US2984898A - Method of erecting a steel storage tank and the like - Google Patents

Description

May 23, 1961 SVEN'ERIK V. SVENSSON METHOD OF ERECTING A STEEL STORAGE TANK AND THE LIKE Filed Feb. 10, 1958 FIG.1

4 Sheets-Sheet l SVEN-ERIK v. SVENSSON 2,984,898

May 23, 1961 METHOD OF ERECTING A STEEL STORAGE TANK AND THE LIKE Filed Feb. 10, 1958 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 ll'cven tor :15. l/ffivensaon May 23 1961 SVEN-ERIK v. svENssoN 2,

METHOD OF ERECTING A STEEL STORAGE TANK AND THE LIKE Filed Feb. 10, 1958 FIG.5

4 Sheets-Sheet 5 y 1951 SVEN-ERIK v. SVENSSON 2,984,898

METHOD OF ERECTING A STEEL STORAGE TANK AND THE LIKE 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Feb. 10, 1958 5 8 A Mw United States Patent METHOD OF ERECTING A STEEL STORAGE TANK AND THE LIKE Sven-Erik Vilhelm Svensson, Lidingo, Sweden, assignor to AB Byggforbattring, Stockholm, Sweden, a joint stock company of Sweden Filed Feb. 10, 1958, Ser. No. 714,233

Claims priority, application Sweden Feb. 13, 1957 2 Claims. (Cl. 29-429) This invention relates to a method and devices for erecting wall constructions built up from edgewise erected elements or parts of constructions, preferably of sheet metal, the wall in a principally known way erected from below, element by element, the said elements connected to each other, for example by welding, and the thus completed part of the wall being lifted stepwise by means of lifting jacks or similar lifting devices to such position that the next element can befitted from below. This erection method has among others the following advantage that the fitting of the elements etc. and the joining is always carried out on the ground, whereby a troublesome and time wasting lifting of the various elements to heights successively increasing during operation is avoided and all scafiolding work for this erecting is superfluous. However, in the case on an annular metal sheet tank adequate working space must be provided around the outside of the tank on the ground and at some length upward as required for carrying out of the various operations for example fitting and joining and the outward welding. Normally, for instance for tanks placed in the open air above the ground surface this working space is already provided. If however the tank is placed in a rock for which purpose the necessary outside working space must be provided by rock blasting, considerable additional costs are caused by the blasting operation. Should, besides, after completion of the sheet metal tank the space around the tank beween the sheet wall and the rock be filled with concrete it is economically important to minimize said space in order to reduce the concrete consumption.

It is among other the object of the invention to facilitate the method set forth above to fit elements from below successively and to lift the wall part after completion sectionwise in a blasted rock area with as little blasting work required as possible or at other places where for some reason the outward space is or must be limited.

The invention is substantially characterized in that the sectionwise lifting of the successively completed wall part (construction) is carried out with one or several lifting devices (e.g. hydraulic or pneumatic jack or jacks provided with screw or tooth and pinion, or similar jack elements) placed in such positions in relation to the construction to be lifted that the construction hangs centrically in order to be horizontally rotated or turned if so required. The most simple of such cases is, for instance, that preferably a hydraulic lifting jack climbs along a vertical climbing rod or climbing wire and that the construction to be lifted at its point of suspension to the lifting jack is provided with, for instance, a ball bearing. As thereby after the fitting of the various element parts the whole construction can be rotated or turned, consequently all erecting work as well as controls can be concentrated to one or possibly several places on a certain horizontal area, usually the ground area. It is only at this place (these places) that outward working space is required.

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The invention is of particular importance when the erection of sheet metal tanks in rocks is concerned but is, of course, also applicable for other construction types. However, in order to make clear the principle of the invention the following description of an embodiment refers to a tank placed in a rock.

In this description the term annular sections denotes cylindrical rings which when assembled make up a circular tank or the like, and the term plate elements denote elements which are of sheet metal and are joined together in each annular section and to the plate elements of another section above and below as described.

Of the accompanying schematic drawings l-8 Fig. 1 shows a space blasted out of a rock the roof structure of the tank mounted on the bottom area and the lifting device installed. Fig. 2 shows the roof lifted to the height of the first section which will be the uppermost one. Fig. 3 shows the joining of the uppermost sheet elements to the roof and to themselves whereby the completed construction part is successively rotated. Fig. 4 shows a horizontal section through the rock space above the tank roof along the line 1VIV in Fig. 3. In Fig. 5 the roof. with the uppermost annular section fixed below is lifted up a step and the nearest section is under joining in the same way as shown in Fig. 3. Fig. 6 shows the roof and the two uppermost sections lifted up for joining of a following element. In Fig. 7 the annular sections are lifted up to final position with all elements mounted, and the tank walls fixed to the tank bottom. A possibly necessary concrete filling between tank and rock is already carried out. Fig. 8, finally, shows the lower part of the rock space, the various Wall parts not being mounted by means of the rotating construction but by using a centrally fixed cart for transport of the wall parts to the place of assembly.

