FR3049678A1 - THERMALLY INSULATING EDGE BLOCK FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF A TANK WALL - Google Patents

Abstract

Watertight and thermally insulating vessel integrated in a supporting structure, said vessel comprising a plurality of tank walls (5, 6) comprising a thermally insulating barrier and a sealed membrane, in which a first carrier wall (1) forms an edge (2, 4) of the vessel, and wherein a row of edge insulating blocks (9) disposed along the edge (2, 4) of the vessel comprises an anchor strip (32) parallel to said ridge (4) the entire width of said border block (9), each of the two ends of the anchoring strip (32) having a tab (33) projecting from a respective lateral face of said border block (9) and being coupled to an anchor rod (43) anchored to the second supporting wall (1, 3) for transmitting a tensile force between the anchoring strip (32) carried by said edge block (9) and the second supporting wall (1). , 3).

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The invention relates to the field of sealed and thermally insulating vessels. In particular, the invention relates to the field of sealed and thermally insulating vessels in the context of the storage or transport of low temperature liquid such as tanks of ships for the transport of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (also called LPG) having for example a temperature between -50 ° C and 0 ° C, or for the transport of liquefied natural gas (LNG) at about -162 ° C at atmospheric pressure.

Technological background

LNG tanks are known for example from FR3008765. This document describes a tank of LNG carrier having a plurality of longitudinal vessel walls and a plurality of transverse vessel walls. Each wall of the tank has a double sealing membrane interposed with a double insulating barrier.

During loading and unloading of the liquefied gas, the change in temperature imposes strong thermal deformations, and therefore constraints to the tight membranes of the tank. Similarly, during a sea transport, the movement of liquefied gas in the tank exerts significant forces on the insulating barriers and the membranes of the tank. In order to avoid a degradation of the sealing characteristics of the tank, according to the document FR3008765, the sealed membranes of the tank are anchored to the bearing structure by means of anchoring couplers in the zone where the longitudinal walls meet the transverse walls. The sealed membranes are connected to the coupler by means of composite beams fixed on an inner face of insulating boxes forming the thermally insulating barriers.

Furthermore, there are known sealed and thermally insulating vessels whose walls are manufactured using modular components arranged in a repeating pattern on large surfaces. However, there are particular areas in a tank where the construction must be modified because of the presence of particular equipment. For example FR3023257 teaches a bottom wall with a sump. summary

An idea underlying the invention is to take up the tensioning forces of the sealed membrane by couplers anchored to the support structure without exerting significant shear stresses on the elements forming the thermally insulating barrier.

Another idea underlying the invention is to locally modify the structure of a tank wall in the vicinity of a specific equipment while disturbing as little as possible the construction of the other walls of the tank connecting to the modified tank wall. .

For this, the invention provides a thermally insulating border block for the manufacture of a vessel wall, the border block comprising: a generally rectangular bottom panel having a width direction intended to be oriented parallel to an edge of the vessel wall and a length direction to be oriented perpendicularly to said edge of the vessel wall, a generally rectangular lid panel disposed parallel to the bottom panel directly above the bottom panel, spacer elements disposed between the bottom panel and cover panel and extending in a thickness direction of the border block between the bottom panel and the cover panel so as to maintain the cover panel away from the bottom panel, a heat insulating pad arranged between the bottom panel and the cover panel and between the spacer elements, so as to fill a space in dull of the edge block, wherein the cover panel has a cut-out opening on a transverse edge of the cover panel at a position between two longitudinal edges of the cover panel, the spacer members and the heat-insulating trim being arranged to provide a free space under the cut of the cover panel, a metal transverse anchor strip being attached to a portion of the cover panel located between the cutout and a first of said longitudinal edges of the cover panel, the anchor strip is developing parallel to the transverse edge of the cover panel, a first end of the anchor strip having a first tab projecting from a side face of the edge block associated with the first longitudinal edge of the cover panel, a second end of the strip anchor comprising a second tab projecting into the panel cutout cover and in the underlying free space.

According to embodiments, such an insulating border block may comprise one or more of the following characteristics.

According to one embodiment, a transverse dimension of the edge block between the cutout and the first longitudinal edge of the cover panel is greater than a transverse dimension of the edge block between the cutout and the second of said longitudinal edges of the cover panel.

According to one embodiment, the portion of the cover panel located between the cutout and the second of said longitudinal edges of the cover panel has a notch, so that the contour of the cover panel at the notch is set back from to a rectangular global outline.

According to one embodiment, said notch extends throughout the thickness of the edge block, so that the outline of the bottom panel at the notch is also set back relative to the overall rectangular outline. The notch can have different shapes, especially when it is intended to provide a passage for a vessel equipment, according to the geometry of this equipment. According to one embodiment, the notch has the shape of a circular sector.

According to one embodiment, the spacer members disposed between the bottom panel and the cover panel have side panels disposed along the contours of the bottom panel and the cover panel to surround the inner space of the block. edging, said side panels having a window formed in line with the cutout of the cover panel to provide access to the free space below the cutout of the cover panel.

According to one embodiment, the spacer elements disposed between the bottom panel and the cover panel further comprise mutually spaced carrier spacers disposed between the side panels parallel to the length direction of the bottom panel, so as to define a plurality of compartments in the inner space of the edge block, the heat insulating insert being inserted into said compartments.

According to one embodiment, the free space located under the cutout of the cover panel consists of one of said compartments defined between two carrier struts.

According to one embodiment, each leg of the anchor strip has a coupling portion angled towards the bottom panel.

According to one embodiment, each coupling portion comprises a slot whose opening is turned in the longitudinal direction opposite the transverse edge of the cover panel on which said cutout opens.

According to one embodiment, the edge insulating block further comprises a secant longitudinal anchoring strip to the transverse anchoring strip and fixed on the portion of the cover panel located between the cutout and the first longitudinal edge of the cover panel. .

According to one embodiment, the invention also provides a sealed and thermally insulating tank integrated into a supporting structure, said tank comprising a plurality of tank walls carried by carrying walls of the supporting structure, each tank wall comprising a heat barrier. insulation insulating on a respective carrier wall of the carrier structure and a waterproof membrane carried by said thermally insulating barrier, the thermally insulating barrier comprising a plurality of parallelepiped insulating blocks, each insulating block having a heat insulating lining and a cover panel facing the inside the tank, an upper face of the cover panel opposite to the heat-insulating lining carrying a metal anchor strip, the waterproof membrane comprising a plurality of corrugated metal plates, each corrugated metal plate being welded to at least one anchor strip of the thermally insulating barrier, in which a first bearing wall carrying a first tank wall forms an edge of the tank with a second bearing wall carrying a second tank wall, in which the parallelepipedic insulating blocks of the thermally insulating barrier of the first wall of the tank; vessel comprises a row of edge blocks disposed along the edge of the tank, the edge blocks of the row of edge blocks having side faces facing each other, the row of edge blocks having a plurality of standard edge blocks, wherein a transverse anchor strip of one or each of the standard edge blocks develops parallel to said edge of the bowl across the entire width of said standard edge block, each of the two ends of the strip anchor carried by said standard edge block having a tab projecting from a respective side face of said block of a standard border in a space between said side face of said standard edge block and the side face opposite an adjacent edge block, the row of edge blocks further comprising the aforementioned heat insulating edge block as a as an enlarged edge block, interposed between the standard edge blocks, the enlarged edge block having a greater transverse dimension than the standard edge blocks, the transverse anchor strip of the enlarged edge block having the same length as the strip transversely anchoring the standard edge blocks, and wherein, for each of the two legs of said transverse anchor strip carried by the standard edge blocks and the enlarged edge block, an anchor rod having an anchored first end; to the second bearing wall and a second end opposite the first end coupled to said tab of the anchor strip is develops in a space between said side faces of the edge blocks, said anchor rod being arranged to transmit a tensile force between the anchor strip carried by said standard edge blocks and said enlarged edge block and the second bearing wall .

