| 摘要 |
<p>An inner syntactic foam insulator (14) and an outer protective cover (16) are co-extruded around a length of pipe (10). The protective cover (16) is then rapidly solidified to retain the syntactic foam insulator (14) in a desired shape about the length of pipe. The protective cover (16) is preferably a thermoplastic or a thermosetting material. One technique for rapidly solidifying the thermoplastic protective cover (16) is to bring the protective cover into contact with a liquid coolant (e.g., water). A thermosetting protective cover (16) is rapidly solidified by heating the cover. According to another aspect of the invention, an inner syntactic foam insulator (14) and an outer protective cover (16) are co-extruded to provide an apparatus comprising the inner syntactic foam insulator (14) encased by the outer protective cover (16). Advantageously, rapidly solidifying the protective layer (16) provides a hard outer layer that protects the syntactic foam insulator (14) as the insulator cures.</p> |
