PIPELINE TELESCOPIC JOINT

Abstract

A pipeline telescopic joint configured to compensate for dimensional changes has: a first pipe section having a first diameter; a second pipe section having a second diameter smaller than the first diameter is slidingly coupled to the first pipe section; an end assembly, which is fixed to the second pipe section an annular seat bounded by two facing cylindrical faces; and an annular gasket, which is housed within the annular seat and has a polymeric casing and a spring housed within the polymeric casing, wherein the polymeric casing is in contact with the cylindrical faces.

Claims

1-23. (canceled)

24. A pipeline telescopic joint configured to compensate for pipeline dimensional changes, the pipeline telescopic joint comprising: a first pipe section having a first diameter; a second pipe section having a second diameter smaller than the first diameter, the second pipe section arranged at least partly within the first pipe section and slidingly coupled to the first pipe section; an end assembly fixed to one of the first pipe section and the second pipe section, wherein: the end assembly and the other one of the first pipe section and the second pipe section define an annular seat, and the end assembly comprises: a ring welded to the one of the first pipe section and the second pipe section, and an annular wall releasably fixed to one end of the ring to bound the annular seat together with a cylindrical face of the ring facing a cylindrical face of one of the first pipe section and the second pipe section; and an annular gasket housed within the annular seat and comprising a polymeric casing and a spring housed within the polymeric casing, wherein the polymeric casing is in contact with the facing cylindrical faces.

25. The pipeline telescopic joint of claim 24, wherein the end assembly is fixed to the second pipe section and the ring comprises a shoulder which has a face facing the annular wall and which bounds the annular seat together with the annular wall and the facing cylindrical faces of the ring and of the first pipe section.

26. The pipeline telescopic joint of claim 24, further comprising a stroke block releasably fixed to a portion of the first pipe section arranged around the second pipe section.

27. The pipeline telescopic joint of claim 26, wherein the stroke block comprises a fastener passing through a thickness of the first pipe section.

28. The pipeline telescopic joint of claim 26, wherein the stroke block comprises a seal ring releasably fixed to one end of the first pipe section arranged around the second pipe section.

29. The pipeline telescopic joint of claim 24, further comprising an annular support and a third pipe section fixed to the second pipe section by the annular support, the third pipe section having a third diameter greater than the first diameter of the first pipe section, wherein the end assembly is fixed to the first pipe section and comprises a first annular wall which bounds a first annular seat together with the ring and the cylindrical face of the second pipe section, and a second annular wall which bounds a second annular seat together with the ring and a cylindrical face of the third pipe section.

30. The pipeline telescopic joint of claim 29, wherein the annular support defines a first through-hole.

31. The pipeline telescopic joint of claim 29, further comprising a stroke block fixed to the third pipe section and arranged around the first pipe section.

32. The pipeline telescopic joint of claim 31, wherein the stroke block comprises a third annular wall releasably fixed to an end portion of the stroke block, the third annular wall bounding a third annular seat together with the end portion of the stroke block and the cylindrical face of the first pipe section.

33. The pipeline telescopic joint of claim 32, wherein the first pipe section defines a second through-hole, an axis of the second through-hole intersecting the third pipe section.

34. The pipeline telescopic joint of claim 33, wherein a square of the third diameter is substantially equal to twice a square of the second diameter.

35. The pipeline telescopic joint of claim 24, further comprising two second pipe sections and two end assemblies, wherein the first pipe section extends in a longitudinal direction over a length, and the two second pipe sections and the two end assemblies extend in directions opposite to each other.

36. The pipeline telescopic joint of claim 35, further comprising two stroke blocks, wherein a first stroke block of the two stroke blocks is releasably fixed to a first portion of the first pipe section arranged around a first second pipe section of the two second pipe sections, and a second stroke block of the two stroke blocks is releasably fixed to a second portion of the first pipe section arranged around a second pipe section of the two second pipe sections.

37. The pipeline telescopic joint of claim 36, wherein each of the two stroke blocks comprises a fastener passing through a thickness of the first pipe section.

38. The pipeline telescopic joint of claim 24, wherein the end assembly is fixed to the first pipe section and comprises an annular element releasably fixed to the ring bounding the annular seat together with an external cylindrical face of the second pipe section and the annular wall.

39. The pipeline telescopic joint of claim 38, wherein the ring comprises a shoulder having an annular face facing the annular wall and that bounds the annular seat together with an internal cylindrical face of the ring, the external cylindrical face of the second pipe section, and the annular wall.

40. The pipeline telescopic joint of claim 38, wherein the ring defines a through-opening to enable pressure inside the annular seat to be measured.

