Method and installation for laying a cylindrical pipe on a support
AssigneeSchlumberger Technology Corporation
InventorsPierre-Yves Corre, James Leighton, Jean-Louis Saltel
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A process and plant for laying a pipe in a trench comprising placing a flattened tubular preform in the trench, the perform having a reinforcement surrounding an inner seal, the reinforcement being impregnated with a resin, and inflating the perform in the trench.
Claims12
A process for laying a cylindrical pipe in a trench (T) open at the top, starting from a section of flattened flexible tubular preform (1, 9), capable of being made round but not radially expansible by inflation due to the effect of internal pressure, wherein the wall of the preform (1, 9) includes a filamentary reinforcement (2) surrounding an inner sealing skin (10), characterized in that, on the one hand, this laying process is carried out without the wall of the preform (1, 9) being turned over on itself, and, on the other hand, the process is carried out in the following manner:
- a) the section of preform (1) is brought close to the trench (T);
- b) the reinforcement (2) is impregnated in situ with a curable resin (11);
- c) the section of resin-impregnated preform (9) still in the flattened state is deposited from the top down into the trench (T);
- d) the section of preform (9) is inflated pneumatically, after having closed off the ends thereof, so as to give it a cylindrical shape;
- e) the resin (11) is made to curie by heating by electrical resistance elements (21) incorporated into the reinforcement (2);
- wherein operations (b) and (c) are carried out continuously.
A plant used to lay a cylindrical pipe in a trench (T), starting from a section of flattened flexible tubular preform (1, 9), capable of being made round but not radially expansible by inflation due to the effect of internal pressure, wherein the wall of the preform (1, 9) is provided with a filamentary reinforcement (2) surrounding an inner sealing skin (10), this laying operation being carried out by the plant without turning the wall of the section of preform (1, 9) over on itself, characterized in that the plant comprises a mobile assembly (4-5) capable of moving along a support (S) adjacent the trench (T), and comprising:
- a container (4) for storing the flattened section of preform (1);
- means (41) for progressively pulling said section (1) out of the container (4);
- a storage tank (50) containing a curable resin (11);
- means (70) for continuously and progressively impregnating the filamentary reinforcement (2) with the curable resin (11) as the section (1) is extracted from the container (4);
- means (8, 81) for continuously depositing, from the top down, the section of resin-impregnated perform (9) into the trench (T) while still in the flattened state;
- means (90-91, 92) for blowing compressed air into the section of preform (9) and for inflating the section of preform (9), so as to give it a cylindrical shape, after it has been deposited in the trench (T);
- and
- means (93) for electrically heat curing the resin (11) via resistance heating elements (21) incorporated into the reinforcement (2).
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.