Patent ID: 7896033

Claim:
A device for thermally insulating at least one undersea pipe, the device comprising: a thermally insulating covering surrounding said pipe; said covering itself being covered by an outer leakproof protective case, and said case being made of a flexible or semirigid material suitable for remaining in contact with the outside surface of said insulating covering when it deforms; wherein said insulating covering comprises a phase-change material confined in a plurality of pre-fabricated containers, each of the pre-fabricated containers being entirely filled with the phase-change material and each of the pre-fabricated containers having walls made of a flexible or semirigid material that is deformable to follow deformation of said phase-change material when it changes phases, and a main insulating material disposed between said outer case and said containers; and said containers are disposed around and close to, but not in direct contact with, said pipe, wherein said main insulating material surrounds said pipe and provides separation between said pipe and said plurality of pre-fabricated containers in the gap between said containers and said pipe.