US3119415A - Buoyant hose - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 28, 1964 F. M. GALLOWAY ETAL 3,119,415

BUOYANT noss Filed March 9, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 fi F I l Q g m 1 INVENTORS FREDERICK M. GALLOWAY ATTO R N EY United States Patent 3,119,415 BUQYANT lltl E Frederick M. Galloway and Richard M. Kerr, Langhorne, Godfrey J. Rittenhouse, Feasterviile, and Robert H. binnamon, Huntingdon Valley, Pa., assignors to H. K. Porter Company, Inc, Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Delaware Filed Mar. 9, 1962, Ser. No. 178,6l6 2 Claims. (Cl. 138-133) This invention relates to hose primarily for conveying liquids such as petroleum and petroleum products, and is especially directed to the provision of a buoyant hose resistant to the action of water and to organisms found therein adapted for carrying liquids between, for example, a ship moored offshore and a shore station, or between ships afloat, without requiring support from floats, pontoons or the like to prevent the hose from sinking.

Recently developed ships of large size, particularly tankers in excess of 100,000 dead weight tons are unable to moor alongside docks at many ports because of size, insufficient channel depth or other reasons and it has been suggested that buoys anchored offshore and connected by suitable submarine pipe lines or hoses with shore based facilities be provided to permit loading and unloading of liquid cargo, fueling with liquid fuel and the like without docking and thus enlarge the usefulness of such ships and also assist in reducing congestion in existing ports, such buoys comprising a swivel type mooring about which a ship can swing in response to wind, tide or current conditions. For transmitting liquids between the buoy and a ship moored to it, however, it is essential a flexible hose be provided and it has been the practice to secure floats, pontoons or the like thereto at longitudinally spaced intervals to keep it afloat, as allowing the hose to rest on the bottom in deep water requires too great a length of hose in proportion to the true distance involved and may place excessive strains on the end couplings as well as on those joining sections of the hose.

For most efficient operation of such installations therefore a hose is required having inherent buoyancy adequate to cause it to float in fresh or sea water while conveying a liquid the density of which may be greater than that of either and it is a principal object of the invention to provide such hose having the necessary reserve buoyancy even when filled with a relatively dense fluid.

A further object is to provide a hose in which cellular materials are incorporated but isolated from the hose conduit as well as from its external surroundings whereby air or other gaseous fluid entrapped in the cellular material 0 compensates for the weight of structural components of the hose so that when submerged it displaces a volume of water larger than that of weight equal to its own, a reserve buoyancy of the order of 25% normally being deemed adequate.

Other objects, purposes and advantages of our novel hose will more fully appear or be understood from the following description of a preferred embodiment of it produced in accordance with the method comprehended by the invention, reference being had to the accompanydrawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic side View of a ship moored to a buoy as above described with a hose of the character of those embodying the invention interconnecting them for conveyance of liquid from one to the other;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevation, with successive layers broken away to show internal construction, of a piece of our novel hose;

FIG. 3 is a further enlarged fragmentary side elevation, partly broken away, of a tubular reinforcing member comprised in the hose;

FIG. 4 is a transverse section on line 44 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary axial section of a portion of the hose wall, showing one manner of attachment of a coupling to the hose end;

FIG. 6 is a greatly enlarged fragmentary axial section of a portion of the buoyancy jacket wall in proces of construction, and

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary view corresponding to FIG. 6 but showing the jacket at a later state of construction.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings it will be recognized the arrangement illustrated in FIG. 1 is but typical of an environment in which the invention may find great utility and is not to be deemed as limiting the field of usefulness of hose constructed in accordance therewith. Thus the anchored buoy B, ship S moored thereto by a mooring line M and submarine conduits C connecting the buoy with a shore station (not shown) constitute no part of the invention, the latter being directed to floating hose H connecting the ship and buoy for transfer of liquid or semi-liquid material from one to the other.

This hose, shown in greater detail in the subsequent figures, comprises an inner tube 1 of neoprene or other elastomeric composition resistant to the action of materials transported by the hose, about which are disposed a plurality of plies 2 (preferably eight in a 12" ID. hose) of fabric reinforcing material, which may be nylon cord tire fabric frictioned with uncured neoprene or other suitable elastomer applied in a manner hereinafter more fully described. Outwardly from the outermost ply 2 is a neoprene or other rubber-like composition cushioning layer 3 in which is embedded a steel wire 4 formed in a helix coaxial with inner tube 1 and reinforcing plies 2 while outside the cushioning layer is a further plurality of reinforcing plies 5 similarly of neoprene frictioned nylon the cord fabric as will hereinafter more fully appear. Eight of these plies 5 are desirably employed in a 12 ID. hose, while fewer may be needed in smaller hoses and more in larger ones; a cover 10 of neoprene or the like surrounds the outermost.

