WO2019086813A1

WO2019086813A1 - Sealed, thermally insulating tank including devices for anchoring primary insulating panels to secondary insulating panels

Info

Publication number: WO2019086813A1
Application number: PCT/FR2018/052709
Authority: WO
Inventors: Mickaël HERRY; Antoine PHILIPPE; Saïd LAHRACH; Marc BOYEAU; Arnaud FABOUET
Original assignee: Gaztransport Et Technigaz
Priority date: 2017-11-06
Filing date: 2018-11-02
Publication date: 2019-05-09
Also published as: FR3073270B1; EP3707425A1; KR102569951B1; CN111433508B; FR3073270A1; CN111433508A; KR20200084872A; SG11202004035XA; RU2747546C1

Abstract

The invention relates to a sealed, thermally insulating tank on-board a ship, each of the tank walls including a secondary thermally insulating barrier, a secondary sealing membrane, a primary thermally insulating barrier and a primary sealing membrane; primary insulating panels of each wall of a ballast zone (9, 11, 12, 13, 14) being anchored to secondary insulating panels of said wall of a ballast zone (9, 11, 12, 13, 14) by means of first anchoring devices; and primary insulating panels of each wall outside of the ballast zone (8, 10, 15, 16) being anchored to secondary insulating panels of said wall outside of the ballast zone (8, 10, 15, 16) by means of second anchoring devices; the first anchoring devices are each provided with n1 resilient members, and the second anchoring devices are each provided with n2 resilient members offering resilient anchoring and are arranged to provide rigid anchoring of the primary insulating panels on the secondary insulating panels, n2 being an integer greater than or equal to 0, the stiffness K2 of the second anchoring devices being lower than the stiffness K1 of the first anchoring devices.

Description

SEALED AND THERMALLY INSULATING TANK WITH DEVICES FOR ANCHORING PRIMARY INSULATING PANELS ON

SECONDARY INSULATING PANELS

Technical area

The invention relates to the field of tanks, waterproof and thermally insulating membranes, for the storage and / or transport of a fluid, such as a cryogenic fluid.

Watertight and thermally insulating membrane tanks are used in particular for the storage of liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Technological background

The application WO2014 / 170588 discloses a sealed and thermally insulating tank for the storage of liquefied natural gas, which is integrated in the double hull of a ship. Each tank wall comprises a multilayer structure and has successively, in the direction of the thickness, from the outside to the inside of the tank, a secondary heat-insulating barrier retained to a bearing structure, a secondary sealing membrane resting against the secondary thermally insulating barrier, a primary thermally insulating barrier resting against the secondary sealing membrane and a primary sealing membrane intended to be in contact with the liquefied natural gas contained in the vessel and resting against the primary thermally insulating barrier.

In the aforementioned document, the thermally insulating barrier comprises a plurality of primary insulating panels which are anchored on secondary insulating panels of the secondary thermally insulating barrier, by means of anchoring devices. All anchoring devices are equipped with a stack of resilient washers that provide an elastic anchorage of the primary insulation panels on the secondary insulating panels. Such resilient anchorage maintains the primary insulation panels against the secondary insulation panels while allowing slight relative movements of the primary insulation panels relative to the secondary insulation panels. This makes it possible to limit the stresses that may be exerted on the primary insulating panels and on the secondary insulating panels in the anchoring zones. However, such a sealed tank is not completely satisfactory. In particular, such anchoring devices require a large number of Belleville washers, which increases the cost of the tank equipped with such anchoring devices and the complexity of its manufacture.

summary

An idea underlying the invention consists in providing a sealed and thermally insulating tank in which the anchoring of the insulating panels is made more simply and more economically.

According to one embodiment, the invention provides a sealed and thermally insulating vessel embedded in a vessel, the vessel having a double hull comprising an inner hull which forms a bearing structure for the sealed and thermally insulating vessel and an outer hull; the double hull having, in ballast zones, ballast compartments which are intended to receive a liquid, such as seawater, and which are delimited between the inner hull and the outer hull; the vessel having vessel walls which are retained at the inner shell; each of the vessel walls comprising successively in a thickness direction of the vessel wall at least one thermally insulating barrier which comprises insulating panels retained to the inner shell and a sealing membrane which rests against the insulating panels;

said vessel walls including ballast zone walls which are retained at the inner shell at the right of at least one of the ballast compartments in a thickness direction of said ballast zone wall and off-ballast walls which are retained at the inner hull at the right of any of the ballast compartments in the direction of thickness of said wall outside the ballast zone;

at least one of the insulating panels of the ballast zone walls being anchored directly or indirectly to the inner shell by means of first anchoring devices;

at least one of the insulating panels of the out-of-ballast walls being anchored directly or indirectly to the inner shell by means of second anchors;

wherein the first anchoring devices are each equipped with n1 resilient members arranged to exert an elastic force pressing said insulating wall panel of ballast zones towards the inner shell while allowing a relative displacement, in the thickness direction of the tank wall, of said insulating panel with respect to the supporting structure during the deformation of the inner shell; n1 being an integer greater than or equal to 1; said first anchor device having a stiffness K1 opposing the relative movement of said insulating panel relative to the supporting structure in the direction of thickness of the vessel wall; and

wherein the second anchoring devices are each equipped with n2 resilient members which are arranged to exert an elastic force biasing said non-ballast wall insulating panel towards the inner shell while permitting relative movement of said insulating panel by relative to the supporting structure during the deformation of the inner shell; n2 is an integer greater than or equal to 0; said second anchoring devices having a stiffness K2 opposing the relative displacement of said insulating panel with respect to the supporting structure in the direction of thickness of the tank wall; the stiffness K2 being greater than K1.

It has indeed been found that the main efforts likely to generate stresses on the anchoring zones of the insulating panels result from the deformation of the inner hull in the ballast zones, when sea water is loaded into the compartments. of ballast. Indeed, due to the movements of seawater inside the ballast compartments, the inner shell is deformed. This results in deformations of the insulating panels, which have the effect of generating significant efforts on the anchoring zones of said insulating panels. On the contrary, in the walls outside the ballast zone, the second anchoring devices are mainly subjected to the forces due to thermal contraction phenomena. However, these forces are much lower than those likely to be exerted by the deformation of the inner shell in the ballast zone walls so that the stiffness K2 of the second anchoring devices may be greater.

