Sealed and insulating tank for storing and/or transporting a liquefied gas

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12467590-B2
Application number	US-202218702185-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 26, 2022
Priority date	Oct 19, 2021
Publication date	Nov 11, 2025
Grant date	Nov 11, 2025

Abstract

A sealed and insulating tank for storing and/or transporting a liquefied gas has a sealed and self-supporting internal reservoir with an interior surface for contacting the liquefied gas and an outer surface with an insulating barrier covering the outer surface of the internal reservoir. The insulating barrier is fixed to the internal reservoir. An outer sealed membrane covers an outer surface of the insulating barrier, and the outer sealed membrane has a metal sheet provided with bellows or corrugations. The outer sealed membrane is fixed to the insulating barrier or the internal reservoir. An intermediate space between the internal reservoir and the outer sealed membrane contains a gaseous phase under depression in order to press the outer sealed membrane against the outer surface of the insulating barrier.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1 . A sealed and insulating tank for storing and/or transporting a liquefied gas, the tank comprising successively, from the inside to the outside:
an internal reservoir, which is sealed and self-supporting, the internal reservoir having an inner surface for contacting the liquefied gas, and an outer surface, an insulating barrier covering the outer surface of the internal reservoir, the insulating barrier being attached to the internal reservoir, an outer sealed membrane covering an outer surface of the insulating barrier, the outer sealed membrane comprising a piece of sheet metal provided with bellows or corrugations so as to allow elastic deformation, the outer sealed membrane being attached to the insulating barrier or the internal reservoir, and wherein an intermediate space located between the internal reservoir and the outer sealed membrane contains a gas phase under depression in order to press the outer sealed membrane against the outer surface of the insulating barrier, wherein the depression consists of a difference between the pressure prevailing inside the intermediate space and the atmospheric pressure.

2 . The sealed and insulating tank as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the internal reservoir comprises a metal shell having a thickness greater than 10 mm.

3 . The sealed and insulating tank as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the internal reservoir is manufactured from materials chosen from: non- and low-alloy steels, stainless steels, steel alloys containing nickel with a low coefficient of thermal expansion, steel alloys containing manganese with a low coefficient of thermal expansion, and aluminum.

4 . The sealed and insulating tank as claimed in claim 1 , comprising internal stiffeners attached to the inner surface of the internal reservoir.

5 . The sealed and insulating tank as claimed in claim 4 , wherein the internal stiffeners include protruding ribs on the inner surface.

6 . The sealed and insulating tank as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the internal reservoir is dimensioned to withstand a relative internal pressure greater than 200 kPa.

7 . The sealed and insulating tank as claimed in claim 1 , the tank further comprising a support system for supporting the tank in an installation, the support system comprising at least one support element having an internal portion attached to the internal reservoir and an external portion extending outside the outer sealed membrane, said support element extending through a thickness of the insulating barrier and passing sealingly through the outer sealed membrane.

8 . The sealed and insulating tank as claimed in claim 7 , wherein a support element is attached to a lower portion of the internal reservoir, and wherein the tank is borne by said support element.

9 . The sealed and insulating tank as claimed in claim 7 , wherein a support element is attached to an upper portion of the internal reservoir, and wherein the tank is suspended by said support element.

10 . The sealed and insulating tank as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the insulating barrier comprises a material chosen from: polymer foam, mineral wool, polyester or cellulose wadding, perlite, fumed silica, compacted silica and aerogels.

11 . The sealed and insulating tank as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the insulating barrier is made of a material chosen from mineral wool, polyester wadding and cellulose wadding.

12 . The sealed and insulating tank as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the insulating barrier is pre-compressed in the thickness direction between the internal reservoir and the outer sealed membrane.

13 . The sealed and insulating tank as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the insulating barrier comprises heat-insulating elements juxtaposed on the outer surface of the internal reservoir.

14 . The sealed and insulating tank as claimed in claim 13 , wherein at least one of said heat-insulating elements includes a thermal insulation lining arranged in the form of a layer parallel to the outer surface of the internal reservoir.

15 . The sealed and insulating tank as claimed in claim 14 , wherein at least one of the heat-insulating elements is produced in the form of a box comprising the first plate, the second plate and side plates extending between the first plate and the second plate to enclose an interior space of the box, the interior space of the box being filled with said thermal insulation lining.

16 . The sealed and insulating tank as claimed in claim 13 , wherein at least one of said heat-insulating elements carries, on an outer face opposite the internal reservoir, at least one metal part for attaching the outer sealed membrane on the insulating barrier, by welding on said metal part.

17 . The sealed and insulating tank as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the thickness of the insulating barrier is between 200 mm and 800 mm.

18 . The sealed and insulating tank as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the outer surface of the internal reservoir bears a plurality of mechanical couplers, and wherein the insulating barrier is attached to the outer surface of the internal reservoir by said mechanical couplers.

19 . The sealed and insulating tank as claimed in claim 18 , wherein at least one of said mechanical couplers comprises a rod passing through the insulating barrier in the thickness direction of the insulating barrier and an end piece which is attached to one end of the rod opposite the internal reservoir and which bears on an outer surface of the insulating barrier.

20 . The sealed and insulating tank as claimed in claim 19 , wherein the outer sealed membrane is attached to the end piece.

21 . The sealed and insulating tank as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the thickness of the outer sealed membrane is less than 2 mm.

22 . The sealed and insulating tank as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the sheet metal is made of an alloy chosen from non- and low-alloy steels, stainless steels, steel alloys containing nickel with a low coefficient of thermal expansion, and steel alloys containing manganese with a low coefficient of thermal expansion.

23 . The sealed and insulating tank as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the outer sealed membrane is corrugated and comprises a first series of parallel corrugations and portions located between the parallel corrugations and resting on the insulating barrier, the parallel corrugations being arranged parallel to a first direction.

24 . The sealed and insulating tank as claimed in claim 23 , wherein the outer sealed membrane further comprises a second series of parallel corrugations and flat portions located between the parallel corrugations and resting on the insulating barrier, the parallel corrugations being arranged perpendicular to the first direction.

25 . The sealed and insulating tank as claimed in claim 23 , wherein the outer sealed membrane has a generally spherical shape and the first direction is a meridian direction, or the outer sealed membrane has a generally cylindrical shape and the first direction is an axial direction, or the outer sealed membrane has a generally parallelepiped shape and the first direction is a longitudinal direction.

26 . The sealed and insulating tank as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the outer sealed membrane has a capacity for elastic deformation of greater than 0.2%.

27 . The sealed and insulating tank as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the gas phase und

Assignees

• Gaztransport Et Technigaz

Inventors

• De Combarieu Guillaume
• Morel Benoît
• Salmon Legagneur Guillaume

Classifications

• F17C2270/0118

  Offshore · CPC title

• F17C2223/033

  Small pressure, e.g. for liquefied gas · CPC title

• F17C2223/0161

  cryogenic, e.g. LNG, GNL, PLNG · CPC title

• F17C2221/012

  Hydrogen · CPC title

• F17C2205/0188

  Hanging up devices · CPC title