MY189139A - Flexible threaded pipe inserts - Google Patents

Abstract

Embodiments disclosed herein relate to methods to make a flexible pipe designed to be positionable and bendable enough to improve the bending instabilities of reeled pipelines during spooling of initially straight or laying of initially bent pipe. The flexible pipe includes series of (i) interconnected ball-socket sections (22) forming a liner and a fluid-tight cover, (ii) one or more helical wounding layers applied to the internal liner for absorbing tension loads, and (iii) one or more additional helical wounding layers applied for absorbing bending loads. In order to form a liner, the ball-and-socket segment will passes through a die, while a thread guide applies a plurality of reinforcing threads in a specific pattern to the exterior surface, to keep the segments to be snappingly engageable and maintain the pipe flexibility without significantly increasing thickness of the pipe wall or weight. The ball-socket segments are manufactured from a lightweight composite material consisting of epoxied matrix reinforced by long continuous fibers.