Liquefied gas storage facility

Abstract

A liquefied gas storage facility comprises a supporting structure and a tank installed within the supporting structure.An insulating barrier disposed between the waterproof membrane and the cylindrical load-bearing wall comprises rows of insulating panels distributed as a plurality of sectorial portions (41) juxtaposed in the circumferential direction, each sectorial portion (41) consisting of at least one row of adjusting insulating panels (24) and a plurality of rows of standard insulating panels (23) distributed in the circumferential direction on either side of the at least one row of adjusting insulating panels (24), the standard rows of insulating panels of the sectorial portion having a uniform dimension (L) in the circumferential direction, each row of adjusting insulating panels of the sectorial portion having a singular dimension in the circumferential direction, the singular dimension being less than the uniform dimension (L). Figure for the abstract: 4.

Description

Title of the invention: Liquefied gas storage installation technical field

[0001] The invention relates to a membrane-sealed tank and a liquefied gas storage installation comprising a sealed and thermally insulated tank. In particular, the invention relates to the field of land-based installations for the storage of a liquid or a liquefied gas at low temperature, such as Liquefied Petroleum Gas (also called LPG) having, for example, a temperature between -50°C and 0°C, Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) at approximately -162°C at atmospheric pressure, or liquefied ammonia, which is at approximately -33°C at atmospheric pressure. Technological background

[0002] A liquefied gas storage installation, particularly for LNG, is known, for example, from document WO2022200536. The installation comprises a load-bearing structure including a cylindrical load-bearing wall and a bottom load-bearing wall. The cylindrical load-bearing wall has a vertical generating direction. The bottom load-bearing wall closes the cylindrical load-bearing wall to delimit an internal space within the load-bearing structure. A sealed and thermally insulated tank is installed within the internal space of the load-bearing structure. The tank comprises a cylindrical tank wall disposed on an internal surface of the cylindrical load-bearing wall. The cylindrical tank wall comprises a sealed membrane intended to be in contact with the liquefied gas contained in the tank and an insulating barrier disposed between the sealed membrane and the cylindrical load-bearing wall.The insulating barrier comprises insulating panels configured as a plurality of rows of insulating panels, each row of insulating panels comprising insulating panels juxtaposed in the generating direction, the rows of insulating panels being juxtaposed in a circumferential direction of the cylindrical load-bearing wall, the circumferential direction being perpendicular to the generating direction, the insulating panels having first edges parallel to the generating direction and second edges parallel to the circumferential direction, the rows of insulating panels being arranged as a plurality of planar facets, the planar facets being successively rotated by a faceting angle around the generating direction so that an internal surface of the rows of insulating panels defines a cylindrical surface having a polygonal direction curve.The plurality of rows of insulating panels is distributed as a plurality of juxtaposed sectoral portions in the circumferential direction.

[0003] In this known installation, spaces between corner insulating wall modules and flat insulating wall modules depend on the differences between the theoretical and actual dimensions of the load-bearing structure and receive insulating blocks whose width can be adjusted in situ. Summary of the invention

[0004] One idea underlying the invention is to provide a liquefied gas storage installation in which adapting the insulating barrier to the dimensions of the supporting structure is simple. Another idea underlying the invention is to provide a liquefied gas storage installation in which manufacturing the insulating barrier requires a relatively limited number of different parts to reduce manufacturing operating costs.

[0005] For this purpose, according to one embodiment, the invention provides a liquefied gas storage installation of the aforementioned type, in which said or each sectoral portion consists of at least one row of adjusting insulating panels and a plurality of rows of regular insulating panels distributed in the circumferential direction on either side of the at least one row of adjusting insulating panels, the rows of regular insulating panels of the sectoral portion having a uniform dimension in the circumferential direction, said or each row of adjusting insulating panels of the sectoral portion having a singular dimension in the circumferential direction, the singular dimension being less than the uniform dimension.

[0006] Thanks to these characteristics, it is possible to obtain an insulating barrier that is largely made up of standard rows, which can be formed from standardized insulating panels, and which is easily adaptable to load-bearing structures of different dimensions. The arrangement of the standard insulating panel rows into two sub-assemblies on either side of at least one row of adjustment insulating panels makes it possible to create a single adjustment zone in the sectoral portion, between the two sub-assemblies, and to select adjustment insulating panels according to the size of the adjustment zone to ensure continuous and effective insulating coverage, minimizing thermal bridges and improving the overall performance of the installation.

[0007] The interfaces between the rows of insulating panels in the insulating barrier can be made in different ways. In one embodiment, the rows of insulating panels are directly juxtaposed, and the interface can be a minimal mounting gap. In another embodiment, the rows of insulating panels are juxtaposed with gaps between them, and these gaps can be filled with thermal seals made of a material generally more flexible than the panels. insulating, which facilitates their insertion. In all cases, the dimension of a row of standard insulating panels in the circumferential direction or the dimension of a row of adjustment insulating panels in the circumferential direction includes the dimension of the interface between the rows.

[0008] In other words, as used here, the dimension of a row of standard insulating panels in the circumferential direction or the dimension of a row of adjustment insulating panels in the circumferential direction actually refers to the sum of the strict dimension of the insulating panels and the dimension of any thermal joints placed between them. In other words, the dimension of a row of standard insulating panels in the circumferential direction refers to the dimension of a repeating pattern of the insulating barrier, this repeating pattern being strictly limited to the insulating panels or including other elements systematically installed between the insulating panels, such as thermal joints or filler materials.

