KR-20260062145-A - Support structure of double vacuum insulated spherical cryogenic cargo storage tank

Abstract

The present invention relates to a support structure for a cargo storage tank that can easily seat an inner tank on an outer tank, effectively respond to thermal shrinkage of the inner tank caused by cryogenic temperatures, and minimize external heat inflow. More specifically, the invention relates to a support structure for a cargo storage tank comprising an inner tank, an outer tank that surrounds the inner tank to form an insulating layer on the outside of the inner tank, and a plurality of radially provided support means to support the inner tank and the outer tank so as to maintain the insulating layer area. Each of the support means comprises an upper support member formed on the outer surface of the inner tank and a lower support member formed to be connected to the outer surface of the outer tank, wherein the upper portion is seated on the upper support member and the lower portion is supported on the ground. The surface portion between the lower support member and the upper support member is shaped to have a wedge structure that allows for sliding movement and is seated accordingly.

Inventors

• 천병희
• 박창열
• 김대희
• 박윤서
• 박성우

Assignees

• 한화오션 주식회사

Dates

Publication Date

20260507

Application Date

20241025

Claims (4)

1. A support structure for a cargo storage tank comprising an inner tank (100), an outer tank (200) that surrounds the inner tank (100) to form an insulating layer (300) on the outside of the inner tank (100), and a plurality of supporting means (400) radially provided to support the inner tank (100) and the outer tank (200) so as to maintain the area of the insulating layer (300). Each of the above support means (400) is An upper support member (410) formed on the outer surface of the inner tank (100); and It includes a lower support member (420) formed to be connected to the outer surface of the outer tank (200) so that the upper portion is seated on the upper support member (410) and the lower portion is supported on the ground; A support structure for a double vacuum-insulated spherical cryogenic cargo storage tank, characterized in that the contact portion between the lower support member (420) and the upper support member (410) is shaped to have a wedge structure that allows for sliding movement.
2. In paragraph 1, The upper support member (410) above An upper structure (411) formed on the outer surface of the inner tank (100) opposite to the lower support member (420), with an upper insert (413) formed on the lower side; and It includes an upper support body (415) made of a non-metallic material that is formed in the shape of a polyhedron, wherein the upper part is inserted in shape-matching with the upper insert (413), and the lower part is seated in shape-matching with the lower support member (420); A support structure for a double vacuum-insulated spherical cryogenic cargo storage tank, characterized in that the lower part of the upper support body (415) is wedge-shaped with at least one protrusion (417) formed therein.
3. In paragraph 1, The lower support member (420) above A lower structure (421) formed to have a predetermined length so as to be connected to the outer surface of the outer tank (200) opposite to the upper support member (410), wherein the upper part has a lower insert (423) formed thereon and the lower part is supported on the ground; and A lower support member (425) made of a non-metallic material that is formed in the shape of a polyhedron, wherein the lower part is inserted in shape-matching with the lower insert member (423), and the upper part contacts the upper support member (410) in shape-matching; A support structure for a double vacuum-insulated spherical cryogenic cargo storage tank, characterized in that the upper part of the lower support body (425) has at least one insertion groove (427) formed therein.
4. In paragraph 1, The lower support member (420) and the upper support member (410) that meet in a wedge structure are A support structure for a double vacuum-insulated spherical cryogenic cargo storage tank, characterized by being inclined upwardly from the inner tank (100) toward the outer tank (200).

Description

Support structure of double vacuum insulated spherical cryogenic cargo storage tank The present invention relates to a support structure for a cargo storage tank that allows the inner tank to be easily seated on the outer tank, effectively responds to thermal shrinkage of the inner tank caused by cryogenic temperatures, and minimizes the inflow of external heat. Generally, liquefied gas is transported in a gaseous state through onshore or offshore gas pipelines, or stored and transported in the state of cryogenic liquefied gas (hereinafter referred to as "LNG") using storage tanks. To safely and efficiently store such LNG, a storage tank with high insulation properties and sufficient rigidity against cryogenic temperatures must be selected; generally, vacuum-insulated storage tanks, which are structured with a vacuum insulation layer formed between the inner and outer tanks, are primarily chosen. Looking at the configuration of the aforementioned vacuum-insulated storage tank, it comprises, first, an inner tank section that directly holds LNG; an outer tank section that provides vacuum insulation in a structure that completely surrounds the inner tank section; a vacuum insulation layer formed between the inner and outer tank sections; and a spacing member that is positioned on both sides and the top surface of the inner tank section, is disposed within the vacuum insulation layer, and is fixedly connected between the inner and outer tank sections. To introduce the function of the aforementioned spacing member, the spacing member maintains the vacuum insulation layer and ensures a rigid fixed connection between the inner and outer tank sections, thereby suppressing rotation and movement of the inner tank section due to contraction and expansion. However, the aforementioned spacing element is generally composed of wires or bolts, and when connected between the inner and outer tank sections, a fastening structure is adopted to ensure reliable fixation. Nevertheless, for example, if excessive contraction and expansion of the inner tank section occurs due to temperature changes and the resulting stress becomes concentrated on the spacing element, there is a structural problem in that the spacing element, having a fastening structure attached to the inner and outer tank sections as previously mentioned, cannot flexibly cope with such excessive stress concentration. FIG. 1 is a drawing illustrating a support structure of a double vacuum-insulated spherical cryogenic cargo storage tank according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating an inner tank and a support means with the outer tank omitted for FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is an enlarged exploded perspective view of the main part of the support means for FIG. 2. FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of the main part of the support means for FIG. 3. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the inclined plane of FIG. 4. Hereinafter, various embodiments are described in more detail with reference to the attached drawings. The embodiments described in this specification may be modified in various ways. Specific embodiments may be depicted in the drawings and described in detail in the detailed description. However, specific embodiments disclosed in the attached drawings are intended only to facilitate understanding of various embodiments. Accordingly, the technical concept is not limited by specific embodiments disclosed in the attached drawings, and it should be understood that it includes all equivalents or substitutions that fall within the spirit and scope of the invention. Terms including ordinal numbers, such as first, second, etc., may be used to describe various components, but these components are not limited by the aforementioned terms. The aforementioned terms are used solely for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another. In this specification, terms such as “comprising” or “having” are intended to specify the existence of the features, numbers, steps, actions, components, parts, or combinations thereof described in the specification, and should be understood as not precluding the existence or addition of one or more other features, numbers, steps, actions, components, parts, or combinations thereof. When a component is described as being “connected” or “connected” to another component, it should be understood that it may be directly connected to or connected to that other component, or that there may be other components in between. On the other hand, when a component is described as being “directly connected” or “directly connected” to another component, it should be understood that there are no other components in between. Furthermore, in describing the present invention, if it is determined that a detailed description of related known functions or configurations may unnecessarily obscure the essence of the invention, such detailed description is abbreviated or omitted. Hereinafter, a support structure for a double v