FR2623172A1 - Wine tanks made of composite insulating structural panels - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to wine tanks which are totally or partially constituted by an assembly of composite thermally insulating structural panels. They can be equipped with any suitable heating and/or cooling system and in particular with an electric heating system which is totally integrated within the thickness of the walls. The majority of utility accessories and ductings may be embedded in the thickness of the walls. These wine tanks, which can be delivered in kit form, allow an advantageous saving to be obtained in transport and handling costs and, furthermore, their rectangular (or square) cross-section allows maximum cellar floor area occupation factor.

Description

 The subject of the present invention is, as a new industrial product, wine vats wholly or partially constituted by assembling structural composite panels, planar or curved, excellent thermal insulators and incorporating into the thickness of the walls a heating system. elecrique and the majority of useful accessories.

 At present, whether for winemaking or preservation, wine vats are made of a single material which is, in general, polyester, concrete, stainless steel or wood. These tanks are not, by design, thermally insulated and this presents a real problem in regions with no deep underground cellars where the wine is protected from extreme weather conditions in these areas the cellars are more and more often thermally insulated and air-conditioned to prevent the wine from reaching high or low temperatures from which it is likely to suffer irreversible damage. Apart from concrete vats and some steel vats, all the other vats have a circular section resulting in a bad coefficient of land occupation, and the current tanks, which are entirely manufactured in the factory, represent a large volume to be transported and require the use of relatively large and expensive means of handling. the current tanks do not allow the complete integration of accessories in the thickness of the walls and do not allow more the realization of a modular installation.

 The present invention aims to remedy these drawbacks and to bring to the wine vats a set of features that it is not possible, to date, to see grouped on a same tank.

 The invention will be better understood thanks to the following description and explained with reference to the accompanying schematic drawings.

Figure i shows the section of a structural composite panel
FIG. 2 represents the transverse section e of a structural composite panel comprising an insert;
Figure Z is the cross section of Figure 2 and shows the top view of a structural comoosite panel having an insert- (the upper skin being removed);
Figure 4 shows the cross section of a structural composite panel having a channel housed in its thickness;
Figure 5 is the section AA of Figure 4 and reorésente the top view of a composite structural panel comprising a channel i sati on i | the upper skin is removed)
Figure 6 shows the principle of connection of two vertical structural composite panels of a wine tank made on the concept i on 1;
Fig. 7 shows the connection principle of two vertical structural comoosite panels of a wine tank made according to design 2;
Figure S shows the horizontal section of a vertical structural composite panel of a wine tank made according to the design 3;
Figure 9 shows the connection principle between vertical and horizontal panels;
Figure 10 shows the horizontal section of a wine tank having a curved structural composite panel;
Figure 11 shows the principle of installation of a manhole;
Figure 12 shows the first principle of installation of a pappage:
fis 1 represents the second principle of installing a piece of equipment ::
Figure 14 shows a principle of inst-; the introduction of a draw valve associated with a security system;
Fig. 15 shows the vertical section of a structural composite panel having a level gauge integrated in the thickness of the panel;
Fig. 10 is the section Ay of Fig. 15 and shows the horizontal section of a structural composite panel at the floor of the level measuring trough;
Figure 17 shows the vertical section of a lower horizontal panel 1 having an electric heating film;
Fig. 18 is a top view of an electric heating film element;
19 shows the vertical section of a vessel equipped with an athermic heat exchanger supplied by a heating fluid or cool from outside;
Fig. 20 shows a horizontal section of a storage facility comprising three independent modules;
The princips of a structural composite panel is represented in FIG. 1: a rigid reference Z, preferably light, makes it possible to keep the spacing of two working skins 1 and 2 the same. The two skins are attached to the core. by continuous structural bonding (the bonding planes are represented according to markings 4) or by direct stratification on the soul of an armed resin (polyester, epoxy ...). The whole soul.

skins and bonding plane constitutes the structural composite panel each of these elements is indispensable and has a structural role, the mechanical performance of the panel is limited by the weakest element. Suppose such a panel placed horizontally, the ends of which rest on simple supports subjected to a vertical load; the skin placed on the side of the load works in compression, the other skin works in tension, their mechanical characteristics must enable them to withstand the stresses to which they are subjected.