[0009] According to embodiments, such a liquefied gas storage installation may include one or more of the following characteristics.

[0010] A flat facet of the insulating barrier can correspond to one or more rows of insulating panels. In one embodiment, the insulating panels of the insulating barrier are completely flat, and all facet angles are formed at the interfaces between the rows of insulating panels. In this case, the facet angles can be formed between each of the interfaces between successive rows of insulating panels. In such an embodiment, each flat facet corresponds to a single row of insulating panels, which can be advantageous for optimizing the usable volume of the tank built inside a load-bearing structure whose cylindrical load-bearing wall is circular.

[0011] Alternatively, the faceting angles can be made between some of the interfaces between rows of insulating panels, for example at one interface out of three, in which case the flat facets, or at least some of the flat facets, correspond to several rows of coplanar insulating panels, for example three rows.

[0012] According to one embodiment, the rows of regular insulating panels of the sectoral portion are distributed symmetrically in the circumferential direction on either side of at least one row of adjusting insulating panels.

[0013] In other words, the row(s) of adjusting insulating panel(s) occupy a central position in the sector portion. This symmetrical arrangement offers advantages related to better stress distribution and minimizing the number of different parts required to manufacture the insulating barrier, and even minimizing the number of different parts required to manufacture the waterproof membrane.

[0014] It may be desirable to use as few rows of insulating adjustment panels as possible to promote standardized panels. According to one embodiment, the number of rows of insulating adjustment panels in the sector or each sector portion is between 1 inclusive and M inclusive, where M denotes an odd integer greater than 1, for example 3, 5 or 7.

[0015] It may also be desirable to use adjustment insulating panels with a dimension greater than a minimum permissible dimension in order to facilitate the installation of the adjustment insulating panels and the installation of the waterproof membrane on them. For this purpose, according to one embodiment, the individual dimension of the row or rows of adjustment insulating panels is greater than a strictly positive minimum permissible dimension, the minimum permissible dimension being chosen to be less than a fraction (Ml) / M of the uniform dimension. Thanks to these characteristics, it is ensured both (i) that any gap between the regular rows of insulating panels in the sectoral portion can be filled by a number of rows of adjustment insulating panels not exceeding M and (ii) that none of these rows of adjustment insulating panels exceeds the minimum permissible dimension.

[0016] According to an embodiment corresponding to M=3, the number of rows of adjusting insulating panels of said or each sectoral portion is between 1 inclusive and 3 inclusive and the number of rows of current insulating panels of said or each sectoral portion is greater than the number of rows of adjusting insulating panels.

[0017] According to one embodiment, the singular dimension of said or each row of insulating adjustment panels is greater than a minimum permissible dimension, the minimum permissible dimension being less than 2 / 3 of the uniform dimension.

[0018] The use of adjustable insulating panels with dimensions exceeding a minimum permissible dimension facilitates the installation of the adjustable insulating panels and the mounting of the waterproof membrane on them. The minimum permissible dimension is, for example, greater than 200 mm, preferably greater than 300 mm.

[0019] Thanks to a minimum permissible dimension which does not exceed 2 / 3 of the uniform dimension, it is ensured that three rows of insulating adjustment panels at most are sufficient to realize a sectoral portion of any size in the circumferential direction.

[0020] According to one embodiment, said or each sectoral portion comprises two rows of insulating adjustment panels arranged adjacently in the circumferential direction and the singular dimension of the two rows of insulating adjustment panels is equal.

[0021] In this case, the distance between the two current rows framing the adjustment rows is between the uniform dimension and twice the uniform dimension. This distance is then shared only between two rows of adjustment panels.

[0022] According to one embodiment, said or each sectoral portion comprises a single row of insulating adjustment panels.

[0023] According to one embodiment, the singular dimension of said row of insulating adjustment panels is between the minimum permissible dimension and the uniform dimension.

[0024] In this case, the distance between the two current rows framing the single adjustment row is between the minimum permissible dimension and the uniform dimension.

[0025] According to one embodiment, said or each sectoral portion comprises three rows of insulating adjustment panels arranged adjacently in the circumferential direction, the singular dimension of a central row among the three rows of insulating adjustment panels being equal to the minimum permissible dimension.

[0026] This case corresponds to a configuration in which the dimension of the sectoral portion in the circumferential direction is slightly greater than an integer multiple of the uniform dimension; that is, it exceeds the integer multiple of the uniform dimension by an excess less than the minimum permissible dimension. In this case, instead of using a single adjustment row that could not meet the minimum permissible dimension, the number of running rows is reduced by two units compared to the integer multiple, and the remaining dimension not occupied by the running rows—namely, the aforementioned excess plus twice the uniform dimension—is distributed among three adjustment rows. Furthermore, using the minimum permissible dimension for the central row allows for partial standardization of the adjustment panels.In this case, the other two adjustment rows must be sized according to the actual dimensions of the sector portion in the circumferential direction. Alternatively, it would be possible to distribute the remaining dimension evenly between the three adjustment rows, at the cost of less standardization of the adjustment panels.

[0027] According to one embodiment, the number of rows of insulating adjustment panels and the individual dimensions of said row or each row of insulating adjustment panels are identical in all sectoral portions, within manufacturing tolerances. In other words, the sectoral portions can be constructed substantially identical to one another, subject to the dimensional tolerances of the supporting structure.

[0028] According to one embodiment, the tank comprises a bottom tank wall disposed on an internal surface of the bottom load-bearing wall, the bottom tank wall comprising a bottom sealing membrane intended to be in contact with the liquefied gas contained in the tank and a bottom insulating barrier disposed between the bottom sealing membrane and the bottom load-bearing wall, the bottom insulating barrier comprising a plurality of bottom sectoral portions juxtaposed in the circumferential direction of the cylindrical load-bearing wall, a sectoral portion of the insulating barrier of the cylindrical tank wall being disposed opposite each bottom sectoral portion, each bottom sectoral portion comprising bottom insulating panels configured in the form of a plurality of rows of bottom insulating panels,each row of bottom insulating panels comprising bottom insulating panels juxtaposed in a radial direction of the bottom sectoral portion, the rows of bottom insulating panels being juxtaposed in an ortho-radial direction of the bottom sectoral portion, the ortho-radial direction being perpendicular to the radial direction, the bottom insulating panels having first edges parallel to the radial direction and second edges parallel to the ortho-radial direction, the plurality of rows of bottom insulating panels of said bottom sectoral portion being distributed in the form of at least one central row of bottom insulating panels and a plurality of running rows of bottom insulating panels distributed symmetrically in the ortho-radial direction on either side of the at least one central row of bottom insulating panels,the rows of standard base insulation panels having a uniform dimension in the orthoradial direction, or each row of central base insulation panels having a singular dimension in the orthoradial direction, the singular dimension being smaller than the uniform dimension.

[0029] According to one embodiment, interfaces between the rows of insulating panels at the bottom of a sectoral bottom portion are offset in the ortho-radial direction of the sectoral bottom portion relative to interfaces between the rows of insulating panels of the sectoral portion arranged opposite the sectoral bottom portion.

[0030] Thanks to these characteristics, strict alignment is not required between the rows of bottom insulating panels and the rows of insulating panels, which simplifies the assembly operations of the insulating barrier and the bottom insulating barrier.

[0031] According to one embodiment, the number of rows of central bottom insulating panels is between 1 inclusive and 3 inclusive and the number of rows of regular bottom insulating panels is greater than the number of rows of central bottom insulating panels.

[0032] According to one embodiment, the singular dimension of said or each row of central base insulating panels is greater than 200 mm, preferably greater than 300 mm.

[0033] According to one embodiment, the uniform dimension in the circumferential direction is between 0.5 m and 2 m.

[0034] According to one embodiment, the uniform dimension in the ortho-radial direction is between 0.5 m and 2 m.

[0035] Such sizing offers an interesting compromise between the ability to manufacture an insulating barrier covering a large surface in a reasonable number of operations, which excludes the use of insulating panels that are too small, and the ability to handle the insulating panels with readily available handling equipment, which excludes the use of insulating panels that are too large.

[0036] According to one embodiment, the thickness of the insulating barrier can be between 60 mm and 150 mm for the storage of ammonia.

[0037] According to one embodiment, the waterproof membrane is a primary waterproof membrane, the cylindrical tank wall further comprising a secondary waterproof membrane disposed between the insulating panels and the cylindrical load-bearing wall.

[0038] According to one embodiment, the bottom waterproof membrane is a primary bottom waterproof membrane, the bottom tank wall further comprising a secondary bottom waterproof membrane disposed between the bottom insulating panels and the bottom load-bearing wall.

[0039] According to one embodiment, the load-bearing structure is made of concrete.

[0040] The load-bearing concrete structure offers remarkable robustness and durability, enabling the installation to withstand extreme environmental conditions and significant mechanical loads. Concrete, as a construction material, exhibits excellent thermal insulation properties, which helps maintain the temperature of the liquefied gas and reduce energy losses.

[0041] The use of concrete can facilitate the integration of the installation into environments where metallic materials might be less desirable due to corrosion or other environmental factors. It offers the advantage of modularity, allowing for easy adaptation of the installation to specific needs and future developments.

[0042] Insulating panels and / or base insulating panels can be made in many ways. According to some embodiments, particularly for a tank intended for ammonia, an insulating panel or a base insulating panel may comprise one or more of the following elements: a machinable, bondable and / or weldable insulating block, made of polystyrene-based polymer, obtained either by extrusion (XPS) or by expansion (EPS), in densities ranging from 15 kg / m3 to 450 kg / m3, and thicknesses ranging from 30 mm to 260 mm, and can be made up of several layers glued or welded or screwed or anchored together; One or more reinforcing plates, anchored below and / or above the insulating block by bonding, welding, screwing, or other means, and made of styrenic polymer (PS or crystal PS or HIPS), amide polymer (PA6, PA6.6, PA9, or PA12), polyolefin polymer (PE or PP), halogenated polymer (PVC, PVDC, or PVDF), or another specialty plastic, the polymer being either reinforced or not with fillers or glass, carbon, or natural fibers, and of varying lengths.

[0043] According to embodiments, an insulating panel or a base insulating panel may have cuts, slots, and / or recesses to perform stress relief or other functions.