Except for omission, as yet, of vulcanizing of its vulcanizable components the hose thus far described is not substantially different from completed ordinary heavy duty discharge hose but the latter, even in large sizes, is so dense as to have negative buoyancy in water even when containing a liquid substantially less dense than it or when evacuated, and in the following description of the addition of means for supplying buoyancy it will be understood that if desired like principles may be employed for rendering buoyant an already vulcanized hose.

In accordance with the invention, overlying and surrounding cover 10 is a thick layer 12 of multicellular closed cell sponge rubber having embedded within it a helical buoyancy and centering tube 13 hereinafter more fully described, which is arranged in a tight helix coaxial with the underlying hose components and filled with a flexible closed cell spongy mass 14, preferably a foamedin-place isocyanate foam which is chemically inert to most corrosive or other deteriorating agents likely to be encountered in marine service while covering and enclosing the sponge rubber layer 12 are two additional neoprene impregnated nylon cord fabric reinforcing plies 15, 1d, the latter enclosed within a smooth cover 17 of neoprene cover stock, the whole being consolidated into an integral unit by vulcanizing which cures the elastomeric components and seals the body of the hose and its surrounding buoyancy jacket against ingress of deteriorating chemical or biological elements while retaining air or gas produced by foaming in the cels of the cellular components.

More specifically with respect to the components of the hose we prefer in its manufacture to employ for the fabric reinforcing plies 2 and 5 neoprene frictioned tire cord fabric cut on a bias of about 54 to the warp yarns so the high twist nylon cords forming the warp extend at about that angle to the hose axis when the fabric is incorporated itherein, the relatively weak and more widely spaced filler yarns of course extending at approximately 90 to the warp yarns and functioning primarily to hold the latter together during processing since they normally afford little if any reinforcement to the finished hose. Preferably, however, the angularity of the warp yarns in plies 2 and is alternated between positive and negative angles of about 54 to the hose axis so that the warp yarns in each ply define with the warp yarns of an adjacent one an included angle of about 108. This construction en- 'ables the plies which, as noted, offer the greatest tensile strength in the direction of their warp yarns, to reinforce each other whereby stresses tending to separate laterally the warp yarns of any ply are counteracted by the relatively great strength in the warp yarns of at least one adjacent ply.

The steel wire 4 reinforcing the inner hose between plies 2 and 5 is preferably a high tensile strength one of about 7 diameter wound in a helix so that adjacent convolutions are spaced apart axially of the hose about A" in a 12 ID. hose although the wire diameter and the spacing of its convolutions are not critical and will usually differ in larger or smaller hoses; near the ends of the hose sections they are preferably somewhat closer together than elsewhere, as is indicated in FIG. 5.

The buoyancy and centering tube 13 comprises two plies 18, 19 of light fabric sheeting frictioned with uncured neoprene impregnant and cut on a 45 bias between which is disposed a helical carbon steel ribbon 20 about A3- .047" in cross section wound in a helix with about 4 between convolutions when a tube of about 2 /z"3" ID. is employed, this size being preferred for 12" ID. hose. As the warp and filler or" the light sheeting used for this tube are of about equal tensile strength the relative angularity of the warp yarns in the respective plies is not of great importance since they are cut on the bias at about 45 and it is substantially immaterial whether the warp yarns in one parallel or extend normal to those in the other. The tube, after it is formed but before curing of the impregnant of the fabric, is filled with an isocyanate flexible foam, preferably of the type known as foamed-in-place foams which are created by bringing together in the space to be occupied liquid ingredients which react together on contact forming a flexible mass of a multiplicity of individual cells, usually containing a gaseous reaction product, which is extremely light in weight (of the order of 1-2 pounds per cubic foot) yet resistant to penetration by water as well as to the action of chemical or biological agents of natural occurrence in the envirornent in which the hose is to be used.

On the other hand the spongy material 12 in which tube 13 is embedded is a low gravity crude rubber milled together with a suitable blowing agent such as one containing N,N dinitrosopentamethylene tetramine sold as Unicel ND by E. L. Du Pont de Nemours Co., Wilmington, Delaware, and an activator such as Retarder W also supplied by said company. After milling, this material is preferably extruded by known means into an elongated strip of triangular cross section which is incorporated in the hose in a manner hereafter explained.

The outer fabric reinforcing plies 15, 16 surrounding the spongy layer 12 are preferably nylon tire cord fabric frictioned with uncured neoprene but in order to enhance the flexibility of the hose as a whole they are preferably bias cut at a 45 angle and incorporated in the hose with the warp yarns of the respective plies thus disposed at 90 to each other and hence at positive and negative angles of 45 respectively to the hose axis.

Method of Manufacture The hose may be produced as now to be more fully set forth, and while many of the individual steps are known or will be readily understood by those skilled in the art they have not so far as we are aware been practised in combination in the manufacture of buoyant discharge hose of the character of that contemplated by the invention.

