Rotatable Tubing Support System for Vibration Damping
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Solution Overview
Problem
Non-circular linear elements, such as tubing bundles and electric cables, face abrasion and corrosion issues due to rubbing against conduits or each other, especially during bending and vibration, which is exacerbated by being shipped in coils or bundled together, requiring specialized support to prevent kinking and allow for twisting.
Innovation Solution
A rotatable support system with sleeves and a body formed in sections, allowing for assembly around the linear element without threading, and featuring resilient shoes for vibration damping and rotation, enabling the elements to twist and flex without kinking, even when pre-coiled.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional fixed supports are used to support tubing bundles, then the tubing is supported at required intervals, but the tubing rubs against the conduit wall and other tubes causing abrasion and corrosion
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the dynamics principle by providing a rotatable support device that allows tubing bundles to rotate freely within the support. This dynamic capability enables the tubing to adjust its position and orientation in response to vibrations, thermal expansion, and installation variations, preventing continuous contact with the conduit wall and eliminating the rubbing that causes abrasion and corrosion.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies parameter changes by allowing the tubing bundle to change its spatial orientation and rotational position within the support device. The rotatable support enables the tubing to adopt different angular positions, thereby changing the contact parameters between the tubing and the support structure, which prevents sustained friction and wear at any single location.
2Productivity
If tubing is shipped in coils and takes a permanently curved set, then shipping is efficient, but the tubing is prone to kinking when routed through conduits
Solution Approach 1:
The rotatable support device provides dynamic adjustment capability that allows tubing with pre-existing curved sets from coiling to gradually adjust its orientation as it passes through the support. This dynamic support prevents sudden sharp bends that would cause kinking while maintaining the efficiency of coil shipping.
3Strength
If conventional supports are used that limit twisting to reaches between supports, then structural support is provided, but the tubing cannot twist to accommodate turns and bends
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by introducing a rotatable support device that decouples the structural support function from the twisting constraint. The support provides structural support through its mounting to the conduit while simultaneously allowing the tubing to twist and rotate freely within the support, thereby accommodating turns and bends without limiting the tubing's adaptability.
4Adaptability or versatility
If the conduit is subject to vibration from wind, waves, or seismic events, then the structure responds to environmental forces, but the tubing rubs against the conduit wall due to vibration
Solution Approach 1:
The rotatable support device provides dynamic adaptability that allows the tubing to move independently in response to vibrations from wind, waves, or seismic events. Rather than being fixed in position and subjected to friction from vibration, the tubing can rotate and adjust within the support, eliminating vibration-induced rubbing while maintaining seismic resistance through the flexible accommodation of movement.
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 support system effectively reduces abrasion and corrosion by allowing rotation and lateral movement, maintaining bundle length and preventing kinking, while absorbing seismic and thermal stress, thus ensuring reliable operation in applications like offshore platforms.
Implementation Method 1
The linear element can rotate relative to the support, allowing the element to twist and flex without kinking
Implementation Method 2
The shoe is resilient and proportioned to engage the interior of a conduit and to provide a cushioned suspension
Implementation Method 3
These supports also dampen the transmission of vibration of the conduit to the tube or tubes
Data Source
AI summary
Tubing bundle supports comprise body parts clamped around split rotatable sleeves. In one embodiment, spring mounted peripheral shoes and rotatable tubing bundle support sleeves allow metal tubes and tubing bundles to be routed inside a conduit in spaced apart positions and resistant to vibration. In another embodiment, split pillow block sections are clamped around a split rotatable sleeve. In an embodiment, the split pillow block support is held to a strut channel by a strut channel nut.