[0044] According to embodiments, an insulating panel or a base insulating panel may include riveted, screwed, welded or glued elements, made of polymeric or metallic or composite materials, used for anchoring the insulating panel or base insulating panel to dedicated structures and / or for anchoring a waterproof membrane, of polymeric or metallic or composite nature, to the insulating panel or a base insulating panel.

[0045] According to one embodiment, the invention also provides a manufacturing method for manufacturing the aforementioned liquefied gas storage installation, the manufacturing method comprising: subdivide the cylindrical load-bearing wall into an integer number of juxtaposed sectorial zones in the circumferential direction, install the insulating barrier by installing a sectoral portion in each sectoral zone of the cylindrical load-bearing wall, and install the waterproof membrane on the insulating barrier. in which the installation of a sectoral portion within a sectoral zone of the cylindrical load-bearing wall comprises: install the rows of standard insulating panels in the form of two subsets extending in the circumferential direction from two opposite edges of the sectoral area, until a settling area is obtained between the two subsets, the settling area having a dimension less than twice the uniform dimension in the circumferential direction, select a number of settling insulating panel rows and the singular dimension of each settling insulating panel row according to the dimension of the settling area in the circumferential direction, and install said at least one settling insulating panel row in the settling area.

[0046] According to embodiments, such a process may include one or more of the following characteristics.

[0047] According to one embodiment, the installation of a sectoral portion in a sectoral zone of the cylindrical load-bearing wall further comprises: manufacturing adjustment insulating panels having the singular dimension by cutting insulating panels having said uniform dimension.

[0048] According to one embodiment, the sectorial zones of the cylindrical load-bearing wall are identical, images of each other under a symmetry of order N, where N denotes the integer number of sectorial zones. Brief description of the figures

[0049] The invention will be better understood, and other objects, details, features and advantages thereof will become more apparent from the following description of several particular embodiments of the invention, given solely by way of illustration and not limitation, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0050] [Fig-1] Fig. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a load-bearing structure, whose ceiling wall is omitted.

[0051] [Fig.2] The [Fig.2] is a partial perspective view of a sectoral portion of a sealed and thermally insulating tank that can be installed in the supporting structure of the [Fig.1].

[0052] [Fig.3] The [Fig.3] is a cross-sectional view of a wall of the sealed and thermally insulating tank along line III of the [Fig.2].

[0053] [Fig.4] The [Fig.4] is a plan view of a cylindrical wall of the sealed and thermally insulating tank of the [Fig.2] according to a first embodiment.

[0054] [Fig.5] The [Fig.5] is a plan view of a cylindrical wall of the sealed and thermally insulating tank of the [Fig.2] according to a second embodiment.

[0055] [Fig.6] The [Fig.6] is a plan view of a cylindrical wall of the sealed and thermally insulating tank of the [Fig.2] according to a third embodiment.

[0056] [Fig.7] The [Fig.7] is a cross-sectional view of the cylindrical wall according to the second embodiment along line VILVII of the [Fig.5].

[0057] [Fig.8] The [Fig.8] is a plan view of a bottom wall of the sealed and thermally insulating tank of the [Fig.2] which can be arranged opposite the cylindrical wall according to the second embodiment.

[0058] [Fig.9] The [Fig.9] is an enlarged view of a portion IX of the bottom wall of the [Fig.8]. Description of the implementation methods

[0059] We will describe a liquefied gas storage installation suitable for storing a liquefied gas, in particular ammonia, at a temperature of approximately -33°C and at pressure atmospheric or other liquefied gases. The installation mainly comprises a supporting structure 10 and a sealed and thermally insulated tank installed in the internal space 2 of the supporting structure 10.

[0060] With reference to [Fig.1], the load-bearing structure 10 is described first. The load-bearing structure 10 comprises a bottom load-bearing wall 11 and a vertical load-bearing wall 12, which is a cylindrical load-bearing wall.

[0061] The installation may be designed to be located on land. The load-bearing base wall 11 is then typically horizontal, that is, located in a plane perpendicular to the direction of gravitational acceleration, within dimensional tolerances. It is nevertheless specified that the following description applies to any orientation of the load-bearing base wall 11 with respect to the direction of gravitational acceleration.

[0062] The load-bearing base wall 11 may be located at ground level or possibly below ground level. The load-bearing structure 10 is, for example, made of concrete.

[0063] In addition to the bottom load-bearing wall 11, the load-bearing structure 10 includes a vertical load-bearing wall 12. As can be seen more clearly in [Fig. 1], this vertical load-bearing wall 12 forms an internal cylindrical surface 13 whose generatrix is ​​vertical and whose direction curve is here circular, but which could be different, for example polygonal. The vertical load-bearing wall 12 extends in a direction perpendicular to the bottom load-bearing wall 11, within dimensional tolerances, that is to say, in a vertical direction.

[0064] Not shown in the drawings, at the end of the vertical load-bearing wall 12 opposite the bottom load-bearing wall 11, the load-bearing structure 10 includes a ceiling load-bearing wall closing the internal space delimited by the bottom load-bearing wall 11 and the vertical load-bearing wall 12. This ceiling load-bearing wall can support various equipment usable for conveying liquefied gas from or to this internal space.