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

According to one embodiment, n2 is less than n1. In this case, the elastic members of the first anchoring devices and those of the second anchoring devices may be identical. According to another embodiment, n2 is equal to n1. In cases, the elastic members of the first anchoring devices and those of the second anchoring devices are necessarily different, the stiffness of the elastic members of the first anchoring devices being lower than that of the second anchoring devices.

According to one embodiment, at least one of the insulating panels of each ballast zone wall is anchored by means of first anchoring devices.

According to one embodiment, each of the cell walls comprises successively, from the outside to the inside of the tank, a secondary thermal insulating barrier which comprises secondary insulating panels retained to the inner shell, a secondary waterproofing membrane which rests against the secondary insulating panels, a primary thermal insulating barrier which has a plurality of primary insulating panels resting against the secondary waterproofing membrane and a primary waterproofing membrane which rests against the primary insulating panels and which is intended to be in contact with the liquefied natural gas contained in the tank.

According to one embodiment, the first anchoring devices anchor at least one of the primary insulating panels of the ballast zone walls on at least one of the secondary insulating panels of said ballast zone wall; and the second anchoring devices anchor at least one of the primary insulating panels of the out-of-ballast walls on at least one of the secondary insulating panels of said out-of-ballast wall.

In such a case, the efforts likely to generate stresses on the anchoring zones of the primary insulating panels are all the more important that the primary insulating panels are arranged straddling several secondary insulating panels. Also, a more elastic anchoring of at least one of the primary insulating panels to at least one of the secondary insulating panels is advantageous in the ballast zones since a more rigid anchoring of the primary insulating panels in these areas would imply a reinforcement. mechanics of these, difficult and expensive to perform.

According to one embodiment, a majority, or even all, of the primary insulation panels of each ballast zone wall is anchored to the panels. secondary insulators of said ballast zone wall by means of first anchoring devices.

According to one embodiment, at least one of the primary insulating panels of each non-ballast wall is anchored to at least one of the secondary insulating panels of said non-ballast wall by means of second devices. anchorage.

According to one embodiment, a majority, or even all, of the primary insulating panels of each non-ballast wall is anchored to the secondary insulating panels of said non-ballast wall by means of second anchors.

According to one embodiment, the first anchoring devices anchor at least one of the secondary insulating panels of the ballast zone walls on the inner shell; and the second anchoring devices anchor at least one of the secondary insulating panels of the out-of-ballast walls on the inner shell.

According to one embodiment, a majority, or even all, of the secondary insulation panels of each ballast zone wall is anchored by means of first anchoring devices.

According to one embodiment, a majority, or even all, of the primary insulating panels of each non-ballast wall is anchored by means of second anchoring devices.

According to one embodiment, the first anchoring devices anchor at least one of the primary insulating panels of the ballast zone walls on the inner shell and the second anchoring devices anchor at least one of the primary insulating panels of the off-ballast walls on the inner hull.

According to one embodiment, the first and second anchoring devices each comprise a stud which is anchored directly or indirectly to the inner shell and a retaining member which is mounted on the stud; said retaining member being retained on the stud and cooperating with a bearing surface of said insulating panel anchored by said first or second anchoring device so as to retain it towards the inner shell.

According to one embodiment, each stud is anchored to one of the secondary insulating panels. According to one embodiment, the stud is anchored on an inner face of said secondary insulating panel, that is to say on one side of the secondary insulating panel facing the secondary sealing membrane.

According to one embodiment, the stud has a thread cooperating with a nut which holds the retaining member towards the inner shell.

According to one embodiment, each resilient member is an elastic washer, such as a Belleville washer, which is engaged on the stud, between the nut and the retaining member, so as to ensure an elastic force which forces the member against the bearing surface.

According to one embodiment, the first anchoring devices comprise a spacer sleeve which is threaded onto the respective stud and retained towards the inner shell by the nut, said spacer sleeve comprising a cylindrical portion which is fitted inside the washers. resiliently to center them and an annular flange which plates said spring washers against the retaining member.

According to one embodiment, each second anchoring device comprises a spacer sleeve which is threaded onto the respective stud and retained towards the bearing structure by the nut and the spacer sleeve comprises a flange bearing against the retaining member.

According to one embodiment, the second anchoring devices are devoid of elastic members and are thus arranged to provide a rigid anchorage.

According to one embodiment, the spacer sleeve of one of the first anchoring devices and the spacer sleeve of one of the second anchoring devices are identical, the collar of said spacer sleeves being off-center with respect to the middle of the spacer sleeve. so as to define a cylindrical centering portion having a length greater than half a length of the spacer sleeve, the spacer sleeve of said first anchoring device and the spacer sleeve of said second anchoring device having an inverted orientation so that the Cylindrical centering portion of the first anchoring device passes through n1 elastic washers of said first anchoring device and that the cylindrical centering portion of the second anchoring device is disposed between the flange and the nut. According to one embodiment, the flange is arranged at one end of the spacer sleeve.

According to one embodiment, the spacer sleeve of one of the first anchoring devices and the spacer sleeve of one of the second anchoring devices are identical, the collar of said spacer sleeves being off-center with respect to the middle of the spacer sleeve. and delimiting two cylindrical portions of different lengths, the cylindrical portion having the largest length of the spacer sleeve of the first anchor passing through the spring washers of said first anchor while the cylindrical portion having the smaller length the spacer sleeve of the second anchor device passes through a bore of the retainer.

According to one embodiment, each primary insulating panel comprises an outer rigid plate and an insulating polymeric foam layer which is attached to the outer rigid plate, the insulating polymeric foam layer having a recess extending in the thickness of the layer of insulating polymeric foam and which maintains the bearing surface on the rigid outer plate.

