EP2802434A1

EP2802434A1 - Apparatus for the separation of flange joints in tubular ducts

Info

Publication number: EP2802434A1
Application number: EP12705911.1A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Francesco Matteucci
Original assignee: TS R&D Srl
Current assignee: TS R&D Srl
Priority date: 2012-01-13
Filing date: 2012-01-13
Publication date: 2014-11-19
Also published as: BR112014017290A8; WO2013105120A1; BR112014017290A2

Abstract

Apparatus for separating a flanged joint in tubular ducts, said joint comprising a flange (12, 15) radially protruding from each end of each piece (10, 16) of a duct, said flanges (12, 15) being coupled by means of suitable clamping means (13, 14); said apparatus includes: a support frame (1) able to be coupled to said joint and movable around said joint (12, 15) by means of suitable guiding (131, 311, 621 ) and moving means (41 1, 431), said means being arranged on a plane which is parallel to the plane of said joint (12, 15); cutting means (2) coupled to said support frame and movable along a radial direction with respect to the longitudinal axis of said duct, said cutting means (2) being arranged with the cutting plane substantially coinciding with the plane of said joint (12, 15).

Description

TITLE:

APPARATUS FOR THE SEPARATION OF FLANGE JOINTS IN TUBULAR

DUCTS TEXT OF THE DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates to apparatuses for installing, dismantling and servicing ducts, and preferably submerged ducts. Particularly, the present invention relates to an apparatus for separating flanged joints in tubular ducts.

In the maintenance of ducts, and particularly in the case of submerged ducts, it happens rather frequently that a piece of tubing has to be replaced as well as that the sealing ability of the joint between the opposite radial flanges of two pieces of tubing forming a duct become ineffective due to wear. In both the cases, it is necessary to remove the joint between the pieces and replace the defective member. However, once the members have been appropriately replaced, the removal of the joint has to be performed in such a manner that the flanges can be re-used for the new joint. Generally, the clamping means of the joint, which are usually bolts, cannot be removed due to the considerable build-up of sediments and encrustations occurring in the submerged environment.

Usually, these operations are rather difficult to be performed and can include the use of very complex equipment which, however, is not always able to ensure that such an intervention will allow a subsequent use of the flanges.

Therefore, the aim of the present invention is to provide an apparatus which allows a flanged joint in tubular ducts to be separated in a simple and reliable manner, and which allows the so-separated flanges to be re-used. Another aim is to provide an apparatus which has the most simple and lightweight structure as possible, and which is easy to be adapted to different types of ducts. Therefore, the object of the present invention is an apparatus for separating a flanged joint in tubular ducts, said joint comprising a flange radially protruding from each end of each piece of a duct, said flanges being coupled by means of suitable clamping means; said apparatus includes: a support frame able to be coupled to said joint and movable around said joint by means of suitable guiding and moving means, said means being arranged on a plane which is parallel to the plane of said joint; cutting means coupled to said support frame and movable along a radial direction with respect to the longitudinal axis of said duct, said cutting means being arranged with the cutting plane substantially coinciding with the plane of said joint.

In a preferred embodiment, said cutting means include a closed loop of diamond-edged cable comprising at least one transmission idler pulley and a motor-driven pulley. Said idler pulley is movably mounted with respect to said support frame along a radial direction with respect to the longitudinal axis of said duct.

In another preferred embodiment, said support frame includes at least two members which are articulated to each other, said members being able to enclose more of a half of the perimeter of said joint and being provided with means for slidably guiding them on said joint. The articulation of said members can include actuating means allowing said support frame to be coupled to said joint.

The means for moving said frame on said joint can include a toothed wheel cooperating with the clamping means for said joint and provided with actuating means.

Further advantages and features of the apparatus according to the present invention will be clear from the following detailed description of an embodiment thereof, which is provided by way of a non-limiting example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 shows a front elevation view of the apparatus according to the present invention; Figure 2 shows a rear elevation view of the apparatus of Figure 1 ;

Figure 3 is a left side elevation view of the apparatus of Figure 1 ;

Figure 4 is a right side elevation view of the apparatus of the invention as mounted to the joint of a duct;

Figures 5 to 8 are front elevation views of the installed device of Figure

4 showing the operation of the apparatus of the present invention.

In Figure 1 there is shown an embodiment of the apparatus according to the present invention; reference numeral 1 denotes the support frame consisting of five members 101 , 201 , 301 , 401 and 501 which are, in the preferred embodiment, metal profiles connected to each other to form a "C" with an arrangement substantially corresponding to that of an octagon without three consecutive sides.

