Cryogenic fluids transfer system with transfer spills containment

Abstract

The present invention regards a system for transferral of at least one cryogenic fluid between two objects. At least one transfer pipe extending from the installation extends into a receiving room in the vessel, the transfer pipe being connectable with piping on the vessel through a connection in the receiving room. The receiving room is closable, the connection, and or at least a part of the construction forming the receiving room and or other elements in the receiving room are constructed to withstand eventual leakage of the cryogenic fluid and the system also provides for evacuating the receiving room for eventual spilled fluid. The invention also regards a flange for use in the system.

Claims

1. A system for transferral of a cryogenic fluid between an installation and a vessel, the system comprising: the vessel comprising a hull and a receiving room; a transfer pipe extending from the installation, through an opening in the hull of the vessel, and into the receiving room in the vessel, the transfer pipe being connected, during transfer of the cryogenic fluid, with a piping on the vessel through a connection in the receiving room, wherein the piping extends from the connection to outside the receiving room, wherein the receiving room is closed to human entry during transfer of the cryogenic fluid by a lock; wherein the connection includes a fluid channel and a seal, and is available to swivel during transfer of the cryogenic fluid; wherein the connection means and at least a part of a construction forming the receiving room are capable of withstanding a leakage of the cryogenic fluid; means for evacuating the receiving room to remove the leakage of the cryogenic fluid; and wherein the at least a part of the construction forming the receiving room comprises a wall formed with a plurality of insulation voids that extend within the wall and contain a vacuum or a gas.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the transfer pipe and the piping on the vessel are at least doubly mantled and comprising voids, with a vacuum or a gas at a pressure equal to or larger than a pressure within the transfer pipe or the piping, in at least one of the voids between different mantles of the transfer pipe and the piping on the vessel.

3. The system according to claim 2, wherein the insulation voids in the receiving room construction or the voids in the at least doubly mantled pipe or piping are provided with a gas.

4. The system according to claim 1, wherein the transfer pipe from the installation goes through a turret, the turret is arranged on a plurality of bearings atop or within the vessel, the connection comprises a swivel means, and at least a part of the turret is formed with a plurality of voids each containing a vacuum or a gas.

5. The system according to claim 4, wherein the bearings are arranged within the receiving room and formed to withstand the leakage of the cryogenic fluid.

6. The system according to claim 4, wherein the means for evacuating the receiving room comprises an opening in a bottom of the receiving room leading to a drain tank comprising a pump for manipulating the cryogenic fluid.

7. The system according to claim 4, wherein the turret is releasably attached to the vessel.

8. The system according to claim 4, wherein the turret is connected to a submerged buoy, releasably arranged in a receiving means, and arranged at the vessel close to a bottom of the hull.

9. The system according to claim 8, wherein at least a part of an area around the receiving means comprises insulation voids provided with a vacuum or a gas.

10. The system according to claim 8, wherein the hull of the vessel in a part around the receiving means is formed with recesses or tunnels for evacuation of the cryogenic fluid beneath the vessel.

11. The system according to claim 8, wherein the piping in the receiving room comprises an articulated piping for connecting to and releasing a connection to the transfer pipe from the installation.

12. The system according to claim 11, wherein the piping in the receiving room is formed by the articulated piping that comprises the swivel means.

13. The system according to claim 1, wherein the closable and sealable receiving room, when transferring the cryogenic fluid through the system, is filled with a gas at a pressure equal to or higher than a pressure of the cryogenic fluid.

14. The system according to claim 2, wherein the insulation voids in the receiving room construction or the voids in the at least doubly mantled transfer pipe and or piping are provided with an inert gas.

15. The system according to claim 2, wherein the insulation voids in the of the receiving room construction or the voids in the at least doubly mantled transfer pipe and or piping are provided with nitrogen.

