WO2012020194A1

WO2012020194A1 - Impervious wall structure

Info

Publication number: WO2012020194A1
Application number: PCT/FR2011/051879
Authority: WO
Inventors: Mohamed Sassi; Virginie Longuet; Fabrice Lombard; Bruno Deletre
Original assignee: Gaztransport Et Technigaz
Priority date: 2010-08-11
Filing date: 2011-08-05
Publication date: 2012-02-16
Also published as: EP2603729A1; CN103097797B; AU2011288339A1; AU2011288339B2; FR2963818B1; RU2013106934A; CN103097797A; KR101831440B1; FR2963818A1; EP2603729B1; KR20130099039A; SG187813A1; RU2563563C2; JP5746346B2; JP2013534197A

Abstract

A ready-to-mount assembly suitable for producing an impervious wall structure comprises: an impervious metal plate (1) having a series of first parallel corrugations (5) and a series of second parallel corrugations (6) which are secant at intersections (3), an elongate reinforcing part (15) designed to be arranged in one of said corrugations (6, 5) so as to increase the resistance of the plate to pressure, and an anchoring part (30) comprising an attachment member designed to be attached to the outer surface of the plate at an intersection of the corrugation in which the reinforcing part is to be retained and a retaining member (44) designed to cooperate with a longitudinal end of the reinforcing part in order to retain the reinforcing part in the corrugation. A corresponding impervious wall structure is used in an impervious and thermally insulated tank, in particular in a methane tanker.

Description

SEALED WALL STRUCTURE

The invention relates to the field of manufacture of corrugated metal membrane tanks, in particular tanks intended to contain a cold liquid product.

In certain metal membrane tank technologies, particularly in the areas of transport and storage of liquefied natural gas (LNG), a waterproofing membrane consists of corrugated waterproof plates with, on their internal face, a first series of corrugations. and a second series of corrugations whose respective directions are perpendicular. Such corrugations give the metal membrane an elastic deformation capacity intended to absorb stresses that may result in particular from the thermal contraction, the hydrostatic pressure of the cargo, the dynamic pressure caused by movements of the cargo and, in the case floating structures, from the deformation of the hull to the swell. However, such undulations may be vulnerable to excessive pressure forces.

In order to improve the resistance of such a membrane to pressure, FR-A-2936784 proposes to insert reinforcing elements under the corrugations between the membrane and its support. One of the proposed reinforcing elements can be clipped to an undercut of the membrane.

According to one embodiment, the invention provides a ready-to-assemble assembly suitable for producing a sealed wall structure, the assembly comprising:

a sealed metal plate having a series of first parallel corrugations and a series of second parallel corrugations, the first corrugations being intersecting at the second undulations at the level of intersections, the corrugations being projecting on the side of an internal face of the plate,

an elongated reinforcing member adapted to be disposed in one of said corrugations on the outer face of the plate opposite to the inner face to increase a resistance of the plate to the pressure, and an anchoring piece comprising an attachment member adapted to be attached to the outer face of the plate at a crossing of the corrugation in which the reinforcing member is to be retained and a retaining member adapted to cooperate with a longitudinal end of the reinforcing piece for retaining the reinforcing piece in the corrugation.

According to embodiments, such an assembly may have one or more of the following features.

According to one embodiment, the anchoring piece comprises a plurality of retaining members, for example two, three or four, capable of cooperating with respective ends of a plurality of reinforcing pieces, for example at the number of two, three or four, for retaining the reinforcing pieces in a plurality of corrugation segments meeting at the crossing where the anchor is attached.

According to one embodiment, the or each retaining member is adapted to cooperate with the end of the reinforcing piece in a support state in which the retaining member stops the end of the reinforcing piece in a perpendicular direction. to the plate.

According to one embodiment, the or each retaining member is adapted to cooperate with the end of the reinforcing piece in a fixing state in which the retaining member fixes the reinforcing piece to the anchor piece, so that the reinforcing piece is retained to the plate by the sole effect of the anchor.

According to one embodiment, the or each retaining member and the or each reinforcing piece are designed so as to cooperate in the two aforementioned cooperation states. Thus, the most suitable state of cooperation can be chosen according to the characteristics of the intended application by always using the same batch of anchoring and reinforcing pieces.

According to one embodiment, the or each retaining member of the anchoring piece is arranged at the end of an arm connected to the attachment member, the arm being arranged to extend into the ripple in which the piece of reinforcement shall be retained by the retainer in the attached state of the anchor.

According to one embodiment, the or each arm of the anchoring piece comprises a positioning member having a contour adapted to a transverse profile of a corrugation of the plate, the positioning member being adapted to cooperate with the plate at level of the side walls of the corrugation to position the arm in the corrugation in the attached state of the anchor.

According to one embodiment, the or each retaining member comprises a tab adapted to extend longitudinally in a corrugation of the plate in the attached state of the anchoring piece, the reinforcing piece having an open housing at the level of a longitudinal end face of the reinforcing piece and adapted to receive the tab of the retaining member.

According to one embodiment, the tab of the or each retaining member comprises a thickened portion capable of cooperating with the longitudinal end face of the reinforcing piece to stop longitudinally the reinforcing piece relative to the tab.

According to one embodiment, the thickened portion of the tab is adapted to be forcibly engaged in the housing of the reinforcing piece to firmly fix the reinforcing piece to the anchor piece by elastic deformation of the thickened portion and / or the housing of the reinforcement room. According to one embodiment, such a force engagement can be used to obtain the aforementioned fixing state.

According to one embodiment, the anchoring piece comprises a stop member adapted to cooperate with the longitudinal end face of the reinforcing piece to limit the engagement of the tab in the housing beyond the thickened portion.

According to one embodiment, the same structural element provides both the aforementioned abutment member and the aforementioned positioning member.

