EP0548561A1 - Heated transport tank - Google Patents

Abstract

In the case of a heated transport tank, the sole region of the tank jacket 10 is surrounded by an outer shell 15, which is kept at a distance via spout-like formations 16. The outer shell 15, which forms a steam flow chamber 20, extends over the entire axial length of the tank. At intermediate points at which the tank is supported by a cross saddle 25 on the cross member 11 of a floor assembly, the grommet-like formations 16 are reinforced by spacer elements inserted between the tank jacket 10 and the outer shell 15, each of which is constructed as a stack of several individual, relatively thin annular disks are. The individual washers adapt to the local curvature of the tank shell 10 and are also able to follow instantaneous changes in curvature, so that they ensure an even distribution of force in all load cases. <IMAGE>

Description

In the case of transport tanks, which can be parts of tank containers, rail tank cars or road tank vehicles, temperature control, in particular heating at least in the tank bottom area, is often necessary. This is the case, for example, when the tank is used to transport masses that solidify at normal outside temperatures, such as bitumen.

For heating the sole area by means of steam, it is known to form steam channels by means of half-pipes welded under the tank bottom and running in the axial direction of the tank. However, this design requires high welding effort, causes additional welding stresses and leads to a considerable increase in the tare weight.

In other embodiments, a vapor space is formed by an outer shell surrounding the sole region of the tank jacket at a distance. In the case of larger tanks, however, support on the container or vehicle frame is required not only in the area of the two front ends of the tank but also at one or more intermediate points in order to direct vertical forces of the tank including its filling from the tank bottom directly into the base group of the frame in question.

In the case of unheated tanks, it is known from DE 36 24 430 A1 to design such intermediate saddles as supports, each of which is inserted between a reinforcement ring surrounding the tank jacket and a cross member of the floor assembly. Such reinforcement rings usually require an interruption of the steam space in tanks with a heated sole area. On the one hand, this leads to corresponding zones of the tank jacket being unheated and, on the other hand, requires additional measures to connect the separate steam rooms to one another. Another significant disadvantage of such a construction is that any interruption in the steam chamber formed by the outer shell requires additional welds.

The invention has for its object, one in particular Specify a heated transport tank in the sole area, which on the one hand has a flow chamber for the heating or tempering medium, which is continuous over the entire axial length of the tank, and yet permits non-positive support of the tank via cross saddles provided between the tank ends.

The solution to this problem according to the invention is characterized in claim 1. The formations subsequently provided in the outer shell, which keep the outer shell at a distance from the tank jacket to form the flow chamber and are not inherently resistant enough to withstand the forces to be transmitted from a filled tank to the relevant transverse saddle, are supported by spacing elements surrounding them. These each comprise a plurality of ring disks stacked one above the other, the stack height corresponding to the clear distance between the tank shell and the outer shell. With this construction of the spacer elements, the individual ring disks are thin and flexible enough to be able to adapt to the curvature of the tank shell and the outer shell. This ensures that the entire surface of the washers is available for power transmission.

If instead of an annular disk stack a single solid disk with the distance between the tank shell and outer shell of appropriate thickness were used, such a disk could be bent according to the curvature of the tank jacket before it was installed, but there would be a risk that the disk would twist during installation, whereby then point loads would occur even more. In addition, individual solid spacer elements would not be able to follow deformations of the tank shell, which can occur in particular when the tank is placed hard, where efficient power transmission is essential.

The configuration of the spacer elements as a stack of ring disks, which surround the formations of the outer shell, is also favorable in terms of assembly technology, because the individual ring disks are centered by the formations and cannot shift over time.

The development of the invention according to claims 2 and 3 is particularly favorable with regard to a uniform introduction of force from the tank jacket or from the outer shell into the ring disk stack. It is achieved by the measure of claim 4 in a simple manner that there are soft transitions in the force distribution on the outer edges of the washers.

The development of the invention according to claim 5 leads to the further advantage that the outer shell in the region of each formation can be fastened to the tank jacket by an annular weld seam and the entire structure can thereby be stiffened.

The developments of the invention according to claims 6 to 9 relate to preferred designs of the saddle, the wood layer inserted according to claim 7 not only effecting good insulation but also making the support forces and the power transmission more uniform. The measures of claims 8 and 9 represent simple manufacturing technology to secure the loosely inserted wooden layer against displacement, but at the same time allow thermal expansion of the tank shell and the outer shell without the risk of stress cracks.

Figur l

einen senkrecht zur Tankachse ausgeführten Schnitt durch die Hälfte des unteren Teils eines Tankcontainers,

Figur 2

ein vergrößertes Detail der Figur 1, und

Figur 3 und 4

teilweise geschnittene Seitenansichten eines Teils des in Figur 1 gezeigten Tanksohlenbereichs.

