Pivoting Pipe Cutters for Cleaning Cracked Pipes and Collapsed Liners
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current pipe rehabilitation methods face difficulties in initial cleaning of pipes with cracks or holes, where cleaning tools get stuck, and the removal of collapsed liners is tedious and time-consuming, causing significant delays and additional expenses.
Innovation Solution
A cleaning device with pivotally connected cutters that can be rotated to adapt to varying pipe diameters and irregularities, featuring a long and curved shape with high rotating mass, allowing efficient cleaning and navigation through cracks and holes, and utilizing a drive shaft with a flexible design to facilitate movement through bends.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If traditional cleaning tools are used in pipes with cracks or holes, then the cleaning process becomes difficult and tools get stuck, but using a device that can navigate irregularities increases device complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The cutters are pivotally connected to the body, allowing them to dynamically adjust their position and orientation in response to pipe irregularities. This dynamic adaptation enables the device to navigate cracks and holes without getting stuck, while maintaining a relatively simple overall structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The device changes its effective operating parameters by rotating the body to different angles, allowing the cutters to approach the pipe wall from different directions. This parameter change enables cleaning in pipes with various irregularities without requiring multiple specialized tools.
2Productivity
If manual removal of collapsed liner is performed, then special tools and extensive time are required, but using a mechanical device increases device complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The cleaning function and liner removal function are merged into a single device. The same pivotally connected cutters that clean the pipe can also grind and remove collapsed liners, eliminating the need for separate specialized tools and reducing overall system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The device is designed to perform multiple functions: cleaning pipe walls, removing collapsed liners, and handling other blockages. This multi-functionality is achieved through the versatile cutter design that can adapt to different removal tasks without requiring separate specialized equipment.
3Productivity
If rigid cutters are used for cleaning, then cleaning efficiency increases, but the device becomes sensitive to pipe irregularities and cracks
Solution Approach 1:
The cutters are pivotally connected rather than rigidly fixed, allowing them to dynamically adjust their position when encountering pipe irregularities. This dynamic capability maintains cleaning efficiency while preventing the device from getting stuck or damaged by cracks and holes in the pipe.
Data Source
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AI summary
The cleaning device is for cleaning a pipe before lining of the pipe and for removing a collapsed liner inside the pipe. The cleaning device has a connector (53, 54) for a drive shaft, a body (30, 50) rotatable around a rotation axis with the drive shaft and grinding cutters (11, 12) pivotally attached to the body by pins (16). The cutters (11, 12) have cutting edges provided on outer periphery of the cleaning device and the pivotal connection to the body allows for the cutters to turn and increase the diameter of the cleaning device until the cutters face an obstacle.