EP2906867A2

EP2906867A2 - Fluidtight and thermally insulated tank comprising a metal membrane that is corrugated in orthogonal folds

Info

Publication number: EP2906867A2
Application number: EP13785540.9A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Mickaël HERRY; Johan Bougault; Antoine PHILIPPE; Benjamin CHARPENTIER
Original assignee: Gaztransport et Technigaz SA
Current assignee: Gaztransport et Technigaz SA
Priority date: 2012-10-09
Filing date: 2013-10-09
Publication date: 2015-08-19
Anticipated expiration: 2033-10-09
Also published as: RU2019130583A; RU2015112688A; KR102523584B1; JP6722250B2; ES2897745T3; KR20210060683A; CN104704281B; JP2015535916A; WO2014057221A3; US9982839B2; MY177949A; KR20200106997A; KR102155819B1; JP2019052758A; EP2906867B1; RU2017145619A; CN104704281A; RU2017145619A3; RU2641186C2; KR20150067313A

Abstract

Fluidtight and thermally insulated tank built into a bearing structure, the tank wall comprising: - a thermal insulation barrier held on the bearing wall and consisting of blocks of insulation (1, 13) that are juxtaposed in parallel rows and separated from one another by gaps (10), - a sealing barrier supported by the thermal insulation barrier and consisting of welded metal sheets (11, 15). Each block of insulation bears, on its opposite face to the bearing wall, two metal connecting strips (5, 6 and 14a, 14b) running parallel to the sides of the block of insulation. The sheets (11, 15) of the membrane which are supported by the block of insulation are welded to the strips. The connecting strips are secured to the block of insulation that bears them. The sheets (11, 15) each have at least two orthogonal folds (12g, 12b, 16a, 16b) parallel to the sides of the blocks of insulation (1, 13), said folds being inserted in the gaps (10) formed between the blocks of insulation.

Description

SEALED AND THERMALLY INSULATING TANK COMPRISING A WRAPPED METAL MEMBRANE ACCORDING TO ORTHOGONAL PLATES

The present invention relates to a sealed and thermally insulating vessel; in particular, the present invention relates to tanks for containing cold liquids, for example tanks for the storage and / or transport by sea of liquefied gases.

Waterproof and thermally insulating vessels can be used in different industries to store hot or cold products. For example, in the energy field, liquefied natural gas (LNG) is a liquid that can be stored at atmospheric pressure at about -163 ° C in land-based storage tanks or tanks embedded in floating structures.

Such a tank is for example described in document FR-A-2724623.

According to one embodiment, the invention provides a sealed and thermally insulating tank integrated in a structure which comprises a load-bearing wall, said tank comprising a tank wall fixed on said supporting wall, the tank wall comprising:

a thermal insulation barrier retained on the carrier wall and consisting of rectangular parallelepiped-shaped insulation blocks, juxtaposed in parallel rows and separated from one another by interstices,

a sealing barrier supported by the thermal insulation barrier, said sealing barrier comprising a metal membrane consisting of metal sheets welded to each other in a sealed manner, each insulation block of a thermal insulation barrier bearing on its face opposite to the carrier wall, at least two substantially orthogonal metal connecting strips, arranged parallel to the sides of the insulation block, strips on which are welded the sheets of the metal membrane supported by said insulation block, said connecting strips being integral with the insulation block which carries them,

a plurality of sheets of the metal membrane each comprising at least two orthogonal folds parallel to the sides of the thermal insulation blocks, said folds being inserted into the interstices formed between the insulation blocks.

According to embodiments, such a tank may comprise one or more of the following characteristics.

According to one embodiment, the sheets of the metal membrane each comprise at least two orthogonal folds parallel to the sides of the thermal insulation blocks, inserted into the interstices formed between the insulation blocks.

According to one embodiment, the vessel wall comprises a primary element and a secondary element disposed between the carrier wall and the primary element, each of the primary and secondary elements including a thermal insulation barrier consisting of insulation blocks in the form of parallelepiped rectangles, juxtaposed in parallel rows and a sealing barrier disposed on the thermal insulation barrier, the thermal insulation barrier of the secondary element being secured to its supporting wall, (a thermal insulation barrier of the primary element being secured by fastening means related to the thermal insulation barrier of the secondary element.

According to one embodiment, the sealing barrier of the secondary element consists of the metal membrane having a plurality of sheets each having at least two parallel orthogonal folds at the sides of the thermal insulation blocks, and inserted in the interstices formed between the insulation blocks of the secondary element.

According to one embodiment, the sheets of the metal membrane of the secondary element are made of an iron alloy with nickel or manganese and having an expansion coefficient of less than or equal to 7 × 10 ⁶ .

