Systems for transporting liquids or gases underground often use a carrier pipe located within a casing (i.e. a second pipe) to protect the carrier pipe from external forces. For example, the pipe may cross a location that has large amounts of heavy vehicle traffic at the surface of the ground, such as where the pipe crosses a road or railroad. Additionally, the ground may undergo significant changes in physical condition such as for example temperature changes or moisture changes that can result in changing external forces being applied to the pipes. Thus, the casing will protect the internal carrier pipe.
It is often necessary to install the casing around the carrier pipe after the carrier pipe has been installed. Typically, the retrofit casing must be split in half to form two separate “C-shaped” halves. The halves are then placed around the carrier pipe and then welded back together. Unfortunately, cutting the casing pipe in half is extremely labor intensive. On average, a skilled operator can cut between 6 and 12 inches per minute by hand.
Embodiments of the present invention provide improvements over the state of the art.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds