WO2014195602A2

WO2014195602A2 - Self-supporting case for thermally insulating a fluid storage tank and method for producing such a case

Info

Publication number: WO2014195602A2
Application number: PCT/FR2014/051211
Authority: WO
Inventors: Olivier Perrot; Bruno Deletre; Sébastien DELANOE; Florent OUVRARD; Benoît CAPITAINE; Nicolas WALKER
Original assignee: Gaztransport Et Technigaz
Priority date: 2013-06-07
Filing date: 2014-05-23
Publication date: 2014-12-11
Also published as: FR3006662A1; JP2016524678A; AU2014276717B2; CN105393043B; CN105393043A; JP6333363B2; KR102276637B1; AU2014276717A1; WO2014195602A3; EP3004718A2; KR20160017056A; FR3006662B1; EP3004718B1

Abstract

The invention relates to a method of manufacturing a self-supporting case (3, 7) intended to provide thermal insulation for a tank, with a fluid tight membrane, for storing a fluid, said method involving: a step of supplying a bottom panel (10) and a cover panel (11); a step of manufacturing a plurality of bearing walls (14), said step of manufacturing involving, for each bearing wall (14): o arranging in a mould a composite material comprising a fibre reinforced thermoplastic matrix; o inserting fixings inside the mould; o forming the composite material (14), during which forming the fixings are set in the mass of said bearing wall (14), interposing the bearing walls (14) between the bottom panel (10) and the cover panel (11) in such a way that the bottom panel (10) and the cover panel (11) are spaced apart in a thickness direction of the case (3, 7) and that the bearing walls (14) extend in the thickness direction, and fixing the bearing walls (14) to the bottom panel (10) and/or to the cover panel (14) using said fixings, lining the plurality of compartments (15) formed between the bearing walls (14) with an insulating lining. The invention also relates to a case thus manufactured and to a sealed and thermally insulating tank comprising a thermal insulation barrier comprising a plurality of cases as mentioned hereinabove.

Description

Self-supporting case for the thermal insulation of a tank for storing a fluid and method of manufacturing such a box

TECHNICAL FIELD The invention relates to the field of sealed and thermally insulating tanks, with membranes, for storing and / or transporting fluid, such as a cryogenic fluid.

Watertight and thermally insulated membrane tanks are used in particular for the storage of liquefied natural gas (LNG), which is stored at atmospheric pressure at about -162 ° C. These tanks can be installed on the ground or on a floating structure. In the case of a floating structure, the tank may be intended for the transport of liquefied natural gas or to receive liquefied natural gas used as fuel for the propulsion of the floating structure.

Technological background

The document FR 2 877 639 describes a sealed and thermally insulating tank comprising a tank wall, fixed to the supporting structure of a floating structure and having successively, in the direction of the thickness, from the inside to the outside of the vessel, a primary sealed barrier for contacting the liquefied natural gas, a primary insulating barrier, a secondary watertight barrier and a secondary insulating barrier anchored to the supporting structure.

The insulating barriers consist of a plurality of juxtaposed parallelepiped heat insulating boxes. The parallelepipedic boxes include a plywood bottom panel, a plywood cover panel and a plurality of carrier webs interposed between the bottom panel and the cover panel. The supporting webs are corrugated and made of composite material, so as to ensure good resistance to compressive forces, in the direction perpendicular to the bottom and cover panels, and thus withstand the hydrostatic pressure exerted by the liquid contained in the tank . The boxes are, in addition, filled with insulating linings extending in the compartments between the carrier webs. The carrier webs are assembled to said bottom and cover panels by gluing, stapling or embedding. However, none of these methods of assembling the load-bearing sails on the bottom and cover panels does not give full satisfaction in terms of reliability and / or simplicity of assembly. In particular, the stapling systems that are usually used for this type of assembly are undesirable considering the nature, composite material, the carrier webs. Indeed, the attachment of the composite material sails to the bottom and cover panels by staples tends to weaken the sails.

summary

An idea underlying the invention is to propose a method of manufacturing a self-supporting body for the thermal insulation of a storage tank of a fluid in which the fixing of the carrier sails to the bottom panel and / or to the cover panel is carried out in a simple and reliable way.

