CN118167929A

CN118167929A - Anchoring device for thermal insulating blocks

Info

Publication number: CN118167929A
Application number: CN202311682851.4A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 迈克尔·埃里; 尼古拉·洛兰
Original assignee: Gaztransport et Technigaz SA
Current assignee: Gaztransport et Technigaz SA
Priority date: 2022-12-09
Filing date: 2023-12-08
Publication date: 2024-06-11
Also published as: FR3143096A1; JP2024083296A; KR20240087588A

Abstract

The invention relates to an anchoring device comprising: a clamping assembly including a lower plate, an upper plate, a connecting member and a spacing member; an anchor rod engaged in the opening in the lower plate and extending from the clamping assembly through the opening in the lower plate, the anchor rod having a lower end portion and an upper end portion, the upper end portion being located between the lower plate and the upper plate; a nut screwed onto an upper end portion of the anchor rod between the lower plate and the upper plate, the upper end portion having an upper end portion comprising a first stamp for acting as an engagement area for a first driving tool for rotating the anchor rod so as to position the upper plate comprising the first aperture facing the first stamp so as to form a channel for the first driving tool. The invention also relates to a sealed and thermally insulated tank for storing a fluid, a method of installation for installing an anchoring device, a ship for transporting a cold liquid product, a system for transporting a fluid and a method for loading or unloading a ship.

Description

Anchoring device for thermal insulating blocks

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of sealed and thermally insulated membrane tanks. The present invention relates in particular to the field of sealed and insulated tanks for storing and/or transporting liquefied gas at low temperature, such as tanks for transporting Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) at about-163 ℃ under atmospheric pressure, and in particular to mechanical anchoring devices useful for such tanks. These tanks may be land mounted or may be mounted on a floating structure.

Background

For example, from documents WO2014096600A1 and WO2019110894A1 a sealed and thermally insulated tank for storing liquefied natural gas is known, which is arranged in a support structure, and the walls of which have a multi-layer structure, i.e. from the outside to the inside of the tank, a secondary thermal insulation barrier anchored against the support structure, a secondary sealing membrane supported by the secondary thermal insulation barrier, a primary thermal insulation barrier supported by the secondary sealing membrane and a primary sealing membrane supported by the primary thermal insulation barrier and intended to be in contact with the liquefied natural gas stored in the tank.

The primary and secondary thermal insulation barriers include an assembly of primary and secondary modular insulation blocks of generally parallelepiped shape juxtaposed and thereby forming support surfaces for respective sealing membranes. The insulating blocks are anchored to the support structure by anchor means fixed to the support structure and positioned at the corners of the primary and secondary insulating blocks. Thus, each anchor cooperates with the corners of four adjacent secondary insulating blocks and the corners of four adjacent primary insulating blocks to retain them on the support structure.

Disclosure of Invention

Aspects of the invention begin with the following recognition: the installation of the above-described anchoring means for retaining the thermal insulating blocks on the supporting walls of the tank comprises a number of installation steps carried out in situ during the production of such tanks.

One idea behind the present invention is to provide an anchoring device that allows to reduce and simplify the in-situ installation steps during the manufacturing of sealed and thermally insulated tanks.

According to one embodiment, the present invention provides an anchor for retaining a thermal isolation block to a support wall, the anchor comprising:

Clamping assembly, clamping assembly includes: a lower plate, an upper plate parallel to the lower plate, a connection member connecting the lower plate to the upper plate, a spacing member disposed between the lower plate and the upper plate;

An anchor rod engaged in the through hole of the lower plate and protruding from the clamping assembly through the through hole in the lower plate, the anchor rod including an externally threaded lower end portion for fixing to the support wall and an externally threaded upper end portion opposite the lower end portion and located between the lower plate and the upper plate, and

A nut screwed on the upper end portion of the anchor rod between the lower plate and the upper plate, the nut engaging the anchor rod with an upper surface of the lower plate so as to be able to exert a restoring force on the lower plate in the direction of the lower end portion,

Wherein the upper end portion has an upper end portion comprising a first imprint for acting as an engagement area for a first driving tool for rotating the anchor rod relative to the clamping assembly, thereby screwing the lower end portion of the anchor rod to the support wall, an upper plate comprising the first aperture being positioned facing the first imprint so as to form a channel for the first driving tool.

Due to these features, such an anchoring device can be installed quickly and easily during the manufacturing of the sealed and thermally insulated tank. In fact, the anchoring rod can be screwed indirectly by passing the driving tool directly through the aperture in the upper plate. Furthermore, in contrast to current practice of assembling all elements of the anchoring device inside the tank, the assembly of such anchoring device can be preformed essentially outside the tank.

Embodiments of such an anchoring device may have one or more of the following features.

According to one embodiment, the nut has a nut head beyond the upper end of the anchor rod, the nut head comprising a through passage between the upper plate and the upper end of the anchor rod and aligned with the first aperture and the first imprint allowing the first driving tool to pass through to reach the first imprint, the nut head comprising a second imprint for acting as an engagement area for a second driving tool for rotating the nut relative to the anchor rod, the first aperture being positioned facing the second imprint so as to form a passage for the second driving tool.

Thanks to these features, the anchoring rod and the screwing nut can be screwed directly through the aperture in the upper plate by inserting one or more suitable driving tools in the aperture in the upper plate.

According to one embodiment, the shape of the first imprint and/or the second imprint may be selected from: flat, split, cross, all-round screwdriver, star, hollow hexagon, hollow, square, internal, external, and internal hexalobal. Preferably a six-lobe internal shape conforming to the ISO 10664 standard may be used.

The shape of the mark can be selected according to the requirements of target application, and functions of tightening effect, tool enhancement, tip abrasion and correct transmission of tightening torque are achieved.

According to one embodiment, the second marking is formed by the peripheral wall of the channel of the nut head.

According to one embodiment, the first tool and/or the second tool is selected from: a screwdriver and a male or female wrench.

According to one embodiment, the first orifice has a diameter of more than 10mm, preferably more than 15mm, for example between 15mm and 20 mm.

According to one embodiment, the anchoring device comprises an anti-rotation plate arranged between the nut and the upper plate and intended to be fixed to the nut, preventing rotation of the nut.

According to one embodiment, the upper plate is secured to the nut to prevent rotation of the nut.

According to one embodiment, the anti-rotation plate has a substantially rectangular shape.

According to one embodiment, the anti-rotation plate is made of metal.

According to one embodiment, the anti-rotation plate is arranged in the vicinity of the displacement member so as to be fixed by abutment against the displacement member when the anti-rotation plate is loaded in rotation in a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction.

According to one embodiment, the anchoring device comprises: at least one spring element surrounding the anchoring rod is located between the nut and the lower plate, and at least one spring element preferably comprises a stack of belleville washers.

According to one embodiment, the belleville washers forming the stack of belleville washers have the same or different dimensions.

According to one embodiment, the stack of belleville washers comprises at least one first belleville washer and at least one second belleville washer, wherein the first belleville washer has a smaller size than the second belleville washer.

According to one embodiment, the stack of belleville washers includes a first belleville washer and a second belleville washer inverted relative to the first belleville washer.

According to one embodiment, the stack of belleville washers comprises 2 to 7 belleville washers.

According to one embodiment, the spacer member includes an abutment portion defining a spacing between the lower plate and the upper plate, the lower plate and the upper plate abutting opposite surfaces of the abutment portion.

According to one embodiment, the spacer member includes an abutment portion defining a minimum spacing between the lower and upper plates in an abutment position of the lower and upper plates with the abutment portion, the abutment portion including a rigid portion, the spacer member further including a resilient compressible member tending to maintain the lower and upper plates in a spaced apart position, the connection member defining a maximum spacing between the lower and upper plates in the spaced apart position, the maximum spacing being greater than the minimum spacing, the resilient compressible member being configured to: is compressed in the axial direction in response to a force tending to move the upper plate toward the lower plate, thereby reaching an abutment position where the lower plate and the upper plate abut against the abutment portion.

According to one embodiment, the abutment portion comprises a first rigid portion and a second rigid portion spaced from each other, the upper end portion of the anchoring rod and the nut being located between the first rigid portion and the second rigid portion.

According to one embodiment, the first rigid portion and the second rigid portion have a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape.

According to one embodiment, the first rigid portion and the second rigid portion have the same dimensions.

According to one embodiment, the abutment portion further comprises two holes through the abutment portion, in which two fixing screws are engaged, which connect the lower and upper plates to two opposite faces of the abutment portion, each screw head being received and held in a second and third aperture through the upper plate, respectively, and each threaded screw end being received in a first and second internally threaded hole in the lower plate.

According to one embodiment, the anchoring device further comprises a bushing intended to be fixed to the supporting wall and a nut housed in the bushing, to prevent rotation of the nut in the bushing, into which the lower end portion of the anchoring rod is screwed.

According to one embodiment, the present invention also provides a sealed and thermally insulated tank for storing a fluid, the sealed and thermally insulated tank comprising a support wall, an anchoring means fixed to the support wall, and a tank wall anchored to the support wall by the anchoring means, the tank wall comprising, in order in a thickness direction from an outside to an inside of the tank, a thermally insulated barrier and a sealing film resting on the thermally insulated barrier, wherein the thermally insulated barrier comprises a parallelepiped-shaped thermally insulated block juxtaposed on the support wall, the thermally insulated block comprising a cover plate defining a support surface for the sealing film;

Wherein at least one anchoring device is a device of the kind described above, the lower end portion of the anchoring rod being secured to the support wall between a plurality of the thermal insulating blocks, the lower plate of the anchoring device cooperating with a plurality of the thermal insulating blocks so as to clamp the plurality of the thermal insulating blocks in the direction of the support wall.

Embodiments of the sealed and thermally insulated tank of the type described above may have one or more of the following features.

Thermal insulating blocks may be produced in various ways. According to one embodiment of the tank, the thermal insulation block comprises a bottom plate parallel to and spaced apart from the cover plate and a block of fibre-reinforced polymer foam arranged between the cover plate and the bottom plate, the bottom plate of the anchoring device cooperating directly or indirectly with the bottom plate without exerting any clamping force on the block of polymer foam.

According to one embodiment, the tank further comprises a primary thermal insulation barrier resting on the sealing membrane and a primary sealing membrane resting on the primary thermal insulation barrier, the primary sealing membrane being intended to be in contact with the fluid.

According to one embodiment, the fluid is a liquefied gas, such as liquefied natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas, liquefied ethylene or liquefied hydrogen.

A tank of the above type may form part of the following: a land storage facility; storage facilities on the seabed, for example for storing liquefied natural gas, or storage facilities installed in coastal or deepwater floating structures, in particular methane carriers; a Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU), a floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) unit, and the like.

According to one embodiment, a vessel for transporting fluids comprises a double hull and the above-described sealed and thermally insulated tanks disposed in the double hull. According to one embodiment, the double hull includes an inner hull forming a sealed and thermally insulated tank support wall.

According to one embodiment, the present invention also provides a system for delivering a fluid, the system comprising: the above-mentioned ship; an isolation pipe adapted to connect the sealed and thermally isolated tank of the vessel to a floating storage facility or a ground storage facility; and a pump for driving fluid from the floating or surface storage facility to the sealed and thermally insulated tank of the vessel through the insulated conduit or for driving fluid from the sealed and thermally insulated tank of the vessel to the floating or surface storage facility.

According to one embodiment, the invention also provides a method for loading or unloading such a vessel, wherein fluid is conducted from a floating or surface storage facility to the tanks of the vessel or from the tanks of the vessel to the floating or surface storage facility through insulated pipelines.

According to an embodiment, the present invention also provides an installation method for installing the above-mentioned anchoring device, the method comprising the steps of:

aligning the above-mentioned anchoring means with a bushing between a plurality of thermal insulating blocks of parallelepiped shape fixed to a supporting wall, said thermal insulating blocks being juxtaposed on said supporting wall, said bushing comprising a nut housed in said bushing to prevent rotation of said nut in said bushing,

-Screwing the lower end portion of the anchoring rod to the nut by inserting a first fixing tool through the first aperture of the upper plate into the first marking of the upper end of the anchoring rod;

-mutually engaging the lower plate with at least one thermal insulating block by screwing the nut in the direction of the lower end of the anchoring rod by inserting a second fixing tool into the second imprint of the nut, the second fixing tool passing through the first aperture of the upper plate.

Due to these features, it is possible to reduce the number of steps that need to be performed in the field during the manufacturing process of the sealed and thermally insulated tank.

According to one embodiment, the method further comprises:

-mounting a primary coupler to the anchoring device by screwing a stud into a first aperture through the upper plate.

According to one embodiment, a method comprises:

-welding the anti-rotation plate onto the profile of the nut while screwing, to prevent the nut from rotating, the welding being achieved by inserting a welding tool into the upper plate.

According to one embodiment, the method comprises the step of measuring the position of the nut, the method comprising:

inserting a first gauge into a first measurement aperture formed in the upper plate facing the nut and measuring a distance d1 between the nut and the upper plate;

Inserting a second gauge into a second measuring hole formed in the upper plate facing the lower plate, then measuring a distance d2 between the upper plate and the lower plate, then

The distance d1 is compared with the distance d2 to determine the position of the nut relative to the lower plate.

Because of these characteristics, the position of the nut can be determined, thereby determining whether the tightening of the nut meets the required parameters.

Drawings

The invention will be better understood and other objects, details, features and advantages of the invention will become more clearly apparent in the course of the following description of specific embodiments thereof given by way of non-limiting example only with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional perspective view of a tank wall.

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view from the side of the tank wall in the direction of arrow II in fig. 1, showing one embodiment of the anchoring device.

Fig. 3 is a closer side view of an embodiment similar to fig. 2, as seen through a perspective.

Fig. 4 is a partial view of a perspective view of the anchor rod of the embodiment shown in fig. 2 and 3.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the nut shown in fig. 2 and 3.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the anti-rotation plate shown in fig. 2 and 3.

Fig. 7 is a top view of the anchoring device shown in fig. 2 and 3.

Fig. 8 is a view similar to fig. 3, with the anti-rotation plate omitted, showing another embodiment of the anchoring device.

