KR102803991B1 - Pressure vessel with reinforced fire resistance and strength - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a pressure vessel used for storing various fluids such as oxygen, natural gas, and nitrogen, and more specifically, to a pressure vessel having a refractory member and an impact-resistant member detachably provided on a shoulder portion.
The pressure vessel according to the present invention comprises: a liner having a hollow interior, a dome-shaped shoulder portion formed on one or both sides, and a nozzle boss provided on one or both sides; a ring-shaped fixing bracket fixed to the shoulder portion and having a through hole formed in the center; and a dome-shaped refractory member fixed to the fixing bracket, having a through hole formed in the center, and covering all or part of the shoulder portion.

Description

PRESSURE VESSEL WITH REINFORCED FIRE RESISTANCE AND STRENGTH

The present invention relates to a pressure vessel used for storing various fluids such as oxygen, natural gas, and nitrogen, and more specifically, to a pressure vessel having a refractory member and an impact-resistant member detachably provided on a shoulder portion.

Pressure vessels are used to store various fluids such as oxygen, natural gas, and nitrogen, and recently, they are being used as containers to store hydrogen, the fuel for eco-friendly hydrogen electric vehicles.

In the past, metal nozzle bosses and liners were manufactured and carbon fibers or glass fibers were wrapped or laminated on the outside of the nozzle bosses and liners. However, high-pressure vessels manufactured with conventional metal liners had the problem that they were heavy due to the nature of the metal, were very weak to corrosion, and had high manufacturing costs.

To solve this problem, a plastic liner was manufactured using synthetic resin, and the characteristics of plastic made it lighter and more corrosion-resistant than metal.

A conventional pressure vessel is formed with a liner made of plastic material. The liner is a hollow cylindrical shape, and is provided with a dome-shaped shoulder portion on both sides with a curved cross-section.

In addition, a protective layer is formed by laminating carbon fiber and glass fiber on the outer surface of the liner, and a nozzle for gas discharge is installed.

In addition, a reinforcing member is provided to reinforce the strength of the shoulder portion, which is vulnerable to pressure. The reinforcing member is installed on the shoulder portion, and then the carbon fiber and glass fiber are wound and fixed to the liner.

In particular, in order to improve the fire resistance performance of the pressure vessel, a fire retardant is coated on the shoulder portion. The fire retardant is applied to the surface of the shoulder portion, which is most vulnerable to pressure when the pressure vessel is exposed to fire.

Typically, the above-mentioned refractory material is sprayed onto the shoulder portion as an epoxy resin as a binder. The epoxy resin has excellent weather resistance, thereby reducing the risk of explosion when the pressure vessel is exposed to fire.

However, spraying the epoxy resin requires a high level of work difficulty to apply it in a uniform thickness. In other words, the uniformity of the refractory varies depending on the skill level of the worker. In addition, there is a lot of waste of epoxy resin when spraying.

However, if the pressure vessel is repeatedly exposed to high and low temperatures, the refractory material applied to the surface of the pressure vessel expands and contracts repeatedly depending on the temperature, causing it to crack or break and fall off from the surface of the pressure vessel.

If the pressure vessel is exposed to fire while the refractory material is separated from the pressure vessel, the gas contained inside may explode, leading to a major accident.

When the refractory falls out of the pressure vessel, maintenance is required. At this time, the pipe connected to the pressure vessel is disconnected and epoxy resin is sprayed again.

However, the work of separating the pipes in this way is very cumbersome, and complex processes such as leak inspection are required after separation and reconnection to the pipes for maintenance.

Patent registration No. 2250241 Patent registration No. 1856323 Patent registration No. 10-2250214 Patent Application No. 10-2021-0183745 Patent Application No. 10-2021-0183746

The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a pressure vessel in which a fireproof member and an impact-resistant member can be detachably combined on a shoulder portion.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a pressure vessel in which only damaged parts of the refractory member and the impact-resistant member can be removed and replaced without disconnecting the piping connected to the pressure vessel.

In order to solve the above technical problems, the pressure vessel according to the present invention comprises: a liner having a hollow interior, a dome-shaped shoulder portion formed on one or both sides, and a nozzle boss provided on one or both sides; a ring-shaped fixing bracket fixed to the shoulder portion and having a through hole formed in the center; and a dome-shaped refractory member fixed to the fixing bracket, having a through hole formed in the center, and covering all or part of the shoulder portion.

In addition, it is preferable to further provide an impact-resistant member between the shoulder portion and the fire-resistant member.