41. The pipeline telescopic joint of claim 38, wherein the end assembly comprises a plurality of tie rods, each tie rod is fixed to the annular element and is associated with a stroke block, the ring being fixed to the second pipe section defining a plurality of through-openings in which the plurality of tie rods are slidingly inserted to limit the sliding of the second pipe section relative to the first pipe section.

42. The pipeline telescopic joint of claim 38, further comprising a sealing assembly which is housed in the annular seat and comprises a plurality of annular gaskets and a spacer arranged between two of the annular gaskets.

43. The pipeline telescopic joint of claim 38, further comprising two second pipe sections and two end assemblies, wherein the two second pipe sections and the two end assemblies extend in directions opposite to each other.

44. The pipeline telescopic joint of claim 24, wherein the end assembly is fixed to the first pipe section and comprises an annular element screwed to the ring, a stroke block and a third pipe section arranged around the second pipe section and fixed to the annular element and the stroke block.

45. The pipeline telescopic joint of claim 44, further comprising a sealing assembly housed in the annular seat and comprising an annular gasket and a ring defining an annular wall held by the annular element in contact with one end of the first pipe section.

46. The pipeline telescopic joint of claim 24, wherein the two facing cylindrical faces bounding the annular seat each have a surface roughness of less than 0.9 μm.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0039] Further features and advantages of the present disclosure will be apparent from the following description of non-limiting embodiments thereof, with reference to the attached figures, wherein:

[0040] FIG. 1 is a perspective view, with parts removed for clarity, of a cryogenic fluid transfer system;

[0041] FIGS. 2 and 3 are side elevation views, with parts removed for clarity and parts in section, of a pipeline joint of the transfer system of FIG. 1, in respective operating configurations;

[0042] FIG. 4 is a section view of the detail IV of FIG. 2;

[0043] FIG. 5 is a side elevation view, with parts removed for clarity and parts in section, of a variant of the joint in accordance with the embodiment of FIGS. 2 and 3;

[0044] FIGS. 6 and 7 are side elevation views, with parts removed for clarity and parts in section, of a pipeline joint of the transfer system of FIG. 1, in accordance with a second embodiment of the present disclosure, in respective operating configurations;

[0045] FIG. 8 is a sectional view of the detail VIII of FIG. 7;

[0046] FIGS. 9 and 10 are side elevation views, with parts removed for clarity and parts in section, of a pipeline joint of the transfer system of FIG. 1, in accordance with a third embodiment of the present disclosure, in respective operating configurations;

[0047] FIGS. 11 and 12 are side elevation views, with parts removed for clarity and parts in section, of the pipeline joint of the transfer system of FIG. 1, in accordance with a fourth embodiment of the present disclosure, in respective operating configurations;

[0048] FIG. 13 is a section view of the detail XII of FIG. 11; and

[0049] FIG. 14 is a section view of a detail of a variant of the joint in accordance with the embodiment of FIGS. 11 and 12.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0050] With reference to FIG. 1, number 1 indicates, as a whole, a system configured to transfer a cryogenic fluid, such as a low-temperature, high-pressure liquefied gas. According to the present disclosure, the transfer system 1 extends between a gas tanker 2 and the shore 3 and comprises a pipeline 4 connecting the gas tanker 2 to the shore 3 and inside which the cryogenic fluid flows.

[0051] The gas tanker 2 comprises a plurality of sphere-shaped tanks 5 configured to store the cryogenic fluid, and during the cryogenic fluid transfer operations is positioned at a distance from the shore 3.

[0052] The pipeline 4 comprises a plurality of pipes 6 connected to each other by a plurality of telescopic joints 7.

[0053] With reference to FIGS. 2, 3, and 4, the telescopic joint 7 comprises a pipe section 8 extending along an axis A1 and having a diameter D1, and a pipe section 9 extending along an axis A2 and having a diameter D2 smaller than the diameter D1.

[0054] The pipe section 9 is arranged at least partly within the pipe section 8 and is slidingly coupled to the pipe section 8 so that axis A1 and axis A2 are substantially coincident.

[0055] The pipe sections 8 and 9 are made of the same material, in particular a metallic material, such as stainless steel.

[0056] The telescopic joint 7 comprises an end assembly 10 welded to one end of the pipe section 9.

[0057] With reference to FIG. 4, the end assembly 10 comprises an annular wall 11 and a ring 12, which has a first end fixed by welding to the pipe section 9 and a second end fixed by fasteners to the annular wall 11.

[0058] The ring 12 is made of the same material as the pipe sections 8 and 9.