According to one embodiment, the outer rigid plate protrudes from the layer of insulating polymer foam at the edge of each primary insulating panel so as to provide at the edge of each primary insulating panel with bearing surfaces which each cooperate with a retaining member of one of the first and second anchors.

According to one embodiment, each primary insulating panel is disposed astride at least four secondary insulating panels.

According to one embodiment, the equivalent stiffness of the elastic members of each first anchoring device is less than the equivalent stiffness of the elastic members of each second anchoring device.

According to one embodiment, said vessel walls further include mixed walls which have a portion to the right of any of the ballast compartments and a portion to the right of at least one of the ballast compartments; and at least one of the insulating panels of the mixed walls is anchored directly or indirectly to the inner shell by means of second anchoring devices. According to one embodiment, the vessel has a generally polyhedral shape and comprises an upper wall, a lower wall, transverse front and rear walls extending transversely to the longitudinal direction of the vessel and the side walls, the upper wall, the wall lower and the side walls extending in the longitudinal direction of the ship and connecting the transverse walls front and rear; the transverse front wall, the rear transverse wall and the upper wall each being one of the out-of-ballast walls.

According to one embodiment, the tank comprises at least four side walls, two of said side walls being vertical side walls and two of said side walls being upper oblique side walls which each connect the upper wall to one of said vertical side walls.

According to one embodiment, said two upper oblique side walls are each one of the mixed walls. The inner shell at the upper oblique sidewalls is less stressed by the ballast than in the ballast walls. Indeed, on the one hand, the upper oblique sidewalls are only partially in contact with ballast compartments. On the other hand, the hydrostatic pressure in the ballast compartments at the right of said upper oblique side walls is more limited. Therefore, the upper oblique side walls can be provided with second anchoring devices such as walls outside the ballast area.

According to one embodiment, the other tank walls, that is to say the bottom wall, the vertical side walls and the lower oblique walls, are walls of ballast zones.

Such a tank can be part of a land storage facility, for example to store LNG or be installed in a floating structure, coastal or deep water, including a LNG tank, a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) , a floating production and remote storage unit (FPSO) and others.

According to one embodiment, a vessel for transporting a fluid comprises a double shell and a said tank disposed in the double shell, the double shell having an inner shell forming the carrying structure of the vessel. According to one embodiment, the invention also provides a method for loading or unloading such a vessel, in which a fluid is conveyed through isolated pipes from or to a floating or land storage facility to or from the tank of the vessel. ship.

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

Brief description of the figures

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

- Figure 1 is a broken perspective view of the double hull of a vessel and a sealed tank and thermally insulating fixed inside said double hull.

- Figure 2 is a perspective view, in section, of the double hull of a ship and illustrating ballast compartments within which is received seawater to stabilize the ship.

- Figure 3 is a perspective view, cut away, of a tank wall.

FIG. 4 is a partial schematic view of a sealed and thermally insulating storage tank which illustrates the ballast zones and the non-ballast zones.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of an anchoring device for anchoring the primary insulating panels of the ballast zone walls according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a detailed view of the spacer sleeve of the anchoring device of FIG. 5. FIG. 7 is a schematic view of an anchoring device for anchoring the primary insulating panels of the ballast zone walls according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a schematic view of an anchoring device for anchoring the primary insulating panels of the out-of-ballast walls according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a schematic view of an anchoring device for anchoring the primary insulating panels of the out-of-ballast walls according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a cutaway schematic representation of a vessel of a LNG carrier having walls as shown in FIG. 3 and a loading / unloading terminal of this vessel.

- Figure 11 is a perspective view, cut away, of a wall of a vessel according to another embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a schematic view of an anchoring device for anchoring the primary and secondary insulating panels of the ballast zone walls according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a schematic view of an anchoring device for anchoring the primary and secondary insulating panels of the out-of-ballast walls according to a third embodiment.

Detailed description of embodiments

By convention, the terms "external" and "internal" are used to define the relative position of one element relative to another, with reference to the interior and exterior of the vessel.

In relation to FIGS. 1 and 2, the double hull 1 of a ship is observed. The double shell 1 comprises an outer shell 2 and an inner shell 3 which forms the supporting structure for a sealed and thermally insulating tank 4 membranes. The inner shell 3 has a plurality of walls defining the general shape of the vessel 4, usually a polyhedral shape. The inner shell 3 and the outer shell 2 are connected to one another by a plurality of metal sheets 5. As illustrated in Figure 2, the double shell 1 has, in its lower part, ballast areas 6 in which ballast compartments 7 are formed. The ballast compartments 7 are formed between the inner shell 3 and the outer shell 2 of the double hull 1. The ballast compartments 7 are designed to receive a liquid, such as seawater. These ballast compartments 7 are in particular loaded with seawater, when the vessel or tanks of the vessel are not very full, in order to ensure the stability of the ship.

In Figure 4, we observe the general polyhedral shape of a tank 4 according to one embodiment. The tank 4 comprises a plurality of walls 8, 9, 10, 1 1, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 which are each arranged against a respective wall of the inner shell 3. The tank 4 comprises an upper wall 8 and a bottom wall 9 horizontal and two transverse walls, front and rear 10, horizontal. In FIG. 4, the front transverse wall is not shown. The two transverse walls 10 each extend in a plane which is perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the ship. The tank 4 also comprises side walls 1 1, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16. The upper 8, lower 9, and side walls 1 1, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 extend in the longitudinal direction of the ship and connect the front and rear transverse walls 10, one to the other. In the embodiment shown, the transverse walls 10 are of octagonal shape. Also, the side walls include two vertical side walls 13, 14, two upper oblique side walls 15, 16 which each connect one of the vertical side walls 13, 14 to the upper wall 8 and two lower oblique side walls 11, 12 which each connect one of the vertical side walls 13, 14 to the bottom wall 9.