The first profiled member 101 has arranged thereon a roller 131 which is idle and rotatably mounted on a perpendicular axis to the plane identified by said support frame 1. At the free end of the profiled member 101 there is an eyelet 121 in which the hydraulic jack 1 1 1 is pivotally fitted, the end of the hydraulic jack opposite to that engaged with the eyelet 121 being connected to an arm 302. Said arm 302 has arranged thereon the idler pulley 202 and the motor-driven pulley 102 driving the loop of diamond-edged cable 2, and the arm is pivotally connected, as better described hereinbelow, to the third profiled member 301 of the support frame 1 which is also provided with a roller 311 directed towards the interior of said frame 1. At the side of the arm directed towards the interior of said frame 1 , the arm is provided with a roller 312.

The fourth profiled member 401 of said frame has mounted thereon a toothed wheel 41 1 which is spliced to a shaft 421 coupled to suitable driving means not shown in the figure (see Figure 2). At the end opposite to that connected to member 301 , said member 401 has an eyelet 441 to which one end of the hydraulic jack 611 is pivotally coupled, while the other end of the hydraulic jack is connected to the eyelet of the articulated arm 601 which, in turn, is articulated to the eyelet 511 formed at the free end of the member 501 of the support frame 1. The arm 601 has the roller 621 at the free end thereof.

In Figure 2 there is shown the apparatus of the invention in rear elevation; like parts are referred to by like numerals. In the figure, it is possible to note those parts which could not be viewed clearly in Figure 1 , such as the driving means 1 12 of the motor-driven pulley 102. Also noteworthy is the eyelet 321 of the profiled member 301 to which the end of the arm 302 is pivotally mounted. The toothed wheel 41 1 is driven by the gear motor 431 .

In Figure 3 there is shown the apparatus of the invention in left side elevation with respect to that illustrated in Figure 1 ; also in this case, like parts are referred to by like numerals. It is to be noted that the toothed wheel 41 1 and both the motor-driven pulley 102 and the idler pulley 202 carrying the loop 2 of diamond-edged cable are arranged on the same plane.

In Figure 4, the apparatus of the invention is shown after having being mounted to a flanged joint. The duct piece 10 arranged on the support structure 20 has, at an end thereof, a flared portion 11 and a protruding radial flange 12 on which the apparatus according to the present invention is positioned. The configuration of the rollers 31 1 and 621 allows the support structure to be guided on the flange 12. The flange 12 has coupled thereto the flat cover 15 by means of the threaded rods 13 and the nuts 14; however, this cover 15, herein illustrated to graphically simplify the explanation of the operation of the apparatus of the invention which is given hereinbelow with reference to Figures 5 to 8, can be actually considered as equivalent to a flange radially protruding from a piece 16 provided with a flared portion 17 as shown in dashed lines in the figure. It is also to be pointed out that the toothed wheel 411 is positioned so as to cooperate with the threaded rods 13. Figures 5 through 8 illustrate the operation of the apparatus according to the present invention. As already illustrated in Figure 4, the apparatus is positioned on the joint, in this case between a flat cover 15 and a duct piece 0. The articulated arm 601 is contacted with the flange 12 shown in chained line in Figure 5. At this time, the whole support frame is guided on the flange 12 by rollers 131 , 31 1 and 621. The threaded wheel 41 1 is contacting the threaded rod 13 which cooperates with the nuts 14 to allow the cover 15 to be clamped against the flange 12.

In Figure 6 it is pointed out that the jack 111 has been moved to cause the loop 2 of diamond-edged cable to cut the threaded rods 13. The roller 312 connected to the arm 302 carrying the pulleys 102, 202 on which the loop 2 of diamond-edged cable rotates also contacts the side wall of the flange 12. At this time, the gear motor 431 (see figure 2) driving the toothed wheel 411 can be actuated, and the support frame is then moved along the flange 12 by the cooperation of the toothed wheel 411 with the threaded rods 13, as shown in subsequent figure 7. Advantageously, as it is clearly shown in figure 3, the body of the toothed wheel 411 is tapered in thickness towards its outer peripheral edge, and this allows the wheel to always easily cooperate with the stumps of the threaded rods 13 which have been cut by the diamond-edged cable 2.