 The soul, working mainly in shear, must have sufficient mechanical characteristics to withstand the stresses to which it is subjected. The 4 mark gluing planes must ensure the most perfect cohesion between the skin * and the soul, it is not possible to imagine a flexible joint as a gluing plane; in practice, the adhesives used must be structural adhesives, ie glues which can be mechanically stressed many times over.

alteration of their mechanical characteristics. A wooden board, for example, whose two sides would be upholstered, can in no case constitute a composite structural panel; Although the constitution appears identical, the coatings and the gluing planes have no structural role but only a decorative roll, all efforts are taken up by the wooden board.

A panel consisting of two skins glued by a structural adhesive on a flexible soul (soft foam, glass wool, rock wool ..) can in no way be a composite structural panel because 1 'soul has mechanical characteristics well too poor and does not allow to obtain a panel of sufficient rigidity.

 The essential interest of the structural composite panel with respect to the monolithic placed is justified as explained below. The maximum stresses in any panel, composite or not, working in bending appear in the extreme fibers, compression sign +) on the side where is applied the load and traction (sign-) on the other side, the intermediate fibers are less solicited and the neutral fiber, the boundary zone where the stresses change sign is not subject to any constraint. In monolithic tridimensional construction all the fibers of the panel are constituted by the same material, this mechanically efficient material necessarily consists of a product: high density (steel, aluminum, betan, reinforced palye @ - ter ...) the result is a heavy and oversized construction except for the extreme fibers. The use of the structural composite panel allows, in any way, to select its constituent materials according to the solicitation '--- ..

 Under the reference skins 1 and 2, which take up most of the tensile and compressive forces, they must be mechanically sufficiently efficient, therefore the reference soul, which is simply required to take up the shearing forces, must be constituted by material mechanically much less efficient than the materials constituting the skins; many rigid and lightweight materials, possibly excellent thermal insulators, can perfectly fulfill this role; Of course, products with very poor mechanical properties such as glass wool, rockwool, flexible foam can never be suitable, in practice white polystyrene (consisting of agglomeration of polystyrene beads) used in building and packaging. does not have sufficient mechanical characteristics and is not used.

A structural composite panel combines the following main characteristics:
Athermic insulation: A cubic wine tank of 2 meters of ridge constituted by assembly of structural composite panels having an extruded polystyrene core of 80 mm thickness makes it possible to maintain a temperature difference of 20 C between the interior and the outside with a contribution of 200
Watts only. A winemaker, whose annual production is storable in 25 identical tanks, will consume only 5w to protect it effectively against frost. This energy input is very low compared to the energy needed to protect, under the same conditions, a crop stored in a building that is well thermally insulated. In case of high heat, the interest of the insulated tank is even greater because if the thermal problem is the same, frigories are much more expensive than calories. In addition, the tanks object of the invention can be associated with a heating system and (or) reliable cooling, a very economical cost to the installation and very energy efficient. These systems are described in a following paragraph.

 lightness: if the panels constituting the tank defined above have skins (marks i and 2) in polyester one millimeter thick their weight, close to 7kg / m2, is comparable to that of a polyester plate of 5 mm thick or a 1 mm thick steel plate, a 6 m-2 panel weighs, including inserts, less than 50 kg and is therefore very easily handled by two personnel, this lightness allows to design wine tanks in kit, montahles on site, whose transport and handling would be very economical.

 rigidity: for example, a panel consisting of two polyester skins of one millimeter thick and a core of 15 mm thick has a rigidity. in flexion close to that of a 10 mm thick polyester plate. A doubling of the thickness of the soul causes a quadrupling of the rigidity of the panel and a doubling of 'thermal insulation. This type of panel is a construction offering a remarkable ratio rigi dite / weight.

 square or rectangular section: apart from the concrete tanks and some steel tanks the tanks available on the market have a circular section resulting in a bad coefficient of land use, square or rectangular tanks placed side by side minimizes the lost place .

 formability: thin skins are naturally curved: various techniques allow, if it is not naturally possible, to bend the products used as an animal; and if this operation proves delicate it is always possible to machine them; the bonding of these different elements on a curved support mold makes it possible to obtain a sandwich panel having the radius of curvature of the mold. - The very high rigidity of these panels makes them almost indeformable in time.

 skin independence: the two skins are totally independent and this represents an absolutely considerable interest for all applications where the two faces of the panel are placed in different environments, in the case of wine tanks the inner skin must be impermeable and This skin will preferably be made of polyester reinforced with fiberglass or stainless steel, and the outer skin, which is mechanically sufficiently efficient, must be decorative and withstand the humid atmosphere of a wine. These inner and outer skins can be single or multi-layered because, for example, they do not cover mechanically efficient but unconventional skin with decorative skin but with insufficient mechanical properties. The skins of the structural composite panel is the great door open to aesthetics in the cellars.