In addition, it is preferable that the above-mentioned shock-resistant member is formed in a dome shape or a ring shape, has a through hole formed in the center, and has an inner diameter surface that is in close contact with the outer surface of the above-mentioned fixed bracket.

In addition, it is preferable that the through hole of the above-mentioned shock-resistant member has a larger diameter than the through hole of the above-mentioned fire-resistant member.

In addition, it is preferable that the through hole of the above-mentioned shock-resistant member has a larger diameter than the through hole of the above-mentioned fixed bracket.

In addition, it is preferable that the above-mentioned shock-resistant member is made of foamed urethane material.

In addition, it is preferable that the above-mentioned refractory material includes any one thermoplastic resin selected from the group consisting of acrylic resin, polyvinyl chloride, polyolefin, urethane, rubber, and elastomer.

In addition, it is preferable that the above-mentioned fire-resistant member or shock-resistant member is formed separately in at least two or more pieces and formed into a dome shape when combined.

According to the present invention, by combining a fire-resistant member and an impact-resistant member to a shoulder portion of a liner that is vulnerable to pressure and impact, the fire resistance and impact resistance (strength) of a pressure vessel can be enhanced.

In particular, the fire-resistant member and the shock-resistant member can be firmly and easily attached and detached by means of a fixed bracket that is adhesively fixed to the liner.

In addition, the fireproof member or shock-resistant member is formed in an overall dome shape similar to the shape of the shoulder portion, but is divided into at least two or more parts, thereby enabling the removal and replacement of only the damaged portion of the fireproof member or shock-resistant member without separating the pipe connected to the pressure vessel.

Figures 1 and 2 are drawings for explaining the overall configuration of a pressure vessel according to the present invention.
Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of a pressure vessel according to the present invention.
Figure 4 shows another embodiment of a refractory member of a pressure vessel according to the present invention.

Hereinafter, the configuration and operation of the pressure vessel according to the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the attached drawings.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3, a pressure vessel (100) according to the present invention includes a liner made of synthetic resin or an elastic polymer material. The liner (110) is formed with a hollow cylindrical portion (111) and a dome-shaped shoulder portion (112) having a curved cross-section on both sides of the cylindrical portion (111).

The above liner is coupled with a nozzle boss (120) through which fluid enters and exits. The nozzle boss (120) is usually formed of a metal such as aluminum, brass, steel, or a nickel alloy, but may be formed of a non-metallic material in some cases.

In addition, a protective layer is formed by winding and laminating a composite material such as carbon fiber or glass fiber on the outer surface of the liner (110).

A fixed bracket (130) is attached to the shoulder portion (112). It is preferable that the fixed bracket (130) be made of a metal material or a hard synthetic resin. The fixed bracket (130) is formed in an overall ring shape, and a circular through hole (134) is formed in the center so that the nozzle boss (120) can pass through it. The fixed bracket (130) is formed of a ring-shaped body (131) having an outer diameter and an inner diameter, and an outer surface portion (132) formed by bending from the outer diameter side, and the outer surface portion (132) is formed as an inclined surface (a cross-section formed diagonally) with the diameter increasing toward the end.

In addition, a fastening hole (133) to which a fastening means (160) is fastened is formed in the body (131) of the above-mentioned fixed bracket (130).

The above fixing means (160) can be applied using known means such as screws, rivets or fixing pins.

The above fixed bracket (130) is fixed by being attached to the shoulder portion (112) with an adhesive. At this time, it is also possible to use a separate adhesive for fixing the above fixed bracket (130), and it is also possible to adhere it using a resin that is impregnated when winding the carbon fiber or glass fiber onto the liner.

A fireproof member (150) is provided that covers the shoulder portion (112) to which the above-mentioned fixed bracket (130) is fixed.

The above-mentioned refractory member (150) is formed in an overall dome shape similar to the shoulder part (112) in order to cover the shoulder part (112), and a through hole (151) is formed in the center to pass through the nozzle boss so as not to interfere with it.

It is preferable that the inner surface of the above refractory member (150) be in close contact with the nozzle boss (120).

The above-mentioned refractory member (150) is injection-molded by injecting a flame-retardant synthetic resin material, such as a thermoplastic resin, into a mold. Therefore, the above-mentioned refractory member (150) is easy to manufacture with a uniform thickness, unlike when applying a flame-retardant resin by spraying.

The thermoplastic resin is preferably one selected from the group consisting of acrylic resin, polyvinyl chloride, polyolefin, urethane, rubber, and elastomer.

The above-mentioned refractory member (150) is fixed to the fixing bracket (130) attached to the shoulder portion (112) by a fixing means (160). As described above, the fixing means (160) may be a known means such as a screw, a rivet, or a fixing pin.

