Vacuum insulation tank support and protection apparatus

Abstract

The present invention relates to a support and protection apparatus capable of stably supporting and protecting a membrane-type tank from among cryogenic tanks for storing and transporting cryogenic liquefied gas. The objective of the present invention is to provide a vacuum insulation tank support and protection apparatus, which has panels and support structures respectively on the upper surface and the side surfaces of the tank, so as to stably support and protect the tank from various risk factors such as external impact and tilting of the hull.

Description

Support protection device for vacuum insulation tanks

[0001] The present invention relates to a support and protection device for a vacuum insulation tank, and more specifically, to a support and protection device capable of stably supporting and protecting a cryogenic tank for storing and transporting liquefied gas in an ultra-low temperature state.

[0002] Generally, liquefied natural gas (LNG) refers to a colorless, transparent, ultra-low temperature liquid obtained by cooling natural gas, which is primarily composed of methane, to -162°C to reduce its volume to one-six hundredth of its original size. As LNG is utilized as an energy resource, various studies have been conducted to safely transport and store it. Specifically, LNG storage tanks must be constructed from materials capable of withstanding ultra-low temperatures (such as aluminum alloys, stainless steel, and 35% nickel steel) to store LNG, which has a boiling point of -160°C and a medium pressure higher than atmospheric pressure. Additionally, designs capable of responding to thermal stress and thermal shrinkage, as well as the installation of insulation structures to prevent heat intrusion, are required.

[0003] Recently, hydrogen has been serving as an energy carrier for renewable energy, leading to an increase in demand for hydrogen. Specifically, solar and wind energy are used as energy sources to produce hydrogen by electrolyzing water, and this hydrogen must be liquefied and stored in liquid hydrogen tanks for long-term use and long-distance transportation. At this time, since liquid hydrogen has a boiling point of minus 250°C, which is lower than that of liquefied natural gas, it requires more careful design to be applicable in environments with lower temperatures than those where liquefied natural gas is used.

[0004] As such, cryogenic tanks for storing liquefied natural gas or liquefied hydrogen can be classified into membrane type and self-supporting type depending on their structure. As disclosed in Korean Published Patent Application No. 10-2017-0116584 (Sealed tank having a corrugated sealing membrane, Oct. 19, 2017), the inner surface of the tank in which liquefied gas is stored utilizes a corrugated thin membrane sheet made of stainless steel to enable thermal contraction in response to thermal deformation caused by the liquefied gas. It is formed to include an insulating layer covering the outer surface to support the membrane sheet and a secondary barrier supported by the hull of the transport vessel, so that the hull supports the pressure generated inside the tank. The self-supporting tank constitutes an independent device in itself and includes a self-supporting body to enable independent installation. Standalone tanks have walls with higher strength than membrane tanks, and while they have disadvantages such as increased weight and higher manufacturing costs, they have the advantage of being more stable and sturdy compared to membrane tanks.

[0005] Figure 1 briefly illustrates a typical membrane-type vacuum-insulated tank. As previously explained, membrane-type tanks have walls made of corrugated thin membrane sheets. However, even if surrounded by insulation materials, there is a significant risk that the outer surface may be damaged by various external impacts. On land, causes include dust (stone dust), hail, and damage to surrounding structures, while at sea, causes may include hail, waves, and damage to surrounding structures. Furthermore, particularly at sea, vessels carrying tanks tilt in various directions due to waves; if the tank is not stably supported in this situation, risks such as damage due to its own weight may arise. Thus, a device is absolutely necessary to more stably protect and support membrane-type tanks from such diverse and unpredictable external impacts.

[0006] [Prior Art Literature]

[0007] [Patent Literature]

[0008] (Patent Document 1) Korean Published Patent Application No. 10-2017-0116584 (Sealed tank having a corrugated sealing membrane, Oct. 19, 2017)

[0009] Accordingly, the present invention has been devised to solve the problems of the prior art as described above. The objective of the present invention is to provide a support and protection device for a vacuum insulation tank that stably supports and protects a membrane-type vacuum insulation tank while having a simple structure. More specifically, the objective of the present invention is to provide a support and protection device for a vacuum insulation tank that stably supports and protects the tank from various risk factors, such as external impact and hull tilting, by providing a panel and a support structure on the upper surface and side of the tank, respectively.

[0010] A support protection device (100) of the present invention for achieving the above-mentioned purpose, which supports and protects a vacuum insulation tank (500) in which fluid is stored, may include: an upper surface panel (110) formed in a planar shape parallel to the upper surface of the vacuum insulation tank (500); a plurality of upper support members (115) interposed between the upper surface of the vacuum insulation tank (500) and the lower surface of the upper surface panel (110) to support the upper surface of the vacuum insulation tank (500); a pair of side panels (120) formed in a planar shape parallel to a pair of sides of the vacuum insulation tank (500); and a truss support member (125) supporting a pair of side corners of the upper surface panel (110) and the side panels (120).

[0011] At this time, the vacuum insulation tank (500) is formed in the shape of a rectangular prism, wherein the direction parallel to the direction of gravity is the up-down direction, the direction of extension of the relatively longer of the two vertical directions excluding the up-down direction of the vacuum insulation tank (500) is the front-back direction, and the remaining direction perpendicular to the up-down direction and the front-back direction is the left-right direction, and the side panel (120) may be provided in the left-right direction to protect the side in the left-right direction that has a relatively larger area among the sides of the vacuum insulation tank (500).

[0012] In addition, the upper panel (110) may be formed as a double-wall structure having an empty space formed inside, comprising an upper plane and a lower plane spaced apart in the vertical direction, and a plurality of support planes that support the vertical spacing and extend in the left-right or front-back direction and are arranged in parallel.

[0013] At this time, the upper support member (115) can be fixedly provided on the lower plane of the upper panel (110) which has a double-wall structure.

[0014] In addition, the upper support members (115) may be arranged such that a plurality of them are spaced apart in the front and rear directions.

[0015] At this time, the upper support member (115) can be positioned at the left-right center position of the vacuum insulation tank (500) when forming only a single row.

[0016] In addition, the truss support (125) may be formed in a combined form of multiple bars that are truss structures and extend in at least two directions selected from the up-down direction, the front-back direction, and the diagonal direction of the up-down-front-back plane.

[0017] According to the present invention, there is a significant effect in that a membrane-type vacuum insulation tank can be stably supported and protected with a simple structure. More specifically, according to the present invention, by providing a panel and a support structure on the upper surface and side of the vacuum insulation tank, respectively, the tank can be stably supported and protected from various risk factors such as external impact and hull tilting. In particular, since the support and protection device of the present invention is made of a simple structure, there are few spatial limitations or economic issues regarding installation, and it has the advantage of being applicable anywhere regardless of the environment, such as on land or at sea.

[0018] Fig. 1 is a typical membrane-type vacuum-insulated tank.

[0019] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the usage state of the support protection device of the present invention.

[0020] FIG. 3 is a front view of the use state of the support protection device of the present invention.

[0021] FIG. 4 is a side view of the usage state of the support protection device of the present invention.

[0022] FIG. 5 is a side view of the usage state of the support protection device of the present invention.

[0023] FIG. 6 is an exploded view of the support protection device of the present invention.

[0024] FIG. 7 is an exploded enlarged view of the support protection device of the present invention.

[0025] FIG. 8 is a front view of the stress distribution in the usage state of the support protection device of the present invention.

[0026] FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the stress distribution in the usage state of the support protection device of the present invention.

[0027]

[0028] **Explanation of Symbols**

[0029] 100 : Support protection device

[0030] 110 : Top panel

[0031] 115 : Upper support

[0032] 120 : Side panel

[0033] 125 : Truss support

[0034] 500 : Vacuum insulated tank

[0035] 550 : Lower support

[0036] Hereinafter, a support protection device for a vacuum insulation tank according to the present invention having the configuration as described above will be explained in detail with reference to the attached drawings.

[0037]

[0038] FIGS. 2 to 4 are a perspective view, a front view, and a side view, respectively, of the use state of the support protection device of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a part of FIG. 4. FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the support protection device of the present invention, and FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of a part of FIG. 6. With reference to FIGS. 2 to 7, the support protection device (100) of the vacuum insulation tank (500) of the present invention will be described in detail.

[0039] The support protection device (100) of the present invention is a device for supporting and protecting a vacuum insulation tank (500) in which a fluid is stored. As previously described, the vacuum insulation tank (500) is intended to store ultra-low temperature fluids such as liquefied natural gas, liquefied hydrogen, etc., and may be a membrane-type tank widely used as such a vacuum insulation tank (500). As shown in FIGS. 2 to 5, the tank wall of the membrane-type tank is made of a thin film and has shapes such as wrinkles and irregularities formed on it, so that it can more flexibly cope with thermal deformation, such as the tank shrinking while accommodating ultra-low temperature fluid or the tank expanding due to heat inflow from the outside. However, conversely, there is also a problem that there is a high risk of damage due to external impact because the tank wall is made of a thin film. The support protection device (100) of the present invention is intended to solve this problem.

[0040] Most safely, the problem of external impact could be solved by surrounding the vacuum insulation tank (500) with a separate box-shaped protective cover made of a hard and strong material. However, generally, the vacuum insulation tank (500) is equipped in ships that transport liquefied gas, and in the case of ships, there is a problem that the fuel required for movement increases as the weight increases. Therefore, there is a major limitation that excessive additional weight cannot be added to a device merely intended to protect the tank.

[0041]

[0042] Considering these various factors, the support protection device (100) of the present invention is formed with a structure that can sufficiently support and protect the vacuum insulation tank (500) while minimizing weight increase. As shown in FIGS. 2 to 7, the support protection device (100) of the present invention basically includes an upper surface panel (110), an upper support body (115), a side panel (120), and a truss support body (125). First, each part is briefly described as follows.

[0043] The upper surface panel (110) is formed in a flat shape parallel to the upper surface of the vacuum insulation tank (500). The upper surface panel (110) serves to protect the upper surface of the vacuum insulation tank (500) from external impact by covering it, and also serves as a support for the upper support body (115) to be fixedly supported, which will be described below.

[0044] The upper support member (115) is provided interposed between the upper surface of the vacuum insulation tank (500) and the lower surface of the upper panel (110) to support the upper surface of the vacuum insulation tank (500). The upper support member (115) may be provided in multiple numbers, not just a single one.

[0045] The above side panel (120) is formed in a planar shape parallel to a pair of sides of the vacuum insulation tank (500). Here, the vacuum insulation tank (500) is formed in the shape of a rectangular prism, and the direction parallel to the direction of gravity is defined as the up-down direction, the direction of extension of the relatively longer of the two vertical directions excluding the up-down direction of the vacuum insulation tank (500) is defined as the front-back direction, and the remaining direction perpendicular to the up-down direction and the front-back direction is defined as the left-right direction (in all FIGS. 2 to 7, the up-down direction, front-back direction, and left-right direction are indicated according to these criteria, and in the coordinate system shown in FIGS. 2 to 7, the X-axis direction corresponds to the left-right direction, the Y-axis direction corresponds to the up-down direction, and the Z-axis direction corresponds to the front-back direction). At this time, it is preferable that the side panel (120) be provided in the left-right direction so as to protect the left-right side having a relatively larger area among the sides of the vacuum insulation tank (500). The above side panel (120), like the above top panel (110), serves to protect the side of the vacuum insulation tank (500) from external impact by covering it. Meanwhile, in this case, the front and rear sides are exposed. Since such an open space is required for equipment or workers to enter and exit the vacuum insulation tank (500) to inject or exit fluid, or for moving the vacuum insulation tank (500) itself, the front and rear sides can be used for this purpose. Additionally, as previously explained, the vacuum insulation tank (500) is generally often equipped on ships, and considering that ships have a space that extends long in one direction, measures such as arranging other equipment in the front and rear directions to provide support may be introduced.

