CN111051762B

CN111051762B - Heat-insulating sealed container

Info

Publication number: CN111051762B
Application number: CN201880056602.5A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 尼古拉·洛兰; 纪尧姆·德康巴利尤; 朱利安·库托
Original assignee: Gaztransport et Technigaz SA
Current assignee: Gaztransport et Technigaz SA
Priority date: 2017-07-13
Filing date: 2018-07-12
Publication date: 2022-06-03
Anticipated expiration: 2038-07-12
Also published as: KR102513808B1; KR20200023483A; CN111051762A; FR3069044B1; WO2019012236A1; FR3069044A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a sealed and thermally insulated container, which is integrated in a support structure that together forms an edge, the container comprising two container walls, which are supported by the support structure and are connected by corner structures at the edge, each container wall comprising a secondary thermal insulation barrier, a secondary sealing film, a primary thermal insulation barrier and a primary sealing film, the primary thermal insulation barrier comprising a corner insulation block (30) having a first lateral element and a second lateral element connected by a spacer element, each lateral element having a base surface that rests on the secondary sealing film of the respective container wall, the corner insulation block (30) further comprising a rear face that connects the two base surfaces, so that a space (43) is formed between said rear face of the corner insulation block (30) and the secondary sealing film.

Description

Heat-insulating sealed container

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of sealed and insulated containers for storing and/or transporting fluids such as cryogenic fluids.

Sealed and insulated containers are used in particular for transporting and/or storing various liquefied gases. Liquefied gases are typically stored at atmospheric pressure or under pressure. These vessels may be mounted on land or on a floating structure.

Background

Containers for storing or transporting liquefied gases at cryogenic temperatures are known, for example from FR- A-2798358, FR- A-2709725 or FR- A-2549575, in which each sealing membrane, in particular the primary sealing membrane in contact with the product contained in the container, is constituted by A thin metal sheet supported by A heat-insulating barrier. These thin metal plates are connected to each other in a sealing manner to seal the container.

In such a container, the heat-insulating barrier supporting the sealing membrane comprises a plurality of anchoring fins extending longitudinally or transversely in the container. These anchoring fins protrude from the upper surface of the thermal insulation barrier. The sealing membrane is formed by a plurality of strips having raised edges, each strip being disposed longitudinally between two adjacent anchoring fins. Each raised edge of the strip is welded in a sealed manner to one of the anchoring fins between which said strip is arranged. Each raised edge of the strip is thus constituted by an anchoring fin anchoring an expansion wave which is inherently deformable in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the strip. These expansion waves make it possible to absorb the deformation of the sealing membrane in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the slats, for example during the shrinkage of the sealing membrane associated with temperature variations during the introduction of the cryogenic liquid into the container.

However, the expansion bellows make it possible to absorb only deformations of the membrane in a direction only perpendicular to the expansion bellows. In order to withstand the stresses exerted by the membrane in the direction parallel to the expansion bellows, the edges of the sealing membrane perpendicular to the expansion bellows are anchored to the support structure by means of rigid corner structures. Such rigid corner structures include rigid anchor planes anchored directly to the support structure and passing through the thermal insulation barrier. The edges of the sealing membrane are anchored to these anchoring planes so that the rigid corner structure is able to withstand the tensile forces of the membrane in the direction perpendicular to the expansion waves.

However, the production and integration of such rigid corner structures into the container is complicated, especially in the case of containers comprising two sealing membranes and two heat-insulating barriers, which are stacked. In practice, the secondary sealing barriers at the corner positions of the container are formed by rigid corner structures produced by means of rigid plates. Furthermore, the thermal insulation barrier must be anchored to the support structure, including at the location of the corner structures, which requires a complex mounting of the thermal insulation barrier on the support structure.

From document FR2780942, a rigid corner structure is also known, which is provided at the location of a heat insulating barrier placed directly on the support structure. However, this corner structure, in addition to being complex to produce, cannot be used in a simple manner in the case of the primary insulating barrier of a two-film container.

There are also sealed and insulated containers in which the sealing film is formed by a waffle-shaped plate, for example in the form of a corrugated metal plate. Document EP2306064 thus describes a container comprising a sealing film formed by a waffle plate at the corner positions of the container. To this end, the device describes a corner structure formed with a support surface for a corner sealing film. However, such corner structures must be able to withstand the loads present at the corners of the container and must therefore have a high structural strength.

Disclosure of Invention

A first object of the invention is based on the idea of providing a sealed and insulated container that is easy to produce and also easy to integrate into a support structure, including at the location of the corners of the container. In particular, one idea on which the first object of the invention is based is to produce a sealed and insulated container that provides freedom in designing the corner structure, the position of the insulating barrier and/or the sealing film. Furthermore, the first object of the invention is also based on the idea of enabling the sealing membrane to be deformed in a direction perpendicular to the edges of the support structure, while proposing a sealing membrane that is easy to manufacture and integrate into the support structure.

According to a first object, the present invention provides a sealed and thermally insulated container integrally provided into a support structure, said support structure comprising a first planar support wall and a second planar support wall intersecting at the location of an edge of the support structure;

the container includes: a first container wall supported by a first planar support wall, a second container wall supported by a second planar support wall, and a corner structure connecting the first and second container walls at an edge location of the support structure; each container comprising, in sequence from the support structure to the interior of the container, a heat-insulating barrier and a sealing membrane;

the thermal insulation barrier of each container wall comprises a juxtaposed plurality of insulating blocks anchored to a planar support wall supporting said container wall to form a support surface for receiving a sealing membrane;

the sealing membrane of each container wall comprises a plurality of metal plates anchored to the support surface.

According to one embodiment, the corner structure of the container comprises a curved support strip, the concavity of which faces the interior of the container and which extends parallel to the edges of the support structure, the support strip comprising a first longitudinal edge which rests on the thermal insulation barrier of the first container wall and a second longitudinal edge which rests on the thermal insulation barrier of the second container wall, thereby forming a continuous support surface between the support surface formed by the thermal insulation barrier of the first container wall and the support surface formed by the thermal insulation barrier of the second container wall; the corner structure further comprising a corner sealing membrane disposed over the curved support strip and sealingly connecting the sealing membrane of the first container wall and the sealing membrane of the second container wall; the corner sealing membrane includes at least one corner expansion bellow disposed on the support strip to obtain elongation of the corner sealing membrane at least in a direction perpendicular to the edges of the support structure.

Such a support strip forms a support surface which offers a great degree of freedom in the design of the corner sealing film which is placed directly on the support strip. Thus, it is possible to produce a corner sealing membrane characterized by at least one expansion bellow, making it possible to absorb the deformation of said membrane in a direction perpendicular to the edge of the support structure.

Furthermore, the corner sealing membrane does not require any rigid anchor connections to the support structure. In fact, the supporting strips rest on the thermal insulation barriers of the planar walls of the container, the hydrostatic and dynamic loads in the container at the location of the corner structures being transmitted by the supporting strips of the container and by the thermal insulation barriers in which said supporting strips are located. It is therefore not necessary to produce complex corner structures as known in the prior art to absorb the fluid static dynamic loads in the container at the location of the corner structures. Furthermore, such a support strip which is not directly anchored to the support structure does not create a thermal bridge between the sealing membrane placed on the support strip and the support structure.

Such sealed and insulated containers may have one or more of the following features, according to embodiments.

According to one embodiment, the thermal insulation barrier of each container wall comprises a row of edge insulation blocks on which the first and second longitudinal edges of the support strip are placed respectively and slide in a direction perpendicular to the edges of the support structure.

According to one embodiment, one or more of the edge insulation blocks or each edge insulation block of the row of edge insulation blocks has a cover panel comprising a recess in which a corresponding longitudinal edge of the support strip is received.

The sealing membrane and the corner sealing membrane are thus placed on a continuous support surface jointly formed by the support strips and the support surfaces of the rows of edge exclusion blocks.

According to one embodiment, the first and second longitudinal edges of the support strip are anchored to the thermal insulation barrier of the first container wall and the thermal insulation barrier of the second container wall, respectively.

According to one embodiment, the end of at least one longitudinal edge of the support strip comprises a step in the thickness direction of the support strip, the container further comprising a retaining plate fixed to the cover panel of the edge exclusion block comprising a recess in which the edge of the longitudinal edge of the support strip is accommodated, the retaining plate being fixed to the cover panel at the location of the recess and covering the step of the edge of the support strip such that the edge of the support strip is interposed between the bottom of the recess of the edge exclusion block and the retaining plate. Thereby, the support strip is anchored in a direction perpendicular to the support structure, ensuring a good retention of the support strip on the insulating barrier of the container wall.

According to one embodiment, one of the edges of the longitudinal edges of the support strip and the retaining plate comprises oblong holes extending perpendicular to the edges, and the other of the retaining plate and the edges of the longitudinal edges of the support strip covered by the retaining plate comprises bulges received in the oblong holes to prevent the support strip from moving along the edges of the support structure while allowing the support strip to move in a direction perpendicular to the edges of the support structure. Thus, the support bars are held in place along the edges of the support structure.

