RU2527008C2 - Interflange plug - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: machine building.

SUBSTANCE: plug is designed to seal pipe flange joint at strength and tightness tests. Plug comprises a core composed of a round metal plate to overlap flange opening and seals arranged at core end surfaces. Said core is furnished with radial holder extending above joint flanges and radial stem diametrically opposite the holder. Said seals are equipped with two ledges that overlap partially both the holder and core stem. Ledges of said seals are connected with holder and stem by adhesive tape.

EFFECT: reusable tool with various seals.

6 cl, 7 dwg

Description

The claimed invention relates to a sealing technique and can be used in testing for strength and tightness by overpressure of sections of transport pipelines during repair work, as well as during any repair work when cutting off a section of a pipeline in a highway is required.

One of the problems in this industry is the protection of pipe fittings during testing. A prerequisite for repairs is the installation of a plug between the pipe flanges and the pipe fittings to prevent damage. The installation of the plug is associated with certain difficulties, since it is necessary to remove the bolt connections of the flanges, and then push the flanges apart to install the plugs between them. Since the flanges can only be moved apart by a small distance, the interflange plug must be thin, to ensure reliable fastening of the sealing element and withstand significant forces from excessive pressure. This problem becomes particularly acute with increasing diameter of the tested pipeline.

A device for sealing flanges (SU No. 1227878 A1, publ. 04/30/1986), which contains placed between the flanges of a sealant of plastic material, covered by shells not closed on the end surfaces, the shells are made in the form of one and a half, on the end surfaces of which stops are located, moreover, the seal is partially located also between the stops of these shells. Such a device has a significant thickness, and therefore cannot be used when carrying out repairs on the transport pipeline.

Known interflange plug (SU No. 1302056 A1, publ. 04/07/1987), containing a round plate overlapping the bore of the flanges, and sealing elements that are placed in a separate ring in contact with one end surface of the cylindrical bore of the first flange, and the opposite end surface of the ring with the end surface of a round plate located in the bore of the second flange. The opposite end surface of the round plate is provided with a conical surface interacting with the counter conical surface made in the second flange.

The presence of bores in the flanges of the joint increases their thickness and complicates their design, while such a design of the flanges should be provided on all pipes and fittings of the transport pipeline, since accidents can occur in any part of it. This complicates the process of manufacturing flanges and increases the cost of their manufacture. Placing a round plate completely in a cone-shaped bore of one of the connection flanges requires an increased clearance between the flanges for its installation and complicates the installation process.

The closest in technical essence to the claimed invention is an interflange plug (RU No. 89230 PM, publ. 11/29/2009), containing a core in the form of a round metal plate overlapping the bore of the flanges and sealing elements located on the end surfaces of the core, equipped with a radially directed holder protruding above the connection flanges. In the known interflange plug, the sealing elements are partially placed in ring-shaped segments fixed along the outer edges on the end surfaces of a round metal plate. Therefore, as a result of the rotation of the sealing element on a round metal plate, it may fall out when the open end of the ring-shaped segments is in a position in which the sealing elements can slip unnoticed due to their own weight from the ring-shaped segments. When installing such a stub, an emergency will occur, the result of which may be human casualties.

The objective of the invention is to improve the design of the wafer plug so that it excludes the possibility of installing an wafer plug with no sealing elements on it.

The technical result is achieved by the fact that in an interflange plug containing a core in the form of a round metal plate overlapping the bore of the flanges and sealing elements located on the end surfaces of the core provided with a radially directed holder protruding above the connection flanges, according to the invention, the core is further provided with a radially directed shank, diametrically opposite to the holder, and the disk-shaped sealing elements are provided with two protrusions, partially o overlapping respectively the holder and shank of the core with which they are connected.

The technical result is also achieved by the fact that the sealing element can be made, in particular, or from paronite, or polytetrafluoroethylene, or rubber, or expanded graphite.

It is advisable that the sealing element made of expanded graphite be clad with a composite material based on fiberglass impregnated with a fluoroplastic suspension followed by heat treatment.

It is possible to place expanded graphite between the sealing element made of paronite or polytetrafluoroethylene or rubber and the end face of the core to increase the elastic deformation of the sealing element while reducing the thickness of the sealing element made of paronite, polytetrafluoroethylene or rubber.

The connection of the sealing elements with the core can be performed, in particular, by winding the protrusions of the sealing elements, respectively, with its holder and shank with adhesive tape.

It is advisable to provide the protrusions of the sealing elements, the holder and the shank of the core, respectively, with flats for placement of adhesive tape in them.

For interflange plugs, with a through passage of flanges above 150 mm, it is advisable to equip the flange plug with a handle that can be detachably connected to the core holder.

