The present invention relates to a protective device for terminations of pipes carrying fluids under pressure in an engine, especially for marine or special applications.

The field of application of the present invention especially regards engines for marine or special applications, in which the main parts of the surface of the engine close to the pipes delivering pressurized fluids do not reach excessively high temperatures, in that these parts are generally clad in adiabatic jackets, or with liquid-cooled air gaps, for thermal decoupling from the surrounding environment.

Also in order to meet safety standards, pipes outside the engine that deliver pressurized fluids, especially fuel and oil, at not particularly high pressures (for instance around 5 bar), must be appropriately shielded against the possibility of unexpected fracturing, for instance due to thermal shock, vibrations or defects in materials.

In particular, in the event of a fracture, it is necessary to prevent the pipe terminations from generating sudden splashes of fluid that can be scattered over the engine and ignite when coming into contact with the hottest parts thereof, such as turbines, exhaust manifolds, cylinder heads (in the area of the gas exhaust openings).

Moreover it must be possible to recognize the point of failure in order to carry out the necessary repair operations.

Protective jacketing systems using soft, not stiff, fire-retardant materials that are wrapped around the pipes are known in the prior art: however, these materials can become impregnated with fluid and thus eventually lose their protective properties. Moreover they are not the ideal solution for protecting pipe terminations.

Therefore the purpose of this invention is to produce a protective device for terminations of pipes carrying fluids under pressure, especially oil and fuel, in an engine, especially for marine applications, which is capable of overcoming the aforesaid drawbacks.

The object of the present invention is a protective device for the pipe termination comprising two coupled half-bearings, that envelop the termination at the point of connection to the engine structure. There is a double seal that completely encapsulates the pipe termination.

Moreover discharge ducts are provided to allow the fluid leaking from the fractured pipe to flow outwards in a visible manner, consisting of drainage ducts through which the fluid can be seen to flow, in order to locate and repair the point of failure.

In this way the engine is still soiled, but at controlled and desired points, in which the temperatures are not high, and not at random with splashing of parts that can reach high temperatures.

In particular the present invention relates to a protective device for terminations of pipes carrying fluids under pressure, especially oil and fuel, in an engine, especially for marine applications, as described more fully in the claims, which are an integral part of this description.

Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will be more apparent in the light of the detailed description of a preferred embodiment and of an alternative embodiment thereof, illustrated, by way of a non-limiting example, with the aid of the accompanying drawings, wherein:

• figure 1 shows an example of the protective device according to the present invention;
• figure 2 shows a variant thereof.

Figure 1 shows an example of the termination 1 of a pipe delivering oil to a turbine 2 of an engine not illustrated in the drawing.

The termination 1 is fixed to a flange 3 by means of a nut 4.

The protective device of the termination 1 comprises two half-bearings 5 and 6 which are coupled and fastened together by means of screws 7.

The two half-bearings are substantially the same, one of which (6) is illustrated in the enlarged view at the side. It comprises:

• a central part 8 suitable to contain the nut 4, or in any case to completely envelop the fixing element of the pipe termination 1;
• a collar 9 at the pipe termination side, having a diameter of a size such as to seal the pipe termination 1;
• a collar 10 at the side opposite the pipe termination, comprising a system to discharge the fluid that may leak into the protective device in case of fracturing of the pipe termination: in particular it comprises grooves 11 connecting the inside with the outside.

Moreover a seal 12 may be applied to the lateral surfaces of the half bearings. For instance it may be a previously applied silicone seal with slight grooving. The seal 12 may comprise protrusions 15 on the rim for a better sealing.

"Anti-vibration keys" 14 may be present, for example on the collar 10, suitable to prevent the clearance between the metal parts from turning into a possible knocking effect between the surfaces and thus generating noise.

Holes 13 are provided for the fastening screws that fasten the two half-bearings together.

The two half-bearings can be made of any material, provided said material guarantees resistance to temperatures of up to 190°C, for example resin or plastic, or die-cast or precision-cast aluminium.

The protective device is mounted after tightening the pipe termination to the engine, thus it can also be advantageously used on existing engines that have been in use for some time.

With reference to Fig. 2, an alternative embodiment of the protective device is suitable for use on pipe terminations mounted on polygonal head screw connections (e.g. with a hex head) instead of flange connections.

In this case the collar 10 of the half-bearing at the side opposite the pipe termination has no grooves 11 connecting the inside with the outside, in that the function of discharging the fluid, which may leak into the protective device in the event of a fracture in the pipe termination, is performed by the non-coinciding shapes of the collar 10 and of the polygonal head of the nut connection, the edges of which coincide with the inside surface of the collar 10, while the central parts are further away, acting as grooves.

It will be apparent to the person skilled in the art that other alternative and equivalent embodiments of the invention can be conceived and reduced to practice without departing from the true spirit of the invention.

From the description set forth above it will be possible for the person skilled in the art to embody the invention without introducing any further construction details.