JP2023527013A - Free-standing case suitable for supporting and insulating sealing membranes - Google Patents

Abstract

The free-standing case has at least one groove (30) formed in the cover panel and opening at the top surface of the cover panel to receive the welding support. At least one support partition (26) extends longitudinally, vertically along the groove (30). Fasteners (35) perpendicularly engaging the lower plate (22) and the upper surface of the support compartment (26) secure the support compartment to the cover panel. The upper surface (30) of the support partition (26) is wider than the bottom portion (32) of the groove and the fixture (35) is laterally offset from the bottom portion (32) of the groove in the lower plate (22). Engage area. The primary insulation barrier of the tank consists essentially of a case filled with insulation padding. The primary sealing membrane is secured to the cover panel by welded supports that are placed in grooves (30). [Selection drawing] Fig. 3

Description

The present invention relates to the field of closed and insulated tanks for containing fluids that are incorporated in a support structure, in particular tanks with a membrane for containing liquefied gases, in particular fuel gases and the like. The invention also relates in particular to a wooden self-supporting case suitable for supporting and insulating the membrane of the tank described above.

Closed insulated tanks can be used to store fluids in various industries. For example, in the energy sector, liquefied natural gas (LNG) is a high methane content liquid that can be stored at atmospheric pressure and about -163°C in tanks built into floating structures or onshore storage tanks. Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) can be stored at temperatures between -50°C and 0°C.

In the case of a floating structure, the tank may be for containing or transporting a liquefied gas to be used as propulsion gas for the floating structure.

For example, from FR 2 867 831 A1, a wooden self-supporting case suitable for supporting and insulating a sealing membrane for containing fluids is known, which case comprises:
a bottom panel;
lateral webs fixed to the bottom panel and protruding perpendicularly from one side of the bottom panel to define the contour of the interior space of the case;
cover panels supported and secured to the upper edges of the side webs, parallel to and spaced apart from the bottom panel, closing the interior space of the case, overlapping each other; a cover panel with fixed top and bottom plates;
at least one groove formed in the cover panel debouchant at the top surface of the cover panel to receive a weld support securing a sealing membrane to the cover panel;
at least one support partition extending longitudinally, vertically, along the or each groove, parallel to the groove, and arranged perpendicular to the bottom panel and the cover panel; a cage extending between the lateral webs to divide the interior space into a plurality of compartments containing insulation padding, a top surface of the cover panel in contact with the bottom plate and a bottom surface in contact with the bottom panel; a support partition having
a fastener that perpendicularly engages the lower plate and the upper surface of the support divider to secure the support divider to the cover panel;
It has

In FR 2 867 831 A1, the free-standing case described above is used to manufacture a primary insulating barrier supporting a primary sealing membrane. The primary sealing membrane is welded to a welded support that mates with a mounting strip stapled into the groove to form a slip joint. To do this, longitudinal grooves pass through the two boards of the cover panel and the upper part of the support partition below them, between the two rows of staples.

It has also become common practice to use a secondary self-supporting case with a simple cover plate grooved with a T-shaped section to contain a welded support in the form of a right-angled wing, e.g. FR-A-2867831 or WO-A-8909909. In FR-A-2867831 there is no vertical support partition along the groove. In WO8909909 the cover plate is fixed to the lower support partition by means of screws housed in the bottom of the grooves.

One object of the present invention is to provide a high-strength self-supporting case that can be used to produce a primary insulation barrier for tanks susceptible to dynamic pressures and shocks caused by cargo swaying. Another object of the invention is to allow the use of weld supports in the form of right-angled wings even in primary sealing membranes, for example to simplify or standardize part manufacturing procedures and reduce parts inventory. That is.

In order to achieve the above objects, the present invention provides the self-supporting case described above, wherein the groove has a portion having a wide bottom portion and a narrow opening portion in order in the thickness direction of the top plate. wherein said top surface of said support partition is wider than said bottom portion of said groove, and said fastener engages a region of said lower plate laterally offset from said bottom portion of said groove. provide a case.

