WO2019077253A1

WO2019077253A1 - Sealed and thermally insulating tank with several areas

Info

Publication number: WO2019077253A1
Application number: PCT/FR2018/052561
Authority: WO
Inventors: Mohamed Sassi; Gery Canler; Cédric Morel; Sébastien DELANOE; Bruno Deletre; Raphaël PRUNIER; Nicolas SARTRE
Original assignee: Gaztransport Et Technigaz
Priority date: 2017-10-20
Filing date: 2018-10-16
Publication date: 2019-04-25

Abstract

A tank in which a tank wall comprises a secondary insulating barrier, a primary insulating barrier, a primary sealed membrane and a secondary sealed membrane, the tank wall comprising: a first area (11) in which insulating modules comprise spacers extending in a thickness direction of the tank wall between a cover panel and a bottom panel of said insulating modules, a second area (12) in which a cover panel of the insulating modules is kept at a distance from a bottom panel by a structural insulating foam, a transition area (14) interposed between the first area and the second area, said transition area having a thermal contraction coefficient and/or an elasticity modulus in the thickness direction of the tank wall between that of the first area and that of the second area.

Description

Multi-zone waterproof and thermally insulating tank

Technical area

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 insulating membrane tanks are used in particular for the storage of liquefied natural gas (LNG), which is stored at atmospheric pressure at about -163 ° 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

In the state of the art, it is known sealed and thermally insulating tanks for the storage of liquefied natural gas, integrated into a supporting structure, such as the double hull of a vessel for the transport of liquefied natural gas. Generally, such tanks comprise a multilayer structure successively presenting, in the direction of the thickness from the outside to the inside of the tank, a secondary thermal insulation barrier retained to the supporting structure, a secondary waterproofing membrane. resting against the secondary thermal insulation barrier, a primary thermal insulation barrier resting against the secondary waterproofing membrane and a primary waterproofing membrane resting against the primary thermal insulation barrier and intended to be in contact with the gas liquefied natural matter contained in the tank.

The document FR2867831 describes a sealed and thermally insulating tank comprising a thermal insulation barrier formed of juxtaposed insulating boxes. These boxes have a cover plate and a bottom plate held at a distance by carrier struts plates and sides of said boxes. These insulating boxes are filled with insulating gasket and form a substantially flat support surface to support a sealed membrane of the tank. Such insulating boxes have a significant resistance to constraints in the tank but the carrier struts plates and the sides of the boxes form areas of higher thermal conductivity limiting the thermal insulation properties of said boxes.

The document WO2013124556 describes a sealed and thermally insulating tank in which a thermal insulation barrier is formed of a plurality of juxtaposed insulating blocks. These insulating blocks comprise successively in a thickness direction of the tank wall a bottom plate, a lower structural insulating foam, an intermediate plate, an upper structural insulating foam and a cover plate. In these insulating blocks, the plates are kept at a distance from each other in the direction of thickness of the vessel wall by the structural insulating foam.

summary

An idea underlying the invention is to provide a sealed and thermally insulating tank by combining several types of insulation of natures and / or different structures while maintaining a waterproof membrane carried substantially uniformly and continuously.

Thus, an idea underlying the invention is to manage the thickness variation phenomena between areas of the tank having different behaviors. For this, an idea underlying the invention is to create a smooth transition between insulating modules of a first zone having a first operational behavior in the thickness and insulating modules of a second zone having a second operational behavior. in the thickness when subjected to pressure and / or temperature variations generating a thickness differential in the vessel wall.

According to one embodiment, the invention provides a sealed and thermally insulating tank for storing a fluid integrated in a supporting structure, in which a tank wall comprises in a thickness direction:

a secondary heat-insulating barrier and a primary heat-insulating barrier consisting of juxtaposed insulating modules, an insulating module comprising a cover panel, a bottom panel and an insulating lining interposed between the bottom panel and the cover panel, a primary waterproof membrane resting on the primary thermally insulating barrier, and

a secondary waterproof membrane resting on the secondary thermally insulating barrier,

the vessel wall comprising in a direction of length:

a first zone in which the insulating modules comprise spacers developing in the thickness direction of the tank wall between the cover panel and the bottom panel of said insulating modules, said spacers being distributed on the surface of the cover panel and of the bottom panel so that the bottom panel and the cover panel of said insulating modules are kept at a distance from each other by said spacers,

a second zone in which the insulation pad of the insulating modules comprises a structural insulating foam interposed between the cover panel and the bottom panel on the surface of the cover panel and the bottom panel so that the cover panel of said insulating modules is kept away from the bottom panel by said structural insulating foam,

a transition zone interposed between the first zone and the second zone, in which the insulating modules are constituted in such a way that the vessel wall in the said transition zone has at least one parameter chosen from the thermal contraction coefficient and the modulus of elasticity in the thickness direction of the vessel wall whose value is between the value of said at least one parameter of the first zone of the vessel wall in the thickness direction of the vessel wall and the value of said at minus one parameter of the second zone of the vessel wall in the thickness direction of the vessel wall.

One idea underlying the invention is that the operational behavior of the vessel wall in the thickness direction can be essentially characterized by two physical properties which are the thermal contraction coefficient, which qualifies the response of the vessel wall. temperature variations, and modulus of elasticity in the thickness direction that qualifies the response of the vessel wall to pressures. According to one embodiment, the value of said at least one parameter in the direction of thickness of the tank wall of the insulating modules of the first zone is substantially determined by the value of said at least one parameter along said thickness direction of the spacers , bottom panel and cover panel. In other words, the operational contraction behavior in the thickness, determined by at least one parameter chosen from the thermal contraction coefficient and the elastic modulus in the thickness, of an insulating module comprising spacers distributed on the surface. of the cover panel and bottom panel is mainly determined by the operational contraction behavior in the thickness of the supporting struts, cover panels and bottom panels.

According to one embodiment, the value of said at least one parameter in the direction of thickness of the tank wall of the insulating modules of the second zone is substantially determined by the value of said at least one parameter along said thickness direction of the structural insulating foam, bottom panel and cover panel. In other words, the operational contraction behavior in the thickness, determined by at least one parameter chosen from the thermal contraction coefficient and the elastic modulus in the thickness, of an insulating module comprising a structural insulating foam distributed on the surface of the cover panel and the bottom panel is mainly determined by the operational contraction behavior in the thickness of the structural insulating foam and the cover and bottom panels. Thus, the characteristics such as the thermal contraction coefficient and the modulus of elasticity in the thickness are not the same for these different insulating modules.

The sealed and thermally insulating tank according to the invention advantageously makes it possible to limit the presence of steps between the thermally insulating barriers of said zones by virtue of the presence of a transition zone between the first zone and the second zone of the tank wall.

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

According to one embodiment, the insulating modules of the second zone have a coefficient of thermal contraction in the direction of the thickness of the wall of the tank higher than the thermal contraction coefficient of the insulating modules of the first zone in the direction of the thickness of the wall of the tank.

According to one embodiment, the insulating modules of the transition zone are constituted so that the vessel wall in said transition zone has a coefficient of thermal contraction in the thickness direction of the vessel wall between the coefficient of thermal contraction of the first zone of the vessel wall in the thickness direction of the vessel wall and the thermal contraction coefficient of the second zone of the vessel wall in the thickness direction of the vessel wall.

According to one embodiment, the insulating modules of the first zone have a modulus of elasticity in the direction of the thickness of the wall of the tank higher than the modulus of elasticity of the insulating modules of the second zone in the direction the thickness of the wall of the tank.

According to one embodiment, the insulating modules of the transition zone are constituted so that the vessel wall in said transition zone has a modulus of elasticity in the thickness direction of the vessel wall between the module of the transition zone. elasticity of the first zone of the vessel wall in the thickness direction of the vessel wall and the modulus of elasticity of the second zone of the vessel wall in the thickness direction of the vessel wall.

According to one embodiment, the first zone corresponds to a zone of the tank wall that is heavily stressed and the second zone corresponds to a zone of the tank wall that is less stressed. According to one embodiment, the first zone of the tank wall is an area in which the waterproof membrane or membranes are fixed relative to the supporting structure. According to one embodiment, the first zone is an area of the vessel wall in which at least one waterproof membrane is anchored to the support structure. According to one embodiment, the first zone is, for example, an angle zone of the tank, a gas dome, a liquid dome or a zone for fixing a support leg for a pump. According to one embodiment, the second zone is located in a central portion of the vessel wall.

Thanks to these characteristics, the sealed and thermally insulating tank according to the invention advantageously allows to present good characteristics resistance to stress in highly stressed areas and good insulation characteristics.

According to embodiments, the spacers of the insulating modules of the first zone can be made in many ways.

According to one embodiment, the spacers of the insulating modules of the first zone form sides of said insulating modules so that said insulating modules are caissons having one or more internal spaces delimited by the spacers, the bottom panel and the cover panel. . According to one embodiment, the insulating lining is arranged in the at least one internal space. According to one embodiment, the spacers of the insulating modules of the first zone comprise carrying pillars arranged between the bottom panel and the cover panel. According to one embodiment, the spacers of the insulating modules of the first zone comprise spacer plates developing between the bottom panel and the cover panel. According to one embodiment, the spacers comprise spacers such as above in combination between the bottom panel and the module cover panel.

According to one embodiment, the insulating lining of the insulating modules of the first zone is a non-carrier or non-structural insulating lining such as perlite, glass wool, aerogels or other, or even their mixtures.

According to one embodiment, the insulating lining arranged in the internal space or spaces of the boxes is a non-structural insulating lining such as perlite, glass wool, aerogels or other, or even their mixtures.

According to one embodiment, the structural insulating foam is a polyurethane foam. According to one embodiment, this structural insulating foam is a high density foam, for example with a density greater than 100 Kg / m ³ , preferably greater than or equal to 120 Kg / m ^{3, in} particular equal to 210 Kg / m ³ .

According to one embodiment, the structural insulating foam is a reinforced foam, for example reinforced by fibers such as glass fibers. According to one embodiment, the bottom panel is a plywood panel. According to one embodiment, the cover panel is a plywood panel.

According to one embodiment, the spacers also develop with a component in a plane perpendicular to the thickness direction of the vessel wall, that is to say in a direction oblique to the direction of thickness.

According to one embodiment, the first zone is arranged on all or part of a perimeter of the wall.

According to one embodiment, the insulating modules of the transition zone comprise

a first insulating module arranged in the secondary thermally insulating barrier, the first insulating module having a first value of said at least one parameter in the thickness direction of the vessel wall, and

a second insulating module arranged in the primary thermally insulating barrier, the second insulating module having a second value of said at least one parameter in the thickness direction of the vessel wall, the first insulating module and the second insulating module being superimposed in the direction of the thickness of the tank wall.

With these features, the tank is simple to perform. Indeed, the transition zone can be achieved using standardized insulating modules that can be integrated in a simple way to thermally insulating barriers. In addition, the difference in value of said at least one parameter between the transition zone and the first and second zones of the vessel wall is simple to achieve, this difference in value of said at least one parameter simply resulting from the superimposition of two modules. separate insulators. In particular, it is possible to superpose an insulating module of the first zone and an insulating module of the second zone to form the transition zone.

According to one embodiment, the thermal contraction coefficient of the first insulating module in the thickness direction of the vessel wall is between the thermal contraction coefficient in said thickness direction of the insulating modules of the secondary thermally insulating barrier of the first zone and the thermal contraction coefficient in said thickness direction of the insulating modules of the secondary thermally insulating barrier of the second zone zone included.

According to one embodiment, the modulus of elasticity of the first insulating module in the thickness direction of the vessel wall is between the modulus of elasticity in the said direction of thickness of the insulating modules of the secondary thermally insulating barrier of the first zone and the modulus of elasticity along said thickness direction of the insulating modules of the secondary thermally insulating barrier of the second included zone.

According to one embodiment, the thermal contraction coefficient of the first insulating module according to said thickness direction is equal to the coefficient of thermal contraction according to said thickness direction of the insulating modules of the first zone.

According to one embodiment, the modulus of elasticity of the first insulating module in said thickness direction is equal to the modulus of elasticity along said thickness direction of the insulating modules of the first zone.

According to one embodiment, the coefficient of thermal contraction according to said thickness direction of the first insulating module is greater than the thermal contraction coefficient according to said direction of thickness of the insulating modules of the first zone.

According to one embodiment, the modulus of elasticity along said thickness direction of the first insulating module is smaller than the modulus of elasticity along said thickness direction of the insulating modules of the first zone.

According to one embodiment, the thermal contraction coefficient of the second insulating module in the thickness direction of the vessel wall is between the thermal contraction coefficient according to said thickness direction of the insulating modules of the primary thermal insulating barrier of the the first zone and the thermal contraction coefficient along said thickness direction of the insulating modules of the primary thermally insulating barrier of the second included zone. According to one embodiment, the modulus of elasticity of the second insulating module in the thickness direction of the vessel wall is between the modulus of elasticity along said thickness direction of the insulating modules of the primary thermally insulating barrier of the first zone and the modulus of elasticity along said thickness direction of the insulating modules of the primary thermally insulating barrier of the second included zone.

According to one embodiment, the thermal contraction coefficient of the second insulating module in said thickness direction is equal to the thermal contraction coefficient in said thickness direction of the insulating modules of the second zone.

According to one embodiment, the modulus of elasticity of the second insulating module in said thickness direction is equal to the modulus of elasticity along said thickness direction of the insulating modules of the second zone.

According to one embodiment, the thermal contraction coefficient along said thickness direction of the second insulating module is smaller than the thermal contraction coefficient along said thickness direction of the insulating modules of the second zone.

According to one embodiment, the modulus of elasticity in said thickness direction of the second insulating module is greater than the modulus of elasticity in said thickness direction of the insulating modules of the second zone.

According to one embodiment, the thermal contraction coefficient in the thickness direction of the tank wall of the first insulating module is smaller than the thermal contraction coefficient in said thickness direction of the second insulating module.

According to one embodiment, the modulus of elasticity in the thickness direction of the vessel wall of the first insulating module is greater than the modulus of elasticity in said thickness direction of the second insulating module.

According to one embodiment:

one of the first insulating module and the second insulating module comprises spacers developing in a thickness direction of the vessel wall between the cover panel and the bottom panel of said insulating module, said spacers being distributed on the surface of the bottom panel and the cover panel so that the bottom panel and the cover panel of said insulating module are kept at a distance from each other by said spacers, and

the other one of the first insulating module and the second insulating module comprises a structural insulating foam interposed between the cover panel and the bottom panel on the surface of the cover panel and the bottom panel so that the cover panel of said another insulating module is kept away from the bottom panel of said other insulating module by said structural insulating foam.

Thanks to these characteristics, the insulating modules of the transition zone have structures similar to the insulating modules of the first and second zones. Thus, the insulating modules of the transition zone are simple to manufacture and do not require the use of insulating modules having a structure distinct from those of the other zones of the tank wall. The insulating modules used to manufacture the tank wall can thus be standardized for the different zones of the tank wall.

According to one embodiment, the first insulating module is identical to the insulating modules of the second zone, for example identical to the insulating modules of the primary thermally insulating barrier or the secondary thermally insulating barrier of the second zone of the vessel wall.

According to one embodiment, the second module is identical to the insulating modules of the first zone, for example identical to the insulating modules of the primary thermally insulating barrier or the secondary thermally insulating barrier of the first zone of the vessel wall.

According to one embodiment, said other one of the first insulating module and the second insulating module is jointly developed in the transition zone and in the second zone of the vessel wall.

According to one embodiment, said other one of the first insulating module and the second insulating module is an insulating module of the primary thermally insulating barrier. In other words, said other one of the first insulating module and the second insulating module is the second insulating module. According to one embodiment, said one of the first insulating module and the second insulating module jointly develop in the transition zone and in the first zone of the vessel wall.

According to one embodiment, said one of the first insulating module and the second insulating module is an insulating module of the secondary thermally insulating barrier. In other words, said one of the first insulating module and the second insulating module is the first insulating module.

According to one embodiment, the value of said at least one parameter of the other one of the first insulating module and the second insulating module is less than the value of said at least one parameter of one of the first insulating module and the second module. insulating.

According to one embodiment, the first zone corresponds to an angle zone of the vessel comprising a connecting ring, and the transition zone is directly adjacent to the connection ring, and in which the second insulation module comprises an insulating foam. interposed between the cover panel and the bottom panel on the surface of the cover panel and the bottom panel so that the cover panel of said other insulating module is kept away from the bottom panel of said other insulating module by said foam structural insulation.

According to one embodiment, the first insulating module comprises spacers developing in a direction of thickness of the tank wall between the cover panel and the bottom panel of said insulating module, said spacers being distributed on the surface of the panel. bottom and cover panel so that the bottom panel and the cover panel of said insulating module are held at a distance from each other by said spacers.

According to one embodiment, the insulating modules of the transition zone comprise:

a third insulating module arranged in the secondary thermally insulating barrier, the third insulating module being closer to the second zone than the first insulating module and having a third value of the said at least one parameter in the thickness direction of the vessel wall; ,

a fourth insulating module arranged in the primary thermally insulating barrier, the fourth insulating module being closer to the second zone than the second insulating module and having a fourth value of said at least one parameter in the thickness direction of the vessel wall,

and wherein the third value of said at least one parameter of the third insulating module is between the first value of said at least one parameter of the first insulating module and the second value of said at least one parameter of the second insulating module.

According to one embodiment, the third insulation module is a mixed module comprising an intermediate panel arranged between the bottom panel and the cover panel, the insulating lining comprising a lower lining arranged between the intermediate panel and the bottom panel and a lining arranged between the intermediate panel and the cover panel, the mixed module having a coefficient of thermal expansion between the thermal expansion coefficient of an insulating module of the first zone and the coefficient of thermal expansion of an insulating module of the second zone.

According to one embodiment, the fourth insulating module is identical to the second insulating module, so that the fourth value of said at least one parameter is equal to the second value of said at least one parameter.

According to one embodiment, the insulating modules of the transition zone comprise a third insulating module (arranged in the secondary thermally insulating barrier, the third insulating module being closer to the second zone than the first insulating module and having a third value of said at least one parameter according to the thickness direction of the vessel wall, and wherein the second insulating module extends over the entire length of the transition zone in primary heat-insulating barrier, the third value of said at least one parameter of the third isolating module being between the first value of said at least one parameter of the first insulating module and the second value of said at least one parameter of the second insulating module.

According to one embodiment, the transition zone has a coefficient of thermal contraction in the thickness direction of the vessel wall increasing in the length direction of the vessel wall from the first zone towards the second zone of the tank wall.

According to one embodiment, the transition zone has a modulus of elasticity in the direction of thickness of the vessel wall decreasing in the direction of length of the vessel wall from the first zone towards the second zone of the vessel wall.

According to one embodiment, the primary thermally insulating barrier and the secondary thermal insulating barrier comprise a plurality of insulating modules in the transition zone.

According to one embodiment, the insulating modules of the primary thermally insulating barrier and / or the secondary thermally insulating barrier located in the transition zone have thermal contraction coefficients in the thickness direction of the separate vessel wall.

According to one embodiment, the insulating modules of the primary thermally insulating barrier and / or the secondary thermally insulating barrier located in the transition zone have elastic moduli in the direction of thickness of the separate vessel wall.

According to one embodiment, an insulating module located in the transition zone close to the first zone has a thermal contraction coefficient in said thickness direction less than the thermal contraction coefficient in said thickness direction of an insulating module located in the transition zone in the same thermally insulating barrier and farther away from the first zone.

According to one embodiment, an insulating module located in the transition zone close to the first zone has a modulus of elasticity in said direction of thickness greater than the modulus of elasticity in said thickness direction of an insulating module located in the transition zone in the same thermally insulating barrier and farther away from the first zone.

Thanks to these characteristics, the transition zone subdivides into a plurality of small steps the difference generated by the difference in behavior between the insulating modules of the first zone and the insulating modules of the second zone. Such subdivision makes it possible to provide a support surface for the sealed membranes having a satisfactory flatness. In particular, the gap between the first zone and the second zone is subdivided into a plurality of small amplitude steps, such small amplitude steps not degrading the performance and life of the sealed membranes. In addition, a such a transition zone using separate insulating modules to achieve a gentle slope is simple to achieve.

According to one embodiment, the coefficient of thermal contraction in the direction of thickness of the vessel wall in the transition zone increases continuously continuously from the first zone towards the second zone.

According to one embodiment, the modulus of elasticity in the direction of thickness of the vessel wall in the transition zone decreases continuously progressively from the first zone towards the second zone.

According to one embodiment, an insulation module of the transition zone comprises a structural insulating foam interposed between the cover panel and the bottom panel on the surface of the cover panel and the bottom panel of said insulating module so that the panel cover of said insulating module is kept away from the bottom panel of said insulating module by said structural insulating foam, said structural insulating foam having a thermal contraction coefficient in the thickness direction of the bottom wall lower than the contraction coefficient in said thickness direction of the structural insulating foam of the second zone.

According to one embodiment, the structural insulating foam of said insulating module of the transition zone comprises a first portion of structural insulating foam and a second portion of structural insulating foam, the first portion of structural insulating foam being closer to the first zone than the second portion of structural foam, the first portion of structural insulating foam having a thermal contraction coefficient in the thickness direction of the vessel lower than the thermal contraction coefficient of the second structural insulating foam portion in said thickness direction.

According to one embodiment, an insulation module of the transition zone comprises a structural insulating foam interposed between the cover panel and the bottom panel on the surface of the cover panel and the bottom panel of said insulating module so that the panel cover of said insulating module is kept at a distance from the bottom panel of said insulating module by said structural insulating foam, said structural insulating foam having a modulus of elasticity in the thickness direction of the tank wall greater than the modulus of elasticity in said thickness direction of the structural insulating foam of the second zone.

According to one embodiment, the structural insulating foam of said insulating module of the transition zone comprises a first portion of structural insulating foam and a second portion of structural insulating foam, the first portion of structural insulating foam being closer to the first zone than the second portion of structural foam, the first portion of structural insulating foam having a modulus of elasticity in the direction of thickness of the tank greater than the modulus of elasticity of the second portion of structural insulating foam in said thickness direction.

Such a module is simple to implement because it uses materials of the same nature to generate a gradual change in the thermal contraction coefficient and / or the modulus of elasticity in the thickness direction of the vessel wall.

According to one embodiment, the structural insulating foam of said module is a fiber-reinforced polyurethane foam, the first portion of structural insulating foam having a fiber orientation in a thickness direction of the vessel wall and the second portion of foam structural insulation having a fiber orientation perpendicular to the thickness direction of the vessel wall.

According to one embodiment, the thickness of the first portion decreases progressively from the first zone towards the second zone and the thickness of the second portion increases progressively from the first zone toward the second zone.

According to one embodiment, the insulating modules of the transition zone comprise a mixed module comprising an intermediate panel arranged between the bottom panel and the cover panel, the insulating lining comprising a lower lining arranged between the intermediate panel and the panel. bottom and an upper liner arranged between the intermediate panel and the lid panel.

According to one embodiment, the first insulating module is a mixed module. According to one embodiment, the mixed module comprises bearing struts developing in a direction of thickness of the tank wall between the intermediate panel and one of the bottom panel and the cover panel, said spacers being distributed on the surface of the intermediate panel and said one of the bottom panel and the cover panel so that the intermediate panel and said one of the bottom panel and the cover panel are kept at a distance from each other by said carrier struts,

According to one embodiment, the insulating gasket arranged between the intermediate panel and the other one of the bottom panel and the cover panel comprises a structural insulating foam distributed on the surface of the intermediate panel and the said other one of the bottom panel and the cover panel so that the intermediate panel and said other one of the bottom panel and the cover panel are held apart by said structural insulating foam.

According to one embodiment, the intermediate panel develops in a plane inclined with respect to the bottom panel and the cover panel. Thus, the thermal contraction coefficient of the mixed module increases progressively in the length direction of the vessel wall from the first zone of the vessel wall towards the second zone of the vessel wall and / or the modulus of elasticity. of the mixed module progressively decreases in the length direction of the vessel wall from the first zone of the vessel wall towards the second zone of the vessel wall.

Thus, the mixed module has a thermal contraction coefficient in the direction of thickness of the vessel wall increasing progressively from the first zone towards the second zone of the vessel wall and / or a modulus of elasticity in the direction thickness of the vessel wall decreasing progressively from the first zone towards the second zone of the vessel wall.

According to one embodiment, the intermediate panel is remote from an edge of the mixed module located close to one of the first zone and the second zone. According to one embodiment, the intermediate panel is remote from one of the bottom panel and the cover panel of the mixed module.

According to one embodiment, the primary and secondary waterproof membranes consist essentially of metal strips extending in the length direction and having raised longitudinal edges, the raised edges of two adjacent metal strips being welded in pairs so as to form expansion bellows allowing a deformation of the waterproof membrane in a direction perpendicular to the direction of length. According to one embodiment, the primary and / or secondary waterproofing membranes comprise corrugated metal plates.

According to one embodiment, the angle of the vessel comprises a primary anchoring wing and a secondary anchoring wing, a first end of said anchor wings being anchored to the supporting structure and a second end of said anchoring wings. being sealingly welded to the corresponding sealing membrane.

According to one embodiment, the primary waterproofing membrane comprises corrugations extending perpendicular to the raised edges and arranged in line with the first zone.

According to one embodiment, the secondary waterproof membrane consists essentially of metal strips extending in the direction of length and having raised longitudinal edges, the raised edges of two adjacent metal strips being welded in pairs so as to form bellows expansion device allowing a deformation of the watertight membrane in a direction perpendicular to the length direction, wherein the angle of the vessel comprises a secondary anchoring wing, a first end of said anchor wing being anchored to the supporting structure and a second end of said anchor wing being sealingly welded to the secondary sealing membrane, and wherein the primary waterproofing membrane comprises corrugated metal plates.

Such a tank can be part of an onshore storage facility, for example to store LNG or be installed in a floating structure, coastal or deepwater, including a LNG carrier, a floating unit of Storage and Regasification (FSRU), a floating production and remote storage unit (FPSO) and others.

According to one embodiment, the invention also provides a vessel for transporting a cold liquid product having 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.

According to one embodiment, the invention also provides an insulating module comprising a cover panel, a bottom panel and an insulating gasket interposed between the bottom panel and the cover panel, said insulating module further comprising an arranged intermediate panel. between the bottom panel and the cover panel and separating the insulating module at an upper part and a lower part, the insulating lining having a bottom lining arranged between the intermediate panel and the bottom panel and an upper lining arranged between the intermediate panel and the cover panel, said insulating module having at least one parameter selected from the thermal contraction coefficient and the modulus of elasticity in the thickness direction of the vessel wall, the value of which is distinct between the top of the insulating module and the lower part of the insulating module.

According to one embodiment, said insulating module comprises carrying struts developing in a thickness direction of the tank wall between the intermediate panel and at least one of the bottom panel and the cover panel, said struts being distributed on the surface of the intermediate panel and said at least one of the bottom panel and the cover panel so that the intermediate panel and the at least one of the bottom panel and the cover panel are kept at a distance from each other by said carrier struts,

According to one embodiment, the insulating gasket arranged between the intermediate panel and at least one of the bottom panel and the cover panel having a structural insulating foam distributed over the surface of the intermediate panel and said at least one of the panel. and the cover panel so that the intermediate panel and said at least one of the bottom panel and the cover panel are spaced apart by said structural insulating foam.

According to one embodiment, the intermediate panel develops in a plane inclined with respect to the bottom panel and the cover panel.

According to one embodiment, one of the upper liner and the lower liner is a fiber-reinforced polyurethane foam having fiber orientation in a thickness direction of the vessel wall and the other of the lower liner and the upper liner is a fiber-reinforced polyurethane foam having a fiber orientation perpendicular to the thickness direction of the vessel wall.

According to one embodiment, the inclined intermediate panel is remote from an edge of the insulating module so that the lower lining or the upper lining forms the entire thickness of the insulating lining of the insulating module at said edge. This embodiment makes it possible to produce the said edge with a high degree of resistance while avoiding the presence of a layer of lower lining or of a top lining of small thickness that can degrade.

According to one embodiment, the side of the inclined intermediate panel closest to the bottom panel is remote from the bottom panel. Thus, the insulating lining is constituted by the only lower lining at the bottom panel, thus providing a uniform structure advantageously offering good mechanical strength, for example for fixing an element of an anchoring member to the panel of bottom of the insulation module.

Brief description of the figures

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

FIG. 1 is a very diagrammatic representation of a sealed and thermally insulating tank wall comprising two structurally distinct zones in two distinct states of tank loading, vacuum at ambient temperature of 20 ° C. and filled with LNG at -163. ° C;

FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of a sealed and thermally insulating tank wall according to one embodiment of the invention comprising two structurally distinct zones between which is arranged a transition zone in two tank loading states, vacuum at room temperature of 20 ° C and filled with LNG at -163 ° C;

FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of a sealed and thermally insulating tank wall according to a first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic representation of a sealed and thermally insulating tank wall according to a second embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a detailed representation of the sealed and thermally insulating tank wall according to the second embodiment;

FIGS. 6 to 8 are diagrammatic representations of sealed and thermally insulating vessel walls according to alternative embodiments of a third embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 9 is a schematic representation of a sealed and thermally insulating tank wall according to a fourth embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 10 is a detailed representation of the sealed and thermally insulating tank wall according to the fourth embodiment; • Figures 1 1 and 12 are schematic representations of sealed and thermally insulated vessel walls according to alternative embodiments of a fifth embodiment of the invention; FIG. 13 is a detailed representation of the sealed and thermally insulating tank wall according to the fifth embodiment;

FIG. 14 is an illustration of an insulating module of the transition zone of FIG. 13; FIG. 15 is a schematic representation of a sealed and thermally insulating tank wall according to a sixth embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 16 is a detailed representation of the sealed and thermally insulating tank wall according to the sixth embodiment;

FIG. 17 is an illustration of an insulating module of the transition zone of FIG. 16;

FIG. 18 is a schematic representation of a transverse wall of a sealed and thermally insulating tank comprising a first zone, a transition zone and a second zone according to the invention;

• Figure 19 is a schematic cutaway representation of a tank of LNG tanker and a loading / unloading terminal of this tank. Fig. 20 is a detailed representation of the sealed and thermally insulating tank wall according to a seventh embodiment.

Detailed description of embodiments

Referring to Figure 1, we will describe a sealed and thermally insulating tank wall according to an embodiment useful for understanding the invention. A sealed and thermally insulating tank for transporting LNG comprises a plurality of tank walls defining an internal space for the storage of LNG. Each tank wall comprises, from the outside to the inside of the tank, a secondary thermal insulation barrier 1, a secondary waterproofing membrane 2, a primary thermal insulation barrier 3 and a primary waterproofing membrane 4 intended to be in contact with a cryogenic fluid contained in the tank.

The secondary thermal insulation barrier 1, hereinafter secondary insulating barrier 1, comprises secondary insulating blocks 5. These secondary insulating blocks 5 are juxtaposed and anchored to a carrier structure 6 by secondary retaining members, for example studs or couplers welded to the supporting structure 6. These secondary insulating blocks 5 form a secondary support surface on which the secondary sealing membrane 2 is retained.

Similarly, the primary thermally insulating barrier 3, hereinafter primary insulating barrier 3, comprises primary insulating blocks 7. These primary insulating blocks 7 are juxtaposed and retained on the secondary sealing membrane 2 by primary retaining members. These primary insulating blocks 7 form a primary support surface on which the primary waterproofing membrane 4 is retained.

The supporting structure 6 can in particular be a self-supporting metal sheet or, more generally, any type of rigid partition having suitable mechanical properties. The supporting structure 6 may in particular be formed by the hull or the double hull of a ship. The supporting structure 6 has a plurality of walls defining the general shape of the vessel, usually a polyhedral shape.

The secondary and primary insulating blocks 7 have substantially a rectangular parallelepiped shape. These secondary and primary insulating blocks 7 each comprise an insulating lining layer 8 interposed between a bottom plate 9 and a cover plate 10.

FIG. 1 illustrates the behavior of two zones of a tank wall comprising insulating blocks 5, 7 having different structures. In this FIG. 1, a first zone 11 and a second zone 12 of the sealed and thermally insulating tank wall are shown schematically. The first zone 1 1 of the tank wall illustrated on the right side of FIG. 1 represents a zone of the tank wall subjected to high stresses in the tank. The second zone 12 of the tank wall illustrated on the left-hand part of FIG. 1 represents a zone of the tank wall subjected to lesser stresses in the tank.

In the following description, the first zone 1 1 comprises insulating blocks 5, 7 having good resistance to stress and the second zone 12 comprises insulating blocks 5, 7 having a lower stress resistance but better insulation properties thermal.

The insulating blocks 5, 7 of the first zone 1 1 comprise spacers developing in the direction of thickness of the tank wall between the cover plate 10 and the bottom plate 9 of said insulating blocks 5, 7. These spacers are distributed on the surface of the cover plate 10 and the bottom plate 9 so that the bottom plate 9 and the cover plate 10 of said insulating blocks 5, 7 are kept at a distance from each other by said spacers. Preferably, these spacers are distributed over the entire surface of the cover plate 10 and the bottom plate 9. Due to the presence of spacers and their distribution distributed between the bottom plate 9 and the cover plate 10, the mechanical strength in the thickness direction of the insulating blocks 5, 7 of the first zone is mainly determined by the spacers. On the same principle, the behavior of the insulating blocks 5, 7 of the first zone in the thickness direction is mainly determined by the thermal contraction coefficient of the spacers which is of the order of 4 to 10 × 10 ^-6 K ^-1 when the latter are plywood. In other words, the insulating gasket 8 does not participate or little in maintaining distance of the bottom plates and cover. Such insulating lining 8 is for example glass wool, perlite, or low-density polymer foam, for example having a density of between 30 and 40 Kg / m ³ .

Such insulating blocks 5, 7 of the first zone 11 may be made in many ways. In particular, the spacers can take many forms such as for example the form of spacer plate, bearing pillars, lateral sides of the insulating blocks 5, 7 etc. For example, the insulating blocks 5, 7 of the first zone may be made in the form of caissons comprising lateral edges and carrier strut plates between the bottom plates 9 and the cover plate 10. The insulating gasket 8 of such blocks is housed in internal spaces delimited by the lateral edges and the supporting struts between the bottom plate and the cover plate. The documents FR2798358, FR2867831, FR2877639 and FR2683786 describe embodiments of such insulating blocks 5, 7 of the first zone in the form of boxes.

Similarly, the insulating blocks 5, 7 of the first zone may comprise bearing pillars, the bottom plate 9 and the cover plate 10 being held at a distance by these bearing pillars developing in the thickness direction of said insulating blocks. Such bearing pillars are distributed distributed between the bottom plate 9 and the cover plate 10 to ensure evenly the spacing between the bottom plates and cover. Embodiments of such blocks comprising carrying pillars are for example described in documents WO2016097578, FR2877638 and WO2013017773.

The insulating blocks 5, 7 of the second zone 12 comprise an insulating gasket 8 in the form of structural insulating foam interposed between the cover plate 10 and the bottom plate 9 on the surface of the cover plate 10 and the bottom plate 9. Preferably, this structural insulating foam is interposed between the cover plate 10 and the bottom plate 9 over substantially the entire surface of the cover plate 10 and the bottom plate 9 Thus, the cover plate 10 of said blocks insulators 5, 7 of the second zone 12 is kept away from the bottom plate 9 by said structural insulating foam. Such structural insulating foam has, in the direction of the wall thickness of the tank, a thermal contraction coefficient higher than the thermal contraction coefficient of the spacers in said direction of the wall thickness of the tank. Similarly, such a structural insulating foam has, in the direction of the thickness of the wall of the tank, a modulus of elasticity lower than the modulus of elasticity of the spacers in said direction of the thickness of the wall. tank.

Such structural insulating foam can take many forms, this structural insulating foam having the function, in addition to its thermal insulation function, to keep the bottom plates 9 and lid at a distance 10. Thus, the strength in the thickness direction of the insulating blocks 5, 7 of the second zone 12 is mainly determined by the characteristics of the structural insulating foam. Insulating blocks 5, 7 comprising such a structural insulating foam can take many forms.

For example, such blocks 5, 7 of the second zone may comprise a polyurethane foam structurally capable of keeping the bottom plate and the cover plate at a distance. The structural insulating foam is for example a polyurethane foam reinforced with fiberglass or aramid having a density of 120 to 140 Kg / m ³ . The structural insulating foam may also be a high density reinforced polyurethane foam having a density greater than or equal to 170 Kg / m ³ , preferably equal to 210 Kg / m ³ . Such insulating blocks 5, 7 are for example described in the document FR28131 1 1. Similarly, the documents WO2013124556 and WO2013017781 describe insulating blocks 5, 7 comprising a layer of structural insulating foam interposed between and now remotely holding a bottom plate. and a cover plate.

The insulating blocks 5, 7 of the second zone 12 may have point reinforcing zones. However, with the exception of these punctual reinforcement zones, the bottom and bottom plates of the insulating blocks of these documents are kept at a distance mainly by the structural insulating foam. For example, the insulating blocks 5, 7 of the second zone 12 may comprise corner pillars for reinforcing the anchoring zones of the insulating block 5, 7. However, these corner pillars constitute singular singular zones, the bottom plate 9 and the cover plate 10 being mainly held at a distance by the structural insulating foam. The document WO2013017781 describes an exemplary embodiment of such insulating blocks 5, 7 of the second zone 12 comprising corner pillars.

The documents indicated above also give other details on the manufacture of sealed and thermally insulating tanks, in particular on the secondary and secondary waterproofing membranes 4, the anchoring members of the insulating barriers 1, 3. Possible embodiments of the sealing membranes, based on corrugated metal sheets, are also described in WO2016 / 046487, WO2013004943 or WO2014057221. The insulating blocks 5, 7 of the first zone 1 1 have good characteristics of resistance to stress due to the spacers. However, these spacers also form places of greater thermal conductivity between the bottom plate 9 and the cover plate 10.

Conversely, the insulating blocks 5, 7 of the second zone 12 have good thermal insulation properties, better than those of the first zone 1 1. However, these insulating blocks 5, 7 of the second zone 12 have a resistance to stress. less than that of the insulating blocks 5, 7 of the first zone 1.

Preferably, the first zone 1 1 is adjacent to an angle of the tank and the second zone 12 is disposed in the central part of the wall. Indeed, the insulating blocks in the tank are subject to different constraints depending on their location. In particular, the insulating blocks arranged in the corner areas of the tank, namely the first zone January 1, are generally subjected to higher stresses than the insulating blocks located in the flat areas of the tank, namely the second zone 12.

In a not shown embodiment, the first zone 1 1 may be adjacent to a portion of the tank wall where the sealing membranes must be interrupted, for example a portion of the tank wall traversed by a pipe, in particular a channeling a gas dome, a portion of the tank wall traversed by a support leg, for example for a pump, or a portion of the vessel wall at the end of a liquid dome. Portions of the tank wall traversed by a pipe or a support foot for a pump are for example described in WO2014128381. Indeed, in these specific areas of the tank, the insulating blocks can also be subjected to high stresses.

With the arrangement of Figure 1, the type of insulating blocks has been adapted to areas of the tank in which said insulating blocks are arranged, and more particularly to the stresses that said insulating blocks must undergo in these areas. Such an arrangement of the insulating blocks in the tank makes it possible to obtain an optimized tank both from a thermal insulation point of view and from a point of view of resistance to stresses. However, the use of insulating blocks having different structures and materials causes operational differences in the operation of said insulating blocks, in particular in compression, in creep, in dimensional deviation in the thickness of the insulating blocks, under the effect of thermal changes. , hydrostatic and hydrodynamic pressure in the tank etc.

The upper part of FIG. 1 illustrates these two zones 11, 12 in the context of an empty vessel at ambient temperature, for example 20 ° C. The lower part of FIG. 1 illustrates these two zones 11, 12 in the context of a tank full of LNG at -163 ° C.

The first zone 11 and the second zone 12 have the same thickness at ambient temperature in order to provide a flat support surface for the sealing membranes 2, 4.

In the remainder of the description, the term thermal contraction coefficient is used with reference to the coefficient of thermal contraction of an element in the direction of thickness of the vessel wall.

Due to the different structure of the insulating blocks 5, 7, the first zone 11 and the second zone 12 have different thermal contraction coefficients, different stiffnesses, different creep resistance, and so on. In other words, the first zone 1 1 and the second zone 12 behave differently under thermal loads, cargo, sloshing, etc.

As a result, the first zone 11 and the second zone 12 have different thickness changes when the tank is filled with LNG. Thus, if the first zone 11 and the second zone 12 have an identical thickness when the tank is empty as shown in the upper part of FIG. 1, a step 13 in the thickness direction of the tank wall appears between the first zone 1 1 and the second zone 12 when the tank is filled with LNG as illustrated in the lower part of FIG. 1. This step 13 is particularly important at the level of the primary support surface supporting the primary sealing membrane 4 of the This step 13 is generated by the difference in thickness change of the two insulating barriers 1 and 3. For example, in the case of a first zone comprising insulating blocks in the form of plywood boxes and a second zone comprising structural foam insulation blocks, a primary insulation barrier 3 of 230mm thickness and a secondary insulating barrier 1 of 300mm thick, we can observe a step 13 of up to about 8 to 12mm mainly under the joint effects of sloshing and thermal contraction for two thirds and minority under the combined effect of cargo pressure and creep.

However, the waterproofing membranes 2, 4 have an optimal operation in a plane geometry and may have weaknesses under excessive steps. This is why thermally insulating barriers of the prior art use insulating blocks having similar structures on the entire surface of the vessel walls. This problem is particularly present in the case of waterproof membranes in invar strips with raised edges, even if it is also less important in the context of waterproof membranes with corrugated metal sheets.

FIG. 2 is a schematic representation illustrating the principle of a tank wall in which the thermally insulating barriers 1, 3 comprise insulating blocks 5, 7 arranged according to the stresses experienced in the tank while having a support surface adapted to the support of the sealing membranes 2, 4. Many embodiments are described more specifically below with reference to Figures 3 to 17 to implement such a tank wall.

The tank wall illustrated in FIG. 2 comprises, in a manner analogous to the tank wall described with reference to FIG. 1, a first zone 1 1 and a second zone 12 comprising insulating blocks 5, 7 having different structures. The vessel wall also comprises a transition zone 14 interposed between the first zone 11 and the second zone 12. This transition zone 14 comprises insulating blocks 5, 7 selected so that said transition zone 14 exhibits an intermediate compression behavior between the compression behavior of the first zone 1 1 and the compression behavior of the second zone 12.

As illustrated in the upper part of FIG. 2, the insulating blocks 5, 7 of the transition zone 14 are selected to be flush with the insulating blocks 5, 7 of the first and second zones 11, 12 when the tank is empty at temperature. to provide a flat support surface for the waterproofing membranes. However, the insulating blocks 5, 7 of the transition zone 14 are also selected so that the transition zone 14 has a thickness between the thickness of the first zone 1 1 and the thickness of the second zone 12 when the tank is full of LNG as shown in the lower part of Figure 2 .

According to a preferred embodiment, the insulating blocks 5, 7 of the transition zone 14 are selected so that the thermal contraction coefficient of the transition zone 14 is between the thermal contraction coefficient of the first zone 1 1 and the thermal contraction coefficient of the second zone 12.

The insulating blocks 5, 7 of the transition zone 14 can also be selected according to other characteristics. Thus, the insulating blocks 5, 7 of the transition zone 14 can be selected according to their stiffness at impact, for example to take into account the effects of sloshing of the liquid contained in the tank (called "sloshing" in English). ). These insulating blocks 5, 7 of the transition zone 14 can also be selected according to their stiffness in static compression to take into account the pressure related to the weight of the liquid contained in the tank. Other characteristics such as the Young's modulus in compression or the resistance to creep over time can also be taken into account.

