The present invention relates generally to thermally insulated pipes, vessels, and the like, and, more particularly, to inspection port systems for use with such equipment.
The petroleum, chemical, and petrochemical industries extensively utilize pipes and vessels such as towers, drums, tanks, and heat exchangers in their processing facilities. This equipment may be run at temperatures ranging from below zero degrees Celsius to temperatures as high as, for example, 510 degrees Celsius. As a result, this industrial equipment is often fitted with thermal insulation to help to minimize temperature fluctuations and to reduce the costs of maintaining non-ambient temperatures. Insulation is also used to limit condensation and mold growth, and to provide freeze protection. Finally, insulation may provide protection to personnel, fire safety, and noise reduction.
Most thermal insulation tends be weak in terms of mechanical strength and displays high porosity, making it susceptible to accumulating moisture. Consequently, thermal insulating layers are often covered with covers or jackets comprising sheets of aluminum, stainless steel, or galvanized steel. Nonetheless, the thermal insulating layers and their jackets create a physical barrier to the underlying equipment when they need inspection. Periodic inspection is needed to ensure equipment is not corroding or is not being compromised in some other manner. Ultrasound techniques, for example, may be utilized to periodically determine the wall thickness of a pipe to establish whether it needs replacement or repair.
Inventors have attempted to develop inspection ports that allow access to the underlying thermally insulated equipment without requiring that the insulating system first be dismantled. Such attempts are described in, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,091,842; 5,351,718; 5,518,033; and 7,946,444, which are not admitted as prior art by their citation herein. Nevertheless, each of these systems tends to suffer from one or more disadvantages: being overly complicated and difficult to utilize; being expensive; utilizing materials that are not capable of handling the wide temperature ranges required; degrading in sunlight; not sealing well with underlying equipment that is curved such as cylindrical pipes; being sensitive to minor imperfections created during installation; and not allowing the use on corrugated jackets.
There is, as a result, a need for improved inspection port systems for use with thermally insulated piping, vessels, and the like that address the aforementioned shortcomings.
Embodiments of the present invention provide improved inspection port systems for use with thermally insulated pipes, vessels, and other equipment.
Aspects of the invention are directed to a kit comprising a base and a lid. The base defines a base plate with a central opening and a projecting sidewall projecting from a rim of the central opening. The projecting sidewall defines a tapered cylindrical inside surface. The lid defines a tapered cylindrical outside surface and comprises a handle operative to lock the lid to the base. The lid is dimensioned such that the tapered cylindrical outside surface is operative to seal directly against the tapered cylindrical inside surface with the lid inserted into the base and the lid locked to the base by the handle.
Additional aspects of the invention are directed to an apparatus comprising a thermally insulating layer, a jacket, a base, and a lid. The thermally insulating layer defines a first opening, and the jacket contacts the thermally insulating layer and defines a second opening in communication with the first opening. The base is attached to the jacket and is at least partially disposed within the first opening and the second opening. The base defines a base plate with a central opening and a projecting sidewall projecting from a rim of the central opening. The projecting sidewall defines a tapered cylindrical inside surface. The lid defines a tapered cylindrical outside surface and comprises a handle operative to lock the lid to the base. The lid is dimensioned such that the tapered cylindrical outside surface is operative to seal directly against the tapered cylindrical inside surface with the lid inserted into the base and the lid locked to the base by the handle.
These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings where:
The present invention will be described with reference to illustrative embodiments. For this reason, numerous modifications can be made to these embodiments and the results will still come within the scope of the invention. No limitations with respect to the specific embodiments described herein are intended or should be inferred.
Aspects of the invention include an inspection port system for use with thermally insulated pipes, vessels, and other equipment that might be found in, for example, a petroleum, chemical, or petrochemical processing facility.
In the thermally insulated pipe 1000, a pipe 1005 is surrounded by a thermally insulating layer 1010, which, in turn, is surrounded by a jacket 1015. The jacket 1015 directly contacts the thermally insulating layer 1010. To allow periodic inspection of the pipe 1005, the thermally insulating layer 1010 defines a first opening 1020, and the jacket 1015 defines a second opening 1025 in communication with the first opening 1020. The inspection port system 100 comprises a base 105, a lid 110, a sealing gasket 115, and a thermally insulating plug 120. The base 105 is attached to the jacket 1015 via a set of screws 125. The lid 110 may be removably inserted into and locked to the base 105, allowing the lid 110 and the base 105 to form a hermetic seal in the first and second openings 1020, 1025. The thermally insulating plug 120 sits within the second opening 1025 in the thermally insulating layer 1010. For inspection, the lid 110 and the thermally insulating plug 120 can be easily removed through and from the base 105 to gain direct access to the pipe 1005 through the first and second openings 1020, 1025.
Additional details of the inspection port system 100 are shown in exploded perspective view in
The lid 110 describes a bowl-shaped element with a bottom 156 and a raised sidewall 158 with a tapered cylindrical outside surface 160. The lid 110 also comprises a handle 165 that is rotatably attached to the remainder of the lid 110 by a fastener 170 (e.g., rivet). With the lid 110 fully inserted into the base 105, the handle 165 may be rotated so that extensions at opposite ends of the handle 165 engage the catches 155. In this manner, the lid 110 may be locked to the base 105 with the tapered cylindrical outside surface 160 of the lid 110 sealed directly against the tapered cylindrical inside surface 145 of the base 105 (where “directly” means without any intermediary elements). A thermally insulating plate 175 of thermally insulating material is attached to the bottom 156 of the lid 110 using the same fastener 170 as the handle 165 for attachment.
