A tank suitable for storing a product at a cryogenic temperature, including a fluid tight interior barrier, a fluid tight exterior barrier, surrounding the first interior barrier, an intermediary volume interposed between the interior and exterior barriers and at least one insulating layer positioned in the intermediary volume and including at least one thermal insulation mat, with very low thermal conductivity. The intermediary volume contains microspheres outside of the thermal insulation mats and has an enhanced level of vacuum. This solution makes it possible to maintain satisfactory performance in terms of thermal insulation even in the event of a loss of vacuum in the intermediary volume.

A sealed and thermally insulating tank including a thermally insulating barrier suitable for being anchored to a load-bearing structure is disclosed. The thermally insulating barrier including a plurality of insulating panels juxtaposed in a regular pattern, two adjacent insulating panels defining an inter-panel space, the inter-panel space including an outer portion and an inner portion superposed in the direction of the thickness of the thermally insulating barrier, the outer portion being suitable for being situated close to the load-bearing structure and the inner portion being close to the inside of the tank, the tank further including insulating seals, the insulating seals including two outer insulating seals, the said outer insulating seals being arranged juxtaposed in the outer portion of the inter-panel space so that they have two adjacent edges, and an inner insulating seal, the inner insulating seal being arranged in the inner portion of the inter-panel space.

The invention relates to a sealed and thermally insulating tank wall comprising a thermally insulating barrier defining a support surface for a sealing membrane, the thermally insulating barrier comprising two adjacent insulating panels jointly delimiting an inter-panel space, the tank wall further comprising an insulating insert arranged in the inter-panel space so as to fill the inter-panel space, the insulating insert comprising an insulating core at least partially covered by a wrapper, the insulating core comprising layered glass wool, the layered glass wool comprising laps of fibers superposed in a direction of layering, the insulating insert being arranged in the inter-panel space in such a way that the direction of layering of the layered glass wool is parallel to a widthwise direction of the inter-panel space.

The invention relates to a method for manufacturing a sealed and thermally insulating tank wall comprising: providing a thermally insulating barrier comprising two insulating panels delimiting an inter-panel space, providing an insulating insert comprising a wrapper completely covering an insulating core, inserting a suction nozzle of a suction system into the insulating insert through an orifice in the wrapper, applying a vacuum pressure in the insulating insert so as to reduce the thickness of the insulating insert through vacuum pressure, inserting the insulating insert into the inter-panel space while maintaining the suction of the suction system, when the insulating insert has been inserted into the inter-panel space, removing the suction nozzle from the insulating insert.

The present invention relates to a heat-insulating structural material, which: firstly, can minimize or prevent a thermal bridge by improving the structure of the connection part of the heat-insulating structural material; secondly, improves insulation performance by arranging a vacuum insulation material inside the core layer of the heat-insulating structural material; and thirdly, increases structural stiffness by forming the core layer from a non-foaming polymer material having excellent structural performance, prevents gas from moving in or out of the vacuum insulation material through the air-tight adhesive structure of the core layer, and can improve fire protection performance so as not to be vulnerable to fire, and thus the present invention is universally applicable to fields requiring insulation ability and structural performance.

A hydrogen storage tank for a hydrogen fueled aircraft. The tank has a wall made of layers of aerogel sections around a hard shell layer, sealed within a flexible outer layer, and having the air removed to form a vacuum. The periphery of each layer section abuts other sections of that layer, but only overlies the periphery of the sections of other layers at individual points. The wall is characterized by a thermal conductivity that is lower near its gravitational top than its gravitational bottom. The tank has two exit passageways, one being direct, and the other passing through a vapor shield that extends through the wall between two layers of aerogel. A control system controls the relative flow through the two passages to regulate the boil-off rate of the tank.

A method of partially insulating an interior space of a pre-formed fluted core panel is disclosed herein. The fluted core panel includes a first facesheet, a second facesheet spaced apart from the first facesheet, and webs between the first facesheet and second facesheet. The interior space is defined between the first facesheet, the second facesheet, and adjacent webs. The method includes positioning a spacer in a first portion of the interior space, positioning a membrane between the spacer and a second portion of the interior space, and positioning insulation in the second portion of the interior space. Additionally, the method includes pressing the membrane against the spacer, curing the membrane, and removing the spacer from the first portion of the interior space.

A hydrogen storage tank for a hydrogen fueled aircraft. The tank has a wall made of layers of aerogel sections around a hard shell layer, sealed within a flexible outer layer, and having the air removed to form a vacuum. The periphery of each layer section abuts other sections of that layer, but only overlies the periphery of the sections of other layers at individual points. The wall is characterized by a thermal conductivity that is lower near its gravitational top than its gravitational bottom. The tank has two exit passageways, one being direct, and the other passing through a vapor shield that extends through the wall between two layers of aerogel. A control system controls the relative flow through the two passages to regulate the boil-off rate of the tank.

Insulated enclosure having at least one surface that is planar, containing at least one piece of equipment intended to operate at a temperature below 0 C., the interior space of the enclosure being intended to be at a pressure below atmospheric pressure and being filled with thermal insulation, and the thermal insulation being made up of a multitude of spherical beads made of thermally insulating material.

A tank suitable for storing a product at a cryogenic temperature, including a fluid tight interior barrier, a fluid tight exterior barrier, surrounding the first interior barrier, an intermediary volume interposed between the interior and exterior barriers and at least one insulating layer positioned in the intermediary volume and including at least one thermal insulation mat, with very low thermal conductivity. The intermediary volume contains microspheres outside of the thermal insulation mats and has an enhanced level of vacuum. This solution makes it possible to maintain satisfactory performance in terms of thermal insulation even in the event of a loss of vacuum in the intermediary volume.