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

According to one embodiment, all the edge blocks of the first row are mutually spaced, the anchor strip of each standard edge block develops parallel to said edge of the bowl across the entire width of said standard edge block, each both ends of said anchor strip having a tab projecting from the respective side face of said standard edge block in the space between said side face and the side face opposite the adjacent edge block, the bowl comprising a first series of anchor rods each having a first end anchored to the second bearing wall and, for each of the two legs of said anchor strip, a respective anchor rod of the first series has a second end opposite to the first end coupled to said tab, and wherein the anchoring rods of the first series develop in the spaces between e said respective lateral faces of said adjacent edge blocks and in the free space of the enlarged edge block, said anchor rods being arranged to transmit a tensile force between said anchor strips and the second carrier wall.

According to one embodiment, between said blocks of standard borders, the second end of each anchor rod of the first series is coupled together with two separate legs, said tabs each projecting from the side face of a standard edge block respective, said blocks of standard borders being adjacent, said anchor rod being arranged to transmit a tensile force between the anchor strips carried by said adjacent standard edge blocks and the second carrier wall.

According to one embodiment, the parallelepipedic insulating blocks of the thermally insulating barrier of the second vessel wall comprise a second row of standard edge blocks disposed along the edge of the tank, the standard edge blocks of the second row. edge blocks having mutually spaced apart side faces, and the transverse anchor strips of each second row standard edge block develop parallel to said bowl edge across the entire width of said block; standard border, each of the two ends of said anchor strips having a tab projecting from a respective side face of said second row standard edge block in the space between said second row standard edge block and the second row edge block; adjacent standard border, the vessel having a second series of anchor rods each having a first end embedded in the first carrier wall and developing in the space between said side faces of the adjacent standard edge blocks of the second row of edge blocks and, for each of the two legs of said anchor strips, an anchor rod of the second series has a second end opposite to the first end coupled to said tab, said anchoring rods of the second series being arranged to transmit a traction force between said anchor strips of the second row of standard edge blocks and the first load-bearing wall, the spaces between the standard first-row edge blocks are aligned with the spaces between the second-row standard edge blocks.

According to one embodiment, particularly suitable for a 135 ° edge, an anchor rod of the first series develops from the second carrier wall in the space between two edge blocks of the second row and then in the aligned space. between two edge blocks of the first row and an anchor rod of the second set develops from the first bearing wall in the space between two edge blocks of the first row and then into the space aligned between two edge blocks of the second row.

According to one embodiment, the transverse anchoring strip carried by the edge block is fixed on the cover panel of said edge block with a set of fixing in a longitudinal direction of said border block.

The insulating blocks can be made in different ways. According to one embodiment, each parallelepipedic insulating block comprises a box, made for example of plywood, in which is housed the heat-insulating lining, said box comprising a bottom panel and side panels developing between said bottom panel and the cover panel. According to another embodiment, each parallelepipedic insulating block comprises a bottom and cover panel with an interposed foam block.

According to one embodiment, the impervious membrane of each tank wall comprises: a first series of corrugations projecting towards the interior of the tank and developing in a first direction, and a second series of corrugations. protruding towards the interior of the vessel and developing in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction.

Different locations may be considered for the undulations of the waterproof membrane. According to one embodiment, a corrugation of the sealed membrane of the first tank wall is located at the right of the space between the lateral faces vis-à-vis the edge blocks forming said edge of the tank. According to another embodiment, a corrugation of the sealed membrane of the first tank wall is located in line with the edge blocks, for example on the cover panels of the insulating blocks.

According to another embodiment, as in patent FR 3008765, the membrane consists of metal strips.

According to one embodiment, the thermally insulating barrier of the first wall or second vessel comprises parallelepipedic insulating blocks current vis-à-vis a longitudinal face of the edge blocks of the first or second row opposite the edge of the tank, an upper face of the cover panel of each of the common parallelepiped insulating blocks having a recess vis-à-vis a recess of the upper face of the cover panel of the corresponding edge block, a connecting plate housed together in said recesses flush at the top face of said cover panels to form a continuous planar support surface for the sealed membrane of the first or second vessel wall. With this feature, it is possible to adjust a distance between the row of edge blocks and the first row of current blocks without generating gaps in the support of the waterproof membrane.

According to one embodiment, the standard edge blocks of the first row have a width less than the width, taken in a direction parallel to the width direction of said edge blocks, common parallelepiped insulating blocks of the thermally insulating barrier of the tank wall.

According to one embodiment, the first end of each anchor rod comprises a thread, said first end being housed in a hollow cylindrical base fixed to the first or second bearing wall, said cylindrical base having at an end opposite the first or second second wall carrying a partition having an orifice through which the anchor rod passes, a nut having dimensions greater than the dimensions of the orifice being mounted on the first threaded end of the anchor rod.

According to one embodiment, the anchor rod is arranged to pass through the orifice with a pivoting clearance so as to allow angular movement of said anchor rod relative to the first or second carrier wall.

According to one embodiment, each edge block of the first or second row, including standard edge blocks and possibly non-standard edge blocks, has a rim protruding from the side faces of said insulating block, and a plurality fasteners fixed on the first or second bearing wall each comprise a stud developing perpendicular to the first or second bearing wall, an end of said stud having a plate bearing on an upper face of the flange.

According to one embodiment, a cleat is fixed on the flange and the plate bears on an upper face of the cleat.

According to one embodiment, each lug has a spacing portion developing from the corresponding side face of the standard edge block parallel to the cover panel of said standard edge block, said lug further comprising a coupling portion extending towards the side edge. outside the vessel from one end of said spacer portion opposite said side face of said standard edge block, the second end of the corresponding anchor rod being coupled to the coupling portion of said leg.

According to one embodiment, each coupling portion comprises a slot and the first end of the respective anchor rod comprises a hook, said hook being engaged in said slot so as to couple in traction the coupling portion of said tab and said hook. Thanks to this characteristic, anchoring of the anchoring rods to the legs of the anchor strips can be achieved in a stable and reliable manner, which facilitates the construction of the tank wall.

According to one embodiment, the membrane of the tank comprises a row of metal corner pieces fixed on the anchor strips of the edge blocks of the first row, each corner piece having a first flat portion located in the plane. of the sealed membrane of the first tank wall fixed on the anchoring strips of the edge blocks of the first row and a second flat portion located in the plane of the sealed membrane of the second tank wall and fixed on the strips of anchors of the second row of edge blocks, said corner pieces further comprising corrugations developing in a secant direction at the edge in the extension of corrugations of the corrugated metal plates of said waterproof membranes.

According to one embodiment, the spaces between each edge block of the first and / or second row and the adjacent parallelepiped insulating blocks and spaces between said edge blocks and the first support wall comprise an insulating heat-seal.

According to one embodiment, the corrugated metal plates have a rectangular shape, each parallelepipedal insulating block comprising two secant anchoring strips, each anchoring strip developing parallel to a respective side of the corrugated metal plates fixed on said anchoring strips. .

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

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

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

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

Some aspects of the invention start from the idea of producing a sealed and thermally insulating tank in which the insulating blocks forming the thermally insulating barrier do not undergo or few shear stresses. Some aspects of the invention start from the idea of producing such a tank in which the insulating blocks mainly undergo compressive stresses related to the liquid contained in the tank while the anchor rods completely take up the tensile forces of the membrane. . Some aspects of the invention start from the idea of producing such a tank simply and economically. Some aspects of the invention start from the idea of producing standardized boxes to form the thermally insulating barrier at the edges of the tank. Some aspects of the invention start from the idea of avoiding an imbalance in the transmission of forces between the waterproofing membrane and the supporting structure. Some aspects of the invention start from the idea of avoiding an imbalance in the anchoring of the insulating blocks forming the thermally insulating barrier of the cell walls.

