Containers for gases

Abstract

A container (10) for gases of hazard class 2, in particular hydrogen, has a group (33) of tanks (36). The group (33) has a degassing line (38) with a temperature-sensitive safety valve (40), which is flexibly attached to a side wall of the container (10) by means of a holding device (50) in the direction of longitudinal expansion (Z) of the tanks (36).

Description

The invention relates to a container for hazardous material class 2 gases having a group of tanks.Such containers are known, in particular under the abbreviation MEGC (Multiple-Element Gas Container).As protection against high temperatures, for example in the case of a fire, the tanks of the container are normally coupled to temperature-sensitive protection valves, which are known under the abbreviation TPRD (Thermal Pressure Relief Device) and which usually trigger at an ambient temperature of 110° C. in order to discharge the gas from the tanks in such an emergency situation.It is an object of the invention to provide a container (MEGC) for gases of hazardous material class 2 which ensures particularly high safety.The object is achieved by a container (MEGC) for gases of hazardous material class 2, in particular hydrogen, having an underside, an upper side, at least one side wall and at least one group of tanks. The tanks extend between the bottom and the top. The tanks may extend vertically or horizontally between the bottom and the top. In other words, the tanks may be located upright or lying in the container. If the containers are accommodated horizontally in the container, it is possible for only one layer of tanks to be located between the bottom side and the top side. Alternatively, several layers of lying tanks may be arranged one above the other between the bottom side and the top side. Furthermore, the at least one group of tanks has a degassing line with a temperature-sensitive protective valve (also referred to below as a protective valve or TPRD for short). The degassing line is configured to empty the tanks of the group, i.e. to discharge the gas in the tanks from them when the protection valve opens. The protective valve is thereby flexibly fastened to the at least one side wall by means of a holding device in the longitudinal direction of extension of the tanks. In other words, the protective valve is flexibly fastened to the at least one side wall in the vertical direction by means of the holding device when the tanks are in the vertical orientation in the container. When the tanks are in a horizontal orientation in the container, the protection valve is flexibly attached to the at least one side wall in the horizontal direction by means of the holding device. In the sense of the invention, the terms "upper" and "lower" refer to the intended orientation of the container, i.e. the underside refers to the side of the container which is opposite the floor and with which the container rests on the floor during transport, for example on a trailer, or during storage, in particular via a standing surface. Furthermore, the term "emptying" is not to be understood as meaning a complete emptying of the tanks, but rather an emptying up to a pressure equalization with the environment, as is customary in TPRD.When the tanks are filled with gas, they expand in the axial direction, in other words along their longitudinal extension. The expansion can be 20 to 30 mm if the pressure in the tanks is increased to 350 bar, for example, during filling. The tanks may extend in a vertical or horizontal direction between the bottom and top of the container. In other words, the tanks may be either standing or lying in the container.It has been recognized according to the invention that the protective valve can be supported on the side wall of the container by means of the holding device in order to relieve the degassing line. By having the protection valve flexibly and not rigidly attached to the side wall via the retainer in the direction of longitudinal expansion of the tanks, the position of the protection valve in the direction of longitudinal expansion of the tanks relative to the side wall can change as the tanks expand or shrink to at least partially accommodate this change in length. In this way, the load on the degassing line and the protective valve is reduced, so that their reliable function is ensured permanently. A further advantage of the container is that the holding device forms a type of heat bridge which connects the side wall to the protective valve in a thermally conductive manner. Thus, when a heat source such as a fire acts on the side wall, the protection valve can trip earlier than containers not having such a holding means.The rigidity of the holding device in the direction of longitudinal extent of the tanks is designed in such a way that the mass of the protective valve is effectively supported, in particular to an extent of at least 50%.According to one embodiment, the holding device has a fastening end, a holding end and a connecting portion which connects the fastening end to the holding end. The fastening end is fastened to the at least one side wall and the holding end is fastened to the temperature-sensitive protection valve. The connecting portion is made flexible in the length extension direction of the tanks. With this configuration, the protection valve is securely connected to the side wall, while the connecting portion ensures flexibility in the direction of the length extension of the tanks.For this purpose, the connecting section can have, at least in sections, a wave-shaped, zigzag-shaped or saw-tooth-shaped cross section in the longitudinal extension direction of the tanks, which can be produced with little effort.Additionally or alternatively, the connecting portion can be made stiff perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of extension of the tanks in order to effectively hold and support the protection valve, in particular perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of extension of the tanks.According to a further embodiment, the holding end makes planar contact with a sensor section of the protective valve, so that good heat conduction from the holding device to the sensor section is ensured and thus to the section which functions as a temperature sensor of the protective valve.Furthermore, it can be provided that the holding device is formed from a metal, in particular from a copper alloy or steel alloy. Such materials have a high thermal conductivity and are also robust, in particular with respect to load-bearing capacity and heat resistance.In one embodiment, the holding device is a sheet metal bent part and can therefore be produced in a particularly cost-effective manner.In a further embodiment, the degassing line is arranged in an upper quarter of the container. As a result, the degassing line is particularly protected and is arranged close to the valves of the tanks.It can be provided that the degassing line has a plurality of temperature-sensitive protective valves with a holding device, in particular at least two protective valves with a holding device each. In this way, the safety of the container is increased, since the protection valves can be arranged redundantly and / or at different locations in the container.The container may according to a further embodiment have a plurality of groups of tanks, in particular wherein each group is associated with a sector of the container. As a result, the container has groups which are separate from one another and each have its own degassing line with one or more protection valves, with the result that not all the tanks are emptied when a protection valve triggers, but rather only the tanks of the corresponding group.Further advantages and features will become apparent from the following description and from the attached drawings. In these show:FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of a container according to the invention,FIG. 2 is a schematic top view of the containers from FIG. 1,FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of the detail E from FIG. 1, wherein side walls of the container are not illustrated, andFIG. 