Membrane tanks

Abstract

Abstract 924,804. Storing liquefied gas. CONCH INTERNATIONAL METHANE Ltd. June 20, 1961, No. 22194/61. Class 8(2). A cylindrical or prismatic tank for liquefied gas, e.g. natural gas, nitrogen or helium, comprises a load-bearing floor and a loadbearing wall or walls, respectively, formed of thermal insulating material 1, the floor and wall or walls being covered with dimpled, thin metal sheets 3 having plain edges 4 which are secured, e.g. by welding or screwing, to metal members 2, the latter being spaced from each other and fixed, e.g. by screws or nails, to the material 1 in the corner between the wall and the floor or the corners between the walls and between the latter and the floor; the edges 4 of the metal sheets are slotted at a series of points 5 corresponding to the spaces between the members 2, and along the or each corner there is a gutter-like strip of metal 6 sealed, e.g. by welding, to the adjacent edges 4. The thermal insulating material 1 may be balsa wood, preferably faced with plywood, or quippo, cork, foamed plastics, glass, asbestos, jute fibres, mineral wool or cellular gypsum. The metal of the sheets 3 is preferably stainless steel or an aluminium alloy. The. members 2 may be fixed to the material 1 by screws passing through slotted holes in the members 2 to allow for expansion and contraction. The strips of metal 6 are preferably transversly corrugated at 7 and in the case of a prismatic tank each corner between two of the walls and the floor is completed by a sheet metal member sealed, e.g. by welding, to the adjacent ends of the associated three gutter-like strips 6 to make a fluid tight corner, the transverse corrugations 7 in the strips 6 may be extended into the dimpled sheets 3, after the strips have been fixed in position, by a forming-in-place process such as vacuum forming while heating. Spaces between the dimpled sheets 3 and the insulating material 1 may be filled with a resilient filler. The metal sheets 1 may form a barrier round another vessel for the liquefied gas, to prevent escape of the gas in case of rupture of that vessel. Specifications 919,587, 924,801, 924,802 and 924,803 are referred to.

Inventors

• 👤 Schlumberger Etienne Maurice

Bibliographic Details