Fig. 9 is a sectional view of a tank of a methane tanker and a terminal for loading/unloading the tank.

Detailed Description

In fig. 1, a multi-layer structure of a sealed and thermally insulated tank wall 1 for storing a fluid such as Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) is shown. The tank wall 1 includes, in order in the thickness direction from the outside of the tank to the inside of the tank: a secondary thermal isolation barrier 3 held on the support wall 2, a secondary sealing membrane 4 resting on the secondary thermal isolation barrier 3, a primary thermal isolation barrier 5 resting on the secondary sealing membrane 4, and a primary sealing membrane 6 intended to be in contact with the fluid contained in the tank.

The support wall 2 may in particular be formed by the hull of a ship or a double hull. The support wall 2 generally forms part of a support structure comprising a plurality of walls defining the general shape of the tank, generally in the shape of a polyhedron.

The secondary thermal insulation barrier 3 comprises a plurality of secondary insulation blocks 7, the secondary insulation blocks 7 being anchored to the support wall 2 by anchoring means 20 described in detail below. The secondary insulating blocks 7 have a parallelepiped general shape and are arranged in parallel.

The secondary sealing film 4 comprises a continuous layer of metal strakes 8 with raised edges. The metal strakes 8 are welded by means of raised edges of the metal strakes 8 to parallel welded joints which are fixed in grooves 9 formed in the cladding plate of the secondary insulating block 7. The metal strake 8 is composed ofThe preparation method comprises the following steps: i.e. an alloy of iron and nickel, with a coefficient of expansion generally between 1.2.10 ^-6 and 2.10 ^-6K^-1.

The primary insulation barrier 5 comprises a plurality of primary insulation blocks 11, the primary insulation blocks 11 having the general shape of a parallelepiped and the same dimensions as the length and width of the secondary insulation blocks 7. Each primary insulating block 11 is positioned in alignment with the secondary insulating block 7 in the thickness direction of the tank wall 1.

The primary sealing film 6 may be produced in various ways. Here, the primary sealing film 6 comprises a continuous layer of a metal strake 8 with raised edges. As in the secondary sealing film 4, the raised edges of the metal strake 8 are welded to parallel welded supports which are fixed in grooves formed in the cover plate of the primary insulating block 11.

In fig. 1, the secondary insulating block 7 is omitted to expose the thickness shims 12 and the weld beads 13 for compensating for the flatness defects of the support wall 2. In particular, the thickness shim 12 is shown in fig. 2. The spacer may also be provided as described in publication WO-A-2018069585.

The anchoring means 20 are preferably positioned at the four corners of the secondary insulating block 7 and the primary insulating block 11. Each stack comprising a secondary insulating block 7 and a primary insulating block 11 is anchored to the supporting wall 2 by four anchoring means 20. Furthermore, each anchoring device 20 cooperates with the corners of four adjacent secondary insulating blocks 7 and the corners of four adjacent primary insulating blocks 11.

Referring to fig. 2, the structure of the second insulating block 7 and the anchoring device 20 according to one embodiment can be seen in more detail.

The first and second secondary insulating blocks 7 comprise an insulating polymer foam layer 16 sandwiched between a base plate 14 and a cover plate 15. For example, the bottom plate 14 and the cover plate 15 are made of plywood.

An insulating polymer foam layer 16 is bonded to the bottom plate 14 and the cover plate 15. The insulating polymer foam may in particular be a polyurethane-based foam, optionally reinforced by fibers.

To position the anchoring device 20 between the four corners of four adjacent secondary insulating blocks 7 (only two of which are visible in the cross-sectional view of fig. 2), the bottom plate 14 of each secondary insulating block 7 includes a cutout in its corner regions to free a rectangular chimney-like gap that receives the anchoring device 20.

The cover plate 15 and insulating polymer foam layer 16 of the second insulating block 7 comprise rectangular chimney shaped openings.

The corner portions are intended to directly or indirectly support the anchoring device 20 thereon; for example, in fig. 2, the anchoring device 20 is supported on the corner portions by the transitions of the spacer portions 50 supported on the bottom plate 14 of the secondary insulating block 7.

According to a variant, not represented, the first insulating block and the second insulating block have a box shape, comprising a bottom plate parallel to a cover plate spaced apart therefrom, and side plates are provided between the bottom plate and the cover plate to define an internal space filled with an insulating filler such as perlite, glass wool or rock wool.

The insulation box of the above-described type also has corner portions and spacer portions in the form of strips capable of receiving the anchoring device 20. Such exclusion boxes are described in detail in document FR 2973097 A1.

The structure of one embodiment of the anchoring device 20 is described below with reference to fig. 2 to 7.

The anchor 20 includes a clamp assembly 30 and an anchor rod 22.

