Rotatable Submarine Pipe Coupling With Switchable Sealing
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for installing submarine pipes face challenges in compensating for twisting forces during laying, which can lead to instability and breakages, and require complex and costly operations to ensure tightness and rotation of couplings, often necessitating submarine interventions.
Innovation Solution
A rotatable coupling with elastic thrusting means that automatically switches sealing elements between configurations to ensure tightness and rotation, allowing for pre-installation on land and eliminating the need for submarine operations to configure sealing elements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If rotatable couplings are used to allow pipe rotation during laying, then twisting forces are compensated and positioning is improved, but guaranteeing both rotation capability and tightness becomes problematic
Solution Approach 1:
The coupling system employs dynamic sealing elements that can change their state between rotation-permitting and tightness-guaranteeing modes. The sealing elements are designed to be flexible during installation to allow rotation, then lock into a sealed configuration once positioning is complete, thus adapting to different operational requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The coupling elements are pre-configured with sealing mechanisms that are activated before the pipe is fully laid. The sealing elements are positioned and prepared in advance to ensure tightness is established prior to final positioning, preventing leakage while maintaining rotation capability during the critical laying phase.
2Reliability
If sealing elements are configured before laying to ensure tightness, then connection reliability is improved, but rotation capability is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing elements are designed with dynamic characteristics, allowing them to transition between a flexible state during installation that permits rotation and a rigid sealed state after installation that guarantees tightness. This dynamic behavior enables the system to satisfy both contradictory requirements at different stages.
Solution Approach 2:
The sealing elements undergo parameter changes in their physical state during the installation process. They start with higher flexibility to allow rotation, then transition to a more rigid, sealed configuration through mechanical activation or deformation, thus changing their properties to meet different functional requirements.
3Reliability
If complex sealing mechanisms are used to ensure both rotation and tightness, then connection reliability is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The coupling mechanism is designed to automatically configure itself during installation. The sealing elements self-activate or self-lock into their sealed configuration through the natural movements and forces present during pipe laying, eliminating the need for complex external control systems or manual intervention.
Solution Approach 2:
The complex active control mechanisms are removed from the system. Instead, the patent uses passive sealing elements that rely on simple mechanical principles and the natural installation process to achieve both rotation capability and tightness, significantly reducing device complexity.
4Reliability
If submarine operations are required to configure sealing elements, then connection reliability is improved, but operation complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
All sealing element configuration and activation is performed as a preliminary action during land-based pipe assembly before the pipe is laid in the submarine environment. This eliminates the need for complex submarine operations to configure seals, as everything is pre-set during simple terrestrial operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The sealing mechanism is designed to automatically activate and configure itself during the pipe laying process without requiring external intervention. The natural forces and movements during installation trigger the sealing action, making the system self-sufficient and eliminating the need for costly submarine operations.
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 solution effectively compensates for twisting forces during pipe laying, ensures stable positioning, and maintains tightness without requiring submarine operations, reducing costs and complexity while ensuring the integrity of the pipe connections.
Implementation Method 1
a switching element (12) which can be set in an open configuration, in which the elements of the coupling can rotate with respect to one another, and in a closed configuration, in which the mutual rotation is prevented and tightness is guaranteed, through the action of elastic thrusting means (20) acting on sealing elements
Implementation Method 2
sealing elements (B1, A2) interposed between mutually revolving parts of the coupling (60)
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention concerns a rotatable coupling (60) for connecting pipes, comprising a first hollow female element (61) suited to be connected, for example, to a first pipe portion (51), and a second tubular male element (6) with a first end portion at least partially housed inside the first female element (61) so as to define an inner space for the passage of a fluid, and with a second end portion suited to be connected to a second pipe portion (52). Said first and said second element (61, 6) can be rotated with respect to each other, said second tubular male element (6) comprising a first abutment surface (6S). Furthermore, the rotatable coupling (60) comprises a third hollow tubular element (12) housed inside the first female element and provided with a second abutment surface (1S) substantially opposite the first abutment surface (6S) so as to define a first interspace (I), and the third tubular hollow element (12) can be translated along a direction substantially orthogonal to the first and the second abutment surface (6S, 1S) between a closed configuration, in which the first and the second abutment surface (6S, 1S) are positioned at a minimal mutual distance, and an open configuration, in which the first and the second abutment surface (6S, 1S) are positioned at a distance that exceeds said minimal mutual distance.