[0046] The above truss support (125) serves to support a pair of side corners of the upper panel (110) and the side panel (120). As shown in the illustration, the truss support (125) is formed by interlacing flat steel plates having a straight cross-section, and thus has a large amount of empty space, so it is structurally stable without being very heavy, making it very suitable for supporting the upper panel (110) and the side panel (120).

[0047]

[0048] The following describes the more detailed configuration of each part.

[0049] The upper panel (110) is preferably formed as a double-wall structure with an internal empty space, as shown in the exploded perspective view of FIGS. 6 and FIGS. 7. More specifically, the upper panel (110) may include an upper plane and a lower plane spaced apart in the vertical direction, and a plurality of support planes that support the vertical spacing and extend in the horizontal or front-back direction and are arranged in parallel. Also, as shown, the upper plane and the lower plane may be formed in a form where a plurality of plane pieces are connected. In the case of the support planes, considering that the left and right corners of the upper panel (110) are supported by the truss support body (125), it is preferable for them to be in a form that extends long in the horizontal direction, as in the example of FIG. 6. Additionally, to further reduce the weight of the upper panel (110), a plurality of weight-reducing holes may be formed on the support planes as shown.

[0050] As such, by making the upper panel (110) in a form that has an internal empty space, not only can the weight be reduced, but the connection with the upper support (115) can also be made more robust. When the upper panel (110) has such a structure, the upper support (115) is fixedly provided on the lower plane of the upper panel (110), which has a double-wall structure. At this time, a robust connection is possible by forming a through hole in the lower plane and connecting it to the upper support (115) with bolts. If the upper panel (110) is formed in a single plane shape, there is a risk that such a through hole may have an adverse effect on the overall structural stability. However, when the upper panel (110) is formed as a double-wall structure as described above, the lower plane is connected to the upper plane by a support plane and thus has a different support structure, so even if post-processing such as forming a through hole is performed, the overall structural stability of the upper panel (110) is not significantly reduced.

[0051] Meanwhile, the upper support member (115) serves to support the upper part of the vacuum insulation tank (500) as previously explained. In particular, when the vacuum insulation tank (500) is installed on a ship, significant shaking of the ship may occur. Even in the case of land-based facilities, which can be considered relatively much more stable, the risk of shaking in the left and right directions, such as earthquakes, is not completely eliminated. Naturally, a lower support member (550) is provided at the bottom of the vacuum insulation tank (500) for stable connection with the ground or the bottom of the facility target, such as a ship, but it is difficult to cope with such left and right shaking with the lower support member (550) alone. At this time, the upper support member (115) fixes and supports the upper part of the vacuum insulation tank (500), so that the vacuum insulation tank (500) can be supported much more stably even if such left and right shaking occurs.

[0052] In particular, to cope more stably with such left-right shaking, it is preferable that the upper support members (115) be arranged in a row spaced apart in the front-rear direction, as shown in FIGS. 4, 6, and 7. Of course, if many of these upper support members (115) are provided, more stable support is possible, but if too many of the upper support members (115) are provided, there may also be problems such as increased weight. Therefore, to achieve maximum effect with the minimum number, the upper support members (115) are arranged to form only a single row, and in this case, as shown in FIGS. 3, 6, and 7, it is preferable that the row formed by the upper support members (115) be positioned at the center of the left-right direction of the vacuum insulation tank (500).