The vessel walls 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 include ballast zone walls which are retained at the inner shell 3 in the ballast zones 6 of the double hull 1, that is, that is to say, at the right of the ballast compartments 7, out-of-ballast walls which are retained at the inner hull 3 outside the ballast zones 6 of the double hull 1, that is to say at the right of any ballast compartments 7 and mixed walls 15, 16 of which only a portion is retained to the inner hull to the right of the ballast compartments 7. In Figure 4, the ballast zone walls are hatched while the walls out of the box. ballast are virgin and the mixed walls have +. In other words, the bottom wall 9, the vertical side walls 13, 14 as well as the lower oblique side walls 11, 12 are ballast zone walls whereas the upper wall 8, the walls transverse front and rear 10 are walls outside the ballast zone. The upper oblique side walls 15, 16 are for their part mixed walls. The walls of ballast zones are likely to be subjected to greater stresses than the walls outside the ballast zone, because of the deformations of the inner shell 3 in the ballast zones 6, when sea water is loaded into the compartments. ballast 7.

In Figure 3, there is shown the multilayer structure of each of the walls of a vessel according to one embodiment. Each wall comprises successively, in the direction of the thickness, from the outside to the inside of the tank, a secondary heat-insulating barrier 17 retained to the inner shell 3, a secondary waterproofing membrane 18 resting against the thermal barrier secondary insulator 17, a primary thermally insulating barrier 19 resting against the secondary sealing membrane 18 and a primary sealing membrane 20 intended to be in contact with the liquefied natural gas contained in the tank.

The secondary thermally insulating barrier 17 comprises a plurality of secondary insulating panels 21 anchored to the inner shell 3 by means of cords of resin, not shown, and / or studs, not shown, welded to the inner shell 3. The secondary insulating panels 21 substantially have a rectangular parallelepiped shape and are juxtaposed in parallel rows and separated from each other by interstices 22 ensuring a functional game assembly. The interstices 22 are filled with a heat insulating pad such as glass wool, rock wool or flexible synthetic foam with open cells for example. The secondary insulating panels 21 each comprise an insulating polymeric foam layer 24 sandwiched between an inner rigid plate 25 and an outer rigid plate 26. The rigid plates, internal and external 26, are, for example, plywood boards. glued on said insulating polymer foam layer 24. The insulating polymer foam may in particular be a polyurethane-based foam.

The secondary waterproofing membrane 18 comprises a plurality of corrugated metal sheets each having a substantially rectangular shape. The corrugated metal sheets are arranged offset from the secondary insulating panels 21 of the secondary heat-insulating barrier 17 so that each of said corrugated metal sheets extends together on four adjacent secondary insulating panels 21. The corrugations project outwardly from the vessel 4, that is to say in the direction of the inner shell 3. The corrugations of the corrugated metal sheets are housed in grooves formed in the internal rigid plate 25 of the secondary insulating panels 21.

Adjacent corrugated metal sheets are welded together. In addition, the corrugated metal sheets are welded to metal plates 23 which are fixed to the internal rigid plate 25 of the secondary insulating panels 21. The corrugated metal sheets have along their longitudinal edges and at their four corners cutouts allowing the passage of studs 27 which are fixed on the internal rigid plates 25 of the secondary insulating panels 21 and which are intended to ensure the fixing of the primary thermally insulating barrier 19 on the secondary thermally insulating barrier 17.

Furthermore, the primary thermally insulating barrier 19 comprises a plurality of primary insulating panels 28 of substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. In the embodiment shown, the primary insulating panels 28 are offset relative to the secondary insulating panels 21 of the secondary heat-insulating barrier 17 so that each primary insulating panel 28 extends over four secondary insulating panels 21.

Each primary insulating panel 28 has a layer of insulating polymer foam 29, for example based on polyurethane, which is sandwiched between two rigid plates, namely an outer rigid plate 30 and an inner rigid plate 31. The rigid plates, external 30 and 31 are, for example wood plywood.

The inner rigid plate 31 of each primary insulating panel 28 is equipped with metal plates 32 for anchoring the corrugated metal sheets of the primary waterproofing membrane 20. The primary waterproofing membrane 20 is obtained by assembling a a plurality of corrugated metal sheets. The corrugated metal sheets each have a substantially rectangular shape. The undulations protrude into the tank.

In the embodiment shown, each primary insulating panel 28 has one or more recesses 33 along each of its two edges. longitudinal and a recess 34 at each of its corners. Each recess 33, 34 passes through the inner rigid plate 31 and extends over the entire thickness of the insulating polymeric foam layer 29. At each of the recesses 33, 34, the outer rigid plate 30 overflows relative to the layer of insulating polymer foam 29 and the inner rigid plate 31 so as to form a bearing zone cooperating with an anchoring device. Each recess 33 formed along an edge of one of the primary insulating panels 28 is disposed facing a recess 33 formed in the edge vis-à-vis an adjacent primary insulating panel 28. Thus, a single anchoring device can cooperate with two bearing surfaces respectively belonging to one and the other of the two adjacent primary insulating panels 28. In addition, each recess 34 formed at one of the corners of the primary insulating panels 28 opens out against the recesses 34 formed at the adjacent corners of the three adjacent primary insulating panels 28. The four recesses 34 together form a housing in the form of a cross. Therefore, a single anchoring device can cooperate with the four bearing surfaces of the four primary insulating panels 28 adjacent.

In another embodiment not shown, the recesses are not formed at the edges of the primary insulating panels 28. In this case, the recesses are each formed by a chimney, for example cylindrical, which passes through the internal rigid plate 30 and the insulating polymeric foam layer 29. The outer rigid plate 30 which constitutes the bottom of the recess is then equipped with an orifice for the passage of a stud 27 and is intended to form a bearing surface cooperating with a device anchor.

FIG. 5 illustrates in detail a first anchoring device 35 which anchors the primary insulating panels 28 on the secondary insulating panels 21 in the ballast zone walls.

Each first anchoring device 35 comprises a pin 27 which is fixed on the internal rigid plate 25 of one of the secondary insulating panels 21.

In the embodiment shown, an anchor plate 36 is received in a housing formed in the inner rigid plate 25. In addition, the inner rigid plate 36 has a flange 37 which covers a portion of the anchor plate 36 of to hold the anchor plate 6 against the layer of However, the anchor plate 36 may be fixed on the inner surface of the secondary insulating panels 21 by any other means, for example by gluing.

