CA2173193A1 - Pipeline vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

An in-pipe vehicle for carrying out at least one operation in a pipeline. The vehicle comprises a train of modules 11-16 interlinked by suspension units 17 to allow serpentine movement through pipe bends. The vehicle train has its own internal power supply and drive mechanism in respective modules. A detector module 14 determines the presence of a service junction and a manipulative module 13 allows the vehicle to be temporarily wedged in the pipeline whilst providing rotational movement to facilitate the desired operation at the junction. This can include drilling and welding of a service pipe to the main using appropriate modules.

Description

I l,~O~ 9~ 51 F~ 017. ~l~0 21~7l I~G IECII ~ERYICE 217319 3 PIPELI~ ~l~Cr.l~

~he irlvention relatey ~o arl in-pipe v-ehicle whi~h call ~ar~
out an operation within a pipeline, which pipel~e may i~e a .
g~3 carryl~g plpet lne .

Th~re have been varicu~ act~vi~ie~ undertaken ~o~cerned wi~ h pipeli ne _n~pes' ~ 021 including re~note cameras to enable infor~nation on th~ in~er3:3al condi~ion of pipel ines t~ be ob~ained .

The present in~ention i~ concerned with an arra~lgern~Dt which wil3L allow o;?er~tions to ~ ~nd~r~ken ft-om wi~hin ~he pipelin~, without the need ~o~ exterr3al drive~, u~n:?iiicals or othe~ co~nec:tion-e whlr~h r~tri~t the. moYen~.er~t c~r ~;itll ity of such arra~.y~lLIe~lt~;.

Accordirlg tc) the invent io~ tll~sre i ~ proYided a pipeline vehic~le c~mpri~ a pllLrality o~ linked modules fo~ning a ~;el~ power~d train fo~ tri~relling withi~ a pipeline, at least o~e of the m~dllle~ being ç~pable oi~ c2r~inS~ out an operati~r on the pipeline.

3~urther ~cordirlg to the i~ve~nti~n ~her~ i~ pro~ided a ntethocq of ef ~ec~ an operatio~ on a pi~eline c~mprising ~a~;ing a ~rehicle c;:c)nsisting of a ~ain of ~c)dules through the pipeli~e ~o detect the presence of an ~tenL to be operated on; ancl ~1~04 ~B 11:53 FA~ 0171 430 2a7~ P~fG ~H SEF~ICE 2173193 , ~

movin~ t~ ~ehic~le ~o alis~ a rnodule with the ' te~a t~ c~arry out the deeired opera~ion.

~e in ent~on will r,ow be de~cribed ~ w~y of exarllple with refere~ce ~o the acco7n~2anr~rlg drawing~ i~ which:

Fi~ure 1 shc~ws ;3 main pipeline with a number o ~ervice take--offs;

Fi~ure 2 s~lQws a~ en~odilne~t of the pipelin~ Yehic~le cc~mprising a nutnber o~ module~.

Figure 3 shows the ~o~trol mechani~ s~o~lated with a m~dule.

}~uried cas'c iron ~as main pipe:Line 1 ~how~ in Fi~re 1 c~a~r~es a polyet~yler~e pipe line~ ~ which has pxeviouE;~y been iru~er~ed ~ ugh exca~ra iorl 3 as par~ ;~f a refurbishment ~o~ ~ ara~e .

nllm~ler of exi,3~ing service pipe take-~ff~ 4 each provide the ~o~rce of ga~ to iIldivi~ual dwellings or other premise~;. AS
par~ of ~he ref~hi~ ht proara~me, there is a need to in~ert a ~ ~ner in eac:h 3e~ricc pipe and to jciI- this ~o the m~in li~er 2 ~ In o~der to achieve th~3 it has ~een necesYary ~ n the p~Lst ~o make an excavation at ea-~h ~ervice con~e~t~ on 5 ~e.gA a :3~re~wed pipe co~nector or a se~ e tqe) and pene~rat~
the main liner 2 through the excava~ion, ;;ealing the t~.ke c~

0: 04 ~ 53 ~.~ 0171 43~l ~87 . B,~G TECH SEP~'IC~ 217 319 3 .

to the ~ain using a ~ddle c~nnection, h3.ving removed part oS
the cast i~on main in trha~ region.

~n th~ preser~ rention, ~he ~eed to have individua~
exc3~rati~n~ i~ avoided ~s is the need to rernove portio~s o~
the ca~;t 1 ron ~nain at su~h ex~v~ions . Flgure ~ show~ the me~h~n~ n~w employed.

The in-pii?e vehi~le 10 of Figure 2 in~:lude6 a Flllrality of dls~; mi 1 ~r individu~ uleg 11 ~ linked ~ia similar link~age and ~uspe~3i~n modu . e~; 17 . The tra- n o, mo~lul~r el~ments allow~ flexi~ility C~f op~ration in that each lr~od~le pro~ride ~ specific fu~c~i~n w~ich in this embodiment w3rk ~ogether to remGtely connec~ polyethylene ~s main to ser~ e piping inserted ~to old metal lpiping ~as desc~ibed ~elo-~).
Other modular conf~igut~t ion~ would ~llcv~ further tasks tO be effe~t;ed. The n~odular arrangement toge~her with the ~su~per~sion ~lo~ule!s ~ w~; the de~ree of serpentine opera~ion needed to negot iate ~n~s in tb.e piE~ and to cope ~ith the sn~all diameter of the pipe whi~h can be less than i50mm.

The fir~ module in ~he ~rain is the trac~lon mo;lule 11 which ~n~ludes a aotor ~0 within one of the a~ ~ 3 terminating ~n d~cive ~heel~3 ~6 and idler wheels 25 re:3pectively. Th~
movea~le ~rms 22 and 23 al.low the wheels to contact cLo~ely the inne:r w~ll of l:he pipe thro~SIh whic:h it tra~rer~es and sensor~ wi~;hin ~ot.h the idler and drive wheel detect ~lippa~e which caus~ the tr~t ion unit to c~use the ann to extend 01~04 ~ 4 F4~ ~31~1 430 2~74 s ~G rEcH SER~-IC:E 217 31 9 3 ~urther ~o incre~sc the traction af~ect. Thi~ can be ef~ ed ~y a m4tor dri~e~ re~ acting on ~he lever arm ~ nt~ol t~e tran ver~3e load.

T~e mo~or 2~ ve5 the wheels ~ria geariny and feedb~ck on rQo~re~ne~t, air~çti~n and slippage w~h can De compensated ~y int~ l control . l~ically ~he ~raction uni~ Frovides a pllRh; rq for~e ~or ~he ~r~in of 8~ N a'; ~ 6p~ed of 30 mm,,~ .
Pc~wer ~or thc modul~ in~-luding the tra~tion modul~ 11 is provided ~y the po~4~r ~nit lZ w~ h incorpora~es a numbe~ of rec~rg~ab~e batterie~. Electrical co~c~iorl ro ~ke mGdules i~ pro~rided via the suspen~i~n unit 1~ ccn~ectl~x~. ~he ~uspension uni~s 17 are pro~-ided of ~om~on eonstruction and placed between each f~ctional module ~ o give the tra~
fl~Y;hil;ty ~eguired for g~ll pipes. Ea~h mo~ule 17 incl-.ldes three E:prl~g loaded arrns 30 tennin~ting in wheel~ 31. In order to avoid rhe u~;~ of hi~hly prelo~ded. 6uspension springs, the t~r~e leYer arms at one end ~re ~ nterco~ected via slider. Thu~ when the body of the su~pension unit is depre~ed ~eLow t~e piFe ce~tre-line the wheels at the top ~ill }~e pulled away from the w~ll to pro~ide no resi~tance to the ~pwa~d centralisin~ ~orce. A central shaft ~3 through ea~h ~;us~ension uni~ ifi free tcs rotate rela~ive 'co th~ body.
con~e~tor~ a~ ea~h er~d allow rlectrical connection between all module~ to be effected for power and intercomcnunica~ion requireme~t~3 .