According to one embodiment, the corner sealing membrane is anchored to the support strip. This enables the corner sealing membrane to be retained on the support strip. This retention is particularly important in the presence of elevated pressure in the thermal insulation barrier, for example during the sealing test of the sealing film, which involves subjecting the insulation barrier to a pressure increase. In fact, the sealing membrane of each container wall is anchored to the thermal barrier of said container wall, and the corner sealing membrane may deform towards the inside of the container in the face of such elevated pressures, without anchoring it to the supporting strip.

According to one embodiment, the corner sealing film is anchored to the support strip continuously or at one or more points along an anchoring line parallel to the edges of the support structure.

According to one embodiment, the support bar includes a plurality of metallic anchor members disposed along anchor lines, the corner sealing film being spot welded to the anchor members along the anchor lines.

According to one embodiment, the corner sealing membrane comprises a plurality of parallel expansion waves, and the corner sealing membrane is anchored along the edges between two expansion waves of the corner sealing membrane to anchoring strips separating two successive support strips.

Thanks to these features, the anchorage of the corner sealing membrane to the support strip does not interfere with the elongation of the expansion bellows of the corner sealing membrane.

According to one embodiment, the corner sealing membrane comprises corrugations extending perpendicularly to the edges of the support structure, which corrugations intersect the expansion waves of the corner sealing membrane.

According to one embodiment, the insulation barrier of each container wall is a primary insulation barrier and the insulation block is a primary insulation block and the sealing membrane of each container wall is a primary sealing membrane, the support bars of the corner structures are primary support bars and the corner sealing membrane of the corner structures is a corner primary sealing membrane;

the container further comprises: a secondary insulating barrier anchored to the support structure and a secondary sealing membrane supported by the secondary insulating barrier, the primary insulating block being supported by the secondary sealing membrane and the primary insulating block being directly or indirectly anchored to the support structure.

According to one embodiment, the secondary thermal insulation barrier of each container wall comprises a juxtaposed plurality of secondary insulating blocks anchored to the support structure to form a secondary support surface for receiving the secondary sealing membrane,

the secondary sealing membrane of each container wall comprises a plurality of metal plates anchored to the secondary support surface;

the corner structure of the container comprising a curved secondary support strip with a concave surface facing the interior of the container and extending parallel to the edges of the support structure, the secondary support strip comprising first and second secondary longitudinal edges, the first secondary longitudinal edge overlying the secondary thermal barrier of the first container wall and the second secondary longitudinal edge overlying the secondary thermal barrier of the second container wall to form a continuous secondary support surface between the secondary support surface formed by the secondary thermal barrier of the first container wall and the secondary support surface formed by the thermal barrier of the second container wall, the corner structure further comprising a corner secondary sealing membrane overlying the curved secondary support strip and sliding over the curved secondary support strip in a direction perpendicular to the edges of the support structure, and the corner secondary sealing membrane sealingly connecting the secondary sealing membrane of the first container wall and the secondary sealing membrane of the second container wall, the corner secondary sealing membrane including at least one secondary expansion bellow disposed on a secondary support strip to obtain an elongation of the secondary sealing membrane at least in a direction perpendicular to the edges of the support structure.

According to one embodiment, the corner structure further comprises rows of corner primary insulating blocks, one or more of the corner primary insulating blocks or each corner primary insulating block comprising:

a first lateral element comprising a first lateral face bearing against the peripheral primary insulating block of the first container wall and a first base face resting on the secondary sealing membrane; and

a second lateral element comprising a second lateral face bearing against the peripheral primary insulating block of the second container wall and a second bottom face resting on the secondary sealing film of the second container wall;

the corner primary insulating block further comprises a spacer connecting the first and second lateral elements, the spacer being adapted to create a space between the corner primary insulating block and the secondary sealing membrane, the space accommodating the at least one secondary expansion bellow of the corner secondary membrane.

According to one embodiment, the spacer comprises a lower plate adjoining the first and second bottom faces and inclined with respect to the first and second support walls, the first and second bottom faces of the corner primary insulating block being placed on the secondary sealing membrane at a distance from at least one secondary expansion wave of the corner secondary sealing membrane, so that the lower face is at a distance from the at least one secondary expansion wave of the corner secondary sealing membrane.

According to one embodiment, the corner structure further comprises an insulating filler disposed between the lower plate of the spacer and the corner secondary sealing membrane.

Corner insulator blocks of the type described above provide space in which one or more expansion waves of the corner secondary sealing membrane may be housed. Such corner insulating blocks thus provide a great degree of freedom in designing the corner secondary sealing membrane, while ensuring the thermal insulation of the container at the location of the corner structures.

According to one embodiment, the spacer further comprises an upper plate abutting the first and second lateral faces and being inclined with respect to the first and second support walls, the corner insulating block further comprising insulating filler placed on the upper plate and having a curved upper face that butts the primary support bar; the primary support bars are placed on the insulating filler. Thus, the corner structure further achieves good thermal insulation. Furthermore, if the insulating filler is rigid, it may participate in the transfer of the hydrostatic and dynamic loads to which the primary support bar is subjected.

A second object of the invention is based on the idea of providing a sealed and insulated container in which two successive sealing films in the corners of the container can be produced independently of each other.

According to a second object, the present invention also provides a sealed and insulated container integrally provided into a support structure, said structure comprising a first planar support wall and a second planar support wall which together form an edge of said support structure;

the container comprises, from the support structure towards the interior of the container: a secondary thermal insulation barrier anchored to the support structure, a secondary sealing membrane supported by the secondary thermal insulation barrier, a primary thermal insulation barrier supported by the secondary sealing membrane, and a primary sealing membrane supported by the primary thermal insulation barrier;

the container includes: a first container wall supported by the first planar support wall and a second container wall supported by the second planar support wall;

the primary thermal insulation barrier of each container wall comprises a juxtaposed plurality of parallelepipedic insulation blocks, the insulation blocks of the primary thermal insulation barrier having lateral faces extending in a plane intersecting the corresponding support wall;

the primary thermal insulation barrier comprises a corner insulation block comprising a first lateral element and a second lateral element connected by a spacer element, the corner insulation block further comprising an insulation liner disposed between the first lateral element and the second lateral element;

the first lateral element comprises a first bottom face parallel to the first support wall and resting on the secondary sealing film, and a first lateral face extending from the first bottom face in the direction of the primary sealing film and parallel to and abutting against a lateral face of the insulating block of the primary insulating barrier of the first container wall;

said second lateral element comprising a second bottom face parallel to said second support wall and resting on said secondary sealing film, and a second lateral face extending from said second bottom face in the direction of said primary sealing film and parallel to and abutting against a lateral face of an insulating block of said primary insulating barrier of said second container wall;

the spacer element is arranged between the first and second lateral elements to keep the first and second bottom faces at a distance;

the corner insulating block further comprising a rear face connecting the first bottom face to the second bottom face and the rear face being inclined relative to the first support wall and inclined relative to the second support wall to create a space between the rear face of the corner insulating block and the secondary sealing membrane;

the corner insulating block thus provides freedom in constructing a secondary sealing membrane aligned with the edge of the support structure without the need for the secondary sealing membrane to be formed by a rigid planar plate anchored to the support wall at the corner location of the container. In particular, the space between said rear face of the corner insulating block and the secondary sealing membrane enables the creation of an expansion wave, included on the secondary sealing membrane aligned with the edge of the support structure. Moreover, such corner insulating blocks do not require anchoring means to retain them on the supporting structure, each of the first and second lateral faces of the corner insulating block co-operating with a corresponding lateral face of the edge insulating block of the container wall to secure the corner insulating block on said supporting structure. Furthermore, the spacer element enables forces to be transmitted between the thermal insulation barriers of the first and second container walls via the corner insulating blocks, the force applied to the corner insulating blocks by one of the container walls tending to push the corner insulating blocks towards the other container wall.

According to embodiments, a sealed and insulated container of the above-described type may comprise one or more of the following features.

According to one embodiment, the lateral face of the insulating element against which the lateral face of the first or second lateral element of the corner insulating block abuts is continuous or discontinuous. According to one embodiment, said lateral faces of the insulating element are formed by lateral posts, cover panels, bottom panels and/or any other element forming a planar surface against which the first or second lateral element of said corner insulating block can abut and/or support.

According to one embodiment, an insulating filler is provided in the space between the secondary sealing film aligned with the edge of the support structure and the rear face.

According to one embodiment, said spacer element comprises at least one rigid bar or plate mounted on said first and second lateral elements in an inclined manner with respect to said first and to said second support wall.

According to one embodiment, the rod of the spacer element is mounted on at least one of the first and second lateral elements by means of a ball and socket joint. Thanks to these features, the same corner insulating block can be easily adapted to edges of support structures featuring different angles and ease of assembly.

According to one embodiment, the spacer element comprises a lower plate connecting the first bottom face to the second bottom face and forming the rear face of the corner insulating block.

