High Pressure Water Jet Cleaner and Coating Applicator

This invention relates to a device for treating the exterior surface of pipe in a pipeline, including cleaning, surface preparation and coating.

A pipeline typically has an outer coating to protect the pipeline from corrosion and other detrimental effects, particularly when the pipeline is buried underground. This coating degrades with time, and, if the pipeline itself is to be prevented from sustaining further permanent damage, the pipeline must be dug up, the old coating removed, the surface of the pipe conditioned and a new coat of protective material applied to the pipeline.

When initially building a pipeline, the individual pipe sections are typically coated prior to shipment to the final location, whereby they are welded together to form the pipeline. By coating the pipe sections prior to shipment, it is possible that the coating will be damaged in shipment. Also, the welding of the pipe sections together destroys the coating at the welded ends. Coating damage due to shipment and welding must be repaired on a spot basis as the pipeline is constructed. Because of the excellent corrosion protection, impact and adhesive properties, it would be advantageous to coat the entire pipeline with a plural component polyurethane material at the construction site. However, no technique has been developed to date to do so economically and at the production rates required.

In a typical pipeline rehabilitation operation, the pipeline will be uncovered, and a lifting mechanism, such as a crane, will be used to lift the exposed portion of the pipeline out of the ditch and rest the exposed pipeline on skids to provide access to the entire outer surface of the pipeline in the portion between the skids. The pipe must then be cleaned, the outer surface of the pipeline prepared to receive a new protective coat, and the pipeline then recoated.

Initially, manual labor was required to remove the old coating with hand tools such as scrapers. This technique is obviously time consuming and quite expensive. Various attempts have been made to provide more automation to the cleaning procedure, including U.S. Pat. No. 4,552,594 issued Nov. 12, 1985 to Van Voskuilen and U.S. Pat. No. 4,677,998 issued July 7, 1987 to the same inventor. These patents disclose the use of high pressure water jets which are moved in a zigzag path along the pipe surface to be cleaned to slough off the coating. While devices of this type have been an improvement over manual cleaning, there still exists a need in the industry for enhanced performance in the cleaning and recoating operation.

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, an apparatus is provided for treating a pipeline. The apparatus includes a centering assembly mounted on the pipeline for movement along the pipeline. A nozzle carriage assembly is mounted on the centering assembly and defines at least one arcuate ring mounted thereon. The centering assembly has at least one arm pivotally mounted to the centering assembly, with the arcuate ring mounted on the arm. The arm and ring are pivotal between a first position with the ring concentric to the center axis of the pipeline and a second position spaced from the pipeline to allow the centering assembly and nozzle carriage assembly to be removed from the pipeline. At least one spray nozzle is mounted on the arcuate ring. The spray nozzle can be mounted on the ring for reciprocating arcuate travel for a predetermined arc along the arcuate ring.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, the spray nozzle can be used to spray a high pressure water jet to clean the pipeline, a combination of water and entrained abrasive for enhanced cleaning and obtaining an angular surface profile, or for applying a pipe coating.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, two arcuate rings are mounted on the nozzle carriage assembly on opposite sides of the pipeline. A plurality of spray nozzles are mounted on each arcuate ring, each reciprocating through a predetermined arc. Preferably, the centering assembly and nozzle carriage assembly are moved along the pipeline at a velocity that is one-half the width of each reciprocation path of the spray nozzle to cover the surface of the pipeline twice as the apparatus moves along the pipeline.

For a more complete understanding of the present invention and for further advantages thereof, reference is now made to the following Detailed Description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side view of an automated pipeline treating apparatus forming a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the automated jet cleaning unit used in the apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front view of the automated jet cleaning unit of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a top view of the automated jet cleaning unit of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is an end view of the nozzle carriage assembly and abrasive cleaning nozzles utilized in the apparatus;

FIG. 6 is an end view of the nozzle carriage assembly and abrasive cleaning nozzles with the arcuate rings on which the nozzles are mounted pivoted to the removal position;

FIG. 7 is an end view of the centering assembly used in the apparatus centered about a pipeline;

FIG. 8 is an end view of the centering apparatus in the removal position;

FIG. 9 is a schematic view of the chain drive for the abrasive cleaning nozzles in the operating orientation;

FIG. 10 is an illustrative view of the chain drive in the removal position;

FIG. 11 is an end view of the nozzle carriage assembly and abrasive cleaning nozzles illustrating the chain drive;

FIG. 12 is a side view of the nozzle carriage assembly and abrasive cleaning nozzles;

FIG. 13 is an illustrative view of the arcuate rings and abrasive cleaning nozzles in the operating position;

FIG. 14 is an illustrative view of the arcuate rings pivoted to the removal position.

FIG. 15 is an illustrative view of the nozzle used in the apparatus;

FIG. 16 is an illustrative view of the travel path of the spray from the nozzle;

FIG. 17 is an end view of an automated pipeline treating apparatus forming a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 18 is a side view of the apparatus of FIG. 17;

FIG. 19 is a simplified end view of the apparatus of FIG. 17;

FIG. 20 is a simplified side view of the apparatus of FIG. 17;

FIG. 21 is an end view of the chain drive of the apparatus of FIG. 17;

FIG. 22 is a side view of the chain drive of FIG. 21;

FIG. 23 is an end view of a nozzle carriage and nozzle of the apparatus of FIG. 17;

FIG. 24 is a side view of the nozzle carriage and nozzle of FIG. 23;

FIG. 25 is an end view of the drive ring assembly of the apparatus of FIG. 17;

FIG. 26 is an end view of a shield assembly in the apparatus of FIG. 17 and

FIG. 27 is a side view of the shield assembly.

With reference now to the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals designate like or similar parts throughout the several views, an automated pipeline treating apparatus 10 forming a first embodiment of the invention is illustrated in

FIGS. 1-16. The apparatus 10 is used to clean and/or coat a pipeline 12, which can be either a new pipeline or a previously coated pipeline in need of rehabilitation. Typically, the pipeline to be rehabilitated will be a pipeline which has just been uncovered and raised out of the ditch with the original coating on the pipeline having degraded to a condition that is no longer serviceable.

In various modes of the apparatus 10, the apparatus can be used to clean any old coating off the pipeline and condition the outer surface of the pipeline itself for a new coating. In another mode, the apparatus 10 can be used to spray on the new coating once the pipeline surface has been prepared.

In the cleaning and surface preparation mode, the apparatus 10 includes three major sections, a sled unit 14, a travel unit 16 and an automated jet cleaning unit 18. The sled unit 14 is commonly mounted on tracks which is pulled parallel to the pipeline being treated and the weight of the sled unit thus has no effect whatsoever on the pipeline. In contrast, the travel unit 16 and automated jet cleaning unit 18 are supported on the pipeline itself for movement along the axis 20 of the pipe in the direction of arrow 22. The weight of the travel unit and automated jet cleaning unit will be such as to be readily carried by the pipeline without damage. The weight of these units does not have to be supported by a side boom or other lifting device during operation.

With reference to FIGS. 2-8, various details of the automated jet cleaning unit 18 can be further described. The unit 18 includes a centering assembly 24. As best shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the centering assembly 24 can be seen to include pivotal arms 26 and 28 which pivot on frame member 30 through the action of hydraulic cylinders 32 between an operating position, shown in FIG. 7, and an installation or removal position, shown in FIG. 8. Each of the arms, and the frame member mount an aligned pair of guide wheels 34 to support the centering assembly 24 on the pipeline. In the operating position, as seen in FIG. 7, the three pairs of guide wheels are distributed at 120.degree. from each other around the pipeline so that the centering assembly 24 is centered on the pipeline. Preferably, air pressure is maintained in cylinders 32 when the centering assembly is in the operating position to hold wheels 34 firmly against the pipeline to keep the centering assembly centered on the axis 20 of the pipe despite weld joints and surface irregularities.

Attached to the centering assembly 24 is a nozzle carriage assembly 36. The nozzle carriage assembly 36 includes two arcuate rings 38 and 40. Ring 38 is rigidly secured to arm 26. Ring 40 is similarly rigidly secured to arm 28. Thus, as seen in FIG. 6, as the cylinders 32 operate to pivot arms 26 and 28 into the installation or removal position, the arcuate rings 38 and 40 are similarly deployed.

As best seen in FIG. 4, the rings 38 and 40 are spaced apart a distance L from each other along the pipeline axis 20. The rings preferably have an arc greater than 180.degree.. The radius of the rings 38 and 40 is selected so that the rings are concentric with the pipeline axis 20 when the arms 26 and 28 are in the operating position. Thus, in the operating position, the rings 38 and 40 are at a constant distance from the outer surface of the pipeline about the entire circumference of the pipeline.

Mounted on the arcuate rings 38 and 40 are a series of abrasive cleaning nozzle carriages 42, with each carriage supporting an abrasive cleaning nozzle 44. There are illustrated six carriages and nozzles on each of the rings 38 and 40. However, this number can be varied as will be described in detail hereinafter.

Each of the carriages 42 is supported on a ring by a series of wheels 46 guided on the inner and outer edges of the ring to permit the carriage and attached nozzle to move in an arcuate manner along the ring. Each of the carriages on a particular ring are interconnected by links 48 pivoted between adjacent carriages. Thus, motion of a carriage will be mirrored by the motion of the rest of the carriages on that particular ring.

With reference to FIG. 15, the details of the abrasive cleaning nozzles 44 can be described. The nozzles have passages 50 to carry high pressure water, for example in a pressure range of 10,000-15,000 psi. An abrasive channel 52 carries abrasives (typically sand) which are entrained in the water flow to enhance the cleaning activity of the nozzle. As can be seen, the high pressure water is sprayed from the nozzle through ports 54 at an angle relative to the center axis 56 of the nozzle and toward the axis 56. This creates a relative vacuum at passage 52 to entrain the abrasives in the water jet flow to enhance the cleaning action and provide an additional force to move the abrasive.

As can be seen in FIG. 2, the abrasive nozzles 44 are preferably mounted on their carriages so that the jet impinges on the outer surface of the pipeline at an oblique angle to the surface. The nozzles are preferably adjustably mounted to allow the operator to select the best angle. It has been found that this enhances the efficiency of cleaning. The use of high pressure water jets, particularly with entrained abrasives, is an improvement over shot blast cleaning, where shot impinges against the outer surface of the pipeline. Shot blast cleaning leaves a relatively smooth outer surface to the pipeline, which is not a suitable surface profile for bonding with adhesive to apply a new coat on the pipeline. The high pressure water jet, particularly with entrained abrasives, generates a highly irregular angular surface which is very conducive for bonding with adhesive.

With reference to FIGS. 9-12, the mechanism for oscillating the nozzles 44 will be described. Mounted atop the centering assembly 24 is a control module 58. Within the control module is a motor 60 with a drive shaft 62 which extends out of the module and through the assembly 36 and extends parallel to the axis 20 of the pipeline when the units are in the operating position. The motor rotates shaft 62 in the direction of the arrow with an adjustable predetermined angular velocity. A first drive gear 64 is mounted on the shaft adjacent the ring 38. A second drive gear 66 is mounted on the shaft adjacent the arcuate ring 40. As seen in FIGS. 10 and 11, the first drive gear drives a first driven gear 68 through a chain 70. The second drive gear drives a second driven gear 72 through a chain 74. Drive gears 68 and 72 are supported from frame member 30 so that the distance between the gears does not vary whether the arms are in the operating or installation and removal position.