Embodiments of the invention are explained in more detail below with reference to drawings. It shows

Figure l

a section perpendicular to the tank axis through half of the lower part of a tank container,

Figure 2

an enlarged detail of Figure 1, and

Figures 3 and 4

partially sectioned side views of part of the tank sole area shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1 illustrates a part of the tank shell 10 and a cross member 11 and a longitudinal spar 12, which form part of the bottom group of a tank container. At 13, one of the load-bearing areas of the carrier vehicle provided in addition to the container corners is indicated according to ISO.

In the sole region, the tank jacket 10 is surrounded by an outer shell 15 which extends over the entire axial length of the tank and which is formed by a large number of grommet-like, truncated cones Formations 16 supported on the tank jacket 10. The outer shell 15 consists, for example, of 2 mm thick sheet steel, the formations 16, in addition to the spacing relative to the tank jacket 10, stiffening the outer shell 15 itself.

As indicated at 17, the outer shell 15 is welded to the tank jacket 10 along its entire edge. Furthermore, at least some or all of the formations 16 in the truncated cone surface are provided with a circular hole 18 and are connected to the tank jacket 10 along the edge of the hole by a circular weld seam 19. The outer shell 15 thus forms a closed flow chamber 20 with the tank jacket 10, through which steam or another heating medium is passed via feed and discharge lines, as shown at 14. The flow chamber 20 has a clear height of 6 mm, for example.

The grommet-like, frustoconical shape 16 shown enlarged in FIG. 2 is surrounded by an annular spacer element 21, which consists of a stack of four individual annular disks. For reasons of clarity, the spacer elements 21 are not shown in FIG. 1.

The two outer ring disks 22 of this stack adjacent to the tank jacket 10 and the outer shell 15 have a thickness of 1 mm and an outer diameter of 100 mm, while the two inner ring disks 23 have a thickness of 2 mm and an outer diameter of 90 mm. The washers 22, 23 are stamped elements, the two outer washers 22 being arranged such that their punch burrs point towards one another and the rounded punched edges face the tank jacket 10 or the outer shell 15.

• (a) Wegen ihrer verhältnismäßig geringen Dicke können sich die einzelnen Ringscheiben 22, 23 der örtlichen Krümmung des Tankmantels 10 exakt anpassen.
• (b) Aus dem gleichen Grund können die einzelnen Ringscheiben auch solchen Krümmungsänderungen folgen, wie sie etwa infolge von Belastungs- oder Temperaturänderungen im Betrieb auftreten.
• (c) Da die einzelnen Ringscheiben 22, 23 zunächst nicht vorgekrümmt sind, können sie in beliebiger Orientierung eingebaut werden.
• (d) Die dem Tankmantel 10 und der Außenschale 15 benachbarten äußeren Ringscheiben 22 des Stapels bewirken wegen ihres größeren Außendurchmessers und ihrer geringeren Dicke eine besonders gleichmäßige Kraftverteilung ohne abrupte Änderungen beim Durchgang von Kräften vom Tank auf die (weiter unten beschriebene) Sattelstruktur.
• (e) Dieser Effekt wird durch Ausnutzung der verrundeten Stanzkanten an den äußeren Ringscheiben 22 weiter verbessert.
• (f) Die Innendurchmesser der einzelnen Ringscheiben 22, 23 können, wie in Figur 2 veranschaulicht, entsprechend der Konusform der Ausformung 16 gestaffelt werden, so daß sie jeweils möglichst große Flächen zum Kraftübergang zur Verfügung stellen.

Compared to a spacer element formed from a single solid disk, for example, the ring disk stack explained with reference to FIG. 2 has the following advantages:

• (a) Because of their relatively small thickness, the individual annular disks 22, 23 can exactly adapt to the local curvature of the tank jacket 10.
• (b) For the same reason, the individual washers can also follow such changes in curvature as occur, for example, as a result of changes in load or temperature during operation.
• (c) Since the individual ring disks 22, 23 are initially not pre-curved, they can be installed in any orientation.
• (d) The outer ring disks 22 of the stack adjacent to the tank jacket 10 and the outer shell 15, because of their larger outer diameter and their smaller thickness, bring about a particularly uniform distribution of force without abrupt changes in the passage of forces from the tank onto the saddle structure (described below).
• (e) This effect is further improved by utilizing the rounded punched edges on the outer ring disks 22.
• (f) As illustrated in FIG. 2, the inner diameters of the individual annular disks 22, 23 can be staggered according to the cone shape of the formation 16, so that they each provide the largest possible areas for the force transfer.

For assembly, it may be expedient to fix the individual annular disks 22, 23 to one another and to the inner surface of the outer shell 15 at a single point, for example by means of a welding point or by means of adhesive, without, however, causing a permanent rigid connection.

The tank described above, which is provided in its entire sole area with a continuous outer shell 15 to form a steam flow chamber 20, is supported at intermediate points between its two front ends via at least one transverse saddle on a cross member of the floor assembly, one of which at 11 in FIG. 1 , 3 and 4 is shown.

