Inert gas control in a system to reduce spillage of oil due to r

Details Inert gas control in a system to reduce spillage of oil due to r Inert gas control in a system to reduce spillage of oil due to r

1990-04-03

1992-03-03

Swinehart, Ed

Ships

Building

Freighters

114229, B63B 2508

Patent

active

050922599

ABSTRACT:
A system and method to reduce outflow of liquid such as oil due to the rupture of a ship's tank by means of creating, and continuing to maintain, a partial vacuum in the effected tank or tanks. A partial vacuum below atmospheric pressure is created in the ship's tank. The vacuum is continuously maintained in a precise balance responsive to the forces acting on the contents of the tank, which forces change when the tank is ruptured. If the rupture is below the water line and on the side hull, then surface tension dynamics induce a stratified flow, forcing water into the tank through the lower part of the rupture while forcing the oil upward and out of the tank, oppositely to the flow of water, until the water level reaches the top part of the rupture. In accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention even the stratified flow is stopped because a non-structural barrier is placed over the rupture. This non-structural barrier reduces the surface tension dynamics that otherwise arise between the two liquids, oil and water, of dissimilar viscosity. The non-structural barrier is typically a tarpaulin. It is placed over the rupture while the partial vacuum is dynamically maintained. The combination of dynamic underpressure control and a non structural barrier substantially forestalls oil outflow.
The system also maintains an inert gas in the ullage spaces above the oil in the tank in order to prevent explosion. Inert gas concentration conforms with International Maritime Organization and U.S. Coast Guard norms even though the gas pressure in the ullage spaces is negative, i.e. below the atmospheric pressure level.

REFERENCES:
patent: 3285711 (1966-11-01), Stanford
patent: 3669055 (1972-06-01), Buce
patent: 4161155 (1979-07-01), Cloutier
patent: 4446804 (1984-05-01), Kristiansen et al.
Spill Proof Oil-Tankers, a publication of Marine Journal 9-1989.

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