KR102548503B1 - Self-supporting case suitable for supporting and insulating sealing membranes - Google Patents

Abstract

The self-supporting case includes at least one groove (30) formed in the cover panel and located in the upper surface of the cover panel to receive a welding support. At least one support partition 26 extends vertically and vertically in line with the groove 30 . Fasteners 35 engaging the upper surface of the support partition 26 and the lower plate 22 at right angles secure the support partition to the cover panel. The upper surface of the support partition 26 is wider than the lower portion 32 of the groove 30 and the area of the lower plate 22 in which the fasteners 35 are laterally offset relative to the lower portion 32 of the groove. engage in The primary insulating barrier of the tank consists essentially of a casing filled with insulating packing. The primary sealing membrane is held to the cover panel by a welded support inserted into the groove (30).

Description

Self-supporting case suitable for supporting and insulating sealing membranes

The present invention relates to the field of sealed and insulated tanks integrated in a supporting structure for containing fluids, in particular tanks with membranes for containing liquefied gases such as fuel gases. In particular, the present invention also relates to a self-supporting case made of wood suitable for supporting and insulating the membrane of such a tank.

Sealed and insulated tanks can be used in a variety of industries for fluid storage. For example, in the energy sector, liquefied natural gas (LNG) is a liquid with a high methane content that can be stored at about -163 °C at atmospheric pressure in above-ground storage tanks or tanks mounted on floating structures. Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) can be stored at temperatures between -50°C and 0°C.

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

For example, from FR-A-2867831, a self-supporting case made of wood is known, which is suitable for supporting and insulating a sealing membrane capable of receiving a fluid, the case comprising:

lower panel,

A lateral web fixed to the lower panel and protruding at right angles to one side of the lower panel to define an outline of the inner space of the case;

A cover panel supported and fixed to the upper edge of the side web parallel to and spaced apart from the lower panel to close the internal space of the case, the cover panel comprising an upper plate and a lower plate overlapping and fixed to each other, cover panel,

at least one groove formed in the cover panel and located in the upper surface of the cover panel to receive a welding support capable of holding a sealing membrane on the cover panel;

At least one support partition extending vertically and vertically in a row in each groove or groove parallel to the groove, the support partition being disposed at right angles to the cover panel and the bottom panel, the support partition insulating the interior space with insulating packing. a support partition extending between the side webs to divide it into a plurality of accommodating compartments, the support partition having an upper surface in contact with a lower plate of the cover panel and a lower surface in contact with the lower panel;

and fasteners orthogonally engaged with the upper and lower plates of the supporting partition to secure the supporting partition to the cover panel.

In FR-A-2867831, this self-supporting case is used to create a primary thermal insulation barrier supporting a primary sealing membrane. The primary sealing membrane is welded to the welding support forming a slip joint with the attachment strip stapled in the groove. For this purpose, longitudinal grooves pass through the upper part of the underlying support partition between the two boards of the cover panel and the two rows of staples.

Also from FR-A-2867831 or WO-A-8909909, for example, a secondary magnetic comprising a simple cover plate grooved with grooves having a T-shaped cross-section to accommodate a welded support in the form of wings folded at right angles. - It is known to use a supported case. In FR-A-2867831 there is no vertical support partition in line with the groove. In WO-A-8909909, the cover plate is fixed to the underlying support partition by means of screws received in the lower part of the groove.

One object of the present invention is to propose a robust, self-supporting casing that can be used to create a primary thermal insulation barrier in a tank that is subject to shock and dynamic pressure due to shaking of the cargo. Another object of the present invention is to allow the use of welded supports in the form of orthogonally folded wings also in the primary sealing membrane, for example to simplify or standardize the manufacturing procedure and reduce parts inventory.

To this end, the present invention provides that the groove continues thickness-wise of the upper plate, having a section comprising a wider lower portion and a narrower orifice portion,

The self-supporting case described above is provided wherein the upper surface of the support partition is wider than the lower portion of the groove and the fastener engages a region of the lower plate laterally offset with respect to the lower portion of the groove.

Due to this feature, the fasteners engaging the floor plate to secure the supporting partition to the cover panel are perpendicular to the groove and do not weaken the cover panel. Thus, this arrangement makes it possible to stably fix the supporting partition with an increased mechanical strength of the cover panel compared to the case of the prior art.

According to embodiments, such a self-supporting case may include one or more of the following arrangements.

Preferably, the groove is formed only in the top plate of the cover panel.

Preferably, the fasteners secure the supporting partition to the cover panel independently of the top plate. Thus, the top plate of the cover panel is not weakened by the presence of fasteners.

According to one embodiment, the groove has a T-shaped cross-section, the lower portion of the groove corresponds to the horizontal rod portion of the T and the orifice portion corresponds to the vertical rod portion of the T.

According to one embodiment, the lower part of the groove has a width between 20 and 30 mm.

According to one embodiment, the difference between the width of the lower part of the groove and the width of the upper surface of the supporting partition is greater than 10 mm.

According to one embodiment, the center line of the lower part of the groove is positioned perpendicular to and in line with the center plane of the supporting partition.

According to one embodiment, the fasteners are located on either side of the central plane of the supporting partition.

According to one embodiment, the supporting partition is made of wood, plywood or composite material.

According to one embodiment, the supporting partition has a uniform width wider than the lower part of the groove.

According to another embodiment, the inner partition has a top sole plate positioned parallel to the bottom plate and a center portion positioned below the top sole plate, the top sole plate being wider than the bottom portion of the groove, and the center portion being positioned below the top sole plate. It has a width equal to or narrower than the lower part of the groove.

According to one embodiment, the supporting partition has a multi-layer structure in the width direction, the multi-layer structure includes a core made of an insulating material and two side plates that are stiffer than the insulating material, and the fasteners are engaged with the side plates. For example, the insulating material is selected from polymer foams, in particular polyurethane foam, mineral fibers, in particular glass wool, cotton wool and expanded polystyrene.

According to one embodiment, two parallel grooves are formed in the cover panel and each inner partition extends perpendicularly in line with each groove.

According to one embodiment, the case has a generally cuboid shape.

According to one embodiment, the present invention also provides a sealed and insulated tank for storing a fluid, the tank comprising a tank wall fixed to a supporting wall,

The tank wall is formed from the outside to the inside of the tank in the thickness direction, a secondary insulating barrier retained on the supporting wall, a secondary sealing membrane retained on the secondary insulating barrier, and a primary insulating barrier retained on the secondary sealing membrane. and a primary sealing membrane held in the primary thermal insulation barrier, wherein the primary thermal insulation barrier consists essentially of the above-described case filled with thermal insulation packing and juxtaposed, the primary sealing membrane being welded inserted into the groove. It is held to the cover panel of the case by a support body.

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

Such tanks may form part of a land storage facility, e.g. a storage facility deployed on the seabed to store LNG, or may be used in floating, offshore or deepwater structures, particularly methane tankers, floating storage and regassification facilities. unit, FSRU), floating production storage and offloading (FPSO), etc.

According to one embodiment, a vessel for transporting a fluid includes a double hull and the aforementioned tank disposed in the double hull. According to one embodiment, the double hull includes an inner hull forming the supporting wall of the tank.

According to one embodiment, the present invention also provides a method for loading or unloading such a vessel, wherein fluid is passed through an insulated pipeline from a floating or onshore storage facility to a tank of the vessel, or from a tank of the vessel to a floating or unloading vessel. transported to an onshore storage facility.

According to one embodiment, the present invention also provides a conveying system for a fluid, the system comprising an insulated pipeline and an insulated pipeline arranged to connect the aforementioned vessel, a tank installed on the hull of the vessel to a floating or onshore storage facility. and a pump that drives fluid from a floating or land storage facility to a tank on a ship or from a tank on a ship to a floating or land storage facility.

From the following description of several specific embodiments of the invention, given in an illustrative and non-limiting manner only with reference to the accompanying drawings, the invention will be better understood and other objects, details, features and advantages more apparent. It will happen.

1 is a cut-away perspective view of a sealed and insulated tank wall in which a self-supporting case may be used.
Figure 2 is a side view of a self-supporting case suitable for the primary insulating barrier of the tank wall of Figure 1;
3 to 5 are enlarged views of zone III of FIG. 2 showing three embodiments of supporting partitions.
6 is a schematic cut-away view of a methane tanker tank and its loading/unloading terminal.

The general structure of a tank wall 1 , which is sealed and insulated, integrated into and fixed to the supporting wall 2 , is shown in FIG. 1 . The tank wall 1 can form part of a tank of a different geometry, for example in the form of a polyhedron. Figure 1 shows the tank wall 1 in perspective from above, cut away to show the structure of this wall. Such a structure can be implemented on a wide range of surfaces in various directions, for example to cover the floor, ceiling and side walls of a polyhedral tank. The orientation of FIG. 1 is therefore not limited in this respect. By convention, regardless of the orientation of the tank wall with respect to the Earth's gravity field, “above” denotes a position closer to the inside of the tank, and “below” denotes a position closer to the supporting wall 2 .

The tank wall 1 is continuous in its thickness with a secondary thermal insulation barrier 3 formed by the case juxtaposed to the supporting wall 2 and held by secondary retaining members; then a secondary sealing membrane 4 supported by a secondary thermal insulation barrier 3; Then, the primary heat insulating barrier formed by the case 5 juxtaposed and retained to the secondary sealing membrane 4 by the primary holding member self-fixed to the secondary holding member 4, and finally the case 5 ) consists of a primary sealing membrane 6 supported by Secondary and primary retaining members are described, for example, in FR-A-2798902.

The primary sealing membrane 6 is made of steel with a high nickel content, for example 37% (known as invar, whose expansion coefficient is generally between 1.2 * 10 ^-6 and 2 * 10 ^-6 K ^-1 ). It may consist of a continuous sheet of fabricated strakes 10. It is also possible to use alloys of iron and manganese with expansion coefficients generally of the order of 7 to 9 * 10 ^-6 K ^-1 . The strake 10 is firmly welded by the protruding side edge of the parallel welding support 8 held in the groove of the cover panel 7 of the case 5. The secondary sealing membrane 4 can be produced identically or differently as shown in FIG. 1 . Numeral 9 represents a groove for accommodating the welding support of the secondary sealing membrane 4.

Case 5, partially visible in FIG. 1, has a parallelepiped shape as a whole. FIG. 2 shows a planar side view according to arrow II in FIG. 1 .

Referring to FIG. 2 , a lower plate 22 and an upper plate 21 which are firmly fixed to each other, for example by screws, gluing and/or stapling, together constitute a cover plate. Fastening the upper (21) and lower (22) plates together, for example at the periphery of the supporting partition (26, 126 or 226) and securing the upper (21) and lower (22) plates to the secondary partition (25). While doing so, it is performed vertically in line with the secondary partition 25. The bottom panel 23 and the cover panel 7 are separated from each other by two transverse end webs 24 and two longitudinal end webs 27 which have a rectangular outline and together define the inner space of the case 5. are spaced apart This inner space is delimited by two support partitions 26 positioned vertically in line with the groove 30 and possibly a secondary partition 25 which may be narrower than the support partition 26 . The support partition 26 and the secondary partition 25 run longitudinally at right angles to the two longitudinal end webs 27 and parallel to the two transverse end webs 24 . All these elements are fixed as required by stapling, screwing and/or gluing. As an example, the secondary partition 25 has a width of 12 mm and the longitudinal 27 and transverse 24 end webs have a width between 12 and 24 mm.

In order to perform the thermal insulation function of the case 5, the compartment may be made of, for example, expanded perlite, particulate or fibrous airgel material, expanded polystyrene glass wool, cellulose cotton wool, It is filled with an insulating packing made of a material selected from among low-density polymer foams, for example composed of polyethylene, polyurethane, etc.

The dimensions of case 5 can of course be different from the example shown in FIG. 2 . At its width, the case 5 can have a single support partition 26 and a single groove 30 or, conversely, two or more support partitions 26 and grooves 30 .

As better seen in FIG. 3, the groove 30 is inversely comprising a horizontal wide lower portion 32 and a vertical narrow orifice portion 31 to accommodate a perpendicularly folded welding wing, according to known art. It has a T-shaped cross section. Alternatively, lower portion 32 may extend to one side of the orifice portion such that the groove has an L-shaped section.

The support partition 26 is a plywood sheet having a width W greater than the width of the lower portion 32 . This excess width offsets the row of staples 35 laterally relative to the lower portion 32, i.e., in line with the groove 30, to secure the support partition 26 to the lower plate 22. This makes it possible to place it outside of a zone that is positioned vertically and directly. This arrangement makes it possible to maintain the rigidity of the cover panel 7 despite the relatively large width of the groove 30, the bottom part 32 of which has a width of eg 24 mm. Indeed, although the staples 35 may locally reduce the stiffness of the lower plate 22 of the cover panel, this weakening does not occur at the same point as the narrowing of the groove 30. Preferably, the excess width of the supporting partition 26 is greater than 10 mm. For example, the width W is 36 mm or more, preferably 42 mm.

In Fig. 3, the rigidity of the cover panel 7 is further strengthened by the following measures:

- The groove 30 is formed only in the top plate 21 of the cover panel. Thus, the groove 30 does not affect the rigidity of the lower plate 22 .

- Fasteners 35 do not affect the rigidity of the top plate 21.

- the support partition 26 is centered under the groove 30 and is symmetric about the central plane.

- The fasteners 35 are located on both sides of the central plane of the supporting partition.

4 shows a support partition 126 having a multi-layer structure in the width direction, including a core 41 made of a heat insulating material and two side plates 42 that are stiffer than the heat insulating material on both sides of the core 41. Another embodiment is shown. The fastener 35 engages a side plate 42 made of, for example, plywood. This structure makes it possible to limit the weight and thermal bridge to the supporting partition 26 . For example, the side plate 42 has a width of 12 mm.

5 continues in the thickness direction of the case 5, the upper bottom plate 52 positioned parallel to the lower plate 22 and the central portion 51 positioned below the upper bottom plate 52 are supported by a partition 226 ) represents another embodiment of. The upper bottom plate 52 has a width W greater than the width of the lower portion 32 . Conversely, the central portion 51 may be as narrow as or narrower than the lower portion 32 of the groove 30 . The upper bottom plate 52 and the center portion 51 are made of plywood, for example. This structure makes it possible to limit the weight and thermal bridge to the supporting partition 26 . As an example, the central portion 51 has a width between 18 and 30 mm, preferably 24 mm. As an example, the top bottom plate 52 has a width greater than 24 mm, such as 42 mm, 50 mm or 60 mm.

In one embodiment, the upper bottom plate 52 may have a width equal to or less than the spacing between the supporting partition 226 and a secondary partition adjacent to the supporting partition 226 . In one embodiment, the support partitions 226 and possible secondary partitions 25 are distributed according to a uniform spacing pitch, and the upper bottom plate 52 may have a width equal to or less than the uniform spacing pitch.

Figure 2 also shows other features of a self-supporting case 5 that can be used according to the following requirements:

- Holes 28 are formed in the web 27 of the case 5 so that inert gas circulates in the primary thermal insulation barrier.

- A gas-permeable plug (17) made of glass fiber fabric is glued in front of each hole (28) in the inner surface of the web (27) to prevent leakage of the insulating packing.

- A fixed tenon (19) serving as the supporting surface of the primary retaining member is fixed against the web (27) at the rim of the bottom panel (23).

- a stiffener comb 16 perpendicular to the supporting partition 26 and the secondary partition 25 extends between the webs 24 at right angles to the lower panel 23, the supporting partition 26 and 2 At the intersection with the primary partition 25, a notch is provided to form a fitting with the supporting partition 26 and the secondary partition 25.

- Grooves 18 formed in the lower panel 23 and the supporting partition 26 make it possible to receive the projections of the secondary sealing membrane 4.

Instead of plywood, composite materials may be used to create part or all of the self-supporting case. For example, suitable composite materials are taught in WO-A-2015079135.

The primary thermal insulation barrier may consist entirely of the case 5 described above, or may consist only of certain parts of the tank. For example, the case 5 described above may be used close to the edge of the tank and different insulating blocks may be used in other parts of the tank wall. Such an arrangement is described for example in WO-A-2019077253.

Referring to Fig. 6, a cut-away view of a methane tanker 70 shows a sealed and insulated tank 71, generally prismatic, mounted in the double hull 72 of the vessel. The wall of the tank 71 includes a primary sealing barrier capable of contacting the liquefied gas contained in the tank, a secondary sealing barrier disposed between the primary sealing barrier and the double hull 72 of the ship, and 1 It includes two insulating barriers disposed between the primary sealing barrier and the secondary sealing barrier and between the secondary sealing barrier and the double hull 72, respectively. In a simplified variant, the vessel comprises a single hull.

As is known per se, the loading/unloading pipeline 73 arranged on the upper deck of the vessel can be connected to a sea or port terminal for the transfer of liquefied gas cargoes to and from the tank 71 by suitable connectors. .

6 shows an example of a maritime terminal comprising a loading and unloading station 75 , an underwater line 76 and an onshore facility 77 . The loading and unloading station 75 is a stationary offshore installation comprising a mobile arm 74 and a riser 78 supporting the mobile arm 74 . A movable arm 74 supports a bundle of flexible insulated pipes 79 which can be connected to a loading/unloading pipeline 73. The steerable mobile arm 74 can adapt to any methane tanker 70 template. A connection line, not shown, extends into the riser 78 . Loading and unloading station 75 enables loading and unloading of methane tanker 70 to and from shore facility 77 . The facility includes a liquefied gas storage tank 80 and a connecting line 81 connected to a loading or unloading station 75 by a submersible line 76. An underwater line 76 enables the transfer of liquefied gas between the loading or unloading station 75 and the onshore facility 77 over long distances, eg 5 km, which takes the methane tanker 70 offshore during loading and unloading operations. allow it to be at a distance.

To create the pressure required for the transfer of the liquefied gas, a pump installed on the ship 70 and/or a pump installed on the shore installation 77 and/or a pump installed at the loading and unloading station 75 is provided. do.

Although the present invention has been described in connection with a few particular embodiments, it is clear that it is not limited thereto and includes all technical equivalents of the described means and combinations thereof, which fall within the scope of the present invention.

Use of the verb "comprise", and use of conjoined forms, does not exclude the presence of other elements or steps other than those recited in a claim.

In the claims, any reference sign placed between parentheses shall not be construed as a limitation on the claim.

5: self-supporting case
7: cover panel
21: upper plate
22: lower plate
23: lower panel
24, 27: side web
26: support partition
30: groove
35: fastener

Claims (17)

A self-supporting case (5) suitable for insulating and supporting a fluid-receiving sealing membrane (6), said case (5) comprising:
lower panel (23);
A lateral web (24, 27) fixed to the lower panel and protruding at right angles to one side of the lower panel to define an outline of the inner space of the case;
A cover panel (7) supported and fixed to the upper edge of the side web parallel to and spaced apart from the lower panel to close the internal space of the case, the cover panel comprising: an upper plate (21) superimposed on and fixed to each other; a cover panel comprising a lower plate 22;
at least one groove 30 formed in the cover panel and located on the upper surface of the cover panel;
at least one support partition (26, 126, 226) extending vertically and in line with the groove (30) parallel to the groove, the support partition being arranged at right angles to the cover panel (7) and the bottom panel (23) , a support partition extends between the side webs 27 to divide the interior space into a plurality of compartments capable of accommodating thermal insulation packing, the support partitions 26, 126, 226 are the lower plates of the cover panel a support partition having an upper surface in contact with (22) and a lower surface in contact with the lower panel;
and fasteners orthogonally engaged with the upper and lower plates of the support partitions (26, 126, 226) to secure the support partitions to the cover panel;
The grooves 30 are continuous in the thickness direction of the upper plate to accommodate a welded support 8 in the form of a wing folded at right angles capable of holding the sealing membrane 6 on the cover panel, a wider lower part 32 and further having a section comprising a narrow orifice portion (31);
The upper surfaces of the support partitions 26, 126, 226 are wider than the wider lower portion 32 of the groove, and the fasteners 35 are lower plates laterally offset relative to the wider lower portion 32 of the groove. Interlocking in the domain of (22), case. According to claim 1,
The case wherein the groove (30) is formed only in the top plate (31) of the cover panel. According to claim 1 or 2,
A fastener (35) secures the support partition (26, 126, 226) to the cover panel independently of the top plate (21). According to claim 1 or 2,
The groove (30) has a T-shaped cross section, the wider lower portion (320) of the groove corresponds to the horizontal bar portion of the T and the narrower orifice portion (31) corresponds to the vertical bar portion of the T. According to claim 1 or 2,
wherein the wider lower portion (32) of the groove has a width between 20 and 30 mm. According to claim 1 or 2,
The difference between the width W of the wider lower part 32 of the groove and the width W of the upper surface of the supporting partition is greater than 10 mm. According to claim 1 or 2,
the central line of the wider lower portion (32) of the groove is positioned perpendicular to and in line with the central plane of the supporting partition (26, 126, 226). According to claim 1 or 2,
The case where the fasteners (35) are located on either side of the central plane of the supporting partition. According to claim 1 or 2,
Case, wherein the supporting partition (26, 126, 226) is made of wood, plywood or composite material. According to claim 1 or 2,
The case wherein the support partition (26, 126) has a uniform width that is wider than the wider lower portion of the groove. According to claim 1 or 2,
The inner partition 226 has an upper bottom plate 52 disposed parallel to the lower plate 22 and a central portion 51 disposed below the upper bottom plate, the upper bottom plate 52 having a wider groove wider than the lower portion (32), the central portion (51) having a width equal to or narrower than the wider lower portion (32) of the groove. According to claim 1 or 2,
The support partition 126 has a multi-layer structure in the width direction, the multi-layer structure includes a core 41 made of a heat insulating material and two side plates 42 that are more rigid than the heat insulating material, and the fastener 35 is engaged with the side plate 42, the case. According to claim 1 or 2,
A case comprising two parallel grooves (30) formed in a cover panel and each inner partition (26, 126, 226) extending perpendicularly in line with each groove. A sealed and insulated tank for storing a fluid, comprising:
The tank comprises a tank wall 1 fixed to a supporting wall 2, the tank wall having a secondary insulation barrier 3 held to the supporting wall 2, from the outside to the inside of the tank in the thickness direction. , a secondary sealing membrane 4 held on the secondary thermal insulation barrier, a primary thermal insulation barrier retained on the secondary sealing membrane, and a primary sealing membrane 6 maintained on the primary thermal insulation barrier, wherein the The primary thermal insulation barrier essentially comprises a case (5) according to claim 1 or 2 which is juxtaposed and filled with thermal insulation packing, and the primary sealing membrane (6) is a welded support inserted into said groove (30) ( 8) a sealed and insulated tank, held to the cover panel of the casing. As a vessel 70 for transporting fluid,
A vessel comprising a double hull (72) and a tank (71) according to claim 14 arranged in the double hull (72). As a conveying system for fluid,
A vessel (70) according to claim 15, an insulated pipeline (73, 79, 76, 81) arranged to connect a tank (71) of the vessel to a floating or land storage facility and an insulated pipeline via a floating or land storage facility. A fluid transfer system comprising a pump for driving fluid from a storage facility to a tank on a ship or from a tank on a ship to a floating or land storage facility. A method of loading and unloading a ship 70 according to claim 15,
wherein the fluid is transported from a floating or land storage facility (77) to a vessel's tank (71) or from a vessel's tank to a floating or land storage facility via an insulated pipeline (73, 79, 76, 81).

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