SE426870B - PROCEDURE AND DEVICE FOR SEALING AN INCORRECT POSITION IN A NON-BOJABLE PIPELINE - Google Patents

Description

15 20 25 30 35 40 8102860-7 2 work also obstructs traffic, since such lines in cities mostly run under the streets. It has previously been suggested that in order to avoid the exposure of damaged sites, the first step is to insulate the intended pipe section in the axial direction by means of two elements. Each of these elements consists of an inflatable annular hose, which is covered on one side with a lid, so that each element can be considered as a kind of dish or an open pot. Through the inflation, these elements abut against the inside of the pipeline. Through one of the lids a conduit is passed, which in the interior between the two elements now formed cavity is angled and by means of which now sealing material can be sprayed against the defective place of the pipe wall.

However, this method has several disadvantages, especially in the case of sewers.

Such pipes consist of cement and are usually corrugated to a certain extent by the flowing wastewater so that it is hardly possible to speak of flat inner surfaces of the pipe, which is a prerequisite for a proper sealing by means of the annular hoses. Deep craters and porous places extending over longer distances are a typical picture of reality, which damage is created by the adhesive substances in the wastewater after a certain time. Even at relatively high pressures to which the annular hoses can be inflated, a not insignificant part of the injected sealing material penetrates through the said craters and porous places and past the annular hoses, whereby: the sealing of the damaged parts becomes illusory. The use of other materials for the sewers is also of no help, since practically no material over a long period of time can withstand a chemical aggressiveness. '' Furthermore, another disadvantage occurs. As is clear, this procedure can only seal the pipeline from the inside, if any sealing has occurred at all.

It has previously been stated that the hydrostatic pressure mostly acts from the outside and inwards. The sealing material must therefore adhere very strongly to the pipeline, unless it is to be blasted or pushed away from the orifice of said pressure. Therefore, the sealing material usually has to be applied so that it is pressed against the substrate.

In the present case, this means that the sealing must be carried out on the outside of the pipeline, which is more difficult to access than the inside of the pipeline when it is in the surrounding soil or possibly in a gravel layer. At first glance, this does not seem to be possible without an expensive and time-consuming exposure of the pipeline. However, by means of the present method it is now possible to carry out this particular sealing of the outside of the pipeline. The method is particularly suitable for sealing continuous annular gaps. and thereby there may be gaps which may vary along the periphery of the pipeline from a few tenths of a mm to a few mm. The method according to the invention is characterized by the features stated in claim 1. For carrying out the method. a device is used, which according to the invention is characterized by the features specified in claim 6.

The invention is explained in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Fig. 1 schematically shows a cross section through a pipeline with a device according to the invention contained therein at the beginning of the connection. Fig. 2 shows a phase in carrying out the method. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section through the pipeline with the device therein and with the control center above the shaft leading to the pipeline. Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section through the apparatus according to the invention.

Fig. 5 is a greatly simplified seed type of the apparatus and shows the means for the limited rotatability of the tube shaft. Fig. 6 is a front view of a device for filling the pipeline. Fig. 7 is a longitudinal section along the line Uli-YITii.fíg. 6.

Fig. 1 shows a pipeline 2, which runs in the ground or ground 2 and a greatly simplified device for sealing the pipeline 1, only the parts which are necessary for the immediate understanding of the method being shown here.

The pipeline 1 has at some place a more or less leaky place, one of which is shown greatly enlarged and denoted by 3, which place is now to be sealed by means of the method according to the invention. For this purpose, the device is actuated to the intended place along the pipeline 1. The device consists of a carriage 4 with pneumatic wheels 5. The device further comprises four drill heads 6, which as shown are arranged on radially extending guide rods 7. The rods 7 are mounted on a pipe shaft 8 Each drill head 6 is further provided with an arcuate sealing shield 9, which is radially displaceable with the drill head. As soon as the damaged place resp. the damaged places have been reached (most of the time the damaged area is at a socket joint and thus practically in a surface perpendicular to the axis of the pipeline, ie in the drawing plane), the drill heads are caused to run radially outwards.

The drill 10 then drills through the pipeline wall 11 a radial hole 12 until the drill reaches the ground 2. This drilling is carried out at the damaged site or at least in its vicinity. When the holes are drilled, the sealing shields 9 have also reached the pipeline wall 11, on the other hand, abut with their inner sides, so that a closed sealing ring is formed, as shown in Fig. 2. In order to be able to carry out the drilling process stably, there are upper and lower pressure plates 13, 14 by means of the corresponding hydraulic cylinders 15, 16 are pushed outwards until they abut against the pipeline wall 11 with their curved surfaces and thereby securely and steadily hold the device.

After the holes through the wall flfl have been drilled, the drills l0 are stopped.