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 solely for the purposes of the invention. illustrative and not limiting, with reference to the accompanying drawings. • Figure 1 is a perspective view of a vessel for the transport of liquefied gas having a plurality of storage tanks. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a vessel portion of the vessel of FIG. 1 illustrating an edge of the vessel formed by a longitudinal wall of the vessel and a transverse wall of the vessel, the transverse wall of the vessel forming with the longitudinal wall of the tank an angle of the order of 90 °. FIG. 3 is an exploded detail view illustrating a heat-insulating edge element of the thermally insulating barrier of a tank wall of FIG. 2. FIG. 4 is a detail view illustrating two heat-insulating edge elements of FIG. FIG. 2, these two heat-insulating elements jointly forming a portion of the edge of the thermally insulating barrier of the tank of FIG. 2. FIG. 5 is a detailed view of an anchoring rod associated with an end of FIG. an anchor strip of an edge insulating element of FIG. 4. FIG. 6 is a detail view of an anchor rod of FIG. 4. FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a tub portion of Figure 1 illustrating an edge of the vessel formed between two longitudinal vessel walls having an angle of 135 °. FIG. 8 is a detail view illustrating two heat-insulating edge elements of FIG. 7. FIG. 9 is a detailed view of an anchor rod associated with an anchor strip of a boundary insulating element of Figure 8. • Figure 10 is a schematic top view of a tank wall at an edge illustrating an alternative embodiment of the edge heat insulating elements. • Figure 11 is a schematic cutaway representation of a LNG tank tank or LPG transport and a loading / unloading terminal of the tank. FIG. 12 is a partial perspective view of the thermally insulating barrier of a vessel of the vessel of FIG. 1 in the vicinity of an edge between a longitudinal wall provided with a sump and a transverse wall. • Figure 13 is a perspective view of the longitudinal wall of Figure 12, taken in section along a diameter of the sump. FIGS. 14 and 15 are two perspective views of a heat-insulating edge element of the thermally insulating barrier of FIG. 12, adjacent to the sump, FIG. 16 is a view from above of the longitudinal wall of FIG. showing the insulating lagging element and the sump. FIGS. 17 and 18 are enlarged views of zone XVII of FIG. 12, respectively without and with the sealing membrane. • Figure 19 is a top view of the zone XVII of Figure 12, showing another embodiment of the sealing membrane around the sump.

Detailed description of embodiments

The figures are described below in the context of a support structure constituted by the internal walls of a double hull of a ship for the transport of liquefied gas. Such a carrier structure has a polyhedral geometry, for example of prismatic shape. FIG. 1 illustrates such a carrying structure in which longitudinal walls 1 of the carrying structure extend parallel to the longitudinal direction of the ship and form a polygonal section in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the ship. The longitudinal walls 1 meet in longitudinal edges 2, which form for example angles of the order of 135 ° in an octagonal geometry. The general structure of such polyhedral vessels is described, for example, with reference to FIG. 1 of document FR3008765.

The longitudinal walls 1 are interrupted in the longitudinal direction of the ship by transverse bearing walls 3 which are perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the ship. The longitudinal walls 1 and the transverse walls 3 meet at the edges 4 front and rear.

Each wall 1, 3 of the supporting structure carries a respective tank wall. Each of the tank walls is composed of at least one thermally insulating barrier carrying a sealing membrane in contact with a fluid stored in the tank, such as liquefied petroleum gas comprising butane, propane, propene or the like. having an equilibrium temperature of between -50 ° C and 0 ° C.

By convention, the adjective "upper" applied to an element of the vessel designates the portion of this element oriented towards the interior of the vessel and the adjective "inferior" designates the portion of this element oriented towards the outside of the vessel. regardless of the orientation of the vessel wall with respect to the earth's gravity field. Similarly, the term "above" designates a position located closer to the inside of the tank and the term "below" a position located closer to the supporting structure 1, whatever the orientation of the wall of vessel relative to the earth's gravity field.

FIG. 2 illustrates a vessel angle at the longitudinal edge 4 between one of the longitudinal walls 1 and one of the transverse walls 3 of the supporting structure respectively carrying a longitudinal vessel wall 5 and a transverse vessel wall. 6. The longitudinal vessel wall 5 and the transverse vessel wall 6 meet at an angle structure 7 of the vessel forming an angle of the order of 90 °. Since the longitudinal vessel wall 5 and the transverse vessel wall 6 have a similar structure, only the longitudinal vessel wall 5 is described hereinafter. The description of the longitudinal vessel wall 5 is correspondingly applied to the transverse vessel wall 6.

The thermally insulating barrier of the longitudinal vessel wall 5 is constituted by a plurality of heat-insulating elements anchored on the entire longitudinal bearing wall 1. These heat-insulating elements together form a flat surface on which the wall-sealing membrane is anchored. These heat-insulating elements more particularly comprise a plurality of heat-insulating elements 8 juxtaposed in a regular rectangular mesh. The thermally insulating barrier of the longitudinal vessel wall 5 also comprises a row of heat-insulating edge elements 9, described hereinafter with reference to FIG. 4, arranged along the edge 4. The heat-insulating elements 8, 9 are anchored to the supporting structure by any suitable means, for example by means of anchoring members 10 as described with reference to FIG. 4. The heat-insulating elements 8, 9 rest on the longitudinal bearing wall via mastic cords (not shown) forming straight or wavy parallel lines. An intermediate space 11 separates the heat insulating edge elements vis-à-vis the row of heat-insulating elements of the edge 9. The interspace 11 of two tank walls 5 and 6 forming an edge of the tank are aligned.

The sealing membrane of the longitudinal vessel wall 5 consists of a plurality of metal plates 12 juxtaposed to each other with overlap. These metal plates 12 are preferably of rectangular shape. The metal plates 12 are welded together to seal the sealing membrane.

In order to allow the deformation of the sealing membrane in response to the various stresses to which the vessel is subjected, in particular in response to the thermal contraction resulting from the loading of liquefied gas into the vessel, the metal plates 12 comprise a plurality of corrugations 13 oriented towards the inside of the tank. More particularly, the sealing membrane of the longitudinal vessel wall 5 comprises a first series of corrugations 13 and a second series of corrugations 13 forming a regular rectangular pattern. As illustrated in Figure 2, the first series of corrugations 13 is parallel to the edge 4 and the second series of corrugations 13 is perpendicular to the edge 4. Preferably, the corrugations 13 develop parallel to the edges of the plates rectangular metal. In one embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2, corrugations 13 are located in line with the spacer spaces 11. Such an embodiment thus does not require a cover plate at the level of the spacer spaces 11 in order to provide a flat support for the metal plates. The distance between two successive corrugations 13 of a series of corrugations is for example of the order of 600 mm.

To ensure the continuity of the insulating barrier 2 at the angle structure 7, angle metal plates 15 are welded disposed on the perpendicular edge heat insulating elements 9. These angle metal plates 15 comprise two flat portions 16 located in the planes of the sealed membrane of each tank wall 5 and 6 respectively.