 Inserts: before gluing of the skins, 1 'soft soul can be cut, inserts mark 5 in pvc, in polyester, in-wood ...

are installed in place of the removed foam and gluing of the skins is performed. This technique allows the realization of panels having embedded in their thickness, so totally hidden from view, inserts having a specific role. For example, these inserts are solid attachment points and allow the connection of different panels between e, they can play other roles.

 If, in line with the reference insert 5, an opening is made in the reference skin 1, the latter is visible from the outside, it can even be flush or overflowing with respect to the outer surface of the panel, in a certain number case it may even be reported after completion of the panel.

 Installation of pipes: The foam is grooved, before realization of the panel, according to the desired path; in the trench thus achieved reference 6 is installed, as appropriate, a pipe, an electrical cable (identical to the mark 7) ..

it should be noted that this grooving operation in a soft mnucise is very easy to achieve. An insert and an electric cable can be associated in the case of a wine tank, as a non-limiting example, an insert 5 in contact with the wine can be a pressure sensor (to know the height of wine in the tank) or a temperature sensor and is connected to an electrical cable 7) conveying 1'information measured by the sensor at the desired place.Les structural composite panels object of the invention can easily contain in their thickness Typically between 6 and 10 cm, almost all the accessories and pipelines used so-they are masked in view and protected from the risk of deterioration during transport operations, handling and during the life of the tanks.

 Gerbability: The parallelepipedic shape of the vats allows the realization of stackable vats.

 Sealing: A structural composite panel is waterproof if the inner skin in contact with the wine is waterproof, this is the case, in particular, with a polyester or stainless steel skin.

 Resistance to shocks: A tank whose outer skin would be consti tued by a foil of aluminum would be very suitable mechanically, it does not prevent the slightest blow would mark it, to avoid that it is better and almost necessary to interpose between the soft foam and the outer skin a sub-layer serving as distribution slab and absorbing shocks without permanent deformation (for example plywood).

 According to the invention, wine vats can be made by assembling structural composite panels in different designs; to illustrate the invention designs are described, of course, other designs can be used without departing from the scope of the invention.

 FIG. 6 shows the principle of assembling two vertical panels according to design 1, solid insertions 8, placed locally or over the entire length of the panel, allow a solid floor of the two panels by gluing and via wise (screw according to mark 9), an angle mark 1 ', allows, i necessary, to hide the edge of the panel and allows a more reliable and stronger assembly of the two panels, this cornibre is reported by gluing and (or) screwing (screws according to markings 13) in the reference inserts 8.

 Fig. 7 shows the vertical panel assembly principle according to design 2; four marking angle elements 14 constituted or not by structural composite panels, insulating or not, and having any adapted section are very firmly attached to the upper and lower horizontal structural composite panels, the assembly forms a rigid cage having four uprights; vertical angle and four rectangular openings closable by structural composite panels whose planes are to close the volume, withstand the hydrostatic pressure and complete the thermal insulation; the principle of connection of these panels with the cage is known and does not belong to the invention; Without departing from the scope of the invention one or more panels may not be constituted by structural composite panels.

 FIG. 8, according to the -S design, represents a structural composite panel forming in itself half of the vertical part of a tank, the assembly, by known techniques not subject of the invention, of two identical elements allows the complete embodiment of the vertical part of a vessel, the curved portions of the reference soul 15 may or may not be constituted by the same foam as the target soul z or any other suitable product, this reference part 15 may be preformed or simply machined, index inserts 8 constituted by a material having high mechanical performance allow a solid connection between the two half vertical parts of the tank. The inserts 8 can even be deleted if the vertical panels are fixed only on the horizontal structural composite panels lower and upper.

 Designs 1 and 2 are of the utmost interest for kit construction because the volumes transported are kept to a minimum and the weight of the panels handled is minimized, the design 3 presents, from these points of view, advantages. lower.

 In each of the three designs presented, the inner liner 11 is, if it is monolayer, constituted by a waterproof product compatible with good preservation of the wine, it will preferably be constituted by a glass-fiber reinforced polyester sheet. (from one to two mm thick) coated or not with a gelcoat, either with a sheet of stainless steel (a few tenths of a millimeter thick), if the inner skin is multilayer, contact with the wine can be constituted by any of the aforementioned products or by any coating Or product projects compatible with the conservation of the wine (in this last case the underlay takes again the mechanical efforts).

