Tapping sleeve for large size pipe

摘要

A tapping sleeve for mounting on an in-service pipe under pressure in which a pipe opening is to be formed. The sleeve comprises upper and lower sleeve halves, one of which supports an endless gasket adapted to provide a pressure seal about the branch opening when formed in the pipe. Contained in the lower sleeve half are a plurality of arcuately displaced longitudinally extending metal pads mounted for articulation and adapted to support the pipe against internal pressure forces. The pipe engaging surfaces of the pads are inwardly curved approximating the pipe radius and are sufficiently deformable to enable surface conformance with the circumferential curvature of pipe wall in distributing the unit force loading therefor.