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Patent 2053201 Summary

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(12) Patent: (11) CA 2053201
(54) English Title: FLUID CONTAINMENT VESSEL WITH ONE OR MORE RECESSED WELLS
(54) French Title: RECIPIENT DE CONFINEMENT DE FLUIDES COMPRENANT UN OU PLUSIEURS PUITS ENCASTRES
Status: Term Expired - Post Grant Beyond Limit
Bibliographic Data
(51) International Patent Classification (IPC):
  • B65D 88/12 (2006.01)
  • B60P 03/022 (2006.01)
(72) Inventors :
  • ZINK DONALD G., (United States of America)
  • ZINK DONALD LAWRENCE, (United States of America)
  • SCHWARTZ, JOHN E. (United States of America)
(73) Owners :
  • MONTANA SULPHUR & CHEMICAL COMPANY
  • MONTANA SULPHUR & CHEMICAL COMPANY
(71) Applicants :
  • MONTANA SULPHUR & CHEMICAL COMPANY (United States of America)
  • MONTANA SULPHUR & CHEMICAL COMPANY (United States of America)
(74) Agent: MARKS & CLERK
(74) Associate agent:
(45) Issued: 2002-01-29
(22) Filed Date: 1991-10-10
(41) Open to Public Inspection: 1992-04-11
Examination requested: 1998-09-04
Availability of licence: N/A
Dedicated to the Public: N/A
(25) Language of filing: English

Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT): No

(30) Application Priority Data:
Application No. Country/Territory Date
594,477 (United States of America) 1990-10-10

Abstracts

English Abstract


A fluid transport apparatus including a fluid transport tank
having a tank shell defining a fluid compartment within it. A well
connected to the shell at an opening through the shell is recessed into
the perimeter of the compartment. The well and its contents are
thereby protectively positioned within the envelope of the shell.
Equipment operatively associated with the compartment can be
mounted in the well. When the equipment includes a pressure relief
valve, the well cover plate can have a vent which can have a rupture
disc mounted therein and adapted to open when the valve lifts. A
pressure relief valve mounted in the well can be controlled by a valve
positioned within the fluid compartment and operatively connected in
series with the relief valve. When the equipment is a fluid valve or a
relief valve it can be controlled by control equipment mounted in
another recessed well, safely spaced from the recessed well of the
valve. With or without equipment in the well an internal manway
cover can be removably attached to the interior well head and when
open provide access to the compartment.


Claims

Note: Claims are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.


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WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:
1. A fluid containment apparatus comprising:
a fluid tank having a tank shell and defining at least in
part a fluid containment compartment, with an inner surface, and an
outer surface, said tank shell having a tank shell opening
therethrough;
a recessed well connected in a leak-tight manner to said
tank shell and positioned at said tank shell opening and recessed into
said fluid containment compartment such that no significant portion
of said well projects beyond the outer surface of such tank shell, said
recessed well including a well wall projecting into said fluid compart-
ment, a well head connected to said well wall and disposed generally
opposite to said tank shell opening, a support ring connected to and
positioned inside of said well wall and generally at said shell opening,
a cover plate having an inner plate surface and an outer plate sur-
face, securing means for securing said cover plate to said support ring
when said recessed well is to be closed, and a well opening generally
at said shell opening and generally abutting said support ring, said
cover plate being removably securable to said support ring such that
when secured to said support ring said outer plate surface is generally
flush with said tank shell outer surface and so that said cover plate
and said tank shell together form a generally smooth exterior surface
to deflect impact forces, said cover plate when in an open position
providing access to the interior of said recessed well and contents
there of; and
equipment operatively associated with said fluid con-
tainment compartment and mounted in said recessed well, said equip-
ment including an equipment connector passing through said recessed
well and into said fluid containment compartment, said connector
being closable so as to prevent the passage of fluid between said fluid
containment compartment and said recessed well.
2. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 1 further com-
prising a reinforcing pad associated with said tank shell opening and
secured to said tank shell adjacent to said tank shell recessed well.

