EA003615B1 - Method of repairing a pipe and arrangement therefor (variants) - Google Patents

Abstract

1. A method for repairing a pipe, comprising placing a shell around a damaged part with an axial symmetry and provided with jets forming a circular space therebetween, sealing the shell ends and injecting a compound to fill the space between the shell and the pipe, prior to the compound injecting an outlet is provided from the circular space to the ambient atmosphere, the compound is injected through one or several jets to full filling of said space, characterized in that the space is filled in two stages, at the first stage of the compound filling the zone of the damaged part is controlled and continued until complete filling the zone with the compound after which the second stage is effected. 2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the damaged zone communicates with an ambient atmosphere through at least one outlet made in the shell and the filling is controlled visually by the compound appearance in said outlet. 3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the first stage of the circular space filling with the compound is effected for 10-40 minutes after which the jet is closed and filling is continued through another jet arranged in the bottom part of the shell. 4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that at the first stage of the circular space filling the compound level is controlled in the space being filled, The first stage continues until reaching a predetermined level in the space above the damaged zone. 5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that the distance from the compound level to the damaged zone is from 0,05 to 0,2 of the pipe diameter being repaired. 6. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the compound is injected into the circular space at an overpressure from 3 to 10 bar. 7. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the circular space is filled with a compound based on epoxy resin with dynamic viscosity of the compound 20-100 Pa(s and a gelation period for 30-120 minutes. 8. A method for repairing a pipe, comprising placing a shell around a damaged part with an axial symmetry and provided with jets forming a circular space therebetween, sealing the shell ends and injecting a compound to fill the space between the shell and the pipe, prior to the compound injecting an outlet is provided from the circular space to the ambient atmosphere, characterized in that the circular space communicates with the ambient atmosphere through a jet in the bottom part of the shell, the filling is effected in two stages, during the first stage the compound is injected through one or several jets arranged in the bottom part of the shell and filling is stopped when the compound appears in said jet after which the jet is closed and the circular spaces communicates with the ambient atmosphere through one or several outlets in the upper part of the shell and repair enters into the second stage of the compound filling and the process continues until the compound appears in the outlets communicating the circular space with the ambient atmosphere. 9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that in the first or second stage the upper jet is closed while the bottom jet continues filling the compound into the circular space. 10. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that during the second stage filling is continued until the compound appears in all outlets communicating the circular space with the ambient atmosphere after which they are closed. 11. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that the first stage lasts for 1-7 minutes, the second stage for 5-25 minutes. 12. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that the compound is injected into the circular space at an overpressure from 3 to 10 bar. 13. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that the circular space is filled with a compound based on epoxy resin with dynamic viscosity of the compound 20-100 Pa(s and a gelation period for 30-120 minutes. 14. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that when the compound consumption drops below certain predetermined value the jet is closed and the compound injection is continued through the bottom jet. 15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that said predetermined value is 1 to 10 l/min. 16. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that when the time filling the circular space with the compound exceeds the predetermined period the jet is closed and the compound injection is continued through the bottom jet. 17. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that said predetermined period is 10 to 40 minutes. 18. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that when the time from the first stage of filling to filling said bottom outlet with the compound exceeds the predetermined period the jet is closed and the compound injection is continued through the bottom jet. 19. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that said predetermined period is 2 to 5 minutes. 20. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that when the time from the second stage of filling to filling said bottom outlet with the compound exceeds the predetermined period of time the jet is closed and the compound injection is continued through the bottom jet. 21. The method according to claim 20, characterized in that said predetermined period is 10 to 40 minutes. 22. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that if no compound appeared in the outlet after certain predetermined period of time the jet is closed and the compound injection is continued through the bottom jet. 23. An arrangement for repairing a pipe, comprising a shell placed around a damaged part with an axial symmetry and provided with jets and oulets, the inner shell diameter exceeds the outer pipe diameter, at least one through hole is provided in the shell directly in the damaged zone, characterized in that an additional jet is provided in the shell bottom part for injecting the compound, at least one of said jets for compound injection and said additional jet are arranged in the shell bottom part at different shell ends, the arrangement comprises a closing means for closing said additional jet. 24. The arrangement according to claim 23, characterized in that the additional jet is arranged from the nearest shell end at a distance not exceeding 0,3 of the shell length along the pipe axis. 25. The arrangement according to claim 23, characterized in that comprises a transparent hose connected to the additional jet and a closing means for closing the hose or the additional jet. 26. The arrangement according to claim 23, characterized in that the angle between the downward direction and the direction to the additional jet does not exceed 60 degree . 27. The arrangement according to claim 23, characterized in that the hole has a diameter from 5 to 15 mm, made upstream of the defect at a distance from 2 to 4 of its own diameters, the inner shell diameter exceeds the outer pipe diameter by 5 to 40 mm.

Description

The invention relates to methods of repairing pipelines without stopping the transfer of the product, namely to a method of repairing the pipeline and a device for its implementation (options).

The present invention can be most effectively used for the repair of oil and gas pipelines, as well as technological and other pipelines.

In-pipe inspection shells used on trunk pipelines make it possible to detect pipeline defects, determine their parameters and position on the pipeline, which makes it possible to excavate the pipeline and repair the defective section of the pipeline.

A known method of repairing a pipe and a device for its implementation (A.G. Gumerov, Kh.A. Azmetov, R.S. Gumerov, M.G. Wekshtein. Emergency repair of main pipelines M., Nedra, 1998, p. 81- 95).

Repair is carried out by welding the coupling to the defective section of the pipeline and at the same time performing sealing ring joints. The main disadvantage is the occurrence of cracks in the pipe wall near the welds due to residual stresses in the welding zones.

In another known method of repairing the pipeline (UK application 6B2210134, IPC: E16B55/16, publication date: June 1, 1989), which is closest to the stated variants of the methods, a coupling is installed symmetrically with respect to the defect with an annular gap, which is filled with a compound on the damaged section of the pipeline on the basis of epoxy resin, which provides adhesion with the external surface of the pipeline and the internal surface of the coupling, and provides a sufficiently effective discharge of the pipeline in the area of the defect.

A device for implementing this method, closest to the claimed device, includes a cylindrical coupling consisting of upper and lower coupling halves, which are interconnected by welds when mounting the coupling on the defective section of the pipeline. At the same time, the coupling itself is not welded to the pipeline. In the upper half coupling there are three rows of control holes designed to release air and control the level of the composite composition during pouring. As the coupling is filled with a composite compound, bolts are screwed into the control holes.

There are four threaded holes in both coupling halves, into which the installation bolts are screwed to adjust the gap between the coupling and the pipe and act as supports when the coupling is installed on the pipeline.

Before starting work, the inlet steel branch pipe is screwed into the lower coupling half. It is intended to connect to it a flexible hose, through which the composite compound is fed, and two outlet steel pipes are screwed into the upper one. Then the coupling halves are installed with an annular gap on the defective section of the pipeline symmetrically with respect to the defect and weld them together. The ends of the coupling sealed.

The device works as follows. The outlet pipes are opened and an epoxy based compound is fed through the inlet pipe into the annular gap between the coupling and the pipeline. The process of filling the annular gap is made until the material appears in the outlet pipes, after which the inlet and outlet pipes overlap. The composite material in the annular gap hardens to the required strength within 24 hours.

A significant disadvantage of this method and device is that controlling the level of the compound using a series of holes in the upper part of the coupling does not allow controlling the filling of the compound directly with the defect zone, while the defect zone itself is prone to air bubble formation, therefore the implementation of this method using the specified device allows the compound to fill the entire annular gap with an air bubble remaining directly in the defect zone, which impairs adhesion ompaunda to the sleeve and, accordingly, the unloading tube in the defect area and the operational reliability of the defective portion of the conduit.

The present invention is the task of creating such a method of repairing the pipeline and a device for its implementation, which would ensure the elimination of filling the gap with a compound when an air bubble is formed directly in the area of the pipeline defect.

The task is achieved by the fact that in the method of repair of the pipeline in the first embodiment, including the installation of a coupling with axial symmetry with nozzles on the damaged section of the pipeline with the formation of an annular gap between them, sealing the ends of the coupling on the pipeline and flow into the annular gap between the coupling and the compound pipeline, with before feeding the compound, the annular gap is communicated with the surrounding atmosphere, and the compound is fed through at least one nozzle until the annular gap is completely filled, publicly invention, gap filling is performed in two stages, wherein in a first step of filling the annular gap is controlled filling compound pipeline defect area, and this step is performed prior to complete filling compound directly defect area and then carried out the second step of filling the gap.

The main technical result, common to different variants of the claimed group of inventions, achieved as a result of the implementation of the invention is the improvement of the quality of the repair of the pipeline, especially in the presence of corrosion and other defects of the external surface of the pipeline. The mechanism for achieving the above technical result for the first version of the claimed method consists in the fact that the said actions to control the filling of the compound with the defect zone directly make it possible to completely eliminate the filling of the gap during the formation of gas bubbles directly in the defect zone and, if necessary, to perform operations on cleaning the surface of the pipeline and repeating compound casting operations.

In the development of the first variant of the claimed method, the defect zone is communicated with the surrounding atmosphere using at least one hole made in the coupling directly in the defect zone, and the filling of the defect zone is monitored visually by the appearance of the compound in the specified hole. Control of filling the compound directly with the defect zone can also be performed using sensors that are sensitive to the compound installed on the inner surface of the coupling or in the hole of the coupling so that after mounting the coupling, the sensors are directly above the defect area.

The first stage of filling the annular gap with the compound is performed for 10-40 minutes, after the specified time has elapsed, if there is no filling with the compound, the defect zone directly overlaps the compound supply nozzle and continues filling the gap with another compound through the other nozzle.

In the first stage of filling the annular gap, the level of the compound in the filled gap is monitored, while the first stage of filling the gap is performed until the specified level of the compound is reached in the gap above the defect area.

The distance from the level of the compound to the defect zone is from 0.05 to 0.2 of the diameter of the repaired pipeline section.

The compound is fed into the annular gap at an overpressure of from 3 to 10 bar.

The annular gap is filled with an epoxy resin-based compound with a dynamic viscosity of the compound of 20-100 Pa-s and a gel time for the compound of 30-120 minutes.

Compliance with the specified modes of filling the gap with a compound is most appropriate for ensuring that all voids, cavities and surface irregularities are filled with the compound during filling (before loss of fluidity and gelatinization of the compound) on the one hand, and to ensure sufficient speed for repairs of the examined pipeline on the other hand.

In the preferred embodiment, the filling of the defect area is monitored by the appearance of a compound in a plurality of said holes directly in the defect area. The use of multiple holes in the vicinity of a defect is most effective when repairing a pipeline with defects of complex shape and / or large extent.

In the process of filling the annular gap, the time until the compound appears in the specified hole is monitored, the condition that the time specified is greater than the predetermined threshold value is checked.

After the specified condition is met, the compound supply pipe is blocked and the compound continues to flow through the additional pipe installed in the bottom of the coupling.

The process of filling the gap is carried out before the appearance of the compound in all the pipes connecting the annular gap with the atmosphere, these pipes overlap as the compound appears in each of the pipes.

Performing these actions allows you to eliminate the formation of voids in the upper part of the annular gap due to loss of compound fluid during the filling of the compound, resulting from a decrease in the flow area, the inlet connection of the compound, for example, due to the presence of heterogeneity in the compound or due to premature gelatinization compound.

Further development of the first variant of the claimed method in the first stage of filling overlaps the compound supply nozzle and continues to feed the compound through another nozzle installed in the bottom of the coupling.

When the flow rate of the compound is less than a certain set value, they overlap the compound supply pipe and continue to flow the compound through the specified pipe installed in the lower part of the coupling; the setpoint is from 1 to 10 liters per minute.

When the time of filling the compound directly with the defect zone, is greater than a certain predetermined time value, overlap the compound supply pipe and continue to feed the compound through another pipe installed in the bottom of the coupling; set point is from 10 to 40 min.

After the time elapses from the start of the second stage of filling to filling the gap with a compound greater than a certain predetermined time value, shut off the compound supply nozzle and continue feeding the compound through the specified nozzle installed in the bottom of the coupling; set point is from 10 to 40 min.

After the time elapses before the compound appears in the previously indicated hole in the coupling, made directly in the defect area greater than a certain predetermined value, the compound supply nozzle is blocked and the compound continues to flow through the specified coupling nozzle installed in the lower part of the coupling.

The task is also achieved by the fact that in the method of repairing the pipeline according to the second variant, including the installation of a coupling with axial symmetry with nozzles on the damaged section of the pipeline with the formation of an annular gap between them, sealing the ends of the coupling on the pipeline and feeding into the annular gap between the coupling and the compound pipeline , before feeding the compound, an annular gap is communicated with the ambient atmosphere, according to the invention, the annular gap is communicated with the ambient atmosphere by means of a pipe installed in the bottom the coupling part (the lower nozzle), the gap is filled in two stages, in the first filling stage the compound is fed into the annular gap through at least one nozzle, and the filling process is performed before the compound appears in the lower part of the coupling in the lower pipe), after which the specified pipe (lower pipe) overlap and communicate the annular gap with the surrounding atmosphere using at least one pipe installed in the upper part of the coupling, and then perform the second stage of filling the gap a compound, in which the filling process is continued until the compound in the pipe informing the annular gap to the atmosphere.

The main technical result, common to different variants of the claimed group of inventions, achieved as a result of the implementation of the invention is the improvement of the quality of the repair of the pipeline, especially in the presence of corrosion and other defects of the external surface of the pipeline. The mechanism to achieve this technical result for the second variant of the claimed method consists in the fact that the specified actions to fill the gap using an additional pipe in the lower part of the coupling allows to eliminate the formation of gas bubbles and voids in the upper part of the annular gap due to loss of compound yield during the filling of the compound arising from the reduction of the flow area of the compound supply inlet, for example, due to the presence of discontinuities in the compound or due to premature gelatinization compound.

In the development of the inventive method according to the second variant, at the first or second filling stage, overlap the compound supply pipe and continue to feed the compound through the specified pipe installed in the lower part of the coupling (through the lower pipe).

The use of an additional inlet nozzle allows you to change the conditions for filling the gap with a compound while reducing the flow area of the inlet nozzle for the reasons given above.

The process of filling the gap in the second stage is carried out before the appearance of the compound in all the pipes connecting the annular gap with the atmosphere, the above pipes overlap as the compound appears in each of them.

The first stage of filling is performed within 1-7 minutes, the second stage of filling is performed within 5-25 minutes.

The compound is fed into the annular gap at an overpressure of from 3 to 10 bar.

The annular gap is filled with an epoxy-based compound with a dynamic viscosity of the compound of 20-100 Pa-s and a gel time for the compound of 30-120 minutes.

Compliance with the specified modes of filling the gap with a compound is most appropriate for ensuring that all voids, cavities and surface irregularities are filled with the compound during filling (before loss of fluidity and gelatinization of the compound) on the one hand, and to ensure sufficient speed for repairs of the examined pipeline - on the other.

When the flow rate of the compound is less than a certain predetermined value, they overlap the compound supply pipe and continue to flow the compound through the specified pipe installed in the lower part of the coupling (through the lower pipe); set point is from 1 to 10 liters per minute.

When the time of filling the annular gap, greater than a certain specified time value, overlap the compound supply pipe and continue to feed the compound through the specified pipe installed in the lower part (through the lower pipe); set point is from 10 to 40 min.

When the time from the beginning of the first stage of filling to filling with the compound of the specified pipe installed in the lower part of the coupling (lower pipe) more than a certain predetermined time value, block the connection pipe of the compound and continue to flow the compound through the specified pipe installed at the bottom of the coupling ); set point is from 2 to 5 min.

When the time from the beginning of the second stage of filling to filling the compound with these pipes installed in the upper part of the coupling is greater than a certain predetermined time value, they overlap the compound supply nozzle and continue to flow the compound through the specified nozzle installed in the lower part of the coupling (through the lower nozzle); set point is from 10 to 40 min.

After a certain predetermined time value in the absence of a compound in a hole in the coupling made in the defect zone, shut off the compound supply nozzle and continue to flow the compound through the specified nozzle installed in the lower part of the coupling (through the lower nozzle).

These actions to control the filling with a compound make it possible to completely eliminate the formation of voids in the defect area and, if necessary, to perform operations on cleaning the surface of the pipeline and repeating the operations of pouring the compound.

Further development of the second variant of the claimed method in the second stage of filling the gap with a compound controls the filling of the pipeline defect zone directly with the compound.

When the time of filling the compound directly with the defect zone, is greater than a certain predetermined time, overlap the compound supply pipe and continue to flow the compound through another pipe installed in the bottom of the coupling (through the bottom pipe); set point is from 10 to 40 min.

The defect zone is communicated with the surrounding atmosphere using at least one hole made in the coupling directly in the defect zone, and the filling of the defect zone is monitored visually by the appearance of a compound in the specified hole. At the time before the occurrence of the compound in the specified hole in the coupling, made directly in the area of the defect greater than a certain specified value, overlap the compound supply nozzle and continue to flow the compound through the specified nozzle installed in the bottom of the coupling (through the lower nozzle).

The task is also solved by the fact that in the device for repairing the pipeline, containing a coupling with axial symmetry with connections for supplying and discharging the compound, installed on the defective section of the pipeline, the internal diameter of the coupling exceeds the external diameter of the pipeline, according to the invention, in the coupling, at least one through hole located directly in the area of the pipeline defect.

The main technical result achieved as a result of the implementation of the invention is the improvement in the quality of the repair of the pipeline, especially in the presence of corrosion and other defects on the external surface of the pipeline. The mechanism to achieve this technical result is that the use of the coupling in this design eliminates the filling of the entire gap with the compound when gas bubbles form directly in the area of the defect and, if necessary, perform operations on cleaning the surface of the pipeline and repeating the operations of filling the compound.

In the development of the claimed device, the hole is located not below the defect pipeline.

The hole diameter is from 5 to 15 mm.

The specified hole diameter range is optimal to prevent significant leakage of the compound on the one hand, and control complications due to clogging of the hole on the other.

It is advisable that the hole be made at a distance of no more than five intrinsic diameters from a pipeline defect — the specified parameters specify the dimensions of the vicinity of the defect within which the opening is advisable.

It is highly advisable that the hole be made above the defect at a distance of from two to four intrinsic diameters along the perimeter in the cross section of the pipeline. Since the compound fills the gap from below, and its appearance above the defect within the specified limits corresponds to filling the entire vicinity of the defect. The appearance of the compound in the hole above the specified limits (outside the vicinity of the defect) does not characterize the vicinity of the defect.

In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, the internal diameter of the coupling exceeds the external diameter of the pipeline by an amount ranging from 5 to 40 mm. The use of the coupling, which forms a gap within the specified limits, allows uniformly filling during the gelatinization of the compound voids, shells and surface irregularities.

In the preferred design, a plurality of holes are made directly in the defect zone, the use of multiple holes in the vicinity of the defect is most effective when repairing a pipeline with defects of complex shape and / or large extent.

The use of the claimed device in the first embodiment allows to obtain the technical results indicated for the first embodiment of the method.

Further development of the claimed device in the lower part of the coupling has an additional connection for supplying the compound (lower connection), at least one of these connections for supplying the compound and the specified additional connection is installed in the lower part of the coupling at different ends of the coupling. An additional pipe (lower pipe) is installed at a distance from the coupling end nearest to it no more than 0.3 of the length of the coupling along the pipeline axis. The device includes a means of overlapping the cross-section of an additional pipe (lower pipe) installed on the latter. The device includes a transparent hose connected to an additional pipe and means for overlapping the section of the hose or an additional pipe.

The angle from the axis of the pipeline between the downward direction and the direction to the specified additional pipe (lower pipe) is not more than 60 °. The device includes a means of controlling the flow of the compound.

In the preferred execution of the claimed method, which is characterized by signs of both the first and the second variants of the invention.

Other objectives and advantages of the present invention will become clear from the following detailed description of examples of its implementation and the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 depicts a device for repairing pipelines, which is an example of the implementation of the claimed variants of devices, and shows the implementation of the inventive method in the stage of supplying the compound through the main inlet;

FIG. 2 - a device for the repair of pipelines, which is an example of the implementation of the claimed variants of the devices, in the section plane of the pipeline;

FIG. 3 - a device for the repair of pipelines, which is an example of the implementation of the claimed variants of devices, and shows the implementation of the claimed method in the stage of supplying the compound through the main inlet;

FIG. 4 - a device for repairing pipelines, which is an example of the implementation of the claimed variants of devices, and shows the implementation of the claimed method in the stage of supplying the compound through an additional inlet.

The following describes an example of the implementation of the claimed invention: the device and ways to use this device. The claimed device can also be used differently than the claimed variants of the method. The claimed methods can also be implemented using devices other than the claimed device.

The one shown in FIG. 1-4, the device for repairing pipeline 1 in its preferred embodiment comprises a coupling 2 with axial symmetry with connections 3-6 for supplying and discharging the compound, which is installed in the defective section of pipeline 1. Coupling 2 may consist of two parts 33, 34 of FIG. 2-4 with flange connections that can be connected using bolts 35 (or any other detachable connections) of FIG. 2-4, or the parts of the coupling 2 being welded together. The coupling 2 may also be a composite consisting of several couplings welded or screwed together between themselves along the axis. Bolts 36 allow centering the coupling relative to the axis of the pipeline 1. In the lower part of the coupling 2, the main nozzle 3 and the additional nozzle 4 for feeding the compound are installed, which are installed in the lower part of the coupling 2 at its different ends 8, 9. The additional nozzle 4 is located at a distance from the end face of the coupling 2 is about 0.25 the length of the coupling 2 along the axis of the pipeline 1. The device includes means for blocking the cross section of the pipes 3-6 in the form of clamps 10-13 and transparent hoses on the pipes 3, 4, 5, 6 14-17 connected to connections 3-6. The direction of the nozzles 3, 4 in the lower part of the coupling 2 coincides with the downward direction. The device includes a pump 20 and a compound flow meter installed on the pump 20 (not shown in FIG.). The hose 15 connects the pipe 3 with the pump 20. The internal diameter of the coupling 2 exceeds the external diameter of the pipeline 1 by an amount of about 6% of the diameter of the repaired section of the pipeline 1.

The coupling 2 has a through hole 30 located directly in the defect zone 31 of the pipeline 1, the opening 30 is located above the defect 31 of the pipeline 1 at a distance of about two own diameters from the defect 31 along the perimeter in the cross section of the pipeline, the hole diameter is about 10 mm.

Repair of the pipeline is performed as follows.

According to the results of in-line inspection of pipelines with subsequent interpretation of data (for example, using in-line meters, ultrasonic and / or magnetic flaw detectors) or by direct inspection of the pipeline with any non-destructive testing devices (for example, hand-held ultrasonic thickness gauges or magnetic particle inspection methods) determine the location of the defect pipeline 1, if necessary, excavate the defective area, clean the defective part the stack from the insulating coating, for example, using a shot blasting apparatus, clarify the position of the defect relative to the axis of the pipeline 1, calculate the geometrical parameters of the coupling 2.

Coupling 2 with nozzles 3-6 installed on the damaged section of the pipeline 1 with the formation of the annular gap 7 between them. Clutch 2 is assembled from fragments, the number of which may be two or more. Clutch fragments 2 are rigidly interconnected. FIG. 2-4 shows the coupling 2, consisting of two coupling halves 33 and 34, which are connected with the help of bolts 35, and any other fastening elements can be used. The bolts 36 are installed in the coupling 2 flush with the inner surface of the coupling 2, after installing the coupling 2 on the pipe, the bolts 36 are screwed into the cavity of the coupling 2, centering it relative to the axis of the pipeline. The gap between the coupling 2 and the pipe 1 is pre-set using elastic wedges driven into the gap between the coupling 2 and the pipe 1, the exact value of the gap is set using measuring plates of known thickness, the gap is set from 6 to 40 mm. The ends of the coupling 2 is sealed with sealant, the gap between the coupling 2 and the pipe 1 is filled with compound. Sealant and compound prepared immediately before use.

As a sealant, a two-component composite composition with a curing time of about 15 minutes can be used, for the preparation of which a liquid component is used — epoxy resin and a solid component — powdered filler-hardener. The ratio of resin to filler hardener can be 1: 3 by volume. Sealant should be prepared in small portions. The mixture is stirred until a homogeneous mass, after which the sealant is ready for use.

Sealing the edges of the coupling 2 is performed with spatulas in two layers: the first layer fills the gap between the coupling and the pipe to a depth of 30 mm, the second layer forms a smooth transition from the outer surface of the coupling 2 to the outer surface of the pipeline 1.

As a compound, a three-component epoxy-based composite composition with a dynamic viscosity of the compound of about 50 Pa-s and a gel time of 90 minutes can be used. To prepare the compound, a liquid component epoxy resin, a liquid component hardener and a solid component a powder filler are used. To prepare the compound, an epoxy resin is poured into the compound preparation hopper, then a liquid hardener is added and the resin is mixed with the hardener. After that, a powdered filler is poured into the bin and all components are mixed until a homogeneous mass is obtained.

The resulting compound is poured from the compound preparation bunker into the hopper of the injection pump 20 and the pump 20 is turned on, and the pump 20 is operated until the compound emerges from the outlet of the pump 20.

Sealants and compounds, as well as injection pumps, which can be used to implement the claimed invention, are well known in the art.

The following describes the first example of the implementation of the method of repairing the pipeline, which is implemented by performing actions that characterize the first version of the claimed method. Thus, before installing the coupling 2 on the pipe 1 in the manner described above, the coupling 2 performs through holes to control the level of the compound in the gap 7, as well as the through hole 30, which would be in the immediate area of the defect 31 when the coupling 2 was installed. Coupling surfaces remove burrs at the edges of the holes, which may prevent the compound from entering the hole. The coupling prepared in this way is installed on the defective section of the pipeline, while monitoring that the opening 30 falls on the immediate area of the defect 31.

Prepare the sealant and compound in the manner previously described. The ends 8, 9 of the coupling on the pipeline 1 are sealed with a sealant 18, 19. Before the compound is fed into the annular gap 7 between the coupling 2 and pipeline 1, an annular gap 7 is communicated with the surrounding atmosphere using nozzles 5.6. The zone of the defect 31 in this case is directly communicated with the surrounding atmosphere through the hole 30, made in the coupling 2 in the zone of the defect 31. The pipe 3 or pipe 4 is connected to the pump 20.

The compound is fed into the annular gap at an overpressure of about 5 bar through the nozzle 3 or through the nozzle 4.

If the compound is fed through the pipe 3, the clamp 11 is open, the direction of movement of the compound is shown by the positions 21, 22, 26,

27.