According to one embodiment, the spacer element further comprises an upper plate connecting the upper edges of the first and second lateral faces, the upper plate being inclined with respect to the first and second support walls.

According to one embodiment, the container further comprises a rigid insulating element placed on said upper plate to form a corner support surface for the primary sealing membrane. According to one embodiment, the container further comprises a non-rigid insulating element placed on the upper plate and between the upper plate and the primary sealing membrane.

According to one embodiment, the spacer element further comprises two end plates, each extending in a plane perpendicular to the edges of the support structure, the end plates connecting the lateral elements so as to delimit, jointly with the upper plate, the lower plate and the lateral elements, an internal space of the corner insulating block, in which an insulating lining is housed. Thus, the corner insulating block may form a box with insulating material built in.

According to one embodiment, at least one of said first and second lateral elements comprises a parallelepiped-shaped plate forming a respective lateral face and a respective bottom face of said lateral element. Such a lateral element is easy to produce and compact.

According to one embodiment, at least one of said first lateral element and said second lateral element comprises a first plate extending in a plane intersecting said supporting wall and forming said lateral face of said lateral element, and a second plate extending parallel to said supporting wall and forming said bottom face of said lateral element. Such lateral elements are easy to manufacture and feature large surfaces to interact with adjacent elements.

According to one embodiment, at least one of the secondary sealing membrane and the primary sealing membrane is formed with corner angle irons aligned with the edges.

According to one embodiment, the container further comprises a curved support strip, the concave face of the support strip facing the interior of the container, the support strip extending parallel to the edges of the support structure, the support strip comprising first and second longitudinal edges, the first longitudinal edge being disposed on the primary thermal barrier of the first container wall and the second longitudinal edge being disposed on the primary thermal barrier of the second container wall, thereby forming a continuous support surface between the support surface formed by the primary thermal barrier of the first container wall and the support surface formed by the primary thermal barrier of the second container wall, the primary sealing membrane being disposed on the support strip.

According to one embodiment, the upper face of the rigid insulating element opposite the upper plate of the spacer element is curved, the supporting strip being placed on the upper face of the rigid insulating element.

According to one embodiment, the secondary sealing membrane comprises a plurality of expansion waves extending parallel to the edges of the support structure, the first and second bottom faces being placed on the secondary sealing membrane between two adjacent expansion waves.

According to one embodiment, the spacer element is arranged at a distance from at least one of the expansion waves of the secondary sealing membrane between which the first and second bottom faces are interposed.

According to embodiments, the sealed and insulated container according to the first and/or second embodiment may comprise one or more of the following features.

According to one embodiment, the secondary sealing membrane comprises at least one expansion wave disposed between the first and second bottom surfaces and flush with the edge.

According to one embodiment, the first and second support walls form an angle between 45 ° and 135 ° (including 45 ° and 135 °).

According to a preferred embodiment, the first and second support walls form an angle of 90 ° or 135 °.

According to one embodiment, the sealing membrane of each container wall comprises a plurality of parallel expansion waves.

According to one embodiment, the expansion waves of the sealing membranes of the first and second container walls are arranged parallel to the edges of the support structure.

According to another embodiment, the expansion waves of the sealing membranes of the first and second container walls are arranged perpendicular to the edge of the support structure.

According to one embodiment, the sealing membrane of each container wall comprises a plurality of juxtaposed slats having raised edges, the raised edges of two adjacent slats forming an expansion bellow of the sealing membrane.

According to one embodiment, the corner sealing film comprises a plurality of juxtaposed slats having raised edges extending parallel to the edges of the support structure.

According to one embodiment, the raised edges of two juxtaposed slats of the corner sealing film are welded to each other to form the expansion bellows of the corner film.

According to one embodiment, the at least one expansion bellow of the corner sealing membrane extends parallel or slightly inclined to the edge of the support structure. Such an expansion wave, which is inclined with respect to the edge of the support structure, enables the corner sealing membrane to be deformed thus in a direction parallel to the edge of the support structure and in a direction perpendicular to the edge of the support structure.

According to one embodiment, the corner sealing membrane comprises at least one corrugated metal sheet. According to one embodiment, the corrugations of the corner sealing membrane form expansion waves of the corner sealing membrane.

According to one embodiment, the insulating block is parallelepiped-shaped.

According to one embodiment, the insulating block is a box filled with a non-structural insulating material.

According to one embodiment, the insulating block is a block of rigid, e.g. high density, insulating foam.

According to one embodiment, the corner sealing film is anchored to the support strip continuously or discontinuously.

According to one embodiment, only some of the slats of the corner sealing film are anchored to the support strips.

According to one embodiment, the corner sealing membrane is anchored to the support strip so that it can slide in a direction perpendicular to the edges of the support structure, i.e. in the working direction of the expansion waves of the corner sealing membrane.

According to one embodiment, the corner sealing membrane is anchored to a metal insert separating two successive support bars arranged along the edge of the support structure, said metal insert comprising an anchoring bar extending perpendicularly to the edge of the support structure and flush with the support bars separated by said metal insert, said metal insert further comprising two peripheral edges arranged respectively on opposite sides of said anchoring bar and stepped with respect to said anchoring bar, said support bars separated by said metal insert being anchored respectively to the corresponding peripheral edges of the metal insert.

According to one embodiment, the corner sealing film is welded to the support strip, for example by means of fillet welds, along the anchoring lines.

According to one embodiment, an insulating material filling is arranged between the edges of the support structure and the support bars.

According to one embodiment, the insulating filler comprises glass wool and/or a high density insulating foam.

According to one embodiment, the slats of the sealing membrane of at least one container wall are supported by both the insulating barrier and the supporting strip of said container wall.

According to one embodiment, the support strip is made of metal. According to one embodiment, the support bar is made of a nickel steel alloy, such as Invar (Invar), or an alloy with a high manganese content.

According to one embodiment, the support strip is made of a composite material.

According to one embodiment, the support strip resists traction forces in order to absorb hydrostatic and dynamic loads in the corners of the container.

According to one embodiment, the support bars are anchored to the insulation barrier by any suitable means, for example by gluing, screwing, riveting or other means.

According to one embodiment, the support strip is anchored to the at least one thermal insulation barrier in the direction of the thickness of the container wall to which the support strip is anchored. According to one embodiment, the support bars are anchored to the at least one thermal insulation barrier in a direction parallel to the edges of the support structure.

According to one embodiment, a plurality of retention plates are disposed along one or more edge insulating blocks in which the support bars are located.

According to one embodiment, each retaining plate extends over the entire edge of the edge insulating block on which the supporting bar is located.

According to one embodiment, the support bars are supported by end blocks of the thermal insulation barrier that are free to slide in a direction perpendicular to the edges of the support structure.

According to a preferred embodiment, the support strip has a coefficient of expansion which is less than or equal to the coefficient of expansion of the sealing membrane. According to one embodiment, the support strip is made of stainless steel and the sealing membrane is made of an alloy with a high manganese content.

According to one embodiment, the thickness of the support strip is greater than 2mm, for example between 3mm and 4mm (including 3mm and 4mm), in order to have sufficient rigidity to absorb the hydrostatic and dynamic loads at the corners of the container without deforming.

According to one embodiment, the rigid insulating element is a high density foam block, such as a high density polyurethane foam block.

According to one embodiment, the corner insulating elements and the supporting strips are independent of one another and do not interact directly with one another.

According to one embodiment, the vessel as described above may be part of an onshore storage facility, e.g. for storing LNG, or may be installed in a floating structure offshore or deepwater, in particular a methane tanker, a Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU), a floating production unit, a storage and carrier unit (FPSO) or the like.

According to one embodiment, a vessel for transporting cold liquid products comprises a catamaran hull and the above-mentioned container arranged therein.

According to one embodiment, the invention also provides a method for loading or unloading a ship of the above-mentioned type, wherein the cold liquid product is transported from or from the offshore or onshore storage facility to the ship's container through an insulated pipeline.

According to one embodiment, the present invention also provides a cold liquid product transfer system, the system comprising: the above-described vessel; an insulated pipeline adapted to connect a vessel installed in the hull of a vessel to a floating or onshore storage facility; and a pump for driving a flow of cold liquid product through the insulated pipeline from the floating or onshore storage facility to the vessel of the vessel, or from the vessel of the vessel to the floating or onshore storage facility.