FIG. 3 shows an exploded perspective detail view of an edge insulating element 9 of FIG. 2. The edge insulating element 9 comprises a bottom panel 17, side panels 21, 22 and a cover panel 19. All these panels 17, 19, 21, 22 are of rectangular shape and delimit an internal space of the insulating element of border 9. The bottom panel 17 and the cover panel 19 develop parallel to one of the other and, as illustrated in Figure 2, parallel to the carrier wall. The side panels 21, 22 develop perpendicularly to the bottom panel 17. The side panels 21, 22 connect the bottom panel 17 and the cover panel 19 over the entire periphery of the edge insulating member 9. Spacers carriers 20 are disposed between the bottom panel 17 and the cover panel 19 in the inner space of the edge insulating member 9. These carrier struts 20 develop parallel to longitudinal side panels 21. Transverse side panels 22 extending perpendicularly to the longitudinal side panels 21 have through holes 23. These through holes 23 are intended to allow the circulation of inert gas in the thermally insulating barrier. The panels 17, 19, 21, 22 and the supporting struts 20 together form a box in which is disposed a heat-insulating lining 24. This heat-insulating lining 24 is preferably non-structural, for example perlite or glass wool.

The bottom panel 17 has longitudinal flanges 25 protruding from the longitudinal side panels 21. The bottom panel 17 also has a transverse flange 26 protruding from one of the transverse side panels 22, opposite the edge 4. Cleats 27 are carried the flanges 25, 26 of the bottom panel 17. In the example illustrated in Figure 4, each end of the longitudinal flanges 25 carries a respective cleat 27 and a central portion of the transverse flange 26 carries a cleat 27.

The cover panel 19 has on an upper face opposite to the heat-insulating lining 24 a transverse recess 28. This transverse recess 28 is situated in line with the transverse side panel 22 from which the transverse flange 26 of the bottom panel 17 projects. transverse recess 28 has a notch 18 located at the right of the cleat 27 carried by the transverse flange 26. Many methods can be used to make the cover panel 19. In the embodiment illustrated in Figure 4, two plywood plates having different dimensions are superimposed to form the cover panel 19 having the transverse recess 28. In a non-illustrated embodiment, the cover panel is formed by a plywood plate in which a counterbore is formed to form the transverse recess. .

In a variant shown in Figure 4, the cleat 27 carried by the transverse flange 26 grows over the entire width of the insulating edge element 9. In addition, the cover panel 19 does not protrude above the rim transverse 26, so that the notch 18 can be removed.

The upper face of the cover panel 19 further includes a transverse counterbore 29 and a longitudinal counterbore 30. The transverse counterbore 29 develops in a direction parallel to the width of the cover panel 19 over the entire width of the cover panel 19. The The transverse counterbore 29 is located near the transverse side of the cover panel 17 opposite the transverse flange 26. The longitudinal counterbore 30 develops in a direction parallel to the length of the cover panel 19 over the entire length of the cover panel 19. Preferably this longitudinal counterbore 30 is centered on the width of the cover panel 19. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3, the longitudinal countersink 30 is situated in the extension of the notch 18.

A longitudinal anchoring strip 31 is housed in the longitudinal counterbore 30. This longitudinal anchoring strip 31 has a length less than the length of the cover panel 19. A thermal protection 54 (illustrated in FIG. 4) is housed in the end portion of the longitudinal counterbore 30 not comprising the longitudinal anchoring strip 31.

Likewise, a transverse anchoring strip 32 is housed in the transverse counterbore 29 of the cover panel 19. However, this transverse anchoring strip 32 develops over the entire width of the cover panel 19. Each end of the cover strip 32 transverse anchor 32 has a tab 33. This tab 33 projects from a respective longitudinal side of the cover panel 19.

Similarly to the heat insulating elements 9, each current insulating element 8 comprises on an upper face two perpendicular anchor strips 14 housed in respective countersinks. The anchor strips 14 are arranged parallel to the edges of the metal plates 12, and therefore preferably parallel to the corrugations 13. The anchor strips 14 develop on a central portion of the counterbores in which they are housed. Thermal protections 54 are housed in the ends of the countersinks.

The marginal areas of the metal plates 12, 15 of the sealed membrane are welded to the anchoring strips 14, 31, 32 on which they rest. The thermal protections 54 prevent the degradation of the heat-insulating elements 8, 9 during the soldering of the metal plates 12, 15 to each other with overlap. The welding of the metal plates 12, 15 on the anchoring strips 14, 31, 32 makes it possible to retain the waterproof membrane on the insulating barrier, but causes the tensile forces to be transmitted by the metal plates 12, 15 to the strips. anchors 14, 31, 32 on which they are welded.

The tab 33 has a spacing portion 34 extending from the cover panel 19 in the extension of the transverse counterbore 29. This tab further comprises a coupling portion 35 developing from an end of the spacer portion 34 opposite the cover panel 19. The coupling portion 35 develops towards the bottom panel 17. The coupling portion 35 has a slot 52 facing the transverse side of the cover panel 19 having the transverse recess 28, that is to say say open on the opposite side to edge 4.

The anchor strips 31, 32 are fixed on the cover panel 19 by any suitable means, for example by riveting. The attachment of the transverse anchoring strip 32 is made so as to have a play in a longitudinal direction of the cover panel 19, for example of the order of one to a few tenths of a millimeter. Typically, in the case of a fastening by riveting, holes 36 of the cover panel 19 are traversed by the fastening rivets of the transverse anchoring strip 32. In addition, the orifices 99 of the anchoring strips 31 and 32 which receive the rivets have a longitudinal dimension greater than the thickness of the rivet to create this clearance between the anchor strip and the rivet head. Similarly, the transverse anchoring strip 32 is housed in the transverse counterbore 29 with a clearance. Such clearances allow the transmission of tensile forces generated in the longitudinal direction of the cover panel 19 by the sealed membrane welded onto the strips. anchor 31, 32 to anchor rods 43, without these efforts being substantially transmitted to the cover panel 19.

FIG. 4 is a detail view illustrating an edge heat-insulating element 9 belonging to the longitudinal vessel wall 5 and an edge heat-insulating element 9 belonging to the transverse vessel wall 6. The two heat-insulating edge elements 9 together form the structure 7. The transverse edges of the heat-insulating edge elements 9 turned towards the edge 4 are contiguous. The edge insulating element 9 belonging to the longitudinal vessel wall 5 has a structure similar to the structure of the edge heat-insulating element 9 belonging to the transverse vessel wall 6. Only the insulation heat-insulating element 9 belonging to the Longitudinal vessel wall 5 is described below.

The anchoring members 10 illustrated in FIG. 4 each comprise a stud 38 welded to the longitudinal bearing wall 1. Each stud 38 is developed perpendicularly to the longitudinal bearing wall 1. One end of the studs opposite to the longitudinal bearing wall 1 comprises a thread. A square support plate 39 has a central orifice (not illustrated) through which the stud 38 passes. A nut 40 is mounted on the threaded end of the stud 38. The support plate 39 of each stud 38 is thus maintained. supported by said nut 40 against an upper face of a respective cleat 27 carried by a flange 25, 26 corresponding to the bottom panel 17. In a variant not shown, the support plate rests directly on the flange 25 or 26 of the bottom panel 17 of the thermal insulation element of border 9.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, such anchoring members 10 are also arranged at the corners of each current heat-insulating element 8. The side walls of each current heat-insulating element 8 comprise a flange. A batten 27 is disposed on each end of said flange. Each batten 27 of the heat insulating elements 8 cooperates with a respective anchoring member 10, the same bearing member 10 cooperating with the cleats 27 of a plurality of adjacent heat insulating elements 8, namely four current heat insulating elements 8. The angles of the adjacent heat insulating elements 8 comprise a clearance jointly forming a chimney in line with a corresponding fixing member 10. This chimney makes it possible to screw the nut 40 onto the bolt of the fastening member 10. This chimney is filled with a heat-insulating lining 41 and covered with a shutter plate 42 so as to form a flat surface with the panels of lids of the heat-insulating elements.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2, each current insulating element 8 has a width, taken parallel to the edge 4, twice the width of the heat insulating elements 9. The current heat-insulating elements 8 and the heat-insulating elements curbs 9 are arranged so that the corners of two adjacent heat insulating elements 8 are located mid-width of a heat insulating edge element 9, at the right of the transverse flange 26 of a respective edge insulating element 9. The anchoring member 10 associated with said corners of the current heat-insulating elements 8 thus co-operates with the cleats 27 of said current heat-insulating elements 8 and with the cleat 27 carried by the transverse flange 26. Where appropriate, the notch 18 of the insulating element of edge 9 allows the passage of the necessary tools to screw the nut of said anchoring member 10