As illustrated in figure 8, when the cut has been completed, the cover

15 can be removed, and this allows the stumps of the threaded rods 13 to be easily removed. At this time, the flange 12 is again available to be coupled to another piece of tubing as well as to every other member which can be coupled by means of a flanged joint. Furthermore, this operation of separation allows for the removal of the gasket - not shown in these figures - which is usually inserted between the two flanges, so as to restore the gasket if deteriorated. Advantageously, protection means can be positioned at the sides of the diamond-edged cable in order to preserve the integrity of the flanges. The support frame 1 can be constructed in different manners; in this case, a structure able to surround half of the circumference of the flange of the duct when in the open configuration is preferred. From one hand, this type of configuration makes the apparatus easy to be positioned, so that it can easily access the flanges of the ducts for which it has been projected. The choice of using profiled members of substantially equal dimensions allows to simplify the manufacture of the structure from the design point of view. In general, a structure based on regular polygons allows for a good approximation to the circle, and it is less challenging than otherwise-shaped structures from the construction point of view.

The rollers are arranged on the support frame so as to be substantially equally spaced from each other. As the most stable arrangement is an arrangement with an angular distance of 120°, the support frame will enclose a portion of not less than 120° of the circumference of the flange. Advantageously, when the idler pulley 202 is in its operative position, it will be substantially at one end of said support frame 1 , while the motor-driven pulley will be substantially at the centre of said frame. Consequently, the two pulleys 102, 202 are at a centre-to-centre distance from each other of not less than the diameter of said flange 12.

Although the hydraulic jacks 611 and 1 1 1 have been considered for respectively moving the articulated arm 601 and the arm 302 with the pulleys 102 and 202, it is to be understood that the means for effecting the swinging movements can be of other type, for example of the electromechanical type.

Furthermore, the above-mentioned actuating means can be all controlled remotely, preferably by means of a control central unit operating through suitable electronic interface means.

Claims

1 . Apparatus for separating a flanged joint in tubular ducts, said joint comprising a flange (12, 15) radially protruding from each end of each piece (10, 16) of a duct, said flanges (12, 15) being coupled by means of suitable clamping means (13, 14), characterized in that said apparatus includes: a support frame (1 ) able to be coupled to said joint and movable around said joint (12, 15) by means of suitable guiding (131 , 31 1 , 621 ) and moving means (41 1 , 431 ), said means being arranged on a plane which is parallel to the plane of said joint (12, 15); cutting means (2) coupled to said support frame and movable along a radial direction with respect to the longitudinal axis of said duct, said cutting means (2) being arranged with the cutting plane substantially coinciding with the plane of said joint (12, 15).

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein said cutting means include a closed loop of diamond-edged cable (2) mounted on at least one transmission idler pulley (202) and on a motor-driven pulley (102).

3. Apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said idler pulley (102) is movably mounted with respect to said support frame (1 ) along a radial direction with respect to the longitudinal axis of said duct (10).

4. Apparatus according to claim 2 or 3, wherein said idler pulley (202) and said motor-driven pulley (202) are mounted to an arm (302) having one end which is pivotally connected to said support frame (1) in an intermediate position between the two ends (121 , 51 1 ) of said frame (1 ), and the other end which is pivotally connected to actuating means (1 1 1 ), said pulleys being arranged in proximity of the ends of said arm (302).

5. Apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims 1 to 4, wherein said support frame includes at least two members (101 , 201 , 301 , 401 , 501 , 601 ) which are articulated to each other, said members being able to enclose more of a half of the perimeter of said joint (12, 15) and being provided with means for slidably guiding them on said joint (12).

6. Apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the articulation of said members (501 , 601 ) includes actuating means (61 1 ) for locking said support frame (1 ) to said joint (12).

7. Apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims 1 to 6, wherein said guiding means include rollers (131 , 31 1 , 621 ) equally spaced from each other and arranged on said support frame, said rollers being freely rotatable about a perpendicular axis with respect to the plane of the joint (12, 15).

8. Apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims 5 to 6, wherein said support frame (1 ) encloses at least two thirds of the perimeter of said joint (12, 15).

9. Apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims 1 to 8, wherein the clamping means of said flanged joint (12, 15) comprise threaded rods (13) clamped by means of nuts (14) and equally spaced from each other, and wherein the means for moving said frame on said joint include a toothed wheel (41 1 ) cooperating with said threaded rods (13) and provided with actuating means (431 ).