RU2666377C1 - Self-supporting box structure for thermal insulation of fluid storage tank - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: package and storage.SUBSTANCE: invention relates to vessels for storing gases. Bottom panel and top panel are spaced apart in a thickness direction of the structure. Between the bottom panel and the top panel there are bearing components, each of comprising lower support, an upper support and a pillar extending in the thickness direction of the box structure between the lower and upper supports, and an insulating packing between the bearing components. Each support comprises a load-spreading sole and anti-topple ribs, uniformly distributed around the periphery of the support and configured to absorb stresses acting on the bearing component in a direction transverse to the thickness direction of the box structure, and transfer said stresses to said sole.EFFECT: box structure for the thermal insulation of a fluid reservoir is disclosed.25 cl, 15 dwg

Description

Technical field

The invention relates to sealed and thermally insulated reservoirs containing membranes and intended for storage and / or transportation of a fluid, such as a cryogenic fluid.

State of the art

Sealed and thermally insulated membrane tanks are used, in particular, for storing liquefied natural gas (LNG), which is contained at atmospheric pressure and a temperature of about -162 ° C. Such tanks can be installed on a floating or onshore structure. In the case of a floating structure, the tank (tank) may be intended for transportation or for receiving LNG used as fuel for a propulsion system of a floating structure.

The document FR 2877638 describes a sealed and thermally insulated tank, in the wall of which, attached to the supporting structure of the floating structure, there is a primary (main) tight barrier that is in contact with the LNG, the primary heat-insulating, sequentially located along its thickness from the inside out from the tank a barrier, a secondary (optional) sealed barrier, and a secondary heat-insulating barrier fixed to the supporting structure.

Thermal insulating barriers consist of many superimposed heat-insulating box structures (blocks) in the form of parallelepipeds. These structures have a bottom panel made of plywood, a top panel made of plywood, a heat-insulating packing made in the form of a layer parallel to the wall of the tank, and supporting components passing up through the heat-insulating packing and capable of absorbing compression stresses localized between the upper and lower panels.

When using a tank, its walls are exposed to numerous stresses. In particular, the walls experience compressive stresses due to loading of the tank, thermal stresses during cooling and stresses caused by the dynamic effects of the fluid contained in the tank. In this case, stresses oriented tangentially to the upper panels of the heat-insulating box blocks can lead to the overturning of the bearing components of these blocks.

Bearing components are usually made with a small cross section in order to limit the thermal conductivity through these components. However, components having small sections can damage the upper and lower panels, forcing them through.

WO 2013124597 describes a heat-insulating box construction in which each load-bearing component inserted between the lower and upper panels comprises a group of racks, upper and lower plates superimposed on these racks and, respectively, abutting the upper and lower panels, upper transverse reinforcing elements attached to the uprights and to the upper plate, and lower transverse reinforcing elements attached to the uprights and to the lower plate. The upper and lower transverse reinforcing elements prevent tipping of the uprights.

Disclosure of invention

One of the ideas underlying the invention relates to the creation of a heat-insulating self-supporting box construction, which has good heat-insulating properties with high strength in relation to stresses, in particular stresses directed tangentially and at right angles to the walls.

In one aspect, the invention provides a self-supporting insulating box construction for thermally insulating a fluid reservoir. This design contains:

- bottom panel and top panel spatially separated in the thickness direction of the box structure;

- load-bearing components introduced between the lower panel and the upper panel, each of which contains a lower support attached to the lower panel, an upper support attached to the upper panel, and a rack attached to the lower support and to the upper support and having a length in the thickness direction of the box structures between the lower and upper supports, and

- an insulating packing located between the supporting components.

Moreover, each of the supports contains a sole for load distribution, having a flat supporting surface that abuts against the lower or upper panel, and anti-tipping ribs evenly distributed around the periphery of the support and configured to absorb stresses acting on the supporting component in a direction transverse to to the direction along the thickness of the box structure, and transfer the indicated stresses to the sole.

The supports made in the described way allow avoiding the punching of the upper and lower panels due to the presence of soles for distributing the load created by these supports. In addition, the strength of the box-shaped structure (box-shaped block) with respect to transverse bending stresses is increased due to the presence of ribs that counteract the overturning of bearing components.

According to embodiments of the invention, such a heat-insulating box structure can be further characterized by the presence of one or more of the following features.

The support has a body oriented in the direction along the thickness of the box-shaped structure and equipped with anti-tipping ribs in the shape of a square with two faces forming a right angle and oriented respectively along the sole and body of the support.

The supports are made of thermoplastic material and attached by welding to the thermoplastic element of the lower or upper panel. As a result, the supporting components can be attached to the lower and / or upper panels in a simple and reliable way, since no fastener is used that could reduce the structural strength of the supporting components or the upper and lower panels.

The supports are made of a composite thermoplastic material containing a thermoplastic matrix and reinforcing fibers.

The inner side of the lower panel and the upper panel faces the inside of the box structure and has a coating of thermoplastic films for attaching supports of the bearing components.

Thermoplastic films are made of a composite thermoplastic material containing a thermoplastic matrix and reinforcing fibers.

The lower and / or upper panels comprise a body made of a composite thermoplastic material containing a thermoplastic matrix reinforced with fibers and forming a thermoplastic element for attaching supports of the supporting components.

The lower and / or upper panels contain a body made of wood impregnated with a thermoplastic matrix for attaching supports of the bearing components.

The supports of each bearing component are made at the same time with its stand.

Each support of the carrier component comprises a sleeve into which one end of the strut of the carrier component is inserted.

Each support contains two half-sleeves, together forming a sleeve into which one end of the rack is inserted.

The supports and racks are made of thermoplastic material, and the ends of each rack are fixed inside the bushings of the lower and upper supports by welding.

The racks are made of a composite thermoplastic material containing a thermoplastic matrix and reinforcing fibers.

Racks are made of wood.

The heat-insulating box structure has a parallelepiped shape, and each support contains at least four uniformly distributed anti-tipping ribs, each of which is oriented parallel to one of the sides of the structure.

In each of the soles for the distribution of load between each pair of anti-tipping ribs there is an incision.

Each support contains a reinforcing belt protruding from the specified sole inside the box structure.

The heat-insulating box structure contains anti-tipping reinforcing means, each of which contains two rods that form an X-shaped configuration and are located between the lower support and the upper support of two adjacent supporting components.

The insulating packing consists of at least one block of glass wool, packing material or polymer foam.

The insulating packing consists of a bulk insulating material selected from perlite, vermiculite, glass wool or airgels, and the design contains peripheral partitions oriented in the direction along the thickness of the box-shaped structure and ensuring the holding of the insulating packing.

The peripheral partitions are made of thermoplastic material and attached by welding to the thermoplastic element of the lower or upper panel.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is also provided a sealed and thermally insulated fluid reservoir comprising a heat insulating barrier comprising a plurality of described box structures adjacent to one another and a sealed membrane adjacent to the heat insulating barrier. In particular, the reservoir may be formed with a single sealed membrane or with two sealed membranes, each of which is located behind one of the two heat-insulating barriers.

The described reservoir may be part of an onshore storage facility, for example for storage of LNG, or it may be installed in a floating structure that operates in a coastal or open part of the sea, in particular on a gas carrier vessel, a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) or a floating installation for the production, storage and offloading of hydrocarbons (FPSO).

According to one embodiment, the marine vessel for transporting chilled fluid comprises a double hull and a reservoir located, as already mentioned, in a double hull.

According to yet another aspect, the invention also provides a method for loading or unloading a vessel of this type, wherein the fluid is supplied through thermally insulated pipes from a floating or onshore storage vessel to a vessel of a vessel or from said reservoir to said storage.

The invention also provides a system for moving a fluid containing the aforementioned vessel, thermally insulated pipes providing for connection of a reservoir existing in the ship's hull to a floating or onshore storage, and a pump for pumping fluid through thermally insulated pipes to a floating or onshore storage from a vessel’s tank or from specified storage in the tank.

Certain features of the invention provide the realization of the idea of creating a heat-insulating box structure in which stresses are uniformly transferred. Certain features of the invention provide the realization of the idea of creating a heat-insulating box structure that is easy to manufacture.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The invention as a whole, its tasks, its details, properties and advantages will become more apparent from the following description of several specific embodiments of the invention, which are given below only as illustrative, non-limiting examples, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In FIG. 1 is a perspective view and in partial section of a tank wall according to one embodiment.

In FIG. 2 shows, in partial form, a thermally insulated tank according to one embodiment.

In FIG. 3 shows, in a perspective view, an embodiment of the support of a carrier component.

In FIG. 4 and 5, the support of FIG. 3 is shown respectively in plan and front views.

In FIG. 6 and 7 show, respectively, in a perspective view and in a front view, a supporting component comprising a stand, one end of which is inserted into the support.

In FIG. 8 shows, in cross section, a heat-insulating box construction according to one embodiment, comprising anti-tipping means in the form of two rods forming an X-shape and located between the supports of two adjacent load-bearing components.

In FIG. 9 schematically, in a perspective view, a carrier component according to an embodiment of the invention is presented, comprising a rack, one end of which is inserted into a support.

In FIG. 10 is a partial perspective view of a carrier component according to a third embodiment of the invention.

In FIG. 11 shows the support of the carrier component of FIG. 10.

FIG. 12-14 illustrate supports according to three other options.

In FIG. 15 schematically, in a cutaway view, shows a LNG carrier and a terminal for loading / unloading this tank.

The implementation of the invention

The terms "thermoplastic" and "thermoplastic" are used (unless expressly agreed otherwise) in relation to composite thermoplastic materials reinforced with fibers, and to non-reinforced thermoplastic materials.

In FIG. 1 shows the wall of a sealed and thermally insulated tank. The design of such a reservoir (usually in the form of a polyhedron) is well known. Given that all of its walls can have, in general, a similar design, it will suffice to describe only a section of one wall.

The wall of the tank contains, in the direction from the outside to the inside of the tank, the supporting structure 1, a secondary heat-insulating barrier 2, which is formed by adjacent heat-insulating box structures (blocks) 3 mounted on the supporting structure 1 and attached to it by means of secondary locking components 4; a secondary sealed membrane 5 carried by heat-insulating box units 3; a primary heat-insulating barrier 6 formed from adjacent heat-insulating box structures (blocks) 7 and attached to the secondary sealed membrane 5 by means of primary fixing components 8, and a primary sealed membrane 9, which are heat-insulated box blocks 7 and which is designed to be in contact with cryogenic fluid contained in the tank.

The supporting structure 1 may, in particular, be a self-supporting metal sheet or, in the General case, a rigid partition of any type having the desired mechanical properties. The supporting structure may, in particular, correspond to the hull or double hull of a marine vessel. The supporting structure includes many walls that define the overall contour of the tank.

The primary and secondary sealed membranes 9 and 5, respectively, are, for example, a continuous layer of metal plates with the edges bent up, welded by these edges to parallel auxiliary plates located on the heat-insulating box blocks 3, 7. The metal plates are made, for example, of Invar, those. an alloy of iron and nickel, the typical values of the expansion coefficient of which are 1.2 × 10 ^-6 -2 × 10 ^-6 K ^-1 , or of an iron alloy with a high content of manganese, the typical value of the coefficient of expansion of which is approximately 7 × 10 ^-6 K ^-1 .

The heat-insulating box blocks 3, 7 have the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped. The box-shaped blocks 3 of the secondary heat-insulating barrier 2 and the box-shaped blocks 7 of the primary heat-insulating barrier 6 can have identical or different designs and the same or different sizes.

FIG. 2 illustrates the construction of a heat insulating box unit 3 (or 7). The heat-insulating box unit 3 (7) comprises a lower panel 10 and an upper panel 11, which are mutually parallel and spatially separated in the thickness direction of the block 3 (7). Made flat, the lower and upper panels 10, 11 form the main outer surfaces of the heat-insulating box unit 3 (7).

The upper panel 11 has an external abutment surface on which a primary or secondary sealed membrane 9, 5 can be placed. In addition, grooves 12 are made in the outer surface of the upper panel 11 to accommodate auxiliary plates, which allow welding of metal plates of primary or secondary sealed membranes 9, 5.

The bearing components 13 are oriented along the thickness of the heat-insulating block 3 (or 7) and are attached at one end to the lower panel 10, and at the other to the upper panel 11. The bearing components 13, which provide absorption of compression stresses, form many rows, and they are placed with mutual displacement along the length of the rows. The distance between the bearing components 13 is set so as to provide an effective distribution of compression stresses. In one embodiment, the arrangement of the supporting components 13 is equidistant.

Each supporting component 13 comprises a stand 14 extending through the thickness of the heat-insulating box block 3 (7) between the lower support 15 abutting against the lower panel 10 and attached thereto, and the upper support 16 abutting against the upper panel 11 and attached thereto.

Between the supporting components 13, there is an insulating packing 28. It consists, for example, of glass wool, packing material or polymer foam, such as polyurethane, polyethylene or polyvinyl chloride foam. Such a polymer foam can be introduced between the uprights 14 by injecting it during the manufacturing of the heat-insulating box block 3 (7). Alternatively, the insulating packing 28 can be formed by making holes for receiving the supporting components 13 in a cut-to-size block of polymer foam, glass wool or packing material.

In other embodiments, insulating packing 28 is composed of bulk insulating material. Such material may be granular or powder material, for example perlite, vermiculite or glass wool, or nanoporous material such as airgel. In this case, the heat-insulating box block 3 (7) is provided with peripheral partitions (not shown) oriented in the direction along the thickness of the box block and providing holding of the insulating packing 28.

According to one embodiment, the peripheral partitions are plywood strips attached to the lower panel 10 and to the upper panel 11. The partitions can be secured in particular by gluing them, using metal staples, welding with tack seams and / or screwing. At the same time, holes are drilled in two opposite partitions to allow for the circulation of inert gas. To avoid leakage of the material of the insulating packing through said drilled holes, a gas permeable fabric such as fiberglass is glued to the inner surface of the transverse partitions in the area of these holes.

According to a further embodiment, the peripheral partitions are made of thermoplastic material and are attached to the lower and upper panels 10, 11 by welding. In this case (as will be described later), the panels 10, 11 are either coated with a thermoplastic film made of a composite thermoplastic material, or made of wood impregnated with thermoplastic to enable the welding operation of thermoplastic. The peripheral partitions may, in particular, consist of a thermoplastic tape with a thickness of 0.1 to 1 mm or of a thermoplastic film. In this case, as mentioned, holes are drilled in two transverse baffles that overlap with a gas permeable fabric. Alternatively, the peripheral septa consists of a thermoplastic fabric permeable to gas. Alternatively, the thermoplastic material for the peripheral partitions comprises a fiber reinforced thermoplastic matrix. Such a material can be, in particular, GMT reinforced with glass mat (Glass Mat Thermoplastic). GMT material is made by combining glass mat and matrix to form a mat from a thermoplastic polymer and hot pressing the fabric thus formed. Such material is offered, for example, by Vetrotex under the brand name Twintex®.

Next, with reference to FIG. 3-5, the construction of the supports 15, 16 according to one embodiment of the invention will be described.

The supports 15, 16 comprise a sole 17 for load distribution, which has a supporting surface abutting against the lower panel 10 or the upper panel 11. The sole 17 for load distribution provides a supporting surface with an area larger than that of the cross section of the rack 14. As a result soles 17 prevent stress concentration within a small section and, thereby, reduce the likelihood of damage to the lower and upper panels 10, 11 by forcing them.

The support 15 (16) also contains a body 18, protruding in the direction along the thickness of the box block 3 (7). The support body 18 is hollow, i.e. forming a sleeve 19, designed for the introduction of one end of the rack 14. Since the sleeve 1d is designed in this embodiment to receive a cylindrical rack 14, it has a substantially cylindrical shape.

The support 15 (16) is also equipped with anti-tipping ribs 20, evenly distributed along its periphery. These ribs provide resistance to the tipping effect of the bearing component when a bending moment acts on it. To this end, the anti-tipping ribs 20 are made capable of absorbing stresses oriented in the transverse direction in the supporting component 13 and transmitting these stresses to the sole 17 for load distribution. Anti-tipping ribs 20 are made of the same material as the sole 17 and the body 18 of the support 15 (16). These ribs 20 have a shape close to the shape of the squares, and their surfaces 20a, 20b are mutually perpendicular, i.e. form a right angle with the sides oriented along the sole 17 and along the body 18 of the support 15 (16). The sole 17 for load distribution is provided with notches 21 located between each pair of anti-tipping ribs 20.

In the presented embodiment, each support 15 (16) contains four anti-tipping ribs 20, each of which is respectively located in a plane perpendicular to the plane of adjacent ribs 20. It is desirable to arrange the supports 15, 16 relative to the lower and upper panels 10, 11 so that each of the ribs 20 was oriented parallel to one of two non-opposite lateral sides of the heat-insulating box block 3 (7).

Supports 15, 16 are made by molding a thermoplastic material. In one embodiment, the thermoplastic material comprises a fiber reinforced thermoplastic matrix. The thermoplastic matrix may contain any suitable thermoplastic material, such as polypropylene, polyethylene, polyamides, polyethyleneimine, polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene terephthalate, polybutylene terephthalate, acrylonitrile butadiene-styrene copolymer, thermoplastic polyurethane, a mixture of these polymers, etc. The fibers may be glass or carbon fibers, or a mixture thereof. Supports 15, 16 may be made of the GMT material mentioned above.

The support 15 (16) shown in FIG. 3-5, consists of two identical molded parts 22a, 22b, each of which forms a half of the sleeve (half-sleeve), so that together two parts 22a, 22b form a sleeve 19, capable of receiving one end of the rack 14. This design supports 15, 16, composed of two parts 22a, 22b, facilitates the operations of forming the supports 15, 16 and their positioning relative to the lower panel 10 or the upper panel 11.

In another embodiment, each of the supports 15, 16 consists of a single (integral) molded part. In another embodiment, the supports 15, 16 of each carrier component 13 are made integral with the rack 14. In other words, the entire carrier component 13 is made as a single integral part.

In order to assemble the supporting components 13 with the lower and upper panels 10, 11, the supports 15, 16 are attached to these panels by welding thermoplastics.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2, the body of each of the lower and upper panels 10, 11 is made of plywood. The inner sides of the lower panel 10 and the upper panel 11, facing the inside of the box block 3 (7), are covered with a thermoplastic film 23. In this case, the operation of welding thermoplastics is carried out in the contact zones between the thermoplastic films 23 and the soles 17 to distribute the load of supports 15, 16.

According to one embodiment, before the welding operation, protective shields are placed on the inner sides of the lower and upper panels 10, 11 between the contact areas between the supporting components 13 and the panels 10, 11. Upon completion of the welding operation, these screens may be removed. As a result, thermoplastic films 23 are not damaged during the welding process. Suitable protective screens can be made, for example, from metal, ceramic and / or glass materials. In order to control their temperature, it is desirable to provide these screens with a cooling circuit in which a fluid medium such as water, air or oil circulates.

According to a non-illustrated embodiment, the outer surfaces of the lower and upper panels 10, 11 are also coated with thermoplastic films. This embodiment allows you to even out the bending of the upper panel 11 and the lower panel 10, in particular, when they are subjected to significant thermal stresses when cooling the tank.

According to another non-illustrated embodiment, the thermoplastic films only partially cover the inner sides of the lower and upper panels 10, 11. In this case, the thermoplastic films are only in contact areas between the lower panel 10 (upper panel 11) and the supports 15,16.

Thermoplastic films 23 are made, for example, from a composite thermoplastic material containing a thermoplastic matrix reinforced with fibers. In particular, such films 23 may be made of GMT material. Thermoplastic films help increase the mechanical strength of the lower and upper panels 10, 11, increasing their bending stiffness and improving resistance to bursting. These thermoplastic films 23 typically have a thickness in the range of 0.5-5 mm.

In one embodiment, the thermoplastic films 23 are attached to the body of the lower and upper panels 10, 11 by gluing. As an adhesive, for example, acrylic, polyurethane or epoxy adhesive is used. In another embodiment, thermoplastic films 23 are attached to the body of panels 10, 11 by hot pressing. In this case, the attachment of thermoplastic films 23 can be included in the technology of manufacturing plywood. To this end, pre-glued layers of wood material and thermoplastic films 23 are laid one on top of the other, after which the stack thus formed is subjected to hot pressing. In one example of such a hot pressing process, the foot is subjected to a temperature in the range of 190-200 ° C. and a pressure of about 0.2 MPa for 5 minutes.

To facilitate the welding operation, thermoplastic films 23 are used containing a thermoplastic matrix identical to the thermoplastic matrix used in supports 15, 16.

In another embodiment, the body of the lower and upper panels 10, 11 is used as the thermoplastic element for fixing the supports 15, 16. According to the first modification, the lower panel 10 and the upper panel 11 have a body formed of a composite material containing a fiber-reinforced thermoplastic matrix identical to the matrix, used in supports. According to the second modification, the lower panel 10 and the upper panel 11 use a body of wood impregnated with a thermoplastic matrix of the same type as in the supports 15, 16. This body can be manufactured by agglomeration of fibers previously impregnated with a thermoplastic matrix. Alternatively, the body can be made of plywood, the inner and, alternatively, the outer layers of which are made of wood material sufficiently porous so that a plastic matrix can diffuse inside the layers when heated and applying pressure. Suitable varieties of wood are, for example, birch, pine and willow.

A welding operation may, for example, be carried out using infrared radiation. However, any other suitable plastic welding methods are applicable, such as ultrasonic welding, induction heating, friction welding, fusion welding, hot air welding, or flame treatment. It should be noted that to ensure heating of the thermoplastic material in the case of induction welding, it is necessary to use metal plates on the supports 15, 16 and / or on the lower panel 10 and / or the upper panel 11 in the contact areas between the supports 15, 16 and the lower panel 10 and the upper panel eleven.

In FIG. 6 and 7, a rack 14 is shown, one end of which is inserted into the sleeve 19 of the support 15 (16).

According to one embodiment, the struts 14 are made of a thermoplastic material, preferably a composite thermoplastic material containing a fiber reinforced thermoplastic matrix. The examples of material and fibers given previously for supports 15, 16 are also applicable to struts 14. Racks 14 are attached to supports 15, 16 by welding thermoplastics. Moreover, in order to facilitate welding, the posts 14 can be formed of a material containing a thermoplastic matrix identical to the matrix used in the supports 15, 16. The supports 14 can be fixed in the supports 15, 16 until the supports 15, 16 are fixed to the bottom panel 10 and to the upper panel 11. Alternatively, it is possible to secure the supports 15, 16 to the lower and upper panels 10, 11 until the racks 14 are fixed in the supports 15, 16. The latter option is particularly effective in that it allows you to pre-position the supports 15, 16 and thereby facilitates the manufacture of t ploizoliruyuschih box units 3, 7. In another embodiment permissible simultaneously accomplished by welding of thermoplastics, 10 to the panel (11) and the rack 14 lock 15 (16) of the support.

It should be noted that in the embodiment of FIG. 6 and 7 of the rack 14 have a circular cross section and are made hollow. However, the invention is not limited to racks of this type, i.e. the racks in cross section can be solid and have a different shape, for example, square, diamond-shaped or rectangular. If the racks 14 are hollow, their inner surface is preferably lined with heat insulating material in order to limit heat loss through the racks 14.

As an example, in the embodiment of FIG. 9 racks 14 are made with a solid cross-section of a square shape. Alternatively, the solid struts may have a diamond or rectangle cross-section.

It should also be noted that the racks 14 can be made of various materials. Thus, in addition to the thermoplastic materials mentioned, the posts 14 can also be made of wood or thermosetting plastic, for example polyurethane, unsaturated polyesters, epoxides, acrylics or vinyl esters. Such thermosetting plastics can, in particular, be reinforced with fibers. In these cases, since the posts 14 cannot be attached to the supports 15, 16 by welding thermoplastics, the posts 14 are fastened to the supports 15, 16 by any other suitable means. As an example, the fastening of the racks 14 to the supports 15, 16 can be carried out by gluing, using brackets or by means of screws held in the holes made in the supports 15, 16 and in the racks 14.

Shown in FIG. 10, the supporting component 13 comprises a rack 14 with a solid square section, one end of which is inserted into a sleeve 19 formed in the support body 18. Accordingly, the sleeve 19 has a square section defined by its four walls. The support 15 (16), illustrated in FIG. 11, contains four ribs 20, having essentially the shape of squares, each of which is oriented along one of the four walls. The support 15 (16) also contains a round sole 17 for load distribution.

In addition, the support contains a reinforcing belt 27 of an annular shape protruding from the sole 17 into the box-shaped block 3 (or 7). The reinforcing belt 27 is located around the body 18 of the support, essentially at an equal distance from the body 18 of the support and the edges of the sole 17 for load distribution. The reinforcing belt 27 is made of the same material as the sole 17. In other words, the reinforcing belt 27 is integral with the sole 17 for load distribution.

In FIG. 12 shows a variant of the support 15 (16), which is different from the support of FIG. 11 only in that it does not contain a reinforcing belt 27.

In FIG. 13 and 14 show variants of a support 15 (16), provided and not provided with a reinforcing belt 27, respectively. In these embodiments, two reinforcing ribs 20 extend along each of the four side walls defining the body 18 of the support 15 (16).

In FIG. 8 shows an embodiment in which the heat-insulating box unit 3 (7) further comprises anti-tipping means, which consist of two rods 24, 25 forming an X-shaped configuration, i.e. located diagonally between the supports 15 (16) of two adjacent supporting components 13. These rods 24, 25 can be made of fiber-reinforced thermoplastic material and welded to the supports 15 (16) by welding thermoplastics. It should be noted that in the presented embodiment, the rods 24, 25 are welded to anti-tipping ribs 20. This X-shaped design has a particularly high shear stiffness, having only a limited effect on the heat-insulating properties. According to one embodiment, such anti-tipping means are localized only along the sides of the heat-insulating box blocks 3, 7. According to another embodiment, such anti-tipping means may be present between all of the supporting components 13.

In FIG. 15 shows, in a cutaway view, a gas carrier vessel 70. A sealed and heat-insulating tank 71 of a prismatic shape, mounted in a double hull of the vessel 72, is shown. The wall of the tank 71 contains a primary sealed barrier, which must be in contact with the LNG stored in the tank, a secondary sealed barrier located between the primary sealed barrier and the double hull 72 of the vessel, and two heat-insulating barriers located respectively between the primary sealed barrier and the secondary sealed barrier and between the secondary sealed barrier and the double housing 72.

The inlet / outlet pipes 73, mounted on the deck of the upper bridge of the marine vessel, can be connected in a known manner, via appropriate connectors, to the sea or port terminal in order to transfer cargo (LNG) from the tank 71 or to this tank.

In FIG. 15 also shows an example of a marine terminal, which includes a pickup and drop station 75, a submarine pipe 76 and an onshore storage 77. The pickup and drop station 75 is a stationary floating structure containing a mobile arm 74 and a tower 78 that supports mobile arm 74. Mobile the arm 74 carries a bundle of thermally insulated flexible pipes 79 that can be connected to the inlet / outlet pipes 73. The mobile arm 74, which can be given various orientations, is adapted to any type of gas carrier. Inside the tower 78 passes an unimagined connecting pipe. The station 75 receiving and issuing allows you to load the gas carrier 70 from the coastal storage 77 and its unloading in this storage. This storehouse contains tanks (tanks) 80 for storing liquefied gas and connecting pipes 81, connected through an underwater pipe 76 to the station 75 of the reception and delivery. Submarine pipe 76 makes it possible to transport liquefied gas between a given station and onshore storage 77 over a long distance of, for example, 5 km. This allows the gas carrier vessel 70 to remain during operations for loading and unloading it at a great distance from the coast.

To create the pressure necessary for the transfer of liquefied gas, pumps installed on board the vessel 70 and / or pumps available at the onshore storage 77 and / or pumps available at the receiving and discharging station 75 are used.

Although the invention has been described in relation to several specific options, it is in no way limited to them and includes all technical equivalents of the considered means, as well as their combinations, if they are covered by the scope of the invention.

The use of the verbs “consist”, “contain” or “include”, as well as their various verb forms, does not exclude the presence of other elements or other operations than those specified in the claims. Mention of a component (operation) in the singular does not exclude the presence (use) of other similar components (operations).

The use in the claims of any designations (given in parentheses) should not be construed as introducing any restrictions into the claims.

Claims (30)

1. Self-supporting box construction (3, 7) for thermal insulation of the fluid reservoir, containing: a lower panel (10) and an upper panel (11) spatially separated in the thickness direction of the box structure; Bearing components (13) introduced between the lower panel (10) and the upper panel (11), each of which contains a lower support (15) attached to the lower panel (10), an upper support (16) attached to the upper panel (11) and a stand (14) attached to the lower support (15) and to the upper support (16) and having a length in the thickness direction of the box structure between the lower and upper supports (15, 16), and an insulating packing (28) located between the supporting components (13), moreover, each support (15, 16) contains a sole (17) for load distribution, having a flat supporting surface, which abuts against the lower or upper panel (10, 11); characterized in that each of the supports (15, 16) contains anti-tipping ribs (20) uniformly distributed around its periphery and configured to absorb stresses acting on the bearing component (13) in a direction transverse to the direction along the thickness of the box structure , and transfer the indicated stresses to the sole (17). 2. The box-shaped structure (3, 7) according to claim 1, wherein the support (15, 16) has a body (18) oriented in the direction along the thickness of the structure (3, 7) and provided with anti-tipping ribs (20) in the form a square with two faces (20a, 20b) forming a right angle and oriented respectively along the sole (17) and the body (18) of the support (15, 16). 3. The box-shaped structure (3, 7) according to claim 1, in which the supports (15, 16) are made of thermoplastic material and are attached by welding to the thermoplastic element (23) of the lower or upper panel (10, 11). 4. The box construction (3, 7) according to claim 3, in which the supports (15, 16) are made of a composite thermoplastic material containing a thermoplastic matrix and reinforcing fibers. 5. The box-shaped structure (3, 7) according to claim 3, in which the inner side of the lower panel (10) and the upper panel (11) faces the inside of the specified structure (3, 7) and has a coating of thermoplastic films (23) for attaching supports (15, 16) bearing components (13). 6. The box construction (3, 7) according to claim 5, in which the thermoplastic films (23) are made of a composite thermoplastic material containing a thermoplastic matrix and reinforcing fibers. 7. The box-shaped structure (3, 7) according to claim 3, in which the lower and / or upper panels (10, 11) contain a body made to attach supports (15, 16) of the supporting components (13) to them, a composite thermoplastic material containing a thermoplastic matrix reinforced with fibers and forming a thermoplastic element. 8. The box-shaped structure (3, 7) according to claim 3, in which the lower and / or upper panels (10, 11) comprise a body made of wood, in order to attach the supports (15, 16) of the supporting components (13), impregnated with a thermoplastic matrix. 9. The box-shaped structure (3, 7) according to claim 1, in which the supports (15, 16) of each bearing component (13) are made integral with its strut (14). 10. The box-shaped structure (3, 7) according to claim 1, in which each support (15, 16) of the bearing component (13) comprises a sleeve (19) into which one end of the strut (14) of the bearing component (13) is inserted. 11. The box-shaped structure (3, 7) according to claim 10, in which each support (15, 16) contains two half-sleeves (22a, 22b) that together form a sleeve (19) into which one end of the strut (14) is inserted. 12. The box-shaped structure (3, 7) according to claim 10, in which the supports (15, 16) and the posts (14) are made of thermoplastic material, the ends of each rack being fixed inside the bushings (19) of the lower and upper supports (16) by welding. 13. The box-shaped structure (3, 7) according to claim 12, in which the posts (14) are made of a composite thermoplastic material containing a thermoplastic matrix and reinforcing fibers. 14. The box construction (3, 7) according to claim 10, in which the racks are made of wood. 15. The box-shaped structure (3, 7) according to claim 1, which has the shape of a parallelepiped and in which each support (15, 16) contains at least four uniformly distributed anti-tipping ribs (20), each of which is oriented parallel to one of the sides specified design. 16. The box-shaped structure (3, 7) according to claim 1, wherein in each of the soles (17) there is an incision (21) to distribute the load between each pair of anti-tipping ribs (20). 17. The box-shaped structure (3, 7) according to claim 1, in which each support (15, 16) comprises a reinforcing girdle (27) protruding from the sole (17) inside the structure (3, 7). 18. The box-shaped structure (3, 7) according to claim 1, containing anti-tipping reinforcing means, each of which contains two rods (24, 25), forming an X-shaped configuration and located between the lower support (15) and the upper support (16) two adjacent load-bearing components (13). 19. Box construction (3, 7) according to any one of paragraphs. 1-18, in which the insulating packing (28) consists of at least one block of glass wool, packing material or polymer foam. 20. Box construction (3, 7) according to any one of paragraphs. 1-18, in which the insulating packing consists of bulk insulating material selected from perlite, vermiculite, glass wool or airgels, and the structure (3, 7) contains peripheral partitions oriented in the direction along the thickness of the specified structure (3, 7) and providing retention insulating packing (28). 21. The box-shaped structure (3, 7) according to claim 20, in which the peripheral partitions are made of thermoplastic material and are attached to the thermoplastic element (23) of the lower or upper panel (10, 11) by welding. 22. An airtight and heat-insulated fluid reservoir containing a heat-insulating barrier, containing many adjacent box-shaped structures (3, 7) made according to any one of paragraphs. 1-21, and a sealed membrane adjacent to the insulating barrier. 23. A marine vessel (70) for transporting a fluid having a double hull (72) and a reservoir (71) located inside the double hull, made in accordance with paragraph 22. 24. The method of loading or unloading a marine vessel (70), made in accordance with paragraph 23, according to which the fluid is supplied through insulated pipes (73, 79, 76, 81) from a floating or shore storage (77) to a tank (71) ship or from the specified reservoir to the specified storage. 25. A system for moving a fluid containing a vessel (70), made in accordance with paragraph 23, thermally insulated pipes (73, 79, 76, 81), providing connection of the reservoir (71), available in the hull, to a floating or coastal storage ( 77), and a pump for pumping fluid through thermally insulated pipes from said reservoir to a floating or onshore storage, or from said storage to said reservoir.

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