Since these are hollow, a sealant supplied via the line 17 can now be pressed through them to the ground 2. The sealant penetrates into the ground and spreads out around each borehole and in all directions. The sealant is preferably of such a nature that it solidifies after a short time, suitably during bonding to the soil.

Particularly suitable for this purpose is a plastic gel. The solidified sealant 10 forms a sponge-shaped seal 18 around each borehole. The damaged place is thereby sealed. .

One now also realizes the value of the sealing shield 9. If it did not exist, most of the sealant would run back through the borehole due to the high pressure and be injected into the interior of the pipeline.

Now, however, it is not possible to determine with certainty whether this sealing sponge has spread so much that a continuous sealing jacket has been formed around the entire circumference of the pipe. If this is not the case, as shown in Fig. 2, the risk arises at the connection point for the pipes that water present in the ground may begin to undermine the seal 18 at its edges, so that the water can finally penetrate to the damaged point. Therefore, for safety reasons, a further number of holes are drilled between the previously drilled holes shown in Fig. 2.

For this purpose, the drills 10 are drawn out of the first holes and are then rotated in a surface which is vertical to the pipeline axis, i.e. in the drawing plane, about a limited angle by pivoting the pipe axis 8. The angle here suitably amounts to 45 °. The additional holes can now be drilled, after which the sealant is pressed in the same way. The newly formed sealing sponges then grow together with the earlier sealing sponges to form a ring which provides a complete seal. It can be seen that the great advantage of this procedure is above all that the sealant is not applied to the inside of the damaged pipe but instead to its outer side. Thereby it is pressed against the pipe by the water which it is to keep away. In the prior art sealing processes, the sealant must be very well connected to the pipe in order not to be removed by this pressure. g Fig. 3 now shows the use of the device. The pipeline l is shown fi longitudinal section and has a control shaft l9 extending to the ground surface. Through this shaft the whole device can be immersed. First, a small carriage 20 is lowered, which carries a TV camera Z1 and a light source (not shown). Thereafter, the apparatus part of the device according to the present invention follows the carriage 4 and the drill heads 6. The carriage 20 and the carriage 4 are connected to each other by means of a coupling 22.

Due to its small diameter, the pipeline 1 is not bendable and the entire sealing process must take place by remote control and transport to the damaged site, drilling and injection of the sealing material. Due to the humidity (sealing can be performed in such circumstances when some water is still flowing through the pipeline) hydraulic operation is preferred. Only for the lighting and the TV camera an electric cable 23 is used. The remote control takes place from the vehicle 24 which transports the device to the place and place. The vehicle includes a TV monitor, a hydraulic pressure pump and a control panel. These plants are denoted by 25 and are connected by means of the device in the pipeline 1 via a hose 26. The hose, of course, must be long enough to enable operation over a larger length of the pipeline. It is convenient to arrange only two hoses and to arrange corresponding valves on the apparatus part, by means of which the hydraulic means can be led to one or the other unit as required, since these are never operated simultaneously.

The carriages 20 and 4 immersed in the pipeline 1 are set in motion and the lighting and the TV camera are switched on. If a damaged site is detected on the monitor, the device is stopped so that the drill head 6 is closely located at this site. The processes described above then take place.

Referring to Fig. 4, the apparatus part of the device will now be described in detail again. The drilling heads 6 can be found on the left, of which only two are shown in the drawings for the purpose of clarification. The guide rods Zoch the tube shaft 8, on which these rods are located. The drilling heads 6 with the drills 10 each have a laterally extending guide body 6a which encloses the two guide rods 7 parallel to each other and adjacent to each other.

At the rear end of each drill 10, the drive device of which is not shown in more detail, there is a channel 28 in the drill head 6. At the front of the drill head 6, a line 17 is connected to this channel. The line 17 leads to each drill head from a common line 29. The line 29 is connected to a mixer head 30 on the carriage 4. In this mixer head the sealing means is continuously produced from three components, namely water and two plastic materials. Via a distributor 31, the ready-mixed sealant then reaches the line 29. Said components are supplied to the mixer head 30 via separate hose lines 32 from the vehicle: 24. Due to the short curing time, a preparation of the mixture is not possible.

