GB2473052A

GB2473052A - Guidance device for insertion of items into a pipe

Info

Publication number: GB2473052A
Application number: GB0915076A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Richard Christopher
Original assignee: HTC Management Services Ltd
Current assignee: HTC Management Services Ltd
Priority date: 2009-09-01
Filing date: 2009-09-01
Publication date: 2011-03-02
Anticipated expiration: 2029-09-01
Also published as: GB0915076D0; GB2473052B

Abstract

The device comprises a body having first and second ends and defining an aperture that extends through the body from the first end to the second end, wherein the first end defines a surface 22 which is curved in longitudinal section through which the aperture extends. The device 10 is permanently located in the pipe with the curved surface 22 aligned with a branch access 33 for insertion of the item, e.g. pig, so that the curved surface guides the item into the pipe. The curved surface is provided y one or more vanes or rods or is a mesh and is designed to avoid obstruction of fluid flowing in the pipe.

Description

GUIDING DEVICE

The present invention relates to a guiding device for insertion into a pipe to facilitate a pipe inspection device, such as a pig, into or out of a pipeline.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

Pipelines are typically put in place to allow flow of fluid from one location to another.

Over time, deposits of impurities or, in cases such as pipes carrying water, algae growth can build up in the interior of the pipe. Such accumulation of deposits reduces the flow area and thus efficiency of the pipeline. Additionally, the location of some pipelines means that it is difficult to gain access to the pipeline for inspection. In view of this it is common for pipe inspection devices, or "pigs" to be inserted into the pipeline. Pigs come in a variety of shapes, sizes and materials. Some of the pigs are designed to inspect the pipelines that they travel through. Other pigs are designed to clean the pipelines that they travel through and these pigs are generally are designed to closely fit the diameter of the pipe. Once a pig intended to clean is inserted into the pipeline, the pig is pushed along by the fluid flow scraping any deposits or accumulations off as it passes. The pig pushes the debris in front of it thus pushing the debris out of the pipeline as it exits.

In general, whilst launching a pig into a pipeline, a valve is used to stop the fluid flow and a launcher or inserter is used to input the pig into the pipeline. Receiving the pig out of the pipeline usually follows a similar process, with a valve stopping flow of the fluid in the pipeline and a receiver is used to extricate the pig from the pipe. It is important that process of launching and receiving a pig is a quick as possible to prevent flow in the pipeline being disrupted for a substantial period of time.

Often a pig is launched or received through a T joint section included in the pipe, but by their nature T joints have right angles and problems can arise, particularly with pigs which are close fitting to the pipe, as the pig negotiates these right angles.

Guiding devices, or pig diverters can be used as part of the launching and receiving process however these typically must be input into the pipe during the launching and receiving process which in turn increases the disruption caused.

There is therefore a need for a guiding device, or diverter, which facilitates the launching and receiving of a pig into a pipe wherein the diverter, without intervention being necessary, can remain within the pipeline during normal operation without causing any disruption so as to reduce the time taken for launching and receiving a pig.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to obviate or mitigate at least one of the aforementioned problems.

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a guidance device, for insertion into a pipe, the device comprising a body having first and second ends and defining an aperture that extends through the body from the first end to the second end, wherein the first end defines a curved surface through which the aperture extends.

Preferably the curved surface curves towards the second end of the body.

Preferably the body is circular in cross section Further preferably, the curved surface is a curved ellipse.

The aperture may be divided into a plurality of apertures by at least one divider that extends across the aperture.

In use, the curved surface serves to direct a pipe inspection device from a first pipe, in which the device is located to a second pipe which extends in a direction away from the direction of the first pipe. The second pipe may be ananged in a direction substantially transverse to the direction of the first pipe.

In one embodiment of the device, there may be provided a plurality of dividers arranged regularly in parallel across the aperture.

Preferably the dividers are continuous members which extend from the first end of the body to the second end of the body.

The dividers may be rod members. It will be appreciated that the dividers may have any desired cross-sectional shape such as but not limited to square, rectangular or circular cross sectional shapes.

In a second embodiment the dividers may form a mesh.

Preferably the second end of the body is provided with a retaining member which extends radially from the body. Such a retaining member may engage a portion of the pipe in order to facilitate the location of the body within the pipeline.

In a third embodiment of the invention the first end may be provided with an annular disc which defines a second aperture which is co-axial with and smaller than the aperture, wherein a surface of the annular disc defines the curved surface. In this embodiment, the pipe insertion device would be prevented from passing through the body of the guidance device by virtue of being larger in dimension than the second aperture.

The term pipeline inspection device' is intended to mean a piece of equipment inserted into a pipeline to perform one or more of a variety of operations, including but not limited to operations such as inspection of the pipe and cleaning of the pipe.