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3. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 2 wherein said
pad is secured to the interior surface of said tank shell.
4. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 2 wherein said
pad is secured to the exterior of said tank shell thereby forming a part
of said tank shell exterior surface.
5. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 4 wherein said
pad has its outer edges bevelled to reduce purchase potential for
impacting objects.
6. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 4 wherein said
well opening is defined at least in part by said reinforcing pad.
7. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 2 wherein said
reinforcing pad abuts against said well wall on the inside edge of said
pad and further has a bevelled outer edge distant from said well wall
and attached to said tank shell.
8. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 1 wherein said
equipment connector passes through said well wall.
9. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 1 wherein said
equipment connector passes through said well head.
10. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 1 wherein said
tank shell opening is positioned on a top surface of said fluid tank.
11. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 1 wherein said
tank shell opening is positioned on a-side surface of said fluid tank.
12. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 1 wherein said
tank shell opening is positioned on a bottom surface of said fluid tank.
13. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 12 wherein
said equipment includes an unloading valve thereby providing said
fluid tank with a bottom unloading capability.
14. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 1 wherein said
fluid tank contains fluid material selected from the group comprising
flammable, poisonous, radioactive, corrosive, pressurized, odorous,
and obnoxious materials, and combinations thereof.
15. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 1 wherein said
fluid tank contains fluid material selected from the group comprising
chlorine, ammonia, hydrogen chloride, vinyl chloride, sulfur dioxide,

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hydrogen sulfide, hydrogen cyanide, hydrogen fluoride and liquefied
petroleum gases.
16. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 1 wherein said
well wall has an outer rim surface generally flush with said shell exte-
rior surface and said cover plate outer surface is generally flush with
said outer surfaces when said cover plate is in the closed position.
17. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 1 wherein
when said cover plate is in the closed position the gap between said
cover plate edge and said well opening is less than the thickness of
said cover plate.
18. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 1 wherein said
well opening is defined at least in part by said well wall.
19. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 1 wherein said
well opening is defined at least in part by said shell opening.
20. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 1 wherein said
cover plate is of a thickness at least equal to that of said tank shell.
21. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 1 wherein said
cover plate is a flat plate.
22. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 1 wherein said
cover plate has a curved exterior surface.
23. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 1 wherein said
cover plate is formed such that its exterior surface shape generally
conforms to the exterior surface curvature of said adjacent tank
shell.
24. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 1 wherein said
tank shell has a strength equal to at least one half inch of steel.
25. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 1 wherein said
recessed well is positioned in an upper portion of said fluid tank, and
includes a water drain at a bottom surface thereof and a drain pas-
sageway for draining water from said recessed well out by way of said
water drain and away from said fluid tank.
26. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 25 wherein
said tank shell includes a drain opening spaced away from said tank
shell opening and said drain passageway includes a drain tube extend-
ing through said fluid containment compartment and communicating

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with said drain so as to prevent passage of fluid between said drain
passageway and said fluid containment compartment.
27. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 25 wherein
said recessed well includes a closure at the inlet to said water drain to
control the flow of water between said well and said drain
passageway.
28. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 27 wherein
said closure includes a removably fittable plug, a cap or a flange cov-
ering said water drain.
29. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 27 wherein
said closure includes a valve plug member to open and close said
water drain.
30. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 25 wherein
said water drain passes through said well head.
31. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 25 wherein
said drain passageway passes through said fluid containment compart-
ment and includes a drain outlet below said drain inlet and a closure
at said drain outlet to control the flow of fluid between said passage-
way and the outside through said outlet.
32. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 31 wherein
said closure is selected from the group of fittable plugs, caps, and
flange closures on said drain outlet.
33. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 31 wherein
said drain outlet includes a boss attached to said fluid tank, said boss
having a drain opening therethrough, and said closure being selected
from the group comprising outlet valves, flanges, plugs and caps
removably mounted to said boss.
34. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 33 wherein
said closure, when closed, does not protrude significantly beyond the
outer surface of said fluid tank or boss.
35. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 34 wherein
said boss includes a recess to receive said closure so that the exterior
surface of said closure is approximately flush with the exterior sur-
face of said boss.