The transverse saddle comprises a U-profile element 25, the central web 26 of which, following the curvature of the tank, is curved in a circle around the tank axis as the center. The two side legs 27 of the U-profile element 25 encompass the cross member 11 and, as shown in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4 at 28, are welded directly to it in the lowest tank area. Above each load-bearing area 13, where the tank lies due to its curvature over the cross member 11, the U-profile element 25 is connected to the cross member 11 via a pair of support plates 29, which are on the inner surfaces of the side legs 27 and on the upper edges of the cross member 11 are welded. To avoid voltage peaks, the support plates 29 are provided with a round cutout 30 on their edge facing away from the lower center of the tank.

Between the central web 26 of the U-profile element 25 and the outer shell 15 an approximately 30 mm thick wooden layer 31 is inserted, which consists of three circumferential abutting individual plywood shells which are pre-bent in accordance with the tank curvature.

Between the wood ply 31 and the outer surface of the outer shell 15 there is also a 2 mm thick stainless steel band 32 which has an outwardly directed fold 33 at its ends lying in the circumferential direction. At the outermost edge, this band 32, as indicated at 34 in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4, is welded to a circular Doppler plate 35 welded onto the tank jacket 10. Furthermore, at the points where the individual parts of the wooden layer 31 end, the band 32 has flange parts 36 which are bent laterally outwards and prevent the loosely inserted wooden layer 31 from moving in the axial direction of the tank. The folds 33 serve on the one hand to compensate for the length between the tank jacket 10 and the band 32 and thus to avoid tension, and on the other hand as a stop against a deflection of the wooden layer 31 in the circumferential direction.

The wood layer 31 not only provides insulation between the outer shell 15 delimiting the steam flow chamber 20 and the U-profile element 25 of the cross saddle, but also, due to its to a certain extent soft-plastic structure, a uniform distribution of the forces transmitted between the tank and the cross saddle. For this reason, the wood layer 31 is also in its width of approximately 150 mm is chosen to be considerably larger than the central web 26 of the U-profile element 25, which has a width of 100 mm, for example.

The representations of FIGS. 3 and 4 differ with regard to the (random) orientation of the grommet-like formations 16 provided in the outer shell 15 relative to the positioning of the cross saddle. In the arrangement according to FIG. 3, only the formations 16a lying in the central plane M of the cross saddle need to be provided with the spacer elements 21 shown in FIG. In the formations located outside the cross saddle, such spacer elements are not required and, since they reduce the flow chamber, are not desired.

In the arrangement according to FIG. 4, there are no projections 16 in alignment with the central plane M of the cross saddle. In this case, all or at least several of the formations 16b are reinforced by spacer elements 21 according to FIG. 2.

In the exemplary embodiment described, the outer shell 15 surrounding the sole region of the tank extends over an angle of, for example, 80 ° around the tank axis. The rest of the tank circumference is surrounded by a conventional reinforcement ring 37, the beveled end of which is welded to the tank jacket 10 and the outer shell 15 to avoid voltage peaks, as is the end of the band 32 to the Doppler plate 35.

In Figure 1, an insulation surrounding the entire tank is indicated with an outer skin 38.

Claims (9)

Transport tank, the jacket (10) of which is surrounded at least in the sole area by an outer shell (15) running in the longitudinal direction of the tank to form a flow chamber (20) for a temperature control medium, and in the area between its front ends via at least one transverse saddle (25) on a base group ( 11) supports
characterized,
that the outer shell (15) is held at a distance from the tank jacket (10) by means of formations (16),
that the transverse saddle (25) has a structure which lies against the outer shell (15) and partially surrounds it, and
that at least some of the formations (16) present in the area of the cross saddle (25) are surrounded by spacer elements (21), each of which comprises a plurality of stacked washers (22, 23). Transport tank according to claim 1, characterized in that the ring disks (22) adjacent to the tank jacket (10) and those of the outer shell (15) are thinner than the middle ring disk (s) (23). Transport tank according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the ring disks (22) adjacent to the tank jacket (10) and those of the outer shell (15) have a larger diameter than the middle ring disk (s) (23). Transport tank according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the ring disks (22, 23) are punched and the outer two ring disks (22) of the stack with their rounded punched edges face the tank jacket (10) or the outer shell (15) . Transport tank according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the formations (16) are frustoconical and have a circular hole (18) in their surface adjacent to the tank jacket (10), along the edge of which the outer shell (15) with the tank jacket ( 10) is welded. Transport tank according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the transverse saddle comprises a U-profile element (25), the central web (26) of which follows the curvature of the tank and which is connected on its side legs (27) to a cross member (11) of the floor assembly is. Transport tank according to claim 6, characterized in that a shell-like wooden layer (31) is inserted between the outer shell (15) and the central web (26) of the U-profile element (25). Transport tank according to claim 7, characterized in that a band (32) is inserted between the wooden layer (31) and the outer shell (15) and has lateral flange parts (36) for holding the wooden layer (31) against displacements in the axial direction of the tank. Transport tank according to claim 8, characterized in that in each of the two end regions of the belt (32) located in the circumferential direction of the tank, an outwardly pointing fold (33) is formed, which is welded (34) to the tank with its end edge.

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