That is, the refractory member (150) is fixed to the shoulder portion (112) via the fixing bracket (130). To explain more specifically, the fixing bracket (130) is bonded to the shoulder portion (112) to fix it, and the refractory member (150) is fastened to the fixing bracket (130), so that the refractory member (150) can be firmly fixed to the shoulder portion (liner). In addition, when the fixing means (160) is released, the refractory member (150) can be easily removed from the shoulder portion (112), making it a structure that is easy to replace or maintain.

In particular, in the embodiment (100) of the present invention, it can be seen that an impact-resistant member (140) is further provided between the shoulder portion (112) and the fire-resistant member (150).

The above-mentioned shock-resistant member (140) is manufactured by foam-molding a non-flammable rigid urethane material in a mold. The above-mentioned shock-resistant member (140) protects the shoulder portion (112) that is vulnerable to external impact and pressure, thereby improving fire resistance and shock resistance performance.

The above-mentioned shock-resistant member (140) is a component that covers a part of the shoulder part (112) so as to protect the shoulder part (112) from external impact. Therefore, it is formed in a dome shape similar to the shoulder part (112) as a whole. However, since the connection part with the cylindrical part (111) among the shoulder parts (112) is the weakest, the nozzle boss (120) side can be removed to view the entire part as a ring shape.

The above-mentioned shock-resistant member (140) has a through hole (141) formed in the center to form an inner diameter (surface).

Since the above-mentioned shock-resistant member (140) is provided inside the above-mentioned fire-resistant member (150), there is no need to fix or adhere it separately.

In this embodiment, it can be seen that the inner diameter surface of the shock-resistant member (150) is formed in close contact with or close to the outer surface (outer circumference) of the fixed bracket (130).

As described above, the bent outer surface (132) of the fixed bracket (130) is formed so that its diameter gradually increases, and its cross-section is formed as an outwardly inclined diagonal line. In order to be in close contact with the outer surface (132) of the fixed bracket (130), the inner diameter surface of the shock-resistant member (140) is also formed as an oblique cross-section. That is, since the mutually in contact surfaces of the fixed bracket (130) and the shock-resistant member (140) are formed as an inclined surface, it becomes easy to insert and remove the shock-resistant member (140) into the shoulder portion (112) to which the fixed bracket (130) is fixed.

Meanwhile, a predetermined space is formed between the outer surface (132) of the fixed bracket (130) and the fireproof member, and the shockproof member (140) is inserted into this space. Therefore, it is preferable that the shockproof member (140) be formed in a shape that can fill the space without any gaps.

Therefore, it is preferable that the inner diameter (diameter of the through hole) of the refractory member (150) is formed smaller than the inner diameter (diameter of the through hole) of the shock-resistant member (140), and also that the inner diameter (diameter of the through hole) of the fixed bracket (130) is formed smaller than the inner diameter of the shock-resistant member (140).

In addition, it is preferable that the outer diameter of the above-mentioned fixed bracket (130) be formed to be equal to or smaller than the inner diameter of the above-mentioned shock-resistant member (140).

That is, since the refractory member (150) covers the shoulder portion (112) and the diameter of the through hole (134) of the fixing bracket (130) is formed smaller than the diameter of the through hole (141) of the shock-resistant member (140), the fixing means (160) is structured to fasten the refractory member (150) and the fixing bracket (130) without passing through the shock-resistant member (140). In this way, the fixing means (160) can prevent the shock-resistant member (140) from being detached and fix it in place simply by fastening the refractory member (150) to the fixing bracket (130).

In this way, unlike the fire-resistant member (150), the shock-resistant member (140) is manufactured in a shape and size that can cover a portion of the area from the nozzle boss (120) to the shoulder portion (112).

Meanwhile, it is preferable that the end of the refractory member (150) is formed so as not to come into contact with the cylindrical portion (111) connected to the shoulder portion (112). That is, it is preferable that the end of the refractory member (150) is positioned at the boundary between the shoulder portion (112) and the cylindrical portion (111) or so as to expose a portion of the shoulder portion (112).

Referring to FIG. 4, the refractory member (150) according to the present invention can be formed by dividing into at least two or more pieces, and in the present embodiment, it is formed by dividing into three pieces, including a first refractory member (150a), a second refractory member (150b), and a third refractory member (150c).

In particular, the first to third refractory members (150a to 150c) are formed with step portions (153, 154) so that adjacent end portions can be joined by fitting each other. Specifically, one end portion is formed with a first step portion (153) in the shape of the letter 'L', and the other end portion is formed with a second step portion (154) in the shape of the letter 'L', so that they can be joined to each other by step.

