Reservoir for storing hydrocarbon liquids and process for fabricating the same
AssigneeCampagnie Francaise des Petroles, Societe Anonyme
InventorsJean-Paul Azalbert, Adrien Giraud, Claude J. Tassin, Christian H. Pech
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Abstract
A reservoir for hydrocarbon liquids is formed by a hollow in the ground lined with a gas-tight sheet and covered by a roof floating on the liquid in the hollow, the roof comprising a non-metallic rigid body which is gas-tight and of low density, a meter cube of the body weighing between 15 kgs and 100 kgs, a layer of earth or the like covering the surface of the body, and auxilliary gas-tight means connecting the circumference of the roof body to the circumference of the hollow.
Claims20
A reservoir for storage of liquid, such as a hydrocarbon liquid, comprising a hollow to be filled with liquid whose level is to be maintained substantially constant and a roof for floating on the stored liquid, wherein the roof comprises a non-metallic rigid body which is gastight and of low density, the weight of a meter cube of the body being between 15 kgs and 100 kgs, the body supporting a layer of earth or the like distributed over the whole of its surface and auxiliary gastight means at least along the circumference of the roof, and connected to the circumference of the reservoir for ensuring isolation of the stored liquid.
A method of on site manufacture and laying in position of the roof body of a reservoir for storage of liquid, such as a hydrocarbon liquid, comprising a hollow to be filled with liquid whose level is to be maintained substantially constant and the roof floating on the stored liquid, wherein the roof body is manufactured by joining up elements of prismatic shape of a length equal or substantially equal to the width of the hollow, said method comprising the steps of
- orienting the elements in the direction of the width of the hollow,
- positioning the elements side by side,
- successively connecting the elements together over the whole length of the elements by gluing or welding, and
- progressively sliding the portion of the roof body thus formed in the direction of the reservoir previously filled with water each time a new element is added to the portion of roof body, so that said formed portion floats on the water in the hollow during the joining of the last element to the next element.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.