US3692070A

US3692070A - Method of and apparatus for filling a tube or a hose with a solid material, preferably sand

Info

Publication number: US3692070A
Application number: US94099A
Authority: US
Inventors: John Larsen
Original assignee: FYENS SAEKKEKOM PAGNI
Current assignee: ALDEK AS
Priority date: 1969-12-03
Filing date: 1970-12-01
Publication date: 1972-09-19
Anticipated expiration: 1989-09-19
Also published as: NL166087B; NL166087C; JPS521225B1; DK121080C; DE2059357C3; DE2059357B2; GB1271627A; DK121080B; CA917934A; NL7017646A; DE2059357A1

Abstract

A method of and an apparatus for filling a tube or a hose with a solid material, such as sand, preferably for preparing a solid sausage-like member for coast protection or the like in which a liquid, preferably water, by a water pump or other pressure source is transported in a continuous flow through the tube or hose being fed from one end of the tube or hose and escaping partly or fully from the other end. The solid material, preferably sand, is fed to the feed line between the pump or other pressure source and the tube or hose to be filled or to the inlet end of this. The flow rate of the liquid is varied in such a manner that as the area of flow owing to sedimentation of the solid material in the tube or hose is reduced the rate of flow is still kept substantially within the range in which sedimentation of the solid material will take place.

Description

United States Patent Larsen [54] METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR FILLING A TUBE OR A HOSE WITH A SOLID MATERIAL, PREFERABLY SAND [72] Inventor: John Larsen, Odense, Denmark [73] Assignee: Fyens Saekkekom-Pagni A/S, Odense, Denmark [22] Filed: Dec. 1, 1970 [21] Appl. No.: 94,099

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Dec. 3, 1969 Denmark ..6406

[52] US. Cl. ..l4l/1, 141/67, 302/15, 302/16, 302/66 [51] Int. Cl ..B65b l/04, B65b 3/04 [58] Field of Search ....l41/1, 10, 67, 68, 48; 302/14, 302/15, 16, 66

[56] References Cited UNlTED STATES PATENTS 2,725,927 12/1955 Feinerman ..l41/67 2,811,178 10/1957 Cunningham ..l4l/48 1151 3,692,070 51 Sept. 19, 1972 2,916,058 12/1959 Unthank 141/48 3,097,677 7/1963 Mitchell ..14l/48 3,214,221 10/1965 Finnegan ..141/67 3,381,831 5/1968 Oka ..302/14 3,590,888 7/1971 Coleman ..141/48 Primary Examiner-Houston S. Bell, Jr. Attorney-Waters, Roditi, Schwartz & Nissen [5 7] ABSTRACT A method of and an apparatus for filling a tube .or a hose with a solid material, such as sand, preferably for preparing a solid sausage-like member for coast protection or the like in which a liquid, preferably water, by a water pump or other pressure source is transported in a continuous flow through the tube or hose being fed from one end of the tube or hose and escaping partly or fully from the other end. The solid material, preferably sand, is fed to the feed line between the pump or other pressure source and the tube or hose to be filled or to the inlet end of this. The flow rate of the liquid is varied in such a manner that as the area of flow owing to sedimentation of the solid material in the tube or hose is reduced the rate of flow is still kept substantially within the range in which sedimentation of the solid material will take place.

7 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR FILLING A TUBE OR A HOSE WITH A SOLID MATERIAL, PREFERABLY SAND The invention relates to a method of and an apparatus for filling a tube or a hose with a stony, granular, pulverulent or granulated, solid material, preferably sand, by means of a carrier medium, such as water, in which the material is insoluble.

Filling a tube or a hose with material of the aforesaid kind is of importance for various purposes, in particular in the protection of coasts and for similar purposes in which the problem consists in filling sand into a comparatively soft hose of comparatively great length so that the final result is a solid sausage of a specific crosssection, for example a circular cross-section.

For this purpose use is generally made of a sand pump which pumps sand suspended in water into the tube or hose to be filled, the excessive water being discharged either through an opening at the remote end of the hose or through its porous side walls or through both ways. Despite many attempts to solve this problem it has hitherto not been possible to fill the hose satisfactorily and in a reasonable time.

It has been proposed to introducea feeding pipe into the tube or hose to be filled and through the said feeding pipe to pump sand suspended in water into the remote end of the tube or hose to be filled, subsequently as the tube or hose if filled withdrawing the feedingpipe therefrom. This method has been found unsatisfactory since it is inconvenient and requires a very heavy pumping power, and, if the hose to be filled is collapsible it is not possible to pack the sand so compactly that the desired crosssection is obtained.

It has also been proposed to fold a hose to be filled with sand on a tubular member, pulling off the hose successively as it is filled. Also this method is inconvenient and requires an apparatus which is operating slowly, requires a heavy consumption of manpower and is only able to operate on flat, non-submersed areas. The said apparatus is furthermore only capable of operating with very porous hoses cut into'lengths that are limited by the length of the tubular member.

