FR3006662A1 - SELF-CONTAINING BODY FOR THE THERMAL ISOLATION OF A STORAGE TANK FOR A FLUID AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING SUCH A BODY - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for manufacturing a self-supporting body (3, 7) intended for the thermal insulation of a tank, with a sealed membrane, for storing a fluid, said method comprising: a step of providing a a bottom panel (10) and a cover panel (11); a step of manufacturing a plurality of carrier webs (14), said manufacturing step comprising for each carrier web (14): the provision, in a mold, of a composite material comprising a thermoplastic matrix reinforced with fibers; ; o insertion of fasteners inside the mold; o forming the composite material (14) during which the fasteners are embedded in the mass of said carrier web (14); interposing the carrier webs (14) between the bottom panel (10) and the cover panel (11), so that the bottom panel (10) and the cover panel (11) are spaced apart in a direction of thickness of the box (3, 7) and that the load-bearing webs (14) extend in the thickness direction, and attach the carrier webs (14) to the bottom panel (10) and / or the cover (14) by means of said fasteners; - Fill the plurality of compartments (15) formed between the carrier webs (14) with a heat insulating lining. The invention also relates to a box thus manufactured and a sealed and thermally insulating tank comprising a thermal insulation barrier comprising a plurality of boxes as mentioned above.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The invention relates to the field of sealed and thermally insulating tanks, with membranes, for storing and / or transporting fluid, such as a cryogenic fluid.

Watertight and thermally insulated membrane tanks are used in particular for the storage of liquefied natural gas (LNG), which is stored at atmospheric pressure at about -162 ° C. These tanks can be installed on the ground or on a floating structure. In the case of a floating structure, the tank may be intended for the transport of liquefied natural gas or to receive liquefied natural gas used as fuel for the propulsion of the floating structure. Background Art The document FR 2 877 639 describes a sealed and thermally insulating tank comprising a tank wall, fixed to the carrying structure of a floating structure and presenting successively, in the direction of the thickness, from the inside towards the outside of the tank, a primary sealed barrier intended to be in contact with the liquefied natural gas, a primary insulating barrier, a secondary sealed barrier and a secondary insulating barrier, anchored to the supporting structure. The insulating barriers consist of a plurality of juxtaposed parallelepiped heat insulating boxes. The parallelepipedic boxes include a plywood bottom panel, a plywood cover panel and a plurality of carrier webs interposed between the bottom panel and the cover panel. The supporting webs are corrugated and made of composite material, so as to ensure good resistance to compressive forces, in the direction perpendicular to the bottom and cover panels, and thus withstand the hydrostatic pressure exerted by the liquid contained in the tank . The boxes are, in addition, filled with insulating linings extending in the compartments between the carrier webs. The carrier webs are assembled to said bottom and cover panels by gluing, stapling or embedding. However, none of these methods of assembling the load-bearing sails on the bottom and cover panels does not give full satisfaction in terms of reliability and / or simplicity of assembly. In particular, the stapling systems that are usually used for this type of assembly are undesirable considering the nature of composite material, the carrier webs. Indeed, the attachment of the composite material sails to the bottom and cover panels by staples tends to weaken the sails. SUMMARY An idea underlying the invention is to propose a method of manufacturing a self-supporting body for the thermal insulation of a storage tank of a fluid in which the fixing of the carrier sails to the bottom panel and / or or the lid panel is made simply and reliably. According to one embodiment, the invention provides a method of manufacturing a self-supporting body for the thermal insulation of a tank, with a sealed membrane, for storing a fluid, said method comprising: a step of providing a a bottom panel and a cover panel; a step of manufacturing a plurality of carrier webs, said manufacturing step comprising for each carrier web: the provision, in a mold, of a composite material comprising a thermoplastic matrix reinforced by fibers; o the insertion of fasteners for fixing the carrier web to the bottom panel and / or the cover panel, inside the mold; o the forming of the composite material in which the fastening members are embedded in the mass of said carrier web; interposing carrier webs between the bottom panel and the cover panel, such that the bottom panel and the cover panel are spaced in a thickness direction of the body and the carrier webs extend in the direction of thick, and fix the carrier webs on the bottom panel and / or on the cover panel by means of said fasteners; to fill the plurality of compartments formed between the carrying sails with a heat-insulating lining.

