Lead pipe spudding prior to extraction or remediation

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10969053-B2
Application number	US-201816126380-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 10, 2018
Priority date	Sep 8, 2017
Publication date	Apr 6, 2021
Grant date	Apr 6, 2021

Abstract

A method for enlarging a crushed section of a ductile pipe. A wire rope having a bead or plurality of beads attached to the rope is placed in a ductile pipe. When a series of beads is used, each of the beads is sequentially larger. The wire rope is pulled through the crushed section, and the ductile pipe conforms to the larger diameter of the beads. The crushed section of pipe may be expanded so that a larger wire rope suitable for pipe extraction may be passed through. Alternatively, the pipe may be reformed and expanded to near or greater than its original size. The pipe may then be coated or a smaller slip-lined pipe may be placed within the original pipe.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method comprising:
placing a first wire rope having a first diameter and comprising a series of beads with increasing diameter into a ductile pipe, wherein the series of beads is disposed on a first side of a collapsed section of the pipe, the collapsed section having an effective diameter; and
pulling the wire rope through the collapsed section of pipe such that the series of beads enter the collapsed section in order of increasing diameter;
with more than one of the series of beads, upsizing the effective diameter of the collapsed section.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
placing a second wire rope having a second diameter into the pipe; and
extracting the pipe with the second wire rope.

3. The method of claim 2 further comprising pulling a replacement pipe behind the pipe while the pipe is being extracted with the second wire rope.

4. The method of claim 2 wherein the second diameter is larger than the first diameter and the effective diameter of the collapsed section.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the series of beads define increasing diameters in the order that each of the series of beads is pulled through the collapsed section.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein each of the series of beads is spherical.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the pipe defines an original outer diameter, and wherein the effective outer diameter of the collapsed section is larger than the original outer diameter after the step of pulling the wire rope through the collapsed section of pipe.

8. The method of claim 7 further comprising pulling a replacement pipe into the pipe.

9. The method of claim 8 , in which the replacement pipe has the same outer inner diameter as the original outer inner diameter of the pipe.

10. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of lining the inside diameter of the pipe after the at least one bead has been pulled through the collapsed section.

11. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of pulling a second pipe into the pipe after the step of pulling the wire rope through the collapsed section of pipe.

12. The method of claim 11 further comprising coating an inner surface of the pipe prior to the step of pulling the replacement pipe into the pipe.

13. A method, comprising:
disposing a first wire rope through a ductile pipe section, the first wire rope comprising a plurality of beads, the plurality of beads disposed in a sequence of increasing diameter;
pulling the wire rope through a collapsed section of ductile pipe, the collapsed section being defined by an initial effective inner diameter;
with two or more of the plurality of beads, upsizing the initial effective inner diameter of the collapsed section of the ductile pipe to an enlarged effective inner diameter; and
thereafter, with the first wire rope, pulling a second wire rope through the collapsed section of the ductile pipe, the second wire rope having a larger diameter than the first wire rope.

14. The method of claim 13 in which the second wire rope has a larger diameter than the initial effective inner diameter.

Assignees

• Earth Tool Co Llc
• Charles Machine Works

Inventors

• Crane Robert F
• Wentworth Steven W
• Randa Mark D

Classifications

• F16L55/18 Primary

  Appliances for use in repairing pipes (F16L55/10 takes precedence) · CPC title

• F16L1/028

  in the ground (F16L1/026 takes precedence) · CPC title

• F16L55/165

  a pipe {or flexible liner} being inserted in the damaged section · CPC title

• F16L1/06

  Accessories therefor, e.g. anchors · CPC title

• E21B29/10

  Reconditioning of well casings, e.g. straightening · CPC title