According to one embodiment, the invention provides a method of manufacturing a self-supporting body for the thermal insulation of a tank, with a sealed membrane, for storing a fluid, said method comprising:

a step of providing a bottom panel and a cover panel;

a step of manufacturing a plurality of carrying sails, said step

. manufacturing comprising for each carrier sail:

o the provision, in a mold, of a composite material comprising a thermoplastic matrix reinforced with fibers;

o the insertion of fasteners for fixing the carrier web to the bottom panel and / or the cover panel, inside the mold;

o the forming of the composite material during which the fasteners are embedded in the mass of said carrier web;

interposing the carrier webs between the bottom panel and the cover panel, so that the bottom panel and the cover panel are spaced in a thickness direction of the body and the load-bearing webs extend into the thick direction, and fix carrier webs on the bottom panel and or on the cover panel by means of said fasteners;

- Fill the plurality of compartments formed between the carrier webs with a heat-insulating lining.

Thus, the carrier webs can be assembled to the bottom panel and / or the cover panel reliably since the fasteners do not degrade the structural integrity of the carrier webs so that the latter are not weakened by their attachment on the bottom panel and / or on the cover panel.

According to a particular embodiment, the method provides that, during the manufacture of a haze:

a plurality of composite material plates are arranged in the mold; and

the fasteners are arranged between two adjacent composite material plates.

According to one embodiment, the forming of the composite material is carried out by thermoforming or thermocompression.

According to one embodiment, the invention also provides a self-supporting body for the thermal insulation of a tank, with a sealed membrane, for storing a fluid, said box comprising:

a bottom panel and a cover panel,

a plurality of carrier webs, interposed between said bottom and cover panels, and extending perpendicular to said bottom and cover panels so as to define a plurality of compartments, and

a heat-insulating lining extending inside said compartments formed between the load-bearing webs,

in which the carrier webs are made by forming a composite material comprising a fiber-reinforced thermoplastic matrix and comprise fasteners to the bottom panel and / or the cover panel, embedded in the mass of the load-bearing sails, during their forming.

According to embodiments, such a box may include one or more of the following features: the fasteners are pointed metal rods, taken from the mass of the carrier webs, each of the metal rods being planted in the bottom panel or in the cover panel,

the fasteners are bushings having a threaded internal bore each cooperating with a threaded member passing through the bottom panel or the cover panel.

the fastening members are wooden slats taken in the mass of the load-bearing sails and fixed against the bottom panel or the cover panel.

- The wooden slats are fixed against the bottom panel or the cover panel by staples.

the fastening members are L-shaped fastening lugs each having a wing embedded in the mass of the carrier web and a wing extending against the bottom panel or the cover panel and provided with an orifice allowing the passage of a screw attached to the bottom panel or cover panel.

the load-bearing webs have load distribution flanges extending along two edges of said load-bearing webs respectively disposed opposite the bottom panel and the cover panel, the fastening members to the bottom panel and / or the cover panel being taken from the mass of said carrier webs at the level of the load distribution flanges.

the carrier webs have a plurality of corrugations whose axis extends perpendicular to the cover and bottom panels.

According to one embodiment, the invention also provides a sealed and thermally insulating tank for storing a fluid comprising a thermal insulation barrier comprising a plurality of aforementioned boxes, juxtaposed, and a sealing membrane resting against the barrier. 'thermal insulation.

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 transporting a fluid comprises a double hull and a said tank disposed in the double hull.

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

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 fluid through the insulated pipelines from or to the floating or land storage facility to or from the vessel vessel.

Brief description of the figures

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.

• Figure 1 is a perspective view, cut away, of a vessel wall according to one embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a plan view, cut away from an insulating box of the tank wall of FIG. 1.

• Figure 3 is a side view of a carrier web.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view along plane IV-IV of FIG.

• Figures 5 and 6 illustrate the steps of manufacturing a carrier web.

• Figure 7 is a sectional view illustrating the assembly of a carrier web on a bottom panel according to a first embodiment.

• Figure 8 is a sectional view illustrating the assembly of a carrier web on a bottom panel according to a second embodiment. • Figure 9 is a sectional view illustrating the assembly of a carrier web on a bottom panel according to a third embodiment.