According to one embodiment, the plies of the metal sheets of the secondary sealing barrier are inserted into the interstices between the insulation blocks of the thermal insulation barrier of the secondary element.

According to one embodiment, the plies of the metal sheets of the primary sealing barrier are inserted into the interstices between the insulation blocks of the thermal insulation barrier of the primary element. According to other embodiments, the primary membrane may have a different design of the secondary membrane, for example with folds projecting towards the inside of the tank. In other words, the sealing barrier of the primary element consists of metal sheets welded to each other in a sealed manner and having folds directed towards the inside of the tank.

According to one embodiment, an insulation block of the thermal insulation barrier comprises a bottom plate on which is disposed a layer of foam, in particular polyurethane, the bottom plate being overflowing with respect to the foam. The plates can be made of plywood. The secondary element is held in abutment on the bearing wall by means of fasteners welded to the bearing wall and cooperating with the projecting zones of the insulation block plates, possibly with interposition of resin strands to catch the imperfections iocaies of the carrier wall.

According to one embodiment, an insulation block of the thermal insulation barrier of the secondary element is held on the carrier wall by gluing.

Many provisions of the connecting strips on the insulation blocks are possible, particularly as to the position and the number of connecting strips on an insulation block. In this respect, all the insulation blocks are not necessarily identical.

According to one embodiment, the connecting strips of each insulation block of the thermal insulation barrier of the secondary element carries two connecting strips which are arranged along the two axes of symmetry of the rectangle defined by a large face of said insulation block.

According to one embodiment, the connecting strips of each insulation block of the thermal insulation barrier of the primary element, are arranged in the vicinity of the edges of a large face of said insulation block.

According to one embodiment, an isolation block has three connecting strips disposed on the cover plate.

According to one embodiment, the connecting strips of an insulation block are housed in recesses in the plate or the foam layer which carries it so as not to constitute an extra thickness on the corresponding face of the insulation block.

According to one embodiment, a connecting strip of an insulation block is fixed in its recess by screwing, stapling, riveting or gluing.

According to one embodiment, the attachment means of the thermal insulation barrier of the primary element comprise a continuous metal plate disposed at the intersection of the two bcndes. connecting each isolation block of the secondary element, and a projecting member passing through the level of the sealing barrier of the secondary element without rising to the level of the sealing barrier of the primary element.

According to one embodiment, the adjacent metal sheets of the sealing barriers of the primary and secondary elements are welded overlap to the right of the connecting strips carried respectively by the thermal insulation barriers of the primary and secondary elements.

According to one embodiment, the projecting members are studs, whose base is fixed on the continuous metal plate of the insulation block of the secondary element, an intermediate part being interposed between, on the one hand, a nut cooperating with the threading provided at the free end of the stud and, on the other hand, the protruding parts of the plates of the insulation blocks of the thermal insulation barrier of the primary element. The base of the studs is fixed by welding and / or screwing to the continuous metal plate of the insulation block of the secondary element.

According to one embodiment, the sheets of the metal membranes, which constitute the sealing barrier are rectangular and each comprise two folds arranged along the axes of symmetry of the rectangle formed by their borders.

According to one embodiment, the two plies of a sheet and the sealing barrier of the primary element are intersecting in the center of the rectangular sheet.

According to one embodiment, one of the folds of a sheet is continuous and the other is interrupted in its central part.

According to one embodiment, sheets of a first type have a continuous fold on their major axis. According to one embodiment, sheets of a second type have a discontinuous fold on their major axis.

According to one embodiment, on a tank wall the sheets of the first and second types are regularly alternated so that a sheet of one type is always adjacent to a sheet of the other type.

According to one embodiment, each insulation block of the thermal insulation barrier comprises two series of orthogonal slots, each of said series having slots arranged parallel to two opposite sides of the insulation block, and the sheets of the metal membrane. each comprise two sets of additional folds, each of said series of additional folds having folds, orthogonal to the folds of the other series, parallel to one of the two folds inserted in the interstices, and inserted into the slots of one of the series of slots in the insulation block.

According to another embodiment, the metal membrane comprises a second plurality of sheets, each of the sheets of the second plurality comprising a single parallel fold at two opposite sides of the insulation blocks, said fold being inserted into a gap formed between two blocks. insulation.

According to another embodiment, each insulation block of the thermal insulation barrier comprises a parallel slot on two opposite sides of the insulation blocks and in which the metal membrane comprises a second plurality of sheets, each of the sheets of the second plurality comprising a fold inserted in a slot in an insulation block and a fold inserted in a gap formed between two insulation blocks.

