Spiral-Welded Cellular Polymer Pipe Profile for Smooth, Lightweight Walls
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing spiral-welded polymer products face challenges in achieving smooth surfaces, high material consumption, weight, and cost due to the impossibility of creating flat surfaces, which limits their ring stiffness and manufacturing flexibility, especially for large diameters and on-site production.
Innovation Solution
The development of spiral-welded polymer products with semi-ring cross-sectional profiles and additional layers for enhanced flexibility and protection, allowing for the creation of smooth internal and external surfaces with reduced material consumption and weight, using a ratio of 1.5≤L/H≤2 for the flat outer surface width to profile height, and applying additional layers for protection and improved properties.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If conventional spiral-welded polymer products are manufactured with traditional profiles, then they can be produced, but they cannot achieve smooth surfaces and require high material consumption
Solution Approach 1:
The profile cross-section is segmented into multiple functional zones: a flat outer surface zone for smoothness, a semi-ring zone for structural strength, and a cellular inner zone for material efficiency. This segmentation allows each zone to fulfill its specific function without requiring excessive material throughout the entire profile.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the profile are given different properties: the outer surface is made flat and smooth for hydraulic efficiency and aesthetic purposes, while the inner cellular regions provide structural support with minimal material. This local differentiation of properties resolves the contradiction between surface quality and material consumption.
2Strength
If thick-walled profiles are used to increase ring stiffness, then product rigidity improves, but weight and material consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The profile incorporates cellular (hollow) structures in its cross-section, creating a porous-like configuration that provides high structural stiffness-to-weight ratio. The cellular walls act as structural ribs that maintain ring stiffness while significantly reducing the amount of material required compared to solid thick-walled profiles.
Solution Approach 2:
The profile functions as a composite structure combining flat surface sections with semi-ring and cellular sections, creating a hybrid design that optimizes both stiffness and weight. The different geometric configurations work together to provide structural integrity without the need for uniformly thick walls.
3Ease of manufacture
If rectangular cross-section profiles are used for spiral-welded products, then manufacturing is simplified, but transportation and on-site assembly become difficult due to deformation
Solution Approach 1:
The profile cross-section incorporates curved semi-ring elements and cellular structures instead of sharp rectangular corners. This curvature makes the profile more flexible and resistant to deformation during coiling and transportation, while still maintaining manufacturing simplicity through extrusion processes.
4Reliability
If multi-layered spiral-welded constructions are used to increase ring stiffness, then structural reliability improves, but material consumption and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The profile is segmented into functional zones where the cellular walls act as structural reinforcement, replacing the need for multiple external layers. The internal cellular structure provides the necessary ring stiffness from within, eliminating the need for additional outer protective layers that would increase material consumption.
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to production of long spiral-welded large polymer products, as required for pipelines production, chemical, oil and gas and petrochemical industries, agricultural complex and utility services. The object of the invention is to create variants of spiral-welded polymer product with a cellular wall, having the internal or external, or internal and external uniform smooth walls with little material consumption, weight and cost. It should allow making products on site due the use of a thin-walled, lightweight, flexible profile. The object is solved owing to fact that a long hollow thermoplastic profile is used in spiral-welded polymer products, wherein the cross-section of the profile has a form of a closed geometric figure with a convex part having essentially the semi-ring shape and flat part that are connected each other, forming the convex and flat parts of the external surface of the profile, respectively.