KR20200071681A - Support for fixing an motor on a lid of a loading and/or unloading tower of a tank of a ship - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a fixing supporter (110) which is intended to be installed between a motor (102) and a cover (105) of a loading and/or unloading tower (100). The cover (105) is configured to block an opening provided in a tank (200) of a ship (300) intended to receive liquefied gas (10). The fixing supporter (110) includes a first end portion (1100) cooperating with an outer wall of the cover (105) and a second end portion (1101) cooperating with the motor (102). The fixing supporter (110) comprises at least one portion (1012) in a truncated cone shape.

Description

SUPPORT FOR FIXING AN MOTOR ON A LID OF A LOADING AND/OR UNLOADING TOWER OF A TANK OF A SHIP}

The present invention relates to the field of storage and/or transportation of liquefied gas cargo, such as liquefied natural gas or liquefied petroleum gas.

The invention more particularly relates to a loading and/or unloading tower for a sealed insulated tank of a ship intended to receive this liquefied gas.

Liquefied natural gas, commonly known as the acronym ≪ LNG ≫ for the acronym ≪ GNL ≫ or ≪ Liquefied Natural Gas ≫, is the main energy source composed of about 95% methane. More specifically, LNG is stored in a liquid state in an adiabatic tank at a temperature close to -160°C, and since LNG occupies 1/600 of the volume occupied in the gaseous state, transfer from the first location to the second location is easy You can.

LNG can also be used as fuel for ships such as cargo ships, such as tankers, liquefied gas carriers or container ships. For ecological and economic reasons, using LNG as a fuel is advantageous over conventional fuels, especially those derived from petroleum.

The installation also includes a loading and/or unloading tower suspended in a cover that allows the tank to close. The tower for loading and/or unloading the tank comprises a triangular structure, ie a triangular structure comprising three vertical struts connected to each other by transverse members forming a grid structure. The loading and/or unloading tower supports, at its bottom, an immersion pumping system with the ability to unload cargo through the unloading line.

In addition, it is known to use a motor fixed to a cover through an intermediate fixing support. The circular section fixing support includes two ends. The first end of the fixed support is supported by the tank and extends in the direction of the orifice provided in the tank. One end of the motor is located at the second end of this fixed support. In addition, the fixed support takes the form of a straight cylinder. Therefore, the diameter of the orifice of the tank is the same as the diameter of the end of the motor. However, this technique is not easily exchangeable for loading and/or unloading towers, as it causes particularly heavy weight industrial resource changes.

Tanks containing liquefied gas need to be completely sealed and insulated. However, if the diameter of the orifice of the tank is large, there is a risk of deformation of the wall of the tank, and as a result, an expensive and difficult to install mechanical reinforcement element is used. In addition, strong mechanical stress is generated in the tank wall due to the pipe portion penetrating the tank wall.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned disadvantages by designing a new support for fixing the motor to the cover of the tank and preventing deformation of the cover.

The present invention is directed to a fixed support intended to be installed between the motor of a pumping device and the cover of a loading and/or unloading tower for a tank of a ship for receiving liquefied gas, the cover being a ship tank for receiving liquefied gas It is configured to close the opening provided on the wall of the, the fixed support includes a first end configured to be connected to the tank on the first side of the outer cover and a second end configured to be connected to the motor.

Specifically, the stationary support has at least one truncated cone-shaped portion.

Using the fixed support according to the invention, the effect of incorporating the technology in which the motor of the pump is arranged outside the tank is limited. This support makes it possible to combine the technology of the pumping device, where the motor is outside the tank and the pump is inside the tank, and the technology of the loading and/or unloading tower supported by a cover that closes the opening of the tank.

It is understood here that the motor is arranged on a fixed support which is fixed to the cover of the loading and/or unloading tower. This fixing support, which can lift the motor of the lid, has two ends of different diameters to allow for the difference in the section between the orifice of the lid and the motor.

The ship's tank consists of at least four side walls that cooperate with the bottom wall and at least one top wall. The upper wall extending substantially parallel to the bottom wall of the tank includes an opening configured to receive a loading and/or unloading tower of liquefied gas. In a variant, this tank can take a particularly cylindrical or spherical shape.

The loading and/or unloading tower includes a cover, which is configured to close the opening of the top wall of the tank, so that once the loading and/or unloading tower is installed in the tank, the tank is sealed and insulated. do.

The motor is arranged on the cover of the tower, i.e. outside of the tank, it is advantageous to be electric.

The loading and/or unloading tower consists of one or more posts extending over all or part of the height of the tank. The first longitudinal end of the post is secured to or penetrates the cover, for example by welding.

According to another feature of the invention, the stationary support comprises a straight cylindrical portion that extends a conical portion.

The fixed support includes two parts connected to each other, a truncated cone part and a straight cylindrical part.

The conical shaped portion has a first base at one end and a second base at the other end.

The straight cylindrical portion of the stationary support extends from the second base of the truncated portion. The straight cylindrical portion has a diameter corresponding to the diameter of the second base portion of the truncated cone portion.

The conical shaped portion and the straight cylindrical portion together constitute a support for fixing the motor on the cover.

According to another feature of the invention, the section of the first end of the fixed support is smaller than the section of the second end of the fixed support.

The first base portion of the truncated cone portion is larger in diameter than the diameter of the second base portion of the truncated cone portion. Therefore, the fixed support can reduce the diameter between the motor and the orifice of the cover. Thus, the fixed support is flared from the end integrated with the cover to the end integrated with the motor.

This reduction in diameter makes it possible to limit the deformation of the tower cover, thereby avoiding the addition of reinforcement elements.

According to another feature of the invention, the first end is coaxial with the second end.

The first base and the second base of the truncated portion of the fixed support extend in parallel planes.

According to another feature of the invention, the stationary support comprises at least one reinforcement that extends at least partially from the outer surface of the stationary support.

The reinforcing material of the fixed support emerges from the outer surface of the conical portion of the fixed support. This reinforcement may also extend from the outer surface of the straight cylindrical portion.

The stiffener of the truncated cone portion consists of at least one blade extending between the motor and the cover of the loading and/or unloading tower.

The stationary support also comprises a reinforcement of the straight cylindrical portion, which consists of one or more discs, advantageously two discs surrounding the straight cylindrical portion.

The reinforcing blades of the conical shaped portion are integrated with the reinforcing discs of the straight cylindrical portion, once the motor is fixed thereon, forming a set of reinforcing members that can increase the mechanical resistance of the fixing support, thereby preventing any bending of the fixing support.

According to another feature of the invention, the stationary support is configured to pass a drive shaft connecting the motor to the components disposed in the liquefied gas discharge pipe and tank.

The drive shaft can connect the motor to the components in the tank. The drive shaft transmits power from the motor to the component through the drive shaft. The discharge pipe can lead to liquefied gas while the liquefied gas is extracted from the tank.

The liquefied gas outlet pipe connects the components in the tank to the motor and is received in the tower's prop, ie inside the space surrounded by the prop. The strut can be an annular section over all or part of its length.

Advantageously, the discharge pipe of the liquefied gas receives the drive shaft of the motor.

According to another feature of the invention, the first end of the fixed support is inscribed in a plane parallel to the plane inscribed to the second end of the fixed support.

The present invention relates to a loading and/or unloading tower for a tank of a ship for receiving liquefied gas, the tower extending into the cover and the tank and at least one intended to be integrated with the cover by a first longitudinal end of the prop The prop includes a column, and the tower includes at least one pumping device configured to discharge liquefied gas out of the tank, the pumping device liquefied while at least one motor and liquefied gas mechanically connected to the pump are discharged out of the tank It includes a discharge pipe configured to direct gas, the pump is at one longitudinal end of the strut, the motor is disposed on the opposite side of the strut with respect to the lid, and a fixed support as disclosed herein is disposed between the motor and the lid.

According to another feature of the tower, the cover comprises at least one orifice of the same or substantially the same section as the section of the first end of the stationary support.

The pumping device consists of a motor fixed to the cover, a pump disposed at the bottom of the tank at the second longitudinal end of the strut, a discharge pipe and a drive shaft connecting the motor to the pump.

According to another feature of the invention, the straight cylindrical portion of the fixed support is formed by one end of the strut. Indeed, the strut may extend through the orifice of the cover. The strut is in this case a diameter equal to or similar to the diameter of the second base of the truncated portion.

Other features, details and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent upon reading a plurality of exemplary and non-limiting examples provided with reference to the following description on the one hand and the schematic drawings attached on the other hand. In the drawing:
-[Fig. 1] shows a schematic view of a vessel comprising a tank accommodating a loading and/or unloading tower according to the invention;
-[Fig. 2] shows a schematic view of a loading and/or unloading tower according to the invention arranged in a tank of a ship containing liquefied gas;
-[Fig. 3] shows a schematic view of the cover of a loading and/or unloading tower supporting two raised motors through two fixed supports according to the invention;
-[Fig. 4] shows a front view of a fixed support according to the invention, on which the motor is fixed, its straight cylindrical part being formed by one end of the strut of the loading and/or unloading tower;
-[Fig. 5] shows a schematic view of a fixed support according to the present invention, through which the discharge pipe is extended.

Features, modifications, and different embodiments of the invention may be combined with one another in various combinations, unless contradictory or exclusive of each other. If the selection of one feature is sufficient to confer a technical advantage or to differentiate the invention from the prior art, it is possible to envisage a variant of the invention, in particular comprising only the selection of these features, which are described below, separately from other disclosed features. .

1 shows a vessel 300, for example a liquefied gas transport ship, comprising four tanks 200 for the storage of liquefied gas. Each tank 200 is connected to a loading and/or unloading tower 100 that allows at least liquefied gas to be extracted out of the tank 200. At the rear (AR) of the vessel (300), a machine room is provided that includes turbines that are operated by combustion of diesel oil and/or evaporative gas originating from the tank (200).

The tanks 200 are separated from each other by a double transverse partition 302, which is otherwise referred to as ``cofferdam''. The bottom of each tank 200 is formed by laminating the primary insulating layer and the secondary insulating layer.

As shown in FIG. 2, tower 100 is disposed within tank 200 and is intended to contain liquefied gas 10. The liquefied gas 10 is made of liquefied natural gas (LNG) or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) or any other liquefied gas.

The tank 200 enables transportation of the liquefied gas 10 from the extraction position to the target position. To keep the gas below its liquefaction temperature, the tank 200 is sealed and insulated. The tank 200 consists of four side walls 201 forming a parallelepiped and cooperating with the bottom wall 202 at its first end. At the second end, sidewall 201 cooperates with top wall 203. The bottom wall 202 extends parallel to the top wall 203 and both extend perpendicular to the side wall 201 of the tank 200. The side wall 201, the bottom wall 202 and the top wall 203 define the inner volume of the tank 200 through which the liquefied gas 10 is deployed.

An opening is provided in the upper wall 203 of the tank 200. This opening allows passage from the loading and/or unloading tower 100 to the interior volume of the tank 200, especially during installation.

In addition, the loading and/or unloading tower 100 consists of a lid 105 extending parallel to the top wall 203 of the tank 200. The lid 105 cooperates with the opening of the upper wall 203 to close the tank 200 and to make the tank 200 sealed and insulated.

The loading and/or unloading tower 100 consists of a post 101 extending from the bottom wall 202 of the tank 200 to the top wall 203 in the direction of the opening. The post 101 is made of a stainless steel hollow rod composed of a plurality of pipe sections welded to each other.

According to one particular embodiment of the invention, the strut 101 is made of a stainless steel hollow rod.

The post 101 of the circular section includes a first longitudinal end 1010 and a second longitudinal end 1011.

The pumping device 107 includes a component 1030 secured near the bottom wall 202 of the tank 200 on the first longitudinal end 1010 of the post 101. In the application shown in FIG. 2, component 1030 corresponds to pump 103 configured to deliver liquefied gas 10 out of tank 200.

The pumping device 107 includes a motor 102 disposed at the second longitudinal end 1011 of the strut 101 in the external environment of the tank 200. According to one example, the motor 102 is made of an electric motor, but may be a hydraulic or pneumatic motor.

The motor 102, the post 101 and the pump 103 extend along the extension axis A1 perpendicular to the bottom wall 202 of the tank 200.

The post 101 accommodates a discharge shaft 104 and a drive shaft that mechanically connects the motor 102 and the pump 103, all of which are part of the pumping device 107. The drive shaft makes it possible to transmit the rotational motion of the motor 102 to the pump 103. The rotational movement of the pump 103 enables pumping of the liquefied gas 10 and extraction of the liquefied gas out of the tank through the discharge pipe 104.

The lid 105 is made of a flat plate that is integrated with the top wall 203 of the tank 200 by, for example, a welding or fastening system such as a screw/nut system. The dimensions of the lid 105 are advantageously larger than the dimensions of the opening of the top wall 203. Accordingly, the cover 105 may extend on the inner surface of the upper wall 203 facing the chamber of the tank 200 or on the outer surface of the upper wall 203.

The cover 105 is composed of a set of metal parts that impart mechanical resistance to the cover 105. The latter can also include an insulating material composed of a primary membrane and optionally a secondary membrane.

The lid 105 includes a first face oriented toward the outside of the tank 200 and a second face oriented toward the inside of the tank 200. The first side of the lid 105 cooperates with the stationary support 110 according to the invention, which supports the motor 102 of the pumping device 107. The second side of the lid 105 cooperates with the second longitudinal end 1011 of the post 101 of the tower 100. The cover 105 also includes an orifice that can pass through the cover 105 and pass the discharge tube 104 of the pumping device 107 so that the discharge tube 104 can be opened to the outside of the tank 200.

The motor 102 is fixed to a lid 105 that allows the tank 200 to be sealed and insulated. Once secured to the top wall 203 of the tank 200, the cover 105 enables the assembly of the tower 100 to be supported.

According to the present invention, the motor 102 is fixed to the cover 105 through a fixing support 110 as shown in FIG. 2. This fixed support 110 is in the form of a truncated cone and consists of two ends. The first end of the fixed support 110 is fixed to the motor 102, while the second end of the fixed support is fixed to the cover 105.

As shown in FIG. 3, the cover 105 of the tower 100 includes two motors 102 corresponding to two pumping devices. Each of these motors 102 includes a liquefied gas discharge block 115b and an electric block 115a. The discharge block 115b includes a discharge pipe 104 and enables extraction of liquefied gas. The electric block 115a corresponds to an area in which the rotor and stator of the electric motor are arranged.

Each of these motors 102 is indirectly connected to the first side 1050 of the lid 105 through a fixed support 110 itself which is fixed to the liquefied gas discharge block 115b. This stationary support 110 includes a first end 1100 cooperating with a first surface 1050 of the cover 105 and a second end 1101 cooperating with a discharge block 115b of the motor 102. .

The stationary support 110 includes a truncated truncated portion 1012 where the first end 1100 has a smaller dimension than the second end 1101. The channel extends from the first end 1100 of the fixed support 110 to the second end 1101 and allows passage of the drive shaft and discharge pipe 104 to the motor 102.

The loading and/or unloading tower includes a plurality of posts 101 extending from the tank cover 105 to the bottom wall of the tank. As shown in FIG. 3, the loading and/or unloading tower includes three posts 101.

The first strut 113 and the third strut 114 correspond to the struts disclosed above, ie, including the pumping device 107 and the stationary support 110 according to the invention. The second post 112 corresponds to the auxiliary post of the loading and/or unloading tower 100, which can also provide more rigidity to the loading and/or unloading tower 100. The second post 112 comes from the cover 105. The second strut 112 has a larger diameter than the first strut 113 and the third strut 114. For example, the diameter of the second post 112 is 600 mm with respect to the 400 mm diameter of the first post 113 and the third post 114.

The second post 112 is closed by a closing cap 1110. This closed cap 1110 is removable and can be removed from the second post 112 to insert a backup pump to the bottom of the tank.

As can be seen in FIG. 4, the stationary support 110 includes a straight cylindrical portion 1013 that extends the cone-shaped portion 1012.

This truncated portion 1012 includes a first base 1014 having a diameter equal to the diameter of the motor 102. This truncated portion 1012 also includes a second base 1015 coaxial with the first base 1014 with respect to the extension axis A1. The second base 1015 is supported against the straight cylindrical portion 1013 of the fixed support 110.

The straight cylindrical portion 1013 has a diameter equal to the diameter of the second base 1015 of the truncated cone portion 1012. Further, this straight cylindrical portion 1013 extends coaxially with the truncated cone portion 1012.

The straight cylindrical portion 1013 of the fixed support 110 may be formed by one end of the first post 113 or the third post 114 of the loading and/or unloading tower.

The first end 1100 of the fixed support 110 inscribes a plane P2 parallel to the plane P3 inscribed to the second end 1101 of the fixed support 110. The plane P2 and the plane P3 intersect the extension axis A1 and are perpendicular to this same extension axis A1.

In FIG. 5, the fixed support 110 includes at least one reinforcement 1102. As shown, the fixed support 110 includes a plurality of reinforcing materials 1102 extending on the outer surface 111 of the fixed support 110.

Two types of reinforcing materials 1102 are provided on the fixed support 110. The first type of stiffener 1102 takes the form of a straight blade 118 which is disposed perpendicular to the plane P1 perpendicular to the extension axis A1.

The second type of stiffener 1102 consists of a disk 119 surrounding the straight cylindrical portion 1013 of the stationary support 110.

According to one particular embodiment of the present invention, a plurality of disks 119 surround the straight cylindrical portion 1013 of the support. These discs 119 are fixed to each other by bearings 120 regularly distributed around the straight cylindrical portion 1013.

Blade 118 and disk 119 cooperate to form a set of stiffeners 1102.

The discharge pipe 104 includes a bent portion 117 and extends into the fixed support 110 along the extension axis A1 and then into the discharge block 115b. The bent portion 117 allows the discharge pipe 104 to deflect the flow direction of the liquefied gas when the liquefied gas is extracted.

The discharge block 115b of liquefied gas includes at least one outlet window 116 that allows the discharge pipe 104 to exit the discharge block 115.

Accordingly, the present invention achieves the object set by reducing the diameter of the orifice of the cover to prevent deformation of the cover of the tank and the wall of the tank. Thereby, the present invention makes it possible to avoid the use of expensive and difficult to install mechanical reinforcement elements.

However, the present invention is not limited to only the disclosed and illustrated means and configurations, and applies to all equivalent means and configurations and all combinations of such means or configurations.

Claims (10)

To be installed between the cover 105 of the loading and/or unloading tower 100 for the tank 200 of the vessel 300 intended to receive the liquefied gas 10 and the motor 102 of the pumping device 107 As the intended fixed support 110, the cover 105 is configured to close the opening provided in the wall of the tank 200, the fixed support 110 is the first surface 1050 of the outer cover 105 In the fixed support 100, comprising a first end (1100) configured to be connected to the tank 200 and a second end (1101) configured to be connected to the motor (102),
The fixed support 110 is a fixed support 110, characterized in that it has at least one cone-shaped portion (1012). The fixed support (110) according to claim 1, comprising a straight cylindrical portion (1013) extending the cone-shaped portion (1012). The fixed support (110) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a section of the first end (1100) of the fixed support (110) is smaller than a section of the second end (1101) of the fixed support (110). . The fixed support (110) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the first end (1100) is coaxial with the second end (1101). The fixed support (110) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, comprising at least one reinforcement (1102) extending at least partially from the outer surface (111) of the fixed support (110). The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the discharge pipe (104) of the liquefied gas (10) and the motor (102) are connected to components arranged in the tank (200) so as to pass through a drive shaft. Fixed support 110 that is configured. According to any one of claims 1 to 6, The first end (1100) of the fixed support 110, the second end (1101) of the fixed support 110 is in contact with the plane (P3) inscribed The fixed support 110 is inscribed in a plane P2 parallel to the. Liquefied gas, comprising at least one post 101 that is intended to extend into the cover 105 and the tank 200 and is integrated with the cover 105 by a first longitudinal end 1010 of the post 101 (10) as a loading and/or unloading tower 100 for the tank 200 of the vessel 300 intended to accommodate,
The tower 100 includes at least one pumping device 107 configured to discharge the liquefied gas 10 out of the tank 200, wherein the pumping device 107 is at least one mechanically connected to the pump 103 And a discharge pipe 104 configured to induce liquefied gas 10 while the motor 102 and the liquefied gas 10 are discharged out of the tank 200, the pump 103 of the holding 101 At one longitudinal end, the motor 102 is disposed on the opposite side of the support 101 with respect to the cover 105, and the fixing support 110 according to any one of claims 1 to 7 A loading and/or unloading tower 100 that is installed between the motor 102 and the cover 105. 9. Loading and/or unloading tower (100) according to claim 8, wherein the lid (105) comprises at least one orifice of a section substantially identical to a section of the first end (1100) of the stationary support (110). . 10. A loading and/or unloading tower (100) according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the straight cylindrical portion (1013) of the fixed support (110) is formed by one end of the support (101).

Images