WO2011054468A1

WO2011054468A1 - Line element for a line to be laid in the ground

Info

Publication number: WO2011054468A1
Application number: PCT/EP2010/006568
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jürgen Sieber; Hans-Robert Wurm
Original assignee: Rehau Ag + Co
Priority date: 2009-11-03
Filing date: 2010-10-27
Publication date: 2011-05-12
Also published as: EP2496872A1; DE202009014844U1

Abstract

The invention relates to a line element (10) for a line to be laid in the ground, comprising at least one end section (14), which can be connected to an adjacent line element (12), wherein at least one main seal (20) and at least one safety seal (22) are arranged on the end section (14), wherein the main seal (20) is provided to seal off the connection to the adjacent line element (12) from penetrating liquid, and wherein the safety seal (22) can be activated by contact with liquid and is provided to reestablish the leak tightness of the connection in the event of a leak. The invention further relates to a line for laying in the ground, comprising at least one line element (10).

Description

Conduit element for a pipe to be laid in the ground

Background of the Invention The present invention relates to a conduit member for a conduit to be buried in the ground.

Known pipes intended for burial in the ground are in many cases laid in the ground in such a way that they are "driven" into a previously formed burial hole, which are usually at least partially made of a polymer material and are also called plastic jacking pipes. They can be used in particular as laying lines or receiving lines for gas lines or power and telecommunication cables or the like It is also known to use these lines as sewers or sewage pipes or as storm water pipes or rainwater pipes.

The laying in the ground takes place in that individual pipe elements, such as pipe sections driven in accordance with the planned course or according to the course of the previously formed hole substantially successively in the axial direction in the previously formed hole and connected to form the line with each other, as for example from DE 3402198 A1 for the formation of a protective line for the protection of electrical cables laid in the ground is known. The connection between the individual line elements is usually formed in the form of a plug connection or a latching connection. Further known typical line elements for the formation of lines to be laid in the ground are inter alia from EP 1 375 114 A2, EP 1 705 418 A2, DE 200 17 639 U1, US Pat

DE 195 36 703 A1 and DE 101 39 984 A1. The usually quite flexible connections between the known line elements are exposed to high stresses, in particular in the case of strongly curved lines or strongly curved preformed ground holes. The connections therefore tend to leak, in particular in the case of bending and severe deformation, so that moisture or liquid can penetrate from the ground into the line or inner volumes of the line elements. This is particularly problematic if the line is provided for receiving current-carrying cables. This penetration of moisture or liquid, such as wastewater from the environment or the environment in the line or inner volumes of the tubular elements is also referred to as infiltration. The liquid penetrating through infiltration can be contaminated, for example, and thus, for example, cause corrosion of current-carrying cables arranged or received in the line.

On the other hand, leakage of liquid from a buried conduit is referred to as exfiltration and relates to applications where the conduit is e.g. is provided as a sewer line or rainwater pipe, so for the flow through a liquid in the form of so-called extraneous water or generally a fluid. In exfiltration due to leakage, e.g. contamination of the soil occurs when e.g. As a result of the exfiltration, wastewater from industrial processes enters the soil from the pipeline.

Effective sealing of the connections between the individual line elements by means of seals or sealing elements are also limited due to the tube geometry, since the seals can only be installed very shallowly with a very limited compression due to the tube geometry. Thus, it is possible that provided seals are displaced or damaged when connecting the line elements. The restoration of tightness is then usually quite difficult. Finally, the individual pipe elements can be pre-damaged in the soil or in the previously formed hole by stones or the like during propulsion and then fail under continuous load.

Underlying task

The present invention is therefore an object of the invention to provide a conduit element for a laying in the ground line, with which it is possible by connecting to other line elements to produce a laid in a ground line at which significantly reduces the risk of leakage compared to known solutions.

