KR102061171B1 - Thermally-insulating sealed tank - Google Patents

Abstract

A coupler is provided for holding the element 1 which is to be separated against the holding structure 3.
The coupler includes: a base (15) having an insulating plug (15d) and an outer casing (15a) surrounding the elastic means (15b) for pushing the plug against the retaining structure;
A flange having an insulating ring 20 and a head having internally threaded outer casings 19 at both ends, the sleeve 21 being a flange supported on a plate 25 which is carried by the element. Receive a finish 24 provided with 24a;
The casing is fixed to a plate 18 mechanically connected to the element;
Finally, threads are formed at both ends and one end is screwed into the ring 20 of the head and the other end further comprises a rod screwed into the nut 15c of the base.

Description

Sealed and Insulated Tanks {THERMALLY-INSULATING SEALED TANK}

The present invention relates to a sealed and insulated tank integrated into a holding structure, in particular a double hull of a vessel carrying liquefied natural gas.

Tanks of this kind have already been described in many embodiments in the prior art. The tank generally includes a primary barrier in contact with the liquid in the tank and a secondary barrier disposed between the primary barrier and the holding structure constituted by the double hull of the ship. Each such barrier comprises a heat insulation layer covered with a metal plate acting as a seal, the sealing plates covering the heat insulation layer on the inner side of the tank.

In one embodiment, the sealing barrier consisting of the metal plate described above has two wavy corrugations that are orthogonal. Tanks of this kind are already described in French patent 1492959, where the corrugation of the primary sealing barrier, preferably its corrugation, all protrudes on the inner side of the tank. On the other hand, the secondary sealing barrier protrudes toward the outside of the tank and the secondary insulating barrier includes a groove therein for receiving the wave pleats. In the primary sealing barrier, the fact that it has protruding wavy folds can have many disadvantages. First, the sheet metal composed of the primary sealing barrier can be deformed due to the vibrating action of the conveyed liquid due to the presence of protruding wave folds. Secondly, the protrusions cause problems in the arrangement of the welding device used to ensure the continuity of the seal.

Korean patent KR2010-0090036 proposes a primary sealing barrier comprising a concave wavy corrugation for use in this type of tank, i.e., a concave wavy corrugated outward facing the tank. This wavy fold is received in the groove provided in the primary insulation barrier. The placement of the secondary sealing barrier forces the use of a secondary sealing barrier composed of “Triplex” laminated film due to the grooves formed by the movement of two adjacent primary insulating blocks towards each other. As a result, the secondary sealing does not benefit from the elastic force that allows a series of wavy folds.

Further, for example, in FR-A-2798902 or FR-A-28776, two sealing barriers are formed with invar (invar) strikes having raised edges welded to different side edges of the parallel welding support. An insulated and sealed tank is disclosed. The welding supports are each received in a groove of a cover plate of a parallelepiped shaped box which forms a thermally insulating barrier formed on the underside so that a sealed metal film is retained on the parallelepiped box.

The sealed and insulated tank disposed in the holding structure according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises: a secondary insulating portion including a plurality of secondary insulating blocks disposed side by side on the holding structure, welded to each other, and to the secondary insulating block; A secondary sealing portion including a plurality of sealed secondary metal plates disposed, a primary insulating portion including a plurality of primary insulating blocks disposed side by side on the secondary sealing portion, welded to each other, and a plurality of primary insulating blocks disposed on the primary insulating block A primary sealing portion comprising two sealed primary metal plates, extending through the secondary insulation at the level of the edge of the secondary insulation block and retaining the secondary insulation block in a bearing engagement of the retaining structure. A secondary mechanical connecting member and extending through the primary insulation at the level of the edge of the primary insulation block and retaining the primary insulation blocks in bearing engagement on the secondary seal. A primary mechanical connecting member, wherein the primary metal plate and the secondary metal plate are each arranged so that the edges of the metal plate are offset with respect to the edges of the primary insulating block and the secondary insulating block, respectively, below. The primary metal plate and the secondary metal plate are supported by bearing engagement on the primary insulating block and the secondary insulating block by means of only the primary mechanical connecting member and the secondary mechanical connecting member, respectively. The primary mechanical connecting member is attached to each of the primary metal plate and the secondary metal plate at the level of the connection point away from the edges of the primary metal plate and the secondary metal plate, respectively.

In one embodiment, the primary metal plate and the secondary metal plate have a contour shape, such as the contour shape under the primary insulation block and the secondary insulation block, respectively. For example, this contour may be rectangular, rectangular, hexagonal or another shape capable of arranging mosaics on a plane.

In one embodiment, the primary metal plate and the secondary metal plate each comprise a primary insulating block and a secondary insulating block each including a wave fold protruding in the direction of the holding structure in two orthogonal directions and a groove for accommodating the wave pleats. It consists of a thin metal sheet formed to have.

