Sealing hollow structures
AssigneeAcergy France SAS
InventorGregory Alexandre Toguyeni
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method of sealing a hole in a wall of a hollow structure comprises providing a sealed chamber that is external to the structure and that is in fluid communication with an internal space of the structure via the hole. The structure may be a pipe-in-pipe structure and the internal space may be an annulus between outer and inner pipes. Fluid flows through the hole into or out of the chamber as the pressure and/or composition of fluid in the internal space is adjusted. Then, a plug is spun and friction-welded into the hole. The plug is inserted into the hole from within the chamber.
Claims12
A method of sealing a hole in a wall of a hollow structure, the method comprising:
- providing a sealed chamber that is external to the structure and that is in fluid communication with an internal space of the structure via the hole;
- adding a housing defining a sealed auxiliary volume to the chamber, the auxiliary volume containing a welding machine that is arranged to spin a plug;
- opening a sealed partition between the chamber and the auxiliary volume to form a sealed enclosure that comprises the chamber and the auxiliary volume in fluid communication with each other;
- causing fluid to flow through the hole into or out of the sealed enclosure to adjust the pressure and/or composition of fluid in the internal space;
- and
- friction welding a spinning plug into the hole, the plug being inserted into the hole from within the sealed enclosure.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.