Research and development work on a pipe blocking system for the provisional blocking of gas pipes; further development of existing equipment concepts

Status:

completed 06/1994

Aims:

Working in conditions where gas is leaking is going to be prohibited, but the provisional closure of gas pipes with rubber bubbles which is currently in practice is unsafe. Completely new systems should not be developed, rather the aforementioned systems should be improved. Goal: further development of pipe-blocking systems on the basis of blocking bubbles for gas pipes DN100 to DN300 with operating pressures up to 1 bar, in order that work on gas pipes can be carried out safely in gas free conditions over a limited period of time.

Activities/Methods:

Selection and testing of optimum bubble materials, forms and shapes for the core of the pipe and the casing.

Results:

The optimum solution is to cover the blocking bubble with a textile material in the form of a gathered tube. The disadvantages are a weak point where the tube is fixed at the filling pipe and the imperfect position of the bubble, which can be confronted gradually by special textiles. The problem of taking existing patents into account ultimately lead to the inability to meet pressure resistance requirements of up to 1 bar.

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