~1iO4 '9~ 54 FA~ 0171 43~ 2~71 ~,'G TE'H SER~'ICE lalO~

~he man~pulator module 13 ~ricl~des thre~ rPtractable extender~
40 whic~h ~re controll~d to exterld w~erl required ~yond ~he manlpul.a~ r' s ~ylindri~al body 41 so ~s to finnly support the m~lul e ~; it h~c ~ ~ wedged ir~ the pipe . A r~otar with as~o~ated ge~ring (e.g. ring geax~ and ~eed~ack allows the rear por~ n of manipulator to rotaSe3 relative ts the front d as ~ he mc~dules 2r~3 all mechani~lly inked this cauges mz~duLes ronnected to the rear of th~ manipulator to axially rc~tate wi~hin the pipe 80 that they can ba ali~ned to ~ er~ain pc~tion o~ the pipe to eff~c'c a task wk~en re~uired.
A ` global ' rotational ~anipulati~n ~or all mod~les has ~een fo~nd effecti~e rather th~ each module ~n~king adj~tments th~c~lves, alchough ~lo~al~ manipulation may be recIuired ir~
addition f~r a give~ module. The rot~tional manipulatiQr, cEm provide two 210~ a~ with ~e bo~y cla~ped ~ga~ ns~ ~he pipe wall. ~3lectrical connection through the rotati~g ir.terface witkin the manipula~ox is provided by use o a co- lea cable to a~roid E~ ring in~erfer~ ce and reduce modul e length.

T~e se~:30r :nodule 10. includes a nu~J~er of m~gnetic sen~or~3 50 srAr~1 arc:~und the peri~h~ry of the ~odule. The serl~ors (typic~ ~y 40 in ~unber) form par1: of a v~ri~le relu~tance ay.-~ic c~r~uit. The aetectors can be of the IIall effect type .

As the ~ehicle Tr.ove~ into t~e region of a senr~ ~e pipe tion ~here will l~e a ~hange in the magnetic f ield 04 96 11: 5!5 FAl~ 0171 430 287~ B~l~ TECH SERtICE 21 7 319 3 1210U7 measurement . ~he hole in t~e of f ta3ce ~orre~por~ds to the largest lvs~ and indlcate~ its posit~ on .

The drili ~r,odule 1~ inclu~e~ a moto~ised drill bit 50 c~pable of drilli~g ~ hole through ~he pipe, but more ts~ic~lly ;hrough ~he pipe liner. A 16nl~ hole would be ~ui~able eo acce;~ a 2~ e~ice pipe tee.

The f~qion ~odule 16 c~arries a ~ensor 70 ~e.g. a force sen~or w.th varial~le resis~ance wh~n co~tacted ~y a ~uide wirs) for detectin~ ~e ~ide wire in 'che ~ervice pipe lir~er (for rea~ons des~ibed below) alld ~ heater device ~l fo~ effecting a seal bet~een the lnain liner arld the service pip~ liner. The manipu~ator module 13 all~ws the ro~a~iorl by 180~ of the train including mod~le 16 to allow the ~en~_ng and ~ealing functions to be e~ected.