16. The system according to claim 1, wherein the system is constructed to transfer the cryogenic fluid as a liquid.

17. The system according to claim 16, wherein the liquid comprises liquefied petroleum gas or liquefied natural gas.

18. The system according to claim 1, wherein the receiving room is constructed and sized to permit human entry therein.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The invention will now be explained in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, where:

(2) FIG. 1 is a schematic sketch of the principles of the invention,

(3) FIG. 2 shows a schematic sketch of a single point mooring system for a vessel used in connection with the invention,

(4) FIG. 3 shows details of a first preferred embodiment of the invention for a single point moored vessel,

(5) FIG. 4 shows a second detail related to articulated piping onboard the vessel of an embodiment of the invention,

(6) FIG. 5 shows a third detail of the hull in an embodiment of the invention,

(7) FIG. 6 shows a fourth detail of evacuation means for spilled fluid,

(8) FIG. 7 depicts a second embodiment of the details showed in FIG. 3,

(9) FIG. 8 depicts a third embodiment of the details showed in FIG. 3 and

(10) FIG. 9 depicts a fourth embodiment of the details showed in FIG. 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(11) For clarification similar elements in the different figures and embodiments are given equal reference numerals in all the figures.

(12) The present invention regards a transfer system as schematically shown in FIG. 1. The system comprises transfer pipes from one object, for instance an installation 1 which may be land based, floating in the water or a sub sea installation, to another object 2 which may be a vessel for transport. There are transfer pipes 3 from the first installation to a receiving room 4 on board the vessel 2, where the transfer pipes 3 through connection means 6, are connected to piping 5 onboard the vessel.

(13) As stated above the objects may be of different kind, the receiving room may for a transport vessel be in the bow stern or amidships or between. There may be more than one transfer pipe or piping and one may transfer at least one cryogenic fluid and possible also other fluid and media.

(14) In a preferred embodiment of the invention, it is used in the connection with a vessel which has a single point mooring system, as shown in FIG. 2. The transfer pipe 3 extends from a sub sea installation and or another floating object and in connected to turret means, which in the shown embodiment is a part of a normally submerged buoy 20. The buoy 20 is received in receiving means in the hull of the vessel, for mooring and transfer of fluid. The transfer pipes 3 are through connection means 6, connecting to the piping 5 onboard the vessel 2, in a manner so that the vessel may rotate around the mooring point and the transfer pipes 3 do not experience unnecessary stress. This is a well known mooring and transfer system at sea, where there are weather conditions which demand quick release and an ability to change the position of the vessel dependent on weather and sea conditions.

(15) In FIG. 3 there is shown a preferred embodiment of several of the details according to the present invention. The transfer pipe 3 is guided through a buoy 20 and connected to the piping 5 onboard the vessel 2 through connection means 6 in a closable receiving room 4. The buoy 20 is formed with a surface section 21, in this embodiment as a truncated cone, corresponding to receiving means 13 provided for in a section of the hull 7 of the vessel 2. The buoy 20 may also be provided with a void 22, for buoyancy and or insulation.

(16) The structure forming the receiving room 4 and a section of the hull 7 are formed with voids 36 in the structure, to provide insulation of the closable receiving room 4 and the hull 7. The insulation may be achieved by vacuum in the voids or adding of a gas. The bearing means 11 for the turret arrangement 10 connected to the buoy 20 and the locking means 14 for locking the turret 10 and the buoy 20 to the vessel 2 are formed in a more cold resistant material.

(17) The connection means 6 are in this embodiment a swivel means 12 with one fluid channel and double seals 23, 24 around the fluid channel. There may of course be swivel means with more than one fluid channel in the system according to the invention.

(18) The transfer pipe 3 and the piping onboard the vessel 2 are formed with a double mantle, with an inner mantle 18 and an outer mantle 19, to insulate the cryogenic fluid pipe and also give security in case of leakage. There are means to provide vacuum and or add a gas to the void between the inner mantle 18 and the outer mantle 19 (these means are not shown). The gas may be nitrogen or another inert gas.

(19) In the embodiment all flanges 15, within the piping 5 or the transfer pipe 3, or between these and the connection means 6, are provided with a double seal, with an inner seal 16 and an outer seal 17. There are (not shown) means to provide a fluid in the void between the two seals, for instance gas, as nitrogen or another inert gas.