The drilling heads 6 are followed by an equal number of cement presses 33. These contain only cement mortar, which in turn closes the drilled holes 12. As such, this closure would not be necessary, since the seal 18 operates without having to reseal the boreholes. However, the filling of the boreholes can be considered as additional safety measures. Each cement press 33 consists essentially of a cylindrical container which, like the drill heads, is radially displaceable to abut sealingly against the corresponding boreholes. The container has in the interior a piston 34, which after the abutment pushes the contents, ie the cement mortar, into the borehole, after which the cement press is returned in the radial direction. In order to achieve a correct fixation, each cement press at its free end, i.e. the end abutting the borehole, is provided with a suitable annular seal 35. As mentioned above, the carriage 4 is blocked during the drilling of the holes by means of pressure plates 13, 14. In order to enable the filling of the boreholes by means of the cement press 33 without the blockage having to be released, the pipe shaft 8 is displaceable in the longitudinal direction. As a result, the cement presses arranged axially after the drills can be displaced and centered towards the holes. For this purpose, the pipe shaft has a displacement device 36 consisting of a remotely controlled hydraulic cylinder piston assembly and is mounted in axial bearings. 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 810-2860-7 g In contrast to the plastic sealant, cement mortar is stable for a longer period of time. Therefore, the cement presses 33 are filled before the immersion of the device so that a special supply for this is not necessary. In the description of the drilling process according to the above, it is understood that the pipe shaft 8 must be rotatable. A device which appears in its simplest design in Fig. 5 and is arranged behind the cement press 33 (Fig. 4) serves for this purpose. The device has an attachment point 38 on the front wall 39 of the carriage 4, at which point a cylinder coil assembly 40 is arranged. The cylinder coil assembly engages with a sink 41 on the periphery of the tube shaft 8. This device is completely sufficient for the limited required adjustability. 1 In order for the device to be movable in the pipeline 1 at all, it must have a drive device for the wheel 5. For this purpose, a single hydraulic motor 42 is used which in a known manner cooperates with the wheels below.

Preferably, the other wheels are also driven therefrom via a chain 43 or some other suitable transfer means, which is suitable if the pipeline 1 has a pitch, i.e. is not horizontal as shown in the drawing.

Since the entire device is intended for pipelines which, due to their ring diameter, are not bendable, the device must have a construction height of 1 and is therefore also correspondingly easy to handle. Since such pipelines usually have a standardized diameter, the device is usable over a large part of the pipeline network.

For pipelines with other diameters, the sealing liners 9, the pressure plates 13, 14 and, where applicable, also the cement presses 33 must be replaced in order to adapt them to the changed radius of curvature. a It may often be desirable or prescribed to provide the repaired places afterwards with a spacer cover. This filling can also be used instead of clogging the cement cavity. A device, which is shown in more detail in Figs. 6 and 7, serves for this purpose. This device can be mounted on the same carriage 4 as the drilling device, but preferably it is mounted on a separate vehicle so that the carriage carrying the drilling device does not become so long that it can no longer lowered into the pipeline.

Fig. 6 shows such a carriage 50 from the side, which carriage is built very similar to the carriage 4. In the same way as the first-mentioned carriage it carries a rotatable shaft 51, which is formed as a pipe shaft 1, but here a concentrically stationary shaft 1 52). the rotatable shaft Slfförbundet nav.53 two arms 54 are arranged, which at their ends are gaff-shaped. These forks 55 receive a first pivot 56 which is fixedly linked to a second pivot 57 and is connected to a piston-cylinder assembly 58. This assembly serves to spread the link formed by the two pivot arms 56 and 57. At the end of one link is a wire brush 59 and at the end of the other is a pivotally mounted container 60 with an outlet opening 61 (Fig. 7). This container serves to dispense spacer material onto the wall of the pipeline, the material being supplied to the container at a hose 62. The control 10 of the piston-cylinder assembly 58,5 which can be made via a flexible, not shown here The filler material conveyed through the hose 62 to the container 6 is distributed during the pivoting of the arm 54 and the links 56, 57 on the periphery of the inner wall of the pipeline and conduit, both the wire brush 59 and the container 60 with its outlet opening 61. distributed by means of the tree brush 59.

For this purpose, the tree brush is eithercstëtt, ie. non-rotatable, mounted or has a special drive (not shown), so that when pivoting the arm 54 it does not just roll on the pipeline. In the first case, only a part of the wire brush was used. The brush is then loosened by means of a screw or wing nut 63 (Fig. 7) after work has been done and pivoted at a predetermined angle, so that in the next use it uses an unused part of the brush against the pipeline.

The bearing of the pivotable shaft 51 and the supply of putty material through the stationary shaft 62 to the container 60 is now explained in more detail with reference to Fig. 7. The shaft 51 is rotatable in two bearings 64, 65, which are fixed in a stationary sleeve 66. This sleeve is fixed to the front wall 68 of the carriage by means of bolts 67.

At its rear end, the rotatable shaft 51 is connected to a large gear 69, which is set in motion by means of a substantially smaller gear 70, arranged on the shaft of a drive device 71. At the other end, the shaft 51 carries the previously mentioned hub 53, which thus follows the shaft in rotation. Also included is a sleeve 72 connecting to the hub. This sleeve has an annular space 73, which is provided with ring seals 74. At a place along its periphery, the annular space has an outlet 75. A single hose 62 is connected to this outlet. Since the sleeve 72 rotates together with the hub 53 and thus together with the container 60, the hose 62 will not be wound up during the rotation.

