Method and apparatus for lining pipes with environmentally compatible impervious membrane
View Patent ↗A method and apparatus for remotely installing a monolithic liner in a conduit is disclosed. The apparatus includes a main component body including electromagnetic actuators, pneumatic cylinders, linear actuators relays, solenoids, ion generator, attachment points for tethers, umbilical, cameras and diameter specific guides and a reciprocation head attached thereto. The longitudinally traversing reciprocation head incorporates a fluid driven rotary turbine motor assembly communicating with shaft and self cleaning dissipation device integrating both conical and inverted cone surfaces. Also included on the reciprocating assembly is an impingement block for the efficient mixing of products and a termination mechanism for the precise remote control of product flow. Additionally, the assembly provides the ion generator to direct a stream of negatively charged air flow to the shaft and the diffusion device to effectively prohibit excess material accumulation.
1. A in situ pipe lining method comprising:
a) placing a pipe lining apparatus, having a housing, into the interior of a pipe to be lined;
b) connecting the pipe lining apparatus to an umbilical attached to resources comprising air, lining components, and electricity;
c) causing the pipe lining apparatus to move at a predetermined speed along the longitudinal axis of the pipe;
d) heating the lining components in the apparatus;
e) activating a motor to rotate a dissipation device between 20,000 and 45,000 rpm;
f) mixing the lining components of isocyanate and amine resin in an impingement block;
g) reciprocatingly moving a head attached to the housing and including a rotating shaft holding the rotating dissipation device shaped as two asymmetrical reversely aligned cones with a center top attached to the rotating shaft and with an acute angled flange oriented to the reciprocating head wherein the rotating dissipation device forms an acute angle to a lining stream proximate to the center top;
h) utilizing a remotely activated termination rod extending through the impingement block wherein heated and pressurized lining components enter the block and are mixed and projected out of a stream tip orifice to the dissipation device by retraction of the termination rod;
i) directing a stream of negatively charged ions to the dissipation device;
j) projecting the lining on to the rotating dissipation device at 1700 to 3500 psi;
k) allowing the lining to dwell and equalize mass within the dissipation device;
l) partially curing the lining;
m) distributing the lining in a 360 degree arc around the pipe from the dissipation device; and
n) forward and reversely moving the reciprocating head between 0.001 and 5 inches thereby moving the dissipation device and the impingement block in unison.
2. The method of claim 1 further comprising lining a pipe in a thickness between 0.05 inches to greater than 4 inches.
3. The method of claim 1 further comprising creating an inert lining and blocking the migration of fluids from the pipe into the environment.