[0059] The first end of the ring 12 has the same diameter as the diameter D2 of the pipe section 9, therefore the ring 12 constitutes the extension of the pipe section 9.

[0060] The central portion of the ring 12 comprises a shoulder 13, which has a face facing the annular wall 11 and bounds an annular seat 14 together with the annular wall 11, the cylindrical face of the ring 12 included between the annular wall 11 and the shoulder 13, and the cylindrical face of the pipe section 8.

[0061] The second end of the ring 12 has a threaded hole for coupling to the annular wall 11 by a fastener, such as a screw.

[0062] The telescopic joint 7 further comprises an annular gasket 15, which is housed within the annular seat 14 and comprises a polymeric casing with a U-shaped section, and a helical spring housed within the polymeric casing.

[0063] The polymeric casing comprises an annular face abutted against the shoulder 13, and two cylindrical lips integral with the annular face which are in contact with the cylindrical face of the ring 12 comprised between the annular wall 11 and the shoulder 13, and the cylindrical face of the pipe section 8, respectively. In this configuration, the pressurized cryogenic fluid inside the annular seat causes the lips to expand against the cylindrical face of the ring 12 comprised between the annular wall 11 and the shoulder 13, and the cylindrical face of the pipe section 8. As such, the tightness increases as the pressure of the cryogenic fluid increases.

[0064] The faces of the annular seat 14, which are in contact with the annular gasket 15, have a surface roughness of less than 0.9 μm, in particular less than 0.3 μm.

[0065] In particular, the face of the shoulder 13 facing the annular wall 11, the external cylindrical face of the ring 12 comprised between the annular wall 11 and the shoulder 13, and the internal cylindrical face of the pipe section 8 are machined by precision turning in order to obtain a surface roughness of less than 0.9 μm, in particular less than 0.3 μm. In this way, the annular gasket 15, which is housed in the annular seat 14 with the preloaded spring, can adhere to the face of the shoulder 13 facing the annular wall 11, to the external cylindrical face of the ring 12 comprised between the annular wall 11 and the shoulder 13, and to the internal cylindrical face of the pipe section 8.

[0066] With reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, the telescopic joint 7 comprises a stroke block 16 releasably fixed to a portion of the pipe section 8 arranged around the pipe section 9.

[0067] According to a variant of the first embodiment (not shown), the stroke block 16 comprises at least one screw screwed inside a respective threaded hole, passing through the thickness of the pipe section 8.

[0068] In particular, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the stroke block 16 comprises a plurality of screws screwed inside threaded holes, passing through the thickness of the pipe section 8. In this configuration, the stroke block 16 ensures that the pipe sections 8 and 9 are substantially coaxial.

[0069] With reference to FIG. 5, in accordance with a variant of the present disclosure, the stroke block 16 comprises at least one seal ring 17 fixed in a releasable manner, such as by a plurality of screws, to one end of the pipe section 8 arranged around the pipe section 9.

[0070] In addition, inside the annular seat 14 there are two annular gaskets 15 arranged with the annular faces of the polymeric casing contacting each other.

[0071] In the configuration of FIG. 2, the positions of the pipe sections 8 and 9 relative to one another are different from the positions of the pipe sections 8 and 9 relative to one another in the configuration of FIG. 3.

[0072] In particular, the drop in temperature causes the pipe sections 8, 9 and the pipeline 4 to contract, resulting in telescopic sliding of the pipe section 9 relative to the pipe section 8.

[0073] Moreover, when the cryogenic fluid flows in the pipeline 4, the pressure of the cryogenic fluid pushes the annular gasket 15 in abutment against the shoulder 13, thus increasing the tightness of the annular gasket 15.

[0074] FIGS. 6, 7 and 8 show a telescopic joint 70, which is made according to a second embodiment of the disclosure and comprises a single pipe section 9 and an end assembly 18 fixed, by welding, to one end of the pipe section 8.

[0075] The end assembly 18 comprises an annular wall 19, an annular wall 20 and a ring 21, which has a first end fixed by welding to the pipe section 8 and a second end fixed by fasteners to the annular wall 19 and the annular wall 20 (FIG. 8).

[0076] The telescopic joint 70 comprises an annular support 22 and a pipe section 23, extending along an axis A3 and having a diameter D3. The pipe section is arranged around the pipe sections 8 and 9 and is fixed to the pipe section 9 by a flange 22′, which is coupled by fasteners to the annular support 22.

[0077] The annular support 22 consists of a ring fixed to the external wall of the pipe section 9 and comprises at least one hole 24 passing through the thickness of the annular support 22 to enable the passage of air through the annular support 22.

