Underground Fluid Storage With Suspended Tanks and Axial Clearance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing underground fluid storage systems face challenges in maintenance complexity due to cement fixation, which complicates container extraction and increases leakage risk, especially for high-pressure gases like hydrogen, and lack the ability to store multiple fluids at different pressures in a single device.
Innovation Solution
The system employs suspended tanks secured to a support element without cement, using threaded metal tubes with axial clearance to absorb thermal expansion, allowing easy assembly and disassembly, and incorporates independent fluid supply and monitoring systems for each tank.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If containers are fixed in cement and attached to anchoring element, then containers are securely held in place, but maintenance operations become complex and container extraction is prevented
Solution Approach 1:
The storage system is divided into separate modular containers that can be independently handled. Each container is a self-contained unit that can be removed and replaced without affecting the structural integrity of the borehole or other containers, enabling simple maintenance operations while maintaining overall system stability.
Solution Approach 2:
A retrieval device acts as an intermediary tool between the operator and the containers. This device engages with features on the containers (such as lugs or flanges) to provide a mechanical interface for extraction and replacement, making maintenance operations feasible without requiring destruction of the cement structure.
2Stability of the object's composition
If containers are fixed in cement, then containers remain stationary, but significant compression work is applied to container walls increasing leakage risk
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses multiple separate containers instead of a single large fixed structure. This segmentation allows each container to be optimally sized and shaped to minimize stress concentrations, and the modular arrangement distributes mechanical loads more evenly, reducing compression work on individual container walls and thereby lowering leakage risk.
Solution Approach 2:
The container support system transitions from a static cement-fixed arrangement to a dynamic system where containers can be moved by the retrieval device. This enables containers to be repositioned or replaced without excessive force, preventing the buildup of harmful compression stresses that would increase leakage risk.
3Volume of stationary object
If single borehole is used for storage, then space utilization is efficient, but ability to store multiple fluids at different pressures is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The single borehole is divided into multiple separate container compartments, each capable of storing different fluids at different pressures. This segmentation allows independent pressure control and fluid management for each container while maintaining efficient use of the underground space, thereby achieving both space efficiency and multi-fluid versatility.
Solution Approach 2:
The retrieval device is designed with universal capabilities to handle multiple types of containers storing different fluids. The device can selectively engage with and manipulate various container configurations, enabling a single borehole system to store and manage multiple fluids with different pressure requirements through one versatile access point.
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
Facilitates safe and efficient storage of large quantities of high-pressure fluids, including hydrogen, with reduced leakage risk and simplified maintenance, enabling storage of multiple fluids under specific conditions in a single system.
Implementation Method 1
the axial clearance prevents, during such operations, axial thermal expansion from causing the compression of the tank against the bottom of the recess
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to an underground storage system (1) for fluid storage, comprising a recess (2) having a bottom (3), a support element (4) comprising at least one opening (7) suitable for receiving an assembly element (18), at least one tank (10) having a longitudinal axis (l), a lower end (14) and an upper end (12), a first closure means (16) suitable for closing the tank (10) at its lower end (14), and a second closure means (17) suitable for closing the tank (10) at its upper end (12), the upper end (12) being suitable for being assembled to the support element (4) via the assembly element (18) so that the tank (10) is suspended inside the recess (2) and an axial clearance (G) suitable for absorbing an axial thermal expansion of the tank (10) remains between the first closure means (16) and the bottom (3).