The embodiments illustrated by the figures are provided with the following reference numerals, 1 indicating the climbing rod or wire, 2 resp. 3 the anchorings fixed in the roof or bottom of the rock, 4 resp. 5 the stretching devices (possibly simultaneously the height adjusting devices) in the roof and bottom, 6 indicating the suspension device of the hanger for the tank roof 14 via the lifting bars 7. 8 indicates the lifting device (for instance one or several hydraulic lifting jacks placed linearly along the climbing rod) and 9 the rotation bearing (ball bearing, roller bearing) (possibly with a lowering screw). 10 indicates the centering rod for the climbing pole and 11 resp. 12 the rock pin and fastening device for the same. 13 indicates the stretching device (tension shackle) for centering of the climbing pole, 15 the Working place for mounting and other work (for instance the mouth of the tunnel. 16, 17 and 18 indicate plate elements ready joined together in the uppermost i.e. the first annular section, 19 indicates another plate element next to be fixed in this section and 29 (Fig. 5) designates the completely mounted uppermost annular section, 21, 22 and 23 designate the joined elements of the second annular section, 24 a plate element to this section which element is ready to be mounted, 25 (Fig. 6) designates the second completed annular section, i.e. next to the uppermost'and 25 (Fig. 7) the completed lowest annular section next to the bottom. 27 designates the possibly necessary concrete filling and 28 the form work for concrete casting at the place of assembly, 29 a rotary concrete pocket for distribution of concrete, 30 a possible tunnel mouth at the top, 31 (Figs. 5 and 6) device (manually or motor operated) for rotating of the construction. 32 the cart for lifting and transport of the wall element 33 (Fig. 8), 34 a mounted plate element. 35 designates plate elements in store, 36 backing rollers (Figs. 3, 5, 6), 37 (Fig. l) a working platform to be lifted and lowered and 38 (Fig. 5) poles for possible stiffening of the climbing rod to resist breaking. 39 designates a gliding fastener around the climbing rod and 40 a stretching device, both the latter in connection with 38.

In the present-example the tank is built in the follow: ing manner: On an already prepared, substantially plain base plate the tank roof 14 is made complete with possibly lifting poles 7 and hanger 6 around the climbing rod (climbing wire) previously mounted and equipped with fasteners 2 and/or 3 including the stretching devices 4 and 5. The mounting of the climbing rod is possibly carried out by means of the working platform 37. Thereafter the lifting device (lifting jacks) 8 and the bearing 9 are fixed. For precise centering of the climbing rod for instance three centering rods 10 with the stretching devices 13 and a fastening device 12 for the rock pins 11 previously positioned are possibly attached. Through force impulses to the lifting device (for instance from an electric oil pressure pump for the hydraulic liftjacks) said device is caused to raise along the climbing rod thus lifting the roof structure of the tank. When lifting has been carried out to a height corresponding to the height of the uppermost wall section (uppermost annular frame) the lifting device is stayed (see Fig. 2). n the working place 15 (see Fig. 3) the wall element 16 is then fitted to and for instance by welding joined with the roof structure of the tank, the thus completed section then to be rotated so much that the element 17 can be fitted and welded on the same Working place where also the outward welding can now be performed. The elements 18, 19 and following of the uppermost ring are handled in the same way until the whole frame is completed. The welding control for instance by means of a stationary apparatus for X-rays, is also carried out on the working place 15. Thereafter the roof with the uppermost annular section attached is lifted again in the same way as before so that the wall elements 21, 2.2, 23, 24 and following can be fitted and welded (see Fig. in the same way as described before. In order to facilitate the rotation procedure, a manually or motor operated rotary device 31 is now possibly to be installed either fixed in the rock wall or on a firm stand and back ing rollers 36 (resilient) placed on the ground. After completion of the next element ring 25 the centering rod with fasteners and stretching devices is probably lifted a suitable distance upward to the next series of rock pins previously fixed and the stiifener 38 with fastener 39 and stretching device 40 possibly attached and a new lifting up (Fig. 6) is carried out. The same process is repeated until the lowermost annular section 26 is joined with the next one situated above. For connection and welding of the bottom plate to the thus completed tank wall the latter is lowered to contact with the bottom plate by means of a lowering screw at the rotary bearing 9 or of the lifting device 8 or by means of the stretching devices 4 fixed to the roof.

