Systems, devices, and methods for in situ pipe repair

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12535172-B2
Application number	US-202217991323-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 21, 2022
Priority date	Nov 22, 2021
Publication date	Jan 27, 2026
Grant date	Jan 27, 2026

Abstract

A system for in situ repair of a metal pipe has a pipe repair head, an actuation assembly, an electrical power supply, and a controller. The pipe repair head can have an arm extending along a radiation direction of the pipe and a Joule heating element coupled to a distal end portion of the arm. The actuation assembly can move the pipe repair head along the axial and/or circumferential directions of the metal pipe. The controller controls the actuation assembly to position the pipe repair head with respect to a surface portion of the inner circumferential wall. The controller can then control the electrical power supply to apply a current pulse to the Joule heating element so as to generate a temperature of at least 1000° C. proximal to the surface portion, thereby sintering a metal powder in a slurry on the surface portion to form a metal repair layer.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1 . A system for in situ repair of a metal pipe, the system comprising:
a first pipe repair head comprising:
a first arm extending along a radial direction of the metal pipe; and
a Joule heating element coupled to a distal end portion of the first arm so as to face an inner circumferential wall of the metal pipe;
a support member extending along an axial direction of the metal pipe, the first pipe repair head being coupled to the support member; an actuation assembly constructed to move the first pipe repair head along the axial direction of the metal pipe, along a circumferential direction of the metal pipe, or along both the axial and circumferential directions; an electrical power supply operatively coupled to the Joule heating element; and a controller operatively coupled to the actuation assembly and the electrical power supply, the controller comprising one or more processors and computer readable storage media storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the controller to:
(a) position, via the actuation assembly, the first pipe repair head with respect to a surface portion of the inner circumferential wall; and
(b) apply, via the electrical power supply, a first current pulse to the Joule heating element such that the Joule heating element generates a first temperature of at least 1000° C. proximal to the surface portion.

2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the computer readable storage media stores additional instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the controller to:
(c) rotate, via the actuation assembly, the first pipe repair head along the circumferential direction to another surface portion of the inner circumferential wall of the metal pipe; and (d) re-apply, via the electrical power supply, the first current pulse to the Joule heating element such that the Joule heating element generates the first temperature proximal to the another surface portion.

3 . The system of claim 2 , wherein the computer readable storage media stores additional instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the controller to repeat (c) and (d) until the first pipe repair head has been rotated around an entire inner circumference of the metal pipe.

4 . The system of claim 1 , wherein a duration of the first current pulse is approximately 10 s.

5 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the electrical power supply and the Joule heating element are constructed such that:
a heating ramp rate to the first temperature is in a range of 10 2 to 10 4 K/s, inclusive; a cooling ramp rate from the first temperature is in a range of 10 2 to 10 4 K/s, inclusive; or the heating and cooling ramp rates are both in a range of 10 2 to 10 4 K/s, inclusive.

6 . The system of claim 1 , wherein:
the electrical power supply is located outside of the metal pipe and is connected to the Joule heating element via electrical wiring extending through an inner conduit in the support member; and/or the controller is located outside of the metal pipe and is connected to the actuation assembly via electrical wiring extending through an inner conduit in the support member.

7 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising:
one or more baffles spaced along the axial direction from the first pipe repair head, each baffle extending along the radial direction of the metal pipe between an outer circumferential wall of the support member and the inner circumferential wall of the metal pipe so as to delimit a volume within the metal pipe.

8 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising:
a gas supply providing an inert gas; and one or more supply outlets operatively coupled to the one or more supply outlets and constructed to release the inert gas proximal to the first pipe repair head within the metal pipe.

9 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the gas supply is located outside of the metal pipe and is connected to the one or more supply outlets via a fluid conduit in the support member.

10 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the computer readable storage media stores instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the controller to:
position, via the actuation assembly, the first pipe repair head such that a spacing between the Joule heating element and a slurry deposited on the surface portion along the radial direction is approximately 5 mm or less; or position, via the actuation assembly, the first pipe repair head such that the Joule heating element is in contact with a slurry deposited on the surface portion.

11 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the Joule heating element is formed of carbon, silicon carbide, a metal, a metal alloy, or any combination of the foregoing.

12 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising:
a second pipe repair head coupled to the support member and comprising:
a second arm extending along the radial direction of the metal pipe; and
a slurry deposition nozzle coupled to a distal end portion of the second arm so as to face the inner circumferential wall of the metal pipe;
a supply of repair slurry, the repair slurry comprising a powder of metal or metal alloy, a polymeric binder, and an organic solvent; and a pump operatively coupled to the slurry deposition nozzle and the supply of repair slurry, wherein the controller is operatively coupled to the pump, wherein the actuation assembly is further constructed to move the second pipe repair head along the axial direction, along the circumferential direction, or along both the axial and circumferential directions, and wherein the computer readable storage media stores additional instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the controller to:
(e) position, via the actuation assembly, the second pipe repair head with respect to a second surface portion of the inner circumferential wall; and
(f) dispense, via the pump and the slurry deposition nozzle, an amount of repair slurry from the supply onto the second surface portion.

13 . The system of claim 12 , wherein the computer readable storage media stores instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the controller to perform (f) at a same time as or overlapping with (e), such that the amount of repair slurry is wiped or rolled onto the second surface portion.

14 . The system of claim 12 , wherein the computer readable storage media stores additional instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the controller to:
(g) rotate, via the actuation assembly, the second pipe repair head along the circumferential direction to another surface portion of the inner circumferential wall of the metal pipe; and (h) dispense, via the pump and the slurry deposition nozzle, another amount of repair slurry from the supply onto the another surface portion.

15 . The system of claim 14 , wherein the computer readable storage media stores additional instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the controller to repeat (g) and (h) until the second pipe repair head has been rotated around an entire inner circumference of the metal pipe.

16 . The system of claim 12 , wherein the second pipe repair head further comprises a roller constructed to contact and press the dispensed repair slurry toward the inner circumferential wall of the metal pipe.

17 . The system of claim 12 , wherein the second pipe repair head further comprises a fixture supporting the slurry deposition nozzle on the second arm, the fixture being constructed

Assignees

• Univ Maryland
• Diakont Advanced Tech Inc

Inventors

• Hu Liangbing
• Albertus Paul
• Dong Qi
• Wang Chengwei
• Petit De Mange Edward

Classifications

• F16L55/18

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

• F16L55/1645 Primary

  a sealing material being introduced inside the pipe by means of a tool moving in the pipe · CPC title

• C23C28/322

  only coatings of metal elements only · CPC title

• C23C28/321

  with at least one metal alloy layer · CPC title

• C23C28/32

  including at least one pure metallic layer · CPC title