 The quality of many wines goes through a breeding in dd was china whose tannins pass in-in, the obi wine vats and the invention can have a single layer of oak skin but it is preferable to make a skin multilayered interior whose siding in contact with the wine, preferably removable, is constituted by oak planks, this facing is comparable to a wear part, after each or several breeding campaigns it is removed, the layer of oak impregnated with wine is removed by planing; the new oak boards become new and less thick are reinstalled for the next campaign.It should be known that currently a barri that new oak is expensive and must be changed each campaign for the breeding of great wines; the tanks object of the invention allow a very important economy because, on the one hand the used boards do not need to undergo an expensive bending operation and planing refurbishment allows to keep them for several campaigns It is to note that the oak planks can simply be immersed in the wine without constituting a constituent element of the inner skin.

 The 12-point outer skin can be made of any mechanically powerful product, it is the door open to the aesthetics in cellars, precious wood veneer, aluminum ... this skin can be single or multilayered. , the sub-layer playing all or part of the rolls, mechanical strength, impact resistance; the outer layer, adapted to the environment of a cellar, has an aesthetic role.

 In accordance with the invention and, as shown more particularly by way of example, Figure 9 someoit the design of the wine tank connection between a vertical panel and the horizontal panels can be achieved by integrating mechanically efficient inserts, continuous or not, mark 8 in the thickness of the panels, the panels are then assembled by gluing and / or screwing <screws according to reference 9), skirts reinforcements markers 16 fixed by gluing and (or) screw <screws identical to those shown in accordance with item 1 ") on the index inserts 8 make it possible to avoid any risk of bursting of the wine vat as a result of the permanent pressure exerted by the latter, and of course other safety principles can be used. without departing from the scope of the invention, for example, these safety skirts can be replaced by angles securely fixed to the ground.Match accessories 17 glued and (or) screwed on the lower horizontal panel of the wine tank allow to have the equivalent of an integrated pallet allowing the displacement by a forklift truck, of an empty or full tank according to the cases, of course the design of the lower horizontal panel of the tank is adapted to support the point loads generated by this operation.

Handling rings can be fixed by screwing and (naked) bonding, following the same principle as the reference accessories 17, at the top of the tank.

 Without departing from the scope of the invention it is possible to imagine a wine vat of which one or more of the constituent panels would not be made up of strutural composite panels.

 Whatever the design of the tanks it is necessary to bring back, after assembly of the panels, a seal compatible with the preservation of the wine, the products and the techniques exist on the market and do not form part of the invention.

 The lower horizontal panel must have a slope in order to allow a complete emptying of the tank and a drain valve is placed at a low point either on the vertical front panel or on the lower horizontal panel, this panel is typically constituted by a composite panel structural non-parallel faces.

 In accordance with the invention, the wine tank may have a circular section or one or more curved component walls, FIG. 10 represents the horizontal section of a circular reference column 18 and the section of a vessel having a curved wall (reference 19 ); ; the square or rectangular section is the one with the highest point of interest because, with equal liquid height and equal ground occupation, the square-section vessel allows sto-.

cker 25%. more than the bowl with circular section. This advantage may be further increased in particular cases; to illustrate the point we take the case of a winemaker having to equip a floor area of 10 * 3 meters, he has the choice between 5 tanks with circular section of 2 meters in diameter or 5 rectangular tanks, object of the invention, 3 * 2 meters; at equal height it will store in the second case 90% more than in the first case; if this grower has a square available space of which a quarter is occupied by a post (mark 18) no circular tank will be suitable, on the other hand a tank identical to that shown in Figure 10 or an L-shaped tank, in accordance with the The tanks, objects of the invention, make it possible to maximize the load factor on the ground and few growers can neglect it.

 In accordance with the invention and, as more particularly shown in FIG. 11, a reference manhole 21 may be installed on a vertical (or horizontal) wall; Its peripheral portion is supported on the inner skin, under the skin are installed index inserts 90 to take up the efforts exerted by the manhole on the panel when the tank is filled. The installation of this manhole is safety because, under the effect of pressure, it is pressed against the wall and can not, in any case, disengage from it.

This manhole, preferably stainless steel, may have a round, square, oval or any other section. The standard manholes currently available on the market are suitable in practice; it is desirable that these manholes are not overflowing with respect to the panel on which they are placed, it is, in particular, the case if they are installed according to the illustrated principle according to figure i and if their thickness n ' does not exceed that of the panel, the seal between the manhole and the inner skin is achieved by traditional techniques not belonging to the invention. An insulating shutter mark 22, possibly constituted by a structural composite panel ensures the continuity of the thermal insulation of the tank.