These pipeline inspection devices may also be known by names such as pipeline inspection gauges, pigs or swabs.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and further aspects of the present invention will become apparent from the following description when taken in combination with the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1A shows a side view cross section of a diverter according to a first embodiment of the invention; Figure lB shows a side view cross section of a diverter of Figure IA located within a T joint section of pipe; Figure 2 shows a side view cross section of two diverters of Figure 1A located within a typical pipeline arrangement for launching and receiving a pig; Figure 3A shows a perspective view of a diverter according to a second embodiment of the invention; Figure 3B shows an end view cross section of the diverter of Figure 3A; Figure 4 shows a side view cross section of a diverter according to a third embodiment of the invention; Figure 5 shows an end view cross section of a diverter according to a fourth embodiment of the invention; Figure 6 shows an end view cross section of a diverter according to a fifth embodiment of the invention.

Figure 7 shows an example of a pipeline system in which diverters according to any embodiment of the present invention may be used.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

With reference to Figure 1A a cross section side view of a guidance device, herein referred to as diverter 10, is shown. The diverter 10 comprises body 12 shaped to conform closely to the interior of a pipe in which the diverter 10 is located (not shown). The body 12 has a first end 14 and a second end 16 and defines an aperture 18 that extends through the body 12 froi the first end 14 to the second end 16.

Within aperture 18 there is arranged a planar vane 20. The vane 20 runs from the first end 14 to the second end 16 of the body 12. At the first end 14 the vane 20 has a leading edge which defines a curved surface 22 through which the aperture 18 extends. The curved surface 22 is arranged so that it curves towards second end 16.

The second end 16 of the body 12 is provided with a flange 24 which extends radially from the body 12. Although not shown in Figure 1A, the vane 20 is formed of a planar sheet having a width which is minimal in comparison to the width of the aperture 18.

In Figure lB the diverter 10 of Figure 1A is shown located within a pipe Tjoint 30.

The pipe T joint 30 has a first pipe section 31 having at one end a first opening 32a and at another end a second opening 32b wherein the first pipe section 31 defines a portion of a pipeline 36. Pipe T joint 30 has a second pipe section 33 connected to and arranged perpendicularly to the mid point of the first pipe section 31 thus forming a T shape. A third opening 32c is provided at an open end of first pipe section 31. An annular flange 34a, 34b, 34c is provided at each respective opening 32a, 32b, 32c.

Diverter 10 is positioned within pipe Tjoint 30 extending from first opening 32a of the T joint 30. Flange 24 of diverter 10 abuts against flange 34a of pipe T joint 30 thereby preventing the diverter from sliding freely into pipe T joint 30. The diverter is arranged such that the curved surface 22 forms an arc between wall 33a of second pipe section 33 and wall 3 la of first pipe section 31. The curved surface 22 thus forms a substantially smooth guidance surface in the T joint 30 between opening 32c and 32b.

In use, fluid would flow through the pipeline 36 from opening 32a to 32b flowing through diverter 10 with the flow of the fluid substantially uninterrupted in view of the planar shape of vane 26 which is arranged in parallel to the direction of flow of fluid. When a pipe inspection device (not shown) is inserted into the T joint 30 through opening 32c it would be guided smoothly by curved surface 22 to enter pipeline 36 and thus the flow of fluid. The pressure of the fluid flow would act on the pipe inspection device to push it through into the pipeline 36 continuing on from T joint 30.

With reference to Figure 2 there is shown a section of a typical pipeline system arranged to launch and receive a pipe inspection device (not shown) into and from the pipeline 42. The system 40 include a first T joint 44 having openings 45 a, 45b and 45c and a second T joint 46 having openings 47a, 47b and 47c wherein pipeline 42 is a closed loop pipeline with the section shown being defined through openings 45a, 45b, 47a, 47b. A first diverter 48 is arranged in opening 45a such that a pig inserted into opening 45c will be guided along curved surface 22 into pipeline 42. A second diverter 50 is arranged in opening 47b such that a pig being received from pipeline 42 will be pushed through opening 47a and guided along leading edge 51 such that is can be received out of opening 47c. A segment of pipe 52, provided with a valve 54 is arranged in the pipeline 42 between the first T joint 44 and the second T joint 46 to facilitate the process of inserting and receiving a pig into the pipeline 42.

A perspective view of a second embodiment of the invention is shown in Figure 3A.

As can be seen, diverter 110 has a body 112 having a first end 114 and a second end 116. Body 112 is cylindrical in shape with annular flange 122 extending radially out from the body 112 at a second end 124. Within body 112 there is arranged a plurality of planar vanes 120a, 120b, 120c, 120d and 120e which are formed so as to be parallel to one another and are spaced a regular distance apart across the diameter of the body 112. The vanes 120a-e extend from the second end 124 to the first end 118 of the body 112 and form a plurality of apertures 129a-e. At the first end 118, each vane 120a -120e is formed with a leading edge which forms a substantially curved surface which, as can be seen, is a curved ellipse in shape and curves towards second end 116.

An end view cross section of the body 112 diverter 110 of Figure 3A is shown in Figure 3B. Each vane 120a -120e has a width x which is minimal in comparison to diameter y of the body 112. As can be seen, the arrangement of vanes 120a-120e is such that they will cause minimal disruption to fluid flowing through the body 112 of diverter 110. As a consequent, diverter 110 can be left within a pipeline during normal operation without substantially affecting the flow through the pipeline.

