US 7,464,658 B2
	Sealed, thermally insulated tank incorporated into the load-bearing structure of a ship
Jacques Dhellemmes, Versailles (France); Pierre Michalski, Le Havre (France); and Vincent Fargant, Rochefort en Yvelines (France)
Assigned to Gaztransport et Technigaz, Saint-Remy-les-Chevreuse (France)
Filed on Nov. 03, 2005, as Appl. No. 11/265,118.
Claims priority of application No. 04 11967 (FR), filed on Nov. 10, 2004.
Prior Publication US 2006/0096185 A1, May 11, 2006
Int. Cl. B63B 25/08 (2006.01)

U.S. Cl. 114—74A  [220/901]

23 Claims

1. Sealed, thermally insulated tank including at least one tank wall fixed to the load-bearing structure (1) of a floating structure, said tank wall having, in succession, in the direction of the thickness from the inside to the outside of said tank, a primary sealing barrier (8), a primary insulating barrier (6), a secondary sealing barrier (5) and a secondary insulating barrier (2), at least one of said insulating barriers consisting essentially of juxtaposed non-conducting elements (3, 7), each non-conducting element including a thermal insulation liner arranged in the form of a layer parallel to said tank wall, at least one panel (10, 11) extending parallel to said tank wall over at least one side of said thermal insulation liner and load-bearing partitions projecting from a face of said at least one panel facing said thermal insulation liner, said load-bearing partitions rising through the thickness of said thermal insulation liner in order to take up compression forces, characterized in that said load-bearing partitions include at least one anti-buckle partition (14, 114, 214, 314, 414, 514, 614, 714, 814) that, seen in cross section in a plane parallel to said at least one panel, has a general longitudinal direction (A) and includes a plurality of anti-buckle wall elements (25, 125, 225a-b, 325a, 425c-d, 566, 666, 766, 866, 825) that have a respective orientation forming an angle relative to said general longitudinal direction (A) of the anti-buckle partition.