The lower end 61 of the anchor rod 22 is received in the bushing 23, the base of the bushing 23 being welded to the support wall 2 at a central position of the gap between the corner regions of four adjacent secondary insulating blocks 7. The bushing 23 forms a ball joint for the anchoring rod 22. The bushing 23 receives the nut 18, the bushing 23 preventing the nut 18 from rotating, and the lower end 61 of the anchor rod 22 is threaded into the bushing 23. For example, the nut 18 is a resilient stop nut. The anchor rods 22 extend in the thickness direction of the tank wall 1 and pass between adjacent secondary insulating blocks 7.

The clamping assembly 30 comprises, in the thickness direction of the wall, a lower plate 31, a spacing member 33 and an upper plate 32 in that order.

The lower plate 31 and the upper plate 32 have a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape with two relatively large faces parallel to the supporting wall 2.

For example, the clamping assemblies 30 are rectangular and have the same dimensions. Alternatively, the profile of the clamping assembly 30 may be a different shape, such as hexagonal or circular.

The lower plate 31 is held by the anchor rods 22 in the direction of the support wall 2, the anchor rods 22 bearing on the spacer portions 50 provided between the lower plate 31 and the bottom plate 14, so as to transmit the clamping force from the clamping assembly 30 in the direction of the support wall 2.

The upper end of the anchor rod 22 is engaged through a central hole 41 in the lower plate 31. The upper end portion is located in a housing 45 formed by the space between the lower plate 31, the upper plate 32 and the spacing member 33.

The nut 42 cooperates with an external thread formed at the level of the upper end portion of the anchoring rod 22 so as to hold the lower plate 31 in the direction of the supporting wall 2.

In the embodiment shown here, the anchoring means 20 comprise one or more belleville washer-type spring elements 43. The spring element 43 is screwed onto the anchoring rod 22 between the upper end 52 of the nut 42 and the lower plate 31, which makes it possible to ensure the elastic anchoring of the secondary insulating block 7 to the supporting wall 2.

The upper end portion of the anchor rod 22 has an upper end 44 that includes indicia 60, the indicia 60 serving as an engagement area for a first driving tool, such as a screwdriver, to rotate the anchor rod 22 relative to the clamping assembly to screw a portion 61 of the anchor rod 22 into the nut 18. The upper end portion of such an anchoring rod 22 can be seen in particular in fig. 4.

The nut 42 includes a nut head having a through passage 64, the through passage 64 being located between the upper plate 32 and the upper end 44 of the anchor rod 22 aligned with the indicia 60 to allow the first driving tool to reach the indicia 60.

The head of the nut 42 includes a marker 62, the marker 62 acting as an engagement area for a second drive tool intended to rotate the nut 42 relative to the clamp assembly 30.

To provide access for the first and second drive tools, the upper plate has an aperture 47, the aperture 47 being centrally located in the upper plate and facing the indicia 60 of the anchor rod 22 and the indicia 62 of the nut 42. The nut 42 includes a lobe 51 at the level of the upper end 52 of the nut 42. An anti-rotation plate 63 comprising a central aperture 53 surrounding the lobe 51 of the nut is welded locally to the upper end 52 of the nut 42 at the level of said lobe 51 to prevent unscrewing of the nut 42.

The nut 42 has a lower portion that engages with the hole 41 in the lower plate.

The spacing member 33 further comprises two holes passing through the spacing member in the thickness direction of the tank wall, and in which two fixing screws 34 are engaged, which fixing screws 34 connect the lower plate 31 and the upper plate 32 to two opposite faces of the spacing member 33. More precisely, the lower end 35 of each set screw 34 is externally threaded and screwed into an internally threaded bore 38 of the lower plate 31.

At the opposite end, each set screw 34 includes a head 36, such as a tapered or flat head, with the head 36 being slidably received in a bore 46 of the upper plate 32. As shown in fig. 2 and 3, abutment of the head 36 on the bottom of the hole 46 defines the position of maximum spacing of the plates 32 and 31. The size of this maximum spacing is defined by the available length of the set screw 34 between the lower plate 31 and the upper plate 32. This length may be fine-tuned during manufacture to adjust the length of the screw threaded into the internally threaded bore.

The spacer member includes an abutment portion having a lower surface and an upper surface parallel to the plates 32 and 31. The thickness of spacer blocks 33 between the lower and upper surfaces defines the minimum spacing between lower plate 31 and upper plate 32. This minimum spacing is achieved in the abutment position shown in fig. 2 and 3, for example, in a position in which the lower plate 31 and the upper plate 32 abut against the lower surface and the upper surface 48 of the spacer block 33.

