US3239095A - Safety test tank - Google Patents

Safety test tank Download PDF

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Publication number
US3239095A
US3239095A US348558A US34855864A US3239095A US 3239095 A US3239095 A US 3239095A US 348558 A US348558 A US 348558A US 34855864 A US34855864 A US 34855864A US 3239095 A US3239095 A US 3239095A
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tank
hatch
gauging
pipe
roof deck
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Expired - Lifetime
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US348558A
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Ernest M Jones
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J&J Steel and Supply Co Inc
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J&J Steel and Supply Co Inc
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Priority to US348558A priority Critical patent/US3239095A/en
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    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
    • B65D90/00—Component parts, details or accessories for large containers
    • B65D90/22—Safety features
    • B65D90/32—Arrangements for preventing, or minimising the effect of, excessive or insufficient pressure
    • B65D90/34—Venting means
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
    • B65D90/00—Component parts, details or accessories for large containers
    • B65D90/22—Safety features

Definitions

  • the petroleum In the production of petroleum, the petroleum is first moved from the ground into a nearby tank. When the oil well is first completed, it is not known whether the well will be commercial .or not. Therefore, a test tank on skids is brought to the site. The petroleum is then conducted directly from the well into this test tank.
  • the petroleum is put into the tank, but not taken out of the tank until it is accurately gauged to determine the production potential of the well.
  • the amount of oil produced for a given time is gauged by sounding the tank. I.e., a gauger ascends to the top of the tank, opens a gauging hatch, lowers a metal tape into the tank, and thus measures the amount of oil in the tank.
  • An object of this invention is to provide a test tank for petroleum production which reduces the hazards to the gauger when sounding the tank.
  • Another object is to provide a test tank which has a closed, but vented top and a pipe extending under the gauging hatch so that only those gases within the pipe are expelled to the atmosphere when the gauging hatch cover is removed and thus, only a small amount of gas is released.
  • a further object is to provide a safety cage for the gauger to occupy while sounding the tank.
  • Still further objects are to achieve the above with a device that is sturdy, durable, simple, versatile and reliable, yet inexpensive and easy to manufacture and operate.
  • FIG. 1 is a perspective of a tank according to this invention.
  • FIG. 2 is an axial sectional view of the tank of FIG. 1.
  • FIG. 3 is a sectional detail of the connection of the thief pipe to the roof deck of the tank.
  • a tank with a cylindrical shell 10, floor deck 12, and roof deck 14. There is a manhole 16 and numerous openings 18 for the various connections which may be desired to make to the tank.
  • Skid 20 extends vertically up one side of the tank for moving the test tank to different locations. When it is desired to move the tank, the tank is tilted over onto the skid 20 and chains attached to the bar 22 at one end of the skid and the tank moved by skidding.
  • Thief pipe 24 is attached to the roof deck 14 as by welding.
  • the pipe 24 extends from the roof deck 14 to within a short distance (24") of the floor deck 12.
  • the pipe 24 contains no openings except those openings at the bottom of the pipe and at the top of the pipe.
  • the opening at the bottom of the pipe 24 is below what would be the normal liquid level of the tank. Therefore, the pipe 24 has access to gas only from the surface of the liquid which is within the pipe itself.
  • the pipe 24 is impervious to gas from top to bottom.
  • Gauging hatch 26 has flange 28 on the bottom thereof which is bolted to the roof deck 14 around the top opening of the pipe 24.
  • Cover 30 with vents 32 fits over the top of the gauging hatch 26 preventing debris or rain from falling into the hatch 26 and thus the pipe 24.
  • Vent 34 through roof deck 14, is on the opposite side of the tank from the pipe 24.
  • Ladder 36 extends vertically up the side of the tank.
  • Cage 38 is attached to the side of the tank immediately adjacent the gauging hatch 26.
  • the cage 38 includes floor grating 40 and side railings 42.
  • the ladder 36 terminates immediately adjacent the cage 38.
  • the tank may be sounded with accuracy and safety. It will be understood that if the diameter of the thief pipe 24 is eight inches and the diameter of the tank is thirty feet, that the volume of gas in the tank above the liquid will be about two thousand times as great as the volume of gas within the pipe 24 above the liquid. Therefore, even though some of the gas might be exhausted when the cover 30 is removed, there is only one two thousandths as much gas. The amount of gas to which the gauger is exposed is much less. Also, should the gauger be overcome, he is in the protected cage 38 and is less likely to be injured by a fall.
  • the roof deck 14 is impervious to gases except for its openings which include the opening 18 (generally having a connection attached thereto), the vent 34, and the ganging hatch 26. I Therefore, the gauger is only concerned with the fumes from the two sources. One is through the gauging hatch 26 which is open to a relatively small volume of gas. The other is from the vent 34 which is far enough away to not cause excessive fumes where the gauger is.
  • a safety test tank comprising in combination:
  • a safety test tank having (a) a shell,
  • a safety test tank comprising in combination:

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Filling Or Discharging Of Gas Storage Vessels (AREA)

Description

March 1966 E. M. JONES SAFETY TEST TANK Filed March 2, 1964 FIG.2
ERNEST M. JONES INVENTOR.
United States Patent 3,239,095 SAFETY TEST TANK Ernest M. Jones, Odessa, Tex., assignor to J. & J. Steel and Supply Co. Inc., Odessa, Tex., a corporation of Texas Filed Mar. 2, 1964, Ser. No. 348,558 3 Claims. (Cl. 220-85) invention relates to accident prevention and more particularly to sound-ing tanks in a safe manner.
In the production of petroleum, the petroleum is first moved from the ground into a nearby tank. When the oil well is first completed, it is not known whether the well will be commercial .or not. Therefore, a test tank on skids is brought to the site. The petroleum is then conducted directly from the well into this test tank.
To test the well, the petroleum is put into the tank, but not taken out of the tank until it is accurately gauged to determine the production potential of the well. The amount of oil produced for a given time is gauged by sounding the tank. I.e., a gauger ascends to the top of the tank, opens a gauging hatch, lowers a metal tape into the tank, and thus measures the amount of oil in the tank.
In many cases, the petroleum as produced is mixed with poisonous gases. In the past, these test tanks have often had cove-rs without vents which produces a slight positive pressure. When the cover of the gauging hatch is opened, the gases rush out sometimes overcoming the gauger. Sometimes the gauger llS killed in this operation; sometimes he becomes unconscious and falls from the top of the tank to his injury.
An object of this invention is to provide a test tank for petroleum production which reduces the hazards to the gauger when sounding the tank.
Another object is to provide a test tank which has a closed, but vented top and a pipe extending under the gauging hatch so that only those gases within the pipe are expelled to the atmosphere when the gauging hatch cover is removed and thus, only a small amount of gas is released.
A further object is to provide a safety cage for the gauger to occupy while sounding the tank.
Still further objects are to achieve the above with a device that is sturdy, durable, simple, versatile and reliable, yet inexpensive and easy to manufacture and operate.
The specific nature of the invention as well as other objects, uses, and advantages thereof will clearly appear from the following description and from the accompanying drawing, the different views of which are not to the same scale, in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective of a tank according to this invention.
FIG. 2 is an axial sectional view of the tank of FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is a sectional detail of the connection of the thief pipe to the roof deck of the tank.
Referring more particularly to the drawing, it will be seen that I have provided a tank with a cylindrical shell 10, floor deck 12, and roof deck 14. There is a manhole 16 and numerous openings 18 for the various connections which may be desired to make to the tank. Skid 20 extends vertically up one side of the tank for moving the test tank to different locations. When it is desired to move the tank, the tank is tilted over onto the skid 20 and chains attached to the bar 22 at one end of the skid and the tank moved by skidding.
Thief pipe 24 is attached to the roof deck 14 as by welding. The pipe 24 extends from the roof deck 14 to within a short distance (24") of the floor deck 12. The pipe 24 contains no openings except those openings at the bottom of the pipe and at the top of the pipe. The opening at the bottom of the pipe 24 is below what would be the normal liquid level of the tank. Therefore, the pipe 24 has access to gas only from the surface of the liquid which is within the pipe itself. The pipe 24 is impervious to gas from top to bottom.
Gauging hatch 26 has flange 28 on the bottom thereof which is bolted to the roof deck 14 around the top opening of the pipe 24. Cover 30 with vents 32 fits over the top of the gauging hatch 26 preventing debris or rain from falling into the hatch 26 and thus the pipe 24. Vent 34 through roof deck 14, is on the opposite side of the tank from the pipe 24. Ladder 36 extends vertically up the side of the tank. Cage 38 is attached to the side of the tank immediately adjacent the gauging hatch 26. The cage 38 includes floor grating 40 and side railings 42. The ladder 36 terminates immediately adjacent the cage 38.
It will be understood that when the gauger ascends the ladder 36 and stands in the cage 38 that although he is not completely protected, he is rather well protected from falling from his high position should he be overcome by fumes. Although there might be poisonous fumes being expelled from the vent 34, these do not cause any great difliculty inasmuch as the vent 34 is as far away from the gauger as possible. The fumes are well dissipated across the diameter of the tank. There is never pressure within the pipe 24 inasmuch as the cover 30 is vented to the atmosphere by the vents 32. The liquid level within the pipe 24 will be the same as the liquid level in the tank itself inasmuch as the liquid in the pipe 24 will be of the same density as in the tank itself. Also, the pipe 24 is open to the atmosphere while gauging because the cover 30 is off. Also, the tank itself is at all times vented to the atmosphere by the vent 34.
Therefore, I have provide-d a structure by which the tank may be sounded with accuracy and safety. It will be understood that if the diameter of the thief pipe 24 is eight inches and the diameter of the tank is thirty feet, that the volume of gas in the tank above the liquid will be about two thousand times as great as the volume of gas within the pipe 24 above the liquid. Therefore, even though some of the gas might be exhausted when the cover 30 is removed, there is only one two thousandths as much gas. The amount of gas to which the gauger is exposed is much less. Also, should the gauger be overcome, he is in the protected cage 38 and is less likely to be injured by a fall.
The roof deck 14 is impervious to gases except for its openings which include the opening 18 (generally having a connection attached thereto), the vent 34, and the ganging hatch 26. I Therefore, the gauger is only concerned with the fumes from the two sources. One is through the gauging hatch 26 which is open to a relatively small volume of gas. The other is from the vent 34 which is far enough away to not cause excessive fumes where the gauger is.
It will be apparent that the embodiment shown is only exemplary and that various modifications can be made in construction, materials, and arrangement within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.
I claim as my invention:
1. A safety test tank comprising in combination:
(a) a she-ll with (b) a floor deck,
(0) a gas impervious roof deck,
(d) a vent in the roof deck for venting the tank to the atmosphere,
(e) a gauging hatch in the roof deck remote from said vent,
(f) said gauging hatch opening into a thief pipe,
g) said thief pipe extending gas imperviously from the gauging hatch to adjacent the bottom of the tank,
(b) said gauging hatch being vented to the atmosphere at all times so that a gauger sounding the tank through the gauging hatch is not exposed to the gases in any portion of the tank except those gases within the thief pipe.
2. In a safety test tank having (a) a shell,
(b) a floor deck, and
(c) a roof deck,
(d) said roof deck closing the top of the tank except for the openings hereafter specified,
(e) a gauging hatch in the roof deck,
(f) a ladder attached to the shell of the tank leading to the roof deck, and
(g) a plurality of openings in the tank for making various external connections to the tank;
the improvement comprising in combination:
(h) a cage attached to the shell of the tank adjacent to the ladder and adjacent to the gauging hatch in which a gauger may stand while sounding the tank,
(j) a thief pipe attached to the roof deck in communication with the gauging hatch,
(k) said pipe extending within the tank from the roof deck to adjacent to the floor deck,
(m) said pipe being open at the top and bottom,
(11) said pipe being impervious to gas between its top and bottom,
(0) a cover over said gauging hatch,
(p) said cover having vents theret-hrough so that the tank and the pipe are vented to the atmosphere,
(q) a vent in the roof deck remote from said gauging hatch; so that the tank may be sounded by lowering a tape into said thief pipe through said gauging hatch while the gauger is standing in the cage.
3. A safety test tank comprising in combination:
(a) a cylindrical shell with (i) a floor deck and (ii) a roof deck,
(b) said roof deck impervious to gases except for the openings hereinafter enumerated.
(c) a manhole in the shell,
(-d) numerous openings in the shell,
(e) skids extending vertically up the shell for moving said test tank from one location to another,
(f) a gauging hatch opening through the roof deck,
(g) a thief pipe attached to the roof deck under the gauging. hatch,
(h) said pipe extending vertically within the tank to near the floor deck of the tank,
(j) said pipe impervious to gases between the top and bottom,
(k) a cover over the gauging hatch with vents therethrough,
(m) a vent in the roof deck venting the tank to atmosphere,
(11) said vent diametrically opposite to said gauging hatch,
(o) a ladder extending vertically up the shell side of the tank on the outside thereof, and
(p) a cage on the shell adjacent the gauging hatch and adjacent the ladder so that a gauger may climb the ladder and stand within the cage while sounding the tank by lowering a tape through the gauging hatch at which time the gauger will be exposed to the fumes from within said pipe only and the fumes from the tank will be expelled from said vent which is diametrically opposite across the roof deck from him.
References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 222,263 12/1879 Fitzgerald et a1. 22085 1,736,842 11/1929 Wilcox 220--85 2,457,155 12/1948 Jackson 220-85 2,576,893 11/ 1951 Stewart 22085 2,865,499 12/ 1958 Brogren 206 -46 2,997,878 8/ 1961 Graham 73304 FOREIGN PATENTS 174,240 3/1935 Switzerland.
THERON E. CONDON, Primary Examiner.
R. H. SCHWARTZ, Assistant Examiner,

Claims (1)

1. A SAFETY TEST TANK COMPRISING IN COMBINATION: (A) A SHELL WITH (B) A FLOOR DECK, (C) A GAS IMPERVIOUS ROOF DECK, (D) A VENT IN THE ROOF DECK FOR VENTING THE TANK TO THE ATMOSPHERE, (E) A GAUGING HATCH IN THE ROOF DECK REMOTE FROM SAID VENT, (F) SAID GAUGING HATCH OPENING INTO A THIEF PIPE, (G) SAID THIEF PIPE EXTENDING GAS IMPERVIOUSLY FROM THE GAUGING HATCH TO ADJACENT THE BOTTOM OF THE TANK,
US348558A 1964-03-02 1964-03-02 Safety test tank Expired - Lifetime US3239095A (en)

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Cited By (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP0308544A1 (en) * 1987-09-21 1989-03-29 Akzo Nobel N.V. Explosion-safe liquid container
US20080011359A1 (en) * 2002-01-15 2008-01-17 Adel Wiggins Group Integrated jet fluid level shutoff sensor and fuel tank vent for vehicles
US11118540B2 (en) * 2019-01-14 2021-09-14 Hamilton Sundstrand Corporation Vented tank systems and components
US20210371301A1 (en) * 2014-10-24 2021-12-02 Safe Foods Corporation Antimicrobial capture system with carbon container

Citations (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US222263A (en) * 1879-12-02 Improvement in liquid-measuring cans
US1736842A (en) * 1927-09-19 1929-11-26 Fred L Wilcox Tank
CH174240A (en) * 1933-07-29 1934-12-31 Vondiziano Paul Device for recovering benzine vapors formed in closed tanks.
US2457155A (en) * 1946-06-05 1948-12-28 Chicago Bridge & Iron Co Vent, overflow, and ladder unit for storage tanks
US2576893A (en) * 1950-06-26 1951-11-27 Jr James W Stewart Gauging and sampling well for vessels
US2865499A (en) * 1954-01-18 1958-12-23 Parsons Corp Sectional shipping container and internal pods therefor
US2997878A (en) * 1958-05-12 1961-08-29 Instr Inc Petroleum tank gage

Patent Citations (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US222263A (en) * 1879-12-02 Improvement in liquid-measuring cans
US1736842A (en) * 1927-09-19 1929-11-26 Fred L Wilcox Tank
CH174240A (en) * 1933-07-29 1934-12-31 Vondiziano Paul Device for recovering benzine vapors formed in closed tanks.
US2457155A (en) * 1946-06-05 1948-12-28 Chicago Bridge & Iron Co Vent, overflow, and ladder unit for storage tanks
US2576893A (en) * 1950-06-26 1951-11-27 Jr James W Stewart Gauging and sampling well for vessels
US2865499A (en) * 1954-01-18 1958-12-23 Parsons Corp Sectional shipping container and internal pods therefor
US2997878A (en) * 1958-05-12 1961-08-29 Instr Inc Petroleum tank gage

Cited By (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP0308544A1 (en) * 1987-09-21 1989-03-29 Akzo Nobel N.V. Explosion-safe liquid container
US4982861A (en) * 1987-09-21 1991-01-08 Akzo N.V. Explosion-safe liquid container
US20080011359A1 (en) * 2002-01-15 2008-01-17 Adel Wiggins Group Integrated jet fluid level shutoff sensor and fuel tank vent for vehicles
US7757709B2 (en) * 2002-01-15 2010-07-20 Adel Wiggins Group Integrated jet fluid level shutoff sensor and fuel tank vent for vehicles
US20210371301A1 (en) * 2014-10-24 2021-12-02 Safe Foods Corporation Antimicrobial capture system with carbon container
US11643341B2 (en) * 2014-10-24 2023-05-09 Safe Foods Corporation Antimicrobial capture system with carbon container
US11118540B2 (en) * 2019-01-14 2021-09-14 Hamilton Sundstrand Corporation Vented tank systems and components

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