 In accordance with the invention, and as shown more particularly in FIGS. 12 and 13 of the accompanying drawings, quills may be installed on the walls of the wine tank. Belon the first principle a reference piece 23 having a shoulder is placed shoulder of the inner side of the tank, according to the second principle a funnel-shaped reference piece 24, fully embedded in the thickness of the panel, is placed large opening directed towards the interior of the tank.Sout beyond the scope of the invention it is possible to use taps using other principles, these taps can have many uses: let us quote, as non-exhaustive examples, stitching for tap, for drain valves (low point) for installation of a level indicator, for safety valve .... In general the end of the reference pieces 23 or 24 will be threaded on the outer skin side. An example of equipment connected to a funnel connection is shown in FIG. 14, a conical marker shutter 25 acting as an anti-drain valve of the reservoir (the accessories holding it in place). n place are not shown), under the effect of the pressure exerted by the wine, this shutter is pressed against the funnel 24 and prevents any accidental emptying of the tank. a reference piece 26, on which is connected a draw-off tap 29, is aimed at the threaded end, a reference pin 28 resting on the security element 25 and controlled by means of a steering wheel. maneuvering mark 27 can maintain repelled shutter 25 and draw the wine from the valve 29, this valve 29 can be a drain valve, purge ... The concept developed above allows for a double security against accidental emptying and no protruding part of the panels during transport and handling operations. This system is described by way of example, any system fulfilling the same functions, totally or not, integrated into the thickness of the panel part of the invention.

 According to the invention and, as shown more particularly in Figures 15 and 16 of the accompanying drawings it is possible to install a marker level indicator 30 not projecting beyond the structural composite panel, the crossing of the panel is preferably in accordance to the principles described in FIGS. 12 and 13 and carried out according to a system similar to that of writing according to FIG. 14, the reference piece 31 makes it possible to ensure the transmission of the forces between the two parts of the reference skin 12 situated on both sides. other of the level indicator, this reference accessory 31 is constituted by a material having mechanical characteristics close to that of the reference skin 12 and is securely fixed by gluing and / or riveting to the two parts of the reference skin 12.

 According to the invention, the tank may have a floating roof on the surface of the liquid, preferably constituted by a thermally insulating structural composite panel, which makes it possible to avoid any harmful prolonged contact between the wine and the air contained in tank. This floating roof can be constituted either by a single element or by assembly of several elements; in the first case it must be introduced and installed permanently during the construction of the tank, in the second case it will be preferably removable provided that the constituent elements can pass either through the manhole or through a door (normally closed) installed in the thickness of the upper horizontal panel of the tank; it is possible to install in the thickness of the structural composite panels pipes for evacuation of the air contained in the upper part of the tank and its replacement with nitrogen, a neutral gas in contact with which the wine does not undergo no damage. Of course, without departing from the scope of the invention, the floating roof and the injection of a zot may or may not be associated on the same tank. A tank equipped with a floating roof consisting of an insulating structural composite panel may have a noncomposite and non-insulating horizontal top panel.

 According to the invention, the upper horizontal part of the tank may and in some cases must be equipped with an empty breaker and a safety valve - at overpressure to prevent a depression or overpressure destructive of the tank during a draining or filling operation. A system consists in using funnels similar to that shown in reference numeral 24 and shutters similar to the reference piece 25; if the funnel has its large opening directed towards the outside of the tank, the shutter is pushed back in case of overpressure, if the funnel has large opening directed towards the inside, the shutter normally held against the cone everywhere system adapted, not object of the invention, is attracted to the interior of the tank in case of depression of the latter these security systems are designed to prevent ejection of the reference part 25 and are fully integrated in the thick - the panels; it is desirable to double these securities.

It is also possible to install in the upper part of the tank a chimney allowing complete filling of the tank being assured not to trap air.

