Press fit pipe joint and method

Claim 1

A coupling joint connecting adjacent pipe segments to from a pipeline of indeterminate length, comprising: a cylindrical sleeve member having first and second ends and outer shell which defines a substantially smooth interior bore extending throughout the length of the sleeve, said sleeve having throughout its length a substantially uniform inner diameter equal to a first distance; a first cylindrical pipe segment having first and second ends and an outer shell which defines a substantially smooth interior bore, said pipe having a substantially smooth uniform outer diameter equal to a second distance; a second cylindrical pipe segment having first and second ends and an outer shell which defines a substantially smooth interior bore, said pipe having a substantially smooth uniform diameter equal to a second distance; said first and second pipe segments being disposed within said interior bore of said sleeve such that the first end of said pipe segment and the second end of said second pipe segment abut, said pipe segments being securely held within said sleeve in frictional engagement such that the diametrical interference (I) between the pipe segments and the sleeve member equals ΔD.sub.p +(S.sub.s D.sub.s /E) where, ΔD p =change in pipe diameter resulting from press fit; S s =hoop stress in the sleeve; D s =means diameter of the sleeve; and E=Young's modulus of Elasticity.