Liquefied Gas Pump Tower Support System
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional pump towers in liquefied gas storage tanks face instability due to external forces causing horizontal movement and rotation, which can lead to stress and potential structural issues.
Innovation Solution
A support system for the pump tower that includes a lower body secured to the hull and an upper body secured to the pump tower, with a wedge member interposed between them, allowing vertical displacement while restricting horizontal movement and rotation, ensuring stable support even when the lower end is shaken or rotated.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the pump tower is suspended from the top of the storage tank without direct securing to the bottom, then the pump tower can cope with dimensional change due to thermal deformation, but the pump tower becomes unstable under external forces causing horizontal movement and rotation
Solution Approach 1:
A support structure acts as an intermediary between the pump tower and the storage tank bottom. This support includes a lower body secured to the hull bottom and an upper body connected to the pump tower, providing stable support while allowing controlled movement. The intermediary support structure resolves the contradiction by providing both stability and adaptability to thermal deformation.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the lower end of the pump tower is freely movable to accommodate thermal deformation, then thermal expansion is accommodated, but the pump tower experiences excessive horizontal movement and rotation under external forces
Solution Approach 1:
The support structure employs dynamic characteristics by allowing the pump tower to move vertically while restricting horizontal movement and rotation. The support can adapt its degree of freedom based on the type of movement, permitting thermal deformation in the vertical direction while preventing harmful horizontal displacements and rotations under external forces.
Solution Approach 2:
The support structure applies different constraints to different directions of movement. It allows vertical displacement for thermal expansion while restricting horizontal movement and rotation. This localized quality approach resolves the contradiction by treating different spatial dimensions differently based on their functional requirements.
3Stability of the object's composition
If the pump tower is rigidly fixed at both top and bottom, then horizontal stability is improved, but the pump tower cannot accommodate thermal deformation and dimensional changes
Solution Approach 1:
The support system is segmented into distinct functional components: a lower body for stable mounting to the hull, an upper body for connection to the pump tower, and intermediate elements that provide controlled movement. This segmentation allows different parts to fulfill different functions - providing stability where needed and flexibility where thermal deformation occurs.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is a pump tower disposed inside a liquefied gas storage tank so as to supply or discharge liquefied gas to/from the inside of the liquefied gas storage tank. The pump tower includes a discharge pipe for discharging the liquefied gas in the liquefied gas storage tank, an emergency pipe equipped with an emergency pump at the lower end thereof, and a charge pipe for supplying the liquefied gas into the liquefied gas storage tank. The pump tower further includes a support provided on the bottom of the liquefied gas storage tank for enabling the vertical displacement of the pump tower and restricting the horizontal movement and rotation thereof. The support includes a lower body fixed to a hull side, an upper body fixed to a pump tower side and a wedge member interposed between the lower body and the upper body.