Arcuate ring 38 supports a continuous chain 76 which is supported about the periphery of the ring for 30.degree. of the entire length of the ring. Arcuate ring 40 mounts a continuous chain 78 in the same manner.

First driven gear 68 drives a gear 80 which engages the chain 76 when the device is in the operating position as shown in FIG. 9. Second driven gear 72 similarly drives a gear 82 which is engaged with chain 78 in the operating position. When cylinders 32 are actuated to pivot arms 26 and 28 into the installation/removal position, the chains 76 and 78 simply move out of engagement with the gears 80 and 82, as best seen in FIG. 10, to disconnect the drive train. Similarly, when the arms are pivoted to the operating position, the chains 76 and 78 re-engage the gears 80 and 82, respectively, to complete the drive train.

In operation, the travel unit 16 will drive the cleaning unit 18 along the pipeline, while the motor 60 oscillates the nozzles 44.

Chains 76 and 78 each have a special link in them which receives a floating pin extending from the nozzle carriage 42' closest to the drive motor. The continuous rotation of chains 76 and 78 translate into oscillation of nozzle carriage 42' about an arcuate distance on rings 38 and 40 determined by the length of the chains 76 and 78. The pin floats a limited direction on a radial line perpendicular to axis 22 when the arms and rings are in the operation position to follow the special link in its travel. If only a single nozzle carriage and nozzle were used on each ring, chains 76 and 78 need only be lengthened to extend about a 180.degree. arc of the periphery of the rings, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10.

As best seen in FIG. 16, the width W that each nozzle travels should be twice the distance D that the nozzles moves along the pipeline. Further, the arc of reciprocation for the nozzles should be about 360.degree. divided by the number of nozzles to ensure complete coverage of the outer surface of the pipeline. For example, if twelve nozzles are used, six on each of the rings, the arc of reciprocation should be 30.degree.. By following this standard, every area on the pipeline will be covered twice by nozzles as the apparatus moves along the pipeline to ensure cleaning of the pipeline. With such operation, a surface finish of ISO SA 21/2 should be possible with a highly angular surface profile of up to 0.003 inches in mean differential to provide a superior base for a new coating.

The centering assembly 24 positions the nozzle carriage assembly 36 on the pipeline and ensures that the nozzles 44 maintain the proper standoff from the pipeline. The control module 58 directs the flow of water and abrasive to the individual nozzles and controls the oscillation of the nozzles. A two part cover 84 is mounted on the arms 26 and 28 to overly the nozzles to protect the operator and other personnel from ricocheting water and abrasive spray.

The high speed water jets in the nozzles accelerate the individual abrasive particles, typically sand, to greatly increase the momentum of the particle and allow it to more efficiently remove contaminants on the pipeline surface and obtain the needed surface profile. The high speed water jet attacks the interface that bonds the coating or contaminant to the pipe itself and removes all loosely bonded material. In addition, the water will dissolve and remove any corrosion causing salts on the pipeline. The erosive action of the abrasive is used to remove the tightly bonded material such as rust and primer and provide the desired surface profile for receiving a new coating. The sled unit 14 is designed to be towed as a separate vehicle behind the travel unit 16 and cleaning unit 18 as they move along the pipeline. The sled unit mounts the control panel for the various functions of the apparatus, and includes a computer to maintain the desired relation between speed of the units along the pipeline and the speed of oscillation of the nozzles. The sled unit also contains high pressure pump units used to provide the high pressure water at nozzles 44. One, two or three pumps can be run in tandem depending on the size of the pipeline to be cleaned and the degree of cleaning desired. Using less than the total number of pumps minimizes water consumption, fuel costs and maintenance when the full capacity is not required. Also, in the event one of the pump units goes off line, another unit can be brought on line quickly to replace it. A quintuplex positive displacement pump with stainless steel fluid and pressure lubricated power ends is a satisfactory pump. Such a pump can be rated at 10,000 psi at 34.3 gallons per minute, for example. The sled unit also contains a compressor to operate the cylinders 32, a generator for electrical power for the motor 60 and to power the air compressor and other controls. Also, the sled unit mounts containers of the abrasive to feed the cleaning unit 18.