• Figure 10 is a sectional view illustrating the assembly of a carrier web on a bottom panel according to a fourth embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view illustrating the assembly of FIG.

FIG. 12 is a diagrammatic sectional view illustrating the assembly of a carrier web on a cover panel according to a fifth embodiment.

Fig. 13 is a sectional view illustrating the assembly of a carrier web on a cover panel according to a sixth embodiment.

"Figure 14 and a perspective view of the assembly of the figure

13.

FIG. 15 is a sectional view of an insulating box illustrating the assembly of a carrier web on a cover panel and a bottom panel according to a seventh embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a sectional view illustrating a variant of the seventh embodiment of FIG. 15.

• Figure 17 is a perspective view of the assembly of a web on a bottom panel according to an eighth embodiment, the web being transparently represented.

FIG. 18 is a schematic sectional view illustrating a variant of the assembly of FIG. 17.

• Figure 19 is a top view of the assembly of a carrier web on a bottom panel according to a ninth embodiment.

· Figure 20 is a top view of the assembly of the figure

19; • Figure 21 is a top view of the assembly of a carrier web on a bottom panel according to a tenth embodiment.

FIG. 22 is a side view of the assembly of FIG. 21. FIG. 23 is a sectional view of the assembly of FIG.

Fig. 24 is a perspective view illustrating an assembly of a carrier web on a bottom panel according to an eleventh embodiment.

FIG. 25 is a view from above of the assembly of FIG. 24.

Figure 26 is a side view of the assembly of Figure 24.

FIG. 27 is a sectional view of the assembly of FIG. 24.

• Figure 28 is a schematic cutaway representation of a tank LNG tank and a loading / unloading terminal of the tank.

Detailed description of embodiments

In Figure 1, a wall of a sealed and thermally insulating tank is shown. The general structure of such a tank is well known and has a polyhedral shape. It will therefore focus only to describe a wall zone of the tank, it being understood that all the walls of the tank may have a similar general structure.

The wall of the tank comprises, from the outside to the inside of the tank, a supporting structure 1, a secondary heat-insulating barrier 2 which is formed of heat-insulating boxes 3 juxtaposed on the supporting structure 1 and anchored thereto by secondary holding members 4, a secondary sealing membrane 5 carried by the boxes 3, a primary heat-insulating barrier 6 formed of heat-insulating boxes 7 juxtaposed and anchored to the secondary sealing membrane 5 by primary retaining members 8 and a primary waterproofing membrane 9, carried by the boxes 7 and intended to be in contact with the cryogenic fluid contained in the tank. The supporting structure 1 may in particular be a self-supporting metal sheet or, more generally, any type of rigid partition having suitable mechanical properties. The supporting structure may in particular be formed by the hull or the double hull of a ship. The carrying structure comprises a plurality of walls defining the general shape of the tank.

The primary 9 and secondary 5 waterproofing membranes are, for example, consist of a continuous sheet of metal strakes with raised edges, said strakes being welded by their raised edges on parallel welding supports, fixed on the lid of the boxes 3 7. The metal strakes are, for example, made of Invar ®: that is to say an alloy of iron and nickel whose expansion coefficient is typically between 1, 2.10 ^"6 and 2.10 ^{" 6} K ^{~ 1} .

The boxes 3 of the secondary thermally insulating barrier 2 and the boxes 7 of the primary thermally insulating barrier 6 can equally well have identical or different structures and equal or different dimensions.

Referring to Figure 2, we describe the general structure of a box 3, 7 of the secondary thermally insulating barrier 2 and / or the primary thermally insulating barrier 6. The box 3, 7 has substantially a rectangular parallelepiped shape. The box 3, 7 has a bottom panel 10 and a cover panel 11 parallel. The bottom panels 10 and cover 11 are, for example, made of plywood. The cover panel 11 has, on its inner face, grooves 12 for the housing of the welding supports metal strakes of waterproofing membrane.

A plurality of spacers are interposed between the bottom panel 10 and the cover panel 11, perpendicular to them. The plurality of spacer elements comprises, on the one hand, two opposite lateral walls 12, 13, and, on the other hand, a plurality of carrying webs 14. The carrying webs 14 are arranged parallel to each other between the two side walls 12, 13, in a direction perpendicular to said side walls 12, 13.