The sealing gasket 115 is designed to be positioned between the base plate 130 and the jacket 1015 and is preferably formed of a readily deformable material (e.g., an elastomer). The sealing gasket 115 defines a central passageway 180 that allows the projecting sidewall 140 to pass through it. The sealing gasket 115 has a thickness slightly larger than the lengths by which the edge projections 150 project from the base plate 130. As a result, the sealing gasket 115 projects somewhat past the edge projections 150 when not deformed.
The deformation of the sealing gasket 115 helps to effectively seal the inspection port system 100 to the thermally insulated pipe 1000 so that thermal energy and matter may not enter into or escape from the interfacial regions between these systems. The sealing gasket 115 tends to deform to fill in any gaps between the jacket 1015 and the edge projections 150, and any gaps between the jacket 1015 and the projecting sidewall 140 (both visible in
The lid 110 may be inserted into the base 105 and, once so placed, the handle 165 may be rotated to engage the catches 155 and thereby lock the lid 110 in place. Engaging the lid 110 with the base 105 forms a hermetic seal between the tapered cylindrical outside surface 160 of the lid 110 and the tapered cylindrical inside surface 145 of the base 105. In one or more embodiments of the invention, the tapered cylindrical outside surface 160 may have a shape approximately equal to the shape of the tapered cylindrical inside surface 145. Conversely, in other embodiments, the tapered cylindrical outside surface 160 and the tapered cylindrical inside surfaces 145 may intentionally be formed with somewhat different shapes to enhance the direct seal between the surfaces 145, 160. These differences in shape help to create what is sometimes called an “interference fit,” a “press fit,” or a “friction fit” between the base 105 and the lid 110.
Installation of the illustrative inspection port system 100 on the thermally insulated pipe 1000 may be accomplished by initially forming the first and second holes 1020, 1025 in the thermally insulating layer 1010 and the jacket 1015, respectively, and then attaching the inspection port system 100 to the jacket 1015 to achieve the configuration shown in
When in place and the lid 110 locked to the base 105, the novel inspection port system 100 provides thermal insulation to the pipe 1005 nearly equivalent to that provided by the thermally insulating layer 1010 and the jacket 1015 in an intact region of the thermally insulated pipe 1000. The insulating plug 120 and the thermally insulating plate 175 help to stop thermal transfer through the inspection port system 100, but, ultimately, their use is considered optional. In alternative embodiments falling within the scope of the invention, the thermally insulating plug 120 and the thermally insulating plate 175 are not used, and the inspection port system 100 instead depends on an air gap between the pipe 1005 and the inspection port system 100 to help provide the needed thermal barrier.
Elements of the inspection port system 100 may be formed utilizing readily available materials and conventional manufacturing techniques. These materials and manufacturing techniques will already be familiar to one having ordinary skill in the relevant arts after understanding the description provided herein. The base 105 and the lid 110 of the inspection port system 100 may, for example, be formed of a metal or any polymer or composite material able to withstand the thermal, chemical, and mechanical forces at play in the industrial environment of interest. Suitable metals may include, as just two examples, aluminum and steel. The sealing gasket 115 may be formed of relatively deformable, thermally insulating material such as, for example, silicone rubber. The thermally insulating plug 120 may comprise, for example, fiberglass, and the thermally insulating plate 175 may comprise, for example, a ceramic or an aerogel. Nevertheless, it is again emphasized that the specific materials recited herein are only by way of example.
The inspection port system 100, and, more generally, embodiments falling within the scope of the invention, provide several advantages. These advantages include, but are not limited to:
The ability of the inspection port system 100 to accommodate thermally insulated pipes, vessels, and other equipment with differing shapes is further illustrated by
It should again be emphasized that the above-described embodiments of the invention are intended to be illustrative only. Other embodiments can use different types and arrangements of elements for implementing the described functionality. These numerous alternative embodiments within the scope of the appended claims will be apparent to one skilled in the art.
In one or more alternative embodiments falling within the scope of the invention, for example, a putty may replace a sealing gasket. Moreover, in other embodiments, the thermally insulating plug 120 and/or the thermally insulating plate 175 may not be included, as set forth above. In even other embodiments, an inspection port system may not be a parallelepiped (e.g., rectangular) when viewed top down in the manner of the inspection port system 100, but may instead be a different shape. An alternative inspection port system may, for instance, be round.
All the features disclosed herein may be replaced by alternative features serving the same, equivalent, or similar purposes, unless expressly stated otherwise. Thus, unless expressly stated otherwise, each feature disclosed is one example only of a generic series of equivalent or similar features.
Any element in a claim that does not explicitly state “means for” performing a specified function or “step for” performing a specified function is not to be interpreted as a “means for” or “step for” clause as specified in AIA 35 U.S.C. § 112(f). In particular, the use of “steps of” in the claims herein is not intended to invoke the provisions of AIA 35 U.S.C. § 112(f).
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/US2018/039543 | 6/26/2018 | WO | 00 |