GB2573326A - A self-draining fluid transfer system - Google Patents

A self-draining fluid transfer system Download PDF

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Publication number
GB2573326A
GB2573326A GB1807317.1A GB201807317A GB2573326A GB 2573326 A GB2573326 A GB 2573326A GB 201807317 A GB201807317 A GB 201807317A GB 2573326 A GB2573326 A GB 2573326A
Authority
GB
United Kingdom
Prior art keywords
reel
hose
fluid transfer
reel assembly
assembly according
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
GB1807317.1A
Other versions
GB201807317D0 (en
Inventor
Blenkinsop Brian
James Mitchison Iain
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Techflow Marine Ltd
Original Assignee
Techflow Marine Ltd
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Techflow Marine Ltd filed Critical Techflow Marine Ltd
Priority to GB1807317.1A priority Critical patent/GB2573326A/en
Publication of GB201807317D0 publication Critical patent/GB201807317D0/en
Publication of GB2573326A publication Critical patent/GB2573326A/en
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B67—OPENING, CLOSING OR CLEANING BOTTLES, JARS OR SIMILAR CONTAINERS; LIQUID HANDLING
    • B67D—DISPENSING, DELIVERING OR TRANSFERRING LIQUIDS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B67D7/00—Apparatus or devices for transferring liquids from bulk storage containers or reservoirs into vehicles or into portable containers, e.g. for retail sale purposes
    • B67D7/06—Details or accessories
    • B67D7/38—Arrangements of hoses, e.g. operative connection with pump motor
    • B67D7/40—Suspending, reeling or storing devices
    • B67D7/406—Suspending, reeling or storing devices the hose carrier comprising a pivoting unit
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
    • B65H75/00—Storing webs, tapes, or filamentary material, e.g. on reels
    • B65H75/02—Cores, formers, supports, or holders for coiled, wound, or folded material, e.g. reels, spindles, bobbins, cop tubes, cans, mandrels or chucks
    • B65H75/04—Kinds or types
    • B65H75/08—Kinds or types of circular or polygonal cross-section
    • B65H75/14—Kinds or types of circular or polygonal cross-section with two end flanges
    • B65H75/148—Kinds or types of circular or polygonal cross-section with two end flanges with at least one frustoconical end flange
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B67—OPENING, CLOSING OR CLEANING BOTTLES, JARS OR SIMILAR CONTAINERS; LIQUID HANDLING
    • B67D—DISPENSING, DELIVERING OR TRANSFERRING LIQUIDS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B67D7/00—Apparatus or devices for transferring liquids from bulk storage containers or reservoirs into vehicles or into portable containers, e.g. for retail sale purposes
    • B67D7/04—Apparatus or devices for transferring liquids from bulk storage containers or reservoirs into vehicles or into portable containers, e.g. for retail sale purposes for transferring fuels, lubricants or mixed fuels and lubricants
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B67—OPENING, CLOSING OR CLEANING BOTTLES, JARS OR SIMILAR CONTAINERS; LIQUID HANDLING
    • B67D—DISPENSING, DELIVERING OR TRANSFERRING LIQUIDS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B67D7/00—Apparatus or devices for transferring liquids from bulk storage containers or reservoirs into vehicles or into portable containers, e.g. for retail sale purposes
    • B67D7/06—Details or accessories
    • B67D7/38—Arrangements of hoses, e.g. operative connection with pump motor
    • B67D7/40—Suspending, reeling or storing devices
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B67—OPENING, CLOSING OR CLEANING BOTTLES, JARS OR SIMILAR CONTAINERS; LIQUID HANDLING
    • B67D—DISPENSING, DELIVERING OR TRANSFERRING LIQUIDS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B67D9/00—Apparatus or devices for transferring liquids when loading or unloading ships
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
    • B65H2701/00—Handled material; Storage means
    • B65H2701/30—Handled filamentary material
    • B65H2701/33—Hollow or hose-like material
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
    • B65H2701/00—Handled material; Storage means
    • B65H2701/50—Storage means for webs, tapes, or filamentary material
    • B65H2701/52—Integration of elements inside the core or reel