Moreover, the current heat-insulating elements 8 situated opposite the heat-insulating edge elements 9 comprise a recess similar to the recess 28 of said insulating edge element 9 opposite said step 28 of the thermal insulating element. 9. Cover strips 53 are housed jointly in the recesses of the current heat-insulating elements 8 and the heat-insulating edge elements 9 facing each other so as to cover a space between said heat-insulating elements 8 and 9. This space is filled with packing insulation such as glass wool. Such cover strips are flush with the top face of the cover panels of the heat insulating elements 8 and 9 to provide a continuous flat surface to the waterproofing membrane. Moreover, such cover strips 53 make it possible to make up for construction sets that may appear during the construction of the tank.

With reference to FIG. 2, in order to avoid a deterioration of the sealing characteristics of the tank, the sealing membranes of each of the tank walls 5 and 6 are anchored to the bearing structure by means of rods. anchoring 43 in the area where the tank walls 5 and 6 form the angle structure 7 of the tank. More specifically, each edge insulating element 9 is coupled on either side of the longitudinal side panels 21 to two anchor rods 43. More particularly, each anchor tab 33 is coupled to a respective anchor rod 43 . The cooperation between the anchoring tabs 33 and the anchoring rods 43 is similar for all the anchoring rods 43 of the tank. Only the anchor rod 43 anchored to the anchor tab 33 shown in Figure 4 is described below, this description applying by analogy to all of the anchor rods 43 of the tank.

The anchor rod 43 is anchored to the transverse bearing wall 3. This anchor rod 43 develops from the transverse bearing wall 3 perpendicularly to the transverse bearing wall 3. The anchor rod 43 is thus housed in the space insert 11 between two heat-insulating edge elements 9 of the transverse vessel wall 6 at its end anchored to the transverse bearing wall 3 and in the interspace 11 between two edge insulating elements 9 of the longitudinal vessel wall 5.

One end 44 of the anchor rod 43 opposite the transverse bearing wall 3 is coupled to a tab 33 of the transverse anchoring strip 32. The stresses to which the sealed membrane is fastened on the transverse anchoring strip 32, for example related to a loading of liquefied gas in the tank, thus generate forces transmitted to the transverse bearing wall 3 thus improving the resistance of the tank. In addition, these forces pass through the waterproofing membrane, the transverse anchoring strip 32 and the anchoring rods 43 without exerting any great effort on the cover panel 19. The heat-insulating element 9 thus undergoes negligible shear forces.

FIG. 5 illustrates the cooperation between the anchor rod 43 and the supporting wall and the tab 33 of the transverse anchoring strip 32.

The anchor rod 43 has at its end anchored to the carrier wall a thread. This threaded end is housed in a hollow cylindrical base. This hollow cylindrical base comprises a flat base 45 welded to the bearing wall, a cylindrical wall 46 developing perpendicular to the bearing wall towards the inside of the tank and a cover wall 47 parallel to the supporting wall. The cover wall 47 has an orifice through which the anchor rod 43 passes. The cylindrical wall 46 has an inner face of complementary shape to a nut 48 housed in the hollow cylindrical base. This complementarity of the shapes between the nut 48 and the inner face of the cylindrical wall 46 blocks the nut 48 in rotation in the hollow cylindrical base. Furthermore, the nut 48 has dimensions greater than the dimensions of the through orifice of the cover wall 47, thus locking the nut 48 in the hollow cylindrical base. The threaded end of the anchor rod 43 is screwed onto the nut 48 thereby anchoring the anchor rod 43 to the carrier wall. The end 44 of the anchor rod 43 has a hook. This hook has a U-shaped profile of which a base 49 is traversed by the anchoring rod 43 as illustrated in FIG. 6. Branches 50 of the hook develop from the base 49 in the direction of the load-bearing wall perpendicular to the base 49. A nut 51 is screwed onto the end 44 to block the hook moving along the anchor rod 43. A first leg 50 of the hook is engaged in the slot 52 of the anchor tab 33. Typically , the coupling portion 35 of the tab 33 is interposed between the first branch 50 and the anchoring rod 43 and the base 49 is thus coupled in tension to the slot 52 of the coupling portion 35. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 5, a washer is interposed between the nut 51 and the base 49.

As can be seen in FIG. 4, an anchor rod 43 anchored to the longitudinal bearing wall 1 is coupled to a lug 33 of an edge heat-insulating element 9 belonging to the transverse tank wall 6 in the same manner as the rod of FIG. Anchor 43 anchored to the transverse bearing wall 3 is coupled to a heat-insulating edge element 9 belonging to the longitudinal vessel wall 5.

An anchor rod 43 is anchored to the carrier wall at each intermediate space 11 of the tank so that a first leg 50 of the hook of the anchor rod is coupled to a first leg 33 projecting from a first element. insulation lagging 9 in said spacer space 11 and a second leg 50 of the hook of the anchor rod 43 is coupled to a second tab 33 projecting from a second insulating element of edge 9 in said interspace 11. The first insulation element 9 and the second thermal insulating element 9 are adjacent and delimit the interspace 11.

In addition, the spaces 55 located between the heat insulating elements 9 and the supporting walls 1 and 3 vis-à-vis are advantageously filled with heat insulating material such as glass wool.

Figures 7 to 9 show a tank ridge between two longitudinal tank walls 5 forming an angle of the order of 135 °. Such a tank ridge has a structure similar to the tubular angle structure 7 forming an angle of 90 ° as described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 6. The same reference numerals are used for elements having the same structure and / or the same function.

At an edge 2 forming an angle of 135 °, the anchor rods 43 develop parallel to the membrane of the longitudinal vessel wall 5 to which they are coupled. Thus, the anchor rods 43 form an angle of the order of 135 ° with the longitudinal bearing wall 1 on which they are fixed, as can be seen in FIGS. 7 and 8. Moreover, the orifice of the The hollow cylindrical base traversed by the anchor rod 43 is located jointly on the cover wall 47 and on the cylindrical wall 46 of the cylindrical base.

In this embodiment, the orifice of the hollow cylindrical base allows an angular displacement of the anchor rod 43 relative to the hollow cylindrical base around an axis parallel to the edge 2 of the supporting structure .

Figure 10 shows a schematic top view of a tank wall at a 90 ° edge according to an alternative embodiment. In this figure, the same elements or elements fulfilling the same function carry reference numerals increased by 100 with respect to the reference numerals of FIGS. 2 to 6.