The housing of the reinforcement piece can be made in various ways. According to one embodiment, the housing of the reinforcement piece comprises a longitudinal groove dug in an outer face of the reinforcing piece intended to be turned away from the plate.

According to one embodiment, the attachment member comprises a head adapted to be attached to the outer face of the plate by resiliently crossing an undercut of the plate at the crossing of the corrugations.

According to one embodiment, the anchor comprises a body to which is connected the or each retaining member and at least one rod connecting the head to the body by providing a gap between them. Such an empty space promotes the elastic deformation of the rod to absorb any differences in shape of the different crossings of the metal plate.

According to one embodiment, the rod has a beveled shape tapering from the body to the head of the anchor. Such a shape may facilitate insertion of the head into the undercut of the plate.

According to one embodiment, the assembly further comprises a second anchoring piece comprising an attachment member adapted to be attached to the outer face of the plate at a second crossing of the corrugation in which the piece reinforcement must be retained and a retaining member adapted to cooperate with a second longitudinal end of the reinforcing piece to retain the reinforcing piece in the corrugation, the reinforcing piece having a length adapted to the distance between the retaining members the two anchoring pieces in the state attached to the plate, so that the reinforcing piece is retained in the plate between the two anchors by cooperation with the two retaining members.

According to one embodiment, the two anchors are made identically, which simplifies their manufacture and the inventory management of the parts of the assembly.

According to one embodiment, the reinforcing piece consists of a profiled body with constant section. Such an embodiment allows an easy manufacture of the reinforcing pieces, in particular by a method of extruding a suitable material. According to embodiments, the reinforcing pieces are manufactured in materials such as metals, especially aluminum, metal alloys, plastics, in particular polyethylene, polycarbonate, polyether imide, expanded polystyrene, or composite materials comprising fibers, in particular glass fibers, bound by a plastic resin .

According to one embodiment, the anchor piece, the reinforcement piece and the metal plate of the aforementioned assembly are manufactured separately from each other so as to be assembled together at a certain stage of the construction of the wall. waterproof in which they are intended to serve. The position of this step in the entire process of construction of the sealed wall can be chosen in particular depending on the organization of the site or logistical constraints.

According to one embodiment, the invention also provides a method for producing a sealed wall structure comprising:

providing a sealed metal plate having a series of first parallel corrugations and a series of second parallel corrugations, the first corrugations being intersecting at the second undulations at crossings, the corrugations being projecting on the side of an inner face of the plate, having a anchoring piece comprising an attachment member and a retaining member so as to attach the attachment member to the outer face of the plate opposite to the inner face at one of the crossings,

arranging an elongated reinforcing member in a corrugation segment adjacent the intersection on the outer face of the plate, so as to cooperate a longitudinal end of the reinforcing member with the retaining member.

Such a method can in particular be used to prefabricate a sealed wall structure suitable for producing a pressure-resistant sealing membrane. According to embodiments, such a method may furthermore have one or more of the following features.

According to one embodiment, the method comprises:

have a second anchor piece having an attachment member and a retaining member for attaching the attachment member to the outer face of the plate at a second intersection adjacent the first intersection where the first anchor is attached,

arranging the reinforcing piece in the corrugation segment extending between the two crossings, so that the reinforcing piece is retained at the plate between the two anchoring pieces by cooperation of the two longitudinal ends of the reinforcement piece with the two retainers.

According to an alternative embodiment, the method comprises:

attaching the end of the reinforcing member to the retaining member so that the reinforcing piece is retained to the plate by the sole effect of the anchor.

In this case, the reinforcing piece may be disposed in a corrugation segment extending between the cross where the anchor is attached and an edge of the plate and protrude from the edge of the plate to be engaged in a ripple of an adjacent plate.

Such a method can be used to fix reinforcing pieces in one or more or all the corrugations of the metal plate, in particular depending on the needs of reinforcing the plate.

According to one embodiment, the method comprises:

attaching anchoring pieces each comprising an attachment member and four retaining members to the outer face of the plate at all crossings of the plate, and

have reinforcement pieces in all the segments of corrugation extending each time between two crossings by cooperating each time two longitudinal ends of the reinforcing piece with two retaining members of the two anchors attached at the level of two crossings, so as to retain the reinforcing pieces to the plate.

According to one embodiment, the method further comprises:

arranging the reinforcing pieces in all the corrugation segments extending between one edge of the plate and crossings adjacent to said edge of the plate, and each time fixing the end of the reinforcing piece to a retaining member of the an anchoring piece attached at the corresponding cross-section so that the reinforcing piece is retained to the plate by the sole effect of the anchor piece protruding from the edge of the plate. Such measurements can be taken along one or more or all edges of the plate, depending on the requirements of the intended application.

According to one embodiment, the invention also provides a sealed and insulating tank disposed in a supporting structure, the tank comprising a thermal insulation barrier and a sealing barrier intended to be in contact with a product contained in the tank, the sealing barrier having a set ready to mount supra in a mounted state. Such a tank can be part of a land storage facility, for example to store LNG or be installed in a floating structure, coastal or deep water, including a LNG tank, a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) , a floating production and remote storage unit (FPSO) and others.

According to one embodiment, a vessel for the transport of a cold liquid product comprises a double hull and a aforementioned tank disposed in the double hull.

According to one embodiment, the invention also provides a method of loading or unloading such a vessel, in which a cold liquid product is conveyed through isolated pipes from or to a floating or land storage facility to or from the vessel vessel.

According to one embodiment, the invention also provides a transfer system for a cold liquid product, the system comprising the abovementioned vessel, insulated pipes arranged to connect the vessel installed in the hull of the vessel to a floating storage facility. or terrestrial and a pump for driving a flow of cold liquid product through the insulated pipelines from or to the floating or land storage facility to or from the vessel vessel.