If the compound is fed through the pipe 4, the clamp 10 is open, the direction of movement of the compound is shown by the positions 24, 25,

28, 29.

Submission of the compound is carried out until the compound appears in the opening 30. The appearance of the compound in the opening 30 is controlled visually. In addition to visual inspection, the occurrence of a compound in the area of the defect can be monitored using a sensor sensitive to the compound. In this case, the sensor is installed in the hole made in the area of the defect 31 in the upper part of the hole.

At the same time, the level of the compound is controlled relative to the defect zone 31. This level should be above the pipeline defect at a distance of about 0.1 diameter of the repaired pipeline section from the defect. If the compound filled the defect directly and the specified level of the compound above the defect is exceeded, this means that the hazardous area of pipeline 1 passed normally, and you can fill the rest of the gap area 7 with the compound.

If the compound is supplied through the pipe 3, and the time of filling the compound directly with the defect zone from the beginning of filling the gap is greater than the specified time value (10-40 min), i.e. after 10–40 min, the compound did not appear in the hole 30, shut off the nozzle 3 of the compound supply and continue to feed the compound through the nozzle 4.

If the compound is supplied through the pipe 4, and after 10-40 minutes the compound does not appear in the hole 30, shut off the pipe 4 of the compound supply and continue to feed the compound through the pipe 3.

After the compound appears in the hole 30, the second stage of filling the gap 7 is performed: the filling process is continued until the compound appears in the pipes 5, 6, which provide annular gap with the atmosphere, which overlap as the compound appears in each of them.

When applying the compound, the flow rate of the compound is measured using a flow meter installed on the injection pump 20 (not shown in the figure). If the compound is fed through pipe 3, and the compound consumption is less than a predetermined value (about 3 liters per minute), or the ring gap filling time is more than a predetermined time (about 30 minutes), then the pipe 3 supply the compound and cover the compound through pipe 4.

Similarly, if the compound is fed through nozzle 4, and the compound consumption is less than a predetermined value (about 3 liters per minute), or the ring gap filling time is more than 30 minutes, then the nozzle 4 of the compound supply is blocked and the compound 3 continues to flow through the nozzle 3.

The following describes the second example of the implementation of the pipeline repair method, which is implemented by performing actions that characterize the second version of the claimed repair method. Thus, the coupling 2 with the nozzles 3-6 installed on the damaged section of the pipeline 1 with the formation of the annular gap 7 between them.

Prepare the sealant and compound in the manner previously described. Seal the ends 8, 9 of the coupling 2 on the pipe 1 using sealant 18, 19. Before applying the compound into the annular gap 7 between the coupling 2 and pipe 1, the gap 7 is communicated with the surrounding atmosphere using a pipe 4 installed in the bottom of the coupling 2, clamp 10 while open. The pipe 3 is connected to the pump 20.

The compound is fed into the annular gap at an overpressure of about 5 bar. Filling the gap is performed in several stages.

In the first stage through the pipe 3 serves compound in the annular gap 7 (clamp 11 is open), and the filling process is performed until the compound appears in pipe 4, which is controlled by a transparent hose 14 or by means of a sensor (not shown in the figure) sensitive to the compound installed in the pipe 4. The direction of movement of the compound is shown at the positions 21, 22, 23 (Fig. 3). After that, the pipe 4 overlap with clamp 10 and inform the annular gap 7 with the surrounding atmosphere through pipes 5 and 6 installed in the upper part of the coupling.

If after 5 minutes of the first stage of filling the compound does not appear in the pipe 4, the pipe 3 feeds the compound with a clip 11, the pipe 4 is connected to the pump 20, the annular gap 7 is communicated with the surrounding atmosphere using the pipes 5 and 6 installed in the upper part of the coupling 2 , and continue to flow the compound through the pipe 4, installed in the lower part of the coupling 2. The direction of movement of the compound is shown by the positions 24, 25 (Fig. 4).

After the appearance of the compound in the pipe 4 perform the second stage of filling the gap compound. If the compound is fed through pipe 3, the direction of movement of the compound is shown at 26, 27 in FIG. 3. If the compound is fed through the pipe 4, the direction of movement of the compound is shown at 28, 29 in FIG. four.

The process of filling the gap to produce a compound in both nozzles 5, 6, which overlap as the compound appears in each of them. The second stage of filling the gap with the compound from the moment the compound appears in the nozzle 4 until the compound appears in the nozzles 5, 6 is performed for 5-25 minutes depending on the size of the coupling 2 and the type of pipe 1.

If at the second stage of filling the gap, the compound is fed through pipe 3 and the time of filling the gap at the second stage exceeds a predetermined time value (about 15 minutes), i.e. 15 minutes from the beginning of the second stage, the compound does not appear in pipes 5 and 6, shut off the nozzle 3 of the compound feed and continue to feed the compound through the nozzle 4.

When applying the compound, the flow rate of the compound is measured using a flow meter installed on the injection pump. If the compound is fed through pipe 3, and the compound consumption is less than a predetermined value (about 3 liters per minute), or the ring gap filling time (total) from the beginning of the first stage is more than a predetermined time value (about 30 minutes), then plug 3 feed compound and continue to flow the compound through the pipe 4.

If the compound is fed through pipe 3, and after 10–40 minutes the compound does not appear in the immediate area of defect 30, shut off pipe 3 of the compound supply and continue to feed the compound through pipe 4.

The following describes the preferred example of the implementation of the pipeline repair method, which is implemented by performing both actions characterizing the first version of the claimed method, and performing actions that characterize the second version of the claimed repair method.