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36. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 26 wherein
said drain tube is welded to said well at said water drain opening.
37. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 26 wherein
said drain tube is welded to said tank shell at said drain opening.
38. The fluid containment apparatus claim 26 wherein said
drain tube includes at least one end flange and is removably flanged to
one said well water drain opening and said tank shell drain opening.
39. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 26 wherein
said tank shell includes a boss surrounding said tank drain opening, and
said drain tube includes at least one end flange removably flanged to
said boss.
40. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 25 wherein
said drain passageway includes a drain tube, and said drain tube
includes expansion means for allowing for differential expansion of
said drain tube relative to said fluid tank and said recessed well.
41. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 40 wherein
said expansion means includes a bellows.
42. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 40 wherein
said expansion means comprises a free draining loop or spiral.
43. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 40 wherein
said expansion means comprises an expansion joint.
44. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 25 wherein
said fluid containment compartment comprises a liquid containment
compartment, and said passageway includes a generally vertical drain
tube formed from a magnetically transparent material, and a freely
floatable ring surrounding said drain tube inside said liquid contain-
ment compartment freely able to slide up and down said tube, and said
floatable ring includes a magnet disposed towards said tube to project
a magnetic field through said tube, said magnetic field being detect-
able inside said tube for determining the level of liquid in said liquid
containment compartment.
45. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 25 further
comprising circulating means for circulating heat transfer fluid
through said passageway for altering the temperature of the fluid in
said fluid containment compartment.

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46. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 1 wherein said
support ring and said cover plate include gasket surfaces on their
mating surfaces and a gasket is disposed therebetween for preventing
the entry of water and dirt into said recessed well.
47. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 1 wherein said
support ring includes a plurality of approximately equally spaced
threaded holes thereabout, said cover plate includes a similar plurality
of mating spaced holes on its circumference and said securing means
includes bolts receivable in said spaced holes for removably securing
said cover plate to said support ring.
48. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 47 wherein
said cover plate includes on the exterior surface thereof countersunk
areas surrounding each said cover plate bolt holes, such that when
said bolts are installed no bolt portion protrudes beyond the surround-
ing outer surface of said cover plate to thereby protect said bolts
from shearing in the event of impact.
49. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 1 wherein said
well wall is rounded and has an inner end, and said well head is
secured to said inner end.
50. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 1 wherein said
well head comprises a flat plate.
51. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 1 wherein said
well head comprises a rounded surface approximately a section of one
of a sphere and an ellipsoid.
52. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 1 wherein said
equipment is selected from the group of fluid closure flanges, plugs,
thermowells, manway flange closures, thermometers, pressure gages,
level gages, fluid valves, excess flow valves, pressure relief valves,
and valve control equipment operatively connected to said equipment
connector and able to be fully and protectively enclosed under said
cover and within said recessed well when said cover is closed.
53. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 1 further com-
prising internal equipment inside said fluid containment compartment
and outside of said recessed well.

-52-
54. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 53 wherein
said internal equipment is operatively connected to said equipment
connector.
55. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 54 wherein
said internal equipment is selected from the group of internal shut-off
valves, internal excess flow valves, internal pumps, internal heat
transfer means, level transmitting float devices and drain tubes.
56. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 1 wherein said
recessed well includes break-away hinge means connected to said
cover plate for moving said cover plate between open and closed posi-
tions, said hinge means being constructed such that it will break-away
before transmitting damaging forces to any of said cover plate, said
tank shell and said well wall.
57. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 1 further com-
prising an insulating layer external to said tank shell, a metallic
jacket enclosing said insulating layer, and attaching means for attach-
ing said insulating layer and said metallic jacket to said tank shell
such that they can be shorn off without transmitting significant
deforming forces to said tank shell.
58. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 57 further
comprising a high-temperature fire retardant layer exterior to said
tank shell and an insulation and rain water seal at the ends of said
insulating layer, said metallic jacket and said fire retardant layer and
generally adjacent to said recessed well opening.
59. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 58 further
comprising break-away means for attaching said retainer and seal in a
break-away manner so as to be unable to transmit upon impact any
significant deforming forces to said well opening, said tank shell, said
well wall and said cover plate.
60. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 1 further com-
prising a manway assembly, said manway assembly including an end
ring secured to said well head, a securing ring removably positionable
against said end ring inside of said recessed well, an internal manway
cover, a manway cover gasket surf ace, and a manway cover gasket,
said manes ay cover being attachable to said end ring and movable