Thus, the carrier webs can be assembled to the bottom panel and / or the cover panel reliably since the fasteners do not degrade the structural integrity of the carrier webs so that the latter are not weakened by their attachment on the bottom panel and / or on the cover panel. According to a particular embodiment, the method provides that, during the manufacture of a carrier web: there is arranged in the mold a plurality of plates of composite material; and the fasteners are disposed between two adjacent composite material plates. According to one embodiment, the forming of the composite material is carried out by thermoforming or thermocompression. According to one embodiment, the invention also provides a self-supporting box for the thermal insulation of a tank, with a sealed membrane, for storing a fluid, said box comprising: a bottom panel and a panel of cover, - a plurality of carrier webs, interposed between said bottom and cover panels, and extending perpendicular to said bottom and cover panels 20 so as to define a plurality of compartments, and a heat insulating liner extending interior of said compartments formed between the carrier webs, in which the carrier webs are made by forming a composite material comprising a fiber-reinforced thermoplastic matrix and comprise fasteners to the bottom panel and / or the cover panel , caught in the mass of carrier sails, during their forming. According to embodiments, such a box may comprise one or more of the following features: the fasteners are pointed metal rods, taken in the mass of the load-bearing sails, each of the metal rods being planted in the bottom panel or in the lid panel. the fasteners are bushings having a threaded internal bore each cooperating with a threaded member passing through the bottom panel or the cover panel. the fastening members are wooden slats taken in the mass of the load-bearing sails and fixed against the bottom panel or the cover panel. the wooden slats are fixed against the bottom panel or the cover panel by staples. the fastening members are L-shaped fastening lugs each having a wing embedded in the mass of the carrier web and a wing extending against the bottom panel or the cover panel and provided with an orifice allowing the passage of a screw attached to the bottom panel or cover panel. the load-bearing webs have load distribution flanges extending along two edges of said load-bearing webs respectively disposed opposite the bottom panel and the cover panel, the fastening members to the bottom panel and / or the cover panel being taken from the mass of said carrier webs at the level of the load distribution flanges. the carrier webs have a plurality of corrugations whose axis extends perpendicular to the cover and bottom panels. According to one embodiment, the invention also provides a sealed and thermally insulating fluid storage tank having a thermal insulation barrier comprising a plurality of aforementioned boxes, juxtaposed, and a sealing membrane resting against the barrier. thermal insulation. Such a tank can be part of a land storage facility, for example to store LNG or be installed in a 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 the like. According to one embodiment, a vessel for transporting a fluid comprises a double hull and a said tank disposed in the double hull.

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

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 fluid through the insulated pipelines from or to the floating or land storage facility to or from the vessel vessel. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will be better understood, and other objects, details, features and advantages thereof will become more clearly apparent from the following description of several particular embodiments of the invention, given only in connection with illustrative and non-limiting, with reference to the accompanying drawings. - Figure 1 is a perspective view, cut away, of a vessel wall according to one embodiment. Figure 2 is a top view, cut away from an insulating box of the vessel wall of Figure 1. Figure 3 is a side view of a carrier web. - Figure 4 is a sectional view along the plane IV-IV of Figure 3. - Figures 5 and 6 illustrate the steps of manufacturing a carrier web. - Figure 7 is a sectional view illustrating the assembly of a carrier web 25 on a bottom panel according to a first embodiment. - Figure 8 is a sectional view illustrating the assembly of a carrier web on a bottom panel according to a second embodiment. - Figure 9 is a sectional