Extrusion Welded Corner Profiles for Tank Liners
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional tank lining processes face challenges such as air entrapment, creasing, and premature cracking due to the labor-intensive and inconsistent nature of drop-in liners and bonded-to-metal linings, leading to leaks and reduced service life, especially at internal corners where high-quality welds are difficult to achieve.
Innovation Solution
The introduction of corner profiles and reinforcement using extrusion welding with a member positioned within the internal corner of the tank, which changes the corner profile to a non-perpendicular shape, allowing for continuous higher quality extrusion welds between adjacent side and bottom lining sheets, reducing leaks and increasing the service life of the tank.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional drop-in liners or bonded-to-metal linings are used, then the tank can be lined with protective material, but air entrapment, creasing, and premature cracking occur leading to leaks and reduced service life
Solution Approach 1:
The tank surface is divided into discrete panels that are separately formed and then joined together. Each panel can be independently manufactured with consistent quality, avoiding the creasing and air entrapment problems of continuous liner installation. The segmented panels are joined using extrusion welding to create a seamless appearance while maintaining structural integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The conventional mechanical installation process (dropping in liners, manual bonding) is replaced with a formed panel system that uses extrusion welding. This substitution eliminates the need for manual positioning and bonding operations that cause air entrapment and creasing, while the extrusion welding process provides more reliable joints.
2Ease of manufacture
If manual flat strip welds and corner strip welds are used for bonded-to-metal linings, then the lining can be assembled, but the labor-intensive process results in inconsistent weld quality and gaps at corners
Solution Approach 1:
The panels are pre-formed with integrated corner profiles before assembly. The corner profiles are manufactured with precise geometry to ensure proper fit and alignment during assembly. This preliminary formation of corners eliminates the need for manual corner strip welding and ensures consistent weld quality throughout the structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The welding process parameters are standardized through extrusion welding, which provides consistent temperature, pressure, and material flow control. This replaces the variable manual welding process with an automated process that maintains consistent quality across all joints, including corners.
3Device complexity
If perpendicular corner profiles are used, then the tank structure is simple, but high-quality welds are difficult to achieve at internal corners
Solution Approach 1:
The corner profile uses an asymmetric design with a radius of curvature at the internal corner. This asymmetric shape with a rounded interior corner allows welding tools to access and weld the corner area more effectively compared to a sharp perpendicular corner. The asymmetric profile maintains structural integrity while enabling high-quality welds.
Solution Approach 2:
The internal corner of the panel is formed with a radius of curvature rather than a sharp perpendicular angle. This curvature allows welding equipment to maintain proper contact and heat distribution at the corner joint, enabling high-quality extrusion welds that would be difficult to achieve at a sharp 90-degree corner.
4Productivity
If multiple welding operations are required at corners, then the lining can be assembled, but the number of welds increases leading to more potential leak points
Solution Approach 1:
The corner profile integrates multiple functions into a single component: it provides structural support, creates the corner geometry, and serves as the welding surface for joining panels. This merging of functions into the corner profile itself reduces the number of separate welding operations needed, as the extrusion weld can be applied continuously along the panel edges including at corners.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution eliminates gaps and pinholes, enhances the reliability of the lining, and reduces the number of required welds, resulting in a more durable and long-lasting tank lining system with improved resistance to corrosion and fluid pressure.
Implementation Method 1
adjacent side and bottom lining sheets along an inside bottom corner of the tank by extrusion welding
Implementation Method 2
extrusion welding with a member positioned within the internal corner
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure relates to corner profiles and/or corner reinforcement for liners and linings that are suitable for use with tanks and other storage/containment vessels, such as process tanks, immersion tanks, indoor or outdoor containment pits, gravity feed conduits (e.g., concrete trench, canal, or drain, etc.) for transferring or conveying liquid, grain storage tanks or containers (e.g., dielectric or electrically non-conductive liners for grain storage, etc.), etc. The present disclosure also relates to tanks and other storage/containment vessels including liners and linings with corner profiles and/or corner reinforcement. Additionally, the present disclosure relates to methods, systems, and apparatus for providing corner profiles and/or corner reinforcement for liners and linings.