2~ master controller cir~uit c~n be loc~ted within ~he power module 12 and individual nlodule~ ha~e lo~alised control c~ircuit~ to effect ta~ks ;~R80~i Ated with their particul~r de~r~ces. The ma6ter con~roller and the module ~.~n~rolle~s can be formed from a ~c.~r~n ~pproach using a hierarchial modular or~a~ni6atio~ o~ cor.trol and morlitor process operating on i n~ep~ nt ~onununi~ating module~ . ~he ~nas~er controllex i~
awa7-e o~ operation~ l~ei~ effected by in~i~ridual modules and e~ures the required tasks are ~arr~ed out. ~a~h module contrc11 arran~...cn~ includes a control board sensor and actua~ors Oc ~OI" Ql~ hardware de6ign with operation mode Oi A' U4 9~ Fn~ 017, 43n 2 ~1 2 1 7 3 1 9 3 .. ~

selectio~ un~er <20f tware con~rol . Such ~ modllle control æystent i~ ~hown _n Figure 3.

Analo~ue mo~ule ~;en~ors 80 CO~ 2Ct ~4 a proy~ ..,e~le peripheral in~er~ace 81 which carries an o~ ar~ aniiLlog to digital converter l~C) c,nd digi~t~l I/O ~ i nes. D gital s~n~or~ fi~ rlnect to the digital inputs . In~or~a~ ion ~rom the 3nte~ace i~ made available to mi~lu~ro~e~sor 8~ which includes ~so~iate~ torage RAM 3 a~d p~-~gr~:n stora~e ROM ~4 . A ~c,~n; catio~ link 85 is al~;o ~ail~ble to cor~ln i cate with other moc~ules . The micropr~ce~or accecse~
senoor in~orm~tion via in~erface 81 (e~g. tyFe HD~3' 4~8) asld ccr~ols the loa~s go, ~e.~. m~rQ cr othex operati~nal devices :3uch as heaters~ ~ria decoder B6 ar.d dri~er cir~uits 8?. Cur~ent ~or.itorirlg feed~ack i9 ~rovided via line 88 Po~er s~pply xe~ tior. bloc:3c g2 en~ure~ ~rouble-free powe~
~upply require~ s.

The mi~ r v~rC~Ce~Or ~an be ;~ T2~5 trallsputer contains ~ RTS~
''P~J (16bi~ 25MHZ; a~d inte~p~oce~isor communi~ations ~ ink8.
Po~.rer f~r the de~ic:e; can be high capa~i~v nickel cadmiur~
rechargesble ~a~terie~ of the ~pa~çake' ~o~iguration.

me ~y~tem c~ar be suffic~ientl~r in~elligent tc car~r ou~ the tasks witho~t ~xterrlal c~ntrc~ thc~ugh with a ~dio lin3c (e.g. 1. ~g4G~Z) ' t is po:3~ible t.o ~end info~ation on operationg being efiected to an ~ab~re ground' station usirlg the l?ipeline ~s a wa~reguide. Re~urn ~ als ~:ould be ~ent tC3 01/04 ~li 11:55 FA~ 1~171 IJû Zll7~ I~,'I;i l'ECli SERVICE 217319~

o~err'de or halt ~aYks if they are de~ected ~ being p~o~r ate. Hen~e automati~ operation to effect an opening in the m~in liner wou~d be car~ied out a~ follows.

The tr~i n of modules i~ dri~ren by m~ule 11 al~ng the pipe until detec:tor rnodllle ;1 dete~t~ a ser-tice tee thr-sugh the main liner~ The aperture will t~picall~ be at the highest point in the pipe wall but the actual po~;ition i6 determined e d~tect;c~rs ~he train will ~hen move on un~il th~ drill module ~ at t~e correct position ~ene~h the ~ee The manipulator module 13 then act~ates its extenders 4!1 to clamp ~he module. If ~he dril' is not dete~ni~ed to be in ~ront of ~he ~pe3:ture from earlier calzulations, the mod~lle then ~ates in an arc to line up ~che drill.

~?~llowing the drillin~ operation through the main liner, the ma~aipula~or Tnodule 13 ~etr~ct8 its ~en~1er:~ and the train mvve~; fo~wa~ds l~ntil the f~;sion ~odu;~ 1~ is determined to }:e located benea~h ~he ser~rice tee.