Before installing the coupling 2 on the pipe 1 in the manner described above, the coupling 2 performs through holes to control the level of the compound in the gap 7, as well as the through hole 30, which would be in the immediate area of the defect 31 when installing the coupling 2. If necessary, remove the internal surface of the coupling burrs on the edges of the holes that can prevent the compound from entering the hole 30. The coupling 2 prepared in this way is installed on the defective part of the pipeline 1, while making sure that the hole 30 falls on Immediate defect area 31.

Prepare the sealant and compound in the manner previously described. The ends 8, 9 of the coupling on the pipeline 1 are sealed with the help of a sealant 18, 19. Before the compound is fed into the annular gap 7 between the coupling 2 and pipeline 1, the annular gap 7 is communicated with the surrounding atmosphere by means of nozzles 5, 6. The defect area 31 is directly communicates with the surrounding atmosphere through the hole 30, made in the coupling in the area of the defect 31. The pipe 3 is connected to the pump 20.

Perform the filling of the gap 7 in several stages.

In the first stage of filling the gap through the pipe 3 serves compound in the annular gap 7 (clamp 11 is open), and the filling process is carried out before the compound appears in pipe 4, which is monitored using a transparent hose 14 or using a sensor (not shown in Fig. ), sensitive to the compound installed in the pipe 4. The direction of movement of the compound is shown by the positions 21, 22, 23. After that, the pipe 4 is closed with a clamp 10 and the annular gap is communicated with the surrounding atmosphere using the pipes 5 and 6 installed the upper part of the box 2.

If after 5 minutes from the start of filling the gap, the compound does not appear in the pipe 4, the pipe 3 feeds the compound overlapping with a clip 11, the pipe 4 is connected to the pump 20, the annular gap is communicated with the surrounding atmosphere using the pipes 5 and 6 installed in the upper part of the coupling 2 , open the clamp 10 and continue to flow the compound through the pipe 4 installed in the lower part of the coupling 2. The direction of movement of the compound is indicated by the positions 24, 25.

After the occurrence of the compound in the pipe 4 perform the following (second) stage of filling the gap compound. If the compound is fed through pipe 3, the direction of movement of the compound is shown at 26, 27 in FIG. 3. If the compound is fed through the pipe 4, the direction of movement of the compound is shown at 28, 29 in FIG. four.

Submission of the compound is carried out until the compound appears in the opening 30. The appearance of the compound in the immediate area of the defect is controlled visually by the appearance of the compound in the opening 30. In addition to the visual control, the appearance of the compound in the area of the defect 31 can be monitored using a compound-sensitive sensor. In this case, the sensor is installed in the hole 30, made in the area of the defect in the upper part of the hole.

At the same time, the level of the compound is controlled relative to the defect zone 31. This level must be higher than the defect of pipeline 1 at a distance of about 0.1 of the diameter of the repaired pipeline section 1 from the defect, if the compound directly filled the defect zone 31, and the specified level of the compound above the defect is exceeded, this means that the filling of the hazardous area of pipeline 1 has passed normally, and you can fill the rest of the gap area with compound.

If the compound is fed through nozzle 3, and the time of filling the compound directly with the defect zone in the second stage of filling the gap (since the compound appeared in the nozzle 4) is longer than the specified time value (10-40 min), i.e. after 10–40 min, the compound did not appear in the hole 30, shut off the nozzle 3 of the compound supply and continue to feed the compound through the nozzle 4.

After the compound appears in the hole 30, the third stage of filling the gap is performed: the process of filling the gap is performed before the compound appears in both nozzles 5, 6, which overlap as the compound appears in each of them.

The stage of filling the gap with the compound from the moment the compound appears in the nozzle 4 until the compound appears in the nozzles 5, 6 is performed for 5-25 minutes depending on the size of the coupling 2 and the type of pipe 1.

If the compound is fed through the nozzle 3 and the time the gap is completely filled from the moment the compound appears in the nozzle 4 exceeds the preset time (about 15 minutes), i.e. 15 minutes from the beginning of the second stage, the compound does not appear in the nozzles 5 and 6, shut off the nozzle 3 of the compound feed and continue to feed the compound through the nozzle 4.

When applying the compound, the flow rate of the compound is measured using a flow meter installed on the injection pump 20. If the compound is fed through pipe 3, and the compound consumption is less than a predetermined value (about 3 liters per minute), or the ring gap filling time (total) from the beginning of the first stage is more than a predetermined time value (about 30 minutes), then plug 3 feed compound and continue to flow the compound through the pipe 4.

In all stages of filling, in preferred form, the compound is fed to the annular gap at an overpressure of about 5 bar, the annular gap is filled with an epoxy-based compound with a dynamic viscosity of the compound of about 50 Pa-s and a gelatinization time of 90 minutes.

Implementation of the invention allows repairing pipelines without interrupting the transfer of medium with various pipeline defects: dents, internal and / or external loss of metal of any origin (including technological, mechanical and corrosion; cracks in pipe walls and welds; metal separation). The advantages of the claimed invention are most pronounced in the repair of a pipeline with corrosive defects of complex shape on the outer surface of the pipe.

