Tube reinforcement having displaceable modular components

Abstract

A tube reinforcement assembly is designed to reinforce complex tube structures, such as those having bends and/or varying cross-sectional areas. The assembly includes a plurality of modular pillars, each having a structural foam coating. The modular pillars are grouped together with resilient retaining mechanisms or by an external positioning mechanism to form an assembly having a resiliently variable cross-sectional area. When the assembly is placed inside a tube structure, the pillars are squeezed together to fit around bends or in areas having smaller cross-sectional areas in the tube structure. When the assembly reaches an area in the tube structure having a larger cross-sectional area, the resilient connection between the pillars allow the pillars to separate and fill the extra space, holding the assembly in place temporarily. Once the reinforcement assembly is in a selected area, the structural foam is expanded to hold the assembly in place permanently and reinforce the tube structure at that point. Because of the modular design, tube structures having larger cross-sectional areas can be reinforced by simply adding more pillars to the assembly rather than manufacturing a completely new reinforcement member.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.