Liquid-stabilizing apparatus for liquid cargo tank

Abstract

A liquid-stabilizing apparatus for a liquid cargo tank includes a guide structure. The guide structure is provided with a positioning floating body. The positioning floating body is provided with anti-sloshing members. The anti-sloshing members are provided with discontinuous baffles at a fixed angle. By using the liquid-stabilizing apparatus, the liquid cargo tank is no longer required to have a bevel surface structure, thereby increasing load capacity of the liquid cargo tank and preventing the liquid cargo tank in various loading states from being impacted by liquid cargos.

Claims

1. A liquid-stabilizing apparatus for a liquid cargo tank, comprising a guide structure, wherein the guide structure is provided with a positioning floating body; the positioning floating body is provided with anti-sloshing members; and the anti-sloshing members are provided with discontinuous baffles at a fixed angle relative to a plane of the anti-sloshing members; wherein the fixed angle is 25-65 degrees.

2. The liquid-stabilizing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the positioning floating body is capable of moving up and down on the guide structure.

3. The liquid-stabilizing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the anti-sloshing members are disposed on two sides of the positioning floating body; and the anti-sloshing members are perpendicular to the guide structure.

4. The liquid-stabilizing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the discontinuous baffles and the anti-sloshing members are disposed in a same horizontal plane.

5. The liquid-stabilizing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the positioning floating body is made of metal or fiberglass.

6. The liquid-stabilizing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the guide structure is a rectangular column.

7. The liquid-stabilizing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the discontinuous baffles are arranged with a same spacing.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a conventional liquid cargo tank in the prior art, wherein 1cargo tank; 2top wall; 3upper bevel; 4side wall; and 5lower bevel;

(2) FIG. 2 is a front sectional view showing a liquid-stabilizing apparatus according to the present disclosure installed in a liquid cargo tank;

(3) FIG. 3 is a side sectional view showing the liquid-stabilizing apparatus according to the present disclosure installed in the liquid cargo tank;

(4) FIG. 4 is a top sectional view showing the liquid-stabilizing apparatus according to the present disclosure installed in the liquid cargo tank; and

(5) FIG. 5 is a local enlarged three-dimensional drawing of the liquid-stabilizing apparatus according to the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

(6) Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below in detail with reference to drawings.

(7) The liquid-stabilizing apparatus according to the present disclosure is suitable for any tank that contains liquefied natural gas. To facilitate description, the application of the liquid-stabilizing apparatus in a conventional membrane cargo tank will be illustrated.

(8) The liquid-stabilizing apparatus for use in the liquid cargo tank according to the present disclosure is provided with a positioning floating body 10 and a guide structure 11. The positioning floating body 10 has buoyancy so that this member produces resistance against movement of liquid cargo while correspondingly moving along with the movement of the liquid cargo caused by the movement of the ship. The guide structure 11 not only enables the positioning floating body 10 to float with the liquid, but also restricts the rotation of anti-sloshing members 12, so as to ensure that the anti-sloshing members 12 keep a perpendicular relationship with the side wall of the cargo tank when the cargo tank is inclined, to inhibit sloshing of the liquid at an effective angle. Embodiments of the present disclosure are described below in detail.

(9) Referring to FIG. 2, FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the liquid-stabilizing apparatus for use in the liquid cargo tank may include the guide structure 11 and the anti-sloshing members 12. The guide structure 11 is fixedly installed on a front wall 14 and a rear wall 15 of the cargo tank, and includes the positioning floating body 10 having buoyancy. The buoyancy allows the positioning floating body 10 to rise to a surface of stored liquid, while the anti-sloshing members 12 restrained by the positioning floating body are kept on a liquid surface by means of the positioning floating body 10 so as to inhibit the sloshing of the liquid cargo. Meanwhile, restricted by the positioning floating body 10 and the guide structure 11, the anti-sloshing members 12 are kept relatively perpendicular to the side wall 13 of the cargo tank, so as to ensure a more effective relative angle at the time of inhibiting the sloshing of the liquid.

(10) Referring to FIG. 5, the guide structure 11 may be installed on the front wall 14 and the rear wall 15 of the cargo tank, and includes: the positioning floating body 10. The positioning floating body is used to provide buoyancy so as to keep the anti-sloshing members 12 on the surface of the liquid cargo.

(11) When the positioning floating body 10 moves up and down along the guide structure 11, an inner surface of the positioning floating body 10 may frequently contact with an outer surface of the guide structure 11. Polytetrafluoroethylene is coated on the inner surface of the positioning floating body 10 or the outer surface of the guide structure 11 to reduce friction caused by the contact between the positioning floating body 10 and the guide structure 11.

(12) In the embodiment, the positioning floating body 10 may be made of metal or fiberglass which has very low deformation rate at low temperature. Sufficient buoyancy is produced through the proper shape of the positioning floating body 10. As long as the positioning floating body can produce sufficient buoyancy to keep the entire anti-sloshing impact apparatus above the liquid cargo, any material or shape is applicable.

(13) Referring to FIG. 5, the anti-sloshing members 12 applied in the embodiment may be provided with discontinuous baffles 121 at a fixed angle a. The baffles have the fixed angle and proper spacing. The shapes of the baffles are not limited to specific shapes such as rectangle and oval. As long as the baffles can inhibit the flow of the liquid cargo during the movement of the liquid cargo, any shape is applicable.

(14) If the anti-sloshing members 12 are formed into structures with the above baffles, the size of movement resistance of fluid can be adjusted by changing the sizes of the baffles, the thickness forming the baffles, and the angle and the spacing of the baffles; and sloshing attenuation efficiency of the anti-sloshing members 12 and the strength of the anti-sloshing members 12 can be set properly. Therefore, the present embodiment can inhibit the sloshing more effectively according to the capacity and the form of the cargo tank and the kind of the stored cargo.

(15) As another example, although not shown in the figure, the anti-sloshing members 12 may be made of material having smaller specific gravity than the liquefied gas. In this case, the positioning floating body 10 in the above example can be reduced, and the anti-sloshing members 12 can float on the surface of the liquid cargo in different modes from those in the embodiments of the present.