Claims (27)

1. A method of repairing a pipeline, including installing a coupling with axial symmetry with nozzles on the damaged section of the pipeline with the formation of an annular gap between them, sealing the ends of the coupling on the pipeline and feeding the ring into the annular gap between the coupling and the pipe, with the ring gap being communicated with ambient atmosphere, and the compound is supplied through one or more nozzles until the annular gap is completely filled, characterized in that the gap is filled in two stages, and at that, at the first stage of filling the annular gap, the filling of the zone of the defect of the pipeline by the compound is controlled, and this stage is performed until the compound completely fills the zone of the defect, after which the second stage of filling the gap is performed. 2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the defect zone is communicated with the surrounding atmosphere using at least one hole made in the sleeve directly in the defect zone, and the filling of the defect zone is visually monitored by the appearance of the compound in the specified hole. 3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the first stage of filling the annular gap with the compound is performed for 10-40 minutes, after the specified time, in the absence of filling with the compound directly the defect zone, the compound supply pipe is closed and the gap is continued to be filled with the compound through another pipe, mounted at the bottom of the coupling. 4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that at the first stage of filling the annular gap control the level of the compound in the gap to be filled, while the first stage of filling the gap is performed until the specified level of the compound in the gap above the defect zone is reached. 5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that the distance from the level of the compound to the defect zone is from 0.05 to 0.2 of the diameter of the repaired section of the pipeline. 6. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the compound is fed into the annular gap at an overpressure of 3 to 10 bar. 7. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the annular gap is filled with a compound based on epoxy resin with a dynamic viscosity of the compound 20-100 Pa-s and a gelation time of the compound 30-120 min. 8. A method of repairing a pipeline, including installing a coupling with axial symmetry with nozzles on a damaged section of the pipeline with the formation of an annular gap between them, sealing the ends of the coupling on the pipeline and feeding into the annular gap between the coupling and the compound pipe, announcing the annular gap with the surrounding atmosphere before applying the compound characterized in that the annular gap communicate with the surrounding atmosphere by means of a pipe installed in the lower part of the coupling, while filling the gap is performed in two stages, on of the first stage of filling, through one or several nozzles, the compound is fed into the annular gap and the filling process is performed until the compound appears in the indicated nozzle in the lower part of the coupling, after which the specified nozzle is closed and the annular gap is communicated with the surrounding atmosphere using one or more other nozzles installed in the upper part of the coupling, and then perform the second stage of filling the gap with the compound, during which the filling process is continued until the compound appears in the nozzles communicating annular Azor with the atmosphere. 9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that, at the first or second stage of filling, the compound supply pipe is closed and the compound is continued to feed through the specified pipe installed in the lower part of the coupling. 10. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that the process of filling the gap in the second stage is carried out before the compound appears in all nozzles communicating an annular gap with the atmosphere, these nozzles overlap as the compound appears in each of them. 11. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that the first stage of filling is performed within 1-7 minutes, and the second stage of filling is performed within 5-25 minutes. 12. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that the compound is fed into the annular gap at an overpressure of 3 to 10 bar. 13. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that the annular gap is filled with an epoxy-based compound with a dynamic viscosity of the compound 20-100 Pa-s and a gelation time of the compound 30-120 minutes 14. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that when the flow rate of the compound is less than a predetermined value, the compound supply pipe is closed and the compound is continued to feed through the specified pipe installed in the lower part of the coupling. 15. The method according to 14, characterized in that the set value is from 1 to 10 l / min 16. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that when the filling time of the annular gap is greater than some predetermined time value, the compound supply pipe is closed and the compound is continued to feed through the specified pipe installed in the lower part. 17. The method according to clause 16, wherein the predetermined value is from 10 to 40 minutes 18. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that at a time from the beginning of the first stage of filling to filling with the compound of the specified pipe installed in the lower part of the coupling, greater than a predetermined time value, block the connection pipe of the compound and continue to feed the compound through the specified pipe installed at the bottom of the coupling. 19. The method according to p. 18, characterized in that the set value is from 2 to 5 minutes 20. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that at a time from the beginning of the second stage of filling to filling with the compound of the specified pipe installed in the lower part of the coupling, greater than a predetermined time value, block the supply pipe of the compound and continue to feed the compound through the specified pipe installed at the bottom of the coupling. 21. The method according to claim 20, characterized in that the set time value is from 10 to 40 minutes 22. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that after a predetermined amount of time after the absence of the compound in the hole made in the sleeve in the defect zone, the compound supply pipe is closed and the compound continues to be fed through the specified pipe installed in the lower part of the sleeve. 23. A device for repairing a pipeline, comprising a sleeve with axial symmetry with nozzles for supplying and discharging the compound, installed on the defective section of the pipe, the inner diameter of the sleeve exceeding the external diameter of the pipe, at least one through hole located directly in the sleeve in the zone of the pipeline defect, characterized in that in the lower part of the coupling an additional nozzle for supplying the compound is installed, at least one of these nozzles for supplying the compound and the specified an additional nozzle is installed in the lower part of the coupling at different ends of the coupling, the device includes means for blocking the cross-section of the additional nozzle mounted on the latter. 24. The device according to item 23, wherein the additional nozzle is installed at a distance from the closest end of the coupling not more than 0.3 of the length of the coupling along the axis of the pipeline. 25. The device according to p. 23, characterized in that it includes a transparent hose connected to an additional nozzle, and means for blocking the cross section of the hose or additional nozzle. 26. The device according to item 23, wherein the angle from the axis of the pipeline between the downward direction and the direction to the additional pipe is not more than 60 °. 27. The device according to item 23, wherein the hole is made above the defect at a distance of two to four proper diameters along the perimeter in the cross section of the pipeline, the diameter of the hole is from 5 to 15 mm, the inner diameter of the sleeve exceeds the outer diameter of the pipeline by from 5 to 40 mm.