GB2200940A - Burst prevention in frozen pipes and vessels - Google Patents

Abstract

A pipe or vessel containing a liquid which is likely to freeze is protected from damage caused by the expansion of the liquid on freezing by the inclusion of an object made from an elastic material which may contain a gas, or a mixture of gases, and which will be compressed by the expanding liquid thus accommodating that expansion,and relieving the outer pipe or vessel of an outward force which, were it not for the inclusion of the smaller pipe, may not be tolerated, resulting in fracture or joint separation.

Description

BURST PREVENTION IN FROZEN PIPES AND VESSELS This invention relates. to a means of preventing damage to pipes and vessels containing liquid which freezes.

Water pipes and vessels to, and within, all premises are susceptible to damage if the liquid within them freezes and expand. This frequent and often catastrophic occurrence is due to the inability of the pipe or vessel, which is rigid and in-elastic, to accommodate the expansion of the liquid as it freezes, resulting in a fracture, or seperation at joints.

According to the present invention there is provided an object which may be cylindrical whose dimensions are smaller than those of the pipe or vessel which it is intended to protect. This object is made of an elastic material,may or may not contain a gas or a mixture of gases and may or may not be sealed at its ends. It is inserted into the pipe or vessel to be protected, with or without retaining devices as necessary, where it remains functional for the duration of its presence, or until it is-inhibited by a fault or mishap.

specific embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example: Q rigid water pipe that is to be prevented from bursting because of the possibility of the water within it freezing has a known diameter "X" millimetres and length "Y" metres.

Into this pipe is inserted a narrower bore pipe made of an elastic material which contains a gas and is sealed at both ends. This narrower pipe also has a length "Y" metres, but it has a diameter "Z" millimetres such that when the water within the larger bore pipe freezes and consequently expands, there is a compression of the smaller pipe and the gas within it by an amount which accommodates the expansion of the water when turning into ice, reducing the force exerted by the freezing water on the larger pipe to a level below that which might cause damage. When the ice melts back into water, the smaller bore pipe, and the gas within it, are de-compressed and assume the same dimensions and state as was possessed prior to the onset of freezing described hereto. This process is repeated each time the water in the larger bore pipe freezes.

Claims (5)

1. An object which may or may not contain a gas or mixture of gases and when placed within a pipe or vessel containing a liquid, will protect that pipe or vessel from damage sustained from the force generated by the expansion of the freezing liquid accomplished through the compression of the object occasioned by, and therefore accommodating, the expansion of the liquid. thus relieving the pipe or vessel from a potentially damaging force.

2. An object as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the container is a pipe whose length is the same as that length of pipe or vessel that is to be protected.

r. An object as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2 wherein the container is compartmentalised such that pockets of gas or a mixture of gases are contained therein.

4. An object as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 3 or Claim wherein the container is of a non uniform shape in cross section along any taxis such that in the case of a pipe the cross sectional shape varies along the length of the pipe.

5. An object as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2 or Claim z or Claim 4 wherin the object is attached to a material which is non elastic