WO2010068976A1 - Apparatus for forming a pipe - Google Patents
Apparatus for forming a pipe Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- WO2010068976A1 WO2010068976A1 PCT/AU2009/001624 AU2009001624W WO2010068976A1 WO 2010068976 A1 WO2010068976 A1 WO 2010068976A1 AU 2009001624 W AU2009001624 W AU 2009001624W WO 2010068976 A1 WO2010068976 A1 WO 2010068976A1
- Authority
- WO
- WIPO (PCT)
- Prior art keywords
- forming
- pipe
- pipeline according
- workpiece
- welding
- Prior art date
Links
Classifications
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B21—MECHANICAL METAL-WORKING WITHOUT ESSENTIALLY REMOVING MATERIAL; PUNCHING METAL
- B21D—WORKING OR PROCESSING OF SHEET METAL OR METAL TUBES, RODS OR PROFILES WITHOUT ESSENTIALLY REMOVING MATERIAL; PUNCHING METAL
- B21D5/00—Bending sheet metal along straight lines, e.g. to form simple curves
- B21D5/06—Bending sheet metal along straight lines, e.g. to form simple curves by drawing procedure making use of dies or forming-rollers, e.g. making profiles
- B21D5/10—Bending sheet metal along straight lines, e.g. to form simple curves by drawing procedure making use of dies or forming-rollers, e.g. making profiles for making tubes
- B21D5/12—Bending sheet metal along straight lines, e.g. to form simple curves by drawing procedure making use of dies or forming-rollers, e.g. making profiles for making tubes making use of forming-rollers
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B21—MECHANICAL METAL-WORKING WITHOUT ESSENTIALLY REMOVING MATERIAL; PUNCHING METAL
- B21C—MANUFACTURE OF METAL SHEETS, WIRE, RODS, TUBES OR PROFILES, OTHERWISE THAN BY ROLLING; AUXILIARY OPERATIONS USED IN CONNECTION WITH METAL-WORKING WITHOUT ESSENTIALLY REMOVING MATERIAL
- B21C37/00—Manufacture of metal sheets, bars, wire, tubes or like semi-manufactured products, not otherwise provided for; Manufacture of tubes of special shape
- B21C37/06—Manufacture of metal sheets, bars, wire, tubes or like semi-manufactured products, not otherwise provided for; Manufacture of tubes of special shape of tubes or metal hoses; Combined procedures for making tubes, e.g. for making multi-wall tubes
- B21C37/08—Making tubes with welded or soldered seams
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B21—MECHANICAL METAL-WORKING WITHOUT ESSENTIALLY REMOVING MATERIAL; PUNCHING METAL
- B21C—MANUFACTURE OF METAL SHEETS, WIRE, RODS, TUBES OR PROFILES, OTHERWISE THAN BY ROLLING; AUXILIARY OPERATIONS USED IN CONNECTION WITH METAL-WORKING WITHOUT ESSENTIALLY REMOVING MATERIAL
- B21C37/00—Manufacture of metal sheets, bars, wire, tubes or like semi-manufactured products, not otherwise provided for; Manufacture of tubes of special shape
- B21C37/06—Manufacture of metal sheets, bars, wire, tubes or like semi-manufactured products, not otherwise provided for; Manufacture of tubes of special shape of tubes or metal hoses; Combined procedures for making tubes, e.g. for making multi-wall tubes
- B21C37/08—Making tubes with welded or soldered seams
- B21C37/083—Supply, or operations combined with supply, of strip material
Definitions
- the present invention relates to an apparatus for forming a pipe or a pipeline.
- Pipelines are known to be used for the efficient transfer of fluids such as water, oil and natural gas as well as slurries.
- the fluids are pumped at high pressures through the pipeline continuously regardless of external conditions.
- the pipelines may traverse land, or lie under land or water.
- an apparatus for forming a pipe or a pipeline comprising a rolling unit for forming at least one workpiece and at least one means for connecting adjacent workpiece longitudinal edges.
