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US 2024/0044440 A1Published application
Manufacture of Pipe-in-Pipe Assemblies
AssigneeAcergy France SAS
InventorJulien Verdeil
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AssigneeAcergy France SAS
InventorJulien Verdeil
Estimating the term…
A pipe-in-pipe assembly comprises a bundled infill structure occupying an annulus between inner and outer pipes (12, 26) of the assembly. The infill structure is formed of a plurality of elongate elements laid along the inner pipe comprising a mixture of reinforcing elements (16B) and insulating elements (16A). The reinforcing elements have greater mechanical resistance than the insulating elements to radial compression whereas the insulating elements provide greater thermal insulation than the reinforcing elements. Pluralities of the reinforcing elements are positioned together within the infill structure to form reinforcing formations, such as spacer formations, embedded between insulating regions of the infill structure that are defined by pluralities of the insulating elements.
A pipe-in-pipe assembly, comprising:
The assembly of any preceding claim, wherein the reinforcing formations are spacer formations that are angularly spaced around the inner pipe and that extend radially from the inner pipe toward the outer pipe.
The assembly of any preceding claim, wherein the elongate elements of the infill structure further comprise one or more auxiliary elements whose primary purpose is to heat the inner pipe or to convey electrical current or data along the assembly.
The assembly of any preceding claim, wherein the elongate elements lie on mutually parallel paths.
The assembly of any preceding claim, wherein the elongate elements lie on helical paths.
The assembly of any preceding claim, wherein the elongate elements comprise groups of elements braided, knitted, wrapped, twisted, bonded or fused together.
The assembly of any preceding claim, wherein the reinforcing elements comprise tubes or rods.
The assembly of any preceding claim, wherein the insulating elements comprise:
The assembly of any preceding claim, wherein the elongate elements of the infill structure are all of substantially the same diameter.
The assembly of any preceding claim, wherein the reinforcing formations extend through a full radial thickness of the infill structure.
The assembly of any preceding claim, comprising a circumferentially-continuous radial gap between the infill structure and the outer pipe.
A method of manufacturing a pipe-in-pipe assembly, the method comprising:
The method of any preceding claim, comprising compacting the infill structure by heating and/or radially-inward compression before inserting the inner pipe and the infill structure into the outer pipe.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.