    • B65H2701/528—Heating or cooling devices
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
    • B65H2701/00—Handled material; Storage means
    • B65H2701/50—Storage means for webs, tapes, or filamentary material
    • B65H2701/53—Adaptations of cores or reels for special purposes
    • B65H2701/534—Stackable or interlockable reels or parts of reels

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Storing, Repeated Paying-Out, And Re-Storing Of Elongated Articles (AREA)

Abstract

A reel assembly 100 for storing, coiling and decoiling a fluid transfer hose 116 comprises a reel coupled via its central rotation axis to a reel support structure 102 allowing horizontal rotation. The assembly comprises a motor drive to rotate the reel. The reel comprises a drum, coaxial with the central rotation axis, adapted to engage with a first end of the fluid transfer hose. The reel comprises a hose support member 122, coupled to and extending radially outward from the drum at a predetermined slope angle with respect to the horizontal, forming a frusto‑conically tapered support surface. The hose support member 122 may slope upward or downward. The slope angle may be adjustable and may be chosen in relation to the properties of the fluid transferred with the fluid transfer hose. A heat source may be coupled to the reel. The assembly may comprise a plurality of stackable reels.

Description

A SELF-DRAINING FLUID TRANSFER SYSTEM
The present invention relates generally to the field of oil and gas production, and towards offloading and storage facilities. In particular, the present invention relates to a hose-storage system comprising at least one hose reel assembly adapted to fully empty a fluid transfer hose of any fluid residue while stored on the hose reel assembly.
Introduction
Fluid transfer systems are used in a wide range of industrial applications to move a fluid (e.g. a gas or liquid) from one location (e.g. offshore floating storage units or vessels) to another (e.g. onshore depots or terminals). For example, in the oil and gas industry, a floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) unit is a floating vessel used offshore for the processing of hydrocarbons and for storage of oil. An FPSO vessel is designed to receive hydrocarbons produced from nearby platforms or subsea template, process and store the hydrocarbons (a fluid in gaseous or liquid form) until it can be offloaded onto a tanker. The tanker will then transport the hydrocarbon fluid to a destination harbour, where the hydrocarbon fluid is transferred onshore to a depot or storage terminal. Other media, such as, chemicals (e.g. ammonia, chlorine, styrene monomer), liquefied natural gas (LNG), liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), as well as, water, wine and molasses may be transported by a tanker and then transferred between the vessel and shore or another vessel utilising a fluid transfer system. A fluid transfer system may also be used to transfer fluid between two onshore storage facilities.
Figures 1 and 2 show examples of currently available fluid transfer systems that are suitable for offshore and onshore applications. In particular, Figure 1 shows (a) a front view and (b) a perspective view of a standard vertically orientated hose reel 10 having a transfer hose 12 that may be used to transfer, for example, a Phenol fluid (in liquid form) between offshore vessels and an onshore quay facility. Phenol vapour (i.e. gas) builds up within the destination storage tank as a by-product of the fluid transfer and is discharged to the atmosphere at the end of the fluid transfer operation.
In addition, the configuration of the vertically orientated hose reel 10 and stored transfer hose 12 has a propensity for the transferred media (e.g. Phenol) to be retained within the bottom portion of the hose 12 when coiled onto the reel 10. In case the transferred fluid comprises hazardous, corrosive and/or toxic chemicals, such as, for example, Phenol (liquid or vapour), it can lead to degradation of the transfer hose 12 and/or retention of potentially harmful media in unwanted areas.
Consequently, relevant EU legislation has been changed, so as to prohibit the discharge of any by-products (vapour) and/or deposits (pooling) into atmosphere and/or the environment, therefore, requiring any by-products and/or media deposits to be returned to a storage tank.
Furthermore, currently used multi-reel systems install a plurality of vertically orientated hose reels that require a considerable work envelope. However, as the space on a vessel, as well as, quayside locations (onshore) is naturally very limited, multi-reel systems are therefore restricted in the number of reels that can be installed for a particular system. The particular example illustrated in Figure 2 shows a multireel system 20 from a top view comprising four vertically orientated hose reels 22 that are arranged in parallel.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a fluid transfer system in form of a hose-storage system comprising at least one reel assembly adapted to improve safety during fluid transfer and comply with relevant EU legislation, as well as, reduce the lateral working envelope of a multi-reel system.
Summary of the Invention
Preferred embodiment(s) of the invention seek to overcome one or more of the above disadvantages of the prior art.
According to a first embodiment of the invention there is provided a reel assembly for storing, coiling and decoiling a fluid transfer hose, comprising:
a reel support structure;
at least one reel having a central rotation axis, operably coupled to said reel support structure, so as to allow rotation about said central axis of said at least one reel relative to said reel support structure, in a rotation plane that is substantially horizontal with respect to the earth’s gravitational field during use, said at least one reel comprising:
a drum member, coaxial with said central rotation axis, adapted to operably engage with a first end portion of said fluid transfer hose;
a hose support member, operably coupled to and extending radially outward from said drum member at a predetermined slope angle with respect to said rotation plane, so as to form a frusto-conically tapered support surface;
a motor drive, operably coupled to said reel support structure and said at least one reel, adapted to selectively rotate said at least one reel in a clockwise and anticlockwise direction about said central rotation axis.
Advantageously, the frusto-conically tapered support surface of said hose support member may be adapted to store said transfer hose so as to provide a continuous slope along the length of said fluid transfer hose between said first end portion and a second end portion.
The substantially horizontal orientation of the at least one reel (and subsequent horizontal orientation of the stored fluid transfer hose) and frusto-conically tapered hose support surface provide the advantage that any fluid left in the fluid transfer hose after the fluid transfer operation, or produced as by-product (e.g. vapour from a liquid), is automatically moved out of the fluid transfer hose due to gravity-induced fluid flow. In particular, the angled support surface causes the fluid transfer hose to wind up in form of a conical spiral resulting in a pitch angle of the fluid transfer hose that is greater than zero (>’0’), i.e. one end of the fluid transfer hose is higher than the other end of the fluid transfer hose. Therefore, any fluid contained within the fluid transfer hose moves towards and out of the lower end of the fluid transfer hose in response to gravity force acting on the fluid.
Preferably, said support surface of said hose support member may extend upwardly outward from said drum member with respect to said rotation plane during use. Alternatively, said support surface of said hose support member may extend downwardly outward from said drum member with respect to said rotation plane during use.
Advantageously, said at least one reel may further comprise a retainer member, operably coupled to said drum member and spaced apart from said hose support member along said central rotation axis of said drum member at a distance adapted to define a mono-spiral spool region for the transfer hose.
This provides the advantage that the fluid transfer hose is coiled into a single layer, so as to provide, a pitch angle greater than zero along the length of the coiled fluid transfer hose.
Preferably, said retainer member may extend radially outward from said drum member and parallel to said hose support member. This provides the advantage of a uniform retainer space for the fluid transfer hose.
Advantageously, said slope angle may be predetermined in relation to the properties of the fluid transferred with said fluid transfer hose. This provides the advantage that he fluid transfer hose is stored at a pitch angle that is most suitable for draining a particular fluid out of the fluid transfer hose within a preferred time period.
Alternatively or additionally, said slope angle of said hose support member may be selectively adjustable. This provides the advantage that a single hose reel assembly can provide a range of selectable slope angles (and subsequent pitch angles) suitably adapted for different fluid properties and/or hose dimensions I geometries I shapes.
Preferably, said drum member may comprise a hose coupling adapted to fluidly couple said first end portion of said transfer hose to an external fluid conduit. Preferably, said hose coupling may comprise a swivel connector.
Additionally, said reel assembly may, comprise a plurality of reels, each one operably stackable on top of a previous one of said plurality of reels. This provides the advantage of a minimised lateral working envelope when using a multi-reel system.
Advantageously, the reel assembly may further comprise a hose chute support member for said second end portion of the fluid transfer hose.
Advantageously, the reel assembly may further comprise a selectively adjustable heat source operatively coupled to said reel and adapted to provide heat energy to said fluid transfer hose when stored on said hose support structure. This provides the advantage of controlling the fluid state of a fluid within the fluid transfer hose.
Brief Description of the Drawings
Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only and not in any limitative sense, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Figure 1 (prior art) shows (a) a front view and (b) a perspective view of a standard vertical hose reel;
Figure 2 (prior art) illustrating the lateral (i.e. horizontal) work envelope size of a standard four-reel vertical hose reel system (top view);
Figure 3 shows a (a) perspective, (b) front and (c) side view of an example embodiment of the reel assembly of the present invention;
Figure 4 shows a partly cross sectioned side view of the reel assembly shown in Figure 3;
Figure 5 shows a simplified schematic illustration of the reel (cross section), including drum, hose support member and retainer member, as well as, a coiled fluid transfer hose;
Figure 6 shows a simplified schematic illustration of a fluid transfer hose coiled in form of a conical spiral supported by a frusto-conical support platform, including the slope angle of the platform, the pitch and pitch angle of one loop of the fluid transfer hose;
Figure 7 shows a simplifies schematic illustration of a fluid transfer hose at a constant pitch angle (uncoiled);
Figure 8 shows a perspective view of a fluid transfer system comprising a plurality of vertical hose reels, as well as, the horizontally arranged reel assembly of the present invention, and
Figure 9 illustrates the work envelope of a plurality of stacked reel assemblies of the present invention (top view).
Detailed description of the preferred embodiment(s)
The exemplary embodiments of this invention will be described in relation to onshore transfer of hydrocarbon fluids. However, it should be appreciated that, in general, the system of this invention will work equally well for offshore fluid transfer and for any suitable fluid medium.
For the purpose of explanation, the terms ’vertical’ and ‘horizontal’ refer to the angular orientation with respect to the surface of the earth, i.e. a reel is orientated such that ‘vertical’ means the reel is substantially perpendicular to the general orientation of the ground surface of the earth (assuming the surface is substantially flat), and ‘horizontal’ means the rotation axis of the reel is substantially parallel to the direction of the earth’s gravitational field, or the orientation of the rotation plane of the reel is parallel to the ground surface of the earth (assuming the earth’s surface is substantially flat). The term ‘lateral’ may refer to a horizontal displacement with regards to the surface of the earth. Further, the terms ‘higher’, ‘upper1 and ‘lower’ are understood in relation to the surface of the earth.
Referring now to Figures 3 (a), (b), (c) and Figure 4, a perspective view, front- and side view, as well as, a partially cross-sectioned side view of a preferred embodiment of the reel assembly 100 of the present invention is shown. It will be appreciated that this is only a basic, typical example, and the present invention is not limited to use with only this example embodiment. The self-draining and vertically stackable reel assembly 100 of the present invention is a fluid transfer system that may be used onshore and offshore, i.e. on board vessels, FPSO’s (Floating Production Storage and Offloading), FSO’s (Floating Storage and Offloading), FLNG’s (Floating Liquefied Natural Gas), as well as, onshore depots and storage terminals, capable of transferring fluid media of any suitable kind (e.g. chemicals, hydrocarbons, water and edibles.