The present invention is concerned with a method in which the solid material is transported by a carrier medium through the tube to be filled lying in full length so that the solid material is gradually sedimented through out the length of the tube whereas the carrier medium is discharged substantially through an opening at the remote end of the tube or hose. It has, however, been found difficult to carry out this method since, if the solid material is sand and the carrier medium water, use has to be made of a sand pump which can only be regulated within certain narrow limits, and the rate of flow through the tube or hose to be filled must not be so great that there will be no sedimentation of the solid material. If, for example, the material involved is ordinary beach sand suspended in water, there will be no appreciable sedimentation if the rate of flow exceeds about 2 1/2 111 per second.

In the aforesaid method it is, however, inevitable that the flow area of the tube or hose to be filled decreases as solid material sediments, and consequently the rate of flow increases unless the pump may be regulated correspondingly. This is, however, not the case with a sand pump, and it has therefore been found in practice that is is impossible to fill a tube or a hose with densely packed sand by this method, since after some time a condition will arise in which the sedimentation ceases, followed by a condition in which instead of the sedimentation a removal of the material already sedimented takes place.

It is known to convey stony, granulated or pulverulent, solid material through a piping by means of a liquid, and in the known plants of this kind liquid is pumped through the piping by means of a liquid pump, while the solid material is subsequently introduced into the liquid flow. In these plants the aim is to convey the maximum quantity of solid material to the point of destination, that is, to obtain a minimum of sedimentation. In reality, sedimentation is not tolerated at all since a sedimentation must necessarily involve a clogging of the piping or conduit and consequently the conveyance for which the plant serves is stopped. In this known art the objectis thus the exact opposite of that with which the present invention is concerned.

An essential feature of the invention is that a flow of the carrier medium is provided through the tube or pipe to be filled, by means of a pump or other source of pressure, the solid material being added to the carrier medium after the pump or pressure source and prior to or directly after its introduction into the tube or hose, the flow rate of the carrier medium being varied in such manner that as the area of flow owing to sedimentation of material in the tube or hose to be filled is reduced the rate of flow is still substantially within the range in which sedimentation will take place.

For advancing the carrier medium in this method use is made of a pressure source adapted solely for this purpose so that, if the carrier medium is water, an ordinary water pump may be used. By means of this source of carrier medium there is provided a flow through the tube or hose to be filled. To the said flow of carrier medium, for example water, is added the solid material, for example sand, in a desired dosage, and by regulating the flow of the carrier medium through the tube or hose it becomes possible to control the sedimentation of solids in the hose in such manner that it is continued, even after the flow area having become very small, so that a complete filling or packing of the tube or hose becomes possible.

Usually it will be convenient to carry out the method in such manner that the tube or hose to be filled is at first filled with a carrier medium, simultaneously with a pressure above atmospheric being established which, if the hose is soft, provides and maintains the desired cross-section, for example a circular cross-section. Subsequently, a carrier medium to which the solid material is added is caused to flow through the hose, the said pressure being maintained until the hose is completely filled with the solid particles and thus retains its form. This is specified in claim 3. The inverition also relates to an apparatus for carrying the said method into effect. An essential feature of the said apparatus is that is consists of a pressure pipe for the carrier medium, the said pressure pipe connecting a pump or a source of pressure with one end of the tube or hose to be filled, and a feed pipe connecting a tank for the solid material with the pressure pipe between the pump or the pressure source and the tube or hose to be filled or the end of the tube or hose.

Such an apparatus may consist of comparatively few and rather cheap components which can easily be transported and installed at the place of work.

Various embodiments of the method and the apparatus according to the invention will now be described with reference to the drawing, in which FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic representation of the apparatus, viewed from the side, and

FIGS. 23 are the same, showing modified embodiments.

A tube or hose 1 is placed on a permanent support 2, for example the sea bottom, and the tube 1 may consist of a flexible porous material, for example woven plastic, or it may be impenetrable to water, made, for example, of a plastic foil. The tube or hose 1 may be adapted for coast protection and be comparatively long, say 25 m, and the present invention is concerned with a method of filling such a tube or hose with a solid material in granular state, more particularly sand, so that it is packed densely in the tube, and, in the case of a hose, so that a specific cross-section is obtained.

At the extreme end of the tube or hose 1 is provided a discharge pipe 3 which serves to establish a counter pressure. The discharge pipe 3 may be directed upwards and/or be provided with regulating means, for example valve means, by which a regulable counter pressure may be maintained in the hose 1. The discharge pipe 3 may be in fixed connection with the tube or hose 1, but may also be connected with the tube or hose 1 such manner that it may be detached.