An idea underlying the invention is to provide a reinforcing device for reinforcing a corrugated metal sealing membrane against the pressure forces. Some aspects of the invention start from the idea of providing a reinforcement device that is easy to manufacture, that is easy to assemble to a waterproofing membrane, that is easy to adapt to sealing membranes having corrugations of different dimensions, and / or that has a limited inventory of parts.

Some aspects of the invention are based on the idea of prefabricating a sealed wall structure suitable for producing a pressure-resistant corrugated metal sealing membrane. Some aspects of the invention are based on the idea of making such waterproof wall structures that are modular and easy to combine with each other.

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 perspective view of a corrugated metal plate that can be used to make a watertight wall.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a cruciform anchoring piece that can be attached to the outer face of the plate of FIG. 1 at a crossing of its corrugations to retain reinforcement pieces.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a reinforcement piece suitable for reinforcing a high corrugation of the plate of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a reinforcement piece suitable for reinforcing a low undulation of the plate of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a partial sectional view of the plate of FIG. 1 along the line VV showing the anchor of FIG. 2 attached thereto by elastic wedging in an undercut of the plate at the level of FIG. 'a cross.

FIG. 6 is a partial perspective view of the external face of the plate of FIG. 1 with a reinforcing piece retained in a corrugation by two anchoring pieces cooperating with its two ends. FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of detail VII of FIG.

• Figure 8 is a partial plan view of a marginal area of the outer face of the plate of Figure 1 with a reinforcing piece retained in a corrugation by an anchor cooperating with one of its ends.

FIG. 9 is a schematic representation of a junction zone between two plates of FIG. 1, seen in section in the median plane of a high corrugation of the plates, with a reinforcement piece retained in the corrugation by a piece of anchoring cooperating with one of its ends.

FIG. 10 is a cutaway schematic representation of a tank of a LNG carrier comprising a sealing membrane made from the plate of FIG. 1 and a loading / unloading terminal of this tank.

FIG. 11 is a quarter sectional perspective view of a fixing head of the anchor of FIG. 2 attached in an undercut of the plate of FIG. 1.

FIG. 12 is a view similar to FIG. 11 at a viewing angle rotated about 90 °.

• Figure 13 is a planar view of a reinforcing piece retained in a corrugation by two anchoring parts cooperating with its two ends.

FIG. 14 is a view of the external face of the plate of FIG. 1 with reinforcing pieces retained in all its corrugations each time by two anchoring pieces cooperating with the two ends of a reinforcing piece.

Referring to Figure 1, a corrugated metal plate 1 has on its inner face 2, a first series of so-called low parallel corrugations 5 and a second series of so-called high parallel corrugations 6, the respective directions are perpendicular. The terms "high" and "low" here have a relative meaning and mean that the first series of corrugations 5 has a height less than the second series of corrugations 6. At a cross 3 between a low ripple 5 and a high undulation 6, the low undulation 5 is discontinuous, that is to say that it is interrupted by a fold 4 which extends the crown edge 7 of the high corrugation 6 protruding above the vertex edge 8 of the low corrugation 5. This form is best seen in Figure 5.

At a crossing 3, the crown edge 7 of the high corrugation 6 comprises a pair of concave corrugations 9 whose concavity is turned towards the internal face and which are arranged on either side of the vertex edge 8 of the low corrugation 5. A high corrugation 6 further comprises, at each cross 3, a concave recess 10 on either side of the fold 4. A concave recess 10 has its concavity turned towards the inner face 2 of the plate 1 and has a double curvature. A first curvature visible in FIG. 1 is around an axis perpendicular to the mean plane of the plate 1. A second curvature visible in FIG. 5 is around an axis perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 5. As can be seen in FIG. 5, the concave recesses 10 cause flaring of the fold 4 towards the bottom portion 12 of the fold 4, that is to say a form of undercut. This form can be exploited in embodiments to elastically wedge an anchor piece in the bottom of the fold 4.

By way of example, the low corrugations 5 have a height defined between the apex edge 8 and the surface of the plate 1 equal to about 36 mm and a width at the base of the corrugation 5 of the order of 53 mm. For example, the high corrugations 6 have a height defined between the apex edge 7 and the surface of the plate 1 of the order of 54.5 mm and a width at the base of the corrugation 6 of about 77 mm.

For example, the plate 1 is made of stainless steel sheet or aluminum and has a thickness of about 1.2 mm and can be shaped by stamping. Other metals or alloys and other thicknesses are possible, knowing that a thickening of the plate 1 causes an increase in its cost and generally increases the rigidity of the corrugations. In the case of application of sealed membranes for cold liquid, a certain flexibility of the plate 1 is required to allow its thermal contraction without risk of rupture of the seal. The corrugated metal plate 1 is well adapted to form a tight membrane of a tank of large capacity, for example for a cold liquid product. However, the hydrostatic pressure exerted by the product contained in the tank, for example liquid gas, can cause large plastic deformations of the corrugations and in particular crushing of the lateral faces of the high corrugations 6 at a distance from the crossings 3. In such an integrated tank to the carrying structure of a ship, the wave movements of the liquid gas against the side walls of the tank during transport may further cause dynamic pressure surges such that the corrugations also undergo significant plastic deformations. However, such deformations can lead to degradation of the mechanical strength of the plates, which are subjected to significant thermal contractions, for example when they receive liquid methane, and thus adversely affect the sealing of the plates, especially in the weld zones. at the junction between the different plates of the waterproof wall. Reinforcement pieces are described below intended to avoid or limit such plastic deformations.

Referring to Figure 3, a reinforcing member 15 adapted to be inserted into a high corrugation 6 on the side of the outer face of the plate 1 is shown. The reinforcing piece 15 has a profiled geometry with a constant cross section, which makes it possible to easily obtain a piece of the desired length by cutting a profiled body of great length. Such a profiled body can in particular be manufactured by extrusion.