Drawings

The invention will be better understood and other objects, details, characteristics and advantages thereof will become more apparent from the following description of particular embodiments of the invention, given by way of non-limiting illustration only and with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a sealed and insulated container at a corner location, showing a secondary insulating barrier and a support strip placed on top of the secondary insulating barrier;

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 with the addition of a corner secondary sealing film;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 showing the primary thermal insulation barrier disposed on the secondary sealing film;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 with the addition of a corner primary seal film;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a detail of the container wall in a plane perpendicular to the edges of the support structure, showing the corner secondary sealing membrane or corner primary sealing membrane and the secondary or primary support strip;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a detail of the container wall in a plane perpendicular to the edges of the support structure, showing the cooperation between the corner secondary sealing membrane or the corner primary sealing membrane and the corner secondary sealing membrane or the corner primary sealing membrane, and the cooperation between the secondary support strip or the primary support strip and the secondary insulating blocks or the primary insulating blocks;

fig. 7 is a sectional view on a plane perpendicular to the edge of the support structure, showing a first variant embodiment of the detail of fig. 6;

fig. 8 is a sectional view on a plane perpendicular to the edge of the support structure, showing a second variant embodiment of the detail of fig. 6;

figure 9 is a sectional view, on a plane perpendicular to the edge of the support structure, showing a first variant embodiment of the detail of figure 5;

fig. 10 is a schematic perspective view showing a modified embodiment of fig. 9;

fig. 11 is a schematic perspective view of a second variant embodiment showing a detail of fig. 5;

FIG. 12 is a sectional view of a detail taken along the line V-V in FIG. 11;

fig. 13 is a sectional view on a plane perpendicular to the edges of the support structure, showing a first variant embodiment of the method of anchoring the support bars to the insulating blocks;

FIG. 14 is a top view of a detail of FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XV-XV in FIG. 14, showing a second variant of the method of anchoring the support bars to the insulating blocks;

FIG. 16 is a schematic perspective view of a secondary insulating barrier and a corrugated corner secondary sealing membrane in a corner of a container forming an angle of 135 between two walls of the container;

FIG. 17 is a schematic perspective view of the container corner of FIG. 16, partially showing the primary insulating barrier and the primary sealing membrane;

FIG. 18 is a schematic perspective view of a first variant embodiment of the corner sealing membrane;

FIG. 19 is a cross-sectional view on a plane perpendicular to the edge of the second variant embodiment of the corner sealing membrane;

FIG. 20 is a schematic perspective view of a corner primary insulating block that may be used in a vessel wall having an angle of 135;

fig. 21 is a cross-sectional view on a plane perpendicular to the edges of the support structure of the corner primary insulating block according to a second embodiment;

fig. 22 is a cross-sectional view on a plane perpendicular to the edge of the support structure of the corner primary insulating block according to the third embodiment that can be used in a container wall having an angle of 90 °;

fig. 23 is a schematic cut-away view of a terminal and methane tanker for loading/unloading the vessel.

Detailed Description

In the following description, reference is made to a sealed and insulated container comprising an inner space for filling with combustible or non-combustible gases. The gas may in particular be Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), that is to say a gas mixture comprising mainly methane and one or more other hydrocarbons, such as ethane, propane, n-butane, isobutane, n-pentane, isopentane, neopentane and a fraction of nitrogen. The gas may likewise be ethane or Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), that is to say a mixture of hydrocarbons produced by refining petroleum, substantially comprising propane and butane.

Such sealed and insulated containers are integrated into a support structure such as, for example, the double hull of a ship for transporting LNG. The support structure defines a plurality of support walls which abut at the location of the edge 1 of the support structure and which together define an inner space of the catamaran hull for receiving the sealed and insulated container. The sealed and insulated container includes a plurality of container walls, each container wall supported by a respective support wall. The container walls abut at the location of the edge 1 of the support structure. Each container comprises, from the corresponding supporting wall to the inside of the container: a secondary thermal barrier, a secondary sealing film, a primary thermal barrier, and a primary sealing film.

Fig. 1 to 4 show an edge 1 between a first support wall 2 and a second support wall 3 which together form an angle of 90 °. In these figures 1 to 4, the first container wall 4 is supported by the first support wall 2, while the second container wall 5 is supported by the second support wall 3.

Fig. 1 shows the secondary thermal barrier of the first container wall 4 and the second container wall 5. These secondary thermal barriers are formed by juxtaposed secondary insulating elements 6. The secondary insulating element 6 is anchored to the supporting structure by any suitable means, for example by gluing and/or by mechanical retaining means. Each secondary insulating element 6 has the shape of a cuboid and is characterized by two larger faces or main faces and four smaller faces or lateral faces. Each secondary insulating element 6 comprises an upper face forming a secondary support surface 8 to receive a secondary sealing membrane. Such secondary insulation elements are produced, for example, in the form of plywood boxes filled with insulation material such as perlite, aerogel, silica, glass wool or insulating foam.

The thermal insulation barrier further comprises corner secondary insulating elements 15, which corner secondary insulating elements 15 are similar to the insulating elements 6 and/or are adapted to be provided integrally into one of the insulating elements 6. The corner secondary insulating element 15 is parallelepiped-shaped and extends both the secondary thermal insulation barrier of the first container wall 4 and the secondary thermal insulation barrier of the second container wall 5. In other words, the corner secondary insulating elements 15 have a thickness in the direction perpendicular to the first supporting wall 2 equal to the thickness of the secondary thermal insulation barrier of the first container wall 4 and a thickness in the direction perpendicular to the second supporting wall 3 equal to the thickness of the secondary thermal insulation barrier of the second container wall 5. These thicknesses may be equal or different.

The secondary sealing membrane of the container wall can be produced in various ways, preferably using a metal plate. This secondary sealing membrane is characterized by an expanding bellows. These expansion waves are produced in any suitable manner, for example in the form of corrugations in the metal sheets, or by welding the raised edges of adjacent metal sheets together two by two. These expansion waves make it possible to absorb the deformations of the secondary sealing film in a direction perpendicular to said expansion waves. Such secondary sealing film and/or such secondary insulating element 6 in the film container may be similar to the corresponding elements described in documents WO14057221, FR2691520 and FR2877638, for example.

The corner structure connects the first container wall 4 and the second container wall 5 at the location of the rim 1. The corner structure includes a secondary support bar 12 that is curved and rigid. The secondary support strip 12 extends parallel to the rim 1 and features a concavity facing the inside of the container. The secondary support strip 12 comprises a first longitudinal edge 13, which first longitudinal edge 13 extends parallel to the edge 1 and rests on the secondary insulating element 6 in place at the edge of the first container wall 4. The secondary support strip 12 also comprises a second longitudinal edge 14, which second longitudinal edge 14 extends parallel to the edge 1 and rests on the secondary insulating element 6 in place at the end of the second container wall 5. The secondary support strip 12 serves to absorb hydrodynamic and static loads experienced by the secondary sealing membrane at the corner locations of the container. To this end, the secondary support bar 12 is made of a strong and relatively rigid material.

The secondary support bars 12 may be produced in various ways. According to a first embodiment, the support strip 12 is made of metal, for example nickel or manganese steel, and has a thickness greater than 2mm, for example between 3 and 4 mm. According to a second embodiment, the support strip 12 is made of a composite material, i.e. a mixture of a polymer resin and a fibrous material. The polymer resin may be a thermosetting or thermoplastic resin. The fibrous material may consist of carbon fibers, metal fibers, synthetic fibers, glass fibers or other mineral fibers and mixtures thereof. The fibers may be woven or non-woven. For example, a composite material incorporating woven carbon fibers may be selected for good traction resistance and moderate cost. The thickness of the composite material may be selected according to the compressive and thermal expansion stresses to be supported.

The secondary support structure 12 forms a continuous corner secondary support surface 17. As shown in fig. 2, the corner secondary sealing film 18 is placed on the corner secondary support surface 17. Such a corner secondary sealing film 18 is described in more detail below, for example, with reference to fig. 5. In order to seal the secondary sealing film, the corner secondary sealing film 18 is connected in a sealing manner firstly to the secondary sealing film of the first container wall 4 and then to the secondary sealing film of the second container wall 5, as explained in more detail with reference to fig. 6 to 8.

When the secondary support bars 12 are placed on the thermal insulation barrier of the container walls 4, 5, the loads absorbed by the secondary support structure 12 are transferred to the thermal insulation barrier without the need to construct complex structural supports in the corner structures to absorb those loads.

To complete the insulation barrier of the corner structure, a secondary insulating filler 16 is inserted between the secondary support bars 12 and the end secondary insulating blocks 6 where the secondary support bars 12 are located. Such secondary insulating filler 16 can be produced in various ways, for example by means of a rigid block of high-density polyurethane foam bearing first on the upper surface of the secondary insulating block 6 and then on the curved shaped lower surface of the secondary supporting strip 12.

As shown in fig. 3 and 4, in a manner similar to the secondary thermal insulation barrier, the primary thermal insulation barrier of the first and second container walls 4, 5 includes a plurality of primary insulating elements 22. These primary insulating elements 22 are similar to the secondary insulating elements 6 and are constituted, for example, by parallelepiped plywood boxes filled with insulating material. The primary insulating element 22 may be anchored to the support structure in various ways, for example directly by anchoring means through the secondary thermal insulation barrier and the secondary sealing membrane, or indirectly by anchoring on the secondary sealing membrane. Likewise, the primary insulating element 22 of each container wall forms a support surface for the primary sealing film of said container wall.