[0065] The diameter of the supporting structure 10 can be, for example, between 10m and 100m.

[0066] A sealed and thermally insulating tank is partially shown in [Fig. 2]. The tank is installed in the internal space 2 of the supporting structure 10. The tank comprises a bottom wall 3 disposed on the bottom supporting wall 11 and a cylindrical tank wall 4 disposed on the cylindrical internal surface 13 of the vertical supporting wall 12.

[0067] To facilitate the manufacture of the cylindrical tank wall 4 and the bottom wall 3, it is advantageous to structure them as a plurality of identical sectorial portions, which are juxtaposed in the circumferential direction around a vertical central axis of the tank. In other words, the sectorial portions are images of each other by a symmetry of order N around the central axis. vertical N denotes a positive integer, which can be chosen for example between 4 and 100.

[0068] Figure 2 illustrates a sectoral portion 51 of the thermally insulating barrier of the bottom wall 3, which can also be called the bottom sectoral portion, and a sectoral portion 41 of the thermally insulating barrier of the cylindrical tank wall 4, which can also be called the cylindrical sectoral portion, in the case N=10. In other words, the sectoral portions 51 and 41 cover an angular sector of 36°. However, the number of sectoral portions can be higher, in which case a sectoral portion covers a smaller angular sector, or lower, in which case a sectoral portion covers a larger angular sector.

[0069] With reference to [Fig.3], the cylindrical tank wall 4 and the bottom wall 3 comprise, going from the supporting structure 10 towards the interior space of the tank, a secondary sealing membrane 6, a thermally insulating barrier 7 and a primary sealing membrane 8 intended to be in contact with the liquefied gas contained in the tank.

[0070] The secondary waterproof membrane 6 is optional and can be a waterproof sheet fixed, for example by gluing or other means, to the cylindrical internal surface 13 of the vertical load-bearing wall 12 and to the bottom load-bearing wall 11. The waterproof sheet is made, for example, of metal sheets or composite material.

[0071] The thermally insulating barrier 7 can be made using modular insulating elements 20. Optionally, a secondary insulating barrier can be inserted between the secondary airtight membrane and the supporting structure to improve thermal insulation. The modular insulating elements 20 can have different structures and materials, depending in particular on the thermal insulation requirements of the intended application and the chemical nature of the liquefied gases to be stored.

[0072] Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an embodiment of the cylindrical tank wall 4 compatible with the storage of ammonia. An insulating modular element 20 comprises a base plate 14, for example made of polymer resin or polystyrene, and a polymer foam block 15, for example made of extruded polystyrene foam, fixed to the base plate 14. The insulating modular elements 20 are fixed to the vertical load-bearing wall 12 by means of metal studs 18. Thermal seals 16, formed for example of flexible polymer foam, are arranged in the gaps between the insulating modular elements 20. Sealant beads 17 and / or shims 19 can be interposed between the base plates 14 and the vertical load-bearing wall 12 to compensate for any unevenness in the vertical load-bearing wall 12 and to improve the load-bearing capacity of the insulating modular elements 20.

[0073] The primary waterproof membrane 8 is a corrugated metal membrane, for example made of stainless steel. Preferably, it is formed of metal elements joined by welding overlapping areas 22. The width of the overlapping areas 22 can be designed according to the manufacturing tolerances of the supporting structure in order to provide a sufficient adjustment range to absorb all foreseeable deviations of the supporting structure and the metal elements.

[0074] According to a preferred embodiment, the primary waterproof membrane 8 is anchored to the insulating barrier 7. For this purpose, some of the metal elements can be welded to metal anchoring strips 21 carried by the internal surface of the modular insulating elements 20.

[0075] A similar or different wall structure may be used for the bottom wall 3.

[0076] With reference to Figures 4 to 9, we will now describe embodiments of the cylindrical tank wall 4 and / or the bottom wall 3, which make it possible to form the insulating barrier 7, or at least a large portion of the insulating barrier 7, with modular insulating elements 20 in the form of rectangular parallelepiped insulating panels. The use of rectangular parallelepiped insulating panels is advantageous in terms of ease of manufacture and ease of handling.

[0077] With reference to figures 4 to 7, as the thermally insulating barrier of the cylindrical tank wall 4 is made in the form of identical sectoral portions 41, it will be sufficient to describe the realization of a sectoral portion 4L. Previously, the sectoral zone 40 of the vertical load-bearing wall 12 to be occupied by the sectoral portion 41 will have been defined, for example by subdividing the cylindrical load-bearing wall 12 into an integer number of identical sectoral zones.

[0078] Next, the manufacture of the sectoral portion 41 is based on the use of multiple vertical rows of rectangular parallelepiped insulating panels, namely regular rows 23 having a uniform width L which must constitute as large a portion as possible of the thermally insulating barrier, and one or more adjustment rows 24 having one or more smaller singular width(s), and arranged between two subsets of the regular rows 23, preferably between two symmetrical subsets.

[0079] In Figures 4 to 6, a standard row 23 is illustrated by two standard insulating panels 25 placed side by side in the vertical direction, and an adjustment row 24 is illustrated by two adjustment insulating panels 26 placed side by side in the vertical direction. Naturally, the number of insulating panels in the vertical direction depends on the dimensions of the vertical load-bearing wall 12 and may be greater than two. For clarity, the outline of a standard insulating panel 25 is highlighted with a dashed line in figures 4 to 6.