 According to the invention and, as shown more particularly in Figure 17 of the accompanying drawings, it is possible to install in the lower horizontal panel (or in any other panel) between the internal skin marker 1 1 and the soul marker 3 an electric heating thin film 32; Several types of film are commercially available, the most conventional is shown in Figure la, on a polyester film of a few hundred microns thick are plated two copper strips 33 pins to connect respectively to the neutral and the In the phase of a single-phase electrical supply, between the two copper strips the polyester sheet is coated with a reference electrical conductor product 34 playing the same role as a large number of electrical resistances placed in parallel; this film is heated by radiation and has an emission temperature, generally less than 30 C, by interposing an additional electrical resistance (or a rheostat) in series it is possible to adjust its emission temperature to a lower value , this film dissipates a power of 50 to 100 watts / linear meter is, on average a power of 200 to 400 Watts for a section of 4 m ^ 2, this is sufficient to maintain the temperature of the wine 20 C above the temperature outside (for example +10 C for an outside temperature of -10 C); this very gentle heating can in no way alter the organoleptic qualities of the wine, the power cables of the heating film are placed in trenches as shown in reference 6 The operation of the heating film is controlled by a thermostat.

As soon as an electrical supply is installed in the thickness of at least one wall of the tank, it is possible to create an electrical network and to integrate flush or flush inserts on the outer skin, eg amp and this is not limiting, general switch, electrical outlet, thermostatic; all these. accessories are accessible from the outside and are optionally grouped in a cabinet reported on 1 a tank or .ménagée totally or partially in the thickness ~ of a wall; | it is also possible to provide electrical contacts indicating the high and / or low levels of wine in the tank.

In accordance with the invention and, more particularly, FIG. 19 of the accompanying drawings, the wine vats may be equipped with a reference heat exchanger 35 in which a heating or cooling fluid circulates as required; such a plant comprises a central unit for producing heat or cold (heat pump for example) and a network of pipes supplying the various tanks, the supply of thermal fluid to each tank depends on a solenoid valve controlled by a Of course, without leaving the area of 1'inventinn, the tanks can be equipped by any electric heating system or not existing on the market and different thermal systems, in particular that described above, can cohabit.
In accordance with the invention and, as shown more particularly in FIG. 20 of the accompanying drawings, it is possible to design tanks having a plurality of independent compartments separated by reference walls 36, a n compartment with compartments to save neither walls and further improve the coefficient of land occupation.

 According to the invention it is possible to use the tanks for other applications requiring the integration of other types of accessories in the thickness of the panels. edge, with integrated pallet, can be placed side by side over the width of a truck tray each tank being salt or cases connected during the duration of transport on a central cold or hot production; second example, the cost of transporting a cylindrical tank at a distance of 10,000 kilometers from its place of manufacture easily costs 50% of its ex-works sales price, it is indisputably interesting, even if the thermal insulation is not required, to transpose in these cases a tank object of the invention en.kit and assemble .sur place.

Claims (8)

 1) Wine vats characterized in that they are wholly or partially constituted by assembling flat or curved structural composite panels, said structural composite panels consisting of two skins (11, 12), mono or multilayer, compatible with the environment, glued on a rigid core (3) F said skins (11,12), soul (3) and bonding planes (4) having mechanical characteristics sufficient to withstand the stresses.  2) Wine vats, according to claim 1, characterized in that the constituent structural composite panels have inserts totally or partially integrated in their thick saur: said inserts serving as solid attachment points (8), local reinforcements ( 20) or having a specific role (thermostat, switch ..).  3) vats S wine, according to claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the constituent structural composite panels have pipelines totally or partially embedded in their thickness; said pipes containing electrical cables and / or utilities (30).  4) Wine tanks, according to any one of the above claims, characterized in that at least one constituent structural composite panel comprises a manhole (21) totally or partially integrated in its thickness; said manhole can be completed by a heat insulating shutter (22).  5) Wine vats according to any one of the above claims1 characterized in that at least one constitutive structural composite panel comprises tappings (23,24) totally or partially integrated in its thickness; said nozzles may be supplemented by safety parts (25) to prevent depression or overpressure of the tank or to prevent accidental emptying; the said connections being able to be completed by utilitarian accessories (26).  6) Wine vats according to any one of the above claims, characterized in that they have any heating system and (or) adapted cooling; a said electric heating system adapted being, in particular, constituted by an electric heating film (32) placed between the inner skin (11) and the soul (3).  7) Wine vats according to any one of the above claims, characterized in that they have a floating roof on the surface of the wine; said floating roof being constituted or not by a structural composite panel thermally insulating or not.  8) Wine vats according to any one of the claims above, characterized in that all or part of the inner skin riv (11), in contact with the wine, is constituted by oak elements; said oak elements being fixed or removable.  ) Wine vats according to any one of the above claims characterized in that they are equipped with feet (17) and (or) rings-handling; said feet or handling rings respectively allowing their handling by a forklift or a hoist.  10) Wine vats according to any one of the above claims, characterized in that they can be divided into independent compartments by partitions (36).