Modular Storage Tank Segmentation for Sloshing Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing storage tanks for large quantities of fluids like LNG face limitations due to hydrostatic and dynamic loads, leading to reduced capacity and increased risk of damage during transportation, especially in large ocean carriers, where conventional tanks suffer from 'sloshing' issues and require either partial filling to avoid damage.
Innovation Solution
A modular storage tank design featuring rigid tubular walls with interconnected segments, bulkheads, and exterior support structures to manage dynamic loads and enhance structural integrity, allowing for efficient storage and transportation of large volumes of fluids while maintaining structural integrity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If large side-to-side membrane-type tanks are used to increase storage capacity, then the holding capacity increases, but the tank suffers from sloshing damage and requires partial filling to avoid damage
Solution Approach 1:
The tank is divided into multiple compartments by bulkheads, with each compartment filled to a controlled level. This segmentation prevents uncontrolled sloshing across the entire tank while maintaining high overall storage capacity. The bulkheads create individual chambers that limit fluid movement and reduce dynamic loads on the tank walls.
2Productivity
If the tank is filled to high capacity to maximize storage efficiency, then productivity increases, but the dynamic loads from sloshing increase and risk tank damage
Solution Approach 1:
By dividing the tank into compartments with bulkheads, the fluid in each compartment has limited movement space. This reduces the magnitude of dynamic loads on tank walls while allowing the tank to be filled to high overall capacity. The segmentation constraint prevents catastrophic sloshing even when the tank is nearly full.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the physical configuration parameter by adding bulkheads that create restricted flow paths. This modifies the fluid dynamics within the tank, reducing the amplitude and impact of sloshing movements while maintaining high fill levels for maximum productivity.
3Device complexity
If conventional tank designs are used, then the design is simple, but the effective holding capacity is limited to avoid sloshing damage
Solution Approach 1:
The addition of bulkheads segments the tank interior into multiple chambers. This relatively simple structural modification enables the tank to be filled to high capacity without excessive sloshing, dramatically increasing effective holding capacity while adding minimal complexity to the overall design.
Data Source
AI summary
A large volume natural gas storage tank comprises rigid tubular walls having closed tubular cross-sections that are interconnected at opposing ends with two other rigid tubular walls such that interiors of the rigid tubular walls define an interior fluid storage chamber. The storage tank also includes bulkheads positioned in the interior fluid storage chamber across intermediate segments of the rigid tubular walls and closure plates connected between exterior surfaces of successive interconnected rigid tubular walls to define sides of the storage tank. Interior surfaces of the closure plates and exterior surfaces of the rigid tubular walls define an auxiliary fluid storage chamber. The storage tank also includes exterior support structures extending through the closure plates and between the exterior surfaces of the rigid tubular walls on some of the sides of the storage tank to reinforce the storage tank against dynamic loading from fluid in the interior fluid storage chamber.