A partial side view cross section of the body 142 of diverter 140 according to a third embodiment of the invention is shown in Figure 4. A rod 150 is arranged at the first end 144 of the body 142 such that the rod 150 forms a curved surface which curves towards the second end (not shown) of the body 142. The rod is cylindrical in cross section and will cause minimal disruption to fluid flowing through the body 142 of the diverter 140.

An end view cross section of a third embodiment of the invention is shown in Figure in which can be seen a mesh 220, formed of a firm material such as wire, is provided at first end 214 of body 212. The mesh defines a curved surface which curves towards the second end (not shown) of the body 212.

Figure 6 shows an end view cross section of a guidance device according to a fourth embodiment of the invention wherein a thin annular disc 330 is arranged at first end 314 of body 312. The disc 330 forms a curved surface 322 which curves towards the second end (not shown) of body 312. The disc 330 defines an aperture 332 which is smaller in diameter than an aperture defined by the body 312, but of sufficient diameter as to not adversely affect the flow of fluid through the body 312. In use, the aperture in the curved surface will be smaller than the diameter of a pipe inspection device which will be inserted into the pipe in which the guidance device is located such that the pipe inspection device will by guided by the curved surface defined by disc 330 and thereby be diverted within the pipe.

Figure 7 illustrates an example of a pipeline system, in this case a ring main system 700 in which the diverters detailed in the above embodiments may be used. Such a ring main system may be 23km in length and therefore to use one pipe insertion device to clean the entire system would be a lengthy process which could cause substantial disruption. In view of this is can be seen that the system 700 comprises pipeline 702 which has been provided with six access points 710. Each access point 710 consists of a first Tjoint 712, a valve 714 and a second Tjoint 716 which allow a pipeline insertion device (not shown) to be launched and received into and out of the pipeline. Each first T joint 712 is provided with a diverter as detailed in any of the above embodiments (not shown) which facilitates the launch of a pipeline insertion device into the pipeline 702. Each second T joint 716 is provided with a diverter as detailed in any of the above embodiments (not shown) which facilitates the receiving of a pipeline insertion device from the pipeline 702. In use a pipeline insertion device (not shown) would be launched into one of the first Tjoints 712, it would then be pushed along pipeline 702 performing a cleaning function as it was pushed along. It would then alTive at a second T joint 716 where it would be received out of the pipeline 702. With such an arrangement of access points 710, a substantial pipeline can be split into several sections to ensure the cleaning process is less disruptive.

It is to be understood that various modifications may be made to the embodiments hereinbefore described without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, the diverter has been described in one embodiment as having one vane and in another embodiment as having five vanes however, whilst at least one vane is needed, any reasonable number of additional vanes may be incorporated in the diverter without substantially affecting the flow through a pipeline during normal operation. The vane or vanes of the diverter have been described as substantially planar however it will be understood that ridges could be formed along the vane parallel to the direction of the flow which would cause no substantial degradation to the flow of the fluid. Whilst at least one rod is needed, any reasonable number of additional rods may be incorporated in the diverter without substantially affecting the flow through a pipeline during normal operation. It should also be understood that wire may be used instead of a rod it may be of any reasonable shape cross sectional shape including, but not limited to round, square, rectangular and triangular cross sections. Similarly the diverter has been described in another embodiment as having one rod arranged at the first end of the diverter which forms a curved surface. In a further embodiment the curved surface was formed by an annular disc, and if should be clear that such an annular surface may be formed by increasing the wall diameter of the body at the first end. The diverter will typically be formed of the same material as the pipeline in which it will be used. However, the diverter may be formed of any suitable material including metals or plastics. The diverter has been described as being cylindrical in shape however it will be clearly understood that it may alternatively have a cross section which is square, oval, rectangular cross or any other necessary shape to conform to the shape of the pipe in which it is being inserted.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A guidance device, for insertion into a pipe, the device comprising a body having first and second ends and defining an aperture that extends through the body from the first end to the second end, wherein the first end defines a curved surface through which the aperture extends.
2 A guidance device according to claim 1 wherein the curved surface curves towards the second end of the body.
3. A guidance device according to any preceding claim wherein the body is circular in cross section
4. A guidance device according to any preceding claim wherein the curved surface is a curved ellipse.
5. A guidance device according to any preceding claim wherein the aperture is divided into a plurality of apertures by at least one divider that extends across the aperture.
6. A guidance device according to claim 5 wherein a plurality of dividers extend across the aperture.
7. A guidance device according to claim 6 wherein the plurality of dividers are alTanged regularly in parallel across the aperture.
8. A guidance device according to claim 5 or 6 wherein the at least one divider is a planar member which extend from the first end of the body to the second end of the body.
9. A guidance device according to claim 5, 6 or 7 wherein the at least one divider is a rod.9. A guidance device according to claim 5 at least wherein the divider is a mesh.
10. A guidance device according to claim 1, 2, 3 or 4 wherein the first end is provided with an annular disc which defines a second aperture which is co-axial with and smaller than the aperture, wherein a surface of the annular disc defines the curved surface.
11. A guidance device according to any preceding claim wherein the second end of the body is provided with a retaining member which extends radially from the body.
12. A guidance device substantially as hereinbefore described and with reference to the accompanying drawings.