Inventive solution

This object is achieved according to the invention with a conduit element for a pipe to be laid in the ground, wherein the conduit member has at least one end portion which is connectable to an adjacent conduit member, wherein at least one main seal and at least one safety seal are arranged at the end portion, wherein the Main seal is provided to seal the connection to the adjacent line member against penetrating liquid, and wherein the safety seal is activated by contact with liquid and intended to restore the tightness of the connection in case of existing leakage. According to the invention, in addition to the at least one main seal, which is provided to seal the connection to the adjacent line element against penetrating liquid, at least one safety seal is provided, which restores the leak tightness in the event of an existing leak. For this purpose, the safety seal can be activated by contact with liquid, the safety seal preferably consisting partially or wholly of a swellable material. By using a swellable material, which may in particular be a swellable elastomer or a thermoplastic elastomer composite (such as Q-TEC known from AWADOCK), the tightness can be restored. The swellable material swells on contact with liquid, which by this swelling the tightness can be restored. Source volume, source pressure and source start are preferably adjustable. A safety seal, which consists partly or wholly of a swellable material, adapts itself by its increase in volume and flexibility almost any shape and can thus seal leaks. The conduit member is preferably made of a polymeric material, which polymer material may preferably be unfilled polypropylene.

The liquid, which would penetrate in existing leakage without the safety seal in the conduit element or in the inner volume of the conduit element, in particular water or moisture from the ground. This liquid can be especially due to a failure of the main seal or due to a leakage of the main seal penetrate to the safety seal and activate them to restore the tightness.

Failure or leakage of the main seal may be the result of slippage or damage to the main seal, which slippage or damage may occur, in particular during connection of the conduit members to produce a buried conduit, such as, for example can take place, that the end portion, on which the main seal and the safety seal are arranged, inserted into an end portion of the adjacent line element or is attached to this.

The main seal may preferably be made partly or wholly of EPDM (abbreviation for ethylene-propylene-diene rubber) or NBR (abbreviation for nitrile rubber) or SBR (abbreviation for styrene-butadiene rubber) or a TPE (abbreviation for thermoplastic) Elastomer).

The main seal may preferably be in the form of an O-ring seal or in the form of a lip seal. Also, the safety seal may preferably be in the form of an O-ring seal or in the form of a lip seal. Both the O-ring seal and the lip seal are practical and effective seal shapes. Alternatively, the safety seal and main seal may have any cross-sectional shape configured to provide a sufficient sealing effect. However, even with the greatest care in the production or installation of the respective pipe in the ground slipping or damage to the main seal can never be completely excluded, especially if the individual line elements according to the planned course or according to the course of the previously formed hole in the " Driving "in the soil high mechanical loads, in particular with components perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the conduit element, are exposed.

In this respect, by providing the safety seal, the risk of a leak in the finished manufactured and laid line in contrast to known solutions can be significantly reduced or greatly reduced. In a preferred embodiment, a secondary seal is further disposed on the end portion such that the safety seal is between the main seal and the secondary seal. The secondary seal is provided to seal the connection to the adjacent line element against leakage of liquid or fluid, provided that a flow through the line elements with a fluid or a liquid, such as wastewater is provided. In this case, the safety seal assumes a dual function. It serves to restore or maintain tightness in the event of an existing leak at the main seal and / or to restore or maintain tightness in the event of an existing leak on the secondary seal. The secondary seal may also preferably be made partially or entirely of EPDM (abbreviation for ethylene-propylene-diene rubber) or NBR (abbreviation for nitrile rubber) or SBR (abbreviation for styrene-butadiene rubber) or a TPE (abbreviation for thermoplastic elastomer).

Also, the secondary seal may preferably be in the form of an O-ring seal or in the form of a lip seal. Alternatively, the safety seal may have any cross-sectional shape configured to provide a sufficient sealing effect.

In a practical embodiment, the conduit member has two opposite end portions, each end portion being connectable to a respective adjacent conduit member. Preferably, the conduit element is rectilinear in this practical embodiment. Furthermore, the conduit element can also be designed in the form of tubular elements or tube. In particular, the conduit element can also be designed in the form of a rectilinear pipe element or pipe.

In a further practical embodiment, the end section has an external thread which can be screwed into an internal thread which is formed on an end section of the adjacent line element. Alternatively, the end portion may have an internal thread, which is screwed onto an external thread, which is formed at an end portion of the adjacent conduit member.