The spacing member 33 includes, for example, a first rigid portion spaced from and parallel to a second rigid portion. Alternatively, the spacer member 33 includes an abutment portion having the shape of a bridge, a portion of which passes between the anti-rotation plate 63 and the upper plate 32. In this variant, the portion has a passage 65 through the portion so as to allow the first and second driving tools to pass as far as possible to the impression 60 of the anchoring rod 22 and the impression 62 of the nut 42.

To measure whether the adjustment of the nut 42, and in particular the tightening of the nut 42, meets the desired parameters, the upper plate 32 may include a first measurement orifice 58 and a second measurement orifice 59, as shown in fig. 7.

The first measuring aperture 58 is located near the aperture 47 and is open towards the nut 42 or towards the anti-rotation plate 63. The second measuring aperture 59 is located at a greater distance from the aperture 47 than from the first measuring aperture 58 and is open facing the lower plate 31.

For the measurement, a measuring instrument, for example a measuring rod, is inserted in the first measuring aperture 58 to determine the distance between the upper end 52 of the nut 42 and the upper plate 32, and then a measuring instrument or another measuring instrument is inserted in the second measuring aperture 59 to determine the distance between the upper plate 32 and the lower plate 31. With these measurements, the position of the nut 42 relative to the lower plate 31 can be determined, so that the nut 42 can be reliably adjusted.

Referring to fig. 8, wherein the anti-rotation plate is purposely omitted, identical or similar elements carry the same reference numerals increased by 100 and are not repeated. In this variant embodiment, the spacing member 133 further comprises a resilient compressible member 166, the resilient compressible member 166 being used to hold the lower plate 131 and the upper plate 132 in the spaced position. An elastically compressible member 166 is located between the lower plate 131 and the upper plate 132, within the aperture of the spacer member 133, around the fixing screw 134. The resiliently compressible member 166, here represented in the form of a coil spring, is configured to: and resiliently compresses to the abutment position of the lower plate 131 and the upper plate 132 with respect to the abutment portion 33 in response to a force tending to move the upper plate 132 toward the lower plate 131. For details on the elastically compressible members, see document WO2021239712A1.

The installation method for installing the above-described anchor device 20 is described below with reference to fig. 2. The following method is performed directly by the skilled person, for example during the manufacture of a sealed and thermally insulated tank.

The installation method comprises the following steps:

Positioning the anchoring means 20 as described above with reference to fig. 2, i.e. between the four corners of the secondary insulating block 7;

inserting the anchoring rod 22 into the bushing 23 and then into the nut 18 located in the bushing 23;

inserting a first driving tool through the through hole 47 in the upper plate 32, the aperture 53 in the anchor plate and the through passage 64 of the nut head 42 to reach the marking 60 of the anchor rod 22 indicated by arrow 55 in fig. 2;

Threading the anchoring rod 22 into the nut 18, the bushing 23 preventing the nut 18 from rotating, and then removing the first driving tool from the marking 60;

Inserting a second driving tool in a similar manner to the first driving tool to reach the marking 62 of the nut 42 indicated by arrow 56;

the nut 42 is screwed down so as to grip the belleville washer with the desired adjustment and anchor the lower plate 31 to the spacer 50 in the direction of the support wall 2, and then the second driving tool is removed from the marking 62;

welding the anti-rotation plate 63 at the level of the lobe 51, for example using spot welding techniques, using a spot welder directly through the through hole 47 of the upper plate 32.

Because of these features, the number of steps of the method of installing the anchoring device 20 is less than the number of steps of installing the anchoring device conventionally used in a tank in the field.

For the anchoring member shown in fig. 8, the above method optionally further comprises:

Modify the degree of tightening of the two fixing screws 34 as indicated by arrow 57. This step is particularly advantageous for adjusting the prestress of the resilient compressible member 166.

Referring to fig. 9, a cross-sectional view of a methane tanker 70 shows a generally prismatic shaped sealed and insulated tank 71 mounted in a double hull 72 of the vessel 70. The walls of the sealed and thermally insulated tank 71 comprise a primary sealing barrier intended to be in contact with LNG contained in the tank, a secondary sealing barrier arranged between the primary sealing barrier and the double hull 72 of the vessel 70, and two insulating barriers arranged between the primary sealing barrier and the secondary sealing barrier and between the secondary sealing barrier and the double hull 72, respectively.

In a manner known per se, loading/unloading piping 73 provided on the top deck of the ship 70 may be connected to an offshore or port terminal by means of suitable connectors to transfer lng cargo from or to the sealed and thermally insulated tank 71.