-53-
between an open position providing access to said fluid containment
compartment through said tank shell opening, said recessed well, and
said end ring, and a closed position relative to said end ring and said
manway cover gasket, and said securing ring providing a leak tight
closure between said fluid containment compartment and said
recessed well, a plurality of circumferential bolts attachable to said
internal manway cover and tightenable relative to said securing ring
when said manway cover is in the closed position to seal said manway
cover against said end ring with said gasket disposed between said
cover and said end ring, said manway assembly being entirely covered
by said cover plate on said well when said cover plate is in the closed
position and being accessible from the outside when said cover plate
is removed.
61. The fluid containment apparatus of 60 wherein said
equipment includes a fluid valve and said equipment connector
includes a valve port passing through said well wall.
62. The fluid containment apparatus of 61 wherein said well
is positioned just off the bottom centerline of said fluid containment
tank such that one internal edge of said well wall is approximately at
the lowermost portion of said fluid containment tank and such that
said valve port passes through said well wall adjacent to said lower-
most portion of said tank to provide substantially complete drainage
of liquid in said tank through a bottom outlet controlled by said valve,
said valve not protruding from said well when said cover plate is
closed.
63. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 60 wherein
said manway cover opens inward relative to said fluid containment
vessel and tends to be held closed by internal pressure in said fluid
containment vessel.
64. The fluid containment apparatus of claim i wherein said
well wall and said well head are formed together as a continuous,
inwardly disposed curved surface.
65. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 64 wherein
said curved surface comprises a hemisphere or a segment of an
ellipsoid.

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66. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 60 wherein
said manway cover has a round shape, a circular shape or includes a
section of a sphere or cylinder.
67. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 60 wherein
said manway cover has an elliptical or oblong shape or includes a sec-
tion of an ellipsoid.
68. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 1 wherein said
well wall is welded directly, at least in part, to said tank shell.
69. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 1 wherein said
well wall is cast into, pressed into, machined into, or flanged onto said
tank shell.
70. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 1 wherein said
equipment includes (a) a pressure relief device associated with said
equipment connector and said fluid containment compartment and
mounted within said recessed well, (b) a relief port passing through
said cover plate and positionable above the outlet of said pressure
relies device and (c) self-opening closure means for closing said relief
port and for opening said relief port after said pressure relief device
vents thereby allowing excess pressure to freely escape through said
relief port.
71. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 70 wherein
said closure means includes a hinged rain cover having a breakaway
hinge mounted to said cover plate exterior surface.
72. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 70 wherein
said closure means includes a replaceable rupture disk set to burst
when said pressure relief device starts to vent and to raise pressure
within said recessed well.
73. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 70 wherein
said pressure relief device includes a pressure relief valve, a pressure
relief rupture disk, or a combination thereof.
74. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 70 wherein
said equipment includes a valve installed upstream of said pressure
relief device to allow emergency servicing of said pressure relief
device.

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75. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 70 wherein
said pressure relief device, said recessed well and said cover plate
define a cavity therebetween, and said equipment includes a pressure
relief device connector to which said pressure relief device is joined
in a pressure tight manner, said pressure relief device connector
being joined in a pressure tight manner to said well cover relief port
so to block fluid communication between said relief port and said
cavity.
76. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 70 further
comprising an internal safety shut off valve operatively connected to
said pressure relief device through said recessed well, said internal
safety shut off valve being positioned at least partly in said fluid con-
tainment compartment.
77. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 0 wherein
said pressure relief device comprises an angle valve or a straight-flow
valve.
78. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 70 wherein
said fluid containment compartment includes an upper vapor space,
said pressure relief device includes an inlet in said recessed well and
relief device passing piping connected to said relief device inlet
through said recessed well into said fluid compartment and upward
into said upper vapor space.
79. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 1 further com-
prising moving means for allowing said well cover plate to be moved
between open and closed positions, once any plate fasteners associ-
ated therewith have been released, to allow access from outside of
said fluid containment vessel to the interior of said recessed well.
80. The fluid containment apparatus of claim T9 where said
moving means is selected from the group of breakaway handles,
removable lever arms, hydraulic cylinders and winch assemblies.
81. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 1 further com-
prising a cover-equipped recessed well connected to said tank shell
and generally spaced from said recessed well.
82. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 81 further
comprising equipment associated with said cover-equipped recessed