The chain drive and single direction rotating motor that oscillate the nozzles provide a smooth ramp up and ramp down of the nozzle operation at the ends of the nozzle path, not possible if a reversing motor is used to oscillate the nozzles. The nozzles slow up smoothly as they reach the end of their oscillation arc and accelerate smoothly as they reverse their motion. This provides a smooth operation. As noted, for twelve nozzles, the arc of reciprocation should be 30.degree.. For ten nozzles, the arc should be about 36.degree.. For eight nozzles, the arc should be about 45.degree..

The apparatus 10 can be used to apply a new coating to the pipeline as well. Instead of nozzles 44 to apply abrasives and high pressure water jets, the nozzles 44 can be used to spray a polyurethane coating on to the pipeline. A polyurethane coating of the type that can be used for such coating is sold under the trademark and identification PROTOGOL UT 32 10 and is manufactured by T.I.B.-Chemie, a company located in Mannheim, West Germany. This polyurethane material is a two part material, one part being a resin and the other an isocyanate. When the two parts are mixed in a 4 to 1 ratio of resin to isocyanate, the material sets up in a hard state within thirty seconds of mixing. The apparatus 10 thus is an ideal device to apply such a spray in a continuous manner along the pipeline, providing, with the nozzle overlap, complete coating of the pipeline to the desired coating thickness as the apparatus moves along the pipeline. After the polyurethane has been applied, solvent will be driven through the nozzles and supply passages to prevent the polyurethane from hardening and ruining the apparatus.

It is also possible to use only one oscillating nozzle per ring to apply the coating by oscillating each nozzle 180.degree. or so and moving the unit along the pipeline to insure complete coverage. It is also possible to mount a plurality of nozzles in a fixed position on rings 38 and 40 for either cleaning or coating if oscillation is not desired.

Reference is now made to FIGS. 17-27 which illustrate a second embodiment of the present invention identified as automated pipeline treating apparatus 100. Many of the components of apparatus 100 are identical and work in the same manner as components of apparatus 10. Those components are designated by the same reference numerals in FIGS. 17-27.

Apparatus 100 is illustrated using only two nozzle carriage assemblies 36 and nozzles 44 in the apparatus. In contrast to apparatus 10, the nozzle carriage assemblies lie in the same plane perpendicular to the axis 20 of the pipeline, instead of being staggered along the length of the pipeline as in apparatus 10. This is made possible by providing a carriage mounting ring 102 on arm 26 and a carriage mounting ring 104 on arm 28, with each ring extending an arc of somewhat less than 180.degree. so that there is no interference between the rings as the apparatus is placed in the operating position. A chain drive ring 106 is mounted to arm 26 adjacent to carriage mounting ring 102. A similar chain drive ring 108 is mounted on arm 28 adjacent to ring 104. Rings 106 and 108 are also somewhat less than 180.degree. in arc to avoid interference when the apparatus is in the operating position.

As best illustrated in FIGS. 23 and 24, the nozzle carriage assembly 110 is provided with four guide wheels 112, two of which run on the inner rim of a carriage mounting ring, and the other two running on the outer rim of the carriage mounting ring, to support the nozzle carriage assembly for arcuate motion along the ring. The nozzle 114 itself can be adapted for high pressure water jet cleaning using abrasives, as nozzle 44, or as a nozzle to distribute a pipeline coating such as the two part polyurethane mentioned previously. FIG. 24 illustrates the mounting of pin 116 on the carriage assembly 110 which is permitted to move a limited distance vertically as shown in FIG. 24 as it follows the special link in the drive chain in oscillation.