- Inside the end of the tube or hose 1 is provided a feed connecting piece 4 which is connected with a feed pipe 6 for a carrier medium, in particular water. The feed pipe 6 is connected to a water pump P and has further a side branch pipe 6' which is provided with a regulating valve. The feed pipe 6 further communicates with a feed pipe 14 for the material to be filled in, the said pipe being connected with a tank 8 in which the material is stored. In the case of coast protection the material will usually be sand.

The hose or tube 1 is according to the invention filled with sand in the followingmanner: The tube or hose 1 is usually arranged in the final position, for example, in a submerged position, extending at right angles outwards from a beach, that end of the tube or hose having the piece 4 being located on the beach. The process is initiated by pumping water into the tube or hose 1 by means of the water pump P, so that the said tube or hose, is of soft material, adopts the desired form, say, of circular cross-section, until a predetermined pressure Has been established in the tube or hose 1, which is obtainable in various manner, among other by regulating the discharge opening 3. Sand is subsequently fed from the tank 8 through the pipe 14 to the pipe 6, and the sand-mixed liquid flow is introduced into the water filled tube 1 in which sedimentation of the sand will take place, by which the area of flow is gradually restricted. Simultaneously with the said restriction a regulation is effected so that the rate of flow of the water carrying the sand through the tube or hose 1 is maintained at such value that a sedimentation of sand takes place. The regulation may be effected by bypassing a certain amount of liquid through the pipe 6.

Fig. 2 shows a modified embodiment using a water tank 13 instead of a pump P for conveying the water,

the said water tank 13 being put under pressure by means of a compressed air tank 12. In this embodiment the pressure pipe 6 is connected with the tank 8 for material by means of a by-pass pipe 9 which is fitted with a valve, so that it becomes possible to introduce a larger or smaller quantity of water into the tank 8.

The embodiment according to Fig. 3 has in addition to the connecting piece 4 another connecting piece 5 provided on the tube or hose 1. The tank 8 is connected with the piece 5 by a feed pipe 7 which is a double pipe in which the interior pipe continues as a pipe 7' connected with a liquid pump P or a pressure liquid container 13 (not shown). The liquid flowing through the pipe 7 will thus carry with it the sand material from the tank 8 and Pass it directly into the tube or hose 1. The carrier medium is, as previously described, fed through the pipe 6 whichis likewise connected with a pump or pressure liquid container (not shown).

A special advantage of the method and apparatus according to the invention is that it is easy to avoid and to overcome a blocking in the apparatus itself or in the tube or hose 1 to be filled, which constitutes a great difficulty in the known methods and apparatus. In the apparatus according to the invention any blocking can readily be eliminated by adjusting the apparatus to deliver a powerful flow of the carrier medium without addition of solid material.

Iclaim:

1. A method of filling a tube, having a feeding inlet at one end and a discharge outlet at the other end, with stoney, granular, pulverulent or granulated solid material, preferably sand by means of a carrier liquid, such as water, in which the material is insoluble, comprising the steps of circulating a flow of the carrier liquid through the tube by pressure fluid means connected to said inlet, filling the tube with said solid material by supply means arranged between the pressure fluid means and the feeding inlet, simultaneously with said solid material and controlling the flow rate of the carrier liquid whereby the area of flow due to sedimentation of the solid material being reduced and the rate of the carrier liquid being substantially within the range in which sedimentation will take place.

2. A method as defined in claim 1 wherein the step of filling the tube with said material is carried out after the flow of the carrier liquid is introduced through the tube.

3. A method as defined in claim 1, further comprising the step of introducing an additional amount of carrier liquid between said pressure fluid means and said inlet for varying the flow of the carrier liquid through the tube.

4. A method as defined in claim 1 further comprising the step of regulating the flow of the carrier liquid through the discharge outlet until a predetermined pressure is obtained within said tube.

5. An apparatus for filling a tube having a feeding inlet at one end and a discharge outlet at the other end, with stoney, granular, pulverulent or granulated material, preferably sand, by means of a carrier liquid such as water, in which the material is insoluble, comprising pressure fluid means for circulating the carrier liquid from the feeding inlet to the discharge outlet of said tube; a pressure piping line connected between said pressure fluid means and said feeding inlet of said tube; a supply source of the solid material connected to said pressure piping line between said feeding inlet and said pressure fluid means for introducing said solid material simultaneously with said carrier liquid into said tube, and means adjacent said feeding inlet and said discharge outlet for varying the rate of flow of the carrier liquid through the tube in accordance with the existing flow area in the tube.

6. An apparatus as defined in claim 5 wherein said l0

Claims

6. An apparatus as defined in claim 5 wherein said pressure fluid means comprises a pump, said means adjacent to the feeding inlet of the tube comprises a secondary piping line connected to said pressure piping line between said supply source and said pump.

7. An apparatus as defined in claim 5, wherein the means adjacent said discharge outlet comprises a regulable outlet for establishing a counter pressure at the discharge end of the tubs.