By forming the first and second step portions (153, 154) in this way, the first to third refractory members (150a to 150c) can be easily joined and aligned, and can also wrap the shoulder portion (112) without any gaps.

In other words, the refractory member (150) is formed in a dome shape as a whole, and may be formed as a single piece as a whole, but it is preferable to form it separately into a plurality of pieces (first to third refractory members), such as two or three pieces.

After being separated and formed into multiple pieces in this manner, the first to third refractory members are fastened to the fixing bracket using a fixing means (160) such as a screw.

When the first to third refractory members (150a to 150c) are fastened to the fixed bracket, the refractory member (150) has an overall dome-shaped structure.

When the first to third refractory members (150a to 150c) are separated and formed in this way, there is an advantage in that only the damaged portion (for example, any one of the first to third refractory members) can be removed and replaced with a new piece of refractory member.

In particular, a pipe (not shown) for gas injection and discharge is connected to the nozzle boss (120) of the pressure vessel (100). For reference, the pipe includes a tube connected to the nozzle boss (120) through which a fluid is transported, a fitting that connects the tubes to each other in a hermetic manner, and a valve that controls the flow rate.

If the dome-shaped refractory member (150) is formed integrally rather than separately, in order to replace the refractory member (150), the pipe connected to the nozzle boss (120) must first be separated so that the damaged dome-shaped refractory member (150) can be removed.

Therefore, replacement and maintenance of the refractory member (150) are cumbersome.

However, if the refractory member (150) is not formed as a single piece but is formed separately from a plurality of first to third refractory members (150a to 150c), the fixing means (160) can be released while the pipe is connected to separate part or all of the refractory member (one of 150a to 150c) to be replaced, and the work can be replaced and maintained with a new refractory member, making the work much easier.

Likewise, the shock-resistant member (140) can be formed by separating at least two pieces and positioned and mounted between the fire-resistant member (150) and the shoulder portion (112).

The present invention can be formed by splitting both the shock-resistant member (140) and the fire-resistant member (150) as described above, but it is also possible to form the shock-resistant member (140) integrally and the fire-resistant member (150) by splitting.

Conversely, it is also possible to form the refractory member (150) integrally and the shock-resistant member (140) by split formation.

100: Pressure vessel
110: Liner
120: Nozzle Boss
130: Fixed bracket
140: Shock-resistant member
150: Fireproofing
160: Fixing means

Claims (8)

A liner having a hollow interior, a dome-shaped shoulder formed on one or both sides, and a nozzle boss provided on one or both sides;
A fixed bracket comprising a ring-shaped body having an outer diameter and an inner diameter and fixed to the shoulder portion, and an outer surface portion formed by bending so as to contact the shoulder portion on the outer diameter side of the body;
A refractory member formed in a dome shape that covers all or part of the shoulder portion to which the above-mentioned fixed bracket is fixed, and having a space formed between it and the outer surface portion;
An impact-resistant member inserted into a space formed between the above-mentioned refractory member and the outer surface of the above-mentioned fixed bracket; and
A pressure vessel characterized by including a fixing means for fixing the fireproof member to the fixing bracket while the shock-resistant member is inserted therein.
In the first paragraph,
A pressure vessel characterized in that the outer surface is formed as an inclined surface whose diameter increases as it approaches the end in contact with the shoulder portion.
In the second paragraph,
A pressure vessel characterized in that the above-mentioned shock-resistant member is formed in a dome shape with a through hole formed in the center, and the inner diameter surface is formed as an inclined surface so as to contact the outer surface.
In the third paragraph,
The above fixed bracket and refractory member have a through hole formed in the center,
A pressure vessel, characterized in that the through hole of the above-mentioned shock-resistant member has a larger diameter than the through hole of the above-mentioned fire-resistant member and the fixing bracket.
In paragraph 4,
A pressure vessel characterized in that the above fixing means fastens the fire-resistant member to the fixing bracket without passing through the impact-resistant member.
In the first paragraph,
A pressure vessel characterized in that the above-mentioned shock-resistant member is made of foamed urethane material.
In the first paragraph,
A pressure vessel, characterized in that the above-mentioned refractory material comprises any one thermoplastic resin selected from the group consisting of acrylic resin, polyvinyl chloride, polyolefin, urethane, rubber, and elastomer.
In the first paragraph,
A pressure vessel characterized in that the above-mentioned refractory member is formed by separating at least two or more refractory members, and the separately-formed refractory members are each fastened by the fixing means so that the separately-formed refractory members can be each replaced.