[0080] When current rows 23 are arranged symmetrically from two opposite edges of the sectorial zone 40 in the circumferential direction, that is, in the form of two symmetrical subsets, an adjustment zone remains between the two subsets, except in the case where the dimension of the sectorial zone 40 is exactly an even integer multiple of the uniform width L. The adjustment zone then has a dimension X less than twice the uniform dimension L in the circumferential direction. The number of adjustment rows 24 and the singular dimension of each depends on the dimension X of the adjustment zone.

[0081] In [Fig. 4], each of the two subsets comprises three running rows 23 and the dimension X satisfies L <X<2L. Dans ce cas, deux rangées de réglage 24 présentant la largeur X / 2 sont employées. Le contour d’un panneau isolant de réglage 26 est surligné en trait mixte sur la [Fig.4].

[0082] In [Fig. 5], the dimension X satisfies ô <X<L, où ô désigne une largeur minimale admissible pour le panneau isolant de réglage 26. La largeur minimale admissible ô découle du fait que les panneaux isolants nécessitent en pratique une surface suffisante pour qu’il soit possible de réaliser certaines opérations relatives à l’ancrage du panneau isolant sur la paroi porteuse cylindrique 12 et / ou à l’ancrage de la membrane étanche sur panneau isolant. Dans le cas de la [Fig.5], une seule rangée de réglage 24 présentant la largeur X est employée. Le contour d’un panneau isolant de réglage 26 est surligné en trait mixte sur la [Fig.5].

[0083] In [Fig.6], dimension X satisfies 0 <X< ô, de sorte que le calepinage représenté sur la [Fig.5] n’est pas réalisable ou pose des difficultés de mise en œuvre excessive. Dans ce cas, la zone de réglage est élargie par suppression de deux rangées courantes, de sorte qu’on attribue à la zone de réglage une dimension corrigée XC=X+2L. Trois rangées de réglage sont alors employées : une rangée de réglage centrale 24b présentant la largeur minimale admissible ô, et deux rangées de réglage 24b présentant la largeur R=L-(ô-X) / 2.

[0084] The width R remains greater than or equal to the minimum permissible width ô, because the minimum permissible width ô is not too close to the uniform width L, in particular ô <2L / 3. The outline of an insulating adjustment panel 27 of the adjustment row 24b and the outline of an insulating adjustment panel 28 of the central adjustment row 24b are highlighted in dashed lines on [Fig.6].

[0085] Preferably, the adjustment insulating panels 26, 27, 28 are obtained by cutting standard insulating panels 25. This method of obtaining optimizes the standardization of the insulating panels and reduces the inventory of prefabricated parts that need to be supplied to make the insulating barrier.

[0086] Dimensional example In one example, the uniform width L is 1000 mm, corresponding to a strict width of 970 mm for standard 25 mm insulation panels combined with a 30 mm gap between the rows of insulation panels. The minimum permissible width θ can be chosen to be close to 300 mm. The length of the insulation panels in the vertical direction of the tank can be approximately three times greater than the uniform width L. However, this length can be easily modified without significantly affecting the layout method described here.

[0087] Figure 7 shows a cross-section of the cylindrical tank wall 4 in a case similar to that of Figure 5, namely with a single adjustment row 24. In the illustrated embodiment, faceting angles are formed between each of the successive rows of insulating panels, namely between the running rows 23 and also between the running rows 23 and the adjustment row 24. Thus, each row of insulating panels corresponds to a respective flat facet of the cylindrical tank wall 4. Figure 7 also illustrates a circular cylindrical load-bearing wall, at least at the level of the sectorial area 40. Finally, Figure 7 illustrates a median vertical plane A which constitutes a plane of symmetry of the sectorial portion 4L

[0088] The layout of the metal elements forming the primary sealing membrane 8 can be achieved in various ways. Preferably, a layout similar to that of the underlying insulating barrier is used to improve the simplicity and repeatability of the assembly operations. A corresponding example of the primary sealing membrane 8 of the cylindrical tank wall 4 is illustrated in Figures 4 to 6. In particular, a standard metal plate 30 having the same dimensions as the standard insulating panel 25 is used in the standard rows 23. In the adjustment zone, adjustment metal plates 31 with a smaller width can be used.

[0089] The edges of the main metal plates 30 and the adjusting metal plates 31 are offset from the edges of the insulating panels in both directions of the wall to facilitate lap welds. In addition, the corrugations of the primary waterproof membrane 8 include vertical corrugations 32 located at the interfaces between the rows of insulating panels and horizontal corrugations 33, every other one of which is located at the interfaces between the insulating panels within the same row.

[0090] With reference to figures 8 to 9, as the bottom wall 3 is made in the form of identical sectoral portions 51, it will be sufficient to describe the realization of a sectoral portion 51.

[0091] Figure 8 is a top view of the sectoral portion 51, illustrating in dashed lines radial undulations 55 and ortho-radial undulations 56 of the membrane waterproof which have a relationship with the edges of the insulating panels, as will be described below. As more clearly seen in [Fig. 9], the median vertical plane A also constitutes a plane of symmetry of the sectoral portion 51.