The corner structure also includes a primary support bar 23 similar to the secondary support bar 12 described above. The primary support strip 23 extends along the edge 1 parallel to the edge 1. The primary support strip 23 is curved with a concavity facing the interior of the container and comprises a first longitudinal edge 24 and a second longitudinal edge 25, the first longitudinal edge 24 resting on the primary insulating element 22 in place at the edge of the first container wall 4 and the second longitudinal edge 25 resting on the primary insulating element 22 in place at the edge of the second container wall 5. The primary support strip 23 forms a continuous corner primary support surface 26 and a corner primary sealing membrane 27 is placed on the corner primary support surface 26.

Unlike the secondary thermal barrier, which is placed on the support structure, the primary thermal barrier is placed on the secondary sealing film. The secondary sealing membrane now comprises an expansion bellows projecting towards the interior of the container.

In order to accommodate the expansion waves of the secondary sealing membrane supported by the first 4 and second 5 container walls, the primary insulating elements 22 of the first 4 and second 5 container walls comprise, on the lower surface, grooves for housing said expansion waves. This solution, with grooves on the first container wall 4 and on the second container wall 5, is easy to produce due to the parallelepiped nature of the primary insulating element 22 and the substantially flat appearance of the secondary sealing film on which said primary insulating element 22 is located, except for the inflated bellows. However, this solution is complex to implement for the corner primary insulating elements 30 of the corner structure. In effect, the corner secondary sealing membrane 18, which is placed over the secondary support strip 12, has a curved shape. It is thus impossible to produce a parallelepiped corner primary insulating block similar in shape to the corner secondary insulating block 15.

In order to maintain freedom in designing the corner secondary sealing membrane 18 while having primary insulation in the corner structure, the corner primary insulation elements 30 include first 31 and second 32 lateral elements connected by spacers 33.

The first lateral element 31 has a first lateral face 34 extending perpendicularly to the first support wall 2. This first lateral face 34 is connected to a lateral face 35 of the primary insulating element 22 at the edge of the first container wall 4, in which the primary support strip 23 is located.

The first lateral element 31 also comprises a first bottom surface 36, this first bottom surface 36 being placed on a planar portion of the secondary sealing film, preferably between two adjacent expansion waves. In the embodiment shown in fig. 3 and 4, the secondary sealing film is made of strips 9 with raised edges, and the first bottom surface 36 is placed on the planar portion of the secondary strip 9 of the first container wall 4 which is connected in a sealing manner to the adjacent corner secondary strip 19 of the corner secondary sealing film 18. In a non-illustrated embodiment, the first base surface 36 is arranged on a planar part of the corner secondary webs 19 of the corner secondary sealing film 18, i.e. between the raised edges 20 of the corner secondary webs 19.

The first 31 and second 32 lateral elements are symmetrical with respect to the bisector of the angle formed by the first 2 and second 3 support walls. The second lateral element 32 therefore has a second lateral face 37 and a second bottom face 39, the second lateral face 37 abutting against the lateral face 38 of the primary insulating element 22 at the edge of the second container wall 5 in which the primary support strip 23 is located, the second bottom face 39 resting on the secondary sealing membrane between two adjacent expansion waves.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 3 and 4, the spacer 33 is formed by means of a base plate 40 and a cover plate 41 extending parallel to each other. These base plate 40 and cover plate 41 extend parallel to the edge 1 in respective planes inclined with respect to both the first support wall 2 and the second support wall 3. The bottom plate 40 connects the first bottom surface 36 and the second bottom surface 39. The cover plate 41 connects the first side surface 34 and the second side surface 37. The spacer 33 also comprises two end plates 42, only one of which is visible in fig. 3 and 4. Each of these end plates 42 extends in a plane perpendicular to the respective edge 1. Each end plate 42 connects the first lateral face 34, the first bottom face 36, the bottom plate 40, the second bottom face 39, the second lateral face 37 and the cover plate 41 to one another. In other words, the corner primary insulating element 30 is a multi-faced box as shown in fig. 20, each face of which is formed by a respective plate. In fig. 3, 4 and 19, this corner primary insulating element 30 is extruded and has a hexagonal cross section in a direction parallel to edge 1, formed by end plates 42.

Advantageously, an insulating filler is provided between the first 31 and the second 32 lateral elements. As mentioned above, and as shown in fig. 3, 4 and 19, the corner primary insulating elements 30 in the form of boxes are typically filled with insulating material, such as perlite, glass wool or the like.

Such corner primary insulating elements 30 have a number of advantages. In fact, the spacers 33 connecting the bottom faces 36, 39 make it possible to form a space 43 between the corner primary insulating block 30 and the corner secondary sealing film 18. This space 43 provides freedom in designing the corner secondary sealing membrane 18, since the corner primary insulating elements 30 are placed on the secondary sealing membrane by the first and second bottom faces 36, 39 being at a distance from one another. Furthermore, each of the first and second lateral faces 34, 37 abuts against the edge primary insulation element 22 and, via the corner primary insulation elements 30, loads can be transferred between the primary insulation barrier of the first container wall 4 and the primary insulation barrier of the second container wall 5. Finally, the first and second lateral faces 34, 37 extend perpendicularly to the first and

second support walls

2, 3, respectively, and once the corner primary insulating element 30 is installed, this corner primary insulating element 30 is fixed in position between the lateral faces 35, 38 of the edge primary insulating elements 22 of the container walls 4, 5. The edge primary insulating elements 22 are anchored directly or indirectly to the support structure and then the corner primary insulating elements 30 are anchored indirectly to the support structure without additional anchoring. However, in an embodiment not shown, a fixing member may be provided to prevent movement along edge 1 parallel to the edge of corner primary insulating element 30. Such means for fixing the corner primary insulating elements 30 can be made in various ways, such as for example a bracket: this support makes it possible to anchor the edge primary insulating elements 22 projecting from said primary insulating elements 22 on respective opposite sides of the corner primary insulating elements 30 in the direction of the edge 1, so as to prevent the corner primary insulating elements 30 from moving along the edge 1. Likewise, such movement blocking members can be used in a similar manner to block the movement of said corner secondary insulating elements 15, the support enabling the anchoring of the end secondary insulating elements 6 projecting and extended in the direction of the edge 1 to block the movement of the corner secondary insulating elements 15 along the edge 1.

The lower insulating fill 44 is disposed between the bottom plate 40 and the corner secondary sealing film 18. The lower insulating filler 44 can be manufactured in various ways, for example by means of a flexible insulating material, such as glass wool or low-density polyurethane foam, between the expanding wave 21 and a rigid insulating material (for example high-density polyurethane insulating foam) located above the expanding wave 21. Similarly, an upper insulating filler 45 is disposed between the cover plate 41 and the primary support bar 23. Such upper insulating filler 45 is produced, for example, using a high-density polyurethane foam adapted to support the curved shape of said primary support bar 23 and capable of absorbing the loads experienced by the primary support bar 23.

Fig. 5-15 show details of embodiments of the sealed and insulated container. These details are described below in the context of a secondary thermal barrier and/or a secondary sealing film. However, the description applies analogously to the primary sealing film.

In fig. 5 to 10, the secondary sealing film of the container wall 4, 5 has a repeating structure or comprises: firstly a secondary sheet metal strip 9 (hereinafter secondary strip 9) which is arranged on the secondary support surface 8; and then an elongated welding support 10, which elongated welding support 10 is connected to the secondary support surface 8 and extends parallel to the secondary slats 9 for more than at least a part of the length of the secondary slats 9. The convex lateral edges 11 of the sheet metal strips 9 are arranged and welded against the adjacent welding supports 10. Sheet metal strip, for example made of

Made, i.e. having a coefficient of expansion generally between 1.2X 10^-6And 2X 10^-6K^-1(including 1.2X 10)^-6And 2X 10^-6K^-1) Or an alloy of iron and nickel, or an alloy having an expansion coefficient of usually about 7X 10^-6K^-1To 9X 10^-6K^-1An iron alloy with a high manganese content.

Furthermore, the corner secondary sealing membrane 18 shown in fig. 5 to 10 comprises a plurality of sheet metal strips in the form of corner strips 19 with raised edges 20 extending parallel to the edge 1. The raised edges 20 project substantially perpendicular to the secondary support bars 12. The adjacent raised edges 20 of two adjacent corner secondary slats 19 are welded to each other by a weld line 46 parallel to the edge 1. These weld lines 46 are preferably produced at the location of the end of the raised edge 20 opposite the secondary support 12. The two welded raised edges 20 thus form a plurality of corner secondary expansion corrugations 21 extending parallel to the edge 1. These corner secondary expansion waves 21 differ from the expansion waves formed by the secondary sealing film of the first container wall 4 and the secondary sealing film of the second container wall 5 in that: the corner secondary expansion corrugations 21 are formed by direct welding of the raised edges 20 without the need for any welding of the flanges 10. These corner secondary expansion corrugations 21 make it possible to absorb the deformation of the corner secondary sealing film 18 in the direction perpendicular to the edge 1.

Further, in fig. 5 and 6, the secondary support bar 12 is made of metal.