Such a tank may be part of an onshore storage facility, for example to store LNG or be installed in a facility. floating structure, coastal or deep-water, including a LNG tank, a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU), a floating production and remote storage unit (FPSO) and others.

According to one embodiment, a vessel for the transport of a cold liquid product comprises a double hull and a aforementioned tank disposed in the double hull.

According to one embodiment, the invention also provides a method of loading or unloading such a vessel, in which a cold liquid product is conveyed through isolated pipes from or to a floating or land storage facility to or from the vessel vessel.

According to one embodiment, the invention also provides a transfer system for a cold liquid product, the system comprising the abovementioned vessel, insulated pipes arranged to connect the vessel installed in the hull of the vessel to a floating storage facility. or terrestrial and a pump for driving a flow of cold liquid product through the isolated canalisavions to or from the floating or land storage facility to or from the vessel vessel.

An idea underlying the invention is to provide a waterproof and insulating multilayer structure which is easy to achieve on large surfaces. Some aspects of the invention start from the idea of making insulation blocks whose geometry is simple and inexpensive to manufacture. Certain aspects of the invention start from the idea of providing a tight membrane, in particular a secondary membrane made of low expansion coefficient steel sheet, for example Invar® or other, of small thickness, in particular less than or equal to 0.7 mm, thus obtaining a low stiffness allowing anchoring at the edges of the tank wall using relatively compact means of anchoring.

The invention will be better understood and other objects, details, features and advantages thereof will appear more clearly in the following description of several particular embodiments of the invention, given solely for the purpose of demonstrative and non-limiting, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

On these drawings:

FIG. 1 schematically represents, in perspective, an assembly of different members constituting a sealed and thermally insulating tank according to the invention: this general view comprises parts torn off to allow the thermal insulation and sealing barriers of the secondary elements to be seen; and primary of the tank wall;

FIG. 2 schematically represents a section of a tank wall according to the invention, the primary sealing barrier of which has projecting folds on the side opposite the bearing wall;

FIG. 3 represents, in perspective, an insulation block of the thermal insulation barrier of the secondary wall element of the tank of FIG. 1, said block comprising, in its central zone, a hooking means insulation blocks of the thermal insulation barrier of the primary element of the wall of the tank;

FIG. 4 represents, in perspective, an insulation block of the thermal insulation barrier of the primary element of the cell wall of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 represents, in cutaway perspective, the constituent parts of the thermal insulation and sealing barriers of the primary and secondary elements of a tank wall according to the invention comprising, in its elemental barrier, primary folds towards the inside of the tank as shown in FIG. 2, said FIG. 5 showing in detail the production of a means for attaching the primary insulating barrier to a connecting strip of the secondary insulating barrier;

FIG. 6 represents a view similar to FIG. 5, in which two parts of an attachment means are shown separated, in exploded perspective;

FIG. 7 schematically represents in section a fastening means according to another embodiment than that of FIGS. 5 and 6;

FIG. 8 represents a top plan view of the hooking means of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 represents an assembly diagram, in a tank wall, of laminations constituting a sealing barrier, the sheets being of a first and a second type, so that the flexibility of the metallic membrane the sealing barrier is relatively uniform;

FIG. 10 represents an assembly diagram similar to that of FIG. 9, for a variant embodiment in which the plies of the metal sheets of the sealing barrier which are arranged in a first direction are substantially aligned with a sheet metal; from the tank wall to an adjacent sheet, while in the direction orthogonal to the first, the folds are interrupted to avoid cross folds;

FIG. 11 shows, in schematic perspective, a polyhedral vessel section made in an LNG carrier vessel using the sealing membrane shown in FIG. 10, which makes it possible to improve the flexibility of the sealing membrane for deformations of the center line of the vessel during a sea transport; FIG. 12 diagrammatically represents two other variants of metal sheets that can be used to form a sealing membrane;

FIG. 13 is a cutaway schematic representation of a vessel of a LNG carrier and a terminus. loading / unloading this vessel;

FIGS. 14 to 16 show schematically still other variants of metal sheets that can be used to form a sealing membrane;

FIG. 17 diagrammatically represents seventeen embodiments of pleated metal sheets that can be used to form a sealing membrane;

FIGS. 18 to 23 show diagrammatically different arrangements of the folded metal sheets of FIG. 17 that can be repeated periodically to produce sealing membranes.

- Figure 24 shows, in perspective, an insulation block of the thermal insulation barrier of the secondary element, according to another embodiment.

FIG. 25 illustrates in perspective the thermal insulation and sealing barriers of the secondary element according to the embodiment of FIG. 25, the sealing barrier being shown partially broken away.

FIG. 26 is a representation of a section of the thermal insulation and sealing barriers of the secondary element according to the embodiment of FIGS. 24 and 25.

FIG. 27 illustrates an assembly diagram, in a tank wall, of sheets constituting a secondary sealing barrier, according to another embodiment. FIG. 28 illustrates an assembly diagram, in a tank wall, of plates constituting a secondary sealing barrier, according to yet another embodiment.

In the different variants shown in the drawings, the components, which play the same role, have been designated by the same reference numerals even if their implementation has been somewhat modified.

Referring to the drawings, it will be seen that 1, as a whole, is designated an insulating block of the thermal insulation barrier of the secondary element of a tank wall. This block has a length L and a width I, for example, respectively, 3 m and 1 m; it has a rectangular parallelepiped shape and consists of a polyurethane foam between two plywood plates. One of the plates 2a overflows at the periphery of the foam and is intended to rest on the carrier wall 3 with interposed resin strands 4 for catching local defects of the carrier wall 3. The other plate 2b of the block 1 comprises, along its two axes of symmetry, a metal bonding strip 6, which is put in place in a recess 7 which is fixed thereto by screws, rivets, staples or glue. In the crossing zone of the strips 5 and 6, a continuous metal plate has been arranged, which supports, at the center of the crossing of the strips, a pin 8 projecting above the plate 2b. The plate 2a is held on the carrier wall 3 by gluing by means of the resin beads 4, as well as studs 9 welded to the carrier wall 3. It is ensured that between two adjacent blocks 1, a gap 10 is formed. for example due to the presence of the protruding parts of the plate 2a, but possibly by means of positioning studs. Turning now to Figure 1, it can be seen that, starting from the uncoated secondary insulating block shown at the top left of the figure and going obliquely to the right and to the bottom, the perspective shows a secondary insulating block 1, which is completely covered with a sheet 1 1 constituting a portion of the secondary sealing barrier of the vessel wall. This metal sheet 1 1 has a substantially rectangular shape and comprises, in each of the two axes of symmetry of this rectangle, a fold 12a, respectively 1 2b. The folds 12g and 12b form reliefs arranged in the direction of the carrier wall 3 and they are housed in the interstices 10 of the secondary insulating barrier. The metal sheets 1 1 are made of invar®, the coefficient of thermal expansion is typically between 1, 5.10 ^"6 and 2.10 ⁶ K ^{" 1} . They have a thickness of between about 0.7 mm and about 0.4 mm. Two adjacent sheets 1 1 are welded together, as will be described in Figures 5 and ό. Maintaining the sheets 1 1 on the insulating blocks 1 is made with the strips 5 and 6 on which at least two edges of the sheets 1 1 are worried.

According to a preferred embodiment, the metal sheets 1 1 are made of a manganese-based alloy having a coefficient of thermal expansion substantially equal to 7.10- ⁶ K ^-1. Such an alloy is generally less expensive than nickel-rich alloys such as invar®.

Referring again to Figure 1, from the area where the metal sheets 1 1 of the sealing barrier of the secondary element of the vessel wall and moving obliquely to the right and down it can be seen that there is shown an area where the secondary sealing barrier is covered with an insulation block 13 of the thermal insulating barrier of the primary element of the tank wall. The insulation block 1 3 is shown in detail in FIG. 4. It is found that this block has a general structure, which is similar to that of block 1, that is to say it is a sandwich made of a polyurethane foam between two plywood plates. The bottom plate 13a, which is supported on a metal sheet January 1, has projecting portions 30 at the four corners. The fastening of these insulating blocks 13 is carried out thanks to the protruding parts 30 and the studs 8. On the upper face of the insulating block 13, there are two connecting strips 14a, 14b; these connecting strips are metallic and arranged in recesses in the insulating block 13 to avoid any extra thickness on this insulating block. The two strips 14a, 14b are arranged parallel to the borders of the block 13 and they are fixed in their recesses as was previously described for the strips 5 and 6.

Finally, Figure 1 shows, when moving from an element 13 obliquely downwards and to the right, the establishment of a metal sheet 1 5 constituting the sealing barrier of the primary element of the tank. This sheet 1 5 can be made of stainless steel with a thickness of 1, 2 mm; it comprises folds arranged along axes of symmetry of the rectangle it constitutes, as already indicated for metal sheets 1 1. These folds may be raised on the side of the carrier wall 3, but they may also be raised towards the inside of the tank; these folds have been designated 16g, 16b. In Figure 2, as in Figures 5 and 6, the folds 1 6g, 1 6b are directed towards the inside of the tank.

Figures 5 and 6, there is shown an embodiment in which the metal sheets 1 1 have a fold 1 2g disposed within a gap 10 and shown in phantom. The adjacent sheets of the secondary sealing barrier are welded overlap, the weld zone being designated by 1 7. The weld is made on the connecting strip 6, which also carries pins 18 welded at their base on the strip 6 and threaded at their upper end to cooperate with a clamping bolt 1 9. This clamping bolt is disposed at the bottom of a cup, of which the peripheral edge 20 rests in a recess 21 formed on the plywood plate 13b, which limits the primary insulation barrier 13 towards the inside of the tank. On the primary insulating block is disposed a sheet 15, which has two lines of folds raised towards the bottom of the tank, the orthogonal folds meeting to form nodes; the sheets 1 5 are sealed welded and constitute the primary sealing barrier of the tank.

The connecting strip 6 is continuous at the intersection with the connecting strip 5 so as to form a sealed zone 39 on which the corners of four sheets 11 may be welded around the stud 18. Thus, it is not possible to it is not necessary to perforate a sheet 1 1 to allow the bolt 18 to pass in the direction of the primary element of the tank wall. Over the remainder of their length, the connecting strips 5 and 6 are preferably formed of discontinuous juxtaposed segments, in order to limit the stresses resulting from the thermal contraction, in particular the stresses in the welds with the sheets 1 1.

Figures 7 and 8 show a variant of the attachment means, which allow to retain insulation blocks 13 of the primary thermal insulating barrier in abutment against the metal membrane 1 1 of the secondary sealing barrier. This attachment means comprises a stud 18 whose base is secured to the plywood plate 2b of the secondary thermal insulation block 1. Between the nut 22 and the protruding portions 30 of the plywood plates of the primary insulating blocks 1 3, an elastic spacer 23 has been interposed. This ensures the maintenance of the insulating blocks 1 3 of the primary thermal insulation barrier of the tank on the secondary element of the tank without the stud 18 comes to the level of the metal sheets 15 of the primary sealing barrier.

In the figures, particularly Figure 2, relaxation slots 40 are shown through about half the thickness of the insulating blocks from the cover plate. These relaxation slots have the effect of dividing the cover plates 2b and 13b into separate portions. However, such relaxation slots are not always necessary, depending on the properties of the material used to produce the insulating blocks and the thermal stresses applied to them. In an embodiment not shown, an insulating block 1 or 13 has no relaxation slot, so that the cover plate 2b or 13b is continuous.

Figures 9 to 12 relate to the relative provisions of the folds that are provided in the metal sheets of the secondary sealing barrier. These arrangements can also be used for the primary membrane.

FIG. 9 represents the case where sheets having a continuous fold and a discontinuous fold orthogonal to the continuous fold are used. Two types of sheets 31 and 32 are arranged alternately. The edges of the plates 31 and 32 are shown in broken lines. The folds are represented in continuous lines. We see that we obtain a membrane characterized by the regularity of the flexibility in both directions.

On the contrary, for Figure 10, it is proposed to use only the type of sheet 32 that all the folds in one direction are continuous folds, while the folds in the other direction are discontinuous folds. In FIG. 11, it can be seen that for a tank intended to equip a ship, it is arranged that the discontinuous folds are parallel to the axis of the ship and the continuous folds perpendicular to this axis because, during transport, the deformation of the hull of the ship is carried out mainly by deformation of the axis of the ship in a vertical plane because of the pitch.

FIG. 12 shows two other sheets 51 and 52 that can be used for producing the sealing barrier at the transverse partitions to the axis of the ship, as sketched in FIG.

FIGS. 14 and 15 show folded sheets H and F that can be used in place of sheets 51 and 52 in FIG. 11 to form the sealing barrier at the transverse partitions to the axis of the ship. In this case, lines of undulations are obtained which are continuous in the width of the tank, and no longer in its height.

Figure 1 6 shows a folded sheet E used alone or in combination with the previous embodiments to form sealing barriers.

Figure 17 shows various pleated sheets A to R, including the examples given above and other examples, which are usable alone or combinable in multiple ways to form sealing barriers.

The pleated sheets A to R each have single plies or simple corrugations, which facilitates their assembly by loose welds. They can be combined in multiple arrangements each time to achieve a certain elongation of the metal membrane in both directions of the plane. Preferred arrangements are shown in Figures 18 to 23.

In a variant not shown, an alternation of two types of sheets is made similarly to Figures 22 and 23, but this time with the sheets H and I of Figure 1 7.

In an embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 24, 25 and 26, the insulation block 1 of the thermal insulation barrier of the element secondary comprises two series of slots 53a, 53b orthogonal. Each of the series of slots 53g, 53b is parallel to two opposite sides of the insulation block 1. Each isolation block 1 here comprises two slots 53a extendsanf in its longitudinal direction and eight slots 53b extendsanf transverse to its longitudinal direction. The slots 53a extend over the length of the insulation block 1 and the slots 53b extend across its entire width. Therefore, the connecting strips 5, 6 on which the edges of the sheets II of the secondary sealing barrier are welded are here produced in a discontinuous manner.

Moreover, as shown in FIG. 25, the metal plates 1 1 of the secondary sealing barrier comprise two series of plies 12a, 12b, 12c, 12d. Each series has folds that are perpendicular to the folds of the other series. In addition each series comprises one of the orthogonal folds 12a, 12b, housed in the interstices 10 formed between the insulation blocks 1, and a plurality of additional folds 12c, 12d which are parallel to said fold 12a, 12b. The additional plies 12c, 12d are identical to the plies 12g and 12b and form reliefs towards the supporting wall 3. The additional pleats are inserted in the slots 53a, 53b formed in the insulating blocks 1. Such an embodiment makes it possible to further increase the flexibility of the secondary sealing barrier.

In FIG. 27, the folds 12a, 12b of the plates 1 1 of the metal membrane of the secondary element are shown in dotted lines. Furthermore, the position of an insulation block 1 of the secondary thermal insulation barrier 10 is represented by transparency. The position of an insulation block 13 of the primary thermal insulation barrier hung on the insulation blocks 1 of the secondary thermal insulation barrier 10 is also shown. In this embodiment, the primary sealing barrier composes more than sheets 1 1 as insulation blocks 1. The primary sealing barrier here comprises 2 times more sheets 1 1 than insulating blocks 1 1. The sheets 1 1 thus have a length substantially equal to that of the insulation blocks 1 and a width which is substantially equal to half that of the insulation blocks. Thus, a portion of the plates 1 1 is welded overlap on four adjacent insulation blocks 1. The other part of the sheets 1 1 is welded overlap on only two adjacent insulation blocks 1. In order to ensure the attachment of the sheets to the insulating blocks 1, they comprise three connecting strips 5a, 5b, 6. The connecting strip 5a is oriented transversely to the insulating block 1. The connecting strips 5a, 5b are arranged in the longitudinal direction of the insulating block 1.

The plates 1 1 welded overlap on four adjacent insulation blocks 1 each comprise two orthogonal folds 12g, 12b inserted in the interstices 10 formed between the insulation blocks 1. The sheets 1 1 welded overlap on two adjacent insulation blocks 1 each comprise a single fold 12b inserted between the two adjacent insulation blocks 1 between which it extends.

At the center of the intersections between the connecting strip ό and the connecting strips 5a, 5b, the insulating blocks 1 comprise a pin 18 projecting towards the inside of the tank and making it possible to hang the insulation blocks 13 of the primary thermal insulation barrier.

The embodiment illustrated in Figure 28 is substantially similar to that of Figure 27. However, in this embodiment, the plates 1 1 are identical and each comprise two orthogonal folds 12a, 12b. Therefore, the insulating blocks 1 comprise a central slot 53e extending in their longitudinal direction. The 53th median slots allow to accommodate the folds 12a extending into the longitudinal direction of the sheets 1 1 welded overlap on two adjacent insulation blocks 1.

Still other variants of corrugated sheets and other combinations can be designed by making modifications of various characteristics, including the spacing of the corrugations, the number of corrugations per sheet, the length of the discontinuous waves (number of steps), the shape of the intersections between the undulations, namely secant or non-intersecting intersection, the orientation of the continuous corrugations, namely longitudinal or transverse orientation, and the orientation of the sheets themselves, namely horizontal orientation or vertical orientation (rotation of 90 °), and the combinations of such modifications.

The tanks described above can be used in various types of installations such as land installations or in a floating structure such as a LNG tank or other.

Referring to Figure 13, a broken view of a LNG tank 70 shows a sealed and insulated tank 71 of generally prismatic shape mounted in the double hull 72 of the ship. The wall of the tank 71 comprises a primary sealed barrier intended to be in contact with the LNG contained in the tank, a secondary sealed barrier arranged between the primary waterproof barrier and the double hull of the vessel, and two thermally insulating barriers arranged respectively between the primary watertight barrier and secondary watertight barrier, and between secondary watertight barrier and double hull 72.

