Syntactic foam, process of its preparation and buoyancy material including the same
AssigneeBardot Group
InventorsGuy BARDOT, Xavier Pace
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Some embodiments are directed to a process for making a syntactic foam. Some other embodiments are directed to a process for manufacturing a buoyancy material including an outer shell and a syntactic foam. Still other embodiments are directed to the syntactic foam (or buoyancy foam) obtainable by this process. Some other embodiments are directed to a process of undersea extraction of oil including: using the syntactic. Still other embodiments are directed to an undersea extracting pipeline including a pipeline, and either the syntactic foam or the buoyancy material.
Claims61
A process for making a syntactic foam comprising:
- a) mixing together a determined amount of a curable liquid resin monomer or prepolymer and a polymerization initiator in order to obtain an operable curable liquid resin;
- b) mixing at a determined temperature range the operable curable liquid resin with a determined amount of at least one type of low density micro-elements, said micro-elements being comprised in a sphere having a diameter comprised from 1 μm to 1 mm and being introduced continuously in the operable curable liquid resin and at a constant volumetric and/or mass flow rate, while limiting breakage of micro-elements;
- c) homogenizing at a determined temperature range and degassing the mixture of operable curable liquid resin and micro-elements in order to obtain an intermediate syntactic foam;
- d) casting at a determined temperature range the intermediate syntactic foam in a container optionally comprising a determined amount of macro-elements being comprised in a sphere of a diameter comprised from 1 mm to 10 cm;
- and
- e) hardening the operable curable liquid resin;
- wherein the temperature is regulated, in one or more of step(s) a) to e), to control and limit exothermic peak during step e),
- thereby obtaining the syntactic foam within the container.
A process for manufacturing a buoyancy material comprising an outer shell and a syntactic foam, the manufacturing process comprising:
- a) mixing together a determined amount of a curable liquid resin monomer or prepolymer and a polymerization initiator in order to obtain an operable curable liquid resin;
- b) mixing at a determined temperature range the operable curable liquid resin with a determined amount of at least one type of low density micro-elements, said micro-elements being comprised in a sphere having a diameter comprised from 1 μm to 1 mm and being introduced continuously in the operable curable liquid resin and at a constant volumetric and/or mass flow rate, while limiting breakage of micro-elements;
- c) homogenizing at a determined temperature range and degasing the mixture of operable curable liquid resin and micro-elements in order to obtain an intermediate syntactic foam;
- d) casting at a determined temperature range the intermediate syntactic foam in a container optionally comprising a determined amount of macro-elements being comprised in a sphere of a diameter comprised from 1 mm to 10 cm;
- and
- e) hardening the operable curable liquid resin;
- wherein the temperature is regulated, in one or more of step(s) a) to e), to control and limit exothermic peak during step e),
- wherein the container determines the outer shell of the buoyancy, thereby obtaining the buoyancy material.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.