Fig. 9 shows an example of an offshore terminal comprising a loading and unloading station 75, a subsea pipeline 76 and a surface facility 77. The loading and unloading station 75 is a stationary offshore unit comprising a mobile arm 74 and a tower 78 supporting the mobile arm 74. The traveling arm 74 carries a bundle of insulated flexible tubing 79 that can be connected to the load/unload conduit 73. The orientable movable arm 74 is suitable for all methane tanker loading meters. A connecting conduit, not shown, extends into the tower 78. The loading and unloading station 75 is capable of loading and unloading from the surface facility 77 to the vessel 70 and from the vessel 70 to the surface facility 77. The surface facility 77 includes a liquefied gas storage tank 80 and a connection pipe 81, the connection pipe 81 being connected to the loading or unloading station 75 by a submarine pipeline 76. The underwater piping 76 is capable of transporting liquefied gas between the loading or unloading station 75 and the surface unit 77 for a long distance, for example 5km, which enables the methane tanker 70 to remain a long distance from shore during loading and unloading operations.

Pumps on board the vessel 70 and/or pumps provided by the surface facilities 77 and/or pumps provided by the pumps 75 of the loading and unloading station are used to generate the pressure required for transferring the liquefied gas.

While the invention has been described in connection with a number of specific embodiments, it is evident that the invention is by no means limited to these embodiments and that the invention comprises all technical equivalents and combinations of the methods described if they fall within the scope of the invention. For example, the anchoring means are adapted to anchor a plurality of insulating blocks present in a tank comprising a structure comprising a single thermal insulating barrier held on a supporting wall and a sealing membrane intended to come into contact with the fluid contained in the tank, the sealing membrane resting on the thermal insulating barrier.

Use of the verb "to comprise" or "to comprise" and its conjugations does not exclude the presence of elements or steps other than those stated in a claim.

In the claims, any reference signs placed between parentheses shall not be construed as limiting the claim.

Claims

1. An anchoring device (20, 120) for holding a thermal insulation block (7) against a support wall (2), the anchoring device (20, 120) comprising:

-a clamping assembly (30), the clamping assembly (30) comprising: lower plates (31, 131); an upper plate (32, 132) parallel to the lower plate (31, 131); the lower plate (31),

131 A connecting member (34, 134) connected to the upper plate (32, 132); and a spacing member (33, 133) arranged between the lower plate (31, 131) and the upper plate (32, 132);

-an anchor rod (22, 122), the anchor rod (22, 122) being engaged in a through hole (41, 141) in the lower plate (31, 131) and protruding from the clamping assembly (30) through the through hole (41, 141) in the lower plate (31, 131), the anchor rod (22),

122 -Comprising an externally threaded lower end portion (61) and an externally threaded upper end portion, said lower end portion (61) being intended to be fixed to said support wall (2), said upper end portion being opposite to said lower end portion (61) and being located between said lower plate (31, 131) and said upper plate (32, 132);

-a nut (42, 142), which nut (42, 142) is screwed at the upper end portion of the anchoring rod (22, 122) between the lower plate (31, 131) and the upper plate (32, 132), which nut (42, 142) engages the anchoring rod (22, 122) with the upper surface of the lower plate (31, 131) so as to be able to exert a restoring force on the lower plate (31, 131) in the direction of the lower end portion (61), which upper plate (32, 132) comprises a first orifice (47, 147),

Characterized in that the upper end portion has an upper end (44) comprising a first imprint (60), the first imprint (60) being intended to act as an engagement area for a first driving tool for rotating the anchoring rod (22, 122) relative to the clamping assembly (30) so as to screw the lower end portion (61) of the anchoring rod (22, 122) to the supporting wall (2), the first aperture (47, 147) being oriented facing the first imprint (60) so as to form a channel for the first driving tool.

2. An anchoring device according to claim 1, wherein the nut (42, 142) has a nut head beyond the upper end (44) of the anchoring rod (22, 122), the nut head comprising a through channel (64) between the upper plate (32, 132) and the upper end (44) of the anchoring rod (22, 122) and aligned with the first aperture (47, 147) and the first imprint (60) allowing the first driving tool to pass through to the first imprint (60), the nut head comprising a second imprint (62) for acting as an engagement area for a second driving tool for rotating the nut (42, 142) relative to the anchoring rod (22, 122), the first aperture (47, 147) being positioned facing the second imprint (62) so as to form a channel for the second driving tool.

3. The anchoring device according to claim 2, wherein the second imprint (62) is formed by an outer peripheral wall of the through passage (64) of the nut head.

4. An anchoring device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, comprising an anti-rotation plate (63), the anti-rotation plate (63) being arranged between the nut (42, 142) and the upper plate (32, 132) and being adapted to be fixed to the nut (42, 142) to prevent rotation of the nut (42, 142).

5. Anchoring device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein at least one spring element (43, 143) surrounding the anchoring rod (22, 122) is located between the nut (42, 142) and the lower plate (31, 131), and the at least one spring element (43, 143) preferably comprises a stack of bellville washers.

6. The anchoring device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the spacer member (33, 133) comprises an abutment portion defining a spacing between the lower plate (31, 131) and the upper plate (32, 132), the lower plate (131) and the upper plate (132) being against opposite surfaces of the abutment portion.