Furthermore, the stud 27 passes through an orifice formed in the secondary sealing membrane 18, for example at the cutouts in the edges of two adjacent metal sheets of the secondary sealing membrane 18.

The stud 27 has a threaded end which cooperates with a threaded bore formed in the anchor plate 36, so as to secure said pin 27 to the primary insulating panel 28. The stud 27 comprises a shoulder 38 which bears in the direction of the inner shell 3 against the secondary sealing membrane 18 along said orifice. The secondary sealing membrane 18 is further sealingly welded to the anchoring plate around said stud 17 so as to ensure the continuity of the seal.

Each first anchoring device 35 further comprises a retaining member 39 fixed on the stud 27. To do this, the retaining member 39 has a bore threaded on the stud 27. The retaining member 39 has tabs 40 which are each housed inside one of the recesses 34. Thus, at the corners of the primary insulating panels 28, the retaining member 39 has an x-shape comprising four lugs 40 which are each housed in the housing. inside a recess 34 of one of the four adjacent primary insulating panels 28. In the embodiment shown, the retaining member 39 is bent so that the central area of the retaining member 39 having the bore through which the stud 27 passes is not in the same plane as the tabs. 40.

Each tab 40 of the retaining member 39 abuts against one of the bearing surfaces 41, that is to say a portion of the external rigid plate 30 projecting with respect to the internal rigid plate 31 and to the insulating polymeric foam layer 29, such that each bearing surface 41 is sandwiched between one of the tabs 40 of the retaining member 39 and the secondary sealing membrane 18.

A nut 42 cooperates with a thread of the stud 27 so as to ensure the fixing of the retaining member 39 on the stud 27. The nut 42 is associated with a clamping washer 43, also mounted on the stud 27. Furthermore, , the device first anchor 35 comprises n1 spring washers 44, such as Belleville washers, which are threaded on the stud 27, between the nut 42 and the retaining member 39, which ensures an elastic anchoring of the insulating panels primary 28 on the secondary insulating panels 21. n1 is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

Moreover, the first anchoring device 35 also comprises an optional spacer sleeve 45, illustrated in detail in FIG. 6, which makes it possible, in particular, to ensure relative centering of the spring washers 44. To do this, the spacer sleeve 45 is threaded on the stud 27 between the spring washers 44 and the clamping washer 43. The spacer sleeve 45 has two cylindrical portions 46, 47 disposed on either side of a flange 48. The flange 48 is not centered in the middle of the spacer sleeve 45 so that said collar 48 defines two cylindrical portions 46, 47 of different length. The two cylindrical portions 46, 47 each have an outer diameter which is, on the one hand, smaller than the inner diameter of the spring washers 44 and, on the other hand, smaller than the diameter of the bore of the retaining member 39 at The outer diameter of the cylindrical portions 46, 47 is, however, greater than the internal diameter of the clamping washer 43. Furthermore, the collar 48 has an external diameter which is greater than the internal diameter of the spring washers 44. Thus, as shown in FIG. 5, the cylindrical portion 47 of the spacer sleeve 45 is inserted inside the spring washers 44 so as to ensure their centering. In addition, the nut 42 bears against the cylindrical portion 46 of the spacer sleeve 45 via the clamping washer 43 and the elastic washers 44 are thus compressed between the collar 48 and the retaining member 39.

FIG. 7 illustrates in detail a first anchoring device 49 which anchors the primary insulating panels 28 on the secondary insulating panels 21, in the ballast zone walls, according to a second embodiment. In this embodiment, the recess 51 is not provided at the edge of a primary insulating panel 28 and consists of a chimney passing through the inner rigid plate 31 and the insulating polymer foam layer 29 of the insulating panel In this embodiment, the stud 27 of the anchoring device 49 passes through an orifice formed in the outer rigid plate 30. The first anchoring device 49, illustrated in FIG. 7, does not differ from the anchoring device 35 described in relation with Figures 5 and 6 that by the shape of the retainer 50. Indeed, in this embodiment, the retainer 50 is a washer which is threaded on the stud 27 and which is sandwiched between the spring washers 44 and a bearing zone 41 of the inner rigid plate 30 of the primary insulating panel 28.

FIG. 8 illustrates in detail a second anchoring device 52 which anchors the primary insulating panels 28 on the secondary insulating panels 21, in the out-of-ballast walls, according to a first embodiment. The second anchoring device 52 differs from the first anchoring device 35 described in relation with FIGS. 5 and 6 only in that it does not have elastic washers 44 acting between the nut 42 and the retaining member. 39. As a result, the flange 48 of the spacer sleeve 45 bears directly against the retaining member 39.

Thus, the second anchoring device 52 provides rigid anchoring of the primary insulating panels 28 on the secondary insulating panels 21. In the walls outside the ballast zone, the second anchoring devices 52 are mainly subjected to the forces due to contraction phenomena. thermal. When cooling the tank 4, that is to say when liquefied natural gas is loaded into the tank 4, the primary insulating panels 28 and secondary 21 as well as the studs 27 are subjected to the phenomenon of thermal contraction . It should be noted that the amplitude of the relative displacement of the tabs of the retaining member 39 with respect to the bearing surface 41 of the primary insulating panels 28 which would be likely to occur due to the phenomenon of thermal contraction if the second Anchoring devices ensured an elastic anchorage is extremely low. Indeed, this amplitude depends only on the contraction difference in the direction of thickness of the vessel, between, on the one hand, the portion of the stud 27 extending between the anchor plate 37 and the 39 and the external rigid plate 40. The length of the stud portion 27 concerned and the thickness of the outer rigid plate 40 being relatively small, the relative displacement amplitude due to the contraction phenomenon. thermal is of the order of a hundredth of a millimeter and can therefore be neglected. Thus, the presence of elastic washers is therefore not necessary to compensate for this difference in contraction. A slight deformation of the external rigid plate 30 by the retaining member 39 during the installation of the anchoring device 52 proving sufficient to continue to maintain the primary insulation board 28 even after cold setting.

FIG. 9 illustrates in detail a second anchoring device 53 which anchors the primary insulating panels 28 on the secondary insulating panels 21, in the out-of-ballast walls, according to a second embodiment. The second anchoring device 53 is here intended to be disposed at a recess 53, as described with reference to FIG. 7. The second anchoring device 53 differs from the first anchoring device 49, illustrated in FIG. 7, in that it is free of elastic washers. Therefore, the flange 48 of the spacer sleeve 45 is directly in abutment against the retaining member 50.

It is further observed that a spacer sleeve 45 identical to that disclosed in Figure 6 is used in this embodiment. However, the orientation of said spacer sleeve 45 is reversed with respect to its orientation of Figures 5 and 7. Indeed, by providing a spacer sleeve 45 whose flange 48 is not centered longitudinally, the spacer sleeve 45 is reversible and can optionally be used by orienting the cylindrical portion 47 having the greatest length towards the secondary thermally insulating barrier 17 when the anchoring device is equipped with spring washers 44 (as illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6) or, conversely, orienting the cylindrical portion 46 has the smallest length towards the secondary heat-insulating barrier 17 when the anchoring device is free of spring washers and the flange 48 of the spacer sleeve 45 is directly in contact with the retaining member 39 ( as shown in Figure 9). Thus, this standard spacer sleeve 45 can be used whether the anchoring device is provided with or without spring washers.

Otherwise; advantageously, insulating plugs, not shown; are positioned in the recesses 33, 34, 51 after the mounting of the anchoring devices 35, 49, 52, 53 so as to ensure the continuity of the primary thermally insulating barrier 19 at said recesses 33, 34, 51.

In another embodiment, the second anchoring device 53 is also likely to include spring washers. However, in all cases, the stiffness K1 of the first anchoring devices opposing the relative displacement of the respective insulating panel in the direction of thickness of the tank wall is strictly less than the corresponding stiffness K2 of the second anchoring devices.

According to one embodiment, the second anchoring device comprises n2 spring washers with n2 an integer less than n1. Thus, the two anchoring devices are likely to use identical spring washers, which facilitates the manufacture of the tank.

According to other embodiments, the elastic washers of the second anchoring device and those of the first anchoring device are different. In this case, the numbers n2 and n1 can also be equal.

The primary insulating panels 28 of the mixed walls, that is to say the upper oblique side walls 15, 16 are also capable of being anchored by means of second anchoring devices, according to one of the variants described above. .

In Figure 12, there is shown the multilayer structure of a wall of a vessel according to another embodiment.

The secondary thermally insulating barrier comprises a plurality of secondary insulating panels 21 juxtaposed. Each secondary insulating panel 21 consists of a parallelepiped box, for example of plywood, which comprises a bottom plate 54, a cover plate 55 and partitions 56 which extend in the thickness direction of the wall between the bottom plate 54 and the cover plate 55 and which defines compartments filled with an insulating lining, such as perlite for example. The bottom plates 54 protrude laterally on two opposite sides of the box so that in each corner of the box on this projecting portion are fixed cleats 57.

The primary thermally insulating barrier 19 also comprises a plurality of primary insulating panels 28 juxtaposed. The primary insulating panels 28 have a structure substantially similar to that of the secondary insulating panels 21. The primary insulating panels 28 have identical dimensions to those of the secondary insulating panels 21 with the exception of their thickness in the direction of thickness of the tank which is likely to be lower than that of the secondary insulating panels 21. The bottom plates 58 of the primary insulating panels 28 project laterally on two opposite sides of the box so that in each corner of the box on this projecting portion are fixed cleats 59.

The secondary waterproofing membrane 18 comprises a continuous sheet of metal strakes with raised edges. The strakes are welded by their raised edges to parallel welding supports which are fixed in grooves on the cover plates 55 of the secondary insulating panels 21. The primary sealing membrane 20 has a similar structure and comprises a continuous web of metal strakes with raised edges. The strakes are welded by their raised edges to parallel weld supports which are secured in grooves on the cover plates of the primary insulating panels 28.

The metal strakes are, for example, made of Invar ®: that is to say an alloy of iron and nickel whose expansion coefficient is typically between 1, 2.10 ^"6 and 2.10 ^{" 6} K ^"1 .

Figure 12 illustrates a first anchor device 60 for anchoring the primary and secondary insulating panels 28 of the ballast zone walls. The first anchor 60 has a socket 61 which is attached to the inner shell 3 at four corners of four adjacent primary insulating panels 21. Each bushing 61 houses a nut 62 into which the lower end of a stud 63 is screwed. The first anchoring device 60 further comprises a retaining member 64 fixed to the stud 63. To this end, the retainer 64 has a bore which is threaded on the stud 63. The retaining member 64 is for example a metal plate. The retaining member 64 abuts against the cleats 57 so as to retain the secondary insulating panels 21 against the inner shell 3. A nut 65 cooperates with a thread of the bolt 63 so as to secure the retaining member 64 on the stud 63. Moreover, the first anchoring device 60 comprises a set of n1 spring washers 66 with n1 an integer greater than or equal to 1. The spring washers 66 are for example Belleville washers. The spring washers 66 are threaded onto the stud 63 between the nut 65 and the retaining member 64, which makes it possible to ensure elastic anchoring of the secondary insulating panels 21 on the inner shell 3. In the embodiment shown, the nut 65 has a cylindrical centering portion 67 which is inserted inside the spring washers 66 so as to ensure their centering. In addition, in the embodiment shown, a locking washer 68 is locally welded to the stud 63, above the nut 65, so as to fix the nut 65 in position on the stud 63.

Furthermore, the first anchoring device 60 comprises a plate 69 which is fixed to the retaining member 64. A spacer element 82, for example, made of wood is disposed between the retaining member 64 and the plate 69 The spacer element 82 has a thickness such that the plate 69 is flush with the cover panel 55 of the secondary insulating panels 21. The spacer element 82 has a central recess for receiving the upper end of the stud 63, the nut 65, the locking washer 68 and the spring washers 66. The spacer element 82 also comprises bores intended to be traversed by screws 83 which make it possible to secure the plate 69 to the retaining member 64.

Furthermore, the plate 69 comprises a central threaded bore which receives the threaded base of a stud 84. The stud 84 passes through a bore formed through a strake of the secondary sealing membrane 18. The stud 84 has a collar 85 which is welded at its periphery, around the bore, to seal the secondary sealing membrane 18. The stud 84 has a threaded upper end on which is targeted a nut 87 to ensure the tightening of a retaining member 86 against the battens 59 of the primary insulating panels 28. The first anchoring device 60 also comprises at least one or more elastic washers 88, such as Belleville washers, which are threaded on the stud 84 between the nut 87 and the retaining member 86 and which thus ensure an elastic inking of the primary insulating panels 28 with respect to the plate 69.

FIG. 13 illustrates a second anchoring device 89 for anchoring the primary and secondary insulating panels 28 of the walls outside the ballast zone. The second anchoring device 89 differs from the first anchoring device 60, illustrated in FIG. 13, in that it comprises a number n2 of elastic washers 66 between the nut 65 and the retaining member 64.

In this embodiment, the spring washers 66, 88 of the second anchoring device 89 are identical to those of the first anchoring device 60. Also, the number n2 of spring washers 66 is an integer which is on the one hand greater than or equal to 0, and on the other hand less than n1 so that the stiffness K1 of the first anchoring device 60 is less than stiffness K2 of the second anchoring device 60. Thus, the number of spring washers 66, 88 required for the construction of the tank can be limited.

In other embodiments, as explained above, the spring washers of the second anchoring device and those of the first anchoring device are different. In this case, the numbers n2 and n1 can also be equal as long as the stiffness K1 stiffness of the first anchor 60 is lower than the stiffness K2 of the second anchor 60.

Furthermore, the upper oblique side walls 15, 16 of a tank having such a multilayer structure are also capable of being anchored by means of second anchoring devices 89, according to one of the variants described above.

Referring to Figure 10, a cutaway view of a LNG tank 70 shows a sealed and insulated tank 71 of generally prismatic shape mounted in the double hull 72 of the ship. The wall of the tank 71 comprises a primary sealing membrane intended to be in contact with the LNG contained in the tank, a secondary sealing membrane arranged between the primary waterproofing membrane and the double hull 72 of the vessel, and two thermally insulating barriers respectively arranged between the primary sealing membrane and the secondary sealing membrane and between the secondary sealing membrane 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 to transfer a cargo of LNG from or to the tank 71.

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

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

Although the invention has been described in connection with several particular embodiments, it is obvious that it is not limited thereto and that it comprises all the technical equivalents of the means described and their combinations if they are within the scope of the invention.

The use of the verb "to include", "to understand" or "to include" and its conjugated forms does not exclude the presence of other elements or steps other than those set out in a claim.

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

Claims

1. A vessel (4) sealed and thermally insulating embedded in a ship, the vessel comprising a double hull (1) comprising an inner hull (3) which forms a supporting structure for the vessel (4) sealed and thermally insulating and an outer hull (2 ); the double hull (1) having, in ballast zones (6), ballast compartments (7) which are intended to receive a liquid, such as seawater, and which are delimited between the inner hull ( 3) and the outer shell (2); the tank (4) having bowl walls (8, 9, 10, 1 1, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16) which are retained on the inner shell (3); each of the vessel walls comprising successively in a thickness direction of the vessel wall at least one thermally insulating barrier (17, 19) which comprises insulating panels (21, 28) retained to the inner shell and a sealing membrane (18, 20) resting against the insulating panels (21, 28);

said vessel walls including ballast zone walls (9, 1 1, 12, 13, 14) which are retained at the inner hull (3) in line with at least one of the ballast compartments (7) in one direction thickness of said ballast zone wall and out-of-ballast walls (8, 10) which are retained at the inner shell (3) to the right of any of the ballast compartments in the thickness direction of said wall off ballast area;

at least one of the insulating panels (28) of the ballast zone walls (9, 11, 12, 13, 14) being anchored directly or indirectly to the inner shell (3) by means of first anchoring devices ( 35, 49);

at least one of the insulating panels (28) of the out-of-ballast walls (8, 10, 15, 16) being anchored directly or indirectly to the inner shell (3) by means of second anchors (52, 53, 89);

wherein the first anchoring devices (35, 49, 60) are each equipped with n1 elastic members (44, 66, 88) arranged to exert an elastic force pressing said insulating panel (28) of ballast zone wall towards of the inner shell (3) while allowing a relative displacement, in the direction of thickness of the tank wall, said insulating panel (28) relative to the carrier structure during the deformation of the inner shell (3); n1 being an integer greater than or equal to 1; said first anchoring device having a stiffness K1 opposing the relative displacement of said insulating panel (28) relative to the supporting structure (3) in the direction of thickness of the tank wall; and wherein the second anchoring devices (52, 53, 89) are each equipped with n2 resilient members (44, 66, 88) which are arranged to exert an elastic force biasing said outboard insulation wall panel (28). ballast in the direction of the inner shell (3) while allowing relative movement of said insulating panel (28) relative to the supporting structure during the deformation of the inner shell (3); n2 is an integer greater than or equal to 0; said second anchors having a stiffness K2 opposing the relative displacement of said insulating panel (28) relative to the supporting structure (3) in the thickness direction of the vessel wall; the stiffness K2 being greater than K1.

2. sealed and thermally insulating vessel (4) according to claim 1, wherein n2 is less than n1.

3. Watertight and thermally insulating vessel (4) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein each of the vessel walls comprises successively, from the outside to the inside of the tank, a secondary heat-insulating barrier (17) which comprises secondary insulating panels (21) retained on the inner shell, a secondary sealing membrane (18) resting against the secondary insulating panels (21), a primary heat-insulating barrier

(19) having a plurality of primary insulating panels (28) resting against the secondary sealing membrane (18) and a primary waterproofing membrane

(20) which rests against the primary insulating panels (28) and which is intended to be in contact with the liquefied natural gas contained in the tank (4).