In a manner known per se, loading / unloading lines arranged on the upper deck of the ship can be connected, by means of appropriate connectors, to a marine or port terminal to transfer a cargo of LNG from or to the tank 71. FIG. 13 represents an example of a marine terminal comprising a loading and unloading station 75, an underwater pipe 76 and an onshore installation 77. The loading and unloading station 75 is a fixed off-shore installation comprising an arm mobile 74 and a tower 78 which supports the movable arm 74. The movable arm 74 carries a bundle of insulated flexible pipes 79 that can connect to the loading / unloading pipes 73. The movable arm 74 can be adapted to all gauges of LNG carriers . A connection pipe (not shown) extends inside the tower 78. The loading and unloading station 75 enables the loading and unloading of the LNG tank 70 from or to the shore facility 77. liquefied gas storage tanks 80 and connecting lines 81 connected by the underwater line 76 to the loading or unloading station 75. The underwater line 76 allows the transfer of the liquefied gas between the loading or unloading station 75 and the onshore installation 77 over a large distance, for example 5 km, which makes it possible to keep the tanker vessel 70 at great distance from the coast during the loading and unloading operations.

In order to generate the pressure necessary for the transfer of the liquefied gas, pumps on board the ship 70 and / or pumps equipping the shore installation 77 and / or pumps equipping the loading and unloading station 75 are used.

Although the invention has been described in connection with several particular embodiments, it is obvious that it is not limited thereto and that it comprises all the technical equivalents of the means described and their combinations if they are within the scope of the invention. The use of the verb "to include", "to understand" or "to include" and its conjugated forms does not exclude the presence of other elements or steps other than those set out in a claim. The use of the indefinite article "a" or "an" for an element or a step does not exclude, unless otherwise stated, the presence of a plurality of such elements or steps.

In the claims, any reference sign in parentheses can not be interpreted as a limitation of the claim.

Claims

1. Sealed and thermally insulating vessel integrated in a structure which comprises a bearing wall, said vessel having a vessel wall fixed on said carrier wall (3), the vessel wall comprising:

a thermal insulation barrier retained on the carrier wall (3) and constituted by isolation blocks (1) in the form of rectangular parallelepipeds, juxtaposed in parallel rows and separated from each other by interstices (10),

a sealing barrier supported by the thermal insulation barrier, said sealing barrier comprising a metal membrane consisting of metal sheets (1 1) sealed to each other,

each insulation block of the thermal insulation barrier bearing, on its face opposite to the supporting wall (3), at least two substantially orthogonal metal connecting strips (5, 6) arranged parallel to the sides of the block of insulation, strips on which are welded sheets (1 1) of the metal membrane supported by said insulation block, said connecting strips being integral with the insulation block which carries them,

a plurality of plates (1 1) of the metal membrane each comprising at least two orthogonal folds (12a, 12b) parallel to the sides of the thermal insulation blocks (1), said folds being inserted into the interstices (10) formed between insulation blocks.

2. Tank according to claim 1, wherein the vessel wall comprises a primary element and a secondary element disposed between the bearing wall and the primary element, each of the primary and secondary elements including a thermal insulation barrier consisting of blocks of water. insulation (1, 13) in the form of rectangular parallelepipeds, juxtaposed in parallel rows and each of the primary and secondary elements including a sealing barrier disposed on the thermal insulation barrier, the thermal insulation barrier of the element secondary being secured to the carrier wall (3), the thermal insulation barrier of the primary element being secured by fastening means (8,18) related to the thermal insulation barrier of the secondary element.

3. Tank according to claim 2, wherein the sealing barrier of the secondary element consists of the metal membrane comprising a plurality of sheets (1 1) each having at least two orthogonal folds (12a, 12b) parallel to the sides. thermal insulation blocks (1), and inserted in the interstices (10) between the insulation blocks of the secondary element.

4. Tank according to claim 3, wherein the sheets (1 1) of the metal membrane of the secondary element are made of an iron alloy with nickel or manganese and having a coefficient of expansion of less than or equal to 7.10 ⁶ K ^-1 .

5. Tank according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the sealing barrier of the primary element consists of metal sheets (15) welded to each other in a sealed manner and having folds (16a, 16b ) directed towards the interior of the tank.

6. Tank according to one of claims 1 to 5, wherein an insulation block (1, 13) of the thermal insulation barrier comprises a bottom plate (2a, 13a) on which is disposed a layer of foam, the bottom plate being overflowing with respect to the foam.

7. Tank according to claim 6, wherein an insulation block (1) of the thermal insulation barrier of the secondary element is held in abutment on the carrier wall (3) by means of fasteners (9) welded to the supporting wall and cooperating with the protruding areas of the bottom plates (2a) of the insulation block.

8. Tank according to one of claims 2 to 7, wherein an insulation block (1) of the thermal insulation barrier of the secondary element is held on the carrier wall by gluing.