It will be obvious, however, that the hose, especially in sizes such as 12'' ID. and larger is necessarily quite heavy and cumbersome, the OD. of 12' ID. hose being about 521.8" and weight per linear foot about 74.0 ib. Moreover it is essential to prevent local collapse in service as when the hose is bent over the rail of a ship or used as a suction hose that it have internal rigidity considerably greater than that of most hose. Hence while the hose is flexible to the extent it can be bent transversely of its axis to a radius about 12 times its internal diameter it is usually impractical to place it on a reel or the like. Such considerations tend to limit the practical length of individual hose sections and we usually find it most convenient to make them about 30' long, with metal or other suitable connectors at the ends so any desired length may be attained by joining together the couplings of a plurality of such sections.

In their manufacture we employ an appropriate cylindrical mandrel (not shown) of suitable length supported from its ends on a turning lathe or the like and after the mandrel surface has been coated with a suitable parting compound we apply in the manner usual in the manufacture of large size hoses a sheet of calender-ed uncured neoprene to cover the entire surface of the mandrel and subsequently form inner tube 1 of the desired length, preferably slightly feathering the overlapping edges of the sheet to insure a permanent bond being formed during subsequent vulcanizing. Thereafter the inner fabric plies 2 of neoprene frictioned bias cut nylon tire cord fabric are applied, with adjacent edges of successive sheets overlapping and the joints in successive plies staggered longitudinally, the warp yarns in the plies extending as noted alternately at positive and negative angles of about 54 to the mandrel axis. A filler strip 21 of uncured neoprene is next placed over the outermost ply 2, the helical reinforcing wire 4 is then wound about the partially built hose and another like filler strip 22 applied over the wire helix to thereby form and embed the latter in the relatively thick 2-part cushion layer 3. Thereafter neoprene frictioned tire cord fabric plies 5 are successively put on with their warp yarns extending alternately in successive plies at positive and negative angles of about 54 to the mandrel axis similarly to plies 2 and over the outer one the cover It) of uncured neoprene to completely enclose the fabric with its overlapping edges feathered to insure a good bond.

Next in accordance with our invention a triangular strip 23 (FIG. 6) of foamed rubber, previously mentioned, conforming in cross section to an isosceles triangle about 1%" high and of 1% base is wound helically about the cover It with approximately 1" between adjacent convolutions thereby forming a helical trough 24 for reception of buoyancy tube 13 which is now wound on and seated in said trough, in a series of helical convolutions in which ribbon 29 extends in interrelated helices, one related to the helically disposed axis of tube 13 and the other to the relatively rectilinear axis of the hose after which an additional strip 25 of the triangular foam rubber is placed in inverted position in the space between the tube convolutions. While we have indicated in FIG. 6 an arrange ment in which these components define substantial voids about tube 13 it will be understood the yielding character of the foamed rubber strip in practice reduces these voids to a minimum preliminary to their substantial elimination in a succeeding step (FIG. 7) during which the foam rubber of the inner and outer strips 23, 25 merges to become buoyancy layer 12 to provide a complete enclosure for the tube.

The outer reinforcing plies 15, 16 of neoprene frictioned bias cut nylon tire cord fabric are next put on with their warp yarns lying respectively at positive and nega tive angles of about 45 as noted and then enclosed within the outer cover of uncured neoprene sheeting 17 preferably about A thick. The entire assembly is then temporarily wrapped under tension in nylon tape (not shown) and subjected to vulcanizing heat as in a curing oven for a time suflicient to cure all the vulcanizable components, after which it is removed from the oven, cooled, the nylon tape wrapping taken off and the mandrel extracted in any convenient way, thus completing the production of the hose section.

Mention has been made of end couplings for the sections which, however, constitute no part of the invention; obviously they must be accessible to enable connection between adjacent sections or to suitable fittings aboard ship or on the buoy and a brief description of the preferred manner of their incorporation in the hose, and of the finish of the buoyancy-providing elements near its ends will be of advantage.

Thus as best illustrated in FIG. a sleeve-like end coupling E of metal or other suitable material provided with axially spaced outwardly projecting integral annular ribs R is placed on the mandrel adjacent each end at a spacing corresponding to the length of the hose section to be made thereon before the inner tube forming sheet is applied so as to overlie ribs R and a considerable length of the coupling, as do plies 2. After the latter are in place but before the neoprene cushion 3 receiving the reinforcing wire 4 is put on, binding ties T of relatively small high tensile strength wire are wrapped under tension in compact helices about the assembly between the ribs R and for an appreciable distance axially in opposite directions from each of them whereby tube 1 and inner fabric reinforcing plies 2 are tightly compacted against coupling B after which the construction of the hose proceeds substantially as hereinabove described until the outer cover 17 has been applied.