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well and controllable by control equipment positioned remotely from
said cover-equipped recessed well.
83. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 82 wherein
said associated equipment is protectively enclosed within said
cover-equipped recessed well
84. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 82 wherein
said cover-equipped recessed well defines a first cover-equipped
recessed well, and further comprising a second cover-equipped
recessed well connected to said tank shell, spaced from said first
cover-equipped recessed well and enclosing the control equipment.
85. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 1 further com-
prising wheels and mounting means for mounting said fluid tank on
said wheels such that in the event of a derailment or wreck said
wheels are shorn off without transmitting deforming stress to said
tank shell and said fluid tank can freely slide, roll or tumble away
without presenting,substantial purchase points for impacting objects
to pierce said tank shell, rapidly decelerate said fluid tank or damage
said equipment.
86. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 85 wherein
said fluid tank is selected from the group of shipping cylinders, rail-
road tank cars and highway tankers.
87. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 85 further
comprising at least one external appliance connected to said tank
shell such that in the event of a derailment or wreck it is also shorn
off without transmitting deforming stresses to said tank shell.
88. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 87 wherein
said external appliance is selected from the group of insulation, jack-
ets, wheels, axles, trucks, handrails, ladders, platforms, placard hold-
ers and brakes.
89. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 1 wherein said
fluid tank is a stationary storage or process vessel.
90. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 1 wherein said
equipment comprises a fluid valve connected to pass fluid from said
fluid containment tank, and further comprising a capping kit defining
a cavity, and pressure-tight mounting means for mounting said

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capping kit over said fluid valve to contain leakage therefrom inside
said cavity in the event of leakage from said fluid valve.
91. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 90 wherein
said mounting means comprises a plurality of threaded fasteners.
92. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 91 wherein
said threaded fasteners secure said capping kit in place over said fluid
valve and to at least one said well head and said well wall and in
drilled, tapped blind holes.
93. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 90 wherein
said well head comprises a flat plate surrounding the base of said fluid
valve and into which said mounting means passes.
94. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 90 wherein
said recessed well includes a boss plate constructed as part of said
well wall, surrounding the base of said fluid valve and into which said
mounting means passes.
95. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 1 wherein said
equipment comprises first and second valves in said recessed well, and
further comprising a capping kit and pressure-tight mounting means
for mounting said capping kit over both said first and second valves
for containing leakages therefrom.
96. The fluid containment apparatus of claim 1 wherein said
equipment defines a first piece of equipment and said equipment con-
nector defines a first connector, and further comprising a second
piece of equipment mounted in said recessed well and having a second
connector.

