1. Field of the Invention
The present application relates generally to oil and gas pipeline repair and maintenance, more particularly, to a device for securing a sleeve around the pipelines.
2. Description of Related Art
There are hundreds of thousands of miles of pipelines. Over time, pipelines tend to lose thickness from corrosion and/or deterioration. Pipelines with decreased thicknesses are subject to a greater risk of failure. There are different ways to repair pipelines that have been discovered to have decreased thickness. One way is to thicken that particular area of the pipe by installing a sleeve around the pipe. The sleeve needs to be held in place and secured.
Currently, the sleeves come in two halves. The upper half is typically laid across the surface of the pipe. The lower half is lifted up with a hydraulic jack to meet the upper portion. A weakness of the current methods is the use of the chains. Chains are wrapped around the pipeline and sleeve halves and have a tendency to break or fly off. Another disadvantage is that the hydraulic jacks tend to provide a lifting force only. Merely lifting the bottom half fails to obtain the tight fit required when welding the halves together.
It is desirable to have a better tool that can maneuver around the pipe and sleeves and provide radial compressive forces around the sleeve as opposed to merely a unidirectional lifting force. Although some strides have been made in repairing and maintaining pipelines, considerable shortcomings remain.
While the system and method of the present application is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and are herein described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the description herein of specific embodiments is not intended to limit the application to the particular embodiment disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the process of the present application as defined by the appended claims.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds