EP3969690B1 - Container, produced from a helically bent sheet metal strip and method for producing a container of this type - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a cylindrical container according to claim 1, in particular a silo, for storing solids and/or liquids and/or gases and/or bulk materials or the like, made from a helically curved container running continuously one above the other, forming a wall arranged in a cylindrical plane Sheet metal strip, the upper and lower sheet metal strip edges of which are arranged one above the other and are connected to one another in a sealing manner at a helical, continuous joint.

The present invention further relates to a method according to claim 10 for producing such a container with a driving, bending and connecting device for the sheet metal strip and a storage device for the supplied sheet metal strip during assembly.

STATE OF THE ART

Containers made from helically bent sheet metal strip are from the DE 2 250 239 A known. To produce containers, a coil with a diameter corresponding to the diameter of the container is formed from a sheet metal strip. When producing such a container, the associated helical sheet metal strip edges are first bent out and then connected to one another in a fluid-tight manner on the outside of the container by means of a fold. For this purpose, the opposite longitudinal edges of the sheet metal strip are each bent out in a U-shape and the mutually assigned U-shaped edges are bent out Sheet metal edges are placed inside each other and then connected by folding. This system is known on the market as the Lipp double fold system and has proven itself in many ways. This Lipp double-fold system makes it possible to produce containers with variable diameters and variable heights quickly and easily. Transportable bending plate and assembly devices ensure that the container can be assembled at the respective installation location and that the transport volume can be reduced accordingly.

From the DE 199 39 180 A1 It is known to produce a container in such a way that a first edge section is bent outwards to form a helical bending edge and a second edge section of the sheet metal strip arranged adjacently above it is bent outwards and then connected to a first edge section by a fold.

For previous applications of this container system, for example for storing bulk goods from agriculture and forestry or organic waste, the containers have excellent stability, tightness and media resistance. However, for other applications such as the storage of fluid media such as vegetable oils, petroleum or the like, a significantly larger container volume is required, where the tightness must be reliably guaranteed. The associated increased mechanical stability of the containers cannot be adequately guaranteed by the known folding systems. In particular, the folding system reaches its limits when it comes to large sheet thicknesses.

In order to provide helically shaped containers made from bent sheet metal strip, the range of applications for which is increased, in particular with regard to the implementation of a large storage volume and/or increased mechanical stability while still ensuring that they can be manufactured easily and quickly or assembly, solutions have been developed that replace the folded connection with a welded connection.

The WO 2014/048515 A1 discloses a container made from a helically bent sheet metal strip of the type described above, the edge sections of the adjacent edge regions of the sheet metal strip which run one above the other in height being connected to one another via a welded connection. The edge areas overlap and are connected to one another in a fluid-tight manner by two separate weld seams. The existing distance between the weld seams creates a gap area between the overlapping walls in the overlapping area of adjacent edge areas of the sheet metal strip, which cannot be easily controlled after the container has been manufactured with regard to possible corrosion risks or the like.

The EP 1181115 B1 describes a cylindrical container of the type mentioned at the beginning and a method for producing such a container. In this cylindrical container, a jacket is used which consists at least partially of a sheet metal strip that is wound helically so that the lateral edge regions of the sheet metal strip border one another at a helically extending joint. The edge areas of the sheet metal strip are each angled towards one side at the joint, with the angled area being sealingly connected to one another by a folded connection. At the same time, the sheet metal strip is welded together in the area around the joint on the inside of the jacket. The edge regions of the upper and lower sheet metal strip that meet at the joint are arranged in one plane, so that only the curvature of the edge region in the joint area creates a gap for the attachment of a weld seam. The result of this is that the weld seam can only be attached sealingly and reliably with increased effort, since the weld metal in the area of the joint during the manufacturing process in the liquid state tends to flow downwards due to the effect of gravity, which negatively affects the quality of the weld seam. Complex measures often have to be taken in this area in order to produce a weld seam that ensures a permanently reliable connection function with a high load-bearing capacity and a permanently reliable sealing function. This is particularly complex for containers with thin sheet metal strip cross-sections.

The DE 20 2012 009 932 U1 discloses a container made from a helically bent sheet metal strip, the adjacent helical sheet metal strip edges being bent out and tightly connected by means of a fold, which is characterized in that an additional sheet metal section is welded on the side of the area of the fold foot opposite the fold in order to create a To prevent foreign substances from entering the fold, which, however, is relatively complex to produce.

In the DE 10 2015 004 281 A1 is a container made from a single-layer, helically bent sheet metal strip, in which no folded connection is used, but the connection in the joint area of adjacent helical edge sections of the sheet metal strip is made by a welded connection welded on both sides from the inside and the outside, which is particularly high There are demands on the production of the welded connection and a high level of positioning accuracy of the supplied edge areas is required to produce the welded connection.

In the WO 93/20310 A1 , the EP 3 456 660 A1 , the DE 200 09 149 U1 , the EP 3 189 907 A1 and the DE 16 84 913 A1 a cylindrical container, in particular a silo, for storing solids and/or liquids and/or gases and/or bulk materials or the like is disclosed, which is made from a helically bent sheet metal strip that runs continuously one above the other and forms a wall arranged in a cylindrical plane.

The upper and lower sheet metal strip edges, which are arranged one above the other, are sealingly connected to one another at a helical, continuous joint. The wall of the container is formed in a single layer by sheet metal strips arranged one above the other.

Due to the required cold forming process of the sheet metal strips during the assembly process, the cross-sectional thickness of the sheet metal strips that can be used is limited at the top, which also sets certain limits on the geometry and load capacity of the silos manufactured using these known methods.

PRESENTATION OF THE INVENTION

Based on the stated prior art, the present invention is based on the object or technical problem of specifying a cylindrical container of the type mentioned at the outset, which can be produced economically, which enables a simple and reliable assembly process, which ensures long-term reliable functionality, which Large geometries in terms of diameter and height of the container to be created are possible and the requirements for a sealing function are met.

The present invention is further based on the object or technical problem of specifying a method for producing such a container.

The container according to the invention is given by the features of independent claim 1. Advantageous refinements and further developments are the subject of the claims that are directly or indirectly dependent on independent claim 1.

The container according to the invention is therefore characterized in that the wall of the container consists of several directly next to one another, That is, there are sheet metal strips arranged in and parallel to the cylindrical plane, so that the wall of the container is composed of multi-layer sheet metal strips.

A particularly advantageous embodiment in practice, which ensures economical use with long-term reliable functionality, is characterized by the fact that two, three or four sheet metal strips are arranged directly next to one another.

It has proven to be particularly advantageous to use a welded connection to connect the adjacent upper and lower sheet metal strip edges, particularly with regard to ensuring high load-bearing capacities and high tightness.

Particularly preferably, one embodiment is characterized in terms of practical applications in that the sheet metal thickness of the individual sheet metal strips have different or identical cross-sectional thicknesses in the range between 2 to 20 mm, in particular in the range between 4 to 10 mm.

With regard to a simple and reliable production of the connection that meets high quality requirements, a preferred embodiment is characterized in that the welded connection has a welded seam welded from the outside and the inside of the container, in particular through a weld seam that is continuous in the transverse direction.

In terms of welding technology, the welded connection can be designed as a butt seam, DHY or DY seam in order to meet the high quality standards.

To ensure high load capacities, large diameters and heights of the container, steel is the preferred material.

A particularly advantageous embodiment, which is particularly suitable for containers that require particularly high quality standards for the storage of the stored goods within the container, for example drinking water, is characterized in that the sheet metal strip arranged on the inside is made of stainless steel or has a stainless steel cover on the inside.

To increase the load capacity of the container according to the invention, a particularly advantageous development is characterized in that at least one, in particular several, stiffening ring profiles arranged offset in the height direction are connected, in particular welded, to the outside of the container.

The method according to the invention for producing an above-mentioned container is given by the features of independent method claim 10. Advantageous refinements and further developments are the subject of the claims that are directly or indirectly dependent on the independent method claim 10.

The method according to the invention for producing a container according to the invention, in which a driving, bending and connecting device for sheet metal strips and a storage device for the supplied sheet metal strip are used during production, the sheet metal strip being continuously withdrawn from a storage device and the driving, bending and Connecting device is accordingly characterized by the fact that several sheet metal strips arranged next to one another directly parallel to the wall plane are fed to the driving, bending and connecting device at the same time, bent and connected to one another in opposite sheet metal strip edges, in particular welded, so that the wall of the container is composed of multi-layer sheet metal strips.

In an advantageous embodiment, according to the method, the sheet metal strips are fed from several separate storage devices to the driving, bending and connecting device.

Alternatively, it is also possible that the several sheet metal strips are each removed from a storage device and fed to the driving, bending and connecting device.

The connecting device is preferably designed as a welding device.

A particularly preferred embodiment of the method according to the invention is characterized in that a bearing device is used during assembly, on which the lower sheet metal strip edges of the supplied sheet metal strips are mounted so that they can move in the rotational direction. The fact that the lower sheet metal edges of the multi-layer sheet metal strip package are stored directly on the storage device during assembly the stresses on the container during assembly are significantly reduced, since the support forces are introduced centrally from the wall into the storage device. This significantly reduces the stress on the container wall during assembly.

A particularly advantageous embodiment, which significantly increases the quality of the manufacturing process in terms of permanently reliable functionality, tightness and load-bearing capacity, is characterized by the fact that a pressing device is used, which is arranged in front of the driving, bending and connecting device and a rotational movement of the supplied Sheet metal strips are allowed and a contact force acting on the supplied sheet metal strips on both sides from the outside perpendicular to the wall plane.

Further embodiments and advantages of the invention result from the features further listed in the claims and from the exemplary embodiments given below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The invention as well as advantageous embodiments and developments thereof are described and explained in more detail below using the examples shown in the drawing.

Fig. 1a

schematische Seitenansicht eines Behälters, hergestellt aus wendelförmig gebogenen übereinander durchgehend verlaufend mehrschichtig angeordneten Blechbändern,

Fig. 1b

schematischer Querschnitt durch den Behälter gemäß Fig. 1a,

Fig. 2

schematischer Detaillängsschnitt durch die mehrschichtige Wandung des Behälters gemäß Fig. 1 und gemäß Schnitt I-I,

Fig. 3

schematischer Detailquerschnitt durch die mehrschichtige Wandung des Behälters gemäß Fig. 1 und gemäß Schnitt II-II,

Fig. 4

stark schematisierte Detaildarstellung der Lagerung der Blechbänder des Behälters gemäß Fig. 1 auf einer Lagervorrichtung mit Lagerrollen und seitlich angeordneten Anpressrollen,

Fig. 5

schematischer Detailquerschnitt durch den Stoßbereich benachbarter Blechbandlängsränder geeignet für eine DY-Schweißnahtverbindung,

Fig. 6

schematischer Detailquerschnitt durch den Stoßbereich benachbarter Blechbandlängsränder geeignet für eine DHY-Schweißnahtverbindung,

Fig. 7

schematischer Detailquerschnitt durch den Stoßbereich benachbarter Blechbandlängsränder geeignet für eine stumpfe Schweißnahtverbindung,

Fig. 8

schematischer Detaillängsschnitt durch die Wandung des Behälters gemäß Fig. 1 mit einem außenseitig angeschlossenen Versteifungsringprofil und

Fig. 9 bis 12

schematische Draufsicht und Seitenansicht auf den Behälter gemäß Fig. 1 während des Montagevorgangs in unterschiedlichen Montagezuständen unter Zuführung von mehreren nebeneinander angeordneten Blechbändern, zu einer Vortriebs-, Biege- und Verbindungsvorrichtung, gelagert auf einer Lagervorrichtung, die eine rotatorische Bewegung des Behälters während des Montagevorgangs erlaubt.

Show it:

Fig. 1a

Schematic side view of a container, made from helically bent sheet metal strips arranged continuously one above the other in multiple layers,

Fig. 1b

schematic cross section through the container according to Fig. 1a ,

Fig. 2

Schematic detailed longitudinal section through the multi-layered wall of the container Fig. 1 and according to section II,

Fig. 3

schematic detailed cross section through the multi-layered wall of the container according to Fig. 1 and according to section II-II,

Fig. 4

highly schematic detailed representation of the storage of the container's sheet metal strips Fig. 1 on a storage device with bearing rollers and laterally arranged pressure rollers,

Fig. 5

schematic detailed cross section through the joint area of adjacent longitudinal edges of sheet metal strip suitable for a DY weld seam connection,

Fig. 6

schematic detailed cross section through the joint area of adjacent longitudinal edges of the sheet metal strip suitable for a DHY weld seam connection,

Fig. 7

schematic detailed cross section through the joint area of adjacent longitudinal edges of the sheet metal strip suitable for a butt weld seam connection,

Fig. 8

schematic detailed longitudinal section through the wall of the container according to Fig. 1 with a stiffening ring profile connected to the outside and

Fig. 9 to 12

schematic top view and side view of the container according to Fig. 1 during the assembly process in different assembly states with the feeding of several sheet metal strips arranged next to one another to a driving, bending and connecting device, stored on a storage device that allows rotational movement of the container during the assembly process.

WAYS OF CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

In Fig. 1a A container 10 is shown schematically in a side view, which is a cylindrical container 10 in cross section (see Fig. 1b ) is trained.

The container 10 is covered on the top with a roof structure 26.

The container is designed to be rotationally symmetrical to its central longitudinal axis 12 and has, for example, a diameter 14 which can be in the range between 5 to 50 m. The height 16 of the container 10 can, for example, be in the range between 10 and 30 m.

The wall of the cylindrical container 10 is formed from helically bent sheet metal strips 20, 30, 40 that run continuously one above the other.

The outside of the container 10 is indicated in the figures with the reference symbol A and the inside of the container 10 is indicated in the figures with the reference symbol I.

According to the invention, the wall of the container 10 is composed of multi-layer sheet metal strips 20, 30, 40. As in the exemplary embodiment according to Figs. 2 and 3 , in which a detailed longitudinal section along section II or a detailed cross section along section II-II of Fig. 1 shown in detail, it can be seen that there is a first sheet metal strip 20 from the outside A to the inside I, followed immediately by a second sheet metal strip 30 and then immediately followed by a third sheet metal strip 40. The sheet metal strips 20, 30, 40 are lying directly next to each other and run in the container level E or parallel to the container level E.

In the exemplary embodiment, three sheet metal strips 20, 30, 40 are shown. However, the wall can also consist, for example, of three or four or even more sheet metal strips.

At the joint of the sheet metal strips 20, 30, 40, an upper sheet metal strip edge 22, 32, 42 meets a lower sheet metal strip edge 24, 34, 44 of the first, second and third sheet metal strips 20, 30, 40. A welded connection 80 is present in this joint , which connects the sheet edge areas with each other. In the exemplary embodiment according to Fig. 2 the welded connection 80 has a weld seam that is continuously welded from the outside and inside.

The weld metal introduction direction is in Fig. 2 indicated with the reference symbol S.

In Fig. 5 1 shows an embodiment of the sheet metal strip edges 22, 24, 32, 34, 42, 44, which enables the welded connection 80 to be designed as a double Y-weld seam (DY weld seam). Alternatively, according to Fig. 6 the welded connection can also be designed as a double half Y-weld seam (DHY weld seam).

According to Fig. 5 There may be a gap 18 between the upper metal strip edge 32 and the lower metal strip edge 34 of the second metal strip 30, which is filled with weld metal.

In a further alternative, the welded connection 80 is designed as a continuous butt weld seam from the outside to the inside. The gap 18 is completely filled with weld metal.

In Fig. 8 A detailed longitudinal section through the wall of the container 10 is shown in a highly schematic manner, with the outside looking at the first A stiffening ring profile 90 is welded to the sheet metal strip 20, which is used if necessary to increase the load capacity or the buckling resistance of the container.

In the Figures 9 to 12 The individual process steps in the production of a container 10 and the equipment used for this are shown schematically.

First, there is a storage device 52 on which three rotatable coils 50 are rotatably mounted, each with a sheet metal strip 20 or 30, 40. The sheet metal strips 20, 30, 40 are pulled off at the same time and fed to a driving, bending and connecting device 60 in the direction of rotation R.

Furthermore, below the container 10 in the circumferential direction there is a storage device 70 which has bearing supports 72 in the circumferential direction in a predetermined grid, on which height-adjustable bearing rollers 74 are present. The height of the bearing rollers 74 is adjusted so that the sheet metal strips 20, 30, 40 that are supplied and are mounted on the bearing rollers 74 have a helical pitch.

In Fig. 4 The geometric arrangement of the bearing roller 40 within the bearing support 72 is shown in a highly schematic manner. The lower sheet metal strip edge 24, 34, 44 of the jointly supplied sheet metal strips 20, 30, 40 is mounted directly on the bearing roller 74. This has the advantage that the support force acts directly centrally on the wall of the container 10 and no additional bending stress on the wall occurs during the manufacturing process. In order to ensure a secure assembly of the supplied sheet metal strips 20, 30, 40 directly next to one another and in direct contact with one another, a pressing device 75 is arranged immediately in front of the driving, bending and connecting device 60, which has two pressure rollers 77 on both the outside and the inside, whereby about the A pressure force D is applied to the pressure rollers 77, so that the supplied sheet metal strips 20, 30, 40 are pressed together.

The abutting sheet metal strip edges are connected to one another by means of a welded connection 80, as already described above.

As in Fig. 9 shown, after the production of the first cylindrical ring, which has a helical pitch, the upper sheet metal strip edges of the upper sheet metal strips 20, 30, 40 are cut straight, so that a horizontal line support structure for the roof structure 26 results. In the further manufacturing process, the sheet metal strips 20, 30, 40 are now fed in at the same time and their sheet metal strip edges are continuously welded after the sheet metal strips 20, 30, 40 have previously been provided with a curvature in the device 60, so that the desired cylindrical circumferential contour with the desired diameter 14 of the container 10 results.

After the container 10 has reached the desired height 16, the lower metal strip edges of the lower metal strips 20, 30, 40 are also cut off in a horizontal line, which in Fig. 11 is shown. The container 10 can then be placed on the support structure existing underground.

Before the bottom of the container 10 is cut straight, the storage device 52 for the coils 50 and the driving, bending and connecting device (welding device) 60 are removed (see Fig. 11 ).

With the manufacturing process shown, containers 10 can be produced economically in very large dimensions, which ensure high loads and are absolutely tight.