view illustrating the assembly of a carrier web on a bottom panel according to a third embodiment. - Figure 10 is a sectional view illustrating the assembly of a carrier web on a bottom panel according to a fourth embodiment. FIG. 11 is a perspective view illustrating the assembly of FIG. 10. FIG. 12 is a diagrammatic sectional view illustrating the assembly of a carrier web on a cover panel according to a fifth embodiment. . - Figure 13 is a sectional view illustrating the assembly of a carrier web on a cover panel according to a sixth embodiment. FIG. 14 and a perspective view of the assembly of FIG. 13. FIG. 15 is a sectional view of an insulating box illustrating the assembly of a carrier web on a cover panel and on a panel background according to a seventh embodiment. FIG. 16 is a sectional view illustrating a variant of the seventh embodiment of FIG. 15. FIG. 17 is a perspective view of the assembly of a web on a bottom panel according to an eighth embodiment. the carrier web being transparently represented. FIG. 18 is a schematic sectional view illustrating a variant of the assembly of FIG. 17. FIG. 19 is a top view of the assembly of a load-bearing sail on a bottom panel according to a ninth embodiment of FIG. production. FIG. 20 is a view from above of the assembly of FIG. 19; - Figure 21 is a top view of the assembly of a carrier web on a bottom panel according to a tenth embodiment. FIG. 22 is a side view of the assembly of FIG. 21. FIG. 23 is a sectional view of the assembly of FIG. 21. FIG. 24 is a perspective view illustrating an assembly of FIG. carrier sail on a bottom panel according to an eleventh embodiment. FIG. 25 is a top view of the assembly of FIG. 24. FIG. 26 is a side view of the assembly of FIG. 24. FIG. 27 is a sectional view of the assembly of FIG. Figure 24. - Figure 28 is a schematic cutaway representation of a LNG tank vessel and a loading / unloading terminal of the tank. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS In FIG. 1, a wall of a sealed and thermally insulating tank is shown. The general structure of such a tank is well known and has a polyhedral shape. It will therefore focus only to describe a wall zone of the tank, it being understood that all the walls of the tank may have a similar general structure. The wall of the tank comprises, from the outside to the inside of the tank, a supporting structure 1, a secondary heat-insulating barrier 2 which is formed of heat-insulating boxes 3 juxtaposed on the supporting structure 1 and anchored thereto by secondary holding members 4, a secondary sealing membrane 5 carried by the boxes 3, a primary heat-insulating barrier 6 formed of heat-insulating boxes 7 juxtaposed and anchored to the secondary sealing membrane 5 by primary retaining members 8 and a primary waterproofing membrane 9, carried by the boxes 7 and intended to be in contact with the cryogenic fluid contained in the tank.

The supporting structure 1 may in particular be a self-supporting metal sheet or, more generally, any type of rigid partition having suitable mechanical properties. The supporting structure may in particular be formed by the hull or the double hull of a ship. The carrying structure comprises a plurality of walls defining the general shape of the tank. The primary 9 and secondary 5 waterproofing membranes are, for example, constituted by a continuous sheet of metal strakes with raised edges, said strakes being welded by their raised edges on parallel welding supports, fixed on the lid of the boxes 3 7. The metal strakes are, for example, made of Invar®: that is to say an alloy of iron and nickel whose expansion coefficient is typically between 1.2.10-6 and 2.10-6K-1 . The boxes 3 of the secondary thermally insulating barrier 2 and the boxes 7 of the primary thermally insulating barrier 6 can equally well have identical or different structures and equal or different dimensions. Referring to Figure 2, we describe the general structure of a box 3, 7 of the secondary thermally insulating barrier 2 and / or the primary thermally insulating barrier 6. The box 3, 7 has substantially a rectangular parallelepiped shape. The box 3, 7 has a bottom panel 10 and a lid panel 11 parallel. The bottom panels 10 and cover 11 are, for example, made of plywood. The cover panel 11 has, on its inner face, grooves 12 for the housing of the welding supports metal strakes of waterproofing membrane. A plurality of spacers are interposed between the bottom panel 10 and the cover panel 11, perpendicular to them. The plurality of spacer