In fig. 5, the central corner secondary slats 19 are anchored to the secondary support bars 12 along weld lines 47 parallel to the edge 1. Thus, even if there is elevated pressure in the secondary insulating barrier, such as may occur during a sealing test of the secondary sealing membrane by elevating the pressure on the secondary insulating barrier, the corner secondary sealing membrane 18 is retained on the secondary support strip 12.

Fig. 6 shows: in the case where the secondary sealing membrane of the first container wall 4 features expansion waves extending parallel to the edge 1, the junction between the corner secondary sealing membrane 18 and the secondary sealing membrane of the first container wall 4.

The cover panel 7 of the edge secondary insulating element 6 comprises a recess 48. The depth of this recess 48 is substantially equal to the thickness of the secondary support bar 12. The recess 48 extends parallel to the edge 1 over the entire length of the cover panel 7. The first longitudinal edges 13 of the secondary support strips 12 rest on the edge secondary insulating elements 6 in the recesses 48. Thus, the corner support surface 17 formed by the secondary support strip 12 is flush with the support surface 8 formed by the lid panel 7 so as to form a substantially continuous support surface for the secondary sealing film.

The edge sub-strip 9 of the first vessel wall 4 is anchored in a sealed manner to the corner sub-support surface 17 by means of a weld 49. The raised edge 11 of the edge secondary slat 9 is welded in a sealed manner to the raised edge 20 of the adjacent corner secondary slat 19 by means of a welding line 50 to form an expansion bellows adapted to absorb deformation of the secondary sealing film in a direction perpendicular to the edge 1.

In a similar manner, the corner primary sealing membrane 27 may be formed by a plurality of corner primary slats 28, said corner primary slats 28 having raised edges extending parallel to the edge 2. The convex edges of these corner primary slats 28 are connected two by two, thereby forming corner primary expansion corrugations 29.

Fig. 7 shows a variant embodiment of the sealed connection between the secondary sealing membrane of the first container wall 4 and the corner secondary sealing membrane 18.

In this variant, the cover panel 7 of the edge secondary insulating element 6 of the first container wall 4 comprises a welded support 10 arranged between the recess 48 and the adjacent secondary insulating element 6 of the first container wall 4. The edge of the secondary sealing film of the first container wall 4 the raised edge 11 of the secondary batten 9 is welded to said welding support 10. Furthermore, the edge corner battens 19 of the corner secondary membranes 18 jointly rest on the corner secondary support surfaces 17 formed by the secondary support strips 12 and on the secondary support surfaces 8 formed by the edge secondary insulating elements 6 on which said secondary support strips 12 are located. The raised edges 20 of the edge corner strips 19 are also welded to the welding support 10. This embodiment has the following advantages: the expansion wave is formed while anchoring the corner secondary slats 19 directly to the secondary support surface 8.

Fig. 8 shows: in the case of the secondary sealing membrane of the first container wall 4 featuring an expansion bellows extending perpendicularly to the edge 1, a further variant of the sealing connection between the secondary sealing membrane of the first container wall 4 and the corner secondary sealing membrane 18 is provided.

In this variant embodiment, the raised edge 11 of the secondary slats 9 is interrupted before the secondary insulating element 6 is edged, so that the end of the secondary slats 9 lying on the support surface 8 formed by the end of the secondary insulating element 6 is planar.

The edge secondary insulating element 6 features receptacles 51 extending parallel to the edge 1. A metal anchoring strip 52 extending parallel to the edge 1 is housed in this housing 51. The housing 51 and the anchoring bar are each in the form of an inverted "T" in a plane perpendicular to the edge 1. This inverted "T" shape enables the anchoring strip 52 to slide in the housing 51 in a direction parallel to the edge 1, while anchoring the anchoring strip 52 in this housing 51 in the thickness direction of the secondary thermal insulation barrier. The gap between the anchoring bar 52 and the housing 51 may also allow the anchoring bar 52 to slide in the housing 51 along a direction perpendicular to the edge 1 and parallel to the first support wall 2.

The anchoring strip 52 has a plane upper surface 53 which is flush with the support surface 8 formed by the edge secondary insulating element 6. The planar end of the edge secondary slat 9 is anchored in a sealed manner to the upper surface 53 by means of a weld 54. The edge corner battens 19 are placed jointly on the secondary support bars 12 and on the support surface 8 formed by the edge secondary insulating elements 6. However, in contrast to the embodiment shown in fig. 6 and 7, the longitudinal edges 55 opposite the secondary support bars 12 of the edge corner slats 19 are flat. The flat longitudinal edges 55 are welded 56 one on top of the other in a sealing manner at the planar ends of the secondary webs 9, so that a sealing connection is provided between the secondary sealing film of the first container wall 4 and the corner secondary sealing film 18. In the first way of producing a sealed weld, the planar end of the edge secondary slat 9 is fillet welded (filelet weld), and no weld 57 is required. In a second way of producing a sealed weld, the flat longitudinal edge 55 is also welded to the upper surface 53 of the anchor bar 52 at the weld 57 in order to anchor the corner secondary sealing film 18 to the anchor bar 52.

Fig. 9 and 10 illustrate a modified embodiment of the method of anchoring the corner secondary sealing membrane 18 to the secondary support strip 12. This variant embodiment differs from the embodiment of fig. 5 in that the secondary support strip 12 is not made of metal and therefore cannot be directly anchored by welding the corner secondary sealing membrane 18 to the secondary support strip 12.

In this variant embodiment, a plurality of metal fixing rivets 58 are mounted on the secondary support bar 12. These fixing rivets 58 are arranged along an anchoring line 59 parallel to the edge 1. In the embodiment shown in fig. 9 and 10, the anchor line 59 is located substantially centrally between the first and second

longitudinal edges

13, 14 of the secondary support strip 12.

The set rivet 58 includes an upper rivet head 60 that forms a planar metal plate. The central corner secondary slat 19 is anchored to the head 60 of the fixing rivet 58 by a sealed spot weld along an anchoring line 59.

Fig. 11 and 12 show a variant embodiment of the corner secondary sealing film 18. In this variant embodiment, the corner secondary sealing membrane is formed from a corrugated metal sheet. Such corrugated metal sheets are produced, for example, in a manner similar to the corrugated sheets described in document FR2691520 and are used in the context of so-called Mark III-type sealing films. Thus, the corner secondary sealing membrane 18 comprises expansion corrugations 21 in the form of corrugations 61 extending parallel to the edge 1.

This embodiment also differs from the previous embodiment in that the corner secondary sealing membrane 18 is anchored to the corner anchor strips 62. The corner anchoring strips 62 extend perpendicular to the rim 1 and separate two successive secondary support bars 12 arranged along the rim 1. As shown in fig. 12, the corner anchoring strips 62 extend in a curved manner with their concave surfaces facing the interior of the container. The corner anchor bars 62 have a radius of curvature substantially equal to the radius of curvature of the secondary support bars 12. The corner anchor bars 62 include anchor surfaces 63, the anchor surfaces 63 being flush with the support surfaces 17 of the secondary support bars 12 separated by the corner anchor bars 62. Furthermore, the corner anchoring strip 62 comprises two steps 64 provided on respective opposite sides of the anchoring surface 63. Two secondary support bars 12 separated by corner anchor bars 62 are each welded to a respective one of the steps 64. The depth of these steps 64 is equal to the thickness of the secondary support strip 12 so that the support surface 17 formed by the secondary support strip 12 is flush with the anchor surface 63 and collectively forms a continuous support surface for the corner secondary sealing membrane 18. The corner secondary sealing membrane 18 is anchored on the anchoring surface 63 between two adjacent corrugations 61.

Fig. 13 and 14 show a first variant method for anchoring the secondary support strip 12 to the peripheral secondary insulating element 6 of the first container wall 4.

In this first variant, the recess 48 comprises a step 65. This step 65 is arranged between the bottom surface 66 of the recess 48, where the first longitudinal edge 13 of the secondary support strip 12 is located, and the support surface 8 formed by the edge secondary insulating elements 6. The first longitudinal edge 13 also includes a step 67 within the thickness of the secondary support strip 12. The step 67 forms a planar surface flush with the step 65.

The holding plate 68 is anchored in the recess 48, on the step 65 by means of screws, by gluing, riveting or the like. The retaining plate 68 extends parallel to the first support wall 2 and covers the step 65 and the step 67. Thus, the holding plate 68 holds the secondary support bar 12 on the cover panel 7. Furthermore, the retaining plate 68 is flush with the support surface 8 and thereby forms a substantially continuous planar surface between the support surface 17 of the secondary support bar 12 and the support surface 8.

Further, as shown in fig. 14, the step 67 of the first longitudinal edge 13 includes a plurality of oblong holes 69. These oblong holes 69 extend perpendicularly to the rim 1. The holding plate 68 includes a plurality of projections 70 that project in the direction of the secondary support bar 12. Each lug 70 is received in a respective oblong hole 69. Thus, the secondary support strip 12 is fixed in a direction parallel to the brim 1 by an abutting type mutual fit between the projections 70 and the walls of the corresponding oblong holes 69. However, since the projection 70 slides in the oblong hole 69, the support bar 12 remains free to slide in the recess 48 in a direction parallel to the brim 1.