[0092] The sectoral portion 51 of the insulating barrier comprises different parts: two regular parts 52 form the greater part of the insulating barrier; two marginal parts 53 have a particular shape to make the junction with the neighboring sectoral portions; a central part 59 is in the center and an arc part 54 is located in the concavity of the cylindrical tank wall 4 and has a particular shape to make the junction with the cylindrical tank wall 4. Finally, an adjustment part 58 is located between the two regular parts 52.

[0093] On [Fig.2], the sectoral portion 51 has been partially represented, namely only what corresponds to the two regular parts 52 and the adjustment part 58, omitting the two marginal parts 53, the central part 59 and the arc part 54.

[0094] Similar to sectoral portion 41, the manufacture of regular parts 52 relies on the use of multiple radial rows of rectangular parallelepiped insulating panels, namely regular rows having a uniform width in the ortho-radial direction, which may or may not be equal to the aforementioned uniform dimension L, and which must constitute as large a portion as possible of the thermally insulating barrier. The fabrication of the adjustment portion 58 relies on the use of one or more adjustment rows having one or more smaller singular widths, and arranged between the two regular portions 52.

[0095] The position of these rows of insulating panels is visible in [Fig. 8], given that all radial corrugations 55 denote an interface between two radial rows and that every other ortho-radial corrugation 56 denotes an interface between the insulating panels within a radial row. For clarity, the outline of a typical insulating panel 50 of the back wall 3 is highlighted with a dashed line in [Fig. 8].

[0096] To determine the number of adjustment rows and the singular dimension of each, it is sufficient to determine the dimension of the adjustment zone in the bottom wall 3 and to apply mutatis mutandis the principles described above in relation to the cylindrical tank wall 4.

[0097] Fig. 9 is an enlarged view which shows that the layouts described above do not require aligning the radial undulations 55 of the bottom wall 3 with the vertical undulations 32 of the cylindrical tank wall 4. The possibility of offsetting them relative to each other in the ortho-radial direction facilitates the joining between these two walls.

[0098] Thanks to the layout methods described above in relation to the insulating barrier of the cylindrical tank wall 4 and the bottom wall 3, it is easy to To manufacture watertight and thermally insulated tanks with varying diameters, particularly in the 50 to 100m range. In other words, these layout methods do not presuppose any particular constraints in the sizing of the supporting structure. This results in great freedom in the design of the supporting structure for a given project with a given storage capacity. The ability to freely choose the diameter of the cylindrical wall, in particular, allows for optimizing the tank's height-to-diameter ratio in order to minimize heat loss while respecting the given capacity.

[0099] The preceding description relates to identical sectoral portions. However, one or more sectoral portions could be different from the others, for example with regard to their angle or the structure of the tank wall or the presence of particular equipment on or in the tank wall.

[0100] Although the invention has been described in connection with several particular embodiments, it is clearly evident that it is by no means limited to them and that it includes all technical equivalents of the means described as well as their combinations if these fall within the scope of the invention.

[0101] The use of the verb "comprise", "comprendre" or "include" and its conjugated forms does not exclude the presence of other elements or steps than those stated in a claim.

[0102] In the claims, any reference sign in parentheses shall not be interpreted as a limitation of the claim.

Claims

1. Demands Liquefied gas storage installation comprising: a load-bearing structure (10) having a cylindrical load-bearing wall (12) and a bottom load-bearing wall (11), the cylindrical load-bearing wall having a vertical generating direction, the bottom load-bearing wall closing the cylindrical load-bearing wall to delimit an internal space (2) of the load-bearing structure, and a sealed and thermally insulated tank installed in the internal space of the load-bearing structure, the tank having a cylindrical tank wall (4) disposed on an internal surface (13) of the cylindrical load-bearing wall, the cylindrical tank wall having a sealed membrane (8) intended to be in contact with a liquefied gas contained in the tank and an insulating barrier (7) disposed between the sealed membrane (8) and the cylindrical load-bearing wall, the insulating barrier having insulating panels (25-28) configured in the form of a plurality of rows of insulating panels,each row of insulating panels comprising insulating panels juxtaposed in the generating direction, the rows of insulating panels being juxtaposed in a circumferential direction of the cylindrical load-bearing wall, the circumferential direction being perpendicular to the generating direction, the insulating panels having first edges parallel to the generating direction and second edges parallel to the circumferential direction, the rows of insulating panels being arranged in the form of a plurality of planar facets, the planar facets being successively rotated by a faceting angle around the generating direction so that an internal surface of the rows of insulating panels defines a cylindrical surface having a polygonal direction curve, the plurality of rows of insulating panels being distributed in the form of a plurality of sectorial portions (41) juxtaposed in the circumferential direction,a said or each sectoral portion (41) being made up of at least one row of adjusting insulating panels (24) and a plurality of rows of regular insulating panels (23) distributed in the circumferential direction on either side of the at least one row of adjusting insulating panels (24), the rows of regular insulating panels of the portion, sectoral having a uniform dimension (L) in the circumferential direction, said or each row of insulating adjustment panels of the sectoral portion having a singular dimension in the circumferential direction, the singular dimension being less than the uniform dimension (L).

2. Liquefied gas storage installation according to claim 1, wherein the rows of current insulating panels (23) of the sector portion are distributed symmetrically in the circumferential direction on either side of at least one row of adjusting insulating panels (24).