In one embodiment, the corrugations of the primary metal plate and the secondary metal plate have the same distance in their respective directions.

In one embodiment, the distance between two consecutive wave folds of each of the primary metal plate and the secondary metal plate is a wave in the direction of the two wave folds such that the rectangular wave fold area size between the two seals is limited when the retention structure is viewed vertically. The distance between the wrinkles is formed equal.

In one embodiment, the primary mechanical connecting member and the secondary mechanical connecting member are supported in the primary seal and the secondary seal, respectively, with support in a planar region located between the vertical corrugations of each seal.

In one embodiment, the grooves containing the wave pleats of the primary sealing plate and the secondary sealing plate have a U- or V-shaped cross section with an opening formed to fit the cross-section of the wave pleats.

In one embodiment, the cross section of the groove is V-shaped, the angle between the branches (branches) is formed more than 90 degrees.

In one embodiment, the groove of each of the primary insulating block and the secondary insulating block is limited by a shim that is wider than the groove that fits into the groove, the shim being in between the primary insulating block and the secondary insulating block. By leaving a passageway between the corrugated corrugations of the primary sealing plate and the secondary sealing plate accommodated therein, it is accommodated in the groove so as to be purified by, for example, a gas such as nitrogen.

In one embodiment, the primary mechanical connecting member and the secondary mechanical connecting member each comprise a plate for distributing forces on the primary sealing barrier and the secondary sealing barrier, respectively, primary force converting means and secondary force converting connected to the plate. Means, wherein the force converting means of the secondary mechanical connecting member is connected to the holding structure.

In one embodiment, the force converting means of the primary mechanical connecting member is coaxially connected with the primary mechanical connecting member to the secondary mechanical connecting member.

In an alternative embodiment, the force converting means of the primary mechanical connecting member is connected to the secondary insulating block spaced from the edge of the secondary insulating block. Here, the secondary mechanical connecting member associated with the secondary insulating block is offset relative to the mechanical connecting member.

In one embodiment, each of the primary insulating block and the secondary insulating block comprises a scale (notch, U, V shaped) on two opposing edges of each of the primary insulating block and the secondary insulating block. Here, the graduations formed in the two adjacent primary insulating blocks and the secondary insulating blocks are aligned to form a housing that is suitably formed for the primary mechanical connecting member and the secondary connecting member to pass through.

In one embodiment, each of the primary insulating block and the secondary insulating block is formed such that its edges are cut. Here, the cut edges of the four adjacent primary insulating blocks and the secondary insulating blocks form a housing adapted to pass therethrough.

In one embodiment, each of the primary and secondary insulating blocks consists of a layer of insulating foam covered by two large surfaces by plywood.

Such tanks may form part of a storage facility on the ground. For example, it may be installed as a facility for storing LNG, or in particular as a coastal or deep sea floating structure such as methane tanker, floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU).

In one embodiment, the cold liquid product transport vessel comprises a double hull and a tank disposed within the double hull as described above.

One embodiment of the present invention provides a method of loading and unloading a vessel as described above, wherein a cold liquid product is shipped on a vessel in which a cold liquid product is transported through an insulated pipe connected between the vessel's tank and a ground or floating storage facility. And a shipping method.

One embodiment of the invention provides a delivery system for a cold liquid product. The system uses cold pipes through insulated pipes arranged to connect the vessels, ground or floating storage facilities described above with tanks installed on the ship's hull, and insulated pipes connecting the ship's tanks with the ground or floating storage facilities. A pump to propel the flow of the liquid product.

It is a second object of the present invention to provide a coupler, which is a component that is forced to separate from the fixed structure. The elements are separated by two parallel rigid body walls. The first wall is close to the fixed structure, and the second wall is far from the fixed structure. Coupler:

An outer casing which forms the base of the coupler and which is secured to the structure and which surrounds the elastic means for pushing the plug against the fixing structure via a plug of insulating material and a nut (female thread). chapter 1;

A second part forming the head of the coupler,

The second portion comprises an outer casing secured to the insulating element, the outer casing surrounding the insulating ring and a cylindrical sleeve threaded internally at both ends; Threads distant from the fixing structure receive a finish having a flange supported on a plate that is carried by a second wall of the thermal insulation element and the outer casing is configured between the second wall of the thermal insulation element and the plate. Fixed to the peripheral plate located at the spot facing,

Finally, a thread is formed at both ends, one end is screwed into the sleeve of the head of the coupler and the other end is threaded to include a first rod which ensures a clamping force on the fastening structure.

The retained component to the retaining structure can be associated with a complementary element covered by a metal plate on the opposite side of the retaining structure. And the thread of the sleeve not occupied by the first rod may receive a threaded end of the second rod that provides a connection of the connector retained to the sleeve and the complementary element through the closure. The connector is welded to the metal plate and the resilient means disposed between the edge of the second rod and the supplemental case in a complementary case having the same structure as the head of the coupler, so that a seal (sealing) of the flange is formed between the outer space and the inner space of the supplementary element. A thread sleeve that is guaranteed.

In a preferred embodiment, the nut of the coupler base has a rectangular shape in which the corners are rubbed on the case or the part to which it is connected. The complementary casing of the plate and / or coupler of the case may have a rectangular shape. The second rod of the coupler preferably has at least a portion of a cross section smaller than the first rod.

In a preferred use of the coupler of the present invention, the holding structure is a double hull structure of a ship, and the component subjected to the separating force is a sealed and insulated wall component of a tank integrally formed in the ship. The coupler may be associated with a complementary element that constitutes the primary barrier element, and components closer to the retaining structure may constitute the secondary barrier element.

The threaded sleeve of the complementary case advantageously receives a threaded end of the means protruding against the metal plate, which is a means for covering the supplementary element, on the side away from the holding structure. The first wall of the component associated with the coupler may be held against the retaining structure with a smooth shim in between. The plate associated with the complementary element remote from the wall and / or retaining structure of the component is a thin metal plate formed by welding the same parts. According to a first variant, the plate portions are lap welded and comprise wavy corrugations formed in two orthogonal directions. According to another variant, the plate portions are welded with the raised edges.

A third object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for maintaining a relative position for performing lap welding of free edges by pressing two metal plates to a flat support. Here, in a position aligned with one of the plates, there is a bearing member which is spaced at regular intervals from the edge to be welded and carries a center point on the plates to be welded, the center point of which is used as the center of the lever. One end thereof is provided with a pressure pad disposed in line with the edges to be welded, the lever being further subjected to the action of an actuator disposed on one of the plates to be welded, the actuator being the edge to be welded to the pad. Pressing against it is characterized in that the two plates are formed suitable for pressing each other near the welding position.

In a preferred embodiment, the actuator is an expandable and flexible tube disposed between the lever and the area of one of the plates to be welded away from the welded portion. The center of the lever is preferably farther away than the pressure pad. According to a particularly preferred application, the plate to be welded comprises a parallel straight line, in particular a corrugation parallel to the edges to be welded, wherein each corrugation is located in a groove of the flat plate and the groove can have a V or U shape in cross section. It is particularly advantageous for the V branch of the groove to have an opening angle of about 90 degrees. The bearing member may be disposed between the pressure pad and the groove closest to the pressure pad.

In addition, according to a preferred application, the flat plate is a wall of a thermally insulating barrier element of a sealed and insulated tank formed integrally with the holding structure of the vessel. The plates to be welded then constitute a sealing barrier of the tank after welding, with bearing means associated with the lever provided by a mechanical connecting member to ensure the coupling force between the thermal barrier components and the holding structure of the tank. The bearing means associated with the lever consists of a protruding means screwed into the threaded sleeve or an end piece fixed to a mechanical connecting member, the release means being provided with a peripheral flange which is pressed onto the plate to be rep welded.

Some aspects of the present invention reside in the use of plates with a series of waves directed towards the outside of the tank for both barriers as primary and secondary sealing barriers. The advantage of the arrangement is that the region can benefit from the elastic force that enables the arrangement of the wavy folds. And the disadvantages due to the presence of wave folds on the first sealing barrier protruding towards the interior of the tank are eliminated.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS To describe the objects of the present invention more clearly, the embodiments of the present invention shown in the accompanying drawings are described below in accordance with a non-limiting and merely exemplary method.

1 is a plan view showing a relative arrangement relationship between a sealed barrier unit and a thermal insulation barrier unit according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 1A is a partial view of a sealed and insulated tank wall including a sealing barrier unit and insulating barrier units formed on the underside thereof. Here, the thermal barrier is covered by a sealed barrier where only part of its surface is sealed.
FIG. 2 shows the tank wall of the first embodiment as seen in section taken along the line II-II in FIG. 1.
3 shows one embodiment of a groove in which wavy corrugations of primary and secondary sealing barriers are disposed.
4 shows the construction of a secondary coupler supporting a sealed and insulated tank wall to ensure engagement with the retention structure in a section perpendicular to the retention structure. The tank wall is suitable for mounting with only one thermal barrier and only one sealing barrier.
FIG. 5 is a primary coupler to ensure engagement between the primary barrier and the secondary barrier below it, in a section perpendicular to the retention structure, held on the retention structure by the secondary coupler as shown in FIG. 4. As shown, the two couplers have coaxiality.
FIG. 6 is a detailed view of the base (base) of the secondary coupler of FIG. 4 seen from the level of the shaft and the captive nut of the rod.
7 is a plan view of the section of the head of the primary or secondary coupler according to FIGS. 4 and 5 viewed from the level of a plate mounted below the primary or secondary sealing barrier.
FIG. 8 is a view similar to FIG. 2, showing the tank wall of the second embodiment, wherein the secondary barrier is fixed to the holding structure 3 by secondary couplers and the primary barrier is connected to the primary couplers. Fixed on the secondary barrier, the two types of couplers being offset in two directions of the grooves created in the primary and secondary insulation units.
FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the primary insulation barrier unit and the secondary insulation barrier unit of the wall in FIG. 8, with the arrows showing the placement of the primary coupler and the secondary couplers. FIG.
FIG. 10 illustrates a socket enabling docking of the base of the primary coupler, according to the embodiments of FIGS. 8 and 9.
FIG. 11 shows the placement of the protruding bearing member on the primary sealing barrier, the protruding bearing member being aligned with the coupling member of the primary barrier at the intersection of two adjacent components of the primary insulating barrier, FIG. 11 shows a cross section perpendicular to the midline of the corrugation of the holding structure and the primary sealing barrier.
FIG. 12 is a view similar to FIG. 11 showing the use of a bearing member for the device to press against each other for two primary sealing barrier plates to be lap welded to provide a seal.
13 shows a cross section of a tank of a methane vessel and a loading / unloading terminal of the tank.

1 to 3, the secondary thermal barrier 1 is formed of parallel modular blocks, and the primary thermal barrier 2 is also formed of parallel modular blocks. In the embodiment shown, these modular blocks are slabs of rectangular parallelepiped shape, namely secondary insulating slab 28 and primary insulating slab 29. However, other shapes are possible. These secondary insulating slabs 28 and primary insulating slabs 29 are each composed of a thermally insulating foam panel 1a and a rectangular shape 2a. Here, each panel 1a is covered with plywood backing sheets 1b and 2b on the wider side, respectively. The backing sheet 1b of the secondary insulating slab 28 is pressed against the holding structure 3 of the ship by means of flexible mastic beads.

The cover plates 1c, 2c comprise grooves 5 which are rectangular in cross section, where the grooves extend up to the foam layers 1a, 2a. Planar regions 46 are defined between the grooves 5.

The primary thermal insulation barrier 2 and the secondary thermal insulation barrier 1 are each a metal sheet constituting the secondary sealing barrier 6 and the primary sealing barrier 7, for example on a wall further from the retaining structure 3. Carry stainless steel.

These secondary sealing barriers 6 and the primary sealing barriers 7 are formed of a set of rectangular metal plates comprising secondary plates 25 and primary plates 25a, respectively, where each sealing barrier is V-. It includes wavy folds and the two branches of V have each opening about 90 degrees.

It may be allowed to open more than 90 degrees, but smaller than this is not recommended because the welding becomes difficult. The corrugations of each of the secondary metal plates 25 and the primary metal plates 25a each have the same distance, and as is clearly shown in FIGS. When viewed perpendicular to the retaining structure 3), the planar corrugated interregions 40 are formed. The primary barrier can be created in exactly the same way.

The secondary metal plate 25 and the primary metal plate 25a are respectively disposed on the secondary insulating slab 28 and the primary insulating slab 29 so that the corrugations 8 have grooves 5 of the insulating slabs in the lower side. ), Each planar region 40 is supported on the corresponding cover plate 1c or 2c in the planar region 46.

3 shows a preferred variant of the grooves 5 comprising wavy corrugations 8 of the sealing barriers 6 or 7. In this variant, the branches of V constituting the cross section of the corrugated corrugation 8 are supported by wedges, which at the top and the bent part of V, respectively, have a secondary sealing barrier 6 or It has a free area that constitutes passages 10 through which nitrogen can be circulated between the primary sealing barrier 7 and the secondary insulating slabs 28 or the primary insulating slabs 29. These passages constitute a safety device in case of leakage. In addition, the fact of supporting the branches of V of the wavy pleats 8 increases the mechanical force of the wavy pleats. Relaxation slots may be provided below the groove 5.

Secondary insulating slabs 28 and primary insulating slabs 29 are fixed on a holding structure 3 consisting of a double hull of a ship, where the tank is systematically around the insulating slabs 28, 29 to be fixed. It is installed by mechanical coupling members located. 1 and 1A show the relative arrangement of the secondary thermal barrier and the secondary sealing barrier 6 in one embodiment. The upper ends 11 of the secondary coupling members are shown in this plan view. The secondary metal plate 25 is disposed equal in size to the secondary insulating slab 28 and offset in half length or half width with respect to the secondary insulating slabs 28 it supports. Accordingly, the coupling members 11 located on the edges of the secondary insulating slabs 28 are located in the center of the rectangular corrugated regions of the secondary metal plate 25. Lines 35 refer to overlapping regions of adjacent secondary metal plates 25. The relative arrangement of the primary thermal barrier 2 and the primary sealing barrier 7 can be exactly the same. The offset between the edges of the insulating slabs and the edges of the metal plates they support has several advantages. On the other hand, when these corners appear regularly, the sealed welding between the edges of adjacent metal plates becomes simpler, which is not simple when it is necessary to provide points for attaching couplers at the level of the edges of the metal plates. On the other hand, the areas between adjacent insulating slabs in which couplers are arranged may have a slightly offset level due to the mounting clearance of each of the insulating slabs. These areas thus tend to provide a non-uniform support surface for the metal sealing membrane than the central areas of the insulating slabs, whereby stresses can be concentrated in the areas located between the insulating slabs. In the proposed arrangement, the weakest region of the sealing membrane, ie the corner region of the metal plates, is placed over the regions with the most uniform support surface, while the regions located between the insulating slabs are conveyed by the corrugations 8. Because of the elastic force, it is covered by the central portion of the metal plates 25 or 25a which are more resistant to stress.

The first embodiment of the tank wall will now be described. Fig. 2 shows the first embodiment as a whole, and Figs. 4 and 5 show the mechanical coupling members in detail.

As clearly shown in FIG. 2, the coupling members here comprise a coaxial secondary coupler 41 and a primary coupler 42. Here, the primary coupler 42 penetrating the primary insulation barrier 2 is arranged on the same axis as the secondary coupler 41 penetrating the secondary insulation barrier 1. Each time, the passages of the secondary couplers 41 penetrating the secondary insulation barrier 1 and the passages of the primary couplers 42 penetrating the primary insulation barrier 2 are each of the secondary insulation slabs 28. Consisting of graduations 12 engraved in the corners and corners of the primary insulating slabs 29 and corner graduations 13 produced at the corners of the secondary insulating slabs 28 and the primary insulating slabs 29. do. The housing of each of the secondary coupler 41 and the primary coupler 42 is constituted by two graduations 12 or four graduations 13 of four adjacent insulating slabs created in two adjacent insulating slabs. do.

As described above, the coupling system of the primary thermal insulation barriers 2 and the secondary thermal insulation barriers 1 to the holding structure 3 is composed of two types of couplers 41, 42. One embodiment of the secondary coupler 41 is shown in FIG. 4. Said secondary coupler, which serves to hold the secondary insulating barrier 1 against the holding structure 3, can be used in embodiments in which the tank is insulated by a single insulating barrier.

The coupler 41 is a rod 14 connecting the coupler base 15 welded to the retaining structure 3 and the coupler head 16 fixed to the cover sheet 1c of the secondary insulating slab 28. It consists of. The coupler base 15 includes a casing 15a welded to the holding structure 3. The casing 15a is substantially cylindrical and encloses a stack of Belleville washers 15b and a nut 15c screwed to the rod 14. The nut 15c is rectangular in shape and the corners of the nut are rubbed on the casing 15a to prevent the nut 15c from rotating. The backing sheet 1b of the secondary insulating slab 28 is supported on a smoothing shim 17. The smoothing shim 17 allows the bearing coupling to be flat and allows partial disassembly of the insulation.

An opening for the cylindrical casing 19 which is delimited to pass externally. This casing 19 consists of a cylinder stamped at the center of a square fixing plate 18. The cylindrical casing 19 encloses an insulating ring 20 which surrounds the end of the sleeve 21. The sleeve 21 has threaded bores at both ends, one of which is located at the ends of the threaded ends of the rod 14 that do not cooperate with the nut 15c. The plate 18 is located in the spot facing 22 of the cover plate 1c and is covered by a secondary sealing barrier 6. The folded edge 37 of the cylindrical casing 19 prevents the movement of the plate 18 so that the tear-off forces exerted by the secondary insulating slab 28 are retained via the rod 14. To pass). The elastic force obtained thanks to the belllay oil washers 15b compensates for heat shrink and all dynamic deformation of the hull. The threaded bore is provided at the end of the sleeve 21 opposite the rod 14 so that the threaded portion 23 of the male thread finish 24 comprising the flange 24a can be located in this bore. . The threaded portion 23 is threaded into the sleeve 21 through the perforation of the secondary metal plate 25. Accordingly, the male thread finish 24 constitutes an attachment point that allows the secondary metal plate 25 to be held with respect to the cover sheet 1c. The flange 24a re-establishes sealing at the attachment point level by causing a sealed weld to be created on the secondary metal plate 25 through the perforation.

This male thread finish 24 may be used in a tank scaffolding or mounting tool or device for pressurizing the plates that make up the sealing barriers in bonding by lap welding.

FIG. 5 illustrates the use of the above-described secondary coupler for coaxially securing the primary coupler 42 as shown in FIG. 2. The left part of FIG. 5 corresponds to the head 16 of the secondary coupler 41 shown in detail in FIG. 4, except that the male thread finish 24 has a threaded bore at an end remote from the retaining structure 3. It has been replaced with a containing female thread finish 26. This finish 26 also includes a peripheral flange 26a adapted to be welded to the secondary metal plate 25 that constitutes the secondary sealing barrier 6. This finish 26 receives a threaded end of a rod 27 similar to the rod 14 in its threaded bore. The threaded portion of the rod 27 fitted into the finishing portion 26 has the same diameter as the rod 14 but the remaining length of the rod 27 has a smaller diameter. If the applied force exceeds its permissible limit, cracking can occur in the connection area of the two diameters. The rod 27 passes through the primary insulation barrier 2 to ensure a connection between the rod 27 and the cover plates 2c of the two or four primary insulation slabs 29. Enter inside. This connector 30 comprises a casing 30a which is generally similar to the cylindrical casing 19 of the head of the secondary coupler 41 of FIG. 4. The casing 30a is a cylindrical stamping produced in the center region of the same plate 18 as in FIG. 4 and is arranged in the same way under the primary metal plate 25a. The plate 18 is rectangular. In this casing 30a, belllay washers 30b and rims 30c on rods 27 supported on the belllay washers 30b are disposed. In the casing 30a, a threaded sleeve 31 is arranged, which sleeve 31 is threaded hole outwardly threaded into the cylindrical casing 30a and into the interior of the tank along its axis. , 38), which allows a protruding means of the same kind as the male thread finish 24 shown in FIG. The threaded sleeve 31 includes a peripheral flange 31a that can be welded to the primary metal plate 25a. The coupling members just described allow for small relative rotation of the various assembly components.

The bearings of the flange 24a on the secondary metal plate 25 and the primary metal plate 25a have secondary sealing barriers 1 and primary sealing barriers 2, respectively, with secondary insulating slabs 28 and primary insulating insulation. The bearings are fixed to the cover sheets 1c and 2c of the slabs 29. Thus, sufficient density of primary and secondary couplers is achieved, eliminating the need to maintain a sealed membrane on the walls of the tank. The connection of the sealing barriers at the level of the corners of the walls and the corners between the two walls of the tank can be produced by welding the metal sealing plates to the angle iron in accordance with known techniques.

8 and 10 show a second embodiment of the tank wall, in which the coupling holding the primary thermal insulation barriers 2 and the secondary thermal insulation barriers 1 to the holding structure 3 is a primary insulation. It is formed by primary couplers 33 and secondary couplers 32 that are not aligned with the portion that penetrates the barrier 2 and the secondary insulating barrier 1. In the present embodiment, the primary insulating slabs 29 and the secondary insulating slabs 28 are identical in shape to the slabs in FIGS. 1 and 1A but are arranged differently. Instead of the primary insulated slab 29 being exactly vertically aligned with the secondary insulated slab 28, here the primary insulated slabs 29 are spaced at a certain distance in both directions of the plane of the tank wall 29. Offset relative to them. The lateral offset spacing 61 is less than half the width of the slabs in the example shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. The longitudinal offset spacing 62 is equal to the longitudinal spacing between two wavy folds 8 in the example shown in FIG. 9.

Under these conditions, the positions of the primary couplers 33 and the secondary couplers 32 are indicated by arrows P1, P2, P3 and the positions of the secondary couplers 32 are indicated by arrows S1, S2. , No longer aligned with each other, as clearly shown in FIG. Not all couplers are shown in FIG. 9. Depending on the size of the insulating block, usually eight couplers can be used for each insulating block.

In the present embodiment, the secondary coupler 32 consists of a rod 32a, which is connected to the holding structure 3 by one end of the rod 32a and of the secondary insulating slabs 28 by the other end. It is connected to the cover wall 1c. The above-mentioned connecting portions can be formed exactly the same in the first embodiment.

The primary coupler 33 is connected to the cover sheet 2c of the two or four primary insulation slabs 29 by one end thereof and is spaced apart from its corners by the other end thereof. It includes a rod 33a connected to the cover sheet 1c of the. This connection of the cover sheets 2c and the rod 33a is influenced by the device shown on the right side of FIG. 5 and exactly in accordance with the above description. The connection between the rod 33a and the cover sheet 1c is affected by the cooperation of the threads on the rod 34 and the rod 33a shown in FIG. At the level where the rod 33a penetrates the secondary sealing barrier 6, the rod 33a includes a flange 33b welded to the secondary metal plate 25 constituting the secondary sealing barrier.

In this embodiment, offsetting the primary couplers 33 and the secondary couplers 32 can limit the thermal bridge between the interior of the tank and the retaining structure 3. In addition, the offset between each of the secondary metal plates 25 and the primary metal plates 25a and the primary insulating slabs 28 and the primary insulating slabs 29 is preserved in the same manner as in the first embodiment. . In this way the tank walls are arranged, where the four successive layers forming the tank wall each have an offset mosaic arrangement. In other words, each of the following four components is offset in the two directions of the plane to the positions for the other three: secondary insulation slab 28, secondary metal plate 25, primary insulation slab 29 ) And primary metal plate 25a. FIG. 11 shows in section a primary or secondary sealing barrier with a male end-piece 24 as described above in FIG. 4. The aforementioned components are denoted by the same reference numerals in FIGS. 11 and 12, and redundant descriptions are omitted. For convenience of explanation, FIG. 11 assumes the representation of a secondary barrier, but the situation would have been the same even if it was the primary barrier. Here, the adjacent areas of the two secondary insulating slabs 28 with the plywood cover sheet 1c are shown. As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 1A, the coupling members (not shown in FIG. 1) are located in a plane 51 located between two adjacent secondary insulating slabs 28. The secondary sealing barrier 6 consists of an assembly of sheet metal plates 25, which is affected by the lap welding 52 of two adjacent sheet metal plates.

FIG. 12 shows the device shown in FIG. 11 located in the wall region described above. Here, the male thread finish 24 has a center point 53 for the lever 54 which carries an pressure pad 55 at one end and an actuator with an inflatable and flexible tube 56 at the other end. ). The lever 54 comprises a bore to which the threaded rod 43 of the male thread finish 24 has a clearance sufficient to allow its angular relative movement. . Nut 44 maintains this engagement. The center point 53 is formed closer to the pressure pad 55 than the inflatable tube 56 to double the force generated by the tube 56 and to generate a high pressure at the level of the pad 55. The lever is sized such that the spacings 53-55 measured in parallel through the metal plates 25 are equal to the spacing between the plane 51 and the axis on which the wrap weld 52 should be made. As a result, the pressure pad 55 is pressed into the space in which the lap welding 52 is made, so that the two plates 25 are together at the level of the welding space without having to tack weld the two plates 25 in advance. It can be pressed.

The tank wall fabrication techniques described above can be used for ground facilities such as various types of storage tanks, methane tank vessels or LNG storage tank plants of floating structures.

The cross-sectional view of the methane tank vessel 70 shown in FIG. 13 shows a sealed and insulated tank 71 of prismatic form mounted on the double hull 72 of the vessel. The wall of the tank 71 is a primary sealing barrier in contact with the LNG stored in the tank, a secondary sealing barrier located between the primary sealing barrier and the double hull 72 of the ship and the primary sealing barrier and the secondary sealing barrier And two insulating barriers each positioned between the secondary sealing barrier and the double hull 72.

In a manner known in the art, the loading / unloading pipes 73 placed on the deck of the ship are connected to the shore or port terminal by suitable connector means to transport LNG to the tank 71.

FIG. 13 shows an example of an offshore terminal comprising a loading and unloading station 75, a submersible pipe 76 and an offshore installation 77. The loading and unloading station 75 is a fixed coastal installation, which includes a mobile arm 74 and a tower 78 supporting the mobile arm 74. The movable arm 74 carries a bundle of insulated and flexible pipes 79 suited to be connected to the loading / unloading pipes 73. The orientable mobile arm 74 is applicable to all methane tanker shipping sizes. A connection pipe is connected in the tower 78, but is not shown here. The loading and unloading station 75 enables loading and unloading between the methane tanker 70 and the ground installation 77. The ground installation 77 includes a liquefied gas storage tank 80 and connecting pipes 81 which are connected to the submerging pipe 76 to the loading or unloading station 75. The submersible pipe 76 enables long distance transport between the loading and unloading station 75 and the ground installation 77, for example 5 km, so that the methane tanker vessel 70 is far from the shore during loading and unloading operations. It can be located.

For the generation of the pressure required for liquefied gas transportation, pumps provided in the shipboard pump on the vessel 70 and / or the ground installation 77 and / or pumps provided in the loading and unloading station 75 are used.

Although the above has been shown and described with respect to preferred embodiments of the present invention, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described above, it is usually in the art to which the invention belongs without departing from the spirit of the invention claimed in the claims. Various modifications can be made by those skilled in the art, and these modifications should not be individually understood from the technical spirit or the prospect of the present invention.

The use of verbs such as “comprises” and “consisting of” and their forms of use does not exclude the presence of other constructs or steps other than those listed in a claim. The use of the indefinite article “a” or “an” for a component or step does not exclude the presence of such a plurality of components or steps unless otherwise specified.

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

Claims (14)

A sealed and insulated tank,
Holding structure (3); and
A thermal barrier comprising a plurality of thermal insulation elements (1, 2) arranged side by side in the holding structure (3); and
Sealing barriers 6 and 7 supported by the thermal barrier and comprising a plurality of plates 25; and
And a coupler for holding the thermally insulative elements (1, 2) with which the holding structure (3) is subjected to a force that will cause a departure from the holding structure.
The thermal insulation element is defined by two parallel rigid walls comprising a first wall 1b, 2b and a second wall 1c, 2c, the first wall 1b, 2b being the retaining structure 3. Closer to, the second walls 1c, 2c are further from the retaining structure 3 and support the plates,
The coupler is
A first part forming a base 15 of the coupler and including an outer casing 15a fixed to the holding structure 3;
A second portion forming the head 16 of the coupler;
Finally, both ends of the first rod 14 is formed with a thread;
The outer casing 15a surrounds the elastic means for pushing the plug against the holding structure via the insulating material plug 15d and the nut 15c,
The second part of the coupler includes an outer casing 19 fixed to the insulating element, the outer casing 19 surrounding the insulating ring 20 and a cylindrical sleeve 21 threaded internally at both ends and And a finish having flanges 24a and 26a which are supported by the plate 25 of the sealing barrier attached by the second wall of the thermal insulation element, the thread of the sleeve 21 furthest from the retaining structure 3. A periphery located in a spot-facing housing the end-pieces 24, 26, wherein the outer casing 19 is configured between the plate 25 and the second wall of the thermal insulation element. The first rod 14 is fixed to a plate (peripheral plate) 18, one end is screwed into the sleeve 21 of the head 16 of the coupler, the other end is the base of the coupler ( Screwed to the nut (15c) of the 15, the screwing of the first rod (14) Sealed and insulated tank, which is characterized by ensuring the maintenance of the insulating element against the holding structure (3). The method of claim 1,
The sealing barrier is a secondary sealing barrier, the insulation barrier is a secondary insulation barrier, and the tank further comprises a primary sealing barrier comprising a plurality of primary metal plates,
The insulating element 1 held against the holding structure 3 is associated with a primary barrier insulating element 2 supporting the primary metal plate 25a on the opposite side of the holding structure 3, The thread of the sleeve 21 not occupied by the first rod 14 is connected to the connector 30 fixed to the sleeve 21 and the primary barrier insulating element 2 via the closure 26. Accommodates the threaded end of the second rod 27 providing a
The connector 30 has a complementary casing 30a having the same structure as the outer casing 19 of the head 16, and the edge 30c of the second rod 27 and the complementary casing 30a. A flange comprising elastic means (30b) disposed between the flanges to enable sealing between the outer space and the interior of the primary barrier insulation element by welding to the primary metal plate supported by the primary barrier insulation element. Sealed and insulated tank, characterized in that it comprises an internally threaded sleeve (31) having a (31a). The method according to claim 1 or 2,
The nut 15c of the base 15 is sealed and insulated, characterized in that the contours of the corners which are rubbed on the casing 15a or on the part connected to the casing 15a are square. Tank. The method of claim 2,
Sealed and insulated tank, characterized in that the outer casing (19) and the peripheral plates (18) of the complementary casing (30a) of the coupler are rectangular in shape. The method of claim 2,
And the second rod (27) has at least a portion of a cross section smaller than the first rod (14). The method according to claim 1 or 2,
Sealed and insulated tank, characterized in that the holding structure (3) is a double hull of a ship. The method of claim 2,
The retaining structure 3 is a double hull of the ship and the internally threaded sleeve 31 is supported by the primary barrier insulating element 2 on the side further away from the retaining structure 3. A sealed and insulated tank, characterized by receiving a threaded end of the means (24) protruding with respect to the primary metal plate (25a), said primary metal plate covering said primary barrier insulating element (2). The method of claim 6,
The first wall 1b of the thermal insulation element associated with the coupler sandwiches smooth shims 17 disposed between the first wall 1b and the retaining structure 3. Sealed and insulated tank, characterized in that it is supported against the holding structure (3). The method of claim 1,
The wall of the thermal insulation element further away from the retaining structure 3 supports the plurality of plates 25 of the sealing barrier, the plates 25 being metal plates having the same contour shape, and the sealing barrier 6 is A sealed and insulated tank, characterized in that it is formed by welding metal plates having the same contour shape. The method of claim 2,
The wall of the primary barrier insulating element further away from the retaining structure 3 supports the plurality of primary metal plates 25a, the plurality of primary metal plates 25a having the same contour shape, and the primary A sealing and insulated tank, characterized in that a sealing barrier is formed by welding the plurality of primary metal plates (25a) having the same contour shape. The method according to claim 1 or 2,
Sealed and insulated tank, characterized in that the plates (25) are lap welded and comprise wavy corrugations (8) in two orthogonal directions. The method according to claim 1 or 2,
Sealed and insulated tank, characterized in that the plates (25) are welded to raised edges. The method of claim 2,
Sealed and insulated tank, characterized in that the primary metal plates (25a) are lap welded and comprise wavy corrugations (8) in two orthogonal directions. The method of claim 2,
Sealed and insulated tank, characterized in that the primary metal plates (25a) are welded to raised edges.

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