JP7334152B2 - Hermetically sealed insulated tank - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to the field of closed insulating membrane tanks for storing and/or transporting fluids such as cryogenic fluids.

Sealed insulated membrane tanks are used in particular for storage of liquefied natural gas (LNG) which is stored at about -162°C at atmospheric pressure. These tanks can be installed on land or on floating structures. In the case of floating structures, the tanks may be for transporting liquefied natural gas or for receiving liquefied natural gas to be used as fuel for propulsion of the floating structure.

incorporated into a load bearing structure having a substantially polyhedral interior surface and comprising a secondary insulation barrier, a secondary sealing barrier, a primary insulation barrier and a primary sealing barrier in series through their thickness Various techniques are known for constructing hermetically sealed insulating membrane tanks.

For example WO2014/167214 or WO2017/006044 disclose tank walls, in which the secondary insulation barrier is a polyhedron of a load bearing structure a secondary sealing barrier consisting of a corrugated metal film disposed on the inner surface of the secondary insulating block; the primary insulating barrier comprising a secondary a primary sealing barrier consisting essentially of primary insulation blocks arranged side-by-side on the metal film and secured to the secondary insulation barrier by anchor members supported by the secondary insulation blocks, the primary sealing barrier extending to the inner surface of the primary insulation block; It consists of arranged corrugated metal films. Along the edge corners of the load bearing structure, the primary and secondary insulation blocks consist of prefabricated corner structures.

A particular aspect of the invention will now be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 shows a portion of an insulation barrier, which is essentially insulation blocks arranged side by side on a polyhedral support surface 1 having two flat areas 2 and 3 meeting at edge corners 4. and an angle is formed between each other of the two flat areas 2 and 3 . Insulation blocks are arranged along the edge corners, a corner structure 5 having two faces respectively parallel to each of the two flat areas 2 and 3, and each side of the corner structure 5. a flat insulation panel 6 positioned on the flat area of the support surface at .

As can be seen in FIG. 1, if a flat insulation panel 6 were installed first, it would not be possible to place the corner structure 5 along the edge corner, as indicated by the arrow 7. Space issues can arise. As a result, it may be preferable to construct the thermal barrier by finishing flat areas. However, once the corner structure 5 is placed along the edge corner, the entire area of the supporting surface in the vicinity of the edge corner 4 is no longer accessible.

Furthermore, it is preferable to manufacture the insulation barrier with insulation blocks that are as standardized as possible to reduce manufacturing costs. However, the manufacture of large load-bearing structures, such as ship hulls, is subject to large dimensional tolerances, for example of a few centimeters, so that it is not possible to perfectly plan the tank dimensions before construction. As a result, depending on the actual dimensions of the load-bearing structure, it may be necessary to fabricate at least some of the insulation blocks to measured dimensions.

One idea underlying the present invention is to propose a multi-layer closed and insulated tank that makes it easier to accommodate at least some of the above constraints. Another idea underlying the present invention is to provide a closed and insulating multi-layer structure that can be easily manufactured on large surfaces.

To this end, the invention provides a closed and insulated tank intended to store fluids,
and a sealing barrier disposed on an inner surface of the insulation barrier, the insulation barrier being disposed on a support surface, such as a substantially polyhedral support surface, having an anchor member, the held on the support surface by an anchor member;
the insulating barrier has insulating elements arranged in a plurality of parallel rows;
The anchor member has a support element mounted on the support surface between two insulating elements of a first one of the parallel rows, the support element comprising:
a retracted position in which said support element is fully received between said two insulating elements so as to free up a second row of said parallel rows adjacent said first row;
an extended position in which the support element overlaps the location of the second row and engages at least one insulating element of the second row to retain the insulating element of the second row on the support surface; a closed and insulated tank movable relative to said support surface in a direction transverse to said first row between and .

These features allow the second row of insulating elements to be easily mounted when the support element is in the retracted position and to be securely retained on the support surface when the support element is extended. Furthermore, since the support elements engage the insulating elements laterally, from the side of the insulating elements facing the first row, rather than penetrating the insulating elements in the thickness direction, the second row can be relatively simple in construction.

According to some embodiments, such tanks can have one or more of the following features.

The anchor member can be realized in various ways. According to one embodiment, the anchoring members are pins attached to said support surface and projecting inwards into the space between said two insulating elements of said first row, and screws screwed into said pins and and a nut with which the element can be tightened in the direction of the support surface to fix the position of the support element.

The support element can be realized in various ways. According to one embodiment, the support element comprises a support bar with a slot through which the pin passes, and when the nut is not tightened on the support bar, the support bar extends between the two insulations. the retracted position, in which it is fully received between the elements; and the extended position, in which a portion of the support bar protrudes beyond the first row and engages the at least one insulating element of the second row. can be slid laterally with respect to the first row between. According to one embodiment, the support bar has a U-shaped cross-section.

The insulating elements can be realized in different ways, in particular in the form of flat panels on the flat parts of the supporting surface or in the form of biplanar blocks on the edge corner regions of the supporting surface. can.

According to one embodiment, said insulating elements of said second row are flat insulating panels having a layer of insulating polymeric foam sandwiched between a rigid bottom sheet and a rigid cover sheet. , said rigid cover sheet and said layer of insulating polymeric foam having a recess formed in the thickness of said insulation panel to expose a bearing area on the inner surface of said rigid bottom sheet, said recess comprising: , opening into an edge of the flat insulation panel parallel to and facing the first row, the anchor member engaging the support area of the bottom sheet.

According to one embodiment, said recesses formed in the thickness of said insulation panel are grooves oriented perpendicular to said edge of said flat insulation panel. Such grooves can be formed at various locations, for example at the end of the edge of the flat insulation panel facing the first row and/or at the central portion of this edge of the flat insulation panel. can be done.

According to one embodiment, said flat insulation panel has a rectangular parallelepiped shape and said recesses are made in the corners of said flat insulation panel.

According to one embodiment, said support surface carries a plurality of anchor members distributed along said first row of insulating elements, said anchor members being located between said insulating elements of said first row. a support element mounted on the support surface and movable relative to the support surface between the retracted position and the extended position;
The support elements engage respective regions of the insulating elements of the second row to retain the insulating elements on the support surface. The retention of the insulating elements of the second row on the supporting surface can thus be completely ensured by the movable support elements or by the combination of the movable support elements and further anchoring members.

According to one embodiment, said support surface has at least two flat areas meeting in edge corner areas and forming an angle between each other, and said first row of insulating elements comprises said a row of corner structures disposed along said edge corner region of the support surface, the second row of said insulating elements being a planar insulation disposed on said flat region of said support surface; It has columns of panels.

With these features, it is possible to secure flat insulation panels adjacent to a row of corner structures by one or more anchor members positioned between successive corner structures. This configuration simplifies the placement and use of anchor members, especially when flat insulation panels adjacent to a row of corner structures have to be manufactured to measured dimensions and therefore cannot be standardized. do.

This configuration allows these anchoring members to be placed in particular on the secondary corner structure when the supporting surface is provided by a secondary barrier consisting of the secondary corner structure and a flat secondary insulation panel. It also has the advantage that it can be placed relatively close to the edge corner region. Therefore, the flat secondary insulation panels adjacent to the secondary corner structure do not have to hold these anchor members for the flat primary insulation panels, making it easier to install these flat secondary insulation panels. It can be manufactured according to the measured dimensions.

Corner structures can be realized in various ways. According to one embodiment, said corner structure comprises:
having two faces parallel to said two flat regions and forming an angle between each other, said faces being flat outer surfaces pressed against corresponding flat regions of said support surface; and a planar inner surface parallel to said corresponding planar region and spaced through its thickness from said planar outer surface;
a metal corner piece attached to the planar inner surface of the biplanar insulation block to form the sealing barrier aligned with the edge corner region of the support surface.

According to one embodiment, the metal corner piece has a protruding portion that protrudes beyond the biplanar insulation block along the direction of the edge corner region,
Two consecutive corner structures in the row are arranged to present a space between the biplanar insulation blocks along the direction of the edge corner region, the space being defined by the two consecutive corners. at least partially covered by the protruding portion of the metal corner piece of one of the structures;
The support elements of the anchor member are attached to the support surface between the biplanar insulation blocks of the two corner structures. According to one embodiment, a block of insulating material is arranged between the projecting portion of the metal corner piece and the support element in the space between the biplanar insulating blocks. These features allow the insulating barrier to be substantially continuous despite the spacing between the insulating blocks to limit convective phenomena.

It may be desirable to provide easier access to anchor members between biplanar insulation blocks of two corner structures. To this end, according to one embodiment, at least one of said two consecutive corner structures is arranged between said biplanar insulation blocks to provide access to said anchor member. and a notch formed in the protruding portion of the metal corner piece in alignment with the anchor member that is aligned with the anchor member.

According to another embodiment, one said metal corner piece with a protruding portion covering said space is provided with said two-plane insulation block for attaching said metal corner-piece to said two-plane insulation block of said corner structure. The inner surface has a drilled hole for receiving a mounting member intended to engage the insulating block, said mounting member being able to be inserted from said inner surface of said metal corner piece into said drilled hole. For example, the mounting member comprises a screw or rivet with a head facing the interior of the tank and a body that engages the biplanar insulation block through the drilled hole in the metal corner piece.

According to one embodiment, said biplanar insulation block is mounted on said flat inner surface of said at least one face for receiving and securing said body of said mounting member in the thickness direction of said at least one face. with an insert.

According to one embodiment, said insert is attached to said flat inner surface with a gap in a direction parallel to said flat inner surface. Such a gap allows, inter alia, adjustment of the position of the metal corner piece after installation, for example in response to cooling, thus reducing thermal stresses.

According to one embodiment, said at least one face of said biplanar insulation block has a groove extending parallel to said edge corner region and opening to said flat inner face, said insert comprising said groove accommodated in the form of a slide.

According to one embodiment, the groove has a width that decreases along the thickness direction towards the flat inner surface to confine the insert in the thickness direction.

According to one embodiment, said support surface has at one end of said edge corner region a third flat region transversely to said edge corner region and the last of said row of corner structures. A corner structure, in addition to the biplanar insulation block, has a third surface parallel to the third planar region and forming an angle with the two surfaces of the biplanar insulation block.

According to one embodiment, said biplanar insulation block of said penultimate corner structure of said row of corner structures comprises a corner located along a central portion of said edge corner region. the metal corner pieces of the penultimate corner structure being juxtaposed along the direction of the edge corner region compared to the structure; , consisting of two corner piece portions attached to the flat inner surface of the biplanar insulation block.

According to one embodiment, the first corner piece portion of said penultimate corner structure is located on the outer surface of said first corner piece portion and from the inner surface of said first corner piece portion attached to the biplanar insulation block by an inaccessible mounting member;
A second corner piece portion of the penultimate corner structure located on a side of the end of the edge corner region aligns the second corner piece portion with the two planes of the corner structure. said second corner piece portion having on its inner surface said drilled hole for receiving said mounting member intended to engage said biplanar insulating block for attachment to an insulating block; can be inserted into the drilled hole from the inner surface of the

According to one embodiment, a first corner piece portion of said penultimate corner structure is an orifice for passage of an anchor member used to secure said biplanar insulation block to said support surface. and a second corner piece portion of the penultimate corner structure located on the side of the end of the edge corner region includes the drilled hole for receiving the or each mounting member. or having a continuous surface except for each drilled hole.

These features make it very easy to adjust the penultimate corner structure to the dimension of the support structure along the direction of the edge corner region to take account of manufacturing tolerances of the support structure. can be done.

According to one embodiment, said sealing barrier is arranged in a manner spanning said metallic corner pieces of said two consecutive corner structures and seals said metallic corner pieces of said two corner structures. having closure parts that connect in a locking manner;
The closing part covers the gaps located between the metal corner pieces and the notches in the or each protrusion covering the space between the biplanar insulation blocks.

According to one embodiment, the sealing barrier aligned with one or each flat area of the support surface has corrugations parallel to the edge corner areas and corrugations perpendicular to the edge corner areas. and a flat region located between the corrugations, one edge of the metal film parallel to the edge corner region being aligned with the metal corner piece of the continuous corner structure. Corrugations welded to and perpendicular to said edge corner regions align with gaps located between said metal corner pieces of said continuous corner structure.

According to one embodiment, the closure part comprises corrugations perpendicular to the edge corner regions aligned with the corrugations of the metal film, and located on either side of the corrugations, the metal parts of the two corner structures. and two flat portions each welded to a corner piece.

The features described above are used to construct an insulation barrier that is built directly on a load-bearing structure that provides a bearing surface, or to construct a primary insulation barrier that is built on an existing secondary barrier that provides said bearing surface. be able to.

According to one embodiment, said insulating barrier is a primary insulating barrier, said sealing barrier is a primary sealing barrier, the tank further comprises a secondary insulating barrier forming said supporting surface, and two The substantially polyhedral inner surface of the secondary insulating barrier is covered with a secondary sealing barrier.

Such tanks may for example form part of onshore storage facilities for storing LNG, or onshore or offshore floating structures, in particular methane tankers, floating storage and regasification units ( FSRU), or floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) units.

According to one embodiment, a vessel for transporting cryogenic liquid products has a double hull and a tank as described above arranged in the double hull.

Further, according to one embodiment, the present invention is a method for loading or unloading such a vessel, wherein fluid passes through an insulated pipeline from a floating or land storage facility to a tank of the vessel. , or through an insulated pipeline from a ship's tanks to a floating or land-based storage system.

Further, according to one embodiment, the present invention is a system for transporting fluids, for connecting a vessel as described above and tanks located within the hull of the vessel to water or land storage facilities. and a pump for conveying fluid through the insulated pipeline from a floating or land-based storage facility to a vessel tank or from a vessel tank to a floating or land-based storage system. provide a system with

Furthermore, the present invention provides a method for manufacturing a closed insulated tank as described above, comprising:
providing a support surface;
mounting on said support surface an anchor member having a support element mounted in a movable manner relative to said support surface;
said first row of insulating elements, wherein said support elements are completely housed between two insulating elements of said first row of insulating elements and said support elements are transverse to said first row; mounting on the support surface so as to be movably mounted on the
placing a second row of insulating elements parallel to and adjacent to the first row on the support surface;
said support element overlapping said second row of locations and engaging at least one insulating element of said second row to position said insulating element of said second row on said support surface; moving to an extended position so as to hold the
and securing said support element in said extended position. Furthermore, the present invention provides
It has two faces each parallel to each of the two flat regions and forming an angle therebetween, each face having a flat outer surface and a thickness extending from said flat outer surface. a biplanar insulation block having planar inner surfaces spaced apart in a longitudinal direction;
a metallic corner piece attached to the flat inner surface of the biplanar insulation block to form a sealing barrier and having a protruding portion projecting beyond the biplanar insulation block in the direction of an edge corner; providing a corner structure having
The metal corner piece has a drilled hole for receiving a mounting member intended to engage the biplanar insulation block to attach the metal corner piece to the biplanar insulation block of the corner structure. on the inner surface, and the mounting member can be inserted into the drilled hole through the inner surface of the metal corner piece.

The invention will be better understood from the following description of some specific embodiments of the invention, given by way of non-limiting example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, and further objects thereof, Details, features and advantages will become more clearly apparent.
FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view at an edge corner of an insulating barrier of modular construction comprising generally parallelepipedal modules on polyhedral support surfaces; Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the wall of the closed and insulated tank in the corner region of the tank, omitting the primary sealing membrane; FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 omitting the primary corner structure, but showing the flat primary insulation panel adjacent to the primary corner structure; FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view showing a row of primary corner structures at different angular values as viewed in section from section IV-IV of FIG. 2; FIG. 10 is an enlarged perspective view of a detail of a row of primary corner structures; FIG. 10 is a top view of the wall of the enclosed insulated tank at the corner area of the tank, showing the location of the flat insulation panels when the support bars are retracted. FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing the placement of the secondary corner structure at the intersection between the three walls of the tank; Figure 8 is a perspective view showing the placement of the primary corner structure on the secondary corner structure of Figure 7; FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the tank at the intersection between the three walls of the tank showing a portion of the primary sealing membrane and the primary flat insulation panel; FIG. 9 is a view similar to FIG. 9 showing the primary sealing membrane covering the flat primary insulation panel; FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the wall of a closed and insulated tank according to another embodiment, at a corner region of the tank, omitting the sealing membrane; 1 is a schematic cutaway view of a tank of a methane tanker and a terminal for loading/unloading this tank; FIG. FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a corner structure according to another embodiment; 14 is a perspective view of an insert received in the corner structure of FIG. 13; FIG. Figure 14 shows the walls of a closed insulation tank employing the corner structure of Figure 13, viewed from above against a flat primary insulation panel. Figure 16 is a perspective view of the wall of the tank of Figure 15 after installation of a metal corner piece that is installed from the inside of the tank;

By convention, the terms "outside" and "inside" are used to define the relative position of one element to another with respect to the inside and outside of the tank.

In the following, a multi-layer construction of a closed and insulated tank for storing liquefied natural gas is described. Each wall of the tank is supported from the outside to the inside of the tank by a secondary insulation barrier having juxtaposed secondary insulation elements secured to the load bearing structure by secondary anchor members and secondary insulation elements. a primary insulation barrier having juxtaposed primary insulation elements secured to the secondary insulation elements by primary anchor members 19; and liquefied natural gas supported by the primary insulation elements and contained in tanks. and a primary sealing membrane intended to contact the

The load-bearing structure may in particular be formed from self-supporting sheet metal, and more generally from any kind of rigid partition with suitable mechanical properties. The load-bearing structure may in particular be formed by the ship's hull or double hull. The load bearing structure includes walls that define the overall shape of the tank, which is usually polyhedral in shape.

The flat areas of the tank can be realized in various ways, for example according to the teaching of WO2016/046487 or WO2017/006044. The corner regions of the tank along the edge corners of the load bearing structure are discussed in greater detail below.

2 and 3 show the construction of the tank wall at the edge corner 10 between the first load bearing wall 11 and the second load bearing wall 12. FIG.

In the illustrated embodiment, the angle formed between the first load bearing wall 11 and the second load bearing wall 12 is approximately 90°. The angle can have any other value, for example 135°.

The secondary insulating barrier has a row of secondary corner structures 13 arranged along the edge corner 10, only one secondary corner structure 13 being shown in FIGS. ing. The secondary corner structure 13 and the secondary sealing membrane 15 arranged on its inner surface 14 can be realized in various ways, for example according to the teaching of WO2017/006044.

The secondary corner structure 13 in this case comprises a sandwich structure consisting of a layer of insulating polymer foam 16 sandwiched between two rigid sheets 17, 18, for example made of plywood. The inner sheet 18 has a network of vertical grooves 19 for receiving the corrugations 24 of the secondary sealing membrane 15 . The corrugations 24 project towards the outside of the tank towards the load bearing structure and are each received in a groove 19 .

In a variant of the embodiment not shown, the corrugations of the secondary sealing membrane are oriented towards the inside of the tank.

Furthermore, the inner sheet 18 is a plurality of metal plates, for example made of stainless steel or an alloy with a low coefficient of thermal expansion, in particular of Invar®, intended to fix the edges of the secondary sealing membrane. 20. A metal plate 20 is mounted in a recess formed in the inner sheet 18 and attached to the inner sheet 18 using screws, rivets, or clips, for example. Alternatively, the metal plate 20 is attached directly to the insulating polymer foam layer 16, for example by gluing.

Furthermore, the inner sheet 18 also comprises a fixing plate 21 intended to fix the primary corner structure 30 to the secondary corner structure 13 . The fixing plate 21 is for example glued to the inner sheet 18 and/or attached to the inner sheet 18 using for example screws, rivets or clips.

Further, the secondary sealing membrane 15 has a plurality of orifices, each through which an anchor member for securing the primary corner structure 30 passes. A cap nut 22 passes through each orifice and has threads on its outer circumference that engage a threaded hole 23 formed in one of the fixing plates 21 . Additionally, the cap nut 22 has a blind threaded hole intended to receive a pin for securing the primary corner structure 30 . Furthermore, the cap nut 22 has a collar between which the secondary sealing membrane 15 can be sandwiched between the fixing plate 21 and the collar. The perimeter of this collar is welded to the secondary sealing membrane 15 to ensure sealing.

The primary insulation barrier has a plurality of primary corner structures 30 along the edge corners 10 of the tank. The primary corner structure 30 is a prefabricated assembly comprising a biplanar insulation block 31 and a corner piece 32 . The two-plane insulation block 31 has an inner surface on which the corner piece 32 rests and an outer surface that abuts the secondary sealing membrane 15 . The biplanar insulation block 31 has a composite structure in its thickness, i.e., it has a layer 33 of insulating polymer foam sandwiched between two plywood sheets 34, 35, the plywood sheets 34, 35 being , is adhered to this polymer foam layer 33 .

The corner piece 32 is a metal corner piece made of stainless steel, for example. The corner piece 32 has two flanges that abut the inner surface of the biplanar insulation block 31 . The flange of each of the corner pieces 32 is welded to the outer surface of this flange and directed inwardly of the tank for mounting the corner pieces 32 to the biplanar insulation block 31 prior to mounting the primary corner structure 30 within the tank. It has protruding pins (not shown).

Furthermore, each flange of the corner piece 32 has a pin 36 on its inner surface which projects towards the inside of the tank. Pins 36 allow the welding equipment to be secured when welding the primary sealing membrane element to corner piece 32 .

As described in WO 2017/006044, the corner piece 32 is a pin (Fig. not shown), for example eight orifices 37 in one corner piece 32 .

As can be seen more clearly in FIGS. 2 and 4, the primary corner structures 30 are arranged on the secondary corner structures 13 in the form of rows against the edge corners 10 . In this row, two consecutive primary corner structures 30 present a space 38 between two biplanar insulation blocks 31 . In general, an insulation joint element 39 is inserted in the space 38 between two biplanar insulation blocks 31 to ensure insulation continuity.

In at least some of the spaces 38, the secondary corner structure 13 can support anchor members intended to engage primary insulating elements. This case will be described more specifically with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5. FIG. Since the anchor member as a whole is cut along the central plane of symmetry in FIG. 4, this half cut view is sufficient to understand the structure of the anchor member.

In this embodiment the anchor member comprises a plate 40 attached to the inner surface of the secondary corner structure 13 between the two plates 21 . Plate 40, like plate 21, can be attached to secondary corner structure 13 in a variety of ways. Plate 40 has a threaded hole 41 intended to receive a cap nut 42 shown in half cutaway view in FIG. Plates 40 can reside in alignment with each of the spaces 38, or can reside in alignment with some of the spaces 38, such as one of three.

A cap nut 42 has threads 43 on its outer periphery that pass through an orifice in a secondary sealing membrane (not shown) and engage a threaded hole 41 made in plate 40 . In addition, cap nut 42 has a dead-end threaded hole 44 that receives pin 45 . Additionally, the cap nut 42 has a collar 46 between which a secondary sealing membrane may be sandwiched. The perimeter of this collar is welded to the secondary sealing membrane 15 to ensure sealing.

As can be seen in FIG. 4, the pins 45 project inwardly into the space 38 between the two biplanar insulation blocks 31 and serve to secure a vertically oriented support bar 50 to the edge corner 10. do. The support bar 50 in this case has a U-shaped cross-section with its base facing the load bearing structure. When mounted as shown, a first portion of the support bar 50 extends into the space 38 between the two biplanar insulation blocks 31 and has a slot 58 through which the pin 45 passes. A nut 47 threaded onto the pin 45 allows the support bar 50 to be tightened against the inner surface of the secondary corner structure 13 .

A second portion 51 of the support bar 50 protrudes beyond the row of primary corner structures 30 to support the planar primary insulation panel 29 adjacent the row of primary corner structures 30 . The length of slot 58 allows adjustment of the length of second portion 51 that protrudes beyond the row of primary corner structures 30 .

Preferably, slot 58, whose two ends 58a and 58b are shown in cross-section in FIG. long enough to allow Therefore, before tightening the nuts 47, the support bars 50 are placed in this retracted position ( 6) and the extended position shown in FIG. The extension movement of the support bar 50 is indicated schematically by arrow 98 in FIG.

In one embodiment, the length of the flat primary insulation panels 29 is equal to nine times the width of the primary corner structure 30 and thus spaced three times the width of the primary corner structure 30 apart from each other. four support bars engage the flat primary insulation panel 29 at the edges of this flat primary insulation panel 29 facing the edge corners, i. Located at the two corners of the flat primary insulation panel 29 , two support bars 50 are located in the central regions of the edges of the flat primary insulation panel 29 . This central region is shown in FIG.

As partially shown in FIG. 3, the flat primary insulation panel 29 has the overall shape of a rectangular parallelepiped with longitudinal edges 26 parallel to edge corners 10 . The flat primary insulation panel 29 is a composite constructed, for example, of a layer of insulating polymeric foam sandwiched between a rigid bottom sheet (of which only the exposed area 28 is visible) and a rigid cover sheet 25. have a structure. A groove 27 is formed in the rigid cover sheet 25 and the insulating polymer foam layer and extends perpendicular to the edge corner 10 in alignment with the plate 20 and opens to the longitudinal edge 26 to provide a rigid base. exposing the exposed area 28 of the bottom sheet.

In the installed state, second portion 51 of support bar 50 is inserted into groove 27 and presses against exposed area 28 of the rigid lower sheet, optionally via shim 48 . Another shim 49 can be interposed between the other end of the support bar 50 and the secondary membrane (not shown). Shims 48 and 49 are sized to ensure that the support bars 50 and the lower sheet of flat primary insulation panel 29 are parallel. The shims are made of sufficiently soft material to prevent the risk of piercing, scratching or otherwise damaging the secondary sealing membrane 15 . For example, it can be made of plywood, plastic material or epoxy resin.

A support bar 50 mounted in this manner has several advantages. That is, the second portion 51 is a cantilever length substantially parallel to the flat wall of the tank supporting the flat primary insulation panel 29, preferably away from the edge of the panel. It is therefore possible to retain the flat primary insulation panel 29 on the secondary membrane without requiring any complicated arrangements on the flat primary insulation panel 29, all that is required is the flatness of the lower sheet. Only partially exposed.

Additionally, the length of second portion 51 is easily adjustable by sliding pin 45 in the length of slot 58 . This arrangement is therefore easily adaptable to flat primary insulation panels having different dimensions or having grooves 27 of different lengths. The length of groove 27 can be shortened, particularly when edges 26 are cut to reduce the width of insulation panel 29 .

In addition, because the support bars 50 are fixed to the pins supported by the secondary corner structure 13, their position is aligned with the flat secondary insulation panels (not shown) adjacent to the secondary corner structure 13. ) is not affected by the dimensions of This arrangement is therefore easily adaptable to different sizes of flat secondary insulation panels.

As can be seen in FIG. 4, each corner piece 32 has two projecting rims 53 that project beyond the biplanar insulation block 31 at two opposite ends of the corner piece 32 along the direction of the edge corner 10 . have The space 38 between the two biplanar insulation blocks 31 is thus partially covered by two protruding rims 53 on either side thereof.

In order to maintain access to the anchor member located in space 38 , at least each of the two projecting rims 53 located on either side of the anchor member are positioned in alignment with pin 45 and against edge corner 10 . A notch 54 formed in a lateral edge 55 is provided.

Optionally, all protruding rims 53 of all corner pieces 32 can have this notch 54 in order to standardize manufacturing, as shown schematically in FIG.

As can be seen more clearly in FIG. 5, the notch 54 provides sufficient space for the passage of a tightening tool 60, for example a socket wrench with a cylindrical head 61, or a screwdriver, between the two protruding rims. It functions to make between 53. Therefore, the depth of the cutout 54 in the direction of the edge corner 10 is dimensioned such that a distance D slightly greater than the diameter of the cylindrical head 61 is formed between the bottoms of the two facing cutouts 54. can be attached. The length of notch 54 along edge 55 may be substantially equal to the same distance D, for example about 30 mm.

The procedure for mounting the corner regions of the tank will now be briefly described. • Install the secondary insulation barrier and secondary sealing membrane 15, including the cap nut 42; - Install the support bar 50 in the retracted position by aligning the support bar slot 58 with the cap nut 42; • Insert the pin 45 through the slot 58 of the hold down bar 50 and thread it onto the cap nut 42 and install the nut 47 on the pin 45 in the untightened position. • Install insulation joints 39 between locations of primary corner structures 30 . Where the support rods 50 are located, the insulating joint 39 has a post at the bottom that is inserted into the hollow U-shaped portion of the support rods 50 . In addition, insulating joint 39 also has a cylindrical well 56 aligned with cap nut 42 for receiving pin 45 and nut 47 . - Attach the primary corner structure 30 to the secondary corner structure 13 on both sides of the insulation joint 39; • Placing a flat primary insulation panel 29 adjacent to the row of primary corner structures 30; • Move the support bar 50 to the extended position while keeping the insulating joint 39 immobilized by the pin 45 inserted in the cylindrical well 56; • Screw the nut 47 onto the pin 45 through the notch 54 of the corner piece 32 and the cylindrical well 56 of the insulating joint 39 to secure the support rod 50 . • Insert cylindrical plug 57 into cylindrical well 56 to close well 56 .・Attach the primary sealing film.

The flat portions of the tank wall located on either side of the edge corner may be realized identically or differently, symmetrically or asymmetrically. Furthermore, although only one corner of the tank has been described above, other corners of the tank may be configured identically or differently.

7-10, the structure of the tank wall at one end of the edge corner 10, ie the intersection between the three flat walls, will now be described. The three walls shown here constitute a bottom wall, an end wall and a lower oblique wall respectively. The lower diagonal wall forms an angle of 135° with the bottom wall. The lower diagonal wall and the bottom wall are perpendicular to the end wall. Such an arrangement, for example, has the overall shape of a polyhedron, dividing the two octagonal end walls into eight walls: a horizontal bottom wall and a horizontal ceiling wall, two vertical side walls and a side wall. Corresponds to a tank having two upper diagonal walls connecting one of each to the ceiling wall and two lower diagonal walls connecting one of the side walls to the bottom wall, connected to each other do.

In this region, as shown in FIG. 7, a row of secondary corner structures 13 are formed by sets of three insulating panels each attached to the load bearing structure of each of the three load bearing walls. ends with the final secondary corner structure 113 . Each of the three insulation panels of the last secondary corner structure 113 has a sandwich structure identical to that of the secondary corner structure 13, i.e. a layer 116 of insulating polymer foam made of plywood, for example. It is configured to be sandwiched between two rigid sheets 117 and 118 that are separated from each other.

In each of the three insulation panels of the final secondary corner structure 113, the rigid sheet 118 includes a fixed plate 121 and a fixed plate 121 which are identical in structure and function to the fixed plates 21 and 40 described above with respect to the secondary corner structure 13. 140. In particular, fixation plate 121 allows attachment of final primary corner structure 130 (FIG. 7) to final secondary corner structure 113 .

The plate 40 allows the attachment of an anchor member in the space between the last primary corner structure 130 and the penultimate primary corner structure 230 (FIG. 7) in the row of primary corner structures. do. This anchor member has pins 145 inserted into slots 158 in the support bar 150, which can be seen in FIG.

FIG. 8 is also an end region view of an edge corner, further showing the primary corner structure mounted on the secondary corner structure of FIG. For simplicity of illustration, the secondary sealing membrane has been omitted entirely.

As shown, the last primary corner structure 130 in the row consists of three insulation blocks respectively abutting each of the three insulation panels of the last secondary corner structure 113 . In addition, each of the insulation blocks of the last primary corner structure 130 has an inner surface upon which a three-sided corner piece 132 rests, the overall construction of the three-sided corner piece 132 being a third flange parallel to the lower oblique wall. Similar to metal corner piece 32 of primary corner structure 30, except 100 is present. Three-sided corner piece 132 includes, among other things, pin 136, orifice 137 and rim 153, which are similar in structure and function to pin 36, orifice 37 and rim 53 described above.

The penultimate primary corner structure 230 is shown using reference numerals increased by 200 for elements similar or identical to those of primary corner structure 30 . The biplanar insulation block 231 is longer than the biplanar insulation block 31 and has two continuous metal corner pieces on the inner surface in the direction of the edge corners. The metal corner piece 232 is substantially identical to the metal corner piece 32 of the primary corner structure 30 except that the biplanar insulation block 231 is elongated in the direction of the last primary corner structure 130. , so it can have a longer dimension along the edge corner 10 and protrude from only one side (not shown) of the biplanar insulation block 231 .

A metal corner piece 65 is positioned next to metal corner piece 232 with a small gap and is secured to biplanar insulation block 231 in the same manner as metal corner piece 32 of primary corner structure 30 . The metal corner piece 65 has a protruding rim 253 that protrudes above the space 138 and along the direction of the edge corner 10 above the biplanar insulation block 231 . Space 138 is partially covered by two protruding rims 153 and 253 on either side thereof.

Protruding rim 153 and/or protruding rim 253 may have cutouts to facilitate easier access to anchor members located in space 138 . In this case, the notch 254 is present only on the protruding rim 253 .

In addition, the penultimate primary corner structure 230 provides the secondary insulation barrier with the furthest portion from the last primary corner structure 130, i. is fixed only at the part supporting the metal corner piece 232 which is fixed to the secondary corner structure 13 of the . For this purpose the metal corner piece 232 also has an orifice 237 .

Conversely, the metal corner piece 65 is such that the portion of the biplanar insulation block 231 facing the last primary corner structure 130 is aligned with the penultimate secondary corner structure 13 and the last secondary corner structure 13 . It straddles the gap 66 between the corner structure 113 and continues above the last secondary corner structure 113, but since it is not fixed to the last secondary corner structure 113, it does not have an orifice, May be continuous.

This configuration has the advantage of not relying on the exact dimensions of the gap 66 in the secondary insulation barrier, which can be easily adjusted to compensate for manufacturing tolerances.

Additionally, in order to adjust the primary insulation barrier to the dimensional manufacturing tolerances of the load bearing structure, the penultimate primary corner structure 230 can be cut to measure, i.e. the final It is possible to cut the end of the biplanar insulation block 231 and the end of the metal corner piece 65 facing the primary corner structure 130 . Since this end is not fixed to the secondary insulation barrier, this cutting does not cause any trouble. In this case, the notch 254 is added after the metal corner piece 65 is cut to the desired length.

FIG. 9 shows the same area of the tank as in FIG. 8, but with the addition of a final flat primary insulation panel 129 adjacent to the penultimate primary corner structure 230 . This flat primary insulation panel 129 has a recess 127 formed in alignment with and exposing a corner area of a rigid bottom sheet (not shown) in a manner similar to groove 27 of FIG. have. Additionally, FIG. 9 shows a support bar 150 inserted into recess 127 to hold down the exposed area in the manner previously described.

Next, the structure of the primary sealing film at the corner of the tank will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10. FIG.

A primary sealing membrane is, for example, a membrane having two series of corrugations perpendicular to each other. It can be manufactured substantially as described in WO2017/006044 pamphlet. Metal sheets 67 of the primary sealing membrane adjacent the edge corners are welded to the metal corner pieces 32, 232, 65, 132 along their respective edges facing the edge corners. In addition, metal corner pieces 68, 168, 268 are welded across each interface between two successive metal corner pieces 32, 232, 65, 132.

Corner pieces 68 , 168 , 268 cover orifices 37 , 137 , 237 and metal corner piece cutouts 54 , 254 are corrugated continuations of the primary sealing membrane oriented perpendicular to edge corners 10 . bring sexuality.

A second embodiment of the construction of the tank wall at the end of the edge corner 10 will now be described with reference to FIGS. 13-16. In this embodiment, the penultimate primary corner structure 1230 shown in perspective view in FIG. 13 is the second metal corner piece after the penultimate primary corner structure 1230 is attached. 1065 (Fig. 16) has been modified so that it can be installed from the inside of the tank.

For this purpose, on the side facing the last primary corner structure 130 of the penultimate primary corner structure 1230 , two faces of the biplanar insulation block 231 are attached to the edge corner 10 . It has respective grooves 83 extending in parallel, the grooves 83 opening into the inner surface of the inner sheet 235 and opening on the side of the inner sheet 235 facing the last primary corner structure 130 . The grooves 83 have a width that increases along the thickness direction from the inner surface, ie, in the illustrated embodiment, the grooves 83 continuously have a narrower entrance portion and a wider bottom portion.

An insert 84, shown in perspective in FIG. 14, is received in the groove 83 in a sliding manner. The insert 84 has a contoured overall shape with a wider base 85 intended to be received in the bottom portion of the groove 83 and a narrower head 86 intended to be received in the inlet portion of the groove 83. have The head 86 has a threaded hole 87 on its upper surface for receiving a fixing screw 88 (FIG. 16). Preferably, the insert 84 is slightly narrower than the groove 83 to allow adjustment clearance also transverse to the edge corner 10 .

Figures 15 and 16 show the areas of the tank wall located at the edge corners before the primary sealing membrane is applied. FIG. 15 is a top plan view of the last flat primary insulation panel 129. FIG. The penultimate primary corner structure 1230 is shown attached to the secondary insulation barrier without the second metal corner piece 1065 present. This therefore allows free access to the space 138 between the last primary corner structure 130 and the penultimate primary corner structure 1230 . This access from the top facilitates adjusting the position of the support bars 150 in the extended position and tightening the nuts to support the exposed area 128 of the bottom sheet of the last flat primary insulation panel 129, as shown in FIG. By tightening 145, it becomes possible to fix it so that it does not move.

Next, an insulating lining (not shown) is placed in space 138 and recess 127 to complement the primary insulating barrier, followed by a second metal corner piece 1065 from the end, as shown in FIG. Attached to the second primary corner structure 1230 . For this purpose, a fixing screw 88 is inserted into a drilled hole in each of the two faces of the second metal corner piece 1065 and screwed into the threaded hole 87 of the insert 84 . Alternatively, it is also possible to use rivets.

The primary membrane can then be realized as described above.

A metal corner piece 1065 installed from the inside of the tank makes it possible to provide easy access to the anchor members. This solution can be used with anchor members made in various forms.

FIG. 11 shows another embodiment of the tank wall along the edge corner 10 . The primary and secondary sealing membranes have been omitted for simplicity of illustration. Elements similar or identical to those of FIGS. 2-4 have the same reference numerals increased by 300 and will be described insofar as they differ from the elements of FIGS.

In this embodiment, the primary corner structure 330 is secured to the secondary corner structure 313 by pins 345 located in each space 338 between two biplanar insulation blocks 331 . For this purpose, the rigid sheet 334 is slightly wider than the polymer foam layer 333 so that the two lateral rims of the rigid sheet 334 are exposed.

The support bar 350 has a drilled hole, which may be oblong, through which the pin 345 passes and supports the transverse rims of the rigid sheets 334 of the two primary corner structures 330 between which the pin 345 is placed. Each primary corner structure 330 is thus held by two support bars 350 that engage the two lateral rims of its rigid sheet 334 . A nut (not shown) is threaded onto each pin 345 to tighten the support bar 350 toward the load bearing structure. A notch 354 in the edge of the metal corner piece 332 makes it easier to install the pin 345 and then the nut in the manner described above.

Because of this way of securing the primary corner structure 330, there are no orifices in the metal corner piece 332 and therefore the metal corner piece 332 can be continuous.

Rows of pins 69 may be provided on either side of the row of primary corner structures 330 to secure the flat primary insulation panels 329 adjacent the row of primary corner structures 330 to the secondary barrier. This may require provision of a wider secondary corner structure 313, as shown.

In the variant of FIG. 11, not shown, there are no pins 69 and the support bars 350 are placed in an extended position spanning the primary corner structure 330 and the flat primary insulation panel 329 to provide insulation between these two. It is made slidable in the same way as the support bar 50 of FIG. 6 so as to ensure the joint fixation of the elements. To this end, the length of the support bars 350 can be increased and the shape of the flat primary insulation panel 329 can be adjusted so that the support bars 350 are received in the grooves or recesses that expose the bottom sheet. .

In one embodiment, the secondary insulating barrier and secondary sealing membrane are absent and the pins that secure the primary insulating barrier are directly supported by the load bearing walls 11,12.

The techniques described above for manufacturing closed and insulated tanks for storing fluids can be used in various types of storage tanks, for example forming LNG storage tanks in land-based installations or floating structures such as methane tankers.

The techniques described above in the context of support surfaces that are actually polyhedral where flat portions meet at edge corners are generally polyhedral with instead of edge corners rounded portions forming connections between flat portions. It is also applicable to support surfaces that are The term edge corner region is used in both contexts to refer to the connection between two flat portions and can correspond to the actual edge corner or the rounded portion between the two flat portions. .

Referring to FIG. 12, a cutaway view of a methane tanker 70 shows a sealed insulated tank 71 having the general shape of a prism mounted within the double hull 72 of the vessel. The walls of the tank 71 include a primary sealing barrier intended to contact the LNG contained in the tank, a secondary sealing barrier located between the primary sealing barrier and the double hull 72 of the vessel, and It has two insulating barriers positioned between the primary sealing barrier and the secondary sealing barrier and between the secondary sealing barrier and the double hull 72 respectively.

In a manner known per se, a loading/unloading pipeline 73 located on the upper deck of the ship is connected by means of suitable connectors to a sea or port terminal to transfer the cargo LNG from the tanks 71 or to the tanks. It can be moved to 71.

FIG. 12 shows an example of a marine terminal with loading and unloading stations 75 , subsea pipes 76 and land installations 77 . The loading and unloading station 75 is a fixed offshore installation having a movable arm 74 and a tower 78 supporting the movable arm 74 . A movable arm 74 holds a bundle of insulating flexible hoses 79 that can be connected to the loading/unloading pipeline 73 . The orientable movable arm 74 is suitable for all sizes of methane tankers. A connecting pipe (not shown) extends inside the tower 78 . A loading and unloading station 75 allows loading of methane tanker 70 from onshore facility 77 or unloading of methane tanker 70 to onshore facility 77 . The land facility 77 has a liquefied gas storage tank 80 and a connecting pipe 81 connected by an underwater pipe 76 to the loading and unloading station 75 . Submersible pipes 76 allow the transfer of liquefied gas over long distances, e.g. allow you to keep

Pumps onboard the ship 70 and/or pumps on land installations 77 and/or pumps on the loading and unloading stations 75 are used to generate the pressure required to transfer the liquefied gas.

Although the invention has been described with respect to some specific embodiments, the invention is by no means limited to those embodiments, and the invention includes all technical equivalents of the above means and any combination thereof, It is expressly included if they are within the scope of the present invention.

Use of the verbs "having," "comprising," or "including," and their conjugations, may include elements or steps other than those stated in a claim. does not rule out the existence of The use of the indefinite articles "a..." or "a..." with reference to an element or step does not exclude the presence of a plurality of such elements or steps, unless expressly stated otherwise.

In the claims, any reference signs placed between parentheses shall not be construed as limiting the claim.

Claims (19)

A closed and insulated tank intended to store fluids,
and a sealing barrier disposed on an inner surface of the insulation barrier, the insulation barrier disposed on a support surface having anchor members and retained on the support surface by the anchor members. and said support surface has at least two flat areas meeting at an edge corner area (10) to form an angle between each other,
Said insulating barrier comprises insulating elements arranged in a plurality of parallel rows, a first row of insulating elements being corner structures (30) arranged along said edge corner regions of said support surface. , 130, 230, 1230), a second row of insulating elements comprising a row of flat insulating panels (29, 129) positioned on said flat area of said support surface; said second row of insulating elements is adjacent to said first row of insulating elements;
each said corner structure (30, 130, 230, 1230) comprising:
having two faces parallel to said two flat regions and forming an angle between each other, said faces being flat outer surfaces pressed against corresponding flat regions of said support surface; and a planar inner surface parallel to said corresponding planar region and spaced through its thickness from said planar outer surface;
metal corner pieces (32, 232, 65, 1065, 32, 232, 65, 1065; 132) and
has
The metal corner piece has a protruding portion (53, 153, 253) that protrudes beyond the biplanar insulation block along the direction of the edge corner region,
A first corner structure (1230) and a second corner structure (130) in said first row of insulation elements are positioned between said biplanar insulation blocks along said edge corner region direction. space (138) at least partially defined by said projecting portion (253) of said metal corner piece (1065) of said first corner structure (1230). covered with
Said metal corner piece (1065) having a protruding portion (253) covering said space is used to attach said metal corner piece to said biplanar insulation block of said first corner structure (1230). The inner surface has a drilled hole for receiving a mounting member (88) intended to engage a biplanar insulation block, said mounting member being inserted into said drilled hole from said inner surface of said metal corner piece (1065). can be inserted into
Said anchor members are on said support surface between said biplanar insulation blocks (131, 231) of first and second corner structures (1 30 , 1 230) of said first row of insulation elements. having an attached support element (50, 150);
Said support element (50, 150) comprises:
a setback in which said support elements (50, 150) are fully accommodated between said two corner structures (1 30 , 1 230) so as to clear the location (99) of the second row of insulating elements; location and,
said support element overlies the location of said second row of insulating elements and engages at least one flat insulating panel (129) of said second row of insulating elements to provide said second row of insulating elements and an extended position holding said flat insulation panel (29, 129) on said support surface of said support surface in a lateral direction with respect to said first row of insulation elements . insulated tank. The anchor member is
pins (45, 145) attached to said support surface and projecting inwardly into the space between said first and second corner structures (1 30 , 1 230) of said first row of insulating elements; )and,
2. The nut (47) according to claim 1, further comprising a nut (47) screwed onto the pin and capable of tightening the bearing element (50, 150) in the direction of the bearing surface to fix the position of the bearing element. tank. The support element has a support bar (50, 150) with a slot (58, 158) through which the pin (45, 145) passes, and when the nut is not tightened on the support bar,
said retracted position in which said support bar (50, 150) is fully received between said first and second corner structures (130 , 1230 );
said extended position in which a portion (51) of said support bar protrudes beyond said first row of insulating elements to engage said at least one insulating element (29, 129) of said second row of insulating elements; 3. The tank according to claim 2, wherein the tank can be slid laterally with respect to said first row of insulating elements between. Said flat insulation panel (29, 129) has a layer of insulating polymer foam sandwiched between a rigid lower sheet and a rigid cover sheet (25), said rigid cover sheet and said insulating polymeric foam. The body layer has a recess (127) formed in the thickness of said insulating panel to expose a bearing area (28) on the inner surface of said rigid bottom sheet, said recess corresponding to said insulating element. opening into an edge (26) of said flat insulating panel parallel to and facing said first row of insulating elements , said anchoring member being located in said support area (28) of said lower sheet. A tank according to any one of claims 1 to 3, which engages. 5. Tank according to claim 4, characterized in that said flat insulating panels have a rectangular parallelepiped shape and said recesses (127) are formed in the corners of said flat insulating panels. Said support surface carries a plurality of anchor members (45, 145) distributed along said first row of insulating elements, said anchor members (45, 145) being aligned with said insulating elements of said first row. a support element (50, 150) mounted on said support surface between (30, 130, 230, 1230) and movable relative to said support surface between said retracted position and said extended position; have
4. The support elements of claim 1, wherein said support elements engage respective regions of said flat insulation panels (29, 129) of said second row of insulation elements to retain said flat insulation panels on said support surface. A tank according to any one of 1 to 5. A block of insulating material (39) is placed between the projecting portion (253 ) of the metal corner piece (1065) and the support element of the biplanar insulating block of the first and second corner structures. A tank according to any one of the preceding claims, arranged in the space (38, 138) between Said mounting member (88) is a screw or rivet with a head facing the interior of said tank and a body that engages said biplanar insulation block through said drilled hole in said metal corner piece (1065). The tank according to any one of claims 1 to 7 , having The biplanar insulation block has an insert (84) attached to the flat inner surface of the at least one side for receiving and securing the body of the mounting member through the thickness of the at least one side. 9. A tank according to claim 8 . 10. Tank according to claim 9 , wherein the insert (84) is mounted on the flat inner surface with a gap in a direction parallel to the flat inner surface. said at least one face of said biplanar insulation block having a groove (83) extending parallel to said edge corner region (10) and opening to said flat inner face, said insert (84) comprising: 11. Tank according to claim 10 , accommodated in said groove in a sliding manner. 12. Tank according to claim 11 , wherein the groove (83) has a width that decreases along the thickness direction towards the flat inner surface to confine the insert (84) in the thickness direction. Said support surface has at one end of said edge corner region (10) a third flat region transverse to said edge corner region, the last corner structure of said row of corner structures. (130) has, in addition to said biplanar insulation block, a third face (100) parallel to said third planar region and forming an angle with said two faces of said biplanar insulation block (130); death,
The biplanar insulation block (231) of the penultimate corner structure (230) of the row of corner structures is more dense than the corner structures located along the central portion of the edge corner region. Also, the dimension along the direction of the edge corner region is large, and the metal corner pieces of the penultimate corner structure are juxtaposed along the direction of the edge corner region and the biplanar consisting of two corner piece portions (232, 1065) attached to said flat inner surface of an insulating block (231),
A first corner piece portion (232) of said penultimate corner structure is located on an outer surface of said first corner piece portion and is not accessible from an inner surface of said first corner piece portion. attached to said biplanar insulation block (231) by
A second corner piece portion (1065) of said penultimate corner structure, located on said end side of said edge corner region, connects said second corner piece portion (1065) to said corner structure. having on its inner surface said drilled hole for receiving said mounting member intended to engage said bi-planar insulation block (231) for attachment to said bi-planar insulation block of an object, said mounting member A tank according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein it can be inserted from said inner surface of the second corner piece part ( 1065 ) into said drilled hole. A first corner piece portion (232) of said penultimate corner structure has an orifice ( 237) and a second corner piece portion (1065) of said penultimate corner structure located on said end side of said edge corner region is attached to said or each attachment member. 14. Tank according to claim 13 , having a continuous surface except for the or each drilled hole receiving a . The insulation barrier is a primary insulation barrier, the sealing barrier is a primary sealing barrier, and the tank is covered by a secondary sealing barrier (15) and is substantially polyhedral forming the support surface. 15. A tank according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a secondary insulation barrier (13, 113, 213 ) having an inner surface of . A vessel (70) for transporting a fluid, comprising:
A ship comprising a double hull (72) and a tank (71) according to any one of the preceding claims arranged in said double hull. A system for transporting a fluid, comprising:
17. A vessel (70) according to claim 16 and an insulated pipeline (77) arranged to connect said tank (71) located in said hull of said vessel to a water or land storage facility (77). 73; and a pump for delivering to. 17. A method for loading or unloading a vessel (70) according to claim 16 , wherein fluid is passed from a water or land storage facility (77) through an insulated pipeline (73, 79, 76, 81) to said A method of being conveyed to said tank (71) of a ship or from said tank (71) of said ship to a water or land storage system (77). A manufacturing method for manufacturing the closed and insulated tank according to any one of claims 1 to 15 ,
providing a support surface;
mounting on said support surface an anchor member having a support element (50, 150) mounted in a movable manner relative to said support surface;
said first row of insulating elements (30, 130, 230, 1230), said support elements (50, 150) being completely housed between two insulating elements of said first row of insulating elements, and mounting on the support surface such that the support element is laterally movably mounted with respect to the first row of insulating elements ;
placing a second row of insulating elements (29, 129) parallel to and adjacent to said first row of insulating elements on said support surface;
said support element (50, 150) overlying at least one insulation element (29, 129) of said second row of insulation elements , said support element overlapping a location (99) of said second row of insulation elements; moving into an extended position to engage and retain the insulating elements of the second row of insulating elements on the support surface;
fixing the support element in the extended position ;
attaching the metal corner piece (1065);
inserting the mounting member (88) into a drilled hole in the metal corner piece (1065);
A manufacturing method having

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