With the above arrangement, the fasteners that engage the lower plate to secure the support divider to the cover panel do not weaken the cover panel vertically along the groove. Therefore, with the above configuration, the support partition can be fixed with high reliability, and at the same time, the mechanical strength of the cover panel can be improved as compared with the conventional case.

In embodiments, the freestanding case described above may comprise one or more of the following configurations.

Preferably, said grooves are formed only in said top plate of said cover panel.

Preferably, said fasteners secure said support divider to said cover panel independently of said top plate. Such an arrangement ensures that the top plate of the cover panel is not embrittled by the presence of the fasteners.

In one embodiment, the groove has a T-shaped portion, the bottom portion of the groove corresponding to the horizontal bar portion of the T-shape, and the opening portion corresponding to the vertical bar portion of the T-shape.

In one embodiment, said bottom portion of said groove has a width of 20-30 mm.

In one embodiment, the difference between the width of the bottom portion of the groove and the width of the top surface of the support partition is greater than 10 mm.

In one embodiment, the centerline of the bottom portion of the groove is arranged vertically along the center plane of the support partition.

In one embodiment, the fixtures are arranged de part et d'autres on both sides of the median plane of the support partition.

In one embodiment, the support partition is made from wood, plywood or composite material.

In one embodiment, the width of said support partition is uniform and wider than said bottom portion of said groove.

In another embodiment, the internal partition has an upper sole plate arranged parallel to the lower plate and a central portion arranged below the upper sole plate, wherein the upper sole plate It is wider than the bottom portion of the groove, and the width of the central portion is less than or equal to the width of the bottom portion of the groove.

In one embodiment, the support partition has a multi-layered structure in the width direction, the multi-layered structure comprising a core made of an insulating material and two side plates having a higher rigidity than the insulating material. and said fixture engages said side plate. For example, the insulating material is selected from polymer foams, especially polyurethane foams, mineral fibers, especially glass wool, cotton wool and expanded polystyrene.

In one embodiment, two said grooves are formed in said cover panel parallel to each other, and an internal partition extends vertically along each of said grooves.

In one embodiment, the overall shape of said case is a rectangular parallelepiped.

In one embodiment, the invention also provides a closed and insulated tank for storing fluid, comprising a tank wall fixed to the support wall,
The tank wall comprises, in a thickness direction from the outside to the inside of the tank, a secondary insulation barrier secured to the support wall, a secondary sealing membrane secured to the secondary insulation barrier, and the secondary a primary insulation barrier secured to a sealing membrane; and a primary sealing membrane secured to said primary insulation barrier, said primary insulation barrier being substantially a plurality of said cases arranged side by side and filled with insulation padding. wherein said primary sealing membrane is secured to said cover panel of said case by said grooved welded support.

In one embodiment, the fluid is a liquefied gas, such as liquefied natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas or liquefied ethylene.

Said tanks can be part of coastal storage facilities, e.g. It can be installed in a regasification unit (FSRU), a floating production storage offshore facility (FPSO), etc.

In one embodiment, a vessel for transporting fluids comprises a double hull and a tank as described above disposed within said double hull. In one embodiment, the inner hull of said double hull provides a support wall for said tank.

In one embodiment, the present invention also provides a method for loading or unloading a vessel as described above, via said insulated pipeline from said floating or shore storage facility to said tank of said vessel or Transfer fluid from the tank of the vessel to the floating or onshore storage facility.

In one embodiment, the present invention also provides a transfer system for fluids, the transfer system comprising a floating or onshore storage facility comprising said vessel and said tank located within the hull of said vessel. and fluid through said insulated pipeline from said floating or onshore storage facility to said tank of said vessel or from said tank of said vessel to said floating or onshore storage facility. and a pump for driving the

The invention will be better understood and other objects, details, features and advantages of the invention will be better understood from reading the following description of several specific embodiments thereof, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. becomes clear. The specific embodiments described below are exemplary only and do not limit the invention.