As indicated in FIG. 5, however, cover proximate the end of the hose is folded inwardly to engagement with the coupling, thereby providing a seal against access of water to the ends of the fabric plies 2, 5, while the rubber foam layer 12 and foam containing buoyance tube 13 embedded in it, as well as the outermost fabric plies 15, 16 are terminated just short of alignment with the coupling and the cover 17 turned in over their ends to contact with the cover 10 of the hose proper, the end of cover 17 thus bonding during vulcanizing directly to cover 10 adjacent the end of the hose.

A 30' hose section of 12'' ID. constructed in accordance with the invention has excess buoyancy of approximately 990 1b. in sea water when filled with sea water, representing in relation to the weight of the hose and its sea water content an excess buoyancy of 26.5%. Thus as the density of sea water averages about 1.025 gm./ cu. cm. our hose remains afloat carrying any liquid not exceeding in density about 1.296 gm./cu. cm. and as very few liquids exceed this density it is contemplated our hose may be utilized for transporting a great variety of commercially useful liquids besides petroleum and petroleum products and may be utilized economically in many circumstances including permanent installations where fluids must be transported across bodies of water, as from one fixed station to another or across marsh lands and the like where non-buoyant pipe or hose lines might become irretrievably sunk in a soft bottom.

While we have herein described with considerable particularity one embodiment of our buoyant hose and the preferred method we have devised for making it we do not desire or intend thereby to be limited or confined thereto in any way as changes and modifications in the form, structure, arrangement and relationship of the several components of the hose itself as well as in the steps utilized in its manufacture will readily occur to those skilled in the art and may be availed of if desired without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described our invention, we claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent of the United States:

1. A buoyant hose for conveying fluids between spaced stations across an intervening body of water which comprises an inner tube, a plurality of plies surrounding the tube and bonded thereto, a layer of elastic cellular material surrounding the outermost of said plies, a helically disposed flexible tube embedded in said cellular material, flexible cellular material in said tube, and a fabric reinforced outer cover of elastomeric material impervious to water surrounding and enclosing said first named cellular material, said helically disposed flexible tube comprising a relatively rigid elongated element defining a helix and inner and outer plies embracing said element, the helical convolutions defined by said element extending in the hose substantially normal to the helical convolutions defined therein by the flexible tube.

2. A buoyant hose for conveying fluids between spaced stations across an intervening body of water which comprises an inner tube, a plurality of plies surrounding the tube and bonded thereto, a helically disposed metallic element coaxial with the tube interposed between certain of said plies, a layer of elastic cellular material surrounding the outermost of said plies, a helically disposed flexible tube embedded in said cellular material, flexible cellular material in said tube, and a fabric reinforced outer cover of elastomeric material impervious to water surrounding and enclosing said first named cellular material, said helically disposed flexible tube comprising a relatively rigid elongated element defining a helix and inner and outer plies embracing said element, the helical convolutions defined by said element extending in the hose substantially normal to the helical convolutions defined therein by the flexible tube.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 967,360 Funke Aug. 16, 1910 1,970,513 Knowland Aug. 14, 1934 2,131,343 Cordiano et a1 Sept. 27, 1938 2,516,864 Gilmore et al. Aug. 1, 1950 2,722,263 Beare et al Nov. 1, 1955 2,742,931 De Ganahl Apr. 24, 1956 2,862,524 Smith Dec. 2, 1958 2,879,803 Francois Mar. 31, 1959 2,919,721 Isenberg Jan. 5, 1960 3,047,026 Kahn July 31, 1962 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,240,554 France Aug. 1, 1960

Claims (1)

1. A BUOYANT HOSE FOR CONVEYING FLUIDS BETWEEN SPACED STATIONS ACROSS AN INTERVENING BODY OF WATER WHICH COMPRISES AN INNER TUBE, A PLURALITY OF PILES SURROUNDING THE TUBE AND BONDED THERETO, A LAYER OF ELASTIC CELLULAR MATERIAL SURROUNDING THE OUTERMOST OF SAID PLIES, A HELICALLY DISPOSED FLEXIBLE TUBE EMBEDDED IN SAID CELLULAR MATERIAL, FELXIBLE CELLULAR MATERIAL IN SAID TUBE, AND A FABRIC REINFORCED OUTER COVER OF ELASTOMERIC MATERIAL IMPREVIOUS TO WATER SURROUNDING THE ENCLOSING SAID FIRST NAMED CELLUAND INNER AND OUTER PILES EMBRACING SAID ELEMENT, THE HELICAL CONVOLUTIONS DEFINED BY SAID ELEMENT EXTENDING IN THE HOSE SUBSTANTIALLY NORMAL TO THE HELICAL CONVOLUTIONS DEFINED THEREIN BY THE FLEXIBLE TUBE.

Images