The reel assembly 100 shown in Figure 3 and Figure 4 comprises a support structure 102 or support frame adapted to operatively support a reel 104. The reel 104 comprises a drum 106 that is rotatably coupled to the support structure 102, e.g. via an axle 108 of the support structure 102, so as to allow rotation of the drum 106 in a rotation plane that is substantially horizontal with respect to the earth’s gravitational field (i.e. substantially parallel to a reference surface, such as the earth’s surface, when flat, supporting the reel assembly 100).
A motor and gearbox 110 is operatively coupled to the support structure 102 and the reel 104 via a centrally mounted slewing ring 112, wherein the motor gearbox 110 is configured to engage the slewing ring 112 via a pinion. Power may be provided via hydraulic, electrical or pneumatic systems. In particular, the reel assembly 100 may be provided with skid mounted hydraulic power units (HPU’s), electrical power systems, or pneumatic equipment that allows the reel assembly 100 to be operated from vessel- or plant-pneumatic ring-main systems. It is understood, by the person skilled in the art that any other suitable drive may be used.
A run of fixed internal pipework 114 is provided, so as to provide a connection between the fluid transfer hose 116 and the vessel- or plant feed pipework. As the reel assembly’s internal pipework 114 is fixed, a swivel body 120 is provided, so as to allow horizontal rotation of the reel 104 with regards to the support frame 102 and fixedly mounted internal pipework 114. A cable bridge 128 (e.g. running power cables to the motor) and user interface 130 (e.g. actuator for motor, speed controller etc.) may be mounted to the support frame 102 (e.g. over the reel 102). However, it is understood by the person skilled in the art, that the cable bridge 128 and user interface 130 can be provided at any suitable location on the reel assembly 100.
Referring now particularly to Figures 4, 5, 6 and 7, the reel 102 further comprises a hose support member 122, operatively coupled to a lower end of the drum 106, and a hose retainer member 124, operatively coupled to an upper end of the drum 106. The hose support member 122 and the hose retainer member 124 define a spooling region 126 around the drum 106 that is configured, so as to retain the fluid transfer hose 116 in a storage position during deployment, recovery and storage. In this particular example, both, the hose support member 122 and the hose retainer member 124 extend radially outward from the drum 106 at a predetermined slope angle ‘a’, therefore providing a frusto-conically tapered hose support surface on the hose support member 122.
When coiling a fluid transfer hose 116 around the drum 106 and onto a frustoconically tapered hose support surface, the fluid transfer hose is stored, so as to form a conical spiral having at least one pitch angle ‘φ’ (> O’) between the upper fluid transfer hose end and the lower fluid transfer hose end of the coiled fluid transfer hose 116. The pitch angle ‘φ’ may vary between different pitches ‘d’ (i.e. the pitch is the height difference of one full loop of the conical spiral), as a narrower radius of the tapered spiral may require a “steeper” pitch angle ‘φ’ to complete the turn. It is the pitch angle ‘φ’ caused by the conically spiralling fluid transfer hose 116 at slope angle ‘a’, that allows the fluid contained within the fluid transfer hose 116 to “automatically” move (i.e. gravitational force acting on the fluid) from an upper portion of the stored fluid transfer hose 116 towards a lower end of the fluid transfer hose 116.
A simple schematic shown in Figure 7 illustrates the continuous pitch angle ‘φ’ on a de-coiled fluid transfer hose 116 with the upper hose end and the lower hose end left at the pitch height when stored on the frusto-conicallly tapered support platform 122 of the reel assembly 100. In this simplistic illustration, the pitch angle ‘φ’ is constant, though, in practice, the pitch angle ‘φ’ is likely to change for individual loops of the conically spiralled fluid transfer hose 116 (e.g. the pitch angle increases from the upper hose end towards the lower hose end).
A different slope angle ‘a’ may be used for different applications or different fluid properties. Also, the specific slope angle ‘a’ may be calculated for specific applications based on factors such as the media fluid properties, the required fluid flow rate (drainage rate), the mechanical properties of the fluid transfer hose 116, and/or the actual location of the reel assembly 100, e.g. either on a vessel or platform, offshore and onshore, and subject to environmental conditions, or heel and trim of the vessel or platform (offshore).