- the means for connecting adjacent workpiece longitudinal edges may be any method known in the art including the use of lock seams or welding.
- the means is provided in the form of a longitudinal welding unit.
- the rolling unit and the at least one longitudinal welding unit are operable simultaneously.
- the apparatus comprises at least one transverse welding unit.
- the welding units may be provided in the form of arc welding units, gas welding units, resistance welding units, solid state welding units, high frequency induction units and energy beam welding units and combinations thereof.
- the welding units are provided in the form of laser welding units.
- the laser welding units may comprise any laser source known in the art including CO2 and Nd:YAG lasers such as those available from Trumpf, Germany.
- the rolling unit comprises a plurality of inner and outer forming elements.
- the forming elements are preferably provided in the form of rollers.
- the axes of rotation of the rollers are preferably substantially normal to the longitudinal direction of the pipeline. However, it will be appreciated that the axes of rotation of the rollers are not necessarily parallel to each other.
- Each outer roller is preferably paired with a complimentary inner roller wherein at least a portion of each outer roller is concavo-concave in cross-section and at least a portion of each inner roller is convexo-convex in cross-section.
- a small gap may be provided between complementary pairs of rollers to facilitate the passage of a workpiece therebetween, thereby bending said workpiece.
- the radii of curvature of the concavo portion of an outer roller and the radii of curvature of the convexo portion of the complementary inner roller are preferably substantially the same.
- the radii of curvature of the concavo portion of all of the outer rollers may be substantially the same as each other or may change through the rolling unit.
- the radii of curvature of the convexo portion of all of the inner rollers may be substantially the same as each other or may change through the rolling unit.
- the outer rollers and the inner rollers are preferably operable by hydraulics.
- hydraulics enable the gap between each outer roller and its complimentary inner roller to be manually adjusted or to automatically adjust to compensate for changes in workpiece thicknesses.
- the spatial location of the rollers within the rolling unit are preferably staggered.
- staggering the rollers permits the gradual bending of workpieces into the desired shape.
- the staggering of the rollers permits the preparation of pipelines of varying diameters. It will be appreciated that the location of the rollers may be adjusted to account for changes in workpiece dimensions. For example, the rollers may be moved transversely to accommodate changes in workpieces dimensions.
- each roller is provided on a roller shaft supported by at least one bearing box.
- the rollers may be prepared from any suitable material known in the art including oil-hardened tool steel (L6), high-carbon high-chrome-alloy steel (D2), high-speed steel (M4) or carbide.
- L6 oil-hardened tool steel
- D2 high-carbon high-chrome-alloy steel
- M4 high-speed steel
- carbide carbide
- the rollers may be proved with a resilient coating such as high-density polyurethane-elastomer.
- rollers will be influenced by the size of the apparatus and the workpieces, although it is anticipated that they may be approximately 400 mm in diameter and about 400 mm wide.
- the apparatus may further comprise a feeding unit adapted to feed workpieces into the rolling unit.
- the feeding unit comprise an upper surface and a lower surface, adapted to feed two workpieces into the rolling unit.
- the upper surface comprises a plurality of rollers and the lower surface comprises a plurality of rollers.
- the apparatus may further comprise an elevation unit adapted to feed workpieces into the feeding unit.
- the elevation unit comprises a surface, operable at an upper height and a lower height.
- the upper height and the lower height are preferably, at substantially the same height as the upper surface of the feeding unit and the lower surface of the feeding unit respectively.
- the height of the surface of the elevation unit may be adjusted between the upper height and the lower height by any means known in the art including hydraulics.
- the surface of the elevation unit comprises a plurality of rollers.
- the apparatus may further comprise a stockpile for storage of workpieces.
- the stockpile may be provided with means to transfer the workpieces to the elevation unit.
- the means to transfer the workpieces to the elevation unit is a gantry equipped with an electromagnet.
- the apparatus may further be provided with means for workpiece edge preparation prior to forming and/or welding and for x-ray inspection of all welds.