(20) This fluid between the seals or in the void between the mantles or in the structure of the receiving room 4 and or the section of the hull 7 may be added at a pressure equal to or higher than the pressure of the fluid to be transferred.

(21) FIG. 4 shows another embodiment of the transfer pipe 3 and the piping 5 onboard the vessel 2 in comparison with the details shown in FIG. 3. The piping 5 is in this embodiment an articulated piping 5 comprising pipe swivel joints 25 within the receiving room 4. Also the transfer pipe 3 is articulated with pipe joints 26.

(22) FIG. 5 depicts another detail of the system according to the invention. The hull 7 of the vessel 2 are, from beneath the receiving room 4 and out to the sides of the vessel formed with recesses or channels 8, for releasing of eventual trapped cryogenic fluid beneath the vessel.

(23) In FIG. 6 it is shown an embodiment of a detail of the invention for evacuation the receiving room 4 of eventual spilled cryogenic fluid. The evacuation means comprise an opening 30 in the bottom of the receiving room 4, which opening leads to a tank 31. There are within the tank 31 a pump 32 and spillage piping 33 for transfer of the cryogenic fluid from the tank back to the system and or to another system. Both the receiving room 4 and the tank 31 are formed with insulation voids 36 in the structure forming the receiving room 4 and the tank 31. The section of the hull 7 beneath the receiving room is in this embodiment also formed with an insulating cladding 35.

(24) FIG. 7 depicts another embodiment of the details of the invention which are shown in FIG. 3. We will here only describe the differences and not the elements which are similar and already described with reference to FIG. 3. There is in this embodiment two transfer pipes 3, connection means 6 for these two pipes to two sets of piping 5 onboard the vessel 2, which all are doubly mantled as in the embodiment shown in FIG. 3. In the receiving room 4 there are in addition arranged a closable cylinder cover 40 around the connection means 6 comprising flanges 15 and swivel means 12. The cylinder cover 40 extends from the turret means 10 and up to the deck 41 of the vessel 2. By having the cylinder cover extending above the deck 41 it may be kept open at the top so eventual gas of spilled cryogenic fluids may evaporate to the environment. The embodiment also shows lifting means 9 for eventual lifting of the connection means 6 and or the piping 5 and cylinder cover 40 into contact with the transfer pipe 3 from the other installation, when the buoy 20 and the turret means 10 are brought in contact with and positioned within the receiving means 13 in the vessel 2.

(25) FIG. 8 depicts a third embodiment. It is referred to the description of FIGS. 7 and 3 for explanation of similar elements. There is one difference between FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 in the connection means 6, comprising the swivel means 12 are arranged at or above deck level 41. However, any spillage of cryogenic fluid in the swivel means 6 will still be closed off in that personnel will not have access to the area during transfer, and fluid spillage will run down in to the cylinder cover, and boil off evaporate to the atmosphere.

(26) FIG. 9 depicts a fourth embodiment, where the turret 10 is arranged as part of the vessel 2. The turret 10 is arranged on bearings 11 close to or at the deck level 41, and is anchored to the sea bed by anchor lines 42. Also in this embodiment is the connection means 6 comprising the swivel means 12 closed off in a similar manner as the embodiment depicted in FIG. 8.

(27) The invention has now been explained with detailed embodiments, there may be envisaged several alterations and modification within the reach of a skilled person, which would fall within the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims. The connection means 6 may be positioned on the vessel, on the turret and or buoy or partly on the turret and partly on the vessel and brought into contact when the elements are correctly positioned. The turret may be a non releasable turret in the vessel. The turret arrangement may be in the bow of the vessel. The system may comprise all the detail described above or a combination of some of them. The receiving room may be filled with an inert gas or nitrogen when the transfer system is used. The system may comprise sensors for sensing loss in pressure in the fluid added to the voids, to detect leakage. The pipes may be triple mantled, and there may be triple seals, where there is gas added only between two of the mantles or seals or between all or vacuum between some and a fluid between the others.