4 shows a perspective view of a holding device of the container from FIG. 1 according to a further embodiment.FIG. 1 shows a container 10 for gases of hazardous material class 2.The container 10 is rectangular and has an underside 12, an upper side 14 and four side walls 21, 22, 23, 24 (see FIG. 2 ).The underside 12 comprises a base 16, via which the container 10 stands properly on a floor 18.The side walls 21, 22, 23, 24 are each closed in a planar manner in order to protect the interior of the container 10.In an alternative embodiment, one or more of the side walls 21, 22, 23, 24 can be open at least in sections.Container 10 is a multiple element gas container (MEGC) having four groups 31, 32, 33, 34 of new tanks 36 each.Of course, in an alternative embodiment, the container 10 may comprise any number of groups 31, 32, 33, 34 each having any number of tanks 36.Each group 31, 32, 33, 34 is arranged in a sector A (front left), B (front right), C (rear left), D (rear right) of the container 10.In principle, the groups 31, 32, 33, 34 can be arranged in any sectors of the container 10.Further, the container 10 is a MEGC configured to transport hydrogen.The tanks 36 are circular cylindrical and each extend in the vertical direction Z. That is, the tanks 36 are arranged upright and parallel to each other in the container 10.Even if a container with vertically arranged tanks is shown in FIGS. 1-3, containers with horizontally arranged, i.e. horizontally arranged, tanks should not be excluded, but rather represent a further embodiment.In the embodiment shown in Figures 1-3, the tanks 36 may be of any configuration, but the tanks 36 are upstanding between the bottom 12 and the top 14, i.e. the extent of each tank 36 in the vertical direction Z is greater than its extent in the X-direction and Y-direction.In the embodiment not shown, i.e. the container with the tanks arranged horizontally, the extension of each tank 36 in the horizontal direction X would be greater than its extension in the Y direction and Z direction or in the horizontal direction Y would be greater than its extension in the X direction and Z direction. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-3, the tanks 36 are designed such that they extend in the vertical direction Z when they are filled with a gas. This means in particular that the extension in the vertical direction Z of a tank 36 is greater in the filled state than in the unfilled or empty state.Furthermore, each group 31, 32, 33, 34 has a degassing line 38 with two temperature-sensitive protective valves 40 (TPRD).In an alternative embodiment, each degassing conduit 38 may include any number of protection valves 40, but at least one.The protection valves 40 have, for example, glass containers filled with alcohol, which burst or are destroyed in some other way when a critical temperature (about 110° C.) is exceeded, and thus open the protection valve 40.The tanks 36 are each connected in terms of flow to the degassing line 38 of their group 31, 32, 33, 34, so that all the tanks 36 of a group 31, 32, 33, 34 are emptied jointly if at least one of the protective valves 40 of the corresponding degassing line 38 triggers or opens in an emergency situation.The degassing conduits 38 may be configured to fill and empty the tanks 36.In an alternative embodiment, container 10 includes pressure lines for filling and emptying tanks 36. In particular, the pressure lines are provided separately from the degassing lines 38, i.e. are not connected thereto in terms of flow.The degassing lines 38 are arranged in the upper quarter V of the container 10 and are there connected in terms of flow to the tanks 36. The upper quarter V here denotes that region of the container 10 which adjoins the upper side 14 and has a height h which is 1⁄4 or 25% of the total height H of the container 10 in the vertical direction Z.The protection valves 40 can each have a mass in the range from 1.0 to 1.5 kg.In order to support the protection valves 40, the container 10 has, for each protection valve 40, a holding device 50 (see FIG. 3 ) which is attached to a side wall 21, 22, 23, 24.In an alternative embodiment, the container 10 can have a holding device 50 for only a part of the protection valves 40, but for at least one of the protection valves 40.In this connection, the protection valves 40 and the corresponding holding devices 50 are arranged at neuralgic locations, i.e. locations which, during the transport of the container 10, are arranged in areas with hazard sources, for example in the area of a tire of a truck or trailer on which the container 10 is loaded for transport.In the present embodiment, the two protective valves 40 of each group 31, 32, 33, 34 are assigned to different side walls 21, 22, 23, 24 or are fastened to these via the corresponding holding devices 50.The protection valves 40 of the group 31 in sector A are associated with the side walls 21, 24, the protection valves 40 of the group 32 in sector B are associated with the side walls 23, 24, the protection valves 40 of the group 33 in sector C are associated with the side walls 21, 22 and the protection valves 40 of the group 34 in sector D are associated with the side walls 22, 23.With reference to FIG. 3, the structure of the holding device 50 is described in more detail below.The holding device 50 has a fastening end 52, a holding end 54 and a connecting cut 56 arranged between the fastening end 52 and the holding end 54.The holding device 50 is fastened to the side wall 21 (which is not shown in FIG. 3 ) via the fastening end 52, for example by means of fastening means such as screws, or the fastening end 52 is welded or soldered to the side wall 21.Furthermore, the holding device 50 is fastened to the protective valve 40 via the holding end 54, for example by means of fastening means such as screws.Here, the holding end 54 lies flat against a sensor section 58 of the protective valve 40.The connecting portion 56 is band-shaped and has a flexible portion 60 having a zigzag cross section in the vertical direction Z.In this way, the connecting portion 56 is flexible in the vertical direction Z, while it is comparatively stiff in the X direction and the Y direction.The connecting section 56 can have an elasticity that is greater in the vertical direction Z by at least 25%, in particular at least 50%, than in the X direction and Y direction.In an alternative embodiment, the flexible portion 60 may have a wavy or saw-tooth shaped cross-section.In principle, the connecting section 56 can be designed substantially as desired, as long as it is flexible in the vertical direction Z.In the present embodiment, the holding device 50 consists of a bent sheet metal strip, in particular which is rectangular in the unbent or planar state.The holding device 50 is made of a copper alloy or steel alloy, for example.In principle, the holding device 50 can be formed from any material, in particular any metal.FIG. 4 shows a holding device 50 according to a further embodiment, in which, in contrast to the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the connecting portion 56 has, in addition to the flexible portion 60, an angled portion 62 with a step-shaped cross section in the vertical direction Z.Furthermore, the flexible section 60 has approximately twice as many shaft sections as the flexible section 60 of the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3 and extends in the vertical direction Z approximately twice as long.As a result, the connecting portion 56 has an elasticity which is approximately twice as great in the vertical direction Z as in the X direction and the Y direction.In this way, a container 10 for gases of hazardous material class 2 is provided, which is designed to be particularly secure.The holding devices 50 stabilize the degassing lines 38 so that they are exposed to lower loads, in particular due to vibrations which occur, for example, during transport.Furthermore, the holding devices 50 form temperature sensors, as a result of which the associated protective valve 40 can trigger promptly when the corresponding side wall 21, 22, 23, 24 heats up.The invention is not limited to the embodiments shown. In particular, individual features of an embodiment can be combined as desired with features of other embodiments, in particular independently of the other features of the corresponding embodiments.