If a concrete filling between tank wall and rocket is planned it can now be carried out by means of for instance a rotary concrete pocket provided on the roof after placing of the necessary form work at the Working place (Fig. 7). The concrete material can be delivered for instance through the tunnel mouth 30. In order to counteract the outside pressure of the concrete against the sheet wall it is recommended successively to fill the tank with water so that water and casting surface are on the same level. The risk of deformations of the wall sheets due to the pressure of the concrete is thus reduced which is especially important in case of thin or plane or only slightly curved walls. Thereafter, the climbing rod, liftjacks, suspensions, lifting poles etc. can be dismantled possibly by means of the working platform 37.

If the lifting process is carried out according to the method described before with the modification, however, that the completed part of the construction is not at all or only partly rotated, a rotary cart 32 is provided on 4 the tank bottom equipped with lifting device for the transport of the plate elements to their positions. In Fig. 8 such an arrangement is demonstrated showing one element 34 mounted, one element 33 during transport and element 35 on store.

The method allows also the application of several climbing rods (climbing wires) or several lifting devices which, however, must be placed symmetrically around a centre around which the rotation (turning) occurs. It is likewise possible to use one or several liftblocks, telphers or similar devices suspended in the rock roof or in another rigid superstructure.

The following new effects and advantages are gained by this invention:

The whole operation concerning fitting and joining of the elements can be carried out at only one working place (possibly at two or several if larger constructions are concerned), whereby the working space required at the outside of a wall is reduced to a The welding work for joining the plate elements of for instance a tank placed in rock can be carried out not only on the inside but also on the outside of the walls without requiring a special workers path to be blasted out of the rock along the outside of the tank.

The transport of the elements to the place of assembly is simplified.

A possible X-ray control of the weld joints is simplified and facilitated by stationary placing of the X-ray apparatus.

During the lifting process the climbing rod (climbing wire) acts also as a central steering column. The lifting process is carried out in the centre by means of a lifting device (liftjacks) placed in such a way that the sections after completion hang freely not being subjected to outside forces, whereby the fitting of the elements is facilitated.

The lifting process requires only one liftjack, e.g. of hydraulic type, which automatically continuously climbing along the climbing rod takes the constructional part upward requiring a minimum of equipment and time without any repeat. The method can be applied to tanks with self-supporting walls as well as to such with a concrete filling between the walls and the rock and also for other construction types of not necessarily annular form.

The lifting method can also be carried out without rotation (turning).

What I claim is:

1. A method of erecting a steel storage tank and the like having a top section and a plurality of horizontal wall sections, comprising the steps of mounting a centrally located vertical guide means, forming the top section of the tank on the ground surface, applying a rotatable bearing means at the center of the top section about the vertical guide means, mounting a lifting means on the vertical guide means cooperable with the rotatable bearing means, imparting a lifting movement to the center of the top section by the lifting means to move said top section a sutficient height above the ground surface to permit the positioning of at least one horizontal wall section below the top section, positioning a first steel plate of such wall section and joining its upper edge to the lower edge of the top plate, rotating the thus con1- pleted top section and horizontal wall section a suflicient peripheral distance for positioning a second steel plate from the same location as the first steel plate, joining the second steel plate to the lower edge of the top section and to the free edge of the first steel plate, repeating the rotation and joining steps until the steel plates of said wall section are positioned and joined, imparting a second lifting movement to the center of the top section by said lifting means until said top section and horizontal wall section are a sufficient height above the ground surface to allow the positioning of the next horizontal wall section, repeating the steps of positioning and join- 2,984,898 5 ing the steel plates, rotating and lifting said sections References Cited in the file of this patent until all desired horizontal wall sections are completed, UNITED STATES PATENTS lowering said sections to a point whereby the lower edge of the lowermost horizontal wall section contacts a bot- 1558419 White 1925 2,605,540 Kroll et a1. Aug. 5, 1952 tom plate on the ground surface, JOllllHg such wall sec 5 2 670 818 H k M 2 1954 tion to the bottom plate, and dismounting the lifting 2866261 i 1958 means, rotatable bearing means and vertical guide means. c

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, including the OTHER REFERENCES p of erecting Said tank Within an Opening in the ground Engineering News-Record, Feb. 14, 1957, pages 26 and and applying a concrete filling between the horizontal 1o 27 relied on. (Copy in Scientific Library and Division wall sections and the wall of the opening. 14.)

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