[0078] According to a variant of the second embodiment, the annular support 22 comprises a plurality of holes 24 passing through the thickness of the annular support 22.

[0079] In particular, the plurality of holes 24 enables air to be vented from the interspace comprised between the pipe sections 9 and 23 and laterally bounded by the ring 21 and the annular support 22 to prevent an excessive increase in pressure inside the interspace during the expansion of the pipe sections 8, 9 and 23. In addition, the plurality of holes 24 enable the air to enter the interspace to prevent an excessive decrease in pressure inside the interspace during the contraction of the pipe sections 8, 9 and 23.

[0080] Furthermore, the telescopic joint 70 comprises a stroke block 25 consisting of a ring arranged around the pipe section 8 and fixed to the pipe section 23.

[0081] With reference to FIG. 8, an annular wall 26 is fixed in a releasable manner to one end of the stroke block 25 by fasteners.

[0082] In greater detail, the telescopic joint 70 comprises three annular seats 27, 28 and 29.

[0083] The annular seat 27 is bounded by the external cylindrical face of the pipe section 9, by the ring 21 and by the annular wall 19.

[0084] The annular seat 28 is bounded by the internal cylindrical face of the pipe section 23, by the ring 21 and by the annular wall 20.

[0085] The annular seat 29 is bounded by the external cylindrical face of the pipe section 8, by the stroke block 25 and by the annular wall 26.

[0086] At least one annular gasket 15 is housed in each of the annular seats 27, 28 and 29.

[0087] The faces of the annular seats 27, 28 and 29 which are in contact with the annular gasket 15 have a surface roughness of less than 0.9 μm, in particular less than 0.3 μm.

[0088] In this configuration, the pipe section 23, together with the pipe section 9, the stroke block 25 and the annular support 22, bounds an annular region 30 inside which the ring 21 can slide during the expansion and contraction of the pipeline 4 (FIG. 1).

[0089] Furthermore, the pipe section 8 comprises at least one through-hole 31, the axis of which intersects the pipe section 23 in all operating conditions.

[0090] According to a variant of the second embodiment, the pipe section 8 comprises a plurality of through-holes 31, the axes of which intersect the pipe section 23 in all operating conditions.

[0091] The holes 31 pass through the thickness of the pipe section 8 to enable the cryogenic fluid to flow inside the cylindrical crown bounded by the stroke block 25, the ring 21, the external cylindrical face of the pipe section 8 and the internal cylindrical face of the pipe section 23.

[0092] In addition, the diameters D2 and D3 are sized so that the area of the face of the ring 21 facing the stroke block 25 and the area of the cross-section of the pipe section 9 are substantially the same. In greater detail, the square of the diameter D3 is substantially equal to twice the square of the diameter D2. In other words, the diameter D2 and the diameter D3 are related by the relation:

D3.sup.2=2*D2.sup.2

[0093] In this configuration, the forces of the pressurized cryogenic fluid which are discharged onto the axial supports of the pipeline 4, are substantially zero, enabling the supports to be movable along the direction of extension of the pipeline 4.

[0094] FIGS. 9 and 10 show a telescopic joint 700, which is made in accordance with a third embodiment of the disclosure and comprises a pipe section 8 with an axis A1; two pipe sections 9 with an axis A2; and two end assemblies 10, each of which is integral with a respective pipe section 9 and is configured as described in the first embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4.

[0095] In particular, each end assembly 10 comprises an annular wall 11 and a ring 12, which has a first end fixed by welding to the respective pipe section 9 and a second end fixed by fasteners to the annular wall 11. The pipe section 8 extends in the longitudinal direction over a longitudinal length L 1, whereas the pipe sections 9 and the two end assemblies 10 extend in directions opposite to each other.

[0096] The pipe sections 9 have a diameter D2 smaller than the diameter D1 of the pipe section 8, are arranged at least partly within the pipe section 8, and are slidingly coupled to the pipe section 8 so that the axis A1 and the axes A2 are substantially coincident. In this configuration, the telescopic joint 700 comprises two annular gaskets 15, each of which is housed in a respective annular seat 14 of the respective end assembly 10.

[0097] The telescopic joint 700 comprises two stroke blocks 16, each of which is fixed in a releasable manner to one of the two portions of the pipe section 8 arranged around the respective pipe section 9.

[0098] With reference to FIG. 9, the telescopic joint 700 is shown, in which the pipe sections 9 are relatively close to each other.

[0099] With reference to FIG. 10, the telescopic joint 700 is shown, in which the pipe sections 9 are more spaced apart from one another than in FIG. 9.