By means of the provided internal thread or external thread, the line elements in a practical and simple way for the production or formation of a laid in the ground Line are connected to each other via a screw connection. The screw creates a stiff, detachable, tension and pressure-resistant connection between the line elements, which is suitable, an unwanted bending and deformation, as for example, when encountered on an obstacle during the "driving" of the pipe element or the pipe into the ground In particular, the bolting can be done with a small amount of force, so that the main seal is rarely moved or torn off, and if this does happen, the safety seal will restore tightness.

In a preferred embodiment, the end portion for producing a latching connection is latchingly inserted into an end portion of the adjacent conduit member. The snap-in connection creates a tension- and pressure-resistant connection between the line elements, which is suitable, unwanted bending and deformation, as described, for example, in US Pat. When encountering an obstacle during the "driving" of the pipe element or the pipe into the soil can be avoided as far as possible.Thus, the main seal is only slightly loaded.The latching can be done with very little effort, so that here a move or In this preferred embodiment, at least one annular groove is preferably formed on the outer surface of the end portion, in which a detent ring is received The latching ring preferably has an interruption, so that it can be easily arranged by suitable elastic expansion on the end portion and pushed to the annular groove.

In an alternative embodiment, the end portion is latchingly pushed onto an end portion of the adjacent conduit member. Preferably, in this alternative embodiment, at least one annular groove is formed on the inner surface of the end portion, in which a locking ring is received.

In a preferred embodiment, at least one identification element is attached to an inner wall of the conduit element. The identification element is preferably detectable out of the inner volume of the conduit element, wherein the inner volume of the inner wall of the conduit element is limited. The identification Onselement is provided with data or information, which preferably relate to the line element or the laid in the ground line, ie data or information such as serial numbers, materials, required by standards or laws data, manufacturer information, date of manufacture, pipe type, pipe material, etc. The Data or information may be in the form of characters or symbolic characters. The data or information can be detected by using control devices which can be introduced into the internal volume of the line element or into the internal volume of the laid line, such as, for example, line inspection cameras, so that they can be made available to a user. In practice, this is also referred to as a channel TV tour. Particularly preferably, the identification element is designed in the form of an RFID chip. Using an RFID chip, data stored on the RFID chip, which are preferably data associated with the line element or the underground pipe, can be read out wirelessly, so that the use of control devices, such as cameras for line inspection, is dispensed with can be.

In a practical embodiment, the conduit element is provided with a wear-resistant outer layer. The wear-resistant outer layer prevents damage to the line element, preferably damage to a supporting inner layer of the line element on which the outer layer is preferably applied, along with additional security when driving or introducing the line element or the line into the ground.

The invention further relates to a pipe for laying in the ground, comprising at least one inventive line element, preferably at least two interconnected line elements according to the invention. To connect the line elements, end sections of the line elements are connected to one another in such a way that the inner volumes of the line elements bounded in each case by an inner wall are connected. In particular, the line for laying in the ground, for example, comprise at least 3 and up to 10 or at least 3 and up to 20 connected line elements according to the invention, wherein the number may vary depending on the application. Brief description of the drawings

Embodiments of the invention will be explained in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It shows:

2 shows a schematic sectional representation of an arrangement comprising a line element according to the invention according to a second exemplary embodiment, which is connected to an adjacent line element, FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view of an arrangement according to the invention;

Fig. 3 is a schematic plan view of the arrangement of Fig. 3, and

4 is an enlarged view of a detail of FIG .. 3

1 shows a partially sectioned schematic illustration of a first embodiment of a line element 10 according to the invention and an adjacent line element 12 spaced from it.

The line element 10 shown for a line to be laid in the ground has an end section 14 that can be connected to the adjacent line element 12 via a screw connection. For this purpose, the end portion 14 is provided with an external thread 16 which is screwed into an internal thread 18 which is formed at the end portion 14 of the adjacent conduit member 12. At the end portion 14 of the conduit member 10, which is in the form of a pipe member or a tube, a main seal 20 in the form of a lip seal and a safety seal 22 are arranged from a swellable material and received in annular grooves 26, wherein the safety seal in shape an O-ring is formed. With existing connection between the two line elements 10, 12, the main seal 20 is provided to seal the connection against ingress of liquid, such as groundwater. The safety seal 22 is intended to ensure the tightness of the connection in case of existing leakage -. B. due to slippage of the main seal 20 or as a result of damage to the main seal 20 - restore. FIG. 2 shows a schematic sectional view of an arrangement comprising a line element 10 according to the invention in accordance with a second exemplary embodiment, which is connected to an adjacent line element 12.