As shown by the dashed lines in fig. 14, the retaining plate 68 extends over the entire length of the recess 48 in a direction parallel to the edge 1, that is to say over the entire length of the edge secondary insulating element 6 supporting this recess 48. However, in an embodiment not shown, a plurality of retaining plates 68, the dimension of which in a direction parallel to the edge 1 is smaller, are anchored along the recesses 48. Thus, the plurality of retainer plates 68 form point anchors of the secondary support bars 12 in the recesses 48. Similarly, in an embodiment not shown, the projections 70 and the oblong holes 69 are interchanged, that is to say the projections 70 project from the first longitudinal edge 13 and are housed in corresponding oblong holes 69 formed on the retaining plate 68.

Fig. 15 shows a second variant embodiment of the method for anchoring the secondary supporting bar 12 to the cover panel 7. In this variation, the recess 48 does not include any step 65 and the first longitudinal edge 13 of the secondary support bar 12 does not include any step 67. However, the first longitudinal edge 13 comprises an oblong hole 69 extending perpendicularly to the edge 1. These oblong holes 69 differ from the oblong holes described above in that each of these oblong holes 69 comprises two inner peripheries 71, said inner peripheries 71 extending parallel to the edge 1 over the entire length of said oblong hole 69. The secondary strip 12 is anchored by rivets 72, said rivets 72 being riveted into the recesses 48, and each rivet 72 passing through a respective oblong hole 69. Each rivet 72 includes a rivet head 91 supported on the inner periphery 71 of the corresponding oblong hole. Thus, secondary support bar 12 is anchored in recess 48 in a direction perpendicular to first support wall 2 by inner periphery 71 abutting against rivet head 91. The secondary support bar 12 is also anchored in a direction parallel to the brim 1 by abutting rivets 72 on the inner periphery 71 of the oblong holes 69. However, this anchoring method enables the secondary support bar 12 to slide in a direction perpendicular to the rim 1 and parallel to the first support wall 2 by virtue of the freedom of movement of the rivet 72 along the oblong hole 69.

Fig. 16 and 17 show the container corner at the position of the rim 1 formed by two supporting walls at an angle of 135 deg..

This construction differs from the construction described with reference to fig. 1 to 4 in that the dimension of the edge secondary insulating element 6 in the direction perpendicular to the edge 1 is smaller than the dimensions of the other secondary insulating elements 6.

Moreover, the corner insulating element 15 has two bottom faces, each resting on one of the supporting walls formed at the edge 1, two lateral walls perpendicular to said supporting wall and abutting against the respective edge secondary insulating element 6, and an upper face, which extends parallel to the edge 1 and is symmetrical with respect to the bisectrix of the angle formed by the supporting

walls

2, 3.

Furthermore, the corner secondary membrane 18 and the corner primary membrane 27 are formed from corrugated metal sheet, as described above with reference to fig. 11, and the corrugations 61 thereof extend parallel to the edge 1.

FIG. 18 shows a container corner including a corner secondary sealing membrane 18 according to a variant embodiment. In addition, this fig. 18 shows the secondary sealing membrane of the container wall featuring an expansion bellows extending perpendicularly to the edge 1. In this variant embodiment, the corner secondary sealing membrane 18 comprises expansion waves 21 in the form of corrugations 61 extending parallel to the edge 1. The corner secondary sealing membrane 18 also includes corrugations 73 extending perpendicular to the rim 1. These corrugations 73 extend continuously over the entire length of the corner secondary sealing film 18. Each end of the bellows 73 projects from the respective

longitudinal edge

13, 14 and is welded in a sealed manner to the secondary sealing film of the corresponding container wall, so as to seal said secondary sealing film. Furthermore, in order to prevent interference with the expansion waves of the secondary sealing film on the container walls 4, 5, a corrugation 73 is provided along the edge 1 between two adjacent expansion waves of the secondary sealing film of said container walls 4, 5. Such corrugations 73 can absorb deformation of the corner secondary sealing film 18 in a direction parallel to the edge 1.

In the embodiment not shown, the expansion bellows 21 of the corner secondary sealing membrane 18 are slightly inclined with respect to the edge 1. Such oblique expansion corrugations 21 can deform to absorb as much deformation of the corner secondary sealing membrane 18 in a direction parallel to the edge 1 as in a direction perpendicular to the edge 1.

Figure 19 shows a detail of a 90 container corner comprising a modified embodiment of the corner primary sealing membrane 27. In this variant, the primary sealing membrane 27 is produced by means of rigid corner angle irons.

The rigid corner angle iron comprises two rigid planar metal plates 88 joined to form an angle of 90 °, each planar plate 88 being welded in a sealed manner at 89 to the primary sealing membrane of the respective container wall 4, 5. Such rigid corner angles need not be placed on the primary support bar 23. Each planar plate 88 is therefore directly anchored to the respective edge primary insulating element 22. Such anchoring can be produced in different ways, for example by screwing, riveting, gluing, etc.

The corner structure includes corner primary insulating elements 30 as described above with reference to fig. 3, 4 and 20. However, the upper insulating filler 45 is composed of two rigid insulating blocks 90. Each insulating block has a triangular cross-section: a first face of triangular section resting on the cover plate 41, a second face of triangular section resting against the lateral face of the respective insulating element 22, and a third lower face of the respective planar plate 88. The two rigid insulating blocks 90 thus form a planar support surface for the planar plate 88.

Fig. 19 also shows the empty space 43 below the lower plate 40 for accommodating the curved corner secondary sealing membrane 18. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the bottom faces 36 and 39 make it possible to house the expansion bellows projecting from the planar portion of the secondary sealing film, in a manner similar to the lower face of the primary insulating element of the container walls 4, 5.

Fig. 21 and 22 show a variant embodiment of the corner primary insulating element 30. These variant embodiments differ from the corner primary insulating elements described with reference to fig. 3, 4 and 19 in that the first and second

lateral elements

31 and 32 are each formed by a planar parallelepiped plate 74. The first lateral face 34 and the second lateral face 37 are thus each formed by one of the larger faces of the corresponding plate 74. Further, the first bottom surface 36 and the second bottom surface 39 are formed by surfaces extending within the thickness range of the corresponding plate 74.

In a first variant, shown in fig. 21, the spacer 33 is formed by two bars 75, each bar 75 extending perpendicularly to the edge 1 and being inclined with respect to the supporting wall forming the edge 1. These rods 75 are anchored to the plate 74 in any suitable manner. For example, each plate 74 includes a through hole through which the rod 75 can pass. Each of these holes has an inner periphery on which is supported a nut mounted on the end of a rod 75 passing through said hole.

In a second variant, shown in fig. 22, the spacer 33 is formed by a single bar 75 extending perpendicularly to the edge 1 and inclined with respect to the supporting wall forming the edge 1. However, the single rod 75 is fixed to each plate 74 by a ball-and-socket joint 92. The advantage of this second variant is that it can be used for edges 1 having different angles.

The above described techniques for manufacturing sealed and thermally insulated containers may be used in different types of storage facilities, for example for constructing LNG storage facilities in land facilities or in floating structures such as methane transport vessels or other ships.

Referring to fig. 23, a cut-away view of a methane tanker 76 shows a generally prismatic sealed and insulated vessel 77 installed in the double hull 78 of the vessel. The walls of the container 77 include: a primary sealing barrier for contact with the LNG contained in the vessel; a secondary sealing barrier disposed between the primary sealing barrier and the twin hull 78 of the vessel; and two isolation barriers respectively provided between the primary and secondary sealing barriers and between the secondary sealing barrier and the catamaran hull 78.

A loading/unloading pipe 79 provided on the top deck of the ship can be connected to the sea or to a harbour quay by means of suitable connectors in a manner known per se for transferring LNG cargo from or to the container 77.

Fig. 23 depicts an example of an offshore terminal comprising a loading and unloading station 81, a subsea pipeline 82 and an onshore facility 83. The loading and unloading station 81 is a fixed offshore facility comprising a mobile arm 80 and a tower 84 supporting the mobile arm 80. The moving arm 80 carries a bundle of insulated flexible lines 85 connectable to the loading/unloading duct 79. The directable moving arm 80 is adapted to all methane tanker loading targets. A connecting pipe, not shown, extends inside the tower 84. The loading and unloading station 81 allows the methane tanker 76 to be loaded and unloaded from, or to, an onshore facility 83. The onshore facility includes a liquefied gas storage vessel 86 and a connecting pipeline 87 connected to the loading or unloading station 81 through the underwater pipeline 82. The underwater pipelines 82 allow for long distance (e.g., 5km) liquefied gas transfer between the loading or unloading station 81 and the onshore facility 83, allowing the methane tanker 76 to remain a significant distance offshore during loading and unloading operations.

Pumps onboard the ship 76 and/or pumps provided with onshore facilities 83 and/or pumps provided with loading and unloading stations 81 can be used to generate the pressure required to transport the liquefied gas.