3. Liquefied gas storage installation according to claim 2, wherein the number of rows of adjusting insulating panels (24) of said or each sectoral portion is between 1 inclusive and M inclusive, where M denotes an odd integer greater than 1, and the number of rows of current insulating panels of said or each sectoral portion (41) is greater than the number of rows of adjusting insulating panels.

4. Liquefied gas storage installation according to claim 3, wherein the singular dimension of said or each row of adjusting insulating panels is greater than a strictly positive minimum permissible dimension (θ), the minimum permissible dimension being less than a fraction Ml / M of the uniform dimension (L).

5. Liquefied gas storage installation according to claim 3 or 4, wherein said or each sectoral portion comprises two rows of insulating adjustment panels (24) arranged adjacently in the circumferential direction and the singular dimension of the two rows of insulating adjustment panels is equal.

6. Liquefied gas storage installation according to claim 4, wherein said or each sectoral portion comprises a single row of insulating adjustment panels (24) and the singular dimension of said row of insulating adjustment panels is between the minimum permissible dimension (θ) and the uniform dimension (L).

7. Liquefied gas storage installation according to claim 4, wherein said or each sector portion comprises three rows of insulating control panels (24a, 24b) arranged in such a way adjacent in the circumferential direction, the singular dimension of a central row (24b) among the three rows of adjusting insulating panels being equal to the minimum permissible dimension (ô).

8. Liquefied gas storage installation according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the uniform dimension (L) in the circumferential direction is between 0.5 m and 2 m.

9. A liquefied gas storage installation according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the tank comprises a bottom tank wall (3) disposed on an internal surface of the bottom load-bearing wall (11), the bottom tank wall comprising a bottom sealed membrane intended to be in contact with the liquefied gas contained in the tank and a bottom insulating barrier disposed between the bottom sealed membrane and the bottom load-bearing wall, the bottom insulating barrier comprising a plurality of bottom sectoral portions (51) juxtaposed in the circumferential direction of the cylindrical load-bearing wall (12), a sectoral portion (41) of the insulating barrier of the cylindrical tank wall (4) being disposed opposite each bottom sectoral portion (51), each bottom sectoral portion (51) comprising bottom insulating panels configured in the form of a plurality of rows of bottom insulating panels,each row of bottom insulating panels comprising bottom insulating panels (50) juxtaposed in a radial direction of the bottom sectoral portion, the rows of bottom insulating panels being juxtaposed in an orthoradial direction of the bottom sectoral portion, the orthoradial direction being perpendicular to the radial direction, the bottom insulating panels having first edges parallel to the radial direction and second edges parallel to the orthoradial direction, the plurality of rows of bottom insulating panels of said bottom sectoral portion being distributed in the form of at least one central row of bottom insulating panels (58) and a plurality of current rows of bottom insulating panels (52) distributed symmetrically in the orthoradial direction on either side of the at least one central row of bottom insulating panels (58),the rows of standard base insulation panels having a uniform dimension in the ortho-radial direction, said or each central row of base insulation panels, exhibiting a singular dimension in the ortho-radial direction, the singular dimension being less than the uniform dimension.

10. Liquefied gas storage installation according to claim 9, wherein interfaces between the rows of bottom insulating panels of a bottom sectoral portion (51) are offset in the ortho-radial direction of the bottom sectoral portion relative to interfaces between the rows of insulating panels of the sectoral portion (41) disposed opposite the bottom sectoral portion (51).

11. Liquefied gas storage installation according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the number of rows of central bottom insulating panels is between 1 inclusive and 3 inclusive and the number of rows of current bottom insulating panels is greater than the number of rows of central bottom insulating panels.

12. Liquefied gas storage installation according to any one of claims 9 to 11, wherein the singular dimension of said or each row of central bottom insulating panels is greater than 200 mm, preferably greater than 300 mm.

13. Liquefied gas storage installation according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the load-bearing structure (10) is made of concrete.

14. A manufacturing method for manufacturing a liquefied gas storage installation according to any one of claims 1 to 13, the manufacturing method comprising: subdividing the cylindrical load-bearing wall (12) into an integer number of sectorial zones (40) juxtaposed in the circumferential direction, installing the insulating barrier by installing said sectorial portion (41) in each sectorial zone (40) of the cylindrical load-bearing wall, and installing the airtight membrane on the insulating barrier, wherein the installation of a sectorial portion in a sectorial zone of the cylindrical load-bearing wall comprises: installing the rows of standard insulating panels (23) in the form of two subassemblies extending in the circumferential direction from two opposite edges of the sectorial zone (40), until an adjustment zone is obtained between the two subassemblies,the adjustment zone having a dimension (X) less than twice the uniform dimension in the circumferential direction, select a number of rows of adjustment insulating panels and the singular dimension of each row of adjustment insulating panels as a function of the dimension (X) of the adjustment area in the circumferential direction, and install said at least one row of adjustment insulating panels (24, 24a, 24b) in the adjustment area.

15. A manufacturing method according to claim 14, wherein the installation of a sectoral portion (41) in a sectoral area (40) of the cylindrical load-bearing wall further comprises: manufacturing adjustment insulating panels having the singular dimension by cutting insulating panels having said uniform dimension.