The conduit element 10 shown in Fig. 2 has an end portion 14 which is slidably latched onto an end portion 14 of the adjacent conduit member 12, wherein the locking connection is realized by means of a locking ring 24 in a formed on the inner surface 25 of the end portion 14 annular groove 26th The locking ring 24 has an interruption 28 to facilitate the assembly, as shown in FIG. 3 and in particular from the enlarged detail view of FIG. 4 can be seen. On the inner surface 25 of the end portion 14 of the conduit member 10, which is formed in the form of a pipe member or a pipe, are also a main seal 20 in the form of a compression seal, which in turn is in the form of an O-ring, and a safety seal 22nd from a swellable material, which is also in the form of an O-ring, arranged and received in annular grooves 26. Similar to the embodiment shown in Fig. 1, the main seal 20 is provided to prevent the connection against penetrating liquid such. B. seal groundwater. The safety seal 22 is intended to ensure the tightness of the connection in case of existing leakage -. B. due to slippage of the main seal 20 or due to damage to the main seal 20 - restore.

Furthermore, a secondary seal 30 in the form of a compression seal 30 is arranged at the end portion 14 such that the safety seal 22 between the main seal 20 and the secondary seal 30 is located. The secondary seal 30 is provided to seal the connection between the two line elements 10, 12 against leakage of liquid or fluid, provided that a flow through the two line elements 0, 12 with a fluid or a liquid, such as wastewater is provided. In this case, the safety seal 22 assumes a double function. It serves to restore or maintain the tightness in the event of a leak at the main seal 20 and / or the restoration or maintenance of the tightness in the case of an existing leak at the secondary seal 30. LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

10 line element

12 adjacent line element

14 end section

16 external thread

18 internal thread

20 main seal

22 safety seal

24 snap ring

25 inner surface end portion

26 ring groove

28 interruption locking ring

30 secondary seal

Claims

claims

A conduit member (10) for a conduit to be buried in the ground, having at least one end portion (14) connectable to an adjacent conduit member (12), at least one main seal (20) and at least one safety seal at the end portion (14) (22), the main seal (20) being provided for sealing the connection to the adjacent duct element (12) against penetrating liquid, and the safety seal (22) being activatable and intended to be in contact with liquid To restore tightness of the connection in case of existing leakage.

2. Pipe element according to claim 1, characterized in that at the end portion (14) further comprises a secondary seal (30) is arranged such that the safety seal (22) between the main seal (20) and the secondary seal (30).

3. conduit element (10) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the end portion (14) has an external thread (16) which is screwed into an internal thread (18) which at one end portion () of the adjacent conduit element (2). is trained.

4. conduit element (10) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the

End portion (14) has an internal thread which is screwed onto an external thread, which is formed at an end portion of the adjacent conduit member (12).

5. conduit element (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that the end portion (14) for producing a latching connection latching in an end portion (14) of the adjacent conduit element (2) can be inserted.

6. conduit element (10) according to claim 5, characterized in that on the outer surface of the end portion (14) at least one annular groove (26) is formed, in which a locking ring (24) is accommodated.

7. conduit element (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that the end portion (14) latching on an end portion of the adjacent conduit member (12) can be pushed.

8. conduit element (10) according to claim 7, characterized in that on the inner surface (25) of the end portion at least one annular groove (26) is formed, in which a

Locking ring (24) is included.

9. conduit element (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the safety seal (22) partially or wholly of a swellable material.

10. conduit element (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that on an inner wall of the conduit member (10) at least one identification element is attached.

11. conduit element (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the conduit element (10) is provided with a wear-resistant outer layer.

12. conduit element (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the conduit element (10) has two opposite end portions (14), wherein each end portion (14) with a respective adjacent conduit member (12) is connectable.

13. conduit for burying in the ground, comprising at least one line element (10) according to one of claims 1 to 12.

14. Line according to claim 13, comprising at least two interconnected line elements (10).