It is understood that the “self-draining” property of the reel assembly 100 on a stored fluid transfer hose 116 eliminates the potential for fluid media retention within the fluid transfer hose 116 and therefore ensures that any condensation formed after a fluid transfer operation is not pooled within the fluid transfer hose 116.
In an alternative embodiment of the reel assembly 100, the slope angle ‘a’ of the hose support member 122 and/or the hose retainer member 124 may be selectively adjustable (e.g. utilising a mechanism such as an overlapping leave mechanism on a collapsible basket). The hose support member 122 and/or hose retainer member 124 may be moved manually by an operator, or via a motor that is coupled to the slope adjusting mechanism of the hose support member 122 and/or hose retainer member 124.
In addition, the reel assembly 100 may further comprise a hose offtake chute 200 adapted to allow fluid transfer hose deployment in a position, where the hose 116 can be transferred to an operator to manually manipulate the hose end fitting to a final termination position (see Figure 3(a)) without the need of an independent crane. Furthermore, the reel assembly 100 of the present invention may also comprise trace heating (not shown), for example, that is adapted to provide heat energy (or cooling) to the pipework 114 and/or fluid transfer hose 116, so as to ensure that liquids/vapours flowing through the fluid transfer hose 116 of the reel assembly 100 maintain a desired fluid state. Use of trace heating can increase the range of products (fluid media) that can be transferred using the reel assembly 100 of the present invention, and therefore contributes to the improved versatility of the fluid transfer system of the present invention.
Additionally, the reel assembly 100 may be stackable with one or more other reel assemblies 100, so as to form a vertically stacked multi-reel assembly 300. An example of a vertically stacked multi-reel 300 is shown in Figure 9 (top view), where each reel assembly 100 is configured to be stacked on top of another reel assembly 100, therefore considerably minimising the lateral (horizontal) work envelope compared to an equivalent standard vertical multi-reel assembly 20 as shown in Figure 2.
Further, each one of the stackable reel assemblies 100 may comprise mounts (not shown) suitable to operatively couple a stackable reel assembly 100 to a preceding stackable reel assembly 100. The same motor / gearbox 110 may be used to drive and control all stacked reel assemblies at the same time, or a motor/gearbox 110 may be provided to for each one or any combination of the plurality of stacked reel assemblies 100.
A typical use of the reel assembly 100 is now described by way of an example, where a Phenol fluid is transferred from a platform to a vessel.
Referring to Figure 8, the reel assembly 100 of the present invention is installed on top of a standard vertical multi-reel assembly 20. During use, the fluid transfer hose 116 mounted on the reel assembly 100 is transferred across to the destination vessel and connected to a vent nozzle on the Phenol tank. When operating the vent nozzle, negative pressure is generated, therefore, pulling the vapour from the Phenol tank through the flexible fluid transfer hose 116, the fixed pipework 114 within the reel assembly 100, the swivel 120 and into the fixed pipework of the storage for further processing.
In this particular example, the Phenol vapour is transferred through a 3 inch (ca. 7.6s cm) internal diameter fluid transfer hose 116, at a pressure of 1.2 Kg/cm2g, a density of 1.18 Kg/m3, a flowrate of 350 m3/hr and a viscosity of 0.019 mPa*s. Here, the Phenol vapour must be transferred at a temperature of 60°C in order to maintain its fluid state (i.e. vapour). To facilitate maintaining the preferred fluid state, the reel assembly 100 is equipped with trace heating (not shown) adapted to provide the fluid transfer hoses 116 with predetermined heat energy (as required).
As a result of using the reel assembly 100 of the present invention, vapour recovery is improved considerably, allowing companies to ensure adherence to the required EU legislation. In addition, the avoidance of releasing the vapour of a harmful chemical to atmosphere minimises potential damage of escaping chemicals to the environment and further reduces potential risks to personnel.