The part 15 has a thin semi-elliptical dome shaped upper wall 16 substantially adapted to the shape of the high corrugation 6 and intended to be turned towards the plate 1. If the reinforcing piece 15 is made of a material having a different thermal behavior of the plate 1, its dimensioning must take into account this difference to effectively withstand the wall of the corrugation at the temperature of use, for example -162 ° C for LNG.

The bottom wall 17 of the part 15 intended to be turned away from the plate 1 has a generally flat shape to be able to bear on a support surface, formed for example by the inner surface of a thermal insulation barrier in the case of a tank for LNG A groove 18 of rectangular section is hollowed longitudinally in the bottom wall 17 in the middle.

Between the walls 16 and 17, the part 15 is hollow and comprises only thin support ribs, namely two oblique ribs 19 intersecting at a core 22 and each extending between a connecting angle 20 of the walls 16 and 17 and a point located substantially at half the height of the opposite portion of the wall 16, and a short rib 21 connecting the core 22 to the bottom of the groove 18.

Because the area of the low corrugations 5 is smaller than that of the high corrugation 6, the low corrugations 5 are more resistant to pressure. However, it can also be helpful to reinforce them with reinforcement pieces. Referring to Figure 4, a reinforcing member 115 adapted to be inserted into a low corrugation 5 on the side of the outer face of the plate 1 is shown. The elements similar or identical to those of the reinforcing piece 15 have the same reference number increased by 100. In addition to its smaller dimensions, the reinforcing piece 115 differs from the part 15 essentially by the absence of flat bottom wall. The piece 115 is thus open between the two angles 120 and the groove 118 is formed under the core 122 by two parallel longitudinal ribs 121 which extend on either side of the median plane of symmetry of the piece parallel thereto. .

With reference to FIG. 2, a cruciform anchor 30 can be used to fix reinforcing pieces 15 and 115 in the corrugations 6 and 5 of the plate 1. The anchoring piece 30 comprises a central body 31 shaped of hollow cylindrical section with a generally rectangular section, the four outer faces of which respectively bear four arms extending substantially perpendicular to the axis of the body 31 and each capable of cooperating with a reinforcing piece to retain or contribute to retaining the reinforcement piece in a corresponding corrugation of the plate 1, as will be explained below. Two rods 32 are connected to the two short sides 37 of the body 31 and extend from the upper face of the body 31 forming a slight angle inclined towards the axis of the body so as to be closer to one another without joining. The rods 32 have a beveled shape towards their end remote from the body 31. The ends of the rods 32 are connected by a rod 33 extending perpendicularly to the axis of the body 31 and having a wider section than the end of the rods 32, for example substantially equal to the width of the rods 32 at their base.

The rod 33 forms a fixing head capable of being wedged elastically in the undercut of the fold 4 at a cross 3 of the plate 1, described above. For this, the rod 33 is dimensioned with a slightly wider section than the narrowest part of the fold 4.

The anchor 30 may be made by molding a plastic resin.

FIG. 5 shows the anchoring piece 30 thus attached to the plate 1. To achieve this attachment, the anchoring piece 30 is first arranged so that the rod 33 is applied against the inlet portion 11 of the fold 4, the rods 32 perpendicular to the plate 1 and the arms of the anchor 30 respectively arranged to the right of the four segments of corrugation that meet at the crossing 3. Then a force is applied on the anchor 30 perpendicularly towards the plate 1, for example manually, so that the rod 33 resiliently crosses the inlet portion 11 and the narrow portion of the fold 4 to be housed in the bottom portion 12 where it is retained firmly by return In the attached state, the axis of the body 31 is substantially perpendicular to the mean plane of the plate 1.

As best seen in Figures 11 and 12, the rod 33 has a recessed section in the middle by a slot 38 extending longitudinally between the two ends of the rod 33 where the rods 32 are connected. In top view, the shape of the slot 38 may be a rhombus or other elongate shape. The slot 38 facilitates the elastic crushing of the rod 33 during its insertion in the narrow part The two inclined faces 34 located on the sides of the rod 33 which slide against the inner surface of the fold 4 during this insertion movement also facilitate elastic crushing. Thus, the rod 33 is able to deform elastically to adapt to the precise shape of the inside of the fold 4, which may slightly vary from a cross 3 to another of the same plate 1 due to tolerances Thus, the same anchoring piece 30 is adapted to be used in all crossings 3 of a corrugated plate of the type of the plate 1 and even in different plates of this type having a slight dispersion. in their manufacturing ribs.

As best seen in Figures 6 and 8, in the state attached to the plate 1, the four arms of the anchor 30 extend into the four ripple segments that meet at the cross 3. These arm and their functions will now be described more precisely.

Returning to FIG. 2, two longer arms 40 are connected to the short sides 37 of the body 31 and two shorter arms 140 are connected to the long sides 36 of the body 31. The arms 40 engage in both segments of the body. high ripple 6 adjacent crossing 3 where the anchor 30 is attached. The arms 140 engage in both segments of the corresponding low ripple.

An arm 40 has a generally rectangular section and a general direction slightly inclined relative to the plane perpendicular to the axis of the body 31, that is to say inclined relative to the mean plane of the plate 1 in the attached state, this inclination being in a direction opposite to the rods 32. The arm 40 ends with a positioning plate 41 substantially parallel to the axis of the body 31, this plate 41 taking a position perpendicular to the axis of the high corrugation 6 in the attached state of the part 30, as visible in FIG.

The width and shape of the lateral sides 42 of the plate 41 are substantially adapted to the inner section of the high corrugation 6, with a slight clearance, so that the lateral sides 42 can cooperate with the inner surface of the high corrugation 6. to stabilize the plate 41 in its position perpendicular to the axis of the high corrugation 6 in the attached state of the piece 30. In addition, the shape of the plateau 41 gradually widening downwards makes it possible to slide one or each lateral side 42 against the leaves 13 at the base of the high corrugation 6 during the installation of the anchoring piece 30, in order to easily guide the arm 40 to a substantially centered position within the high corrugation 6.

