Prismatic Pipe Cleaning Pig With Open-Pored Lateral Surface
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing concrete pump cleaning pigs face challenges in achieving an effective cleaning process while maintaining mechanical stability and cost-effectiveness, as they often require complex designs and materials that are difficult to produce and handle, leading to inefficiencies in cleaning and production.
Innovation Solution
A pipe cleaning pig with a prismatic body having an open-pored lateral surface and a closed-pore top and base surface, designed to maximize the active cleaning surface area and improve service life, which can be produced more cheaply with reduced waste by using a polygon or cuboid shape, and featuring a pore diameter gradient for enhanced shearing effect.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a spherical or hemispherical design is used for the cleaning pig, then the pig can be easily conveyed through the pipe system, but the active cleaning surface area is reduced and production waste increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies partial curvature by hemispherizing only the top and bottom surfaces of the pig while maintaining straight lateral edges. This hybrid approach retains sufficient roundness for easy conveyance through pipes while maximizing the lateral surface area available for cleaning contact with the pipe walls.
2Productivity
If the lateral surface is made open-pored to increase cleaning effect, then water penetration and cleaning efficiency improve, but mechanical stability and resistance to concrete penetration decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different pore structures to different surfaces: the lateral surfaces are made open-pored to maximize cleaning contact and water absorption, while the top and bottom surfaces are made closed-pored to maintain structural integrity and resist concrete penetration during conveyance. This localized differentiation resolves the contradiction between cleaning efficiency and mechanical stability.
3Reliability
If a complex two-shell system with barrier layers is used, then mechanical stability and concrete penetration resistance improve, but manufacturing complexity and production costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the pig into distinct functional zones (open-pored lateral surfaces for cleaning, closed-pored top/bottom surfaces for structural integrity) rather than using multiple concentric shells. This segmentation achieves the same protective function with a simpler single-shell structure, reducing manufacturing complexity while maintaining reliability.
4Productivity
If spherical pigs are cut from preforms, then the cleaning function is achieved, but significant waste material is produced and productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a prismatic shape with hemispherical caps instead of a complete sphere, which allows for more efficient utilization of the preform material. The straight lateral edges and polygonal base allow better nesting and cutting patterns, reducing waste while maintaining the necessary cleaning surface area.
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 prismatic design enhances the cleaning effect and service life by maximizing the active cleaning surface and distributing compression evenly, while the closed-pore surfaces improve conveyance and reduce production costs through simplified manufacturing processes.
Implementation Method 1
These cleaning balls are usually open-pored on the surface, so that water can penetrate into these cleaning balls and the cleaning effect is thus increased.
Implementation Method 2
which are conveyed through the pipe system of the concrete pump due to a pressure gradient generated in the pipe system
Implementation Method 3
a longer service life due to the surface pressure - these pipe cleaning pigs are usually used with a larger diameter than that of the formed to be cleaned pipe - in the area of the vertical edges, and the associated compression in this area can be achieved
Data Source
Figure 1~2
AI summary
The pig i.e. concrete pump pig (1), has a body (2) of spongy structure with a mantle surface (3), a cover surface (4) and a base surface (5), where the body has a form of a prism (6) i.e. cylinder. The cover surface is partially formed as open-pored and is provided as a large part with a main or cover layer. The cover surface and/or the base surface are formed as embossed, where a radius of the embossed surfaces is formed such that a tangent applied on the embossed surfaces includes an angle between 8 and 15 degrees with horizontals.