A distinctive feature of the inventive interflange plugs is that the sealing elements are provided with two protrusions and the core with a shank, while the protrusions of the sealing elements partially overlap the core holder and shank and are connected to the core holder and shank. Because of this, a situation cannot arise in which an unnoticed loss of the sealing element in the interflange plug may occur.

These and other features of the claimed invention will be given below with reference to the accompanying drawings, which depict:

figure 1 - flange connection;

figure 2 - General view of the interflange plugs;

figure 3 is a section along aa (figure 2) is an option;

figure 4 is a section along aa (figure 2) is an option;

figure 5 is a section along aa (figure 2) is an option;

6 is an embodiment of an interflange plug;

7 is a variant of the connection of the handle with the holder of the core.

The inventive wafer plug 1, designed to seal the flange connection of the transport pipeline (Fig. 1), is installed between two flanges 2 and 3 of the connection with fasteners (not shown), which can be made in the form of bolt or hairpin pairs or in the form of ring bolts, pivotally mounted on one of the connection flanges.

The wafer plug 1 (Fig. 2) comprises a core 4 in the form of a round metal plate overlapping the bore of the flanges 2 and 3 and sealing elements 5 located on the end surfaces of the core. The core is equipped with a radially directed holder 6, protruding above the connection flanges 2 and 3, and a radially directed shank 7 diametrically opposite to the holder 6. The sealing elements 5 are provided with two protrusions 8 and 9, partially overlapping respectively the holder 6 and the shank 7 of the core 4, with which they connected by adhesive tape 10.

Sealing elements 5 (figure 3) can be made, in particular, of paronite, polytetrafluoroethylene, rubber or expanded graphite. The choice of material for the sealing elements is determined by the operating conditions of the interflange plug and the economic feasibility of using one or another type of material. If the sealing element 5 is made of expanded graphite 11 (Fig. 4), then it is clad with a composite material 12 based on fiberglass impregnated with a suspension of fluoroplastic followed by heat treatment.

To increase the elastic deformation of the sealing element made of paronite, polytetrafluoroethylene or rubber, a layer of expanded graphite 13 is placed between the end surfaces of the core 4 and the sealing elements 5 (Fig. 5), which is firmly connected to the core and the sealing element. In order to maintain the thickness of the interflange plug, the thickness of the sealing material of paronite, polytetrafluoroethylene or rubber can be reduced.

To exclude the possibility of scuffing of the adhesive tape 10 when installing an interflange plug between the flanges of the connection, the protrusions of the sealing elements, the holder and the shank of the core are respectively supplied with flats 14 (Fig.6) for placement of the adhesive tape 10 in them.

Since it is difficult and inconvenient to install an interflange plug with a holder 6 with a cross-sectional area of flanges of 150 mm and higher, holes 15 for bolts 16 are made in holder 6 through which the removable handle 17 is mounted on holder 6 (Fig. 7). The method of connecting the removable handle 17 to the core holder shown in FIG. 7 is one of the possible options for connecting and making such a handle. The presence of a removable handle simplifies the installation of the interflange plugs, as it allows this operation to be carried out by workers using two hands, avoids accidental damage to the sealing elements when inserting the plug between the flanges of the repair joint.

The inventive interflange plug allows you to reuse the same core with different sealing materials. For this purpose, sealing elements are cut from a sheet of sealing material in the form of a core, which are attached to the core with adhesive tape. If it is necessary to replace the sealing material, it can be easily removed from the core and replaced with another sealing material. This procedure is characterized by simplicity and can be successfully applied during repair work in any conditions. In the description of the claimed invention, one of the possible embodiments of the core in the form of a round metal plate is given. It can be made in any other shape, depending on the shape of the flanges and the bore.

Claims (6)

1. An interflange plug containing a core in the form of a round metal plate overlapping the bore of the flanges and sealing elements located on the end surfaces of the core provided with a radially directed holder protruding above the connection flanges, characterized in that the core is further provided with a radially directed shank diametrically opposite to the holder and the sealing elements are provided with two protrusions partially overlapping, respectively, the holder and the shank echnika with which they are connected. 2. The wafer plug according to claim 1, characterized in that the sealing element is made, in particular: of paronite, or polytetrafluoroethylene, or rubber, or expanded graphite. 3. The interflange plug according to claim 2, characterized in that the sealing element made of expanded graphite is clad with a composite material based on fiberglass impregnated with a fluoroplastic suspension, followed by heat treatment. 4. The wafer plug according to claim 1, characterized in that the connection of the sealing elements with the core is made, in particular, by winding the protrusions of the sealing elements, respectively, with its holder and shank with adhesive tape. 5. Wafer plug according to claim 4, characterized in that the protrusions of the sealing elements, the holder and the shank of the core are respectively equipped with flats for placement of adhesive tape in them. 6. Wafer plug according to claim 1, characterized in that it is equipped with a handle that can be detachably connected to the core holder.

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