With reference to FIG. 25, the details of the chain drive ring 108 can be better described. As only a single nozzle is mounted on the associated carriage mounting ring, it will be desirable to have the nozzle carriage assembly and nozzle oscillate 180.degree.. Thus, the continuous chain 118 mounted on the chain drive ring 108 extends about the entire periphery of the drive ring and is supported by tensioning wheels 120 and 122. Guides 124 are also provided to guide the chain about the ring.

With reference to FIGS. 21 and 22, the nozzle oscillating driving elements of apparatus 100 are illustrated. The motor 60 drives a single drive gear 126 from its drive shaft 62. A continuous chain 128 connects drive gear 126 with driven gears 68 and 72. Tensioning gears 130 allow for tensioning of the chain. It can be seen in apparatus 100 that the positioning of the rings 102 and 104 in a parallel plane permits a single drive gear 126 to operate the nozzles being oscillated.

With references to FIGS. 17-20, arm 26 can be seen to have parallel bars 132 and 134 extending from the arm parallel to the axis 20 of the pipeline which supports the nozzle carriage assembly 36. Arm 28 has a similar pair of bars 136 and 138 which extend parallel the axis 20. The chain drive rings 106 and 108 are supported on the bars through brackets 140 which have cylindrical apertures 142 so that the rings can be slid over the bars and supported thereby. The carriage mounting rings 102 and 104 have similar brackets 144 as best seen in FIG. 20.

To isolate the nozzle action from the remainder of the pipeline and apparatus other than that being treated, semi-circular annular plates 146 and 148 are mounted on arms 26 and 28, respectively, which lie in a plane perpendicular axis 20 and are closely fit around the outer circumference of the pipeline to isolate the components of the centering assembly from the portion 150 of the pipe being treated. Each semi-circular annular plate includes a semi-cylindrical shield 152 which extends from the plate concentric with the pipeline radially inward of the carriage mounting rings, chain drive rings and nozzles. An aperture 154 must be formed in the shield 152 at the position of each of the nozzles used so that the nozzles spray passes through the associated aperture to impact on the outer surface of the pipeline. Where, as shown in apparatus 100, the nozzles will move approximately 180.degree., the aperture 154 must extend roughly a similar arcuate distance.

With reference to FIGS. 26 and 27, a two part shield assembly 156 including shield 158 and shield 160 are mounted on the bars 132-138.

Shield 160 illustrated in FIGS. 26 and 27 can be seen to include wheels 162 for guiding the shield along bars 136 and 138. The shield 160 includes a semi-cylindrical concentric plate 164, and annular plates 166 and 168 which extend in a radial direction from the axis 20 of the pipeline. A pneumatic double acting cylinder 170 is mounted on each of the arms 26 and 28 to move the shields 158 and 160 along the bars between a first position 172 and a second position 174 as seen in FIG. 18. In the first position 172, the plate 164 fits concentrically within the shields 152 and radially inward from the nozzles. Thus, the shields 158 and 160 prevent either the high pressure water jet or coating discharged from the nozzles from contacting the pipeline surface. In the first position, the annular plates 166 and 168 prevent the discharge of the nozzles from spraying either direction along the axis of the pipeline.

In the second position 174, the shields 158 and 160 are moved to permit the nozzle spray to impact on the portion 150 of the pipeline being treated. However, the annular plate 166 will prevent the spray from escaping from the apparatus in the direction of arrow 22.

The use of shield assembly 156 can have a number of benefits when coating a pipeline, for example. It may be desirable to leave a short length of the pipeline uncoated, for example, at a weld, and this can be achieved without stopping the motion or operation of the apparatus along the pipeline by simply drawing the shield assembly into the first position for a sufficient period of time to prevent the coating over the desired gap. Once the gap is passed, the shield assembly 156 can be returned to the second position and coating of the pipeline can continue without interruption.

Although several embodiments of the invention have been illustrated in the accompanying drawings and described in the foregoing Detailed Description, it will be understood that the invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed, but is capable of numerous rearrangements, modifications and substitutions of parts and elements without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.