In the variant illustrated in FIG. 10, the edge heat-insulating elements 109 have a width close to the width of the current heat-insulating elements 108 and are substantially aligned therewith. The width of the current heat-insulating elements 108 is, for example, about 1200 mm and the width of the edge-insulating elements 109 of the order of 1160 mm. In this variant, the corrugations (not illustrated) of the metal plates (not shown) are no longer placed at the right of the spacer spaces 111 but on the cover panels 119 of the heat insulating elements 109. Moreover, the metal plates (not illustrated ) are welded on the anchoring strips 132 in a discontinuous manner and only at a central portion 156 of the anchoring strip 132. This discontinuous welding of the metal plates allows the corrugations to work in extension in order to make up for the deformations of the waterproof membrane. The heat insulating elements 109 are centered on the current heat-insulating elements 108. Similarly, the anchor strips 114 and 131 are arranged coaxially in a longitudinal direction perpendicular to the edge.

In this case, the heat-insulating elements 109 are anchored to the load-bearing wall like the current heat-insulating elements 108 by anchoring members 110 arranged at their corners. For the rest, the structure of the tank wall is unchanged.

The tank wall variant illustrated in FIG. 10 is also applicable to a 135 ° corner zone.

Figures 12 to 19 illustrate another angular zone of a sealed and thermally insulating tank, at a 90 ° edge of the supporting structure, between a wall carrying wall 101 (FIG 13) carrying a wall longitudinal vessel vessel 105 and a transverse carrier wall 103 (Fig. 16) carrying a transverse vessel wall 106. The edge heat insulating elements 109 and heat insulating members 108 are formed in accordance with Fig. 10 over most of the walls. The same reference numbers as in FIG. 10 are therefore used to designate elements identical to those of this figure. In addition, "standards" will be referred to below as the heat-insulating edge elements 109 in order to distinguish them from other heat-insulating edge elements arranged specifically around a sump.

However, while the greater part of the tank is formed of identical structures repeated periodically, in particular with the standard edge heat-insulating elements 109 and the current heat-insulating elements 108, FIGS. 12 to 18 are centered on a singular zone of the wall of the tank. bottom 101, in which a sump 57 (Fig. 13) is installed. For this, a circular clearance 58 (FIG 12) is formed in the thermally insulating barrier of the longitudinal vessel wall 105, around the sump 57, and a corresponding window 59 (FIG 18) is formed in the sealing membrane ,

Figure 12 is a perspective view of the thermally insulating barrier of the two vessel walls 105 and 106 around the sump without showing the anchors on the supporting structure. Figure 13 is a perspective view of the longitudinal vessel wall 105, taken in section along a diameter of the sump 57 parallel to the edge of the vessel. FIG. 16 is a view from above of the longitudinal vessel wall 105, in the same zone as FIG. 13. At this point, the row of edge heat insulating elements on the bottom wall 101 comprises interposed between the heat-insulating elements. standard edging planks 109, an elongate edging insulating member 209 followed by a shortened edge insulating member 309, both adjacent to the sump 57. Cumulatively, the elongated edge insulating member 209 and the shortened edge insulating member 309 occupy a space. identical to two standard edge heat insulating elements 109 along the edge, which makes it possible to maintain a repetitive modular construction all around this zone. In particular, the row of edge heat insulating elements on the transverse wall 103 includes only the standard edge heat insulating elements 109 in this zone because the periodic distribution of the anchor rods 143 is not modified.

For the description of the elongate edge insulating element 209, elements identical or similar to those of FIGS. 2 to 6 bear reference numerals increased by 200 with respect to the reference numerals of FIGS. 2 to 6, and will therefore not be fully described.

FIGS. 14 and 15 are two perspective views of the elongated edge heat-insulating element 209, adjacent to the sump 57, respectively without and with its cover plate 219. As can be seen in these figures, the general shape of the heat-insulating element of FIG. elongate rim 209 is that of a parallelepiped rectangle wider than the standard edging insulation element 109, but a corner portion of which has been eliminated by an arc-shaped notch participating in the circular clearance 58 intended to accommodate the sump structure. A cut 61 in the form of an arc of a circle is thus visible on the bottom panel 217 and the cover panel 219. In line with the cutout 61, the side walls 62 form a plurality of panes which follow approximately the arc of the circle by providing a flange on the bottom panel 217.

The bottom panel 217 is preferably formed in one piece to stiffen the elongated edge insulating member 209. The cover panel 219 has a lower panel 63 also integrally formed and exactly overlaps the bottom panel 217. except at the longitudinal flanges 225 and the transverse flange 226, and except at a rectangular cutout 64 which passes through the bottom panel 63.

The cutout 64 extends over a portion, for example about one-third, of the length of the elongated edge heat-insulating element 209 and opens out along the transverse edge facing the edge 204 away from the longitudinal edge of the element. which is not affected by the clearance 58. More specifically, the distance between this longitudinal edge and the cutout 64 is equal to the width of a standard edge insulating element 109, so that a strip of Transverse anchorage 232 of the same dimensions as the transverse anchor web 132 of the standard edge insulation elements 109 may be placed on the cover panel 219 between the cutout 64 and the remote longitudinal edge. At the cutout 64, the coupling portion 235 of the transverse anchoring strip 232 enters through the cutout 64 in a free space 66 formed in the heat-insulating lining. More specifically, the free space 66 is formed of a compartment between two carrier struts 220, in which the heat-insulating seal, for example made of glass wool, has been entirely or partially removed.

A rectangular window 65 is formed in the transverse side wall 222 between said two supporting struts 220 to provide access to the free space 66 from the transverse wall, in particular for the passage of an anchor rod 143 (FIGS. and 17).

On the lower panel 63, the cover panel 219 has an upper layer of plywood 67 which partially overlaps the lower panel 63, but not at the transverse recess 228, nor longitudinal recesses 68 bordering the cutout 64, nor of a wide square clearance 69 for receiving a connecting plate 60 (Fig. 17) around the sump 57. The plywood top layer 67 includes counterbores 229 and 230 for the anchor strips 232 and 231.

The anchoring members of the elongate edge heat-insulating element 209 on the bottom wall 101 are shown in FIG. 16. It can be seen that the sump 57 interferes with the positioning of the studs 238 on the load-bearing wall, which thus deviates locally from the regular periodic distribution observed along the remainder of the supporting wall (Fig. 10), the period of which is equal to the width of a standard edge insulation element 109.

FIG. 16 also shows the shortened edge heat-insulating element 309 and its three anchoring members 310. In particular, along the transverse edge facing the transverse wall 103, an anchoring member 310 is placed between the heat-insulating element. elongate rim 209 and the shortened edge heat-insulating member 309 to act on both at once. Along the longitudinal edge opposite the sump 57, the anchoring members 310 are realigned with the aforementioned regular periodic distribution,

At both ends of the transverse anchoring strip 232, the coupling portions 235 each cooperate with an anchor rod 243 made as before. The single anchor rod 143 shown in FIG. 16 is that which engages in the free space 66 and which thus cooperates only with the anchoring strip 232, since the sump 57 does not leave enough room to provide an anchoring strip on the other side of this anchor 143, on the remaining portion of the elongate edge heat insulating member 209 or on the shortened edge heat insulating member 309.

Returning to FIG. 12, it can be seen that the circular clearance 58 is half formed in the elongated edge heat-insulating element 209 and the shortened edge heat-insulating element 309 and half in an expanded current insulating block 208. On the Circular clearance 58, the side wall of the expanded current insulating block 208 may be made similarly to the side wall 62 of the elongate edge heat insulating member 209.

A shortened heat insulating element 308 and placed next to the expanded current insulating element 208 to jointly occupy a total width equal to two current heat insulating elements 108. This local deviation with respect to the width of the current heat insulating elements 108 makes it possible to keep a distance sufficient between the circular clearance 58 and the longitudinal side wall of the expanded current insulating member 208 to facilitate its manufacture. The anchor member 210, shown in Fig. 16, is positioned to cooperate with both the elongate edging heat-insulating member 209, the shortened heat-insulating member 308, and the enlarged current heat-insulating member 208.

Figure 17 is an enlarged view of the area XVII of Figure 12, on which the connecting plate 60 of the waterproofing membrane is shown. Figure 18 is a view similar to Figure 17 in which the sealing membrane is shown.

The connecting plate 60 is a square metal plate which is disposed on the square clearance 69 of the elongate edge heat-insulating member 209 and on similar clearances formed on the cover panels of the expanded common heat insulating member 208 and the shortened edge thermal insulation element 309. The connecting plate 60 is fixed on these cover panels by screws 82 or rivets distributed on its periphery.

The connecting plate 60 has a circular window 83 at its center, the edge of which is welded in a sealed manner on an annular plate 84 which the sump 57 carries on the entire periphery of the sump 57.

As visible in Figure 18, the sealing membrane is completed around the sump 57 by a notched metal plate 212, in which the square window 59 is cut. Along the edge, previously described angle metal plates 15 are also used at the sump 57. In particular, the edges of the angle metal plates 15 and the edges of the square window 59 are sealed welded. on the connection plate 60 around the sump 57 and closing parts 85 are used to seal the end of the undulations 13 of the membrane interrupted by the sump 57, namely here two corrugations parallel to the edge and two corrugations perpendicular to the edge.

FIG. 19 represents another embodiment of the sealing membrane around the sump 57, in which the continuity of the corrugations parallel to the edge is preserved. The elements identical or similar to those of Figure 18 bear the same reference numeral.

In this case, two of the corrugations 13 of the sealing membrane which are parallel to the edge should be interrupted by the square window 59, due to the position and dimensions thereof. Instead of making these interruptions, these two undulations 86 and 87 are locally deviated so as to bypass the square window 59, between the square window 59 and the edge of the vessel for the corrugation 86 and on the other side of the window. square window 59 for corrugation 87.

For this, the sealing membrane is formed of an assembly of smaller metal parts around the sump 57, in particular two trapezoidal plates 91 and 92, and bent corrugation pieces 93.

Moreover, two corrugations 13 perpendicular to the edge are interrupted by the square window 59 and closed by closing pieces 85, but two additional short-length corrugations 94 also perpendicular to the edge are provided in the trapezoidal plates 91 and 92 to compensate locally for these interruptions. In other words, the additional corrugations 94 impart a local deformation capability to the waterproofing membrane, which offsets the relative loss of elasticity caused by the ripple interruptions. The additional corrugations 94 are also closed by closure pieces 85 at their two ends, respectively on the angle metal plates 15 and on the metal plate 12.

The vessel wall structures illustrated in FIGS. 12 to 19 are also adaptable to a 135 ° corner zone. In this case, the anchor rods 43 shown in FIGS. 7 to 9 are used instead of the anchor rods 143.

As can be seen in FIG. 13, a hollow cylindrical bowl 90 is fixed on the carrier wall 101 around an opening 89 and protrudes outwardly from the carrier wall 101 to form an extension structure which provides additional space for housing the sump 57. Specifically, the hollow cylindrical bowl 90 comprises a cylindrical side wall, for example circular or otherwise, an upper edge is welded to the carrier wall 101 all around the opening 89 and a flat bottom wall 88 , for example circular or other, welded to a lower edge of the cylindrical side wall and arranged parallel to the carrier wall 101. The hollow cylindrical bowl 90 may be made of similar materials to the carrier wall 101. More details on the structure sump can be found in FR3023257.

Thanks to the wall structure described above, the traction forces in the waterproofing membrane can be satisfactorily carried out despite the local interruption of the transverse anchor strips carried by the row of the edge insulating elements. interruption caused by the presence of the sump 57 near the angle of the tank. In particular, the construction of the elongated edge heat insulating element 209 makes it possible to bring the transverse anchoring strip 232 very close to the sump 57, so that the abovementioned interruption is relatively short.

Around the sump 57, the tensile forces in the sealing membrane are in particular taken up by the connecting plate 60, which benefits from the rigidity of the elongate edge heat-insulating element 209 on which it is partially attached.

The techniques described above for producing a tank with a single sealed membrane can also be used in other types of tanks, for example to form a double diaphragm tank for liquefied natural gas (LNG) in a land installation or in a floating work like a LNG ship or other. In this context, it can be considered that the waterproof membrane illustrated in the previous figures is a secondary waterproof membrane, and a primary insulating barrier and a primary waterproof membrane, not shown, must be added to this secondary waterproof membrane. In this way, these techniques can also be applied to tanks having a plurality of thermally insulating barriers and superimposed waterproof membranes.

Referring to Figure 11, a cutaway view of a liquefied gas transport vessel 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 liquefied gas contained in the tank and an insulating barrier arranged between the sealed barrier and the double hull 72. In a simplified version, the vessel comprises a single hull . In one embodiment, a secondary watertight barrier is arranged between the primary watertight barrier and the double hull 72 of the ship and a second insulating barrier is arranged between the primary watertight barrier and the secondary watertight barrier,

In a manner known per se, loading / unloading lines 73 arranged on the upper deck of the ship can be connected, by means of appropriate connectors, to a marine or port terminal for transferring a cargo of liquefied gas from or to the tank 71.

FIG. 11 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 (17)

A thermally insulating border block (209) for the manufacture of a tank wall, the edge block comprising: a generally rectangular bottom panel (217) having a width direction to be oriented parallel to an edge of the vessel wall and a length direction to be oriented perpendicularly to said tank wall edge, a generally rectangular lid panel (219) disposed parallel to the bottom panel directly above the bottom panel, spacer elements (220, 221, 222) disposed between the bottom panel and the cover panel and extending in a thickness direction of the edge block between the bottom panel and the cover panel to hold the panel remote cover of the bottom panel, an insulating packing arranged between the bottom panel and the cover panel and between the spacer elements, so as to fill a space interior of the edge block, wherein the cover panel has a cut-out (64) opening on a transverse edge of the cover panel at a position between two longitudinal edges of the cover panel, the spacer members and the heat-seal being arranged to provide a clearance (66) under the cut of the cover panel, a transverse metal anchor strip (232) attached to a portion of the cover panel between the cutout (64) and a first one of said edges longitudinal members of the cover panel, the anchor strip extending parallel to the transverse edge of the cover panel, a first end of the anchor strip having a first tab (235) projecting from a side face (221) of the block edge associated with the first longitudinal edge of the lid panel, a second end of the anchor strip having a second leg (235) made of protruding into the cutout (64) of the cover panel and into the underlying free space (66). An edge block according to claim 1, wherein a transverse dimension of the edge block between the cutout (64) and the first longitudinal edge of the cover panel is greater than a transverse dimension of the edge block between the cutout and the second said longitudinal edges of the cover panel. An edge block according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the portion of the cover panel located between the cutout and the second of said longitudinal edges of the cover panel has a notch (61), wherein said notch extends into any the thickness of the edge block, so that the outline of the bottom panel and the outline of the cover panel at the notch are recessed with respect to a rectangular overall contour. 4. Border block according to claim 3, wherein the notch has the shape of a circular sector. An edge block according to one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the spacer members disposed between the bottom panel and the cover panel have side panels (221, 222, 62) disposed along the contours. of the bottom panel and the cover panel to surround the inner space of the edge block, said side panels having a window (65) arranged vertically above the cutout (64) of the cover panel to provide access to the free space below the lid panel cutout. An edging block according to claim 5, wherein the spacer members disposed between the bottom panel and the cover panel further include spaced apart carrier struts (220) disposed between the side panels parallel to the direction of rotation. length of the bottom panel, so as to define a plurality of compartments in the inner space of the edge block, the heat insulating insert being inserted into said compartments and the free space (66) located under the cutout of the cover panel is constituted one of said compartments defined between two carrier struts (220). An edge block according to one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the anchor strip (232) carried by the edge block (209) is attached to the cover panel (219) of said border block with a fixing set in the longitudinal direction. 8. Border block according to one of claims 1 to 7, wherein each tab of the anchoring strip (232) comprises a coupling portion (235) bent towards the bottom panel. An edge block according to claim 8, wherein each coupling portion (235) has a slot (52) whose opening is rotated in the longitudinal direction opposite the transverse edge of the lid panel on which said cutting (64). 10. Border block according to one of claims 1 to 9, further comprising a longitudinal anchoring strip (231) intersecting the transverse anchoring strip and fixed on the portion of the cover panel located between the cut and the first longitudinal edge of the cover panel. 11. A sealed and thermally insulating vessel integrated in a supporting structure, said vessel comprising a plurality of tank walls (5, 6) carried by carrying walls (1, 3, 103) of the supporting structure, each tank wall (5). , 6) comprising a thermally insulating barrier fixed on a respective supporting wall (1, 3, 103) of the supporting structure and a waterproof membrane carried by said thermally insulating barrier, the thermally insulating barrier comprising a plurality of parallelepiped insulating blocks (8, 9, 108, 109), each insulating block (8, 9, 108, 109) comprising a heat-insulating lining (24) and a cover panel (19, 119) facing towards the inside of the tank, an upper face of the panel cover (19, 119) opposite to the heat insulating lining (24) carrying a metal anchor strip (14, 31, 32, 114, 131, 132), the waterproof membrane comprising a plurality of corrugated metal plates (12), each metal plate waveguide (12) being welded to at least one anchoring strip (14, 31, 32, 114, 131, 132) of the thermally insulating barrier, wherein a first bearing wall (1) carrying a first vessel wall forms an edge (2, 4, 104) of the tank with a second supporting wall (1, 3, 103) carrying a second tank wall, in which the parallelepiped insulating blocks (8, 9, 108, 109) of the heat barrier insulation of the first tank wall (1) comprises a row of edge blocks (9, 109) arranged along the edge (2, 4, 104) of the tank, the edge blocks (9, 109) of the row of edge blocks (9, 109) having side faces facing each other, the row of edge blocks having a plurality of standard edge blocks (9, 109), in which a transverse anchor strip (32, 132) of each of the standard edge blocks (9, 109) develops parallel to said ridge (4, 104) of the bowl over the entire area. the width of said standard edge block (9, 109), each of the two ends of the transverse anchoring strip (32, 132) carried by said standard edge block (9, 109) having a projection (33) projecting from a respective side face of said standard edge block (9, 109) in a space (11, 111) between said side face of said standard edge block (9, 109) and the side face facing a block adjacent edge strip (9, 109), the row of edge blocks further comprising an enlarged edge block (209) according to any one of claims 1 to 12 interposed between the standard edge blocks (9, 109), the an enlarged edge block having a greater transverse dimension than the standard edge blocks (9, 109), the transverse anchor strip (232) of the enlarged edge block having the same length as the transverse anchor strip (32, 132) standard border blocks, and in which, for each of the two patt (33) of said transverse tie strip (32, 132, 232) carried by the standard edge blocks and the enlarged edge block, an anchor pin (43, 143) having a first end anchored to the second carrier wall (1, 3, 103) and a second end (44) opposite the first end coupled to said tab (33) of the anchoring strip (32, 132) develops in a space (11, 111) between said side faces of the edge blocks (9, 109, 209), said anchor rod (43, 143) being arranged to transmit a tensile force between the anchor strip (32, 132, 232) carried by the blocks standard edgings (9, 109) and the enlarged edging block (209) and the second supporting wall (1, 3, 103). A sealed and thermally insulating vessel according to claim 11, wherein all the border blocks (9, 109, 209) of the first row are mutually spaced, and wherein the anchor strip (32, 132) of each block the standard edge (9, 109) extends parallel to said ridge (4, 104) of the bowl across the entire width of said standard edge block (9, 109), each of the two ends of said anchor strip (32, 132) having a tab (33) projecting from the respective side face of said standard edge block (9, 109) in the space (11, 111) between said side face and the side face opposite the block. adjacent edge (9, 109), the vessel having a first series of anchor rods (43, 143) each having a first end anchored to the second bearing wall and wherein, for each of the two legs (33) of said anchoring strip (32, 132, 232), an anchor rod (43, 143, 243) respecti of the first series has a second end (44) opposite the first end coupled to said tab (33), and wherein the anchor rods (43, 143, 243) of the first series develop in the spaces ( 11, 111) between said respective lateral faces of said adjacent edge blocks (9, 109) and in the free space of the enlarged edge block (209), said anchor rods (43, 143, 243) being arranged to transmit a traction force between said anchor strips (32, 132, 232) and the second carrier wall (1, 3). Watertight and thermally insulating vessel according to claim 12, wherein, between said blocks of standard borders, the second end (44) of each anchor rod (43, 143) of the first series is coupled together with two separate legs. (33), said tabs (33) each protruding from the side face of a respective standard edge block (9, 109), said standard edge blocks (9, 109) being adjacent, said anchor rod (43) , 143) being arranged to transmit a tensile stress between the anchoring strips (32, 132) carried by said adjacent standard edge blocks (9, 109) and the second supporting wall (1, 3, 103). 14. Sealed and thermally insulating vessel according to one of claims 12 to 13, wherein the parallelepiped insulating blocks (8, 9, 108, 109) of the thermally insulating barrier of the second vessel wall (6) comprise a second row. of standard edge blocks (9, 109) disposed along the edge (2, 4, 104) of the bowl, the standard edge blocks (9, 109) of the second row of edge blocks (9, 109). ) having side faces vis-à-vis mutually spaced apart, and wherein the transverse tapes (32, 132) of each standard edge block (9, 109) of the second row develop parallel to said ridge ( 2, 4, 104) across the width of said standard edge block (9, 109), each of both ends of said anchor strips (32, 132) having a tab (33) projecting from one side respective side of said standard edge block (9, 109) of the second row in the space this (11, 111) between said second row standard border block (9, 109) and the adjacent standard border block (9, 109), the vessel having a second set of anchor rods (43, 143) each having a first end anchored to the first supporting wall (1) and developing in the space (11, 111) between said side faces of the adjacent standard edge blocks (9, 109) of the second row of edge blocks ( 9, 109) and in which, for each of the two tabs (33) of said anchor strips (32, 132), an anchor rod (43, 143) of the second series has a second end (44) opposite to the first end coupled to said tab (33), said anchoring rods (43, 143) of the second series being arranged to transmit a tensile force between said anchor strips (32, 132) of the second row of blocks of standard edges (9, 109) and the first supporting wall (1), in which the spaces ( 11, 111) between the standard edge blocks (9, 109) of the first row are aligned with the spaces (11, 111) between the standard edge blocks (9, 109) of the second row. 15. Ship (70) for the transport of a cold liquid product, the vessel comprising a hull (72) and a vessel according to one of claims 11 to 14 disposed in the hull. A method of loading or unloading a vessel (70) according to claim 15, wherein a cold liquid product is conveyed through insulated ducts (73, 79, 76, 81) to or from a floating storage facility or earth (77) to or from the vessel (71). 17. Transfer system for a cold liquid product, the system comprising a ship (70) according to claim 15, insulated pipes (73, 79, 76, 81) arranged to connect the tank (71) installed in the hull. the vessel to a floating or land storage facility (77) and a pump for driving a flow of cold liquid product through the insulated pipelines from or to the floating or land storage facility to or from the vessel vessel.