The nla~ipulatc)r ~dule 13 again acti~v~te~ extenders and ~la~ps itself ~o ~he m~in pipe. A rota~ion o~ the module is effec~ed if it is determined tha~ this i~ neces~a~ to locate th~ ~letector 70 in frc~n~ f ~he tee. Th~ hole already drilled in the mai~ liner allows the ~erviee pipe liner to be ~r~gerted throu~h the service pipe u~i~g d verSr ~lexi~le guide wire.
~e ~ervi~e ~iner ha~ ~ it~ ~ront end a t~pexed lead co~ponent ~orme~ frorn ~roas-~inked polyethylene. ~ presence 01~04 a~ F~ 0171 ~o 2~ B~G TECH SE~ E 217 319 3 ~olo .. .

of the guid~ wire ~o~f i~ to ~l~e detector that ~h~ correc:~
~;er~i~e tee is being refu~shed. Once the l~d end is located ~ n the drilled hole, the guide wire i~ removed, indicating that the join~ing ~tep can he eff~c~ted. ~hus the manir~ to~ ~3 rotateL through 180 to lo~ate the heater device 71 on the ~usion module 1~ adj acerlt tc;l the resion of the ser~rice ;iner end, within the main iiner hole ar~d electric p~wer is ap~?lied to ~he hea~e!r to fu~e the ioint i~ e line~s by raisin~ the tentper~tuxe to the cry~talline melt stage, ~z~u~i~g the senri~e liner end-piece to e~par~tl and fu~e ~imulta~o~sly ~o the main liner.

The ~a:~ks fo~ ~ his ser~ice tee are now comple~t~. The m~nipula~o~ mod~le ~:ontr~c~s it~; extender~ 40 and th~; train of module~ m~ved o~ alo~ ~he pipe unti- i~c detects the pr~sence of the next service pip~, when the c?pera~ons ~an pro~eed on;:e ; n Becau~e of ~h~ self powered, self cor~trolled nature of the vebicle di~it~es o~ lOD metre~; or nlore c~ e handled e~ren with bends in the rurl.

Claims (12)

1. A pipeline vehicle comprising a plurality of linked modules forming a self powered train for travelling within a pipeline, at least one of the modules being capable of carrying out an operation on the pipeline .

2. A vehicle as claimed in claim 1 wherein a module includes clamping means for holding the vehicle at a fixed point in the pipeline whilst rotational means are operable to rotate part or parts of the vehicle to align the module capable of carrying out the operation.

3. A vehicle as claimed in claim 1 or 2 wherein a traction module provides the driving power for the vehicle and including drive means for varying the degree of friction between the traction module and the pipe .

4. A vehicle as claimed in claim 1 or 2 wherein one module included detector means for detecting a pipe junction within the main pipeline.

5. A vehicle as claimed in claim 4 wherein the detector means includes a plurality of magnetic sensors for detecting the relative circumferential position of the junction within the pipe.

6 . A vehicle as claimed in claim 1 or 2 wherein a module includes drill means provided to cause an aperture to be made through or into the pipe of a lining therein .

7. A vehicle as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein a module includes means for heating a plastic pipe to cause a joint to be effected between a main pipe and a smaller diameter pipe extending therefrom.

8. A vehicle as claimed in claim 1 or 2 wherein flexible links are provided to assist in manoeuvering the vehicle.

9. A method of effecting an operation on a pipeline comprising passing a vehicle consisting of a train of modules through the pipeline to detect the presence of an item to be operated on; and moving the vehicle to align a module with the item to carry out the desired operation.

10. A method as claimed in claim 9, wherein the module for carrying out the operation is moved longitudinally and axially to assist in alignment .

11. A method as claimed in claim 9 or 10 wherein a drilling module is aligned in the pipe to effect drilling of main pipe liner.

12. A method as claimed in claim 11 wherein a sealing module is aligned in the pipe to seal an auxiliary pipe liner to the main pipe liner.