[0100] FIGS. 11, 12 and 13 show a telescopic joint 7000, which is made in accordance with a fourth embodiment of the disclosure and comprises a pipe section 8 with an axis A1; two pipe sections 9 with an axis A2; and two end assemblies 32, each of which is integral with a respective end of the pipe section 8.

[0101] With reference to FIG. 13, each end assembly 32 comprises a ring 33 having a thickness less than the central portion 34 of the pipe section 8; and an annular element 35, which is releasably fixed to the ring 33 and comprises an annular wall 36.

[0102] In accordance with one embodiment, the ring 33 constitutes the extension of the central portion 34.

[0103] In accordance with a further embodiment (not shown), the ring 33 is fixed by welding to the central portion 34.

[0104] In particular, the annular element 35 is screwed to the ring 33.

[0105] In greater detail, the ring 33 comprises a shoulder 37, which has an annular face facing the annular wall 36 and bounds an annular seat 38 together with the internal cylindrical face of the ring 33, the external cylindrical face of the pipe section 9, and the annular wall 36.

[0106] Furthermore, each end assembly 32 comprises a plurality of tie rods 39 fixed at a first end to the annular element 35 and extending along an axis substantially parallel to the axes A1 and A2 (FIGS. 11 and 12).

[0107] Each tie rod 39 is provided with a stroke block 40 fixed to a second end of the tie rod 39. In particular, the stroke block 40 comprises a nut 41 screwed to the second end of the respective tie rod 39.

[0108] The telescopic joint 7000 further comprises two rings 42 (only one of which is visible in FIG. 13), which are fixed to the external cylindrical faces of the respective pipe sections 9, at a distance from the pipe section 8, and are provided with through-openings 43, in each of which the respective tie rod 39 is inserted in a slidable manner. In particular, each ring 42 is interposed between the respective annular element 35 and each stroke block 40 so as to limit the sliding of the respective pipe section 9 relative to the pipe section 8.

[0109] Furthermore, each end assembly 32 comprises at least one sleeve 44 fixed to the external cylindrical surface of the ring 33, at a respective through-opening 45 in the ring 33, so as to enable the installation of a pressure gauge (not shown) configured to measure the pressure within the annular seat 38.

[0110] Moreover, the telescopic joint 7000 comprises a guide 46, inserted in a respective seat obtained in the pipe section 8, and two guides 47 (only one of which is visible in FIG. 13), inserted in respective seats obtained in each annular element 35.

[0111] The telescopic joint 7000 comprises two sealing assemblies 48, each of which is housed in the respective annular seat 38 and comprises at least one annular gasket 15.

[0112] In the case described and illustrated herein, not intended to limit the present disclosure, each sealing assembly 48 comprises three annular gaskets 15; two spacers 49, each of which is arranged between two annular gaskets 15; and a ring 50, which is arranged between one of the annular gaskets 15 and the annular wall 36 and has a housing seat for a gasket 51.

[0113] In particular, each spacer 49 is arranged at the respective through-opening 45.

[0114] With reference to FIG. 11, the telescopic joint 7000 is shown, in which the pipe sections 9 are relatively close to each other.

[0115] With reference to FIG. 12, the telescopic joint 7000 is shown, in which the pipe sections 9 are more spaced apart from one another than in FIG. 11.

[0116] FIG. 14 shows the telescopic joint 7000, which is made in accordance with a variant of the fourth embodiment of the disclosure. In this configuration, the telescopic joint 7000 has an end assembly 52 comprising an annular element 53 screwed to the ring 33; a stroke block 54; and a pipe section 55, which is arranged around the respective pipe section 9 and is fixed to the annular element 53 at one end and to the stroke block 54 at the other end.

[0117] In the case described and illustrated herein, the ring 50 comprises an annular wall 56 held by the annular element 53 in contact with one end of the pipe section 8.

[0118] Furthermore, the telescopic joint 7000 comprises two guides 57 (only one of which is visible in FIG. 14), each of which is housed in a seat obtained in the respective stroke block 54 and is configured to guide the sliding of the respective pipe section 9 relative to the stroke block 54; and two rings 58, each of which is fixed to the respective pipe section 9, such as by welding, and is configured to limit the sliding of the respective pipe section 9 relative to the pipe section 8.

[0119] It is clear that the present disclosure can be subject to variations without however departing from the scope of protection of the appended claims, and that it finds application in the transport of any fluid inside pipelines that are subject to temperature changes. That is, the present disclosure also covers embodiments that are not described in the detailed description above as well as equivalent embodiments that are part of the scope of protection set forth in the claims. Accordingly, various changes and modifications to the presently disclosed embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art.