[0053] As previously explained, the truss support (125) is formed in a truss structure, that is, in a form where flat steel plates having a straight cross-section are interwoven. At this time, in order to support the upper panel (110), a bar shape extending in the vertical direction must naturally be included. Meanwhile, the side panel (120) is formed to cover the left-right side having a larger area among the two pairs of sides of the vacuum insulation tank (500), and accordingly, the side panel (120) has the longest shape in the front-rear direction. In this regard, it is preferable for the truss support (125) to include a bar shape extending in the front-rear direction. Alternatively, it is acceptable to include a bar shape extending diagonally in the vertical and vertical directions so as to support both the vertical and front-rear directions, without the need for it to extend only in the front-rear direction. That is, the truss support (125) can be formed in a combined form of multiple bars that are truss structures and extend in at least two directions selected from the up-down direction, the front-back direction, and the diagonal direction of the up-down-front-back plane. FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate an example in which the truss support (125) is formed in a combined form of three bars extending in the up-down direction and two bars extending in the diagonal direction intersecting each other.

[0054]

[0055] FIG. 8 illustrates a front view of the stress distribution in the usage state of the support protection device of the present invention, and FIG. 9 illustrates a perspective view of the stress distribution in the usage state of the support protection device of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 8 and FIG. 9, the vacuum insulation tank (500) installed on the ship can be tilted up to about 30° in the left and right directions. By designing each part of the support protection device (100) to have sufficient strength through this stress distribution analysis, it is possible to ensure that only stress below the allowable stress occurs in each part even in extreme situations as shown in FIG. 8 and FIG. 9, and ultimately, the vacuum insulation tank (500) can be supported and protected very stably.

[0056]

[0057] The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and has a diverse scope of application. Furthermore, it is understood that anyone with ordinary knowledge in the field to which the present invention pertains can make various modifications without departing from the essence of the invention as claimed in the claims.

[0058] According to the present invention, a membrane-type vacuum insulation tank can be stably supported and protected with a simple structure. Accordingly, there are fewer spatial limitations or economic issues regarding installation, so it can be applied anywhere regardless of the environment, such as on land or at sea.

Claims

1. In a support protection device (100) that supports and protects a vacuum insulation tank (500) in which a fluid is stored, An upper surface panel (110) formed in a flat shape parallel to the upper surface of the above vacuum insulation tank (500); A plurality of upper support members (115) interposed between the upper surface of the vacuum insulation tank (500) and the lower surface of the upper surface panel (110) to support the upper surface of the vacuum insulation tank (500); A pair of side panels (120) formed in a planar shape parallel to a pair of sides of the above vacuum insulation tank (500); A pair of side corners of the upper panel (110) and a truss support (125) supporting the side panel (120); A support protection device for a vacuum insulation tank characterized by including 2. In Paragraph 1, When the above vacuum insulation tank (500) is formed in the shape of a rectangular prism, and the direction parallel to the direction of gravity is the up-down direction, the direction of extension of the relatively longer of the two vertical directions excluding the up-down direction of the vacuum insulation tank (500) is the front-back direction, and the remaining direction perpendicular to the up-down direction and the front-back direction is the left-right direction, A support and protection device for a vacuum insulation tank, characterized in that the side panel (120) is provided in the left and right directions to protect the side of the vacuum insulation tank (500) that has a relatively larger area among the sides of the vacuum insulation tank (500).

3. In Clause 2, the upper surface panel (110) is, Includes an upper plane and a lower plane spaced apart in the vertical direction, and a plurality of support planes that support the vertical spacing and extend in the left-right or front-back direction and are arranged in parallel. A support and protection device for a vacuum insulation tank characterized by being formed as a double-walled structure with an internal empty space.

4. In paragraph 3, the upper support (115) is, A support and protection device for a vacuum insulation tank, characterized by being fixedly provided on the lower plane of the upper panel (110) having a double-wall structure.

5. In Clause 2, the upper support body (115) is, A support protection device for a vacuum insulation tank characterized by multiple units being arranged spaced apart in the front-rear direction.

6. In claim 5, the upper support body (115) is, A support protection device for a vacuum insulation tank, characterized by being positioned at the left-right center position of the vacuum insulation tank (500) when forming only a single row.

7. In Clause 2, the truss support (125) is, A support and protection device for a vacuum insulation tank, characterized by being formed in a combined form of multiple bars having a truss structure that extend in at least two directions selected from the up-down direction, the front-back direction, and the diagonal direction of the up-down-front-back plane.

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