DEVICE AND METHOD FOR SEALING OR REPAIRING A LEAKING AND/OR DAMAGED LOCATION ON AN INNER WALL OF A PIPE

Abstract

A device and method for sealing or repairing a leaking and/or damaged location on an inner wall of a pipe, includes a volume-expandable bellow body configured to expand, with an increase in its volume, when the bellows body is positioned in the region of the leaking and/or damaged location in the interior of the pipe, with infiltration of a fluid, into a bellows-body interior. A carrier portion is formed on an outer surface of the bellows body, a resinated sealing mat being arrangeable on the carrier portion, the sealing mat being fastenable to the inner wall of the pipe, and being able to cure, in an expanded state of the bellows body in the region of the leaking and/or damaged location by being pressed against said-the inner wall. The device can also be used reliably in long-term use, such that the carrier portion is formed from Para rubber or silicone.

Claims

1. A device for sealing or repairing a leaking and/or damaged location on an inner pipe wall of a pipe, the device comprising: a volume-expandable bellow body which is configured to expand, with an increase in its volume, when the bellows body is positioned in the region of the leaking and/or damaged location in the interior of the pipe, with infiltration of a fluid, into a bellows-body interior, wherein a carrier portion is formed on an outer surface of the bellows body, a resinated sealing mat being arrangeable on said carrier portion, said sealing mat being fastenable to the inner wall of the pipe and being able to cure in an expanded state of the bellows body in the region of the leaking and/or damaged location by being pressed against said inner wall, wherein the carrier portion is formed from Para rubber or silicone.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the bellows body is made of a multilayer material, wherein the outer surface of the bellows body is formed by an outer material layer of the multilayer material.

3. The device according to claim 2, wherein the outer material layer is at least partially formed from Para rubber or silicone and forms the carrier portion.

4. The device according to claim 2, wherein the outer material layer has a Para rubber coating or silicone coating which forms the carrier portion and which at least partially covers the outer surface of the bellows body.

5. The device according to claim 1, wherein the bellows body is made of a single material layer, wherein the outer surface of the bellows body is formed by the single material layer.

6. The device according to claim 5, wherein the material layer is at least partially formed from Para rubber or silicone and forms the carrier portion.

7. The device according to claim 5, wherein the material layer has a Para rubber coating or silicone coating which forms the carrier portion and which at least partially covers the outer surface of the bellows body.

8. The device according to a claim 1, wherein the sealing mat comprises a glass fiber fabric as a carrier material for a resin.

9. The device according to claim 8, wherein the resin is a multi-component resin.

10. The device according to claim 1, wherein the bellows body has one or more valves for introducing and discharging the fluid.

11. A method for sealing or repairing a leaking and/or damaged location on an inner pipe wall of a pipe, the method including the following steps: a. providing a volume-expandable bellows body, wherein a carrier portion for a resinated sealing mat is formed on an outer surface of the bellows body; b. arranging a resinated sealing mat on the carrier portion; c. positioning the bellows body in the interior of the pipe in the region of the leaking and/or damaged location; d. infiltrating a fluid, into a bellows body interior, wherein the bellows body expands as a result of the fluid infiltration while increasing its volume; e. fastening the resinated sealing mat to the inner pipe wall by: i. pressing the resinated sealing mat against the leaking and/or damaged location on the inner pipe wall of the pipe as a result of the expansion of the volume of the bellows body, and ii. curing the resinated sealing mat; and f. removing the bellows body from the pipe.

12. A use of a device configured according to claim 1 as a pipe sealing pad or as a pipe sealing pad arranged on a repair packer that is movable in a pipe.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0053] Further features and advantages of the disclosure result from the following description of an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure which is not intended to be restrictive and which is explained in more detail below with reference to the drawing. In this drawing, schematically:

[0054] FIG. 1 shows a bellows body positioned inside a pipe in the region of a leaking and/or damaged location as a component of a device according to the disclosure, the bellows body being shown in a non-volume-expanded state; and

[0055] FIG. 2 shows the device according to FIG. 1, wherein the bellows body is shown in a volume-expanded state.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0056] FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a device 1 according to the disclosure for sealing or repairing a leaking and/or damaged location 2 on an inner pipe wall 3 of a pipe 4. The pipe 4 can be, for example, a wastewater pipe having a crack as an example of a leaking and/or damaged location 2, wherein such a crack can result in a leaking pipe 4.

[0057] The illustrated device 1 comprises a volume-expandable bellows body 5 positioned in the region of the leaking and/or damaged location 2 of the pipe 4. A carrier portion 7, on which a resinated sealing mat 8 is arranged, is formed on an outer surface 6 of the bellows body 5. In the present example, the carrier portion 7 is configured in the form of a partial coating of the outer surface 6 of the bellows body 5. The resinated sealing mat 8 is provided or impregnated with resin before being arranged on the carrier portion 7.

[0058] After the bellows body 5 is positioned in the region of the leaking and/or damaged location 2, a bellows body interior is infiltrated (e.g., inflated) with a fluid, such as air. In the process of this, the bellows body 5 expands by increasing its volume. In an expanded state of the bellows body 5—cf. FIG. 2—the resinated sealing mat 8 is pressed against the inner pipe wall 3 of the pipe 4 in the region of the leaking and/or damaged location 2. As a result, the resin-coated sealing mat 8 cures and remains at the leaking and/or damaged location 2 of the pipe 4 after the bellows body 5 has been removed. Prior to removing the bellows body 5, the fluid (e.g. air) is discharged via a valve and the volume of the bellows body 5 decreases. Thereafter, the bellows body 5 or the device 1 can be removed from the pipe in a simple manner. As explained at the beginning, according to the disclosure, the carrier portion 7 is formed from Para rubber or silicone.