Replaceable Liner for Storage Tank Hatch Vapor Seal
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Solution Overview
Problem
Storage tank hatches often fail to maintain a vapor-tight seal due to wear and tear on the rim, leading to leaks and potential environmental and health hazards, with the base being costly and hazardous to replace.
Innovation Solution
A replaceable liner for storage tank hatches with a rim-facing surface and gasket-facing surface, utilizing sealant to create a vapor-tight seal between the liner and the hatch, allowing for easy replacement and adaptation to various hatch geometries.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of repair
If a rubber gasket is used to seal the hatch, then the seal can be easily replaced, but the gasket fails to engage evenly against the worn rim causing vapor leakage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a replaceable liner as an intermediary component between the worn hatch rim and the gasket. The liner has a rim-facing surface that interfaces with the rim and a gasket-facing surface that interfaces with the gasket, mediating the sealing function and protecting the permanent hatch structure from further wear.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the sealing system into three distinct replaceable components: the liner, the gasket, and the sealant application layer. This segmentation allows each component to be independently replaced or maintained, with the liner serving as the structural base that can be replaced without removing the entire hatch assembly.
2Reliability
If the entire hatch base is replaced when the rim is worn, then a new sealing surface is provided, but the replacement is costly and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the hatch assembly into a permanent hatch base and a replaceable liner component. This allows the liner to be replaced independently without removing or replacing the entire hatch base, significantly reducing remediation time and cost while restoring the sealing surface integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a disposable or easily replaceable liner that can be installed and removed multiple times. This sacrificial component protects the expensive permanent hatch base from wear, allowing the liner to be replaced rather than the entire hatch assembly, thereby reducing time and cost losses.
3Reliability
If the hatch base is frequently accessed for repair, then the seal can be maintained, but exposure to air quickens the rate of corrosion
Solution Approach 1:
The replaceable liner acts as a protective intermediary between the hatch rim and the corrosive environment. By concentrating wear and corrosion on the liner rather than the permanent hatch base, the liner can be replaced without exposing the entire hatch assembly to extended air exposure during repair operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies sealant to the rim-facing surface of the liner in advance before installation. This preliminary sealing action prevents vapor leakage and reduces the need for frequent hatch openings, thereby minimizing air exposure and corrosion of the hatch base while maintaining reliable sealing.
4Reliability
If sealant is applied to the rim-facing surface, then a vapor-tight seal is ensured, but the sealant must withstand compression and chemical exposure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a composite sealing approach combining mechanical compression of the gasket against the liner with a chemically resistant sealant applied to the rim-facing surface. This composite sealing system distributes stresses and provides redundant sealing mechanisms, enhancing both the vapor-tight seal and the durability under compression and chemical exposure.
Data Source
AI summary
A replaceable liner is for use with a storage tank hatch having a rim adapted to engage with a gasket within a cover and a neck extending vertically downward from the rim to define an aperture that provides access to an inside of the storage tank. The replaceable liner has a body having a rim-facing surface having a vertical cross sectional shape that conforms to a vertical cross sectional shape of the rim and a horizontal cross sectional shape that conforms to a perimeter of the rim, and a gasket facing surface opposite the rim facing surface. Sealant is provided along the rim facing surface of the body, the rim facing surface of the body adapted to engage the rim in a vapor-tight seal, and the gasket facing surface adapted to engage the gasket in a vapor-tight seal.