FIG. 10 is a perspective cut-away view of a closed insulated tank wall in which a free-standing case can be used; Figure 2 is a side view of a free-standing case suitable for the primary insulation barrier of the tank wall of Figure 1; Figure 3 is an enlarged view of area III of Figure 2 showing one embodiment of a support partition; Figure 3 is an enlarged view of area III of Figure 2 showing another embodiment of a support partition; Figure 3 is an enlarged view of area III of Figure 2 showing another embodiment of a support partition; 1 is a schematic excerpt showing a methane tanker ship tank and a terminal for carrying out cargo handling operations on said tank; FIG.

FIG. 1 shows the overall structure of a hermetic and thermally insulating tank wall 1 which is assembled and fixed to a support wall 2 . The tank wall 1 can be part of a tank of various geometric shapes, for example polyhedral. FIG. 1 shows the structure of the tank wall 1 as seen from above, with a part cut away. Such structures can be implemented on a wide variety of surfaces in various orientations, such as covering the bottom, ceiling and side walls of a polyhedral tank. Thus, the orientation of FIG. 1 is not limiting of the invention in this respect. By convention, "top" refers to a position closer to the inside of the tank and "bottom" refers to a position closer to the support wall 2, regardless of the orientation of the tank wall with respect to the earth's gravitational field.

The tank wall 1 is supported by a secondary heat insulating barrier 3 consisting of a plurality of cases arranged in a support wall 2 and fixed to the support wall 2 by a secondary fixing member, and the secondary heat insulating barrier 3 in order in the thickness direction. a secondary sealing membrane 4, a primary insulation barrier comprising a plurality of cases 5 arranged side by side on the secondary sealing membrane 4 and fixed to the secondary sealing membrane 4 by primary fixing members fixed to the secondary fixing members; and a primary sealing membrane 6 supported by the case 5 . Secondary and primary fixation elements are described, for example, in French Patent Application FR 2798902 A1.

The primary sealing membrane 6 may consist of a continuous layer of strakes 10 made of steel with a high nickel content, e.g. is typically between 1.2×10 ⁻⁶ and 2×10 ⁻⁶ K ⁻¹ . It is also possible to use alloys of iron and manganese whose coefficient of expansion is typically on the order of 7-9×10 ⁻⁶ K ⁻¹ . The strake 10 is hermetically welded at its raised side edges to parallel welded supports 8 held in grooves in the cover panel 7 of the case 5 . The secondary sealing membrane 4 can also be made identically as shown in FIG. 1 or can be made differently. Reference numeral 9 indicates a groove for receiving the welded support of the secondary sealing membrane 4 .

A part of the case 5 is shown in FIG. 1, and the overall shape of the case 5 is a parallelepiped. FIG. 2 is a plan side view of case 5 at arrow II in FIG.

Referring to FIG. 2, a lower plate 22 and an upper plate 21 are rigidly secured together, for example by screwing, gluing and/or stapling, to form a cover plate. For fixing the upper plate 21 and the lower plate 22, for example, while fixing the upper plate 21 and the lower plate 22 by the secondary partition 25, the secondary partition 25 up and down along the The bottom panel 23 and the cover panel 7 have a rectangular contour and are separated from each other by two longitudinal end webs 27 and two lateral end webs 24 to form the contour of the interior space of the case 5 . The internal space is partitioned by two support partitions 26 arranged vertically along the groove 30 and optionally a secondary partition 25, the secondary partition 25 being narrower than the support partition 26. width. The support partition 26 and the secondary partition 25 extend longitudinally perpendicular to the two longitudinal end webs 27 and parallel to the two lateral end webs 24 . All of the above elements are fixed as needed by stapling, screwing and/or gluing. For example, the secondary partition 25 has a width of 12 mm and the longitudinal end webs 27 and lateral end webs 24 have a width of 12-24 mm.

In order for the casing 5 to perform its thermal insulating function, said compartments are filled with insulating padding, for example expanded perlite, particulate or fibrous airgel material, expanded polystyrene, glass wool, cellulose cotton wool, polyethylene or polyurethane. It is made from a material selected from among low density polymer foams such as.

The dimensions of the case 5 can of course differ from the case shown in FIG. The case 5 can have one support partition 26 and one groove 30 in its width, or there can be more than two support partitions 26 and more than two grooves 30 in the width of the case 5 .

As can be seen in FIG. 3, the groove 30 has an inverted T-shaped section with a wide horizontal bottom portion 32 and a narrow vertical opening portion 31 for receiving the right angle wings of the prior art. . Alternatively, it is possible to extend the bottom portion 32 to one side of the opening so that the groove has an L-shaped portion.

The support partition 26 is a piece of plywood and its width is greater than the width of the bottom portion 32 . The excess width causes the support divider 26 to extend from the lower plate 22 with the row of staples 35 laterally offset from the bottom portion 32, i.e., outside the area directly along the groove 30 in the vertical direction. can be fixed to With such a configuration, the rigidity of the cover panel 7 can be ensured even though the width of the groove 30 is relatively large, for example, the width of the bottom portion 32 thereof is 24 mm. Indeed, even though the staples 35 may locally reduce the stiffness of the lower plate 22 of the cover panel, the point at which this weakening occurs is not the same as the narrowed point of the groove 30 . Preferably, the excess width of support partition 26 is greater than 10 mm. For example, the width W is 36 mm or more, preferably 42 mm.

In FIG. 3 the rigidity of the cover panel 7 is further increased by the following measures:
- The grooves 30 are formed only in the top plate 21 of the cover panel. This prevents the grooves 30 from affecting the stiffness of the lower plate 22 .
- the fixture 35 does not affect the stiffness of the top plate 21;
- The support partition 26 is centered below the groove 30 and is symmetrical with respect to the mid-plane.
- Fixtures 35 are placed on either side of the mid-plane of the support partition.

FIG. 4 shows another embodiment of a support partition 126, which in the width direction has a core 41 made of insulating material and two side plates 42 which are stiffer than the insulating material. , and these two side plates 42 are provided on both sides of the core 41 . The fixtures 35 engage side plates 42, for example made of plywood. With such a configuration, thermal bridges and weight can be reduced for the support partition 26 . For example, side plates 42 have a width of 12 mm.

FIG. 5 shows another embodiment of the support partition 226. This support partition 226 consists of an upper sole plate 52 arranged parallel to the lower plate 22 in order in the thickness direction of the case 5, and an upper and a central portion 51 disposed below the floor plate 52 . The width of the top sole plate 52 is greater than the width of the bottom portion 32 . Conversely, the width of central portion 51 may be less than or equal to the width of bottom portion 32 of groove 30 . The upper sole plate 52 and the central portion 51 are made of plywood, for example. With such a configuration, thermal bridges and weight can be reduced for the support partition 26 . For example, the width of the central portion 51 is 18-30 mm, preferably 24 mm. For example, the width of the upper sole plate 52 is greater than 24 mm, such as 42 mm, 50 mm or 60 mm.

In one embodiment, the width of the top sole plate 52 may be equal to or less than the spacing between the support divider 226 and the secondary divider next to the support divider 226 . In one embodiment, the support dividers 226 and, if provided, the secondary dividers 25 are distributed at a uniform spacing pitch, and the width of the top sole plate 52 is at this uniform spacing pitch. or less than the spacing pitch.

Figure 2 also shows other configurations of the free-standing case 5 which can be used according to the following requirements:
- Making holes 28 in the web 27 of the case 5 for circulation of inert gas in the primary insulation barrier.
- In front of each hole 28, a gas-permeable plug 17 made of woven glass fiber is glued to the inner surface of the web 27 in order to avoid leakage of the insulating padding.
- A fixing tenon 19, which serves as a bearing surface for the primary fixing member, is fixed to the web 27 at the edge of the bottom panel 23;
between the webs 24 the stiffener combs 16 perpendicular to the support partitions 26 and the secondary partitions 25 extend perpendicular to the bottom panel 23; The stiffener comb-like portion 16 has a notch at the intersection of the support partition portion 26 and the secondary partition portion 25 to serve as a fitting portion for the support partition portion 26 and the secondary partition portion 25 .
- Grooves 18 formed in the bottom panel 23 and the support partition 26 allow entry of protruding portions of the secondary sealing membrane 4;

Instead of plywood, composite materials can be used to make all or part of the free-standing case. For example, WO2015/079135 teaches suitable composite materials.

The case 5 described above can be used to construct the entire primary insulation barrier, or it can be constructed in only certain parts of the tank. For example, the case 5 described above can be used near the edges of the tank, and other insulation blocks can be used in other parts of the tank wall. Such a configuration is described, for example, in WO2019/077253.

Referring to FIG. 6, a cut-away view of a methane tanker vessel 70 shows a sealed insulated tank 71 of generally prismatic shape mounted within a double hull 72 of the vessel. The walls of the tank 71 are divided into two: a primary containment barrier in contact with the liquefied gas entering the tank, a secondary containment barrier located between the primary containment barrier and the double hull 72 of the vessel, and a primary containment barrier. two insulating barriers positioned between the secondary sealing barrier and between the secondary sealing barrier and the double hull 72, respectively. In a simplified variant, the ship has one hull.

As will be appreciated, cargo handling pipelines 73 located on the upper deck of the vessel can be connected to a sea or port terminal using suitable connectors to transfer cargo of liquefied gas to or from tanks 71 . can.

FIG. 6 shows an example of a marine terminal with cargo handling stations 75 , subsea lines 76 and shore installations 77 . The cargo handling station 75 is a stationary offshore installation consisting of a movable arm 74 and a tower 78 supporting the movable arm 74 . Movable arm 74 supports a bundle of insulating flexible pipes 79 connectable to cargo handling pipeline 73 . This orientable movable arm 74 is suitable for all types of methane tankers. A connection line (not shown) extends inside the tower 78 . The cargo handling station 75 is capable of unloading from the methane tanker 70 to the coastal facility 77 and loading from the coastal facility 77 to the methane tanker. The offshore facility 77 comprises a liquefied gas storage tank 80 and a connecting line 81 connected to the cargo handling station 75 by a subsea line 76 . The subsea line 76 is for transferring the liquefied gas over a long distance, for example 5 km, between the loading station 75 and the shore facility 77, thereby allowing the methane tanker 70 to travel a long distance from the shore during loading operations. can be kept in place.

In order to generate the pressure required for the transfer of the liquefied gas, there are pumps built into the ship 70 and/or pumps installed in the shore installation 77 and/or pumps installed in the loading station 75 .

Although the present invention has been described with reference to a number of specific embodiments, the invention is in no way limited to these specific embodiments and may be the technical equivalents of the above means or the technical equivalents of the above means. It is quite clear that all such combinations belong within the framework of the invention.

Use of the verb "comprise" or "include" and its conjugations does not exclude the presence of elements or steps other than those stated in a claim.

In the claims, any parentheses shall not be construed as limiting the claim.

Claims (17)

A self-supporting case (5) for containing a fluid, suitable for supporting and insulating a sealing membrane (6), comprising:
a bottom panel (23);
lateral webs (24, 27) fixed to the bottom panel and projecting perpendicularly from one side of the bottom panel to define the contour of the interior space of the case;
a cover panel (7) supported and fixed to the upper edges of said lateral webs, parallel to and spaced from said bottom panel, closing said interior space of said case; a cover panel (7) comprising a top plate (21) and a bottom plate (22) fixed over each other;
at least one groove (30) formed in the cover panel, the groove (30) being open at the top surface of the cover panel and receiving a weld support (8) securing a sealing membrane (6) to the cover panel; and,
at least one support partition (26, 126, 226) extending longitudinally, vertically and parallel to said groove (30), said bottom panel (23) and said arranged at right angles to the cover panel (7) and extending between said lateral webs (27) to divide said interior space into a plurality of compartments containing insulating padding; a support divider (26, 126, 226) having a top surface in contact with the bottom plate (22) and a bottom surface in contact with the bottom panel;
a fastener (35) perpendicularly engaging said lower plate (22) and said top surface of said support divider (26, 126, 226) to secure said support divider to said cover panel;
In case (5) with
said groove (30) has, in turn, a wide bottom portion (32) and a narrow opening portion (31) in the thickness direction of said top plate;
said top surface of said support partition (26, 126, 226) is wider than said bottom portion (32) of said groove;
A case characterized in that said fastener (35) engages in a region of said lower plate (22) laterally displaced from said bottom portion (32) of said groove. said groove (30) is formed only in said top plate (21) of said cover panel,
The case of claim 1. said fixture (35) secures said support divider (26, 126, 226) to said cover panel independently of said top plate (21);
Case according to claim 1 or 2. The groove (30) has a T-shaped portion, the bottom portion (32) of the groove corresponds to the horizontal bar portion of the T-shape, and the opening portion (31) is the vertical bar portion of the T-shape. Equivalent to
Case according to any one of claims 1 to 3. said bottom portion (32) of said groove has a width of 20-30 mm,
Case according to any one of claims 1 to 4. the difference between the width of the bottom portion (32) of the groove and the width (W) of the top surface of the support partition is greater than 10 mm;
Case according to any one of claims 1 to 5. the centerline of the bottom portion (32) of the groove is arranged vertically along the center plane of the support partition (26, 126, 226);
Case according to any one of claims 1 to 6. said fixtures (35) are arranged on either side of the mid-plane of said support partition,
Case according to any one of claims 1 to 7. said support partition (26, 126, 226) is made of wood, plywood or composite material,
Case according to any one of claims 1 to 8. the width of the support partition (26, 226) is uniform and wider than the bottom portion of the groove;
Case according to any one of claims 1 to 9. The internal partition (226) has an upper sole plate (52) arranged parallel to the lower plate (22) and a central portion (51) arranged below the upper sole plate,
said upper sole plate (52) is wider than said bottom portion (32) of said groove, and said central portion (51) has a width less than or equal to said bottom portion (32) of said groove;
Case according to any one of claims 1 to 9. The support partition (126) has a multilayer structure in the width direction,
said multi-layer structure comprising a core (41) made of an insulating material and two lateral plates (42) having a higher rigidity than said insulating material,
said fixture (35) engages said lateral plate (42);
Case according to any one of claims 1 to 10. Two said grooves (30) are formed in said cover panel parallel to each other, and along each of said grooves respectively an internal partition (26, 126, 226) extends vertically.
Case according to any one of claims 1 to 12. A closed and insulated tank for storing fluids, comprising a tank wall (1) fixed to a support wall (2), comprising:
Said tank wall consists of a secondary insulation barrier (3) fixed to said support wall (2) and a secondary insulation barrier (3) fixed to said secondary insulation barrier from the outside to the inside of said closed insulation tank in the thickness direction. In a sealed and insulated tank comprising a secondary sealing membrane (4), a primary insulating barrier secured to said secondary sealing membrane, and a primary sealing membrane (6) secured to said primary insulating barrier,
said primary insulation barrier essentially consisting of a plurality of cases (5) according to any one of claims 1 to 13, arranged side by side and filled with insulation padding,
A sealed and insulated tank, characterized in that said primary sealing membrane (6) is fixed to said cover panel of said case by means of welded supports (8) which are placed in said grooves (30). A vessel (70) for transporting a fluid, comprising:
A marine vessel (70) comprising a double hull (72) and a closed and insulated tank according to claim 14 located within said double hull (72). A transfer system for a fluid, comprising:
A vessel (70) according to claim 15;
an insulated pipeline (73, 79, 76, 81) arranged to connect said sealed insulated tank (71) of said vessel to a floating or onshore storage facility (77);
a pump for driving fluid from the floating or onshore storage facility to the sealed insulated tank of the vessel or from the sealed insulated tank of the vessel to the floating or onshore storage facility through the insulated pipeline;
A transport system comprising: A method for loading or unloading a vessel (70) according to claim 15, comprising:
from said floating or onshore storage facility (77) via said insulated pipeline (73, 79, 76, 81) to said closed insulated tank (71) of said ship or from said closed insulated tank (71) of said ship; A method characterized by conveying a fluid to said floating or coastal storage facility (77).

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