It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the above embodiment has been described by way of example only and not in any limitative sense, and that various alterations and modifications are possible without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims (13)

1. A reel assembly for storing, coiling and de-coiling a fluid transfer hose, comprising:
a reel support structure;
at least one reel having a central rotation axis, operably coupled to said reel support structure, so as to allow rotation about said central axis of said at least one reel relative to said reel support structure, in a rotation plane that is substantially horizontal with respect to the earth’s gravitational field during use, said at least one reel comprising:
a drum member, coaxial with said central axis, adapted to operably engage with a first end portion of said fluid transfer hose;
a hose support member, operably coupled to and extending radially outward from said drum member at a predetermined slope angle with respect to said rotation plane, so as to form a frusto-conically tapered support surface;
a motor drive, operably coupled to said reel support structure and said at least one reel, adapted to selectively rotate said at least one reel in a clockwise and anticlockwise direction about said central rotation axis.
2. A reel assembly according to claim 2, wherein said frusto-conically tapered support surface of said hose support member is adapted to store said fluid transfer hose, so as to provide a continuous slope along the length of said fluid transfer hose between said first end portion and a second end portion.
3. A reel assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said support surface of said hose support member extends upwardly outward from said drum member with respect to said rotation plane during use.
4. A reel assembly according to claims 1 and 2, wherein said support surface of said hose support member extends downwardly outward from said drum member with respect to said rotation plane during use.
5. A reel assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said at least one reel further comprises a retainer member, operably coupled to said drum member and spaced apart from said hose support member along said central rotation axis of said drum member at a distance adapted to define a mono-spiral spool region for the fluid transfer hose.
6. A reel assembly according to claim 5, wherein said retainer member extends radially outward from said drum member and parallel to said hose support member.
7. A reel assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said slope angle is predetermined in relation to the properties of the fluid transferred with said fluid transfer hose.
8. A reel assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said slope angle of said hose support member is selectively adjustable.
9. A reel assembly according any one of the preceding claims, wherein said drum member comprises a hose coupling adapted to fluidly couple said first end portion of said fluid transfer hose to an external fluid conduit.
10. A reel assembly according to claim 9, wherein said hose coupling comprises a swivel connector.
11. A reel assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising a plurality of reels, each one operably stackable on top of a previous one of said plurality of reels.
12. A reel assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a hose chute support member for a second end portion of the fluid transfer hose.
13. A reel assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a selectively adjustable heat source operatively coupled to said reel and adapted to provide heat energy to said fluid transfer hose when stored on said hose support structure.
GB1807317.1A 2018-05-03 2018-05-03 A self-draining fluid transfer system Withdrawn GB2573326A (en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
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GB1807317.1A GB2573326A (en) 2018-05-03 2018-05-03 A self-draining fluid transfer system

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GB201807317D0 GB201807317D0 (en) 2018-06-20
GB2573326A true GB2573326A (en) 2019-11-06

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Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB2035259A (en) * 1978-10-11 1980-06-18 Normand Equip Ind A flexible hose automatic winding device
GB2510048A (en) * 2012-11-30 2014-07-23 Floating Cable Tanks Ltd Buoyant conduit storage or deployment system and associated methods
GB2516507A (en) * 2013-07-25 2015-01-28 Aquatic Eng & Constr Adjustable reel for a spoolable subsea product

Patent Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB2035259A (en) * 1978-10-11 1980-06-18 Normand Equip Ind A flexible hose automatic winding device
GB2510048A (en) * 2012-11-30 2014-07-23 Floating Cable Tanks Ltd Buoyant conduit storage or deployment system and associated methods
GB2516507A (en) * 2013-07-25 2015-01-28 Aquatic Eng & Constr Adjustable reel for a spoolable subsea product

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