Flat Panel Storage Tank with External Cable Arms
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current fluid storage tanks, particularly those used in oil and gas drilling, face challenges in accommodating non-circular shapes due to terrain limitations and require additional structural support to resist hydrostatic pressure, which often interferes with the use of liners.
Innovation Solution
A fluid storage tank design featuring a stadium or obround shape with straight side panels and semicircular ends, supported by tension members that span the panels without interfering with the liner, utilizing cable arms and tension members to provide structural integrity while allowing for liner installation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If tension members are attached to inside walls of the tank to provide structural reinforcement against hydrostatic pressure, then the tank walls gain resistance to bowing, but a liner cannot be installed in the tank
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the conventional approach by attaching cable arms to the outside of the tank walls rather than the inside. The cable arms extend outward from the end panels and side panels, with tension members spanning between these external cable arms, thereby providing structural reinforcement while leaving the interior surface smooth and compatible with liner installation.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the tank is designed in a non-circular shape to accommodate terrain limitations, then the tank can be installed on restricted jobsites, but the resistance to hydrostatic pressure is decreased
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates curved wall sections at the ends of the tank, forming a stadium or obround shape with semicircular or curved end panels. This curved geometry provides inherent structural strength to resist hydrostatic pressure while maintaining the elongated non-circular shape needed for terrain accommodation. The curved sections work in conjunction with the external cable arm bracing system to maintain structural integrity.
3Quantity of substance
If the height of the storage tank is increased to increase holding capacity, then the tank can store more fluid, but the hydrostatic pressure exerted on the tank walls increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the tank wall structure into modular components including end panels, side panels, and external cable arms that can be independently assembled. This segmentation allows for increased tank height and capacity while distributing the hydrostatic pressure loads across multiple discrete structural elements, with the cable arms providing additional external support to counteract the increased pressure from greater fluid height.
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 design enables efficient storage and transportation of fracturing fluids by maintaining structural integrity against hydrostatic pressure without compromising the use of liners, thus addressing the limitations of traditional circular tank designs.
Implementation Method 1
resist hydrostatic pressure
Implementation Method 2
upper tension members spanning between the curved wall sections of the storage tank
Data Source
AI summary
A fluid storage tank includes a plurality of end panels defining a plurality of curved wall sections and a plurality of side panels extending between and connecting the plurality of curved wall sections. The plurality of end panels and plurality of side panels define a perimeter wall. The fluid storage tank further includes a plurality of cable arms, each of the cable arms connected to a flange of at least one of the plurality of end panels or side panels, and at least one upper tension member having a first end connected to one of the plurality of cable arms and a second end connected to another of the plurality of cable arms.