9. Tank according to one of claims 2 to 8, wherein each insulation block (1) of the thermal insulation barrier of the secondary element carries two connecting strips (5,6) which are arranged according to the two axes of symmetry of the rectangle defined by a large face of said insulation block (1).

10. Tank according to claim 9, wherein the attachment means of the thermal insulation barrier of the primary element comprise a continuous metal plate disposed at the intersection of the two connecting strips (5, 6) of each block of insulation (1) of the secondary element, and a protruding member (8, 18) passing through the level of the sealing barrier of the secondary element without ascending to the level of the sealing barrier of the primary element .

1 1. Tank according to claim 10, wherein the projecting members are studs (8, 18) whose base is fixed on the continuous metal plate of the insulation block of the secondary element, an intermediate part being interposed between, d ' on the one hand, a nut (19,22) cooperating with the threading provided at the free end of the stud and, on the other hand, the projecting parts of the plates of the insulation blocks of the thermal insulation barrier of the element primary.

12. Tank according to one of claims 2 to 1 1, wherein each insulation block (13) of the thermal insulation barrier of the primary element carries two connecting strips (14a, 1b) which are arranged in the vicinity of the borders of a large face of said insulation block.

13. Tank according to one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the connecting strips (5,6,14a, 14b) of an insulation block (1, 13) are housed in recesses in the block of insulation that carries them to not be an extra thickness on the corresponding face of the insulation block.

14. A tank according to claim 13, wherein a connecting strip (5,6,14a, 14b) of an insulation block is fixed in its recess by screwing, riveting, stapling or gluing.

15. Tank according to one of claims 1 to 14, wherein the adjacent metal sheets (1 1, 15) of the sealing barrier are welded overlap to the right of the connecting strips (5, 6, 14a, 14b) carried respectively by the thermal insulation barrier.

16. Tank according to one of claims 1 to 15, wherein the metal sheets (1 1), which constitute the sealing barrier are rectangular and each comprise two folds arranged along the axes of symmetry of the rectangle formed by their borders.

17. Tank according to claim 16, wherein the two plies of a sheet (1 1) of the sealing barrier are secant in the center of the rectangular sheet.

18. Tank according to claim 17, wherein one of the folds of a sheet (1 1) of the sealing barrier is continuous and the other is interrupted in its central portion.

19. Tank according to claim 18, wherein the sealing barrier comprises sheets (31) of a first type which have a fold. continuous on their major axis and sheets (32) of a second type have a continuous fold on their minor axis, the sheets of the first and second types (31, 32) being regularly alternated on a tank wall for a sheet one of the types is always surrounded by four sheets of the other type arranged along its four sides.

20. Tank according to one of claims 1 to 19, wherein each insulation block (1) of the thermal insulation barrier comprises two series of slots (53a, 53b) orthogonal, each of said series having slots (53a , 53b) arranged parallel to two opposite sides of the insulating block (1), and in which the plates (1 1) of the metal membrane each comprise two series of additional plies (12c, 12d), each of said series of additional plies having folds (12c, 12d), orthogonal to the folds (12d, 12c) of the other series, parallel to one of the two folds (12a, 12b) inserted into the interstices (10), and inserted into the slots (53a, 53b) of one of the series of slots (53a, 53b) in the insulation block (1).

21. Tank according to one of claims 1 to 19, wherein the metal membrane comprises a second plurality of sheets (1 1), each of the sheets of the second plurality having a single fold (12a) parallel to two opposite sides of the blocks of isolation, (1) said ply being inserted into a gap (10) between two insulation blocks.

Container according to one of Claims 1 to 19, in which each insulation block (1) of the thermal insulation barrier forms a parallel slot on two opposite sides of the insulation blocks and in which the metal membrane comprises a second plurality of sheets, each of the sheets of the second plurality comprising a fold (12a) inserted into a slot (53e) arranged in an insulation block (1) and a fold (12b) inserted into a gap (10) between two insulation blocks.

23. Ship (70) for the transport of a cold liquid product, the vessel comprising a double hull (72) and a tank (71) according to one of claims 1 to 22 disposed in the double hull.

24. Use of a ship (70) according to claim 23 for the loading or unloading of a cold liquid product, in which a cold liquid product is conveyed through insulated pipes (73, 79, 76, 81) from or to a floating or land storage facility (77) to or from the vessel vessel (71).

25. Transfer system for a cold liquid product, the system comprising a ship (70) according to claim 23, insulated pipes (73, 79, 76, 81) arranged to connect the tank (71) installed in the hull. the vessel to a floating or land storage facility (77) and a pump for driving a flow of cold liquid product through the insulated pipelines from or to the floating or land storage facility to or from the vessel vessel.