7. The anchoring device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the spacer member (133) comprises an abutment portion defining a minimum spacing between the lower plate (131) and the upper plate (132) in an abutment position of the lower plate (131) and the upper plate (132) against the abutment portion, the abutment portion comprising a rigid portion, the spacer member (133) further comprising a resilient compressible member (166) tending to hold the lower plate (131) and the upper plate (132) in a spaced apart position, the connection member (134) defining a maximum spacing between the lower plate (131) and the upper plate (132) in the spaced apart position, the maximum spacing being greater than the minimum spacing, the resilient compressible member (166) being configured to be compressed in an axial direction in response to a force tending to move the upper plate (132) towards the lower plate (131) so as to reach the abutment position of the lower plate (131) and the upper plate (132).

8. The anchoring device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising a bushing (23) and a nut (18), the bushing (23) being intended to be fixed to the support wall (2), the nut (18) being housed in the bushing (23) to prevent rotation of the nut (18) in the bushing (23), the lower end portion (61) of the anchoring rod (22, 122) being screwed into the nut (18).

9. A sealed and thermally insulated tank for storing a fluid, the sealed and thermally insulated tank comprising a support wall (2), an anchoring means fixed to the support wall and a tank wall (1) anchored to the support wall (2) by the anchoring means, the tank wall (1) comprising, in order in a thickness direction from the outside to the inside of the tank, a thermal insulation barrier (3) and a sealing membrane (4) resting against the thermal insulation barrier (3), wherein the thermal insulation barrier (3) comprises a parallelepiped-shaped thermal insulation block (7) juxtaposed on the support wall (2), the thermal insulation block (7) comprising a cover plate (15) defining a support surface for the sealing membrane (4);

Wherein at least one anchoring device (20, 120) is a device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, the lower end portion (61) of the anchoring rod (22, 122) being fixed to the support wall (2) between a plurality of the thermal insulation blocks (7), the lower plate (31, 131) of the anchoring device (20, 120) cooperating with a plurality of the thermal insulation blocks (7) so as to clamp a plurality of the thermal insulation blocks (7) in the direction of the support wall (2).

10. A sealed and thermally insulated tank according to claim 9, wherein the thermal insulation block (7) comprises a bottom plate (14) parallel and spaced apart from the cover plate (15) and a fiber reinforced polymer foam block (16) arranged between the cover plate (15) and the bottom plate (14), and wherein the lower plate (131) of the anchoring means (20, 120) cooperates directly or indirectly with the bottom plate (14) without exerting any clamping force on the polymer foam block (16).

11. A mounting method for mounting an anchoring device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, the method comprising the steps of:

-aligning the anchoring device (20, 120) according to any one of claims 1 to 7 with a bushing (23) fixed to a supporting wall (2) between a plurality of thermal insulating blocks (7) of parallelepiped shape, the thermal insulating blocks (7) being juxtaposed on the supporting wall (2), the bushing (23) comprising a nut (18), the nut (18) being housed in the bushing (23) so as to prevent rotation of the nut (18) in the bushing (23),

-Screwing the lower end portion (61) of the anchoring rod (22, 122) into the nut (18) by inserting the first fixing tool into the first imprint (60) of the upper end portion (44) of the anchoring rod (22, 122), the first fixing tool passing through the first aperture (47) of the upper plate (32, 132),

-Interengagement of the lower plate (31, 131) with at least one thermal insulating block (7) by inserting a second fixing tool into a second imprint (62) of the nut (42) so as to screw the nut (42) in the direction of the lower end portion (61) of the anchoring rod (22, 122), the second fixing tool passing through the first aperture (47) of the upper plate (32, 132).

12. The mounting method of claim 11, further comprising:

-mounting a primary coupler on the anchoring device (20, 120) by screwing a stud into the first aperture (47) through the upper plate (32, 132).

13. A ship (70) for transporting a cold liquid product, the ship comprising a double hull (72) and a sealed and thermally insulated tank (71) according to any of claims 9 or 10 provided in the double hull.

14. A system for delivering a fluid, the system comprising: the vessel (70) of claim 13; -an insulated pipe (73, 79, 76, 81), the insulated pipe (73, 79, 76, 81) being arranged to connect the sealed and thermally insulated tank (71) of the vessel to a floating or ground storage facility (77); and a pump for driving fluid from the floating or surface storage facility to the sealed and thermally insulated tank of the vessel or for driving fluid from the sealed and thermally insulated tank of the vessel to the floating or surface storage facility through the insulated conduit.

15. A method for loading or unloading a vessel (70) according to claim 13, wherein fluid is led from a floating or surface storage facility (77) to the tank (71) of the vessel (70) or from the tank (71) of the vessel (70) to the floating or surface storage facility (77) by means of insulated pipes (73, 79, 76, 81).