Claims

Container (10) for gases of hazardous material class 2, in particular hydrogen, having an underside (12), an upper side (14), at least one side wall (21, 22, 23, 24) and at least one group (31, 32, 33, 34) of tanks (36), wherein the tanks (36) extend between the underside (12) and the upper side (14), wherein the at least one group (31, 32, 33, 34) has a degassing line (38) with a temperature-sensitive protective valve (40), wherein the degassing line (38) is configured to empty the tanks (36) of the group (31, 32, 33, 34) when the protective valve (40) opens, wherein the protective valve (40) is secured to the at least one side wall (21, 22, 23, 24) in a flexible manner by means of a retaining device (50) in the direction of longitudinal extent (Z) of the tanks (36).Container (10) according to claim 1, characterised in that the holding device (50) has a fastening end (52), a holding end (54) and a connecting portion (56) which connects the fastening end (52) to the holding end (54), wherein the fastening end (52) is fastened to the at least one side wall (21, 22, 23, 24) and the holding end (54) is fastened to the temperature-sensitive protection valve (40), and wherein the connecting portion (56) is designed to be flexible in the direction of longitudinal extension (Z) of the tanks (36).Container (10) according to claim 2, characterised in that the connecting section (56) has, at least in sections, a wave-shaped, zigzag-shaped or saw-tooth-shaped cross-section in the longitudinal extension direction (Z) of the tanks (36).Container (10) according to claim 2 or 3, characterised in that the connecting section (56) is designed to be rigid perpendicularly to the longitudinal direction of extension (Z) of the tanks (36).Container (10) according to one of claims 2 to 4, characterised in that the holding end (54) makes surface contact with a sensor section (58) of the protective valve (40).Container (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the holding device (50) is formed from a metal, in particular from a copper alloy or steel alloy.Container (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the holding device (50) is a bent sheet metal part.Container (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the degassing line (38) is arranged in an upper quarter (V) of the container (10).Container (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the degassing line (38) has a plurality of temperature-sensitive protective valves (40) with a holding device (50), in particular at least two.Container (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the container (10) has a plurality of groups (31, 32, 33, 34) of tanks (36), in particular wherein each group (31, 32, 33, 34) is assigned to a sector (A, B, C, D) of the container (10).

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