Compartments 15 for housing a heat-insulating lining are provided between the carrying sails 14.

The heat insulating lining may be made of any material having appropriate thermal insulation properties. For example, the filling insulation is selected from materials such as perlite, glass wool, polyurethane foam, polyethylene foam, polyvinyl chloride foam, aerogels or others.

The carrier webs 14 are wavy and oscillate on either side of their longitudinal general direction. Each corrugation thus extends along an axis perpendicular to the bottom panels 10 and cover 11. In the embodiment shown, the corrugations are substantially sinusoidal. However, other forms of undulations are also possible. For example, the corrugations may in particular have shapes of triangular teeth or rectangular crenellations. Due to their shape, such corrugated carrier webs 14 have a high buckling resistance without the need to give them much thickness. It should be noted that if corrugations having a periodic structure make it possible to ensure good uniformity of the compressive strength, it is also possible to provide non-periodic corrugations in order to meet certain localized mechanical requirements.

Figures 3 and 4 illustrate a carrier web 14. Along its edges extending opposite the bottom panel 10 and the cover panel 11, the carrier web 14 has flanges 16a, 16b distribution of loads. The upper flange 16a has a flat surface intended to face the cover panel 11 while the lower flange 16b has a flat surface which is intended to face the bottom panel 10. flanges 16a, 16b have a width which is greater than the thickness of the wall of the carrier web 14 in its main part, extending between the two flanges 16a, 16b. Thus, the load distribution flanges 16a, 16b prevent stress concentration on a particular area by providing a greater support surface between the carrier web 14 and the bottom panels 10 and cover 11. The distribution flanges loads may have a parallelepipedal shape, as shown in Figures 3 or 4. In this case, the width of the flanges 16a, 16b may be equal to the amplitude of the corrugations. In other embodiments, as shown in Figures 17, 20 or 24, the load distribution flanges 16a, 16b may themselves have corrugations.

The carrier webs are made of composite material comprising a thermoplastic matrix reinforced with glass fibers. A method of manufacturing the carrier webs 14 is described in connection with FIGS. 5 and 6.

In a first phase, as shown in FIG. 5, an intermediate product is produced in the form of composite material plates. For this purpose, a double-band press 17 is supplied with fiberglass 18 and thermoplastic resin 19. The thermoplastic resin 19 can be loaded on the double-band press 17 in the form of extruded films or in the form of a powder. The glass fibers 18 are provided as coils of glass yarn, cut to the desired length. The thermoplastic resin 19 and the glass fibers 18 are co-laminated in the double-web press 17. At the outlet of the double-web press 17, a cutting device makes it possible to obtain a plurality of plates. In one embodiment, the thermoplastic resin is based on polypropylene.

Such plates have a composite structure comprising a thermoplastic matrix and a mat or fiberglass felt. Such composite structures are designated by the acronym GMT, for "glass fiber mat reinforced thermoplastics" in English.

In a second step, the plates of composite material are shaped, as shown in FIG. 5. To do this, the plates of composite material are heated in an oven 20, then placed in a mold 21 in which they are going to be shaped by applying pressure. The carrier webs thus formed are then cooled. The carrier webs 14 are thus shaped by thermocompression, by heating the composite material plates and then stamping them on the press. In another embodiment, the carrier webs can also be made by thermoforming, that is to say creep plates of composite material under temperature conditions and evacuation.