- the apparatus may further be provided with means for inspection and testing of the pipeline by internally or externally disposed devices.
- a method for the formation of a pipe or a pipeline comprising the steps of:
- the workpieces are substantially flat sheets.
- the substantially flat sheets are quadrilateral.
- connecting adjacent workpiece longitudinal edges to form a pipe or a pipeline comprises longitudinally connecting a first workpiece to a second workpiece to form a pipe or a pipeline.
- each workpiece preferably comprises bending a portion of each workpiece into a substantially semicircular pipe section.
- welding adjacent workpiece longitudinal edges to form a pipe or a pipeline comprises the steps of:
- the method comprises the further step of:
- pipes may be prepared in accordance with the present invention by forming either one sheet or two sheets into a pipe. Prior to the step of:
- leading edges of the at least one workpiece are preferably treated to provide appropriate welding surfaces.
- leading edges of the at least one workpiece are preferably treated to provide appropriate welding surfaces.
- Said treatment may comprise skimming off a portion of the material from the leading edges to provide clean and preferably square surfaces.
- transverse welding will encompass the circumferential welding of half-pipes.
- the rolling unit and the pipeline move relative to each other to facilitate the formation of further pipeline.
- repetition of the process permits the continuous production of pipeline.
- the rolling unit moves relative to the pipeline.
- the present invention provides a system for forming and laying pipe from a movable vessel, vehicle, or other movable supporting structure. Instead of joining individual lengths or joints of pipe together end-to-end, as is done in substantially all existing systems, pipeline forming method permits the forming and laying of pipeline in a single continuous operation.
- the workpieces are held in place by retaining rollers.
- the welding may create beads on the workpieces. It will further be appreciated that said beading may impact on the passage of workpieces through the rolling unit.
- the use of hydraulics on the rollers permits adjustment of the gap between complimentary rollers to accommodate the transverse beading when workpieces pass through the rolling unit.
- beading may be removed by any means known in the art prior to the workpieces passing into the rolling unit.
- the workpieces may be welded by any method known in the art including arc welding, gas welding, resistance welding solid state welding and energy beam welding.
- the work pieces are welded by laser welding.
- laser beam welding employs a highly focused laser beam and has a very high energy density, making deep weld penetration possible and minimizing the size of the weld area. The process is significantly faster than arc welding and results in smaller weld beads.
- FIGS. 1a to 1e are elevated perspective views of a pipeline forming apparatus in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention depicting the apparatus in use;
- Figure 2 is an elevated perspective view of a portion of the pipeline forming apparatus of Figure 1a to 1e
- Figure 3 is an elevated perspective view of a portion of the pipeline forming apparatus of Figure 1a to 1e;
- Figure 4 is an elevated perspective view of a portion of the pipeline forming apparatus of Figure 1a to 1e;
- Figure 5 is an internal view of a portion of the pipeline forming apparatus of
- FIGS 1 to 5 there is shown a pipeline forming apparatus 10 for the continuous formation of a pipeline comprising a rolling unit 12 and two longitudinal welding units 14.
- the present embodiment of the pipeline forming apparatus 10 further comprises two transverse welding units 16, a feeding unit 18, an elevation unit 20 and a stockpile 22.
- the rolling unit 12 comprises a plurality of outer rollers 24 and inner rollers 26.
- Each outer roller 24 is paired with a complimentary inner roller 26 wherein at least a portion of each outer roller 24 is concavo-concave in cross-section and at least a portion of each inner roller 26 is convexo-convex in cross-section.
- a small gap is provided between complementary pairs of rollers.
- the radii of curvature of the concavo portion 30 of all of the outer rollers 24 is substantially the same as each other.
- the radii of curvature of the convexo portion 32 of all of the inner rollers 26 is substantially the same as each other.
- the radii of curvature of the concavo portion 30 of each outer roller 24 and the radii of curvature of the convexo portion 32 of the complementary inner roller 26 is substantially the same.