Although the invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments, it is clear that the invention is not in any way restricted thereto, and that the invention comprises all technical equivalents of the described means and combinations thereof falling within the scope of the invention.

Thus, in the above description reference is made to a personalized element, but the above features also apply to a plurality of identical elements that are repeated according to a regular pattern in the container. Thus, if a connection between two elements has been described, this connection may similarly be applied, for example, to a row of two of said elements in the container extending in a repetitive manner along the edge 1.

Use of the verbs "comprise", "comprise" and their conjugations does not exclude the presence of elements or steps other than those listed in the present invention.

Claims

1. A sealed and thermally insulated container, which is integrally provided into a support structure comprising a first planar support wall (2) and a second planar support wall (3) which together form an edge (1) of the support structure;

the container comprises, from the support structure to the interior of the container: a secondary thermal insulation barrier anchored to the support structure, a secondary sealing membrane supported by the secondary thermal insulation barrier, a primary thermal insulation barrier supported by the secondary sealing membrane, and a primary sealing membrane supported by the primary thermal insulation barrier;

the container includes: a first container wall (4) supported by the first planar support wall (2) and a second container wall (5) supported by the second planar support wall (3);

said primary insulation barrier of said first container wall (4) comprising a juxtaposed plurality of parallelepipedic primary insulation elements having lateral faces extending in a plane intersecting said first planar support wall (2), and said primary insulation barrier of said second container wall (5) comprising a juxtaposed plurality of parallelepipedic primary insulation elements having lateral faces extending in a plane intersecting said second planar support wall (3);

the primary thermal insulation barrier comprises corner primary insulation elements comprising a first lateral element (31) and a second lateral element (32) connected by a spacing element, the corner primary insulation elements further comprising an insulation liner disposed between the first lateral element (31) and the second lateral element (32);

-the first lateral element (31) comprises a first bottom face (36) and a first lateral face (34), the first bottom face (36) being parallel to the first planar support wall (2) and resting on the secondary sealing film, the first lateral face (34) extending from the first bottom face (36) in the direction of the primary sealing film and being parallel to a lateral face (35) of a primary insulating element of the primary insulating barrier of the first container wall (4) and abutting against a lateral face (35) of a primary insulating element of the primary insulating barrier of the first container wall (4);

-the second lateral element (32) comprises a second bottom face (39) and a second lateral face (37), the second bottom face (39) being parallel to the second planar support wall (3) and resting on the secondary sealing film, the second lateral face (37) extending from the second bottom face (39) in the direction of the primary sealing film and being parallel to the lateral face (38) of the primary insulating element of the primary insulating barrier of the second container wall (5) and abutting against the lateral face (38) of the primary insulating element of the primary insulating barrier of the second container wall (5);

the spacer element is arranged between the first lateral element (31) and the second lateral element (32) to keep the first bottom face (36) and the second bottom face (39) at a distance;

the corner primary insulating element further comprising a rear face connecting the first bottom face (36) to the second bottom face (39) and being inclined with respect to the first planar support wall (2) and with respect to the second planar support wall (3) so as to create a space (43) between the rear face of the corner primary insulating element and the secondary sealing film;

wherein the secondary sealing membrane comprises a plurality of expansion waves, the expansion waves of which have a longitudinal axis extending parallel to the edge (1) of the support structure and which are deformable in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis, the first base (36) being placed on the secondary sealing membrane between two expansion waves adjacent to the first base (36), the second base (39) being placed on the secondary sealing membrane between two expansion waves adjacent to the second base (39);

and wherein at least one of the expansion waves is arranged between the first bottom surface (36) and the second bottom surface (39) and flush with the edge (1) of the support structure.

2. A sealed and insulated container according to claim 1, wherein a lower insulating filler (44) is provided in the space (43) between the secondary sealing film aligned with the edge (1) of the support structure and the rear face.

3. The sealed and insulated container according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the spacer element comprises at least one rigid rod (75) or rigid plate, the rigid rod (75) or rigid plate being mounted on the first lateral element (31) and the second lateral element (32) in an inclined manner with respect to the first planar support wall (2) and with respect to the second planar support wall (3).

4. A sealed and insulated container according to claim 3, wherein the rod (75) of the spacer element is mounted on at least one of the first lateral element (31) and the second lateral element (32) by means of a ball-and-socket joint (92).

5. The sealed and insulated container of claim 1 or 2, wherein the spacing element comprises a lower plate connecting the first bottom face (36) to the second bottom face (39) and forming the rear face of the corner primary insulating element.

6. A sealed and insulated container according to claim 5, wherein the spacer element further comprises an upper plate connecting the upper edge of the first lateral face (34) and the upper edge of the second lateral face (37), the upper plate being inclined with respect to the first planar support wall (2) and with respect to the second planar support wall (3).

7. The sealed and insulated container of claim 6, further comprising a rigid upper insulating filler (45) placed on the upper panel to form a corner support surface for the primary sealing membrane.

8. A sealed and insulated container according to claim 6, wherein the spacer element further comprises two end panels (42), each extending in a plane perpendicular to the edge (1) of the support structure, the end panels (42) connecting the first and second lateral elements (31, 32) so as to delimit, jointly with the upper and lower panels and the first and second lateral elements (31, 32), an inner space of the corner primary insulating element in which an insulating liner is housed.

9. The sealed and insulated container according to claim 1 or 2, wherein at least one of said first lateral element (31) and said second lateral element (32) comprises a parallelepiped-shaped plate (74), said parallelepiped-shaped plate (74) forming said first lateral face (34) and said first bottom face (36) of said first lateral element (31) and said second lateral face (37) and said second bottom face (39) of said second lateral element (32).

10. The sealed and insulated container according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first lateral element (31) comprises a first plate and a second plate, the first plate of the first lateral element (31) extending in a plane intersecting the first planar support wall (2) and forming the first lateral face (34) of the first lateral element (31), the second plate of the first lateral element (31) extending parallel to the first planar support wall (2) and forming the first bottom face (36) of the first lateral element (31), and/or the second lateral element (32) comprises a first plate and a second plate, the first plate of the second lateral element (32) extending in a plane intersecting the second planar support wall (3) and forming the second lateral face (37) of the second lateral element (32), the second plate of the second lateral element (32) extends parallel to the second planar support wall (3) and forms the second bottom face (39) of the second lateral element (32).

11. A sealed and insulated container as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein at least one of the secondary sealing membrane and the primary sealing membrane is formed by corner angle iron in alignment with the rim (1).

12. The sealed and insulated container of claim 1 or 2, further comprising a curved support strip, the concave face of the support strip facing the inside of the container, the support strip extending parallel to the edge (1) of the support structure, the support strip comprises a first longitudinal edge (24) and a second longitudinal edge (25), the first longitudinal edge (24) is disposed on the primary thermal insulation barrier of the first container wall (4), the second longitudinal edge (25) being placed on the primary thermal insulation barrier of the second container wall (5), so as to form a continuous support surface (17) between a support surface (8) formed by the primary thermal insulation barrier of the first container wall (4) and a support surface (8) formed by the primary thermal insulation barrier of the second container wall (5), the primary sealing film being placed on the support strip.

13. The sealed and insulated container according to claim 7, further comprising a curved support strip, the concavity of which faces the interior of the container, which extends parallel to the rim (1) of the support structure, which comprises a first longitudinal edge (24) and a second longitudinal edge (25), the first longitudinal edge (24) resting on the primary thermal insulation barrier of the first container wall (4), the second longitudinal edge (25) resting on the primary thermal insulation barrier of the second container wall (5), so as to form a continuous support surface (17) between a support surface (8) formed by the primary thermal insulation barrier of the first container wall (4) and a support surface (8) formed by the primary thermal insulation barrier of the second container wall (5), the primary sealing membrane resting on the support strip, and wherein an upper face of said rigid upper insulating filler (45) opposite to said upper plate of said spacer elements is curved, said support strip being placed on said upper face of said rigid upper insulating filler (45).

14. Sealed and insulated container according to claim 13, wherein the spacer element is arranged at a distance from at least one of the expansion waves of the secondary sealing film interposed between the first bottom face (36) and the second bottom face (39).

15. A ship (76) for transporting cold liquid products, the ship comprising a double hull (78) and a sealed and insulated container according to claim 1 or 2 arranged therein.

16. A transfer system for a cold liquid product, the transfer system comprising: a vessel (76) according to claim 15; an isolation pipe arranged to connect the sealed and insulated vessel installed in the double hull of the vessel to an offshore or onshore storage facility; and a pump for driving a flow of cold liquid product through the insulated pipeline from the offshore or onshore storage facility to the vessel of the vessel or from the vessel of the vessel to the offshore or onshore storage facility.

17. Method for loading or unloading a vessel (76) according to claim 15, wherein the cold liquid product is transferred from an offshore or onshore storage facility to the container of the vessel (76) or from the container of the vessel (76) to an offshore or onshore storage facility through an insulated pipeline.