Temporary Trap Door Cap With Pressure-Tight Backup Sealing
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Solution Overview
Problem
The seal between the trap door and the body of the trap in pipeline access systems can become compromised, leading to leaks of hazardous fluids, posing environmental and safety hazards until permanent remediation can be implemented.
Innovation Solution
A temporary trap door cap with a cup-shaped body and a pressure-tight seal is introduced, which includes an annular rim coated with sealing material to form a pressure-tight connection around the trap door, preventing leaks and containing the pipeline contents.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a seal between the trap door and body of the trap is used, then the trap can contain pressure and prevent fluid leaks, but the seal can become compromised over time leading to leaks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a temporary trap door cap as an intermediary component that seals against the trap body independently of the original trap door seal. This cap with its own sealing mechanism provides an additional barrier that compensates for deteriorating original seals, allowing the system to maintain reliability beyond the original seal's service life.
Solution Approach 2:
The temporary trap door cap serves as a pre-prepared backup sealing solution that can be installed before the original seal completely fails. By having this redundant sealing mechanism ready, the system prevents catastrophic failures and allows for planned maintenance rather than emergency repairs when seals deteriorate.
2Ease of operation
If the trap door is opened to access the pipeline, then pigs can be inserted for inspection or repair, but the seal between the trap door and body becomes vulnerable to leaks
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing function is segmented into two independent systems: the original trap door seal and the temporary cap seal. This allows the trap door to be opened for pipeline access while the temporary cap remains sealed against the trap body, maintaining pressure containment during operations that would otherwise compromise the original seal.
3Reliability
If a permanent seal solution is implemented, then leaks can be prevented long-term, but the complexity and cost of permanent remediation increases
Solution Approach 1:
The temporary trap door cap is designed as a simple, inexpensive, short-term solution that can be easily installed and removed. Rather than implementing complex permanent remediation systems, this disposable-like component provides effective leak prevention during the period needed for pipeline operations or until scheduled maintenance can be performed.
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 temporary trap door cap effectively seals the trap door assembly, preventing fluid leaks and ensuring a pressure-tight inner volume, thereby containing hazardous fluids until permanent repairs can be made.
Implementation Method 1
a pressure-tight seal around an exterior surface of the trap at a longitudinal location of the trap inward of the trap door
Data Source
AI summary
A trap door cap for sealing around a trap door of a trap is disclosed. The canister includes a closed end and side walls extending from the closed end, wherein the side walls and the closed end together define a cup-shaped body having an open end opposite the closed end. The trap door cap further includes a seal configured to selectively apply a pressure-tight seal around an exterior surface of the trap at a longitudinal location of the trap inward of the trap door and a pressure-tight connection between the seal and the open end of the cup-shaped body, wherein the side walls, the closed end, the seal, and the pressure-tight connection together form a pressure-tight inner volume within the canister.