The sealed and thermally insulating vessel (4) according to claim 3, wherein the first anchoring devices (35, 49) anchor at least one of the primary insulating panels of the ballast zone walls (9, 1 1, 12, 13, 14) on at least one of the secondary insulating panels (21) of said ballast area wall (9, 11, 12, 13, 14); and

wherein the second anchoring devices anchor at least one of the primary insulating panels (28) of the out-of-ballast walls (8, 10, 15, 16) on at least one of the secondary insulating panels (21) said out-of-ballast wall (8, 10, 15, 16).

5. A sealed and thermally insulating vessel (4) according to claim 3, wherein the first anchoring devices (60) anchor at least one of the secondary insulating panels of the ballast zone walls (9, 1 1, 12, 13, 14) on the inner shell (3); and

wherein the second anchors (89) anchor at least one of the secondary insulating panels of the out-of-ballast walls (8, 10, 15, 16) on the inner shell (3).

The sealed and thermally insulating vessel (4) according to claim 3 or 5, wherein the first anchoring devices (60) anchor at least one of the primary insulating panels of the ballast zone walls (9, 1 1, 12, 13, 14) on the inner shell (3); and

wherein the second anchors (89) anchor at least one of the primary insulating panels of the out-of-ballast walls (8, 10, 15, 16) on the inner shell (3).

7. A sealed and thermally insulating vessel (4) according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the first and second anchoring devices (35, 49, 52, 53, 60, 89) each comprise a stud (27). , 63, 84) which is anchored directly or indirectly to the inner shell (3) and a retainer (39, 50, 64, 86) which is mounted on the stud (27, 63, 84); said retaining member (39, 50, 65, 86) being retained on the stud (27, 63, 84) and co-operating with a bearing surface (41, 57, 59) of said insulating panel (28) anchored by said first or second anchoring device so as to retain it towards the inner shell (3).

8. A sealed and thermally insulating vessel (4) according to claim 7, wherein the stud (27, 63, 84) has a thread cooperating with a nut (42, 65, 87) which retains the retaining member (39, 50, 64, 86) to the inner shell (3).

The sealed and thermally insulating vessel (4) according to claim 8, wherein each elastic member is a spring washer (44, 66, 88) which is engaged on the stud (27, 63, 84) between the nut ( 42, 65, 87) and the retaining member (39, 50, 64, 86) so as to provide an elastic force pressing the retaining member against the bearing surface (41, 47, 59).

10. A sealed and thermally insulating vessel (4) according to claim 9, wherein the first anchoring devices (35, 49) comprise a spacer sleeve (45) which is threaded onto the respective stud (27) and retained towards the hull. internal (3) by the nut (42), said spacer sleeve (45) having a cylindrical portion (47) centering which is fitted inside the n1 washers elastic members (44) to center them and an annular flange (48) which plates the spring washers (44) against the retaining member (39, 50).

1 1. A sealed and thermally insulating vessel (4) according to any one of claims 7 to 10, wherein n2 is 0 and wherein each second anchor (52, 53) has a spacer sleeve (45) which is threaded on the respective stud (27) and is retained towards the secondary thermally insulating barrier (17) by the nut (42) and in which the spacer sleeve (45) has a flange (48) bearing against the retaining member ( 39, 50).

Watertight and thermally insulating vessel (4) according to claims 10 and 11 taken in combination, wherein the spacer sleeve (45) of one of the first anchoring devices (35, 49) and the spacer sleeve (45 ) of one of the second anchors (52, 53) are identical, the flange (48) of said spacer sleeves being off-center with respect to the middle of the spacer sleeve (45) so as to define a cylindrical centering portion having a longer than half a length of the spacer sleeve, the spacer sleeve of said first anchoring device and the spacer sleeve of said second anchoring device having an inverted orientation so that the cylindrical portion (47) of the first device anchoring (35, 49) passes through the spring washers (44) of said first anchor (35, 49) and that the centering cylindrical portion (47) of the second anchor (52, 53) is disposed between the flange (48) and the nut (42).

13. A sealed and thermally insulating vessel (4) according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein said vessel walls further include mixed walls (15, 16) which have a portion to the right of any of the compartments of ballast and a portion of at least one of the ballast compartments; and wherein at least one of the insulating panels of the mixed walls (15, 16) is anchored directly or indirectly to the inner shell by means of second anchors (52, 53, 89).

14. A sealed and thermally insulating vessel (4) according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the vessel (4) has a generally polyhedral shape and comprises an upper wall (8), a lower wall (9), transverse front and rear walls (10) extending transversely to the longitudinal direction of the ship and the side walls (1 1, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16), the upper wall (8), the lower wall (9) and the extending side walls (1 1, 12, 13 , 14, 15, 16), in the longitudinal direction of the ship and connecting the front and rear transverse walls (10) and wherein the front transverse wall, the rear transverse wall (10) and the top wall (8) are each one of the walls outside the ballast area.

15. Tank (4) sealed and thermally insulating according to the claim

14 taken in combination with claim 13, wherein the tank (4) has at least four side walls (1 1, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16), two of said side walls being vertical side walls (13, 14 and two of said side walls being upper oblique side walls (15, 16) which each connect the top wall (8) to one of said vertical side walls (13, 14); said two upper oblique side walls (15, 16) being each one of the mixed walls.

16. A vessel (70) for conveying a fluid, the ship having a double hull (72) and a vessel (71) according to any one of claims 1 to

15 disposed in the shell.

17. Transfer system for a fluid, the system comprising a ship (70) according to claim 16, insulated pipes (73, 79, 76, 81) arranged to connect the tank (71) installed in the hull of the ship. at a floating or land storage facility (77) and a pump for driving fluid through the insulated pipelines from or to the floating or land storage facility to or from the vessel vessel.

A method of loading or unloading a ship (70) according to claim 16, wherein a fluid is conveyed through isolated ducts (73, 79, 76, 81) to or from a floating or land storage facility ( 77) to or from the vessel vessel (71).