- the spatial location of the rollers within the rolling unit are staggered to facilitate the gradual forming of a workpiece as it passes through the rolling unit.
- the transverse welding units 16 are provided in the form of laser beam welding units and comprise clamps 34 for retaining workpieces during welding.
- An upper welding unit 36 and a lower welding unit (not shown) are provided.
- the longitudinal welding units 14 are provided in the form of laser beam welding units and comprise retaining rollers 38 for retaining adjacent workpieces during welding.
- a longitudinal welding unit 40 is provided on each side of the rolling unit 12.
- the feeding unit 18 comprises two sets of rollers, an upper set 42 and a lower set 44, adapted to feed an upper workpiece 46 and a lower workpiece 48 to the rolling unit 12 respectively.
- the elevation unit 20 comprises a platform 50 on hydraulic supports 52 adapted to retain the platform at a variety of heights.
- the stockpile 22 comprises a gantry 54 adapted to transfer stockpiled workpieces 56 from the stockpile 22 to the elevation unit 20.
- the gantry 54 is provided with an electromagnet 55 to facilitate the transfer of the steel workpieces.
- the apparatus 10 further comprises at least one laydown unit (not shown) to facilitate the laying of the formed pipeline onto the ground or onto pipeline supports (not shown).
- the rolling unit 12, the feeding unit 18, the elevation unit 20, the stockpile 22, the gantry 54 and the laydown units are all movable with respect to the ground and in the embodiment described, are provided on tracks.
- the elevation unit 20 is mounted on a first platform 62 which is movable together relative to the ground and the rolling unit 12 and the feeding unit 18 are mounted on a second platform 64 which is movable relative to the first platform 62.
- the second platform 64 may be moveable relative to the first platform 62 by way of tracks or skids or the like.
- the first platform 62 comprises tracks 66
- the stockpile 22 comprises tracks 68
- the gantry 54 comprises tracks 70
- the laydown units comprise tracks to facilitate movement over the ground.
- the workpieces may be provided as medium-strength structural-steel plate with minimum yield strength of 290MPa.
- the workpieces should be 2827 mm wide.
- the roll forming process of the present invention stretches the material and a width of less than 2827 mm will be required. It will be appreciated that the design of the rolling unit will influence the degree of stretching.
- the gantry 54 picks up a first workpiece 74 from the stockpile 22 (Figure 1a) and moves from the stockpile 22 to the elevation unit 20 and lowers the first workpiece 74 onto the platform 50 which is in the lower position ( Figure 1 b).
- the first workpiece 74 is transferred by way of powered rollers 76 from the platform 50 to the lower level of the feeding unit 18 ( Figure 1c).
- the gantry 54 picks up a second workpiece 78 from the stockpile 22 and moves from the stockpile 22 to the elevation unit 20 and lowers the second workpiece 78 onto the platform 58 which is in the upper position ( Figure 1c).
- the second workpiece 78 is transferred by way of powered rollers from the platform 50 to the upper level of the feeding unit 18 ( Figure 1d).
- the gantry 54 returns to the stockpile to repeat the entire process.
- the first workpiece 74 is clamped in the clamping unit 34 such that its leading edge 80 is adjacent the trailing edge 82 of a workpiece 84 extending from the rolling unit 12 ( Figure 1f).
- the second workpiece 78 is simultaneously clamped in the clamping unit such that its leading edge 88 is adjacent the trailing edge of a workpiece 90 extending from the rolling unit 12 ( Figure 1f).
- the first workpiece 74 and the workpiece 84 are laser welded to each other and the second workpiece 78 and the workpiece 90 are simultaneously laser welded to each other.
- the upper welding unit 36 is provided above the junction between the first workpiece 74 and the workpiece 84.
- a lower welding unit (not shown) is provided below the junction between the second workpiece 78 and the workpiece 90.
- Platform 64 moves over platform 62 in the direction of the stockpile 22. Said movement results in movement of the rolling unit 12 relative to the workpieces which in effect results in the workpieces 74 and 78 passing into the rolling unit 12. It will be appreciated that at this time at least a portion of each of the workpieces 84 and 90 have already passed into and out of the rolling unit 12.