Claims (15)

1. Cylindrical container (10), in particular a silo, for storing solid materials and/or liquids and/or gases and/or bulk materials or the like,

   - produced from a sheet metal strip (20) which is helically curved so that the turns extend continuously one above the other and which forms a wall which is arranged in a cylindrical plane (E),

   - the upper and lower sheet metal strip edges (22, 24) of which, which are arranged in an adjacent manner one above the other, are connected to each other in a circumferentially sealing manner at a butt joint which extends continuously in a helical manner,

   - characterized in that

   - the wall of the container (10) consists of a plurality of sheet metal strips (20, 30, 40) which are arranged directly next to each other, that is to say in and parallel with the cylindrical plane (E), so that the wall of the container (10) is composed of multi-layered sheet metal strips (20, 30, 40).
2. Container according to Claim 1,

   - characterized in that

   - two, three or four sheet-metal strips (20, 30, 40) are arranged directly next to each other.
3. Container according to Claim 1 or 2,

   - characterized in that

   - the upper and lower sheet metal strip edges (22, 24; 32, 34; 42, 44) are connected to each other by means of a welded connection (80).
4. Container according to one or more of the preceding claims,

   - characterized in that

   - the metal sheet thicknesses of the individual sheet metal strips (20, 30, 40) have different or identical cross-sectional thicknesses in the range from 2 to 20 mm (millimetres), in particular in the range from 4 to 10 mm (millimetres).
5. Container according to one or more of the preceding claims,

   - characterized in that

   - the welded connection (80) has a weld seam which is partial-penetration welded from the outer side (A) and the inner side (I) of the container (10), in particular by a weld seam which is continuous in a transverse direction.
6. Container according to Claim 5,

   - characterized in that

   - the welded connection (80) is in the form of a butt weld, a DHY weld or DY weld.
7. Container according to one or more of the preceding claims,

   - characterized in that

   - the sheet-metal strips (20, 30, 40) consist of metal, in particular steel.
8. Container according to Claim 7,

   - characterized in that

   - the sheet metal strip which is arranged at the inner side consists of high-grade steel or has a high-grade steel coating on the inner side.
9. Container according to one or more of the preceding claims,

   - characterized in that

   - at least one, in particular a plurality of, reinforcement ring profile(s) (90) arranged so as to be offset in a vertical direction in the manner of a grid are connected, in particular welded, on the outer side (A) of the container (10).
10. Method for producing a container according to one or more of the preceding claims, wherein a feeding, bending and connecting apparatus (60) for sheet metal strips (20) and a storage apparatus (70) for the supplied sheet metal strip (20) is used during the production, wherein the sheet metal strip (20) is drawn off continuously from a storage device (52) and supplied to the feeding, bending and connecting apparatus (60),

    - characterized in that

    - a plurality of sheet metal strips (20, 30, 40) which are arranged next to one another directly parallel with the wall plane (E) are simultaneously supplied to the advancing, bending and connecting apparatus (60), bent and connected, in particular welded, to one another at opposing sheet metal strip edges (22, 24; 32, 34; 42, 44) so that the wall of the container (10) is composed of multi-layered sheet metal strips (20, 30, 40).
11. Method according to Claim 10,

    - characterized in that

    - the sheet metal strips (20, 30, 40) are simultaneously drawn off from a plurality of storage devices (52) and supplied to the feeding, bending and connecting apparatus (60).
12. Method according to Claim 10,

    - characterized in that

    - the plurality of sheet metal strips (20, 30, 40) are supplied to the feeding, bending and connecting apparatus (60) in each case from a storage device (52).
13. Method according to one or more of Claims 10 to 12,

    - characterized in that

    - the connecting apparatus (60) is in the form of a welding apparatus.
14. Method according to one or more of Claims 10 to 13,

    - characterized in that

    - during the assembly, use is made of a storage apparatus (70) on which the lower sheet metal strip edges (24, 34, 44), which are supplied in each case, of the supplied sheet metal strips (20, 30, 40) are displaceably mounted in a rotational direction (R).
15. Method according to one or more of Claims 10 to 14,

    - characterized in that

    - use is made of a pressing device (75) which is arranged in front of the feeding, bending and connecting apparatus (60) and enables a rotational movement (R) of the supplied sheet metal strips (20, 30, 40) and applies a pressing force which acts on either side of the supplied sheet metal strips (20, 30, 40) from the outside perpendicularly to the wall plane (E).

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