A retaining tab 44 is connected to the front surface 43 of the plate 41, at a position centered laterally relative to the plate 41 and adjacent to the lower edge 45 of the plate 41, that is to say to the right of the connection point of the arm 40 with the plate 41. The tab 44 extends perpendicularly to the axis of the body 31, that is to say parallel to the axis of the high corrugation 6 in the attached state of the The tab 44 has a generally rectangular section of width slightly smaller than the groove 18 to slide in, except at a thickening forming a cylindrical pin 46.

As can be seen in FIG. 6 and the detail of FIG. 7, in the attached state of the anchoring piece 30, the portion 48 of the tab 44 situated beyond the pin 46 can engage in a sliding manner. in the entrance of the groove 18 of a reinforcing piece 15 to stop the piece 15 in the direction perpendicular to the plate 1. The leg portion 48 may be slightly tapered to facilitate this engagement. In this mode of cooperation between the anchoring piece 30 and the reinforcing piece 15, called the support mode, the reinforcing piece 15 is able to swing relative to the tab 44 if the second end of the reinforcing piece 15 is not retained. This mode of cooperation therefore presupposes the use of an anchor piece 30 or similar means at each end of the piece 15, as can be seen in FIG. 6 where a second anchor piece 130 is sketched.

In order to retain a reinforcement piece 15 in a segment 14 of a high corrugation 6 between two crossings 3, the procedure is as follows: a first anchor piece 30 is installed at a first intersection. Then a reinforcing piece 15 is installed between this crossing and the second crossing, by engaging the leg portion 48 of the first anchor piece in one end of the groove 18. Then a second anchor piece 130 is installed at the second crossing by engaging the leg portion 48 of the second anchor in the other end of the groove 18. In the end, two identical anchoring parts 30 and 130 are attached respectively in the two crossings 3, so that each has an arm 40 which extends in a respective end portion of segment 14, in opposite directions. The reinforcing piece 15 of length less than or equal to the distance separating the two lugs 46 from the two arms 40 facing each other is thus retained in the segment 14 in the position shown in FIG. 6. In this position, the two ends of the reinforcement piece 15 are supported respectively by the leg portions 48 of the two anchoring pieces 30 and 130, so that the reinforcing piece 15 is retained at the plate 1 in the direction perpendicular to the plate 1 and can not rock . In addition, the lugs 46 provide in each direction a stop capable of cooperating with the end surface 49 of the reinforcing piece 15 at the entrance of the groove 18 to stop the reinforcing piece 15 in the longitudinal direction of the high corrugation 6. Thus, once in place, the reinforcing member 15 is firmly retained to the plate 1 and the plate 1 and equipped can be freely manipulated, moved or tilted in any position without the reinforcing piece 15 does not off hook.

With reference to FIG. 8, an arm 40 offers another possible mode of cooperation with a reinforcement piece 15. In this mode of cooperation, called the fixing mode, the reinforcing piece 15 is forcibly engaged on the tab 44 until to elastically wedge the lug 46 in the groove 18, which is narrower than this. To facilitate the elastic compression of the lug 46, it can be made with an inner recess 50, for example of cylindrical shape, as shown in Figure 7. Preferably, the reinforcing piece 15 is pushed to put the longitudinal end surface 49 bears against the front surface 43 of the plate 41, which makes it possible to accurately position the reinforcing piece 15 with respect to the anchoring piece 30, and thus with respect to the plate 1.

In the fixing mode, the reinforcing piece 15 is firmly retained on the plate 1 by the sole effect of the anchoring piece 30. As can be seen in FIG. 8, the method of attachment can be used to retain a reinforcing piece 15 in an end segment 51 of the high corrugation 6 extending between an edge 52 of the plate 1 and the crossing 3 adjacent to this edge. Preferably, the reinforcing piece 15 thus fixed has a length greater than the segment 51 to protrude from the edge of the plate 1 and be able to engage under a second adjacent plate, as will be explained below. The establishment of the reinforcing piece 15 at this position may be effected for example by a sharp blow of the hand on the end of the reinforcing piece 15 protruding from the plate 1. This implementation is simplified by the fact that the reinforcing piece 15 is guided axially in the corrugation 6 by the support of its upper wall 16 against the plate 1 inside the corrugation 6, and that the support of the lateral sides 42 of the plate 41 against the plate 1 inside the corrugation 6 holds the retaining tab 44 at a laterally centered position in the corrugation 6 at a height corresponding to that of the groove 18. The beveled shape of the leg portion 48 also facilitates guiding the retaining tab 44 in the entrance of the groove 18.

The description given above with reference to an arm 40 of the anchor 30 is identical for the other arm 40 which extends in the opposite direction. It also applies to the arms 140 which perform the same functions as the arms 40, with the difference that the arms 140 relate to the low corrugations 5 and the reinforcement pieces 115. In the figures, the elements of the arms 140 thus bear the same reference numbers as the 40 arm elements increased by 100 and they will not be described again.

It can therefore be seen that an anchoring piece 30 can cooperate with two reinforcing pieces 15 and two reinforcing pieces 115 for retaining, alone or with the aid of other adjacent anchoring pieces, the four reinforcing pieces in the four ripple segments meeting at the crossing 3 where the anchor 30 is attached. For a plate 1 having high corrugations 6 identical to each other and regularly spaced and low corrugations 5 identical to each other and evenly spaced, it is therefore possible to equip all the corrugation segments of the plate 1 with pressure reinforcement pieces using only three sets of pieces, namely mutually identical anchoring pieces 30, mutually identical reinforcing pieces, having a length adapted to the distance between two low ripples 5, and mutually identical reinforcing pieces 15 having a length adapted to the distance between two high ripples 6.