Description

Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.


~~~~?~~.
FLUID CONTAINMENT VESSEL WITH
ONE OR MORE RECESSED WELLS
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to vessels for storing hazardous,
obnoxious, or 'valuable or sensitive fluid materials. It more particu-
larly relates to vessels for safely transporting and handling such fluid
materials.
Society today requires that numerous chemical materials be
handled, many of which have hazardous or obnoxious properties.
These materials include for example acids, alkalies, chlorine, ammo-
nia, liquified petroleum gases, hydrogen sulfide, hydrogen cyanide,
sulfur dioxide, mercaptans, fuels, pesticides, radioactive materials
and industrial wastes. To ensure that these hazardous, obnoxious, or
valuable or sensitive materials do not escape into the environment
during their processing, storage and transportation, they are con-
tained in strong vessels or piping systems. These vessels must not
only provide satisfactory access to the contained materials, but must
completely and safely contain them at all times when the escape
thereof to the outside environment is undesirable or unsafe. In some
cases, it is even desirable to protect the stored material itself from
the environment.
The unintentional escape of such substances from their con-
tainers can have disastrous consequences, including the loss of lif e,
damage to health or property, public inconvenience and even the
evacuation of public areas. Accordingly, there is a strong need to
provide safer containment systems. Valves with or without mechani-
cal actuators to operate them are used to access the materials stored
in the sealed vessels. The containment vessels are typically reliably
built. It is the valves thereof and the attachment of the valves which

2~~~~~
-2-
are the weak points in the containment system and thereby reduce
the reliability and usefulness of the entire containment system.
In some instances, relatively large leaks or seepages from
valves are tolerated by users and by society depending upon the par-
ticular location and the state, pressure and properties of the stored
materials whether hazardous or non-hazardous. However, in the case
of extremely toxic, reactive, obnoxious, valuable and sensitive mate-
rials even small failures of containment or seepages can be so objec-
tionable as to discourage or even preclude the handling, transporta-
tion or storage of these materials. This problem is growing due to the
publics increasing anxiety over the handling of chemical and radio-
active materials by both industry and government. Materials which
exist in normal conditions as high pressure or liquefied gases are par-
ticularly troublesome, especially if the materials have a foul odor or
corrosive properties. Seepages may not even approach hazardous
levels before the users of the materials are exposed to adverse public-
ity, litigation and extremely stringent and costly regulations. When
valve systems used with hazardous, obnoxious or valuable materials
fail, the release of the materials can have potentially lethal and
costly consequences. This failure can result from highway accidents,
~ fires, explosions, earthquakes, storms, misuse, abuse and vandalism.
Nuisance leakages from transportation vessels are character-
ized by small fugitive emissions from vessels. Such leakages may or
may not be inherently hazardous, but when detected they are almost
' always regarded by the public with great fear and alarm. This can
cause great embarrassment and expense to shippers of hazardous
materials who often must fly in repair crews to repair or deal with
such leaks. Negative publicity and further costly regulation of the
shipper's activities may result. The spector of litigation, whether for
real or imagined damages, is always present when there has been a
leakage.
Nuisance leakages almost always arise from defects or failures
of vessel closures to perfect seals. They only very rarely result from
plate or welding defects in the vessel itself. Flanged and gasket clo-
-sures are the most reliable, followed closely in reliability by properly

~'r,>'7 ~1'9
C~ ~~ i,: ~:J .1..
-3-
sealed threaded plugs or caps. Both are readily tested for leakage
before shipment, and when this is done, seldom seep en route. Both
are relatively strong and resist impacts and other abuse. Valves are
the principal leaking culprits, since they are relatively complex
devices with moving, rubbing and wearing paris and are generally
equipped with friction seals on their packing glands. They typically
protrude considerably from the vessel and are therefore vulnerable to
damage. On the other hand, a vessel without valves is not very useful
since one cannot easily gain access to its contents, if they are under
pressure.
To protect the protruding vulnerable valves on hazardous
material transportation vessels, rigid steel protective domes are typi-
cally erected or constructed around the valves. Sometimes excess
flow valves are installed inside the vessel. Sometimes a portion of the
valve body is installed inside or partly inside the vessel and the acti-
vating portion is left outside where it is ready to transfer impact
damage to the valve itself. Conventional manway entrances to tank
cars and trailers consist of simple hatches or flange systems on pro-
truding, vulnerable nozzles, just as on conventional stationary vessels.
When valve leaks occur in transportation vessels in transit,
crews are dispatched generally by airline to attempt "hot" repairs to
the leaking pressurized valves. If these repairs fail, a few hazardous
materials vessels are equipped to receive "valve safety kits" which
are clumsy devices designed to fit over the entire valve and seal
(more or less) to the vessel exterior. Since this exterior is of ten dirty,
damaged, corroded or otherwise rough, it is difficult and sometimes
impossible to make a good bubble-tight seal to the vessel with these
kits. These kits are also difficult to transport, especially on commer-
cial airliners, and are heavy and cumbersome to use.
Catastrophic failure of transportation vessels and especially
those carrying pressurized gases or liquids of ten results when their
valves or nozzles are impacted. Conventional valve and fitting
designs mounted at least partially outside of the vessel are vulnerable
to impact, damage or being shorn off when their vessel is in a wreck.
Valves, nczzles and manways of such vessels protruding outwardly

t'-. G
a ;.~
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from the vessel are vulnerable to flying debris, other vehicles or tank
cars, railroad irons, bridge abutments, tunnel walls or overpass
supports.
Relief valves of conventional vessels are especially vulnerable
since they cannot be protected from impact damage or shearing by
ordinary excess flow valves within the vessel. The only protection
afforded relief valves is that provided by the protruding valve enclo-
sure or tank dome or similar external structure. If they are equipped
with excess flow valves, they cannot then function as relief valves.
Further, the fitting domes of conventional vessels protruding from the
tanks do not adequately protect the fittings therein or the dome (or
manway nozzle) itself.
Conventional containment vessel designs with valves and man-
hole nozzles do not approach the potential reliability levels of the
simple cylindrical or spherical containment vessels shapes to which
they are often attached due to the structural compromises made to
place the nozzles or valves on the exterior of these vessels. The
external nozzles systems thereby are weak points in the containment
vessel and compromise and reduce the reliability and usefulness of the
entire vessel containment system.
Protruding nozzles are relatively weak structural points subject
to shear failure in the event of an impact. Their failure can result in
the catastrophic release of the contents of the vessel even though the
vessel itself remains essentially intact. On the other hand, a vessel
without means of access is essentially useless, and thus valves are
needed to add, withdraw and monitor the contents of the vessel.
Also, personnel access is of ten necessary to properly maintain the
interior of larger vessels. For tank cars, highway trailers, cylinders
and process vessels, these utilitarian purposes have resulted in designs
which compromise the inherent strength and impact resistance of the
vessels themselves. Thus, today's vessels are often subject to unnec-
essary breaching when.impacted.
Prior art process and transportation vessels have been designed
1) to maximize the ratio of vessel volume to vessel wall volume, 2) to
maximize the ratio of vessel pressure rating to vessel wall thickness,