elements comprises, on the one hand, two opposite lateral walls 12, 13, and, on the other hand, a plurality of carrying webs 14. The carrying webs 14 are arranged parallel to each other between the two side walls 12, 13, in a direction perpendicular to said sidewalls 12, 13. Compartments 15 for accommodating a heat-insulating lining are provided between the supporting webs 14. The heat-insulating lining may be made of any material having properties of appropriate thermal insulation. By way of example, the heat-insulating lining is chosen from materials such as perlite, glass wool, polyurethane foam, polyethylene foam, polyvinyl chloride foam, aerogels or others. The carrier webs 14 are corrugated and oscillate on either side of their longitudinal general direction. Each corrugation thus extends along an axis perpendicular to the bottom panels 10 and cover 11. In the embodiment shown, the corrugations are substantially sinusoidal. However, other forms of undulations are also possible. By way of example, the corrugations may in particular have triangular tooth shapes or rectangular slots. Due to their shape, such corrugated carrier webs 14 have a high buckling resistance without the need to give them much thickness. Note that if corrugations having a periodic structure to ensure good uniformity of the compressive strength, it is also possible to provide non-periodic corrugations 15 to meet certain localized mechanical requirements. Figures 3 and 4 illustrate a carrier web 14. Along its edges extending opposite the bottom panel 10 and the cover panel 11, the carrier web 14 has flanges 16a, 16b distribution of loads. The upper soleplate 16a has a flat surface for facing the cover panel 11 while the lower flange 16b has a planar surface which is intended to face the bottom panel 10. The flanges 16a, 16b have a width which is greater than the thickness of the wall of the carrier web 14 in its main part, extending between the two flanges 16a, 16b. Thus, the load distribution flanges 16a, 16b prevent stress concentration on a particular area by providing a greater bearing surface between the carrier web 14 and the bottom panels 10 and cover 11. The distribution flanges loads may have a parallelepipedal shape, as illustrated in Figures 3 or 4. In this case, the width of the flanges 16a, 16b may be equal to the amplitude of the corrugations. In other embodiments, as shown in Figures 17, 20 or 24, the load distribution flanges 16a, 16b may themselves have corrugations. The carrier webs are made of composite material comprising a thermoplastic matrix reinforced with glass fibers.

A manufacturing method of the carrier webs 14 is described in relation to FIGS. 5 and 6. In a first phase, as shown in FIG. 5, an intermediate product is produced in the form of composite material plates. For this purpose, a double-band press 17 is provided with fiberglass 18 and thermoplastic resin 19. The thermoplastic resin 19 can be loaded on the double-band press 17 in the form of extruded films or in the form of a powder. The glass fibers 18 are provided as coils of glass yarn, cut to the desired length. The thermoplastic resin 19 and the glass fibers 18 are laminated in the double-web press 17. At the outlet of the double-web press 17, a cutting device makes it possible to obtain a plurality of plates. In one embodiment, the thermoplastic resin is based on polypropylene. Such plates have a composite structure comprising a thermoplastic matrix and a mat or fiberglass felt. Such composite structures are designated by the acronym GMT for "glass fiber mat reinforced thermoplastics" in the English language. In a second step, the plates of composite material are shaped, as shown in FIG. 5. To do this, the plates of composite material are heated in an oven 20, then placed in a mold 2 in which they are going to be shaped by applying pressure. The carrier webs thus formed are then cooled. The carrier webs 14 are thus shaped by thermocompression, by heating the composite material plates and then stamping them on the press. In another embodiment, the carrier webs may also be made by thermoforming, i.e. creeping the composite material plates under temperature conditions and evacuation. In the embodiments shown in FIGS. 7 to 11, fastening members of the supporting webs 14 to the bottom panel 10 and / or to the cover panel 11 are inserted into the mold 21 during forming. Thus, the carrier webs 14 are overmolded on the fasteners. In other words, the fasteners are embedded in the mass of the carrier webs 14 during their forming.

In one embodiment, the carrier webs 14 are made from a stack of several composite material plates and the fasteners are arranged in the mold 21, sandwiched between two adjacent composite material plates. Thus, the fasteners are suitably embedded in the mass of the carrier webs 14. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 7, the fasteners are pointed metal rods 22, of the staple or nail type, taken into the mass. the carrier web 14 during its forming. The metal rods 22 are planted in the bottom panel 10 and thus ensure the attachment of the carrier web 14 to the bottom panel 10. Similarly, the carrier web 14 also has, along its edge vis-à-vis of the cover panel 11, such metal rods 22, taken in the mass of the carrier web 11, and fixed on the cover panel 11. In the embodiment shown in Figure 8, the fasteners, taken into the mass carrier webs 14 are L-shaped fastening lugs 23 arranged laterally on either side of said webs 14. The L-shaped fastening lugs 23 each comprise a first wing 24, embedded in the mass of the carrying sail 14, and a second wing 25 protruding laterally outwardly of said carrier web 14. The second wing 25 rests against the bottom panel 10 and is provided with an orifice. Screws 26 pass through said orifices and are fixed to the bottom panel 10 in order to secure the carrier webs 14. Similarly, the edge of the carrier web 14 cooperating with the cover panel 11 may also be equipped with such 23. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 9, the fixing members, taken in the mass, are sockets 27 having a tapped internal bore. The bushings 27 cooperate with threaded members, such as screws 28, passing through a through hole formed in the bottom panel 10 and opening towards the sockets 27. Similarly, the other edge the carrier web 14 can also be equipped with such sleeves 27.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, wood slats 29 extending longitudinally along the entire length of said load-bearing webs 14, along their load distribution flange 16a, 16b, are taken from the mass of said carrier webs 14. The wood slats 29 have a rectangular section and have a flat surface for resting against the cover panel 10 or the bottom panel 11. In one embodiment, the wooden slats 29 are attached to the cover 11 or the bottom panel 10 by stapling. Thus, the staples are not directly introduced into the composite material. In the embodiment of Figure 12, the carrier webs 14 are attached to the bottom panel 10 and the cover panel 11 by means of nail plates 30 inserted between the cover panels 11 and bottom 10 and the flanges 16a, 16b of the carrier web 14. Such nail plate 30 comprises a carrier plate, a first set 31 of nails planted in the cover panel 10 or the bottom panel 11 and a second series 32 of nails planted in the sole 16a, 16b In the embodiment of FIGS. 13 and 14, the fixing of a web 14 on the bottom panel 10 and on the cover panel 11 is ensured by slides 33 fixed against the bottom panel 10. and against the cover panel 11. The slides are arranged to receive a sole 16a, 16b of the web carrier 14. A slideway 33 is formed by two lateral wooden boards 34 for laterally guiding a sole 16a, 16b. Two retaining boards 35 resting against the lateral planks 34 make it possible to retain the soleplate for distributing the loads in a direction perpendicular to the bottom panels 10 and the cover 11. In order to allow such an assembly, the load-bearing sails 14 are in a first time interposed between the bottom panels 10 and cover 11 by sliding their flanges 16a, 16b in the slides 33 and, in a second step, when all the carrier webs 14 has been positioned, the lateral edges 12, 13 of the box 3, 7 can be put in place. The embodiment of FIG. 15 differs from the embodiment of FIGS. 13 and 14 in that the slideways 36 are formed by grooves formed directly in the bottom panels 10 and the cover 11. In the embodiment of FIG. 16, the slides 37 formed in the bottom panels 10 and cover 11 have a dovetail shape. In the embodiment of FIGS. 17 and 18, the carrying sails 14 are fixed by hooks 38, one curved end of which cooperates with the soles of the load-bearing sails in order to retain the carrying sails against the bottom panels 10 and cover 11. In an embodiment not shown, the hooks 38 are elastic hooks for attachment by "clipping" elastic. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 17, the hooks 38 are rigid and are immobilized in a retaining position of the carrier web 14 by means of wedges 39 made of wood that can be introduced through the bottom panel or the cover panel 11. FIG. 18 shows an embodiment in which the retaining hooks 38 each comprise two jaws 39, 40 placed, in the thickness direction of the tank, on either side of a tongue 41 projecting laterally. In the embodiment of FIGS. 19 and 20, the carrier web 14 is fixed on the bottom panel 10 or the cover panel 11 via a fastener 42 comprising a cylindrical rod carrying at both ends heads having a diameter wider than that of the cylindrical rod. The carrier web 14 carries a metal part provided with an oblong hole 43 having a small dimension greater than the diameter of the cylindrical rod and smaller than the diameter of the heads, said oblong hole 43 being extended by a circular orifice 44 having a larger diameter than the of the head of the fastener 42. Similarly, the bottom panel 10 or cover 11, vis-à-vis, has an oblong hole 45 extended by a circular orifice 46. The association oblong hole 45 and circular orifice 46 of the panel 10, 11 is arranged, head-to-tail, with respect to the combination of the oblong hole 43 and the circular orifice 43 fitted to the carrier web 14. To ensure assembly, the circular orifices 44 are made to coincide, 46 respectively carried by the carrier web 14 and the bottom panel 10 or cover 11 to allow the passage of a head of the fastener through the panel 10, 11 and the metal part. Then, the carrier web 14 is slid with respect to the panel 10, 11 in order to trap the cylindrical rod at the ends of oblong holes 45, 43.

In the embodiment of Figures 21 to 23, the carrier webs 14 have through orifices through which pins 47 are inserted. The pins 47 have two ends, disposed on either side of said carrier web 14, which have grooves cooperating with staples 48 fixed in the bottom panel 10 or cover 11 to ensure the fixing of the pins 47.

In the embodiment of FIGS. 24 to 27, wooden wedges 49 are placed on either side of the carrier web 14 and fixed on the bottom panel 10 or cover 11 in order to wedge the carrier web 14 laterally. the embodiment shown, the flanges 16a, 16b have corrugations. Also, the wedges 49 have a corrugated shape complementary to the corrugations of the flanges 16a, 16b so as to immobilize the movement of the carrier web 14 in its longitudinal direction. Finally, in order to block the movement of the carrier web 14 in a direction perpendicular to the bottom panels 10 and cover 11, the wedges 49 may have a projecting portion 50 cooperating with a complementary shaped cavity formed in the carrier web 14. On the embodiment shown, the projecting portion has a shape of dovetail. In another embodiment, the protruding portion may also protrude above the lower flange 16b or below the upper flange 16a so as to maintain the upper flange 16a or lower 16b respectively against the bottom panel 10 or the cover panel 11. The positioning of the heat-insulating lining in the compartments 15 formed between the load-bearing sails 14 can be done after the fixing of the load-bearing sails 14 on the cover panels 11 and bottom panels 10. However, the order in which this step is performed is indifferent. In particular, it is also possible to pre-assemble the heat-insulating linings and the carrier webs 14 and then to fix the carrier webs 14 to the bottom panels 10 and the cover 11. According to another embodiment, it is also possible to fix the carrier webs 14 to one of the bottom panels 10 or cover 11, to fill the compartments 15 formed between the carrier webs 14, for example by foam projection, 25 then to close the self-supporting body by fixing the other panels The technique described above for producing a self-supporting body can be used in different types of tanks, for example to achieve the primary thermal insulation barrier and / or the barrier of the invention. secondary thermal insulation of an LNG tank in a land installation or in a floating structure such as a LNG tank or other. Referring to Figure 28, 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 72 of the ship, and two thermal insulation barriers arranged respectively between the primary watertight barrier and the secondary watertight barrier and between the secondary watertight barrier and the double hull 72. In a manner known per se, loading / unloading pipes 73 arranged on the upper deck of the ship can be connected, by means of connectors, at a marine or port terminal for transferring a cargo of LNG to or from the tank 71.

FIG. 28 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 (14)

REVENDICATIONS1. A method of manufacturing a self-supporting body (3, 7) for the thermal insulation of a vessel, with a sealed membrane, for storing a fluid, said method comprising: a step of providing a bottom panel (10) and a cover panel (11); a step of manufacturing a plurality of carrier webs (14), said manufacturing step comprising for each carrier web (14): the provision, in a mold (21), of a composite material comprising a thermoplastic matrix reinforced by fibers; the insertion of fixing members (22, 23, 27, 29) for fixing the carrier web (14) to the bottom panel (10) and / or the cover panel (11), to the mold interior (21); o forming the composite material (14) in which the fasteners (22, 23, 27, 29) are embedded in the mass of said carrier web (14); interposing the carrier webs (14) between the bottom panel (10) and the cover panel (11), so that the bottom panel (10) and the cover panel (11) are spaced apart in a direction of the thickness of the body (3, 7) and the supporting webs (14) extend in the thickness direction and attach the carrier webs (14) to the bottom panel (10) and / or the cover panel (14) by means of said fasteners (22, 23, 27, 29); filling the plurality of compartments (15) formed between the carrier webs (14) with a heat-insulating lining. 2. The manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein during the manufacture of a carrier web (14): - there is arranged in the mold (21) a plurality of composite material plates; and - the fasteners (22, 23, 27, 29) are arranged between two adjacent composite material plates. 3. Self-supporting box (3, 7) for the thermal insulation of a tank, with a sealed membrane, for storing a fluid, said box (3, 7) comprising: a bottom panel (10) and a panel of cover (11) spaced in a direction of thickness of the body (3, 7), a plurality of carrier webs (14), interposed between said bottom panels (10) and cover (11), and extending in the thickness direction so as to define a plurality of compartments (15), and a heat insulating lining extending within said compartments (15) formed between the load-bearing sails (14), wherein the load-bearing sails (14) ) are formed by forming a composite material having a fiber-reinforced thermoplastic matrix and have fasteners (22, 23, 27, 29) at the bottom panel (10) and / or the cover panel (11) , taken in the mass of the carrier webs (14), during their forming. 4. Case (3, 7) according to claim 3, wherein the fastening members are pointed metal rods (22), taken from the mass of the supporting webs (14), each of the metal rods (22) being planted in the bottom panel (10) or in the cover panel (11). 5. Case (3, 7) according to claim 3, wherein the fasteners are sockets (27) having a threaded internal bore each cooperating with a threaded member (28) passing through the bottom panel (10) or the panel cover (11). 6. Case (3, 7) according to claim 3, wherein the fastening members are wooden slats (29), taken from the mass of the load-bearing sails (14), each of the wooden slats being fixed against the bottom panel (10) or the cover panel (11). The crate (3, 7) according to claim 6, wherein the wood slats (29) are secured against the bottom panel or the cover panel by staples. 8. Case (3, 7) according to claim 3, wherein the fastening members are L-shaped fastening lugs (23) each having a wing (24) embedded in the mass of the sail (14) and a wing ( 25) extending against the bottom panel (10) or the cover panel (11) and provided with an orifice for the passage of a screw (26) fixed to the bottom panel (10) or the panel cover (11). 9. Box (3, 7) according to any one of claims 3 to 8, wherein the carrier webs (14) have load distribution flanges (16a, 16b) extending along two edges of said carrier webs. (14) respectively disposed opposite the bottom panel (10) and the cover panel (10) and wherein the fasteners (22, 23, 27, 29) to the bottom panel and / or the cover panel are taken from the mass of the load-bearing sails (14) at the level of the load distribution flanges (16a, 16b). 10. Case (3, 7) according to any one of claims 3 to 9, wherein the carrier webs (14) have a plurality of corrugations whose axis 10 extends perpendicularly to the bottom panels (10) and cover (11). 11. A sealed and thermally insulating storage tank for a fluid comprising a thermal insulation barrier (2, 6) comprising a plurality of boxes (3, 7) according to any one of claims 3 to 10, juxtaposed, and a sealing membrane (5, 9) resting against the thermal insulation barrier. 15 12. Vessel (70) for the transport of a fluid, the vessel having a double hull (72) and a tank (71) according to claim 11 disposed in the double hull. A method of loading or unloading a vessel (70) according to claim 12, wherein a fluid is conveyed through insulated pipelines (73, 79, 76, 81) to or from a floating or land storage facility. (77) to or from the vessel vessel (71). 14. Transfer system for a fluid, the system comprising a ship (70) according to claim 12, insulated pipes (73, 79, 76, 81) arranged to connect the tank (71) installed in the hull of the ship. at a floating or land storage facility (77) and a pump for drawing fluid through the insulated pipelines from or to the floating or land storage facility to or from the vessel vessel.