In the embodiments shown in FIGS. 7 to 11, fastening members of the supporting webs 14 to the bottom panel 10 and / or to the cover panel 11 are inserted into the mold 21 during forming. Thus, the carrier webs 14 are overmolded on the fasteners. In other words, the fasteners are embedded in the mass of the carrier webs 14 during their forming. In one embodiment, the carrier webs 14 are made from a stack of several composite material plates and the fasteners are arranged in the mold 21, sandwiched between two adjacent composite material plates. Thus, the fasteners are suitably embedded in the mass of the carrier webs 14.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 7, the fasteners are pointed metal rods 22, of the staple or nail type, taken into the mass of the carrier web 14 during its forming. The metal rods 22 are planted in the bottom panel 10 and thus ensure the attachment of the carrier web 14 to the bottom panel 10. Similarly, the carrier web 14 also has, along its edge vis-à-vis of the cover panel 11, such metal rods 22, taken in the mass of the carrier web 1 1, and fixed on the cover panel 11.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 8, the fastening members, taken in the mass of the load-bearing sails 14, are L-shaped fastening lugs 23 arranged laterally, on either side of said sails 14. The fastening lugs in L 23 each comprise a first flange 24, embedded in the mass of the carrier web 14, and a second flange 25 projecting, laterally, outwardly of said carrier web 14. The second flange 25 rests against the bottom panel 10 and is provided with an orifice. Screws 26 pass through said orifices and are fixed to the bottom panel 10 in order to secure the carrier webs 14. Similarly, the edge of the carrier web 14 cooperating with the cover panel 11 may also be equipped with such fastening lugs 23.

In the embodiment shown in Figure 9, the fasteners, taken in the mass, are sockets 27 having a tapped internal bore. The bushings 27 cooperate with threaded members, such as screws 28, passing through a through hole formed in the bottom panel 10 and opening towards the sockets 27. Similarly, the other edge the carrier web 14 can also be equipped with such sleeves 27.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, wood slats 29 extending longitudinally along the entire length of said load-bearing webs 14, along their load distribution flange 16a, 16b, are taken from the mass of said carrying sails 14. The wooden slats 29 have a section rectangular and have a flat surface for resting against the cover panel 10 or the bottom panel 11. In one embodiment, the wood slats 29 are attached to the cover panel 11 or the bottom panel 10 by stapling. Thus, the staples are not directly introduced into the composite material.

In the embodiment of Figure 12, the carrier webs 14 are attached to the bottom panel 10 and the cover panel 11 by means of nail plates 30 inserted between the cover panels 11 and bottom 10 and the flanges 16a, 16b of the carrier web 14. Such nail plate 30 comprises a carrier plate, a first set 31 of nails planted in the cover panel 10 or the bottom panel 11 and a second series 32 of nails planted in the sole 16a, 16b of the carrying sail 14.

In the embodiment of FIGS. 13 and 14, the fixing of a web 14 on the bottom panel 10 and on the cover panel 11 is ensured by slides 33 fixed against the bottom panel 10 and against the panel 11. The slides are arranged to receive a sole 16a, 16b of the web carrier 14. A slide 33 is formed by two lateral wooden boards 34 for laterally guiding a sole 16a, 16b. Two retaining boards 35 resting against the lateral planks 34 make it possible to retain the soleplate for distributing the loads in a direction perpendicular to the bottom panels 10 and the cover 11. In order to allow such an assembly, the load-bearing sails 14 are in a first time interposed between the bottom panels 10 and cover 11 by sliding their flanges 16a, 16b in the slides 33 and, in a second step, when all the carrier webs 14 has been positioned, the lateral edges 12, 13 of the box 3, 7 can be put in place.

The embodiment of FIG. 15 differs from the embodiment of FIGS. 13 and 14 in that the slides 36 are formed by grooves formed directly in the bottom panels 10 and the cover 11.

In the embodiment of Figure 16, the slides 37 formed in the bottom panels 10 and cover 11 have a shape of dovetail.

In the embodiment of FIGS. 17 and 18, the carrier webs 14 are fixed by hooks 38, one curved end of which cooperates with the soles carrying sails to retain the carrier webs against the bottom panels 10 and cover 11. In an embodiment not shown, the hooks 38 are elastic hooks for attachment by "clipping" elastic. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 17, the hooks 38 are rigid and are immobilized in a retaining position of the carrier web 14 by means of wedges 39 made of wood that can be introduced through the bottom panel.

10 or cover panel 11.

FIG. 18 shows an embodiment in which the retaining hooks 38 each comprise two jaws 39, 40 placed, in the direction of thickness of the tank, on either side of a tongue 41 projecting laterally from the veil. carrier 14.