~~~:~~_~
-5-
3) to maximize the use of simply formed component shapes such as
cylinders and flats and to a lesser extent spheres, hemispheres and
ellipsoids, and 4) to maximize the use of standard valves and other
piping appliances. Designers have tended to believe that the maxi-
mum forces to which the vessel will be exposed are the ordinary
forces of static design internal pressure, normal transportation
forces, gravitational forces, wind pressure, ambient temperature gra-
dients and the like.
Limitations on the vessels' diameter or width imposed by the
necessities of travel along railways and roadways and the ease of con-
struction have resulted in the general use of cylindrical vessels with
hemispheric or hemi-ellipsoid heads. These shapes tend to address the
first three goals listed above very well. However, in addressing the
fourth goal designers have merely added needed valves and appliances
in the most obvious manner - by breaching the smooth exterior of the
vessels at convenient locations and installing one or more nozzles
projecting to the outside. These nozzles normally terminate in a stan-
dard flange, to which a valve or other flange can be mated, thereby
effectively sealing the vessel. Where the breach is sufficiently large
to compromise the integrity of the vessel at its normal thickness,
reinforcing bosses are welded to the vessel wall, usually on the exte-
rior. These projecting nozzles typically extend two to twelve inches
from the vessel wall surface to provide room for bolting operations
and vessel insulation where needed. This method of adding nozzles
seriously harms the integrity of the vessel, however, particularly in
its ability to withstand random impacts during wrecks, derailments,
topplings, explosions and the like. These nozzles themselves, as
discontinuities projecting from the surface of their vessel, provide
convenient purchase points for impacting objects and are subject to
destructive shearing. Furthermore, the resulting location of the
attached appliances, