WO2011157915A1

WO2011157915A1 - Sealed and insulating vessel comprising a support foot

Info

Publication number: WO2011157915A1
Application number: PCT/FR2011/051168
Authority: WO
Inventors: Saïd LAHRACH; Johan Bougault; Julien Sigaudes
Original assignee: Gaztransport Et Technigaz
Priority date: 2010-06-17
Filing date: 2011-05-24
Publication date: 2011-12-22
Also published as: EP2583021A1; CN102933888A; TWI505979B; KR20140046490A; RU2014112235A; BR112012032016A2; ES2874476T3; EP2583021B1; CN103899912A; BR122014005768A2; CN103899912B; AU2011266930A1; JP5746778B2; RU2012154217A; EP2740987A2; RU2526473C1; TWI510419B; SG10201400698TA; KR20130081276A; FR2961580A1

Abstract

A vessel wall comprises a sealing barrier (6) and a support foot (10) for an item of equipment immersed in the sealed vessel. The sealing barrier comprises a corrugated metal sheet layer (11) having at least one series of parallel corrugations (15), the corrugated metal sheet layer being interrupted at a window (25) surrounding the support foot. The support foot extends longitudinally through the window. The sealing barrier comprises connecting parts (45, 50) for sealingly connecting the support foot to a marginal portion of the corrugated metal sheet layer that delimits the window. The window (25) interrupts the directrices of a plurality (20) of the parallel corrugations of the series, and the support foot is centred at a position situated between the directrices (A) of two parallel corrugations (20).

Description

Waterproof and insulating tank with a support foot

The invention relates to the field of the construction of a sealed and insulating tank disposed in a supporting structure, in particular to the construction of a wall of such a vessel to accommodate a support foot.

Waterproof and thermally insulating vessels can be used in different industries to store hot or cold products. For example, in the energy field, liquefied natural gas (LNG) is a liquid that can be stored at atmospheric pressure at about -163 ° C in land-based storage tanks or tanks embedded in floating structures. Such floating structures are in particular LNG tankers for the transportation of the product and off-shore facilities, known in particular under the acronyms FPSO and FSRU, for storage, liquefaction or regasification of the product.

In diaphragm tanks, a corrugated metal sheet layer is used to provide a watertight barrier which also has sufficient elasticity to withstand forces resulting for example from hydrostatic pressure, dynamic pressure in case of movement of the cargo, and / or temperature variations. However, such a sealed barrier and the underlying thermal insulation material are relatively fragile and can not necessarily support heavy equipment to be immersed at the bottom of the tank, for example a pump.

According to one embodiment, the invention provides a sealed and insulating vessel disposed in a supporting structure, the vessel having a vessel wall, in particular a bottom wall of the vessel, arranged along the carrying structure, the vessel wall comprising : a sealing barrier,

a thermal insulation barrier disposed between the sealing barrier and the supporting structure and having a support surface for the sealing barrier, and

a support foot for equipment immersed in the sealed tank,

the sealing barrier having a corrugated metal sheet layer having at least one series of parallel corrugations, the corrugated metal sheet layer being interrupted at a window surrounding the support leg,

the support foot extending longitudinally through the window of the corrugated metal sheet layer and having a first end portion bearing against the supporting structure, for example against a bottom zone of the supporting structure, and a second portion end protruding into the tank to support the equipment to distance from the sheet metal layer,

the sealing barrier having connecting pieces disposed in the window around the support foot for sealingly connecting the support foot to a marginal portion of the corrugated metal sheet layer defining the window,

wherein the window interrupts the guidelines of a plurality of parallel ripples of said at least one series and the support leg is centered at a position between the guidelines of two parallel ripples of said plurality.

According to other advantageous embodiments, such a tank may have one or more of the following characteristics.

The support foot can have various forms, including the characteristics of the equipment to support. According to one embodiment, the support foot has at least one convex lateral side, and the guideline of said two corrugations between which the support foot is centered intersects the convex lateral side of the support foot. According to one embodiment, the support foot has a circular section.

According to one embodiment, the window interrupts the guidelines of an even number of parallel corrugations of said at least one series, for example two parallel corrugations of said at least one series.

According to one embodiment, the support foot is centered substantially in the middle of the guidelines of the two undulations. Alternatively, the support foot may be offset from the middle, so as to be closer to a corrugation than the other, for example if such a positioning makes it possible to reduce the interruption length of the corrugations taking into account the shape of the support foot.

According to one embodiment, said at least one series of parallel corrugations is distributed equidistantly. Alternatively, the series of corrugations may have, at least locally, a less regular distribution.

According to one embodiment, the corrugations are projecting on the side of an internal face of the sealing barrier intended to be in contact with a fluid.

According to one embodiment, the connecting pieces comprise a plurality of end pieces disposed at a distance from the support foot so as to close interrupted ends of the two corrugations between the guidelines of which the support leg is centered. By such end pieces, one can close all the corrugations whose window interrupts the guidelines, so as to restore the continuity of the sealed barrier. According to one embodiment, the support foot comprises a hollow envelope of generally tabular shape whose longitudinal axis is substantially perpendicular to the vessel wall and a transverse closure wall closing the envelope in a sealed manner to achieve the continuity of the sealing barrier at the support foot. Such a hollow form may in particular be preferred to limit the effective cross section of the support foot capable of creating a thermal bridge.

The connecting pieces for sealingly connecting the support foot to a marginal portion of the corrugated metal sheet layer may have many shapes.

According to one embodiment, the connecting pieces comprise an annular plate connected to a peripheral wall of the support foot at the level of the corrugated metal sheet layer. Such a tray can be pre-assembled to the support foot.

According to one embodiment, the connecting pieces comprise an intermediate plate having a first edge welded to the annular plate and a second edge welded to the marginal portion of the corrugated metal sheet layer delimiting the window.

Such a tank may have a simple sealing barrier or multiple successive sealed barriers, for example by measuring reliability and safety. According to a corresponding embodiment, the thermal insulation barrier comprises a primary thermal insulation barrier disposed on the side of the sealing barrier, said primary sealing barrier, and a secondary thermal insulation barrier disposed on the side of the the carrier structure, the vessel wall having a secondary sealing barrier disposed between the primary and secondary thermal insulation barriers, the secondary sealing barrier being sealingly connected to a peripheral wall of the support foot.

According to one embodiment, the connecting pieces comprise:

a connecting plate having a corrugation parallel to said at least one series of parallel corrugations and disposed on a line laterally offset away from the support leg with respect to one of the undulatory guidelines interrupted by the window and parts at each end of the corrugation of the connecting plate to an end portion of the corrugation whose guide line is interrupted by the window, so that the corrugation of the plate connection and the two pieces of deflection extend the corrugation whose guideline is interrupted in a sealed manner through the window along the line offset laterally away from the support foot. The realization of one or more offset waves of this This makes it possible to limit the number of corrugations made discontinuous by the support foot, and thus to further preserve the elasticity of the watertight barrier, especially in the case where a relatively large diameter support foot has to be put in place.

The arrangements and features set forth above with respect to a series of parallel corrugations may, where appropriate, be applied to several series of parallel corrugations having different directions. According to a corresponding embodiment, the corrugated metal sheet layer has a first series of parallel corrugations and a second series of parallel corrugations which is secant to the first series of parallel corrugations at crossings, the window interrupting the lines. of a first plurality of parallel corrugations of the first series and / or the guidelines of a second plurality of parallel corrugations of the second series, the support leg being centered at a position between the guidelines of two parallel corrugations of the first plurality and / or between the guidelines of two parallel corrugations of the second plurality.

According to a preferred embodiment, the first series of parallel corrugations is perpendicular to the second series of parallel corrugations. Thus the elasticity of the waterproof membrane can be well balanced in different directions.

The aforementioned window may have different shapes, in particular depending on the shape of the support foot and / or the shape of the constituent elements of the corrugated metal sheet layer. According to one embodiment, the window is a quadrilateral, for example rectangle or square or parallelogram, having two sides parallel to the first series of corrugations and two sides parallel to the second series of corrugations.

According to one embodiment, the support foot is disposed at the base of an unloading mast of the tank, for example to support a pump.

An idea underlying the invention is to support equipment to be immersed in a tank on a foot bearing directly or indirectly on the support structure, to avoid or limit a force exerted on a relatively fragile corrugated waterproofing membrane. Another idea underlying the invention is to have such a support foot in a way that does not jeopardize the essential mechanical properties of the corrugated waterproofing membrane, including its sealing and resistance to thermal contraction or pressure efforts. Certain aspects of the invention are based on the idea of interrupting undulations of a corrugated waterproofing membrane at a passage area of a support foot, and positioning this support foot at a location which to limit the length of these interruptions, in order to limit the loss elasticity of the membrane that may result from such interruptions. Other aspects of the invention start from the idea of locally displacing undulations in order to bypass the zone of passage of the support foot without interrupting these undulations.

The invention will be better understood, and other objects, details, characteristics and advantages thereof will appear more clearly in the course of the following description of several particular embodiments of the invention, given solely for illustrative and non-limiting purposes. with reference to the accompanying drawings.

On these drawings:

FIG. 1 is a partial diagrammatic sectional representation of a sealed and insulating tank according to one embodiment,

FIG. 2 is a perspective view, in cross-section along the line II-II of FIG. 3, of a support leg and a tank wall structure that can be used in the tank of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top view of the support leg of FIG. 2 and of a zone of the vessel wall around the support leg,

FIG. 4 is a representation similar to FIG. 2 at an intermediate stage of mounting of the vessel wall;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged detail view of the zone V of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a view from above of the tank wall zone of FIG. 4 showing the realization of the secondary sealing barrier,

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 6 showing an intermediate stage of mounting of the primary sealing barrier,

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an end piece that can be used in the manufacture of the primary sealing barrier,

FIG. 9 is a view similar to FIG. 3 showing another embodiment of the primary sealing barrier around the support foot,

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a deflection part that can be used in the manufacture of the primary sealing barrier of FIG. 9. FIG. 1 partially shows a sealed and thermally insulating tank 1 consisting of tank walls 2 and 3 attached to the inner surface of corresponding walls 4 and 5 of a supporting structure. The supporting structure is for example the inner hull of a double hull ship or a construction on land. To contain a cold liquid such as LNG, the walls of the tank comprise at least one sealing barrier 6 and minus a thermal insulation barrier 7. As a safety measure, it is possible to provide a secondary sealing barrier, not shown, between the supporting structure and the sealing barrier 6, which is said to be primary in this case.

The tank 1 can be made according to various well-known geometries, for example a prismatic geometry in the hull of a ship or a cylindrical geometry on land or other. Moreover, many methods are available to achieve the thermal insulation and sealing barriers, for example from prefabricated elements.

In the bottom wall 3 of the vessel, there is shown an elongate rigid member, constituting a support leg 10, which extends through the thermal insulation barrier 7 and the sealing barrier 6, so that one end bears against the bottom wall 5 of the supporting structure and that the other end protrudes into the tank away from the sealing barrier 6. The support leg 10 can for example be used to support a device 9 in front of be immersed in the tank. For example, to support an unloading pump, it can be disposed at the base of a pumping mast of the tank, not shown. Although the support foot is here shown on a bottom wall of the vessel, a similar rigid element can be arranged in the same way at other locations in the vessel, for example as a support or spacing element for maintaining any object remote from the tank wall.

To achieve the sealing barrier 6, it is possible to use sheets of thin metal sheet having corrugations which form elastic zones to absorb the thermal contraction and the static and dynamic pressure forces. Such corrugated or embossed sheet sealing barriers have in particular been described in FR-A-1379651, FR-A-1376525, FR-A-2781557 and FR-A-2861060. This possibility will now be developed with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.

Referring to Figure 3, the sealing barrier 6 consists of a plurality of corrugated plates 11 corrugated whose inner face is intended to be in contact with the fluid. The sealed plates 11 are thin elements of metal such as stainless steel sheet or aluminum and are welded together at marginal overlap zones 12. The welds are of the overlap weld type whose method is described in detail for example in FR-A-1387955. The sealing plates 11 may be designed in various ways as to their shapes and dimensions, so that the weld areas may be variously positioned.

The sealed plates 11 comprise, on their internal face, a first series of so-called longitudinal waves 15 and a second series of so-called transverse corrugations 16 whose respective directions are perpendicular. The first series of corrugations 15 has a height less than the second series of corrugations 16. Thus, the corrugations 15 are discontinuous at their crossings 18 with the corrugations 16 which are continuous. The longitudinal and transverse corrugations 16 project inwardly from the vessel 1.

The support foot 10 has here a circular section of revolution, with a frustoconical lower portion 13 which connects at its smaller diameter end 17 to a cylindrical upper portion 14. The larger diameter base of the portion frustoconical 13 is in abutment against the wall 5 of the carrier structure. The frustoconical portion 13 extends through the thickness of the vessel wall beyond the level of the sealing barrier 6. The cylindrical portion 14 is sealingly closed by a circular plate 19, which may be for example welded to a not shown inner rim of the cylindrical portion 14.

To allow the passage of the support foot 10, the corrugated waterproof plates 11 forming the sealing barrier 6 are cut so as to define a square window 25 around the support foot 10. To achieve the continuity of the sealing barrier 6 at the window 25, a tight connection of connecting pieces is made between the support leg 10 and the sealing plates 11. As the diameter of the support leg 10 is greater than the spacing between the corrugations of the first series 15 , some of the longitudinal corrugations indicated at 20 and whose guideline A intersects the support foot 10 have been interrupted at the window 25. Similarly, as the diameter of the support leg 10 is greater than the spacing between the of the second series 16, some of the transverse corrugations indicated in FIG. 21 and whose guide line B intersects the support foot 10 have been interrupted ues at the window surrounding the support leg.

Furthermore, as shown in Figure 3, the size of the window 25 is in practice greater than the diameter of the support leg 10, so that the establishment of the connecting pieces is relatively easy. Thus, the window 25 formed in the corrugated sheet layer could similarly interrupt corrugations whose guideline, without actually cutting the support foot, would be too close a close proximity of the support foot to allow the establishment connecting pieces between them and the support foot.

The center C of the support foot 10 is positioned between the guidelines A for interrupted corrugations 20 and between the guidelines B of the interrupted corrugations 21, and more precisely in the middle of these guidelines in FIG. 3. It results from this positioning the guideline A or B each time cutting the support foot 10 along a rope shorter than the diameter of the support foot 10. Therefore, and given the space to exist between the edge of the window 25 and the support foot 10 to allow the establishment of the connecting pieces, this positioning of the support foot makes it possible to interrupt each of the undulations 20 and 21 for a shorter distance than in the case where the guideline A or B would cut the support foot according to its largest transverse dimension, that is to say its diameter in the case of a circular section. It is advantageous to interrupt the corrugations of the sealing barrier for as short a distance as possible, since these interruptions are capable of locally reducing the flexibility of the sealing barrier and thus of promoting locally its fatigue and wear. .

In the case of a circular section, the centering of the support foot halfway between the interrupted undulations 20 and halfway between the undulating corrugations 21 provides an optimal result. However, other forms of section and other foot positions may also be considered. One principle that can be used to adapt each time the positioning of the support foot between the corrugations is to choose a position that minimizes, or at least decreases, the transverse dimension of the support foot that intersects the guideline of the interrupted undulation. In the case where the particular geometry of the support foot and / or the particular distribution of the corrugations of the membrane involves interrupting several corrugations on different lengths, an appropriate optimization parameter to adapt the positioning of the support foot may be the length of the longest interruption or cumulative length of interruptions obtained.

In Figure 3, the window 25 has a square shape which facilitates the cutting of the sealed plates 11 to the desired shape. However, other forms of windows can also be implemented, depending in particular on the geometry of the support foot.

With reference to FIGS. 4 to 8, a detailed embodiment of the tank wall in the zone of the support foot 10 will now be described. This embodiment is particularly suitable for a tank whose walls have two barriers. sealing and two thermal insulation barriers. Barrier 6 will therefore be qualified as a primary sealing barrier. It will be described only the vicinity of the support foot 10, the vessel walls may also be made in accordance with the teaching of the application FR-A-2781557.

Figure 4 is a half-sectional view of the support leg 10 and a substantially square area of the vessel wall around it at an intermediate stage of mounting. The right side is shown before the installation of the elements of the waterproofing barrier secondary and primary insulation barrier, the left side after the establishment of these elements.

To connect to the secondary sealing barrier, the support foot 10 comprises a secondary plateau 23 of square shape fixed around the frustoconical portion 13 at a height corresponding to the upper surface of the secondary thermal insulation barrier 22 and the secondary watertight barrier which is very thin. To connect to the primary sealing barrier, the support foot 10 comprises a round-shaped primary plate 24 fixed around the frustoconical portion 13 at a height corresponding to the upper surface of the primary thermal insulation barrier 26. The trays 23 and 24 can be made in one piece with the support foot 10.

Below the secondary tray 23, the secondary insulation barrier 22 comprises a glass wool pad 27 which also has a square outer contour. Below the primary plate 24, the primary insulation barrier 26 comprises a glass wool pad 28 which also has a circular outer contour.

Around the filler 27 and the plate 23, the secondary insulation barrier, the secondary sealing barrier and the primary insulation barrier are made by means of four corner panels, one of which is visible on the right side. FIG. 4 to FIG. 30. A panel 30 generally has a shape of L-shaped steps with a lower L-shaped insulating block 31 constituting an element of the secondary insulation barrier 22, a flexible waterproof covering 32 completely covering the L-shaped upper surface of the block 31, and a smaller L-shaped upper insulating block 33 constituting one element of the primary insulating barrier 26. The upper block 33 is aligned with the outer sides of the lower block 31 , so as to reveal an area of the waterproof coating 32 located on an inner rim and on end flanges of the lower block 31. The panel 30 may be prefabricated by gluing with materials similar to those taught in the application FR-A-2781557, including polyurethane foam and plywood for insulation barriers and a composite material of aluminum foil and fiberglass for the secondary sealing barrier.

The four corner panels 30 border the inside of the contour of the stuffing 27 and the plate 23. The dimensions of the blocks 31 are designed to provide spaces between them in the form of four radial funnels 34 located each time between the faces. end of two adjacent lower blocks 31. To ensure continuity of the primary insulation barrier 22, each of the chimneys 34 is filled with a sheet of fiberglass 35. The porosity of the fiberglass of the sheets 35 and the stuffing 27 makes possible the gas circulation through the primary insulation barrier 22, in particular for inerting the nitrogen vessel wall.

Figure 6 shows the realization of the secondary sealing barrier in the area of the support foot 10 in top view. To achieve the continuity of the secondary sealing barrier around the support foot 10, four strips 36 of the sealed composite material of aluminum foil and fiberglass are bonded to the secondary plate 27 and the waterproof coating 32 of the panels 30. A strip 36 is positioned each time to overlap one side of the secondary plate 27 and the inner edges of two lower blocks 31. The strips 36 overlap at end regions 37. To achieve continuity of the secondary sealing barrier above the chimneys 35, four strips 38 of the sealed composite material of aluminum foil and fiberglass are adhered to the waterproof coating 32 of the panels 30, each time so as to overlap the flanges of end of two lower blocks 31.

Figure 7 shows the same area of the vessel wall after placement of the primary isolation barrier. This is completed between the upper insulating blocks 33 and the support leg 10 by means of four corner blocks 40 and four medial blocks 41, the inner side of which in each case follows the rounded contour of the primary plate 24 and the 28. These blocks 40 and 41 are also shown on the left part of FIG.

As can be seen in the detail of FIG. 5, the upper surface of the median blocks

41 each time has a rabbet 44 defined by a recess 43. The rabbets

44 are precisely at the level of the primary plate 24 to provide a flat support surface to metal closure plates 45 for producing the primary sealing barrier around the support foot 10.

As shown in Figure 7, two closure plates 45 are disposed around the primary plate 24 and sealed thereto over its entire periphery. For this, the plates 45 are cut in a semicircle at their inner edge 46, while their outer edge 47 defines a square of dimension slightly greater than the window 25 formed in the corrugated waterproof plates 11. The two closure plates 45 are superimposed at the level of areas 48 where they are welded together. Closing plates

45 are attached to the blocks 40 and 41 of the primary insulation barrier by means of wood screws or rivets 49 disposed near their outer edge 47 to firmly press the closure plates 45 against these blocks, in particular because it avoid raising them while they are being welded on the primary tray 24. Returning to FIGS. 2 and 3, it can be seen that the primary sealing barrier 6 in the area of the support foot 10 is completed, on the one hand by welding the edges of sealed plates 11 delimiting the window 25 on the plates of closure 45, and secondly sealing the ends of the interrupted corrugations 20 and 21 with end pieces 50. The cutting of the sealing plates 11 is made so as to cover the edge of the closure plates 45 having the screw 49.

An exemplary embodiment of an end piece 50 is shown in FIG. 8. The end piece 50 comprises a two-part sole 51 and 52 intended to be welded in a sealed manner respectively on the closure plate 45 and on the plate 11, and a shell 54 intended to be welded sealingly to the end of the corrugation 20 or 21. A recess 53 between the parts 51 and 52 of the sole has an amplitude substantially equal to the thickness of the plate waterproof 11.

The cutting of the insulating blocks and other prefabricated elements shown in Figures 2, 4, 6 and 7 to form the secondary insulation barrier, the secondary sealing barrier and the primary insulation barrier is purely illustrative. Similar elements can be cut and prefabricated in other forms so that the mounting of the vessel wall involves a higher or lower number of elementary parts. According to other corresponding embodiments, the four L-shaped corner panels 30 are replaced by two U-shaped panels or a single panel in the form of a square frame.

As best seen in Figure 3, the support foot considered above requires a window size approximately equal to twice the spacing 55 between two corrugations 15 or 16, which are here equidistant. For this, two waves of each series were interrupted. However, this arrangement of the support foot and the vessel wall in its vicinity may be adapted to other dimensions of the support foot. For example, for a wider support foot, the corresponding window may interrupt a larger number of corrugations in one or each series, for example three or four or more corrugations. In addition, it is also possible to locally move the path of certain undulations to limit the number of undulations to be interrupted, and thus preserve a higher elasticity level of the waterproofing membrane. This possibility is illustrated by the embodiment of FIG. 9.

In FIG. 9, elements identical or similar to those of FIG. 3 bear the same reference numeral increased by 100. The transverse dimension of the support foot 110 being greater, for example greater than or equal to approximately three times the spacing 155 between the corrugations 115 or 116, the window 125 formed in the corrugated metal membrane for the passage of the foot 110 interrupts in this case the guidelines of four respective undulations in each series. However, instead of interrupting four corrugations in each series, this embodiment provides for interrupting two corrugations 120, respectively 121, of each series as in the previous embodiment, while the other two corrugations 158, respectively 159 of each series are locally offset at a distance from the support foot 110 from their original guideline, but finally are not interrupted.

For this, the sealing barrier 106 is modified at two concentric square windows 125 and 160. Outside the window 160, the sealing barrier 106 consists of sealed plates 111 carrying longitudinal corrugations 115 and transverse 116 distributed equidistantly. Between the window 160 and the window 125, the sealing barrier 106 is continued with other corrugated sealing plates, that is to say two generally C-shaped plates 161 in the present case, which carry distributed corrugations. differently, that is to say less spaced in the present case. The corrugations of the plates 161 constitute in particular a central segment 162, respectively 163, offset at a distance from the support leg 110, for each of the corrugations 158, respectively 159. Finally, the structure of the sealing barrier 106 at the level of the window 125 and inside thereof is similar to the embodiment of Figure 3.

To achieve the junction at the window 160 between the central segment 162 or

163 of the corrugation 158 or 159 and the portions of the corrugations located outside the window 160, deflection parts 170 are used.

An exemplary embodiment of a deviation piece 170 is shown in FIG. 10. The deflection piece 170 comprises a soleplate in two parts 171 and 172 intended to be welded in a sealed manner respectively on a plate 111 or 161 of the barrier. sealing 106 and on an adjacent deviating member 170, and an angled corrugation 174 whose guideline forms a chosen angle, for example 135 °. The bent corrugation 174 is intended to be sealingly connected to the adjacent end of the corrugation 158 or 159 and to the bent undulation of the adjacent deviation piece. A recess 173 between the parts 171 and 172 of the soleplate has an amplitude substantially equal to the thickness of the sheet used to make the sealing plates 111 or 161 or the deflecting parts 170. Preferably, a sheet of the same thickness is used for these different pieces. In another embodiment not shown, suitable for example for a support foot of smaller diameter, all the corrugations whose window interrupts the guideline, for example two corrugations of each series as in Figure 3, are extended through the window according to a staggered path, similarly to the corrugations 158 and 159 of FIG. 9. In this embodiment, the flexibility of the membrane can be improved since no ripple is finally interrupted by an end piece at the foot of FIG. support.

In the embodiments described above, the primary sealing barrier is made of sheet metal having two sets of mutually perpendicular corrugations. However, other types of corrugated metal membranes with less or more corrugations and / or a different arrangement of the corrugations can be similarly employed.

Although the invention has been described in connection with several particular embodiments, it is obvious that it is not limited thereto and that it comprises all the technical equivalents of the means described and their combinations if they are within the scope of the invention.

The use of the verb "to include", "to understand" or "to include" and its conjugated forms does not exclude the presence of other elements or steps other than those set out in a claim. The use of the indefinite article "a" or "an" for an element or a step does not exclude, unless otherwise stated, the presence of a plurality of such elements or steps. Several means or modules can be represented by the same hardware element.

In the claims, any reference sign in parentheses can not be interpreted as a limitation of the claim.

Claims

1. Sealed and insulating vessel disposed in a supporting structure, the vessel having a vessel wall (3) disposed along the carrier structure (4), the vessel wall comprising:

a sealing barrier (6, 106),

the thermal insulation barrier {7, 22, 26) disposed between the sealing barrier and the supporting structure and having a support surface for the sealing barrier, and a support leg (10, 110) for equipment immersed in the waterproof tank,

the sealing barrier comprising a corrugated metal sheet layer (11, 111) having at least one series of parallel corrugations (15; 115), the corrugated metal sheet layer being interrupted at a window (25, 125); ) surrounding the support foot,

the support foot extending longitudinally through the window of the corrugated metal sheet layer and having a first end portion bearing against the bearing structure and a second end portion projecting into the vessel to support the equipment away from the sheet metal layer,

the sealing barrier having connecting pieces (24, 45, 50) disposed in the window around the support foot to sealingly connect the support foot to a marginal portion of the corrugated metal sheet layer defining the window,

wherein the window (25, 125) interrupts the guidelines of a plurality (20, 120, 158) of parallel corrugations of said at least one series and the support leg is centered at a position between the guidelines (A ) of two parallel corrugations (20, 120) of said plurality.

The vessel of claim 1, wherein the support foot has at least one convex lateral side (13),

the guidelines of the two undulations (20, 120) between which the support leg is centered intersecting the convex lateral side of the support leg.

3. The vessel of claim 1 or 2, wherein the window interrupts the guidelines (A) an even number of parallel corrugations of said at least one series.

4. The cell of claim 3, wherein the window interrupts the guidelines of two parallel corrugations of said at least one series.

S. Tank according to one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the support foot is centered substantially in the middle of the guidelines of the two corrugations.

6. Tank according to one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the support foot has a circular section.

The vessel according to one of claims 1 to 6, wherein said at least one series of parallel corrugations (15, 115) is distributed equidistantly.

8. Tank according to one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the corrugations

(15, 115) are projecting on the side of an inner face of the sealing barrier intended to be in contact with a fluid.

Tank according to one of claims 1 to 8, in which the connecting pieces comprise a plurality of end pieces (50, 150) arranged at a distance from the support foot so as to close interrupted ends of the two corrugations (20). 120) between which the support leg is centered.

10. Tank according to one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the support foot comprises a hollow envelope (13, 14) of generally tabular shape whose longitudinal axis is substantially perpendicular to the vessel wall and a closure wall cross-section (1) closing the envelope sealingly to achieve the continuity of the sealing barrier at the support foot.

11. Tank according to one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the connecting pieces comprise an annular plate (24) connected to a peripheral wall of the support foot at the level of the corrugated metal sheet layer (11, 111).

12. Tank according to one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the connecting pieces comprise an intermediate plate (45, 145) having a first edge welded to the annular plate and a second edge welded to the marginal portion of the layer of corrugated metal sheet (11, 161) defining the window.

13. Tank according to one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the thermal insulation barrier comprises a primary thermal insulation barrier (26) disposed on the side of the sealing barrier, said primary sealing barrier (6). ), and a secondary thermal insulation barrier (22) disposed on the side of the supporting structure, the vessel wall having a secondary sealing barrier (23, 32, 36, 38) disposed between the primary thermal insulation barriers and secondary, the secondary sealing barrier being sealingly connected to a peripheral wall (13) of the suporte base.

14. Tank according to one of claims I to 13, wherein the connecting pieces comprise:

a connecting plate (161) having a corrugation (162) parallel to said at least one series of parallel corrugations (115) and disposed on a laterally offset line the support foot with respect to one of the broken lines of the window and the deflection pieces (170) arranged to connect each time an end of the corrugation of the connecting plate to an end portion the ripple (158) whose line of sight is interrupted by the window, so that the ripple (162) of the connecting plate and the two deflection pieces prolong the ripple (158) whose guideline is interrupted sealingly through the window along the line offset laterally away from the support leg (110).

Tank according to one of Claims 1 to 14, in which the corrugated metal sheet layer has a first series of parallel corrugations (15, 115) and a second series of parallel corrugations (16, 116) which is intersecting. at the first series of parallel corrugations at crossing level, the window interrupting the guidelines of a first plurality of parallel corrugations of the first series and / or the guidelines of a second plurality of parallel corrugations of the second series, the support foot being centered at a position between the guidelines (A) of two parallel corrugations of the first plurality and / or between the guidelines (B) of two parallel corrugations of the second plurality.

The vessel of claim 15, wherein the first series of parallel corrugations is perpendicular to the second series of parallel corrugations.

17. A vessel according to claim 15 or 16, wherein the window (25, 125) is a quadrilateral having two sides parallel to the first set of corrugations and two sides parallel to the second set of corrugations.

18. Tank according to one of claims 1 to 17, wherein the support leg (10, 110) is disposed at the base of a discharge mast of the tank.