A circuit breaker for connecting two sections of a pipeline of a fluid handling installation under pressure, this circuit breaker comprising a male element and a female element intended to be inserted into each other according to an insertion axis, the male element comprising:
- a male body centered on the insertion axis and comprising:
- a first internal conduit for a circulation of pressurized fluid;
- at least one first radial passage connecting the first internal conduit to an external peripheral surface of the male body;
- and
- an external locking notch,
- a first valve, movable in the first internal conduit, according to the insertion axis, between an advanced closed position of the first internal conduit and a retracted open position of the first internal conduit, and comprising a closing portion, which is in longitudinal abutment against the male body in the closed position of the first valve;
- and
- a spring pushing the first valve toward the advanced closed position;
- the female element comprising:
- a female body comprising a second internal conduit for the circulation of pressurized fluid and at least one second radial passage connecting the second internal conduit to an internal volume for receiving the male body in the female body;
- a second valve movable in the second internal conduit
- at least one locking member received in a locking housing and configured to move from a first locking position, where the locking member is engaged in the external locking notch, to oppose an axial withdrawal of the male body from the female body in a coupled configuration of the male and the female elements, to a second release position, where the axial withdrawal of the male body from the female body is possible, wherein,
- in the coupled configuration of the male and the female elements,
- the first and second radial passages are in fluid communication;
- the, or each locking member is in the first locking position;
- the first valve is in the retracted open position;
- a proximal seal and a distal seal are arranged, along the insertion axis, on either side of the first and second radial passages and cooperate radially, respectively, with an internal radial surface of the female body delimiting the internal volume and with the external peripheral surface of the male body so as to fluidly isolate the first and second radial passages from an outside of the circuit breaker,
- the first valve also comprises a distal rod which is slidably mounted, between the advanced closed position and the retracted open position, in a housing of the male body passing through a distal end of the male body;
- a first radial rod seal cooperates radially with the distal rod and with the distal end of the male body;
- the female element comprises a bearing surface configured to come into contact with the first valve and displace it, during insertion of the male and the female elements, from the advanced closed position toward the retracted open position;
- in an intermediate coupling position of the male and the female elements,
- the first valve is in the advanced closed position and in contact with the bearing surface of the female element;
- each locking member is not in the first locking position;
- the proximal seal and the distal seal are arranged, along the insertion axis, on either side of the first and second radial passages and fluidly isolate the first and second radial passages from the outside of the circuit breaker;
- the proximal seal and the distal seal are respectively received in a proximal external peripheral groove and in a distal external peripheral groove of the external peripheral surface of the male body;
- a first longitudinal distance, measured parallel to the insertion axis between the distal external peripheral groove and a median radial plane of the first radial passage, is strictly greater than a second longitudinal distance, measured parallel to the insertion axis between the proximal external peripheral groove and the median radial plane.