- the welding of the half pipes together occurs simultaneously with the movement of the platform. Whilst the speed of the second platform 64 relative to the first platform 62 and the speed of the laser units 14 relative to the pipeline are independent, the relevant power units are in communication so that the speed of the second platform 64 will be influenced and controlled by the speed of the laser unit 14 and the speed of the laser unit 14 will be influenced and controlled by the speed of the second platform 64. It will be appreciated that the speed of the laser unit 14 will be influenced by other factors including the integrity of the weld and the need to reweld any portions of pipeline.
- the tracks 66, 68 and 70 may be continuously moving. Said movement results in movement of platform 62 relative to platform 64 and results in extrusion of pipeline 92 from the rear of the rolling unit 12.
- longitudinal welding unit 14 can move independently of platforms 70 and 72 to control welding and that the scope of movement will be limited by the spatial arrangements of the retaining rollers 38.
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- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
- Laser Beam Processing (AREA)
Abstract
Description
Claims
Priority Applications (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
AU2009328631A AU2009328631A1 (en) | 2008-12-16 | 2009-12-15 | Apparatus for forming a pipe |
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
AU2008906472 | 2008-12-16 | ||
AU2008906472A AU2008906472A0 (en) | 2008-12-16 | Method and Apparatus for Forming a Pipe |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
WO2010068976A1 true WO2010068976A1 (en) | 2010-06-24 |
Family
ID=42268165
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
PCT/AU2009/001624 WO2010068976A1 (en) | 2008-12-16 | 2009-12-15 | Apparatus for forming a pipe |
Country Status (2)
Country | Link |
---|---|
AU (1) | AU2009328631A1 (en) |
WO (1) | WO2010068976A1 (en) |
Cited By (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
WO2014001408A1 (en) * | 2012-06-30 | 2014-01-03 | Sms Meer Gmbh | System for stitch welding in the production of seam heat sealed pipes made of sheet panels |
WO2017000025A1 (en) * | 2015-06-30 | 2017-01-05 | Wnr Systems Pte. Ltd. | A pipe forming assembly and method of use |
Citations (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US4310740A (en) * | 1978-07-07 | 1982-01-12 | Kabushikikaisha Nakazima | Process for producing large-sized rectangular or square steel pipes |
EP0243533A1 (en) * | 1983-05-30 | 1987-11-04 | Kawasaki Jukogyo Kabushiki Kaisha | Method for maufacturing welded pipes |
US6494360B1 (en) * | 1998-06-23 | 2002-12-17 | Thyssen Krupp Stahl Ag | Method and device for producing straight bead welded pipes from flat sheet metal blanks |
-
2009
- 2009-12-15 AU AU2009328631A patent/AU2009328631A1/en not_active Abandoned
- 2009-12-15 WO PCT/AU2009/001624 patent/WO2010068976A1/en active Application Filing
Patent Citations (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US4310740A (en) * | 1978-07-07 | 1982-01-12 | Kabushikikaisha Nakazima | Process for producing large-sized rectangular or square steel pipes |
EP0243533A1 (en) * | 1983-05-30 | 1987-11-04 | Kawasaki Jukogyo Kabushiki Kaisha | Method for maufacturing welded pipes |
US6494360B1 (en) * | 1998-06-23 | 2002-12-17 | Thyssen Krupp Stahl Ag | Method and device for producing straight bead welded pipes from flat sheet metal blanks |
Cited By (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
WO2014001408A1 (en) * | 2012-06-30 | 2014-01-03 | Sms Meer Gmbh | System for stitch welding in the production of seam heat sealed pipes made of sheet panels |
WO2017000025A1 (en) * | 2015-06-30 | 2017-01-05 | Wnr Systems Pte. Ltd. | A pipe forming assembly and method of use |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
AU2009328631A1 (en) | 2011-07-07 |
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