design and reduced cost.
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 design simplifies the piping and reduces the complexity of launching multiple pigs, allowing for efficient and safe operation, particularly in subsea environments, by enabling sequential launching with reduced equipment complexity and cost, and minimizing the need for frequent removal and re-use.
Implementation Method 1
a pressure differential is created within the pipeline between a volume ahead of the pig and a volume behind the pig, with respect to the intended direction of travel
Implementation Method 2
introducing high-pressure fluid through a pressure inlet into a volume behind the pig
Implementation Method 3
a pig has a series of annular or disc-shaped circumferential seals that separate the volume within the pipeline ahead of the pig from the volume within the pipeline behind the pig
Implementation Method 4
The seals are suitably stiff enough to provide a scraping action so as to clean and flush the interior of the pipeline as the pig moves along the pipeline
Data Source
AI summary
A pipeline pig launching device has a tubular body that accommodates a set of pipeline pigs arranged in series, such that respective chambers art defined within the body in which to apply launch pressure behind each pig. The body has an open end through which pigs of the set may be launched in succession and a closed end opposed to the open end. A fluid inlet communicates with one of the chambers defined between the closed end and a pig nearest to that closed end. A passageway communicates with another fluid inlet that passageway extending through at least one pig to one or more other chambers defined between successive pigs of the set.