With reference to FIG. 14, a possible method for providing all corrugations to reinforcement pieces on the outer surface of the plate 1 is now described. To implement this method, the plate 1 is turned over and supported against a support by For example, a wall, so that its outer face is visible and the high undulations 6 are substantially horizontal, the low undulations 5 being almost vertical. The alphabetical order of the reference letters shown in Figure 14 indicates the order of assembly of the parts. At the letter A, a first anchoring piece is placed in a cross located at a lower left corner of the plate 1. Then alternately a reinforcing piece 15 and an anchoring piece 30 are placed sequentially following the high horizontal ripple (letters B to Q), so that the reinforcing pieces are each time in the support mode with the two adjacent anchors. Reinforcing pieces 115 are then placed in the low corrugation segments adjacent to the high corrugation which has just been equipped, each time making the lower end of the reinforcement piece 115 interact with the arm 140, the piece of reinforcement. underlying anchorage in the support mode (letters R). The next high corrugation is then carried out in the same manner as for the first upper corrugation, ensuring that each added anchor piece 30 retains a reinforcement piece 115 added to step R in the first corrugation mode. support (letters S, T, U, V, etc.).

Of course, it is also possible to equip only a portion of the corrugations or a portion of the corrugation segments of the plate 1.

In the state shown in FIG. 14, the end segments 51 of the high corrugations 6 and the end segments 83 of the low corrugations 5 are not equipped with reinforcement pieces. From this state, the method described with reference to FIG. 8 can be used to equip reinforcing pieces with the end segments located along one edge or several edges of the plate 1. The three batches of parts used in this method can be provided in the form of a reinforcing device in kit form for metal plates of the plate type 1. The mounting of such a reinforcing device on the plate 1 can be realized by hand in a quick and easy way by exerting relatively moderate manual efforts. Such a reinforcement kit is therefore also adapted to a corrugated metal plate having dimensions and numbers of corrugations different from those shown in FIG.

Furthermore, if corrugations of the corrugated metal plate to be equipped are unevenly distributed, the production of several batches of reinforcing pieces 15 or 115 having different lengths is easy, since these can be cut in a profile. of great length.

The plate 1 and equipped with reinforcing pieces 15 and / or 115 retained by anchors 30 can be used as a modular wall structure to manufacture a pressure-resistant sealing membrane by assembling several of these structures. The interface between two of these structures can be made according to Figure 9.

Figure 9 shows schematically the interface between two corrugated metal plates 54 and 55 similar to the plate 1 of Figure 1, which are juxtaposed so that their respective undulations are aligned. FIG. 9 is a sectional view in the median plane of a high corrugation 6 which extends through the two plates 54 and 55. Each of the two plates 54 and 55 is equipped with the reinforcement device described above, to reinforce all the corrugations of the plates or a subset of them. In Figure 9, these reinforcing devices are very partially represented, namely by a respective anchor 30 attached to each of the plates 54 and 55 at the crossing 3 of the high corrugation 6 which is closest to the edge 52 of the respective plate, and by a reinforcing piece 15 which is arranged in the high corrugation 6 partially under the plate 54 and partially under the plate 55. The reinforcing piece 15 thus reinforces the high corrugation 6 at the level of the interface between the two plates 54 and 55. To set up the plates 54 and 55, one can proceed as follows. The plate 54 already equipped with the reinforcing device is first placed on the support surface 60 on which the sealing membrane is to be mounted. For example, the support surface 60 may consist of the upper plate of a thermal insulation barrier known elsewhere. The plate 54 carries the reinforcing piece 15 fixed to the anchoring piece 30 so as to protrude from the edge 52 of the plate 54 by a certain distance.

The second plate 55 already equipped with the reinforcing device is then brought above the support surface 60 next to the plate 54 in a state parallel to the plate 54, so that the edge 52 of the plate 55 finally has to overlap the plate 54 is in height. In the corrugation segment 57 located near the edge 52 of the plate 55, the high corrugation 6 of the plate 55 does not include a reinforcement piece. When depositing the plate 55 in the direction of the arrow 59, a marginal portion of the plate 55 overlaps a marginal portion 56 of the plate 54 along the edge 52, while the corrugation segment 57 of the plate 55 is engaged on the reinforcing piece 15 and that the end of the tab 44 of the anchor 30 attached to the plate 55 is positioned in front of the longitudinal end surface 49 of the reinforcing piece 15 without interfering with this one because of the existence of an insertion game 58.

This insertion set 58 may exist without it being necessary to make the reinforcing piece 15 to a different size from the other reinforcing pieces used inside the plates 54 and 55. If the plates 54 and 55 are dimensioned so that all the low corrugations 5 are finally equidistant, both within each of the plates 54 and 55 and at the interface between the two plates 54 and 55, taking into account their overlap, the reinforcing piece 15 of a length adapted to this uniform spacing is both capable of being supported on two retaining tabs 44 in the support mode illustrated in FIG. 6, and at the same time capable of being fixed to a single retaining tab 44 in the attachment mode illustrated in Figures 8 and 9, leaving the clearance 58 relative to the other retaining tab 44. . This property is due to a particular dimensioning of the parts, which will be described more precisely with reference to FIG. 13. FIG. 13 represents a reinforcing piece 15 retained in a high corrugation 6 between two anchoring pieces 30. representation of plate 1 was completely omitted for clarity. The represented odds indicate:

• p: distance between the centers of two successive crossings along the high undulation,

D: length between the center of the anchoring piece 30 and the end of an arm 40 at the surface 43

· B: length of tab 44 from surface 43

• a: distance between the surface 43 and the lug 46.

• f: length of the reinforcing piece 15

If we write Y = p- (f + 2d), these dimensions preferably check the following relations:

Y / 2 <b <Y (Eq 1) and

Y-b <a <Y / 2 (Eq.2).

Thus, a clearance 58 (Yb) is preserved in the position of Figure 9. In the position of Figure 13, the reinforcing piece 15 is shown in the support mode centered between the two anchors 30 The dimension c representing the length of the leg portion 48 inserted in the groove 18 is then:

c = b-Y / 2 (Eq.4).

Finally, the two plates 54 and 55 may be sealingly welded at the marginal portion 56. The combination of several wall structures which has just been described with reference to FIG. 9 can be carried out similarly to all the high corrugations 6 of the plates 54 and 55. In addition, similar measurements can be used in the direction of the low corrugations 5.

It is therefore possible to produce a large-area waterproofing membrane by combining in this way a multitude of rectangular wall structures on a flat support surface. Corrugated metal plates can also be cut into other shapes and equipped in the same way. The sealing membrane thus produced can be fixed to the support surface 60 by any suitable means.

In the foregoing, the retaining tab 44 provides two modes of cooperation between the parts 30 and 15: a type of support-type cooperation shown in FIG. 6 and a type of attachment-type cooperation mode shown in FIG. 8. As a variant these two modes of cooperation could be obtained using two separate parts of the anchor. Similarly, the plate 41 provides both a positioning member of the arm 40 in the high corrugation 6 and an abutment member for the reinforcing piece 15 in the fixed state. Alternatively, these two functions could be fulfilled by separate elements.

The technique described above for producing a waterproofing membrane can be used in various types of tanks, for example to form the primary waterproofing membrane of an LNG tank in a land installation or in a floating structure such as a ship LNG carrier or other.

Referring to Figure 10, a cutaway view of a LNG tank 70 shows a sealed and insulated tank 71 of generally prismatic shape mounted in the double hull 72 of the ship. The wall of the tank 71 comprises a primary sealed barrier intended to be in contact with the LNG contained in the tank, a secondary sealed barrier arranged between the primary waterproof barrier and the double hull 72 of the ship, and two insulating barriers arranged respectively between the primary watertight barrier and the secondary watertight barrier and between the secondary watertight barrier and the double hull 72.

In a manner known per se, loading / unloading lines 73 arranged on the upper deck of the ship can be connected, by means of appropriate connectors, to a marine or port terminal to transfer a cargo of LNG from or to the tank 71.

FIG. 10 shows an example of a marine terminal including a loading and unloading station 75, an underwater pipe 76 and an onshore installation 77. The loading and unloading station 75 is a off-shore fixed installation comprising a movable arm 74 and a tower 78 which supports the movable arm 74. The movable arm 74 carries a bundle of insulated flexible pipes 79 that can be connected to the loading / unloading pipes 73. The movable arm 74 is adjustable. suitable for all models of LNG carriers. A connection pipe (not shown) extends inside the tower 78. The loading and unloading station 75 enables the loading and unloading of the LNG tank 70 from or to the shore facility 77. liquefied gas storage tanks 80 and connecting lines 81 connected by the underwater line 76 to the loading or unloading station 75. The underwater line 76 allows the transfer of the liquefied gas between the loading or unloading station 75 and the onshore installation 77 over a large distance, for example 5 km, which makes it possible to keep the tanker vessel 70 at great distance from the coast during the loading and unloading operations.

In order to generate the pressure necessary for the transfer of the liquefied gas, pumps on board the ship 70 and / or pumps equipping the shore installation 77 and / or pumps equipping the loading and unloading station 75 are used.

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.

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

Claims

An anchor (30) for a waterproof wall structure, the anchor comprising:

an attachment member (32, 33) adapted to be attached to the outer face of a sealed metal plate (1) which has protruding undulations on the side of the inner face (2) of the plate opposite to the outer face, the attachment member (32, 33) being adapted to be attached to the plate at a cross-section (3) between a first corrugation belonging to a series of first parallel corrugations (5) and a second corrugation belonging to a series of second parallel corrugations (6), and

a retaining member (44) adapted to cooperate with a longitudinal end of an elongate reinforcing piece (15, 115) for retaining the reinforcing piece in one of the corrugations (6, 5) which are intersecting at said cross the reinforcing member being adapted to be disposed in the corrugation to increase a plate resistance to pressure.

2. A ready-to-assemble assembly suitable for producing a waterproof wall structure, the assembly comprising:

an anchor (30) according to claim 1,

the sealed metal plate (1) having the series of first parallel corrugations (5) and the series of second parallel corrugations (6), the first corrugations being intersecting at the second corrugations at crossings (3), the corrugations being projecting from the side the inner face (2) of the plate, and the elongated reinforcing member (15, 115) adapted to be disposed in one of said corrugations (6, 5) on the outer face of the plate opposite to the inner face to increase a resistance of the plate to the pressure.

3. The assembly of claim 2, wherein the anchor comprises a plurality of retaining members (44) adapted to cooperate with respective ends of a plurality of reinforcing pieces for retaining the reinforcing pieces in a plurality of ripple segments meeting at the crossing (3) where the anchor is attached.

4. The assembly of claim 2 or 3, wherein the retaining member (44) is adapted to cooperate with the end of the reinforcing piece (15, 115) in a support state in which the retaining member stopping the end of the reinforcing piece in a direction perpendicular to the plate.

5. Assembly according to one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the retaining member is adapted to cooperate with the end of the reinforcing piece in a fastened state in which the retaining member fixes the reinforcement piece. (15, 115) to the anchoring piece (30), so that the reinforcing piece is retained to the plate by the sole effect of the anchor piece.

6. Assembly according to one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the retaining member (44) of the anchor is arranged at the end of an arm (40) connected to the attachment member the arm being arranged to extend into the corrugation (6) in which the reinforcing member (15) is to be retained by the retaining member in the attached state of the anchor (30) .

7. The assembly of claim 6, wherein the arm comprises a positioning member (41) having a contour adapted to a transverse profile of a corrugation of the plate, the positioning member being adapted to cooperate with the plate at the level of side walls of the corrugation (6) for positioning the arm in the corrugation in the attached state of the anchor (30).

8. Assembly according to one of claims 2 to 7, wherein the retaining member comprises a tab (44, 48) adapted to extend longitudinally in a corrugation of the plate in the attached state of the room. anchoring, the reinforcing member having a housing (18) open at a longitudinal end face of the reinforcing member and adapted to receive the tab of the retaining member.

9. The assembly of claim 8, wherein the tab of the retaining member comprises a thickened portion (46) adapted to cooperate with the longitudinal end face (49) of the reinforcing piece to stop longitudinally the reinforcement piece. (15) relative to the tab (44).

10. The assembly of claim 9, wherein the thickened portion (46) of the tab is adapted to be forcibly engaged in the housing (18) of the reinforcing piece to firmly fix the reinforcement piece (15) to the workpiece. anchoring (30) by elastic deformation of the thickened portion and / or the housing of the reinforcing piece.

11. The assembly of claim 10, wherein the anchor comprises an abutment member (43) adapted to cooperate with the longitudinal end face (49) of the reinforcing piece to limit the engagement of the tab ( 44) in the housing beyond the thickened portion (46).

12. Assembly according to one of claims 8 to 11, wherein the housing of the reinforcing member comprises a groove (18) longitudinal hollowed in an outer face (17) of the reinforcing piece intended to be turned to the opposite of the plate.

13. Assembly according to one of claims 2 to 12, wherein the attachment member comprises a head (33) adapted to be attached to the outer face of the plate (1) by elastic crossing of an undercut (4) of the plate at the crossing (3) of the corrugations.

14. The assembly of claim 13, wherein the anchor comprises a body (31) which is connected to the or each retaining member (44) and a rod (32) connecting the head to the body by providing a gap ( 39) between them.

15. The assembly of claim 14, wherein the rod (32) has a tapered shape tapering from the body (31) to the head (33) of the anchor.

16. Assembly according to one of claims 2 to 15, wherein the assembly further comprises a second anchor piece (130) comprising an attachment member (32, 33) adapted to be attached to the outer face of the plate at a second intersection (3) of the corrugation in which the reinforcing member (15) is to be retained and a retaining member (44) adapted to cooperate with a second longitudinal end of the reinforcing piece for retain the reinforcing piece in the corrugation, the reinforcing piece having a length adapted to the distance between the retaining members (44) of the two anchoring pieces (30, 130) in the state attached to the plate, so that the reinforcing piece is retained at the plate between the two anchoring pieces by cooperation with both retainers.

17. An assembly according to one of claims 2 to 16, wherein the reinforcing member (15, 115) consists of a profiled body of constant section.

18. A method for producing a sealed wall structure comprising: providing a sealed metal plate (1) having a series of first parallel corrugations (5) and a series of second parallel corrugations (6), the first undulations being intersecting at the second undulations at level of crossings (3), the corrugations being projecting on the side of an internal face of the plate,

arranging an anchor (30) having an attachment member (32, 33) and a retainer (44) to attach the attachment member to the outer face of the plate opposite to the inner face at one of the intersections, arranging an elongated reinforcing piece (15) in a corrugation segment adjacent to the crossing on the outer face of the plate, so as to co-operate a longitudinal end of the reinforcing piece with the retainer (44).

The method of claim 18, further comprising:

disposing a second anchor piece (130) having an attachment member and a retainer so as to attach the attachment member to the outer face of the plate at a second cross (3) adjacent to the first cross where the first anchor (30) is attached,

wherein the reinforcing member is disposed in the corrugation segment (14) extending between the two crossings and retained at the plate (1) between the two anchor pieces by cooperation of the two longitudinal ends of the reinforcing piece (15) with the two retaining members (44).

The method of claim 18, further comprising:

attaching the end of the reinforcing piece (15) to the retaining member (44) so that the reinforcing piece is retained on the plate by the sole effect of the anchor piece (30).

The method of claim 20, wherein the reinforcing member (15) is disposed in a corrugation segment (51) extending between the cross (3) where the anchor is attached and an edge of the plate (52) and protrudes from the edge of the plate to be engaged in a corrugation of an adjacent plate (55).

The method of claim 18, further comprising:

attaching anchoring pieces (30) each comprising an attachment member and four retaining members to the outer face of the plate at all crossings (3) of the plate (1), and

arranging reinforcing pieces (15, 115) in all the corrugation segments each extending between two crossings, each time making two longitudinal ends of the reinforcing piece cooperate with two retaining members (44) of the two anchoring parts attached at the two crossings (3), so as to retain the reinforcing pieces to the plate.

The method of claim 22, further comprising:

arranging reinforcing pieces (15, 115) in all the corrugation segments extending between an edge of the plate (52) and crossings (3) adjacent to said edge of the plate, and

each time fixing the end of the reinforcing piece to a retaining member (44) of the anchoring piece attached at the corresponding cross-piece so that the reinforcing piece is retained to the plate by the sole effect of the anchor piece protruding from the edge of the plate (52).

24. A sealed and insulating vessel (71) disposed in a supporting structure, the vessel comprising a thermal insulation barrier and a sealing barrier intended to be in contact with a product contained in the vessel, the sealing barrier having a ready-to-assemble assembly according to one of claims 2 to 17 in a mounted state.

25. Ship (70) for the transport of a cold liquid product, the vessel having a double hull (72) and a tank (71) according to claim 24 disposed in the double hull.

26. Use of a ship (70) according to claim 25 for the loading or unloading of a cold liquid product, in which a cold liquid product is conveyed through insulated pipes (73, 79, 76, 81) from or to a floating or land storage facility (77) to or from the vessel vessel (71).

27. Transfer system for a cold liquid product, the system comprising a ship (70) according to claim 25, insulated pipes (73, 79, 76, 81) arranged to connect the tank (71) installed in the hull. the vessel to a floating or land storage facility (77) and a pump for driving a flow of cold liquid product through the insulated pipelines from or to the floating or land storage facility to or from the vessel vessel.