In the embodiment of Figures 19 and 20, the carrier web 14 is fixed to the bottom panel 10 or the cover panel 11 via a fastener 42 having a cylindrical rod carrying at both ends heads having a larger diameter. wide than that of the cylindrical rod. The carrier web 14 carries a metal part provided with an oblong hole 43 having a small dimension greater than the diameter of the cylindrical rod and smaller than the diameter of the heads, said oblong hole 43 being extended by a circular orifice 44 having a larger diameter than the of the head of the fastener 42. Similarly, the bottom panel 10 or lid 1 1, vis-à-vis, has an oblong hole 45 extended by a circular orifice 46. The association oblong hole 45 and circular orifice 46 of the panel 10, 11 is arranged, head to tail, with respect to the combination of elongate hole 43 and circular hole 43 fitted to the carrier web 14. To ensure assembly, the circular holes 44 are made to coincide. , 46 carried respectively by the carrier web 14 and the bottom panel 10 or cover 11 to allow passage of a head of the fastener through the panel 10,

11 and the metal piece. Then, the carrier web 14 is slid with respect to the panel 10, 11 in order to trap the cylindrical rod at the ends of oblong holes 45, 43.

In the embodiment of Figures 21 to 23, the carrier webs 14 have through orifices through which pins 47 are inserted. The pins 47 have two ends, disposed on either side of said carrier web 14, which have grooves cooperating with staples 48 fixed in the bottom panel 10 or cover 11 to ensure the fixing of the pins 47. In the embodiment of FIGS. 24 to 27, wooden wedges 49 are placed on either side of the carrier web 14 and fixed on the bottom panel 10 or cover 11 in order to wedge the carrier web 14 laterally. the embodiment shown, the flanges 16a, 16b have corrugations. Also, the wedges 49 have a corrugated shape complementary to the corrugations of the flanges 16a, 16b so as to immobilize the movement of the carrier web 14 in its longitudinal direction. Finally, in order to block the movement of the carrier web 14 in a direction perpendicular to the bottom panels 10 and cover 11, the wedges 49 may have a projecting portion 50 cooperating with a complementary shaped cavity formed in the carrier web 14. On the embodiment shown, the projecting portion has a shape of dovetail. In another embodiment, the protruding portion may also protrude above the lower flange 16b or below the upper flange 16a so as to maintain the upper flange 16a or lower 16b respectively against the bottom panel 10 or the cover panel 11.

The positioning of the heat-insulating lining in the compartments 15 formed between the load-bearing sails 14 can be done after the fixing of the load-bearing sails 14 on the cover panels 11 and bottom panels 10. However, the order in which this step is carried out is irrelevant. . In particular, it is also possible to pre-assemble the heat-insulating seals and the carrying sails 14 and then to fix the sails 14 to the bottom panels 0 and the cover 11. According to another embodiment, it is also possible to fix the carrier sails

14 to one of the bottom panels 10 or lid 1 1, to fill the compartments

15 formed between the carrier webs 14, for example by foam projection, then close the self-supporting body by fixing the other of the bottom panels 10 or cover 11 on the carrier webs 14.

The technique described above for producing a self-supporting box can be used in different types of tanks, for example to produce the primary thermal insulation barrier and / or the secondary thermal insulation barrier of an LNG tank in an installation. land or in a floating structure such as a LNG tanker or other.

Referring to Figure 28, a broken 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 has a sealed barrier primary 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 thermal insulation barriers arranged respectively between the primary waterproof barrier and the sealed barrier secondary 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. 28 represents an example of a marine terminal comprising a loading and unloading station 75, an underwater pipe 76 and an onshore installation 77. The loading and unloading station 75 is a fixed off-shore installation comprising an arm mobile 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 connect to the loading / unloading pipes 73. The movable arm 74 can be adapted to all gauges 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

1. A method of manufacturing a self-supporting body (3, 7) intended for the thermal insulation of a tank, with a sealed membrane, for storing a fluid, said method comprising:

a step of providing a bottom panel (10) and a cover panel (11);

a step of manufacturing a plurality of carrier webs (14), said manufacturing step comprising for each carrier web (14):

the provision, in a mold (21), of a composite material comprising a fiber-reinforced thermoplastic matrix;

the insertion of fixing members (22, 23, 27, 29) for fixing the carrier web (14) to the bottom panel (10) and / or the cover panel (11), to the mold interior (21);

o forming the composite material (14) in which the fasteners (22, 23, 27, 29) are embedded in the mass of said carrier web (14);

interposing the carrier webs (14) between the bottom panel (10) and the cover panel (11), so that the bottom panel (10) and the cover panel (11) are spaced apart in a direction of the thickness of the body (3, 7) and the supporting webs (14) extend in the thickness direction and attach the carrier webs (14) to the bottom panel (10) and / or the cover panel (14) by means of said fasteners (22, 23, 27, 29);

filling the plurality of compartments (15) formed between the carrier webs (14) with a heat-insulating lining.

2. Manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein during the manufacture of a carrier web (14):

a plurality of plates of composite material are placed in the mold (21); and

the fasteners (22, 23, 27, 29) are arranged between two adjacent composite material plates.

Self-supporting box (3, 7) for the thermal insulation of a tank, with a sealed membrane, for storing a fluid, said box (3, 7) comprising: a bottom panel (10) and a cover panel (11) spaced in a thickness direction of the body (3, 7),

a plurality of carrier webs (14) interposed between said bottom (10) and cover (11) panels and extending in the thickness direction to define a plurality of compartments (15), and

a heat-insulating lining extending inside said compartments (15) formed between the carrier webs (14),

wherein the carrier webs (14) are made by forming a composite material having a fiber-reinforced thermoplastic matrix and have fasteners (22, 23, 27, 29) at the bottom panel (10) and / or at the cover panel (11), taken from the mass of the carrier webs (14), during their forming.

4. Case (3, 7) according to claim 3, wherein the fasteners are pointed metal rods (22), taken in the mass of the carrier webs (14), each of the metal rods (22) being planted in the bottom panel (10) or in the cover panel (11).

5. Case (3, 7) according to claim 3, wherein the fasteners are sockets (27) having a threaded internal bore each cooperating with a threaded member (28) passing through the bottom panel (10) or the panel cover (11).

6. Case (3, 7) according to claim 3, wherein the fastening members are wooden slats (29), taken in the mass of the carrier webs (14), each of the wooden slats being fixed against the panel of bottom (10) or the cover panel (1 1).

The crate (3, 7) according to claim 6, wherein the wood slats (29) are secured against the bottom panel or the cover panel by staples.

8. Case (3, 7) according to claim 3, wherein the fastening members are L-shaped fastening lugs (23) each having a wing (24) embedded in the mass of the sail (14) and a wing ( 25) extending against the bottom panel (10) or the cover panel (11) and provided with an orifice allowing the passage of a screw (26) fixed to the bottom panel (10) or the panel of cover (1 1).

9. Box (3, 7) according to any one of claims 3 to 8, wherein the carrier webs (14) have load distribution flanges (16a, 16b) extending along two edges of said carrier webs. (14) respectively disposed opposite the bottom panel (10) and the cover panel (10) and wherein the fasteners (22, 23, 27, 29) to the bottom panel and / or the cover panel are taken from the mass of the load-bearing sails (14) at the level of the load distribution flanges (16a, 16b).

10. Case (3, 7) according to any one of claims 3 to 9, wherein the carrier webs (14) have a plurality of corrugations whose axis extends perpendicularly to the bottom panels (10) and cover (11).

11. A sealed and thermally insulating storage tank for a fluid comprising a thermal insulation barrier (2, 6) comprising a plurality of boxes (3, 7) according to any one of claims 3 to 10, juxtaposed, and a sealing membrane (5, 9) resting against the thermal insulation barrier.

12. Vessel (70) for the transport of a fluid, the vessel having a double hull (72) and a tank (71) according to claim 11 disposed in the double hull.

A method of loading or unloading a vessel (70) according to claim 12, wherein a fluid is conveyed through insulated pipes (73, 79, 76, 81) to or from a floating or land storage facility ( 77) to or from the vessel vessel (71).

14. Transfer system for a fluid, the system comprising a ship (70) according to claim 12, insulated pipes (73, 79, 76, 81) arranged to connect the tank (71) installed in the hull of the ship. at a floating or land storage facility (77) and a pump for driving fluid through the insulated pipelines from or to the floating or land storage facility to or from the vessel vessel.