Pipes and tubular conduits – With pressure compensators – Variable capacity chambers
Patent
1996-11-18
1998-10-06
Brinson, Patrick F.
Pipes and tubular conduits
With pressure compensators
Variable capacity chambers
138 46, 138 31, 1375135, 13754315, F16L 5504
Patent
active
058162917
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a shock absorber in a liquid conduit, said shock absorber comprising a closed liquid tank which is partly filled with gas and has a joint means which is connected to the conduit and through which liquid can flow to and from the tank for compressing and decompressing the gas.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In most conduits through which liquids flow, shocks arise when quickly throttling or shutting off the liquid flow. In case of large amounts of liquid flowing through a conduit of a relatively small diameter, these shocks can be so powerful as to break the conduit. Therefore, one usually tries, if possible, to completely avoid shocks by slow throttling or shutting off.
Since it is not always possible to achieve such slow throttling or shutting off, various devices for shock absorbing are available, which are intended to communicate with a conduit through which liquid flows. Generally, the devices comprise some sort of resilient member which, in case of a shock in the conduit, owing to its resilience damps the force of the shock.
This resilient member can be, for instance, a compression spring, which actuates a piston which is movably arranged in a cylinder connected to the conduit, a compressible, gas-filled rubber pad in such a cylinder, or, in its very simplest form, a certain amount of gas which is held in such a cylinder and which is pressurised by the liquid flowing through the conduit.
The above-mentioned piston arrangement suffers from the drawback that it is relatively expensive to manufacture a cylinder with a piston mounted therein in a movable and sealed manner, and that extensive and, thus, costly dismounting is required for inspection. The arrangement comprising a compressible pad of, for instance, rubber, suffers from the drawbacks that the material of the pad can be attacked by or react with various liquids, and that the pad can be punctured and consequently loose its function. These two drawbacks make frequent check-ups of the function of the compressible pad necessary, which results in increased operating costs and relatively long stoppages.
Also the above-mentioned simple solution, which is briefly described in the introductory part, is impaired by a serious deficiency. Especially when supplying petroleum products through conduits, it has been found that there is a tendency that the gas held in the liquid tank or the cylinder disappears in course of time, among other things owing to frothing. Additional gas must therefore be supplied at relatively frequent intervals, which however is not a very efficient solution, especially for extensive pipeline systems with a plurality of shock absorbers.
OBJECT OF THE INVENTION
In consideration of the drawbacks of prior art solutions, the object of the present invention is to improve a shock absorber of the type mentioned by way of introduction in such a manner that neither frequent functional check-ups nor additional gas supply is required.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In a shock absorber of the type mentioned by way of introduction, this object is achieved by a check valve means arranged in the joint means and adapted to permit, in its forward direction, a substantially free liquid flow from the conduit to the tank and, in its rearward direction, a throttled liquid flow from the tank to the conduit.
Various experiments carried out by the applicant have shown that the throttling of the liquid flow from the tank to the conduit provided by means of the inventive shock absorber implies that gas bubbles, which, during the absorption of a shock, are taken up by the liquid, again have time to leave the liquid before it flows from the liquid tank back to the conduit. Especially in the petroleum trade, in which heavy oils are frequently conveyed at high pressure through long pipelines, the inventive shock absorber has been found to function without faults in the above-mentioned experiments.
In the inventive shock absorber, the joint means preferably comprises a tubular member, and the check valve means arra
REFERENCES:
patent: 2774381 (1956-12-01), Buri
patent: 2807279 (1957-09-01), Presnell
patent: 3032145 (1962-05-01), Katz
patent: 3088492 (1963-05-01), Mericier
patent: 3170481 (1965-02-01), Presnell
patent: 3420273 (1969-01-01), Greer
patent: 3493001 (1970-02-01), Bevandich
patent: 3746038 (1973-07-01), Simmons
patent: 3782418 (1974-01-01), Zahid
patent: 3794077 (1974-02-01), Fanshier
patent: 3857413 (1974-12-01), Zahid
patent: 3877489 (1975-04-01), Louie et al.
patent: 4109767 (1978-08-01), Nandyal et al.
patent: 4172465 (1979-10-01), Dashner
patent: 4174731 (1979-11-01), Sturgis et al.
patent: 4456029 (1984-06-01), McCrum
patent: 4596263 (1986-06-01), Snider
patent: 4628957 (1986-12-01), Hofer et al.
patent: 4683599 (1987-08-01), Rief
patent: 4838462 (1989-06-01), Corniea
Brinson Patrick F.
LJ Oljeledningar AB
LandOfFree
Shock absorber for liquid conduits does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Shock absorber for liquid conduits, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Shock absorber for liquid conduits will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-68917