Thus, in one embodiment, the description made with regard to the thermal contraction coefficient applies by analogy to the modulus of elasticity of the zones of the vessel wall. The first zone 1 1 has a modulus of elasticity greater than the modulus of elasticity of the second zone 12 and the transition zone has a modulus of elasticity between the modulus of elasticity of the first zone 11 and the modulus of elasticity. elasticity of the second zone 12. In addition, the modulus of elasticity of the transition zone 14 can decrease from the first zone 11 towards the second zone 12.

In any case, the insulating blocks 5, 7 of the transition zone are selected so that the transition zone 14 has an intermediate compression behavior between the compression behavior of the first and second zones 11, 12 and that the The thickness of the transition zone 14 is between the thickness of the first zone 11 and the thickness of the second zone 12 when the tank is full of LNG. Such a transition zone 14 allows a smooth transition between the first zone 1 1 and the second zone 12. Indeed, thanks to the transition zone 14, the step 13 between the first zone 1 1 and the second zone 12 is subdivided into a first step 15 and a second step 16 of reduced sizes. The first step 15 is located between the first zone 1 1 and the transition zone 14 and the second step 16 is located between the transition zone 14 and the second zone 12. The tank wall thus no longer has a large step 13 such as illustrated in Figure 1 which could degrade the waterproofing membranes 2, 4 while having areas whose strength and insulation properties are adapted to the stresses in the tank. Steps 15, 16 of smaller sizes are understood to mean steps of lesser size than step 13 between the first zone 11 and the second zone 12.

In FIGS. 3 to 18 and 20, the first zone 1 1 comprises, in the primary insulating barrier 3 and in the secondary insulating barrier 1, structurally similar insulating blocks 5, 7. In these FIGS. 3 to 18 and 20, the second zone 12 comprises, in the primary insulating barrier 3 and in the secondary insulating barrier 1, structurally similar insulating blocks 5, 7. For questions of readability of the figures, only a primary insulating block 7 and a secondary insulating block 5 of the first zone 11 and the second zone 12 are illustrated in FIGS. 3 to 17 and 20, the first zone 11 and the second zone 12 may comprise one or a plurality of primary insulating blocks 7 and secondary 5 juxtaposed according to the desired dimensions of said first zone 1 1 and second zone 12.

Figure 3 illustrates a first embodiment of the transition zone 14 in a vessel wall. In this first embodiment, the transition zone 14 comprises a secondary insulating block 5 and a primary insulating block 7 superimposed. The secondary insulating block 5 of the transition zone 14 is identical to the secondary insulating blocks 5 of the first zone 1 1. The primary insulating block 7 of the transition zone 14 is identical to the primary insulating blocks 7 of the second zone 12. Consequently, the thermal contraction coefficient of the transition zone 14 is the sum of the thermal contraction coefficients of a secondary insulating block 5 of the first zone 1 1 and of a primary insulating block 7 of the second zone. Thus, the thermal contraction coefficient of the transition zone 14 is between the thermal contraction coefficient of the first zone 1 1 and the thermal contraction coefficient of the second zone 12. This first embodiment has the advantage of being simple to implement since it uses standardized insulating blocks 5, 7 of the first zone 1 1 and the second zone 12 to form the transition zone 14. This first embodiment of FIG. The embodiment thus makes it possible to subdivide the step 13 of the primary support surface into two steps 15, 16 of reduced sizes.

According to a non-illustrated variant of the first embodiment, the primary insulating block 7 of the transition zone 14 is identical to the primary insulating blocks 7 of the first zone 1 1 and the secondary insulating block 5 of the transition zone 14 is identical to the secondary insulation blocks 5 of the second zone 12. This variant, not illustrated, also makes it possible to obtain a simple transition zone 14 to be produced by using insulating blocks 5, 7 identical to the insulating blocks 5, 7 of the first zone 11 and of the second zone 12 while providing a transition zone 14 dividing the step 13 between the first zone 1 1 and the second zone 12 in steps 15, 16 acceptable for the primary waterproofing membrane 4.

FIG. 4 illustrates a second embodiment of the transition zone 14. In this second embodiment, the transition zone 14 comprises a secondary insulating block 5 identical to the secondary blocks 5 of the first zone 11. However, the primary insulating barrier 3 of the transition zone 14 is formed by a primary insulating block 7 jointly developing in the transition zone 14 and in the second zone 12.

A secondary end insulator block 17 of the second zone 12 has a similar structure but smaller dimensions than the other secondary insulating blocks 5 of the second zone 12. Thus, a primary end insulating block 18 of the second zone 12 resting on the secondary end insulating block 17 has a projecting portion 19 projecting towards the first zone 1 1 beyond the secondary end insulating block 17. This projecting portion 18 rests on the secondary insulating block 5 of the transition 14. In other words, this projecting portion 19 forms the primary insulating barrier 3 in the transition zone 14.

In this second embodiment, the transition zone 14 is thus formed on the one hand of the secondary insulating block 5 identical to the secondary insulating blocks 5 of the first zone 1 1 and, on the other hand, of the projecting portion 19 of the primary primary insulating block 17 of the second zone 12. The transition zone 14 therefore has a thermal contraction coefficient identical to the thermal contraction coefficient of the transition zone 14 described with respect to the first embodiment of FIG. However, in this second embodiment, the primary insulating barrier 3 does not present a step 16 between the transition zone 14 and the second zone 12. In fact, this step 16 present in the first embodiment is advantageously absorbed by the primary end insulating block 18 jointly developing in the transition zone 14 and in the second zone 12, the latter having a flat support surface inclined between the transition zone 4 and the second zone 12.

FIG. 5 illustrates one possible embodiment of the second embodiment of FIG. 4.

In this figure, the first zone 1 1 is an area of tank wall angle. Such an angle of the tank is described in the documents FR2798358 or WO2015007974 for example. This angle of the tank comprises insulating blocks 5, 7 in the form of plywood boxes delimiting an internal space filled with an insulating lining such as perlite. Carrying struts are arranged distributed in the internal space of the boxes to provide the caissons good resistance to stress. Boxes of similar structure are used to produce the primary thermally insulating barrier and the secondary thermally insulating barrier.

The second zone consists of insulating blocks 5, 7 comprising an insulating gasket 8 in the form of structural insulating foam arranged between the bottom plate 9 and the cover plate 10. These insulating blocks 5, 7 further comprise an intermediate plate 20 housed in the insulating gasket 8, said insulating gasket 8 thus comprising an upper insulating foam 21 arranged between the cover plate 10 and the intermediate plate 20 and a lower insulating foam 22 arranged between the intermediate plate 20 and the bottom plate 9. The foam upper insulation 21 and the lower insulating foam 22 are for example a polyurethane foam having a density of 130 Kg / m ³ . In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 5, the secondary insulating block 5 of the second zone 12 is for example a secondary insulating block as described in the document WO2014096600. In this FIG. 5, the primary insulating block 7 of the second zone 12 is for example a primary insulating block as described in WO2013124556.

The secondary and secondary sealing membranes 2 are here produced by Invar strips with raised edges, for example of a dimension of 500 mm. The raised edges of two adjacent Invar strips are welded in pairs on solder supports anchored in the cover plate 10 of the insulating blocks 5, 7 forming the support surface on which said Invar strips rest. A connecting ring comprises primary and secondary anchoring wings 23, one end of which is welded to the supporting structure 6 and the other end is welded to the end of the respectively primary 4 and secondary 2 waterproofing membrane in order to anchor said primary and secondary sealing membranes 2 to the supporting structure 6. Such a connecting ring is for example described in the document FR2798358, the document WO8909909 or the document WO2015007974.

In another embodiment, the connecting ring consists solely of secondary anchoring wings 23, one end of which is welded to the supporting structure 6 and the other end is welded to the end of the waterproofing membrane. secondary 2 to anchor said secondary waterproofing membrane 2 to the carrier structure 6.

In order to improve the absorption of the steps 15, 16 related to the differences in the structure of the insulating blocks 5, 7 between the different zones 1 1, 12, 14 of the tank wall, the primary sealing membrane 4 advantageously comprises a portion of a membrane comprising corrugations 24. Such corrugations 24 develop along the steps 15, 16. These corrugations 24 are for example made by means of a corrugated metal sheet such as those described in the document FR2691520. This corrugated metal sheet is interposed between one end of the invar strips of the primary waterproofing membrane 4 and the primary anchoring flange 23 of the connecting ring. Different non-illustrated metal parts may also be interposed between the corrugated metal sheet and the primary anchoring wing 23, for example a corner angle forming the edge of the primary sealing membrane 4 at the angle of tank.

FIG. 5 shows by way of illustration a first zone 1 1 comprising, on the one hand, insulating blocks 5, 7 in the connection ring and, on the other hand, a block primary insulation 7 and a secondary insulating block 5 out of the connecting ring. This configuration is advantageous because the primary insulating block 7 and the secondary insulating block 5 of the first zone 11 located outside the connection ring contribute to the good resistance of the connection ring in the angle of the tank and the welds between the connecting ring and the membranes. However, this first zone could comprise only the insulating blocks located in the connecting ring so that the transition zone 14 would be directly adjacent to the connecting ring.

FIGS. 6 to 8 illustrate a third embodiment of the transition zone 14. This third embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the transition zone 14 comprises at least one distinct insulating block 26 of the insulating blocks 5, 7 or 7 of the first zone 11 and the second zone 12. This or these separate insulating blocks 26 have a thermal contraction coefficient between the thermal contraction coefficients of the adjacent insulating blocks 5, 7 in the corresponding insulating barrier 1, 3.

Thus, in FIG. 6, the transition zone 14 comprises a secondary insulating block 5 identical to the secondary insulating block 5 of the first zone 11 and a separate insulating block 26 arranged in the primary insulating barrier 1. This distinct insulating block 26 constitutes a primary insulating block 7 of the transition zone 14 having a thermal contraction coefficient comprised between the thermal contraction coefficient of the primary insulating blocks 7 of the first zone 11 and the second zone 12.

Conversely, in FIG. 7, the transition zone 14 comprises a primary insulating block 7 identical to the primary insulating blocks 7 of the second zone 12 and a separate insulating block 26 arranged in the secondary insulating barrier 1. This separate insulating block 26 constitutes a secondary insulating block 5 of the transition zone 14 having a thermal contraction coefficient between the thermal contraction coefficient of the secondary insulating blocks 5 of the first zone 11 and the second zone 12.

In FIG. 8, the transition zone 14 comprises two distinct insulating blocks 26 superimposed. These distinct insulating blocks 26 constitute a primary insulating block 7 and a secondary insulating block 5 of the transition zone, both having similar structures and a thermal contraction coefficient included between those insulating blocks 5, 7 adjacent to the first zone 11 and the second zone 12.

The distinct insulating blocks 26 of the transition zone 14 in this third embodiment are, for example, insulating blocks comprising a cover plate 10 and a bottom plate 9 remotely maintained by a separate structural insulating foam 27, this structural insulating foam. distinct 27 being different from the structural insulating foam of the insulating blocks 5, 7 of the second zone 12. For example, the insulating blocks 5, 7 of the second zone 12 may comprise a polyurethane foam having a density of 130 Kg / m ³ while the separate structural insulating foam 27 is a reinforced polyurethane foam having a density of 210 Kg / m ³ . Thus, the transition zone 14 has a thermal contraction coefficient between the thermal contraction coefficient of the first zone 1 1 and the thermal contraction coefficient of the second zone 12.

FIG. 9 illustrates a fourth embodiment of the transition zone 14. In this fourth embodiment, the transition zone 14 comprises a plurality of primary insulating blocks 7 and a plurality of secondary insulating blocks 5. This embodiment allows to subdivide the transition zone 14 into several sub-zones each having distinct thermal contraction coefficients and thus to subdivide the step 13 between the first zone 11 and the second zone 12 in a plurality of steps of reduced size. In this FIG. 9, the transition zone 14 is divided into a first subarea 28 and a second subarea 29. The first subarea 28 is contiguous with the first zone 11 and the second subarea 28 is contiguous. of the second zone 12.

The first sub-zone 28 of the transition zone 14 comprises a secondary insulating block 5 identical to the secondary insulating blocks 5 of the first zone 11 and a primary insulating block 7 identical to the primary insulating blocks 7 of the second zone 12. In other words, this first subarea 28 is made according to the first embodiment described above with reference to FIG.

The second subarea 29 of the transition zone 14 comprises a primary insulating block 7 identical to the primary insulating blocks 7 of the second zone 12. However, the secondary insulating block 5 of the second subarea 29 is a mixed secondary insulating block 30. This mixed secondary insulating block 30 presents a thermal contraction coefficient between the thermal contraction coefficient of the secondary insulating block 5 of the first zone 1 1 and the thermal contraction coefficient of the secondary insulating block 5 of the second zone 12. Thus, the second subfield 29 has a coefficient of thermal contraction between the thermal contraction coefficient of the first subarea 28 and the thermal contraction coefficient of the second zone 12. As a result, the step 14 between the first zone 1 and the second zone 12 is subdivided into a first step separating the first zone 1 1 and the first subarea 28, a second step separating the first subarea 28 and the second subarea 29 and a third step separating the second subarea 29 and the second zone 12.

In order to have a suitable thermal contraction coefficient, the mixed secondary insulating block 30 comprises an upper element 31 and a lower element 32 superimposed in the direction of the thickness. The mixed secondary insulating block 30 comprises, for example, a lower element 32 formed by the bottom plate 9 and a lower structural insulating lining 33 and an upper element 31 formed by an insulating box. Such an insulating box comprises an intermediate plate 34 and the cover plate 10 held at a distance by spacers bearing similarly to the insulating blocks 5, 7 of the first zone January 1.

Other embodiments may be implemented to obtain a mixed secondary insulating block 30 whose thermal contraction coefficient is between the thermal contraction coefficient of the secondary insulating blocks 5 of the first zone 11 and the second zone 12. one embodiment, the upper member 31 can be made by means of a structural insulating foam having a density greater than the density of the structural insulating foam of the secondary insulating blocks 5 of the second zone 12. In another embodiment , the lower member 32 is a box and the upper member 31 comprises a structural insulating foam. In one embodiment, the respective thicknesses of the upper element 31 and the lower element 32 are adapted to the desired thermal contraction coefficient of the mixed secondary insulating block 30.

FIG. 10 is an illustration of an embodiment of the fourth embodiment of FIG. 9. In this embodiment, the first zone 1 1 and the second zone 12 are made in a similar manner to the first and second zones 11, 12 described above with respect to FIG.

The first subarea 28 of the transition zone 14 comprises a secondary insulating block 5 in the form of a box identical to the secondary insulating blocks 5 of the first zone 11. The primary insulating block 7 of the first subarea 28 comprises a high density reinforced polyurethane foam 35 having a density greater than the density of the structural insulating foam of the primary insulating blocks 7 of the second zone 12 so that the first zone 28 of the transition zone 14 has a coefficient of thermal contraction greater than the thermal contraction coefficient of the first zone 1 1 but lower than the thermal contraction coefficient of the second zone 12. The primary insulating block 7 of the transition zone 14 may further comprise an intermediate plate 20 housed in the high density reinforced polyurethane foam 35, said high density reinforced polyurethane foam 35 being thus arranged between the cover plate 10 and the intermediate plate 20 and between the intermediate plate 20 and the bottom plate 9.

The second sub-zone 29 of the transition zone 14 comprises a mixed secondary insulating block 30. This second sub-zone 29 comprises a primary insulating block 7 identical to the primary insulating block 7 of the first sub-zone 28. The mixed secondary insulating block 30 presents a lower element 32 of structural insulating foam identical to the structural insulating foam of the secondary insulating blocks 5 of the second zone 12. The upper element 31 of the mixed secondary insulating block 30 is a box having a structure similar to the structure of the secondary insulating blocks 5 of the first zone 1 1. Thus, the mixed secondary insulating block 30 has a thermal contraction coefficient between the thermal contraction coefficient of the secondary insulating block 5 of the first sub-zone 28 and the thermal contraction coefficient of the secondary insulating blocks. 5 of the second zone 12. Consequently, the second sub-zone 29 of the transition zone 1 4 shows a coefficient of thermal contraction between the thermal contraction coefficient of the first subarea 28 of the transition zone 14 and the thermal contraction coefficient of the second zone 12.

FIGS. 11 and 12 schematically illustrate a fifth embodiment of the transition zone 14. In this fifth embodiment, the secondary insulating block 5 of the transition zone 14 is identical to the insulating block secondary 5 of the first zone 1 1. The primary insulating block 7 of the transition zone 14 is a mixed primary insulating block 36. In a similar manner to the mixed secondary insulating block 30, this mixed primary insulating block 36 comprises an upper element 37 and a lower element 38 superimposed and having different structures and coefficients of thermal contraction. However, the mixed primary insulating block 36 of the fifth embodiment differs from the mixed secondary insulating block 30 of the fourth embodiment in that the interface between the lower element 38 and the upper element 37 of said mixed primary insulating block 36 is inclined relative to the bottom plates 9 and cover 10. In other words, the lower element 38 of the mixed primary insulating block 36 has a thickness gradually decreasing from the first zone 1 1 towards the second zone 12 and the upper element 37 has a thickness increasing progressively from the first zone 1 1 towards the second zone 12. In addition, the thermal contraction coefficient of the lower element 38 is smaller than the thermal contraction coefficient of the upper element 37 so that the thermal contraction coefficient of the mixed primary insulating block 36 increases progressively from the first zone 1 1 direc second zone 12.

This fifth embodiment advantageously makes it possible to reduce the steps between the transition zone 14 and the first and second zones 11, 12, the mixed primary insulating block 36 absorbing part of the thickness differential between the first zone 11 and the first zone. second zone 12 during its deformation due to its progressive modification of its coefficient of thermal contraction.

In a non-illustrated embodiment, the inclination of the interface is reversed so that the thickness of the upper element 37 decreases progressively from the first zone 1 1 towards the second zone 12 and the thickness of the the lower element 38 progressively increases from the first zone 11 towards the second zone 12. In this embodiment, not illustrated, the thermal contraction coefficient of the upper element 37 is smaller than the thermal contraction coefficient of the lower element 38.

The upper 37 and lower 38 elements are dimensioned so that the thickness of the mixed primary insulating block 36 is constant at ambient temperature in the tank. In a first variant illustrated in FIG. 11, the lower element 38 is a box delimited in a thickness direction of the vessel wall by the bottom plate 9 of the mixed primary insulating block 36 and by an intermediate plate 39. The intermediate plate 39 is inclined relative to the bottom plate 9 so that the thickness of said box decreases from the first zone 1 1 towards the second zone 12. This box has bearing struts now remote the bottom plate 9 of the mixed primary insulating block 36 is the intermediate plate 39.

The upper element 37 comprises a structural insulating foam interposed between the intermediate plate 39 and the cover plate 10 of the mixed primary insulating element 36. In FIG. 11, this structural insulating foam is identical to the structural insulating foam of the blocks. primary insulators 7 of the second zone 12.

Thus, the mixed primary insulating block 36 has a coefficient of thermal contraction progressively increasing since the first zone 1 1 in the direction of the second zone 12. More particularly, the thermal contraction coefficient of the mixed primary insulating block 36 is identical to the contraction coefficient. thermal insulation of a primary insulating block 7 of the first zone 1 1 on the side of said first zone 1 1 and gradually increases towards the second zone 12 until substantially reach the value of the thermal contraction coefficient of a primary insulating block 7 of the second zone 12.

In another variant illustrated in FIG. 12, the lower element 38 of the mixed primary insulating block 36 has a thermal contraction coefficient comprised between the thermal contraction coefficient of the primary insulating blocks 7 of the first zone 11 and the contraction coefficient. thermal insulation of the primary insulating blocks 7 of the second zone 12. For example the lower element 38 is formed by means of a high density structure 40 insulating foam whose thermal contraction coefficient is lower than the thermal contraction coefficient of the structural insulating foam primary insulating blocks 7 of the second zone 12. The upper element 37 of said mixed primary insulating block 36 is in this variant identical to the upper element 37 of the mixed primary insulating block 36 described with reference to FIG. that is to say with a structural insulating foam identical to the structural insulating foam of the second zone 12. In a non-illustrated variant, the lower element 38 of the mixed primary insulating block 36 is a box as described above with reference to FIG. 11 and the upper element 37 of said mixed insulating block 36 comprises a structural insulating foam of which the density is greater than the density of the structural insulating foam of the primary insulating blocks 7 of the second zone 12.

FIG. 13 is an illustration of an embodiment of the fifth embodiment of one of FIGS. 11 or 12. FIG. 14 is an illustration of an insulating module of the transition zone of FIG. 13.

FIG. 15 schematically illustrates a sixth embodiment of the transition zone 14. In a similar manner to the mixed primary insulating block 36 of the fifth embodiment, the primary insulating block 7 of the transition zone 14 in this sixth present embodiment a coefficient of thermal contraction which decreases progressively from the first zone 11 towards the second zone 12. However, in this sixth embodiment, the gradual decrease of the thermal contraction coefficient of the primary insulating block 7 of the transition zone 14 is achieved by the use of structural foam blocks having distinct thermal contraction coefficients in said primary insulating block 7.

Thus, the primary insulating block 7 of the transition zone comprises a structural insulating foam now spaced apart from the bottom plate 9 and the cover plate 10. This structural insulating foam has two portions, a first portion 41 located close to the first zone 1 1 and a second portion 42 located near the second zone 12. The interface between the first portion 41 and the second portion 42 has at least one step 43 in the thickness direction of the primary insulating block 7 of the transition zone 14. This step 43 allows a gradual decrease in the thickness of the first portion 41 and a gradual increase in the thickness of the second portion 42 from the first zone 1 1 towards the second zone 12.

The first portion 41 of structural insulating foam has a thermal contraction coefficient lower than the thermal contraction coefficient of the second portion 42. Thus, the primary insulating block 7 of the transition zone 14 has a thermal contraction coefficient increasing from the first zone 1 1 towards the second zone 12. FIG. 16 is an illustration of an embodiment of the sixth embodiment of FIG. 15. FIG. 17 is an illustration of an insulating module of the transition zone of FIG. 15. In these figures, the first portion 41 and FIG. the second portion 42 are made using a polyurethane foam reinforced by the presence of fibers such as glass fibers. However, the polyurethane foam of the first portion 41 is arranged so that the fibers are oriented in the direction of thickness of the primary insulating block 7, as illustrated by the arrows 44. The polyurethane foam of the second portion 42 is arranged so that the fibers are oriented in a direction perpendicular to the thickness direction of the primary insulating block 7, as illustrated by the arrows 45. Such an arrangement is similar to stairs of a staircase formed by the first portion 41 and the second portion 42.

This difference in orientation of the fibers between the first portion 41 and the second portion 42 provides a different thermal contraction coefficient between the first portion 41 and the second portion 42 although the polyurethane foam used to make these two portions 41 and 42 be the same. Thus, the first portion 41 of fiber-oriented polyurethane foam according to the thickness of the primary insulating block 7 has, for example, a thermal contraction coefficient of the order of 25 × 10 ^-6 K ^-1 at ²⁷ × 10 ^-6 K ^-1 for 10 % by weight of fiberglass while the second portion 42 made of polyurethane foam fibers oriented perpendicularly to the thickness of the primary insulating block 7 has for example a thermal contraction coefficient of the order of 60.10 ^"6 K ^{" 1} .

Another method for obtaining thermal contraction coefficients between the first portion 41 and the second portion 42 could be to modify the fiber content and its nature in the polyurethane foam to adjust the coefficient of thermal contraction between 15 and 60 × 10 ^-6 K ^"1 .

In one embodiment, the first zone 1 1 is arranged on all the edges of the vessel walls, the second zone 12 on all the central portions of the vessel walls and the transition zone 14 between all the first and second zones 1 1 , 12 walls of vats. FIG. 18 is a schematic representation of a transverse wall of a sealed and thermally insulating tank comprising a first zone, a transition zone and a second zone according to the invention arranged according to this embodiment. Fig. 20 is an illustration of the sealed and thermally insulating tank wall according to a seventh embodiment.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 20, the first zone 1 1 is a tub wall angle zone comprising insulating blocks 5, 7 in the form of plywood boxes delimiting an internal space filled with an insulating gasket such as perlite or glass wool. Carrying struts are arranged distributed in the internal space of the boxes to provide the caissons good resistance to stress. The first zone 1 1 is located at the connecting ring and the insulating blocks 5, 7 are located in the connecting ring.

The second zone 12 consists of insulating blocks 5, 7 comprising an insulating gasket 8 in the form of structural insulating foam arranged between the bottom plate 9 and the cover plate 10. These insulating blocks 5, 7 furthermore comprise an intermediate plate 20 housed in the insulating lining 8, said insulating lining 8 thus comprising an upper insulating foam 21 arranged between the cover plate 10 and the intermediate plate 20 and a lower insulating foam 22 arranged between the intermediate plate 20 and the bottom plate 9. Upper insulating foam 21 and the lower insulating foam 22 are for example a polyurethane foam having a density of 130 Kg / m ³ . In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 5, the secondary insulating block 5 of the second zone 12 is for example a secondary insulating block as described in the document WO2014096600. In this FIG. 5, the primary insulating block 7 of the second zone 12 is, for example, a primary insulating block as described in the document WO2013124556.

The first subarea 28 of the transition zone 14 comprises a secondary insulating block 5 in the form of a box identical to the secondary insulating blocks 5 of the first zone 11. The primary insulating block 7 of the first subarea 28 comprises a high density reinforced polyurethane foam 35 having a density greater than the density of the structural insulating foam of the primary insulating blocks 7 of the second zone 12 so that the first zone 28 of the transition zone 14 has a coefficient of thermal contraction greater than the thermal contraction coefficient of the first zone 1 1 but lower than the thermal contraction coefficient of the second zone 12. The primary insulating block 7 of the transition zone 14 comprises in this embodiment a intermediate plate 20 housed in the high density reinforced polyurethane foam 35, said high density reinforced polyurethane foam 35 thus being arranged between the cover plate 10 and the intermediate plate 20 and between the intermediate plate 20 and the bottom plate 9 .

As illustrated in FIG. 20, the primary waterproof membrane 4 is composed of corrugated metal plates. These corrugated metal plates are for example stainless steel whose thickness is about 1.2 mm and 3 m by 1 m. The rectangular-shaped metal plate comprises a first series of parallel waves, said low, extending in a direction y from one edge to another of the sheet and a second series of parallel corrugations, said high, s' extending in a direction x from one edge to the other of the metal sheet. The x and y directions of the series of undulations are perpendicular. The corrugations are, for example, protruding on the side of the inner face of the metal sheet 1, intended to be placed in contact with the fluid contained in the tank. The edges of the metal plate are here parallel to the corrugations. Note that the terms "high" and "low" have a relative meaning and mean that the undulations, said low, have a height lower than the undulations, say high. In one variant, the corrugations may have the same height. The metal plate has between the corrugations a plurality of planar surfaces. Part of the waves may be located between the insulating blocks 7 or remain on the plane portions of the insulating blocks 7. At each crossing between a low and a high undulation, the metal plate has a node area. The knot area has a central portion having an apex projecting inwardly or outwardly of the vessel. Furthermore, the central portion is bordered, on the one hand, by a pair of concave corrugations formed in the peak of the high undulation and, on the other hand, by a pair of recesses 8 into which the low corrugation penetrates. .

A primary waterproof membrane has been described above in which the corrugations are continuous at the intersections between the two series of corrugations. The primary waterproof membrane may also have two sets of mutually perpendicular corrugations with discontinuities of certain undulations at intersections between the two series. For example, the interrupts are alternately distributed in the first series of undulations and the second series of undulations and, within a series of undulations, the interruptions of one undulation are shifted by one wave step by relative to the interruptions of an adjacent parallel ripple.

This type of waterproof membrane composed of corrugated plates being less sensitive to the walking phenomenon during the thermal contraction of the thermally insulating barriers 1, 3 and more resistant to stress, it is not necessary as in the embodiment of FIG. 10 placing in the first zone a primary insulating block 7 and a secondary insulating block 5 outside the connection ring. In this way, the first zone 1 1 consists solely of the insulating blocks 5, 7 in the connection ring. The transition zone 14 is then directly adjacent to the connecting ring.

In a not illustrated embodiment, the first zone 1 1 may also be a gas dome, a gas dome, or a fixing zone of a support leg for a pump. For example, in the case of the zone for fixing a support leg for a pump, the first zone 1 1 is then all around the support foot and the secondary membrane 2 is fixed to an anchoring wing 23 of the fixing area. The transition zone 14 then extends all around the first zone 1 1. The technique described above for producing a tank can be used in different types of tanks, for example to form an LNG tank in a land installation or in a floating structure such as a LNG tank or other.

Referring to FIG. 19, a cut-away view of a LNG tanker 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 shell 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 for transferring a cargo of LNG to or from the tank 71.

FIG. 19 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 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 which can be connected to the loading / unloading pipes 73. The movable arm 74 can be adapted to all the jigs of LNG. A link pipe (not shown) extends inside the tower 78. The loading and unloading station 75 allows the loading and unloading of the LNG tank 70 from or to the shore facility 77. This comprises 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. 0 unloading 75 and the onshore installation 77 over a large distance, for example 5 km, which keeps the LNG tanker 70 at a 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.

Thus, the above examples have a vessel wall having insulating barriers forming substantially planar support surfaces in a vacuum vessel and having thickness differentials between different areas of the vessel walls when the vessel is loaded with LNG. However, the arrangement could be reversed so that the vessel walls have thickness differentials in a vacuum vessel and planar support surfaces when the vessel is loaded with LNG.

In addition, the embodiments of the transition zone given above can be combined with each other, for example in the context of a transition zone comprising a plurality of primary and secondary insulation blocks 5 so as to generate a plurality sou-zones of the transition zone 14 whose thermal contraction coefficients are increasing from the first zone 1 1 towards the second zone 12.

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

A sealed and thermally insulating tank for storing a fluid integrated in a supporting structure (6), in which a tank wall comprises in a thickness direction:

a secondary heat-insulating barrier (1) and a primary heat-insulating barrier (3) consisting of juxtaposed insulating modules (5, 7, 17, 18, 26, 30, 36), an insulating module (5, 7, 17, 18, 26, 30, 36) having a cover panel (10), a bottom panel (9) and an insulating liner (8) interposed between the bottom panel (9) and the cover panel (10),

a primary waterproof membrane (4) resting on the primary thermally insulating barrier (3), and

a secondary waterproof membrane (2) resting on the secondary thermally insulating barrier (1),

the vessel wall comprising in a direction of length:

a first zone (1 1) in which the insulating modules (5, 7) comprise spacers developing in the direction of thickness of the tank wall between the cover panel (10) and the bottom panel (9) said insulating modules (5, 7), said spacers being distributed over the surface of the cover panel (10) and the bottom panel (9) so that the bottom panel (9) and the cover panel (10) of said insulating modules (5, 7) are kept at a distance from each other by said spacers,

a second zone (12) in which the insulating lining (8) of the insulating modules (5, 7) comprises a structural insulating foam interposed between the cover panel (10) and the bottom panel (9) on the surface of the panel cover (10) and the bottom panel (9) so that the cover panel (10) of said insulating modules (5, 7) is kept away from the bottom panel (9) by said structural insulating foam,

a transition zone (14) interposed between the first zone (1 1) and the second zone (12), in which the insulating modules (5, 7, 18, 26, 30, 36) are constituted in such a way that the wall in said transition zone (14) has at least one parameter chosen from the thermal contraction coefficient and the modulus of elasticity in the thickness direction of the wall of a vessel whose value is between the value of the at least one parameter of the first zone (1 1) of the vessel wall in the thickness direction of the vessel wall and the value of the at least one parameter of the second zone (12) of the vessel wall in the thickness direction of the vessel wall.

2. Sealed and thermally insulating vessel according to claim 1, wherein the first zone (1 1) is arranged on all or part of a perimeter of the wall.

3. A sealed and thermally insulating vessel according to claim 1, wherein the first zone (1 1) is an angle zone of the vessel, a gas dome, a liquid dome or a fixing zone of a support foot for a pump

4. Sealed and thermally insulating vessel according to one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the insulating modules (5, 7, 18, 26, 30, 36) of the transition zone (14) comprise:

a first insulating module (5, 26, 30) arranged in the secondary thermally insulating barrier (1), the first insulating module (5,

26, 30) having a first value of said at least one parameter in the thickness direction of the vessel wall, and

a second insulating module (7, 18, 26, 36) arranged in the primary thermally insulating barrier (3), the second insulating module (7, 18, 26, 36) having a second value of said at least one parameter in the direction of the thickness of the tank wall, the first insulating module (5, 26, 30) and the second insulating module (7, 18, 26, 36) being superposed in the direction of the thickness of the tank wall.

5. A sealed and thermally insulating vessel according to claim 4, wherein

one of the first insulating module (5, 30) and the second insulating module (7, 36) comprises spacers developing in a thickness direction of the vessel wall between the cover panel (10) and the panel bottom (9) of said insulating module, said spacers being distributed over the surface of the bottom panel (9) and the cover panel (10) so that the panel bottom (9) and the cover panel (10) of said insulating module are kept at a distance from each other by said spacers, and

the other one of the first insulating module (5, 26) and the second insulating module (7, 18, 26) comprises a structural insulating foam interposed between the cover panel (10) and the bottom panel

(9) on the surface of the cover panel (10) and the bottom panel (9) so that the cover panel (10) of said other insulating module is kept away from the bottom panel (9) of said other insulating module by said structural insulating foam.

Sealing and thermally insulating vessel according to claim 5, wherein the value of said at least one parameter of the other of the first insulating module (5, 26) and the second insulating module (7, 18, 26) is less than the value of said at least one parameter of one of the first insulating module (5, 30) and the second insulating module (7, 36).

7. Sealed and thermally insulating vessel according to one of claims 4 to 6, wherein the first zone (1 1) corresponds to an angle zone of the vessel comprising a connecting ring, and the transition zone (14) is directly adjacent to the connecting ring, the second insulating module (7, 18, 26) comprises a structural insulating foam interposed between the cover panel (10) and the bottom panel (9) on the surface of the cover panel ( 10) and the bottom panel (9) so that the cover panel (10) of said other insulating module is kept away from the bottom panel (9) of said other insulating module by said structural insulating foam.

A sealed and thermally insulating vessel according to claim 7, wherein the first insulation module has spacers developing in a thickness direction of the vessel wall between the cover panel (10) and the bottom panel (9). said insulating module, said spacers being distributed over the surface of the bottom panel (9) and the cover panel (10) so that the bottom panel (9) and the cover panel (10) of said insulating module are maintained at distance from one another by said spacers.

A sealed and thermally insulating vessel according to claim 7 or claim 8, wherein the insulating modules (5, 7, 18, 26, 30, 36) of the transition zone (14) comprise: a third insulating module (26) arranged in the secondary thermally insulating barrier (1), the third insulating module being closer to the second zone (12) than the first insulating module (5, 26, 30) and having a third value said at least one parameter in the thickness direction of the vessel wall; a fourth insulating module (7, 18, 26, 36) arranged in the primary heat-insulating barrier (3), the fourth insulation module (7, 18); , 26, 36) being closer to the second zone (12) than the second insulation module (7, 18, 26, 36) and having a fourth value of said at least one parameter in the thickness direction of the vessel wall ,

and wherein the third value of said at least one parameter of the third insulating module (26) is between the first value of said at least one parameter of the first insulating module (5, 26, 30) and the second value of said at least one parameter of the second insulating module (7, 18, 26, 36).

A sealed and thermally insulating vessel according to claim 9, wherein the third insulating module (26) is a mixed module having an intermediate panel (20) arranged between the bottom panel and the cover panel, the insulating lining having a liner lower part arranged between the intermediate panel and the bottom panel and an upper lining arranged between the intermediate panel and the cover panel, the mixed module having a coefficient of thermal expansion between the thermal expansion coefficient of an insulating module of the first zone (1 1) and the coefficient of thermal expansion of an insulating module of the second zone (12).

1 1. A sealed and thermally insulating vessel according to claim 9 or claim 10, wherein the fourth insulating module (7, 18, 26, 36) is identical to the second insulating module (7, 18, 26, 36), so that the fourth value of said at least one parameter is equal to the second value of said at least one parameter.

12. Sealed and thermally insulating vessel according to one of claims 4 to 6, wherein the insulating modules (5, 7, 18, 26, 30, 36) of the transition zone (14) comprise a third insulating module (26). ) arranged in the secondary thermally insulating barrier (1), the third insulating module being closer to the second zone (12) than the first insulating module (5, 26, 30) and having a third value of said at least one parameter according to the thickness direction of the vessel wall, and wherein the second insulation module (7, 18, 26) extends over the entire length of the transition zone in the primary thermally insulating barrier (3), the third value of said at least one parameter of the third insulating module (26) being between the first value of the first insulating module ( 5, 26, 30) of said at least one parameter and the second value of said at least one parameter of the second insulating module (7, 18, 26, 36).

A sealed and thermally insulating vessel according to claim 5, wherein said other one of the first insulating module and the second insulating module (18) jointly develops in the transition zone (14) and in the second zone (12) of the tank wall.

Sealed and thermally insulating vessel according to one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the transition zone (14) has a thermal contraction coefficient in the thickness direction of the vessel wall increasing in the length direction of the vessel wall from the first zone (1 1) towards the second zone (12) of the vessel wall.

15. Sealed and thermally insulating vessel according to one of claims 1 to 14, wherein the transition zone (14) has a modulus of elasticity in the direction of thickness of the vessel wall decreasing in the direction of length of the vessel wall from the first zone (1 1) towards the second zone (12) of the vessel wall.

A sealed and thermally insulating vessel according to claim 14, wherein the coefficient of thermal contraction in the thickness direction of the vessel wall in the transition zone (14) increases continuously continuously from the first zone (11). ) towards the second zone (12).

Watertight and thermally insulating vessel according to one of claims 1 to 16, wherein an insulating module (7, 26) of the transition zone (14) comprises a structural insulating foam (27, 41, 42) interposed between the cover panel (10) and the bottom panel (9) on the surface of the cover panel (10) and the bottom panel (9) of said insulating module (7, 26) so that the cover panel (10) said insulating module (7, 26) is kept away from the bottom panel (9) of said insulating module by said structural insulating foam (27, 41, 42), said structural insulating foam (27, 41) having a thermal contraction coefficient according to the thickness direction of the wall of vat lower than the thermal contraction coefficient in said thickness direction of the structural insulating foam of the second zone (12).

The sealed and thermally insulating vessel according to claim 17, wherein the structural insulating foam (41, 42) of said insulating module (7) of the transition zone comprises a first portion (41) of structural insulating foam and a second portion ( 42) of structural insulating foam, the first portion (41) of structural insulating foam being closer to the first zone (1 1) than the second portion (42) of structural foam, the first portion (41) of structural insulating foam having a coefficient of thermal contraction in the direction of thickness of the vessel lower than the thermal contraction coefficient of the second portion (42) of structural insulating foam in said thickness direction.

19. A sealed and thermally insulating vessel according to one of claims 1 to 16, wherein an insulating module (7, 26) of the transition zone (14) comprises a structural insulating foam (27, 41, 42) interposed between the cover panel (10) and the bottom panel (9) on the surface of the cover panel (10) and the bottom panel (9) of said insulating module (7, 26) so that the cover panel (10) said insulating module (7, 26) is kept away from the bottom panel (9) of said insulating module by said structural insulating foam (27, 41, 42), said structural insulating foam (27, 41) having a modulus of elasticity in the thickness direction of the vessel wall greater than the modulus of elasticity in said thickness direction of the structural insulating foam of the second zone (12).

20. A sealed and thermally insulating vessel according to claim 19, wherein the structural insulating foam (41, 42) of said insulating module (7) of the transition zone comprises a first portion (41) of structural insulating foam and a second portion ( 42) of structural insulating foam, the first portion (41) of structural insulating foam being closer to the first zone (1 1) than the second portion (42) of structural foam, the first portion (41) of structural insulating foam having a modulus of elasticity in the direction of thickness of the upper vessel to the modulus of elasticity of the second portion (42) of structural insulating foam in said thickness direction.

21. A sealed and thermally insulating vessel according to claim 17 or 19, wherein the structural insulating foam (41, 42) of said transition zone module (7) is a fiber reinforced polyurethane foam, the first foam portion (41) structural insulation having a fiber orientation in a thickness direction of the vessel wall and the second portion (42) of structural insulating foam having a fiber orientation perpendicular to the thickness direction of the vessel wall.

22. A sealed and thermally insulating vessel according to claim 15, wherein the thickness of the first portion (41) decreases progressively from the first zone (1 1) towards the second zone (12) and the thickness of the second zone (12). portion gradually increases from the first zone (1 1) towards the second zone (12).

23. A sealed and thermally insulating vessel according to one of claims 1 to 20, wherein the insulating modules of the transition zone comprise a mixed module (30, 36) comprising an intermediate panel (34, 39) arranged between the panel of bottom (9) and the cover panel (10), the insulating lining (8) having a lower lining arranged between the intermediate panel (34, 39) and the bottom panel (9) and an upper lining arranged between the intermediate panel (34, 39) and the cover panel (10),

the mixed module (30, 36) having carrier struts developing in a thickness direction of the vessel wall between the intermediate panel (34, 39) and one of the bottom panel (9) and the cover (10), said spacers being distributed over the surface of the intermediate panel (34, 39) and said one of the bottom panel (9) and the cover panel (10) so that the intermediate panel (34, 39) and said one of the bottom panel (9) and the cover panel (10) are kept at a distance from each other by said carrier struts,

the insulating gasket arranged between the intermediate panel (34, 39) and the other one of the bottom panel (9) and the cover panel (10) having a structural insulating foam distributed on the surface of the intermediate panel (34, 39) and said other one of the bottom panel (9) and the cover panel (10) so that the intermediate panel (34, 39) and said other one of the bottom panel (9) and the cover panel (10) is spaced apart by said structural insulating foam.

Watertight and thermally insulating vessel according to claim 23, wherein the intermediate panel (39) is developed in a plane inclined with respect to the bottom panel (9) and the cover panel (10).

A sealed and thermally insulating vessel according to claim 23 or claim 24, wherein the intermediate panel (39) is remote from an edge of the mixed module (36) located near one of the first zone (1 1). and the second zone (12).

Watertight and thermally insulating vessel according to one of Claims 1 to 25, in which the primary and secondary watertight membranes essentially consist of metal strips extending in the length direction and having longitudinal edges raised, the raised edges of two adjacent metal strips being welded in pairs so as to form expansion bellows allowing deformation of the watertight membrane in a direction perpendicular to the length direction, wherein the angle of the tank comprises an anchor wing (23). ) and a secondary anchoring wing, a first end of said anchor wings (23) being anchored to the carrier structure (6) and a second end of said anchor wings (23) being sealed to the membrane corresponding sealing.

27. Sealed and thermally insulating vessel according to claim 26, wherein the primary waterproofing membrane comprises corrugations extending perpendicular to the raised edges and disposed in line with the first zone (1 1).

28. Sealed and thermally insulating vessel according to one of claims 1 to 25, wherein the secondary waterproof membrane (2) consists essentially of metal strips extending in the direction of length and having longitudinal edges raised, the raised edges. of two adjacent metal strips being welded in pairs so as to form expansion bellows allowing a deformation of the sealed membrane in a direction perpendicular to the direction of length, in which the angle of the vessel comprises an anchoring wing ( 23), a first end of said wing anchoring device (23) being anchored to the carrier structure (6) and a second end of said anchor wing (23) being sealingly welded to the secondary sealing membrane, and wherein the primary sealing membrane (4) ) has corrugated metal plates.

29. Ship (70) for the transport of a cold liquid product, the vessel comprising a double hull (72) and a tank (71) according to one of claims 1 to 28 disposed in the double hull.

A method of loading or unloading a vessel (70) according to claim 29, wherein a cold liquid product is conveyed through insulated pipes (73, 79, 76, 81) to or from a floating storage facility or earth (77) to or from the vessel (71).

31. Transfer system for a cold liquid product, the system comprising a ship (70) according to claim 29, 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.