The putty material enters the rotating annular space 73 through an angled end 76 of an axial bore 77 in the stationary shaft 52. The bore 77 terminates in a funnel 78 which connects to one end of a cylinder 79 mounted on a support device 80. A piston 81 moves under the action of a medium flowing into the cylinder, which is controlled via a line 82 from the control panel 25 in the fundon 24 (Fig. 3). The piston 81 moves in Fig. 7 to the left and thereby pushes putty material through the line consisting of the parts 77, 76, 73 and 62 to the container 60. The cylinder 79 is filled before the immersion of the carriage 50, i.e. before the carriage is inserted into the pipe 1 .

At the left end of the stationary shaft 51, a support device (not shown) can be arranged, which carries a TV camera and the necessary lighting device.

It would also be possible to arrange a coupling equal to the coupling 22 (Fig. 3), so that the carriage 20 can be arranged before the carriage 50.

The described method and device enables a significant saving in the improvement of such pipelines. We have calculated that a saving of 50-60% relative to the corresponding costs that arise from previous excavation of the pipeline,

Claims (16)

l0 l5 20 25 30 35 -81Û2860 ~ 7 repair or replacement thereof, backfilling of the pit and re-asphalting of the street or site. PATENT REQUIREMENTS 1. l. A method of sealing a leaky place, especially a socket joint in a non-bendable, underground pipe, characterized in that a heel (l2) is drilled through the pipe wall (l2) from the inside of the pipe (l2). ll) either at the damaged site itself (3) or at least in its vicinity; and hereafter a sealant is applied through this hole in the ground (2) surrounding the pipeline (1), which sealant extends in the circumferential and axial direction of the pipeline on the outside of the pipe to form a seal (18) at said location (3). Method according to claim 1, characterized in that at the height of the damaged site several holes are drilled at equal peripheral distances from each other. A method according to claim 2; It is known that first a first number of holes are drilled and then a second number of heels are drilled, the latter hole being located between the first-mentioned holes. 4. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that as sealing material a soil surrounding the moisture in the pipeline, to a sealing compound, which is injected into the soil under pressure, is used. 5. A method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that after the introduction of the sealing material the borehole is closed resp. boreholes. Apparatus for carrying out the method according to claim 1, comprising a TV camera for locating the damaged site, characterized by at least one drill (10) arranged on a carriage (4), movable transversely to the direction of movement of the carriage; an apparatus (30, 3l) for producing the sealant on the carriage; a device (17, 28, 29) for introducing the sealant into the drilled hole (12); and a device (13, 14) for blocking the carriage (4) during the drilling and insertion of the sealant. * I Device according to claim 6, characterized by several radially directed spaced apart drills (10). 6 Device according to claim 7, characterized in that each drill (10) is arranged on a drilling head (6) which is guided on two radial rods (7) rising from a pipe shaft (8), and that all drilling heads by means of in the pipe medium supplied with pressure medium is radially displaceable. _ Device according to claim 8, characterized in that the pipe shaft (8) with the drilling heads (6) is axially displaceable by means of a first device (36) and is rotatable a limited angle by means of a second device (40). (io 15 20 25 9 s1o2seo-7 Device according to claims 6 and 8, characterized in that the drill is hollow and at its rear end is connected to a channel (28) arranged in the drill head (6). 7 11. ll. Device according to claims 6 and 10, characterized in that the device for producing the sealant consists of a mixing head (30) and a distributor (31), from which at least one line (29, 17) leads to the channel (28) in the drill head (6) for discharging the sealant therefrom and into the borehole. Device according to claim 6, characterized in that the device for blocking the carriage consists of hydraulically extendable pressure plates (13, 14). Device according to claim 6, characterized in that a sealing shield (9) is arranged around the drill (10) and for abutment against the pipeline wall (II) and which shield is displaceable with the drill. Device according to claims 8 and 13, characterized in that each drill has a sealing shield (9), wherein all sealing shields are arranged such that when abutting against the pipeline wall (11) they form a closed ring. Device according to claim 6, characterized in that at least one container (33) for receiving material for closing the boreholes (12) after the insertion of the sealing means, which container is arranged on the pipe shaft and is radially displaceable and is at its radially outer end provided with a seal (35) for abutment against the pipeline wall and at its inner end provided with a piston (34) for ejecting the material from the container into the borehole. Device according to one of Claims 6 to 15, characterized by a further container (60) with an outlet opening (61) intended for abutment against the inside of the pipeline (1), and a brush (59) for smoothing it out. the outlet means for filling the pipeline, the container (60) and the brush (59) being connected by means of an arm (54) and an adjustable link (56, 57) to a rotatable shaft (51), and the container (60). ) is connected via a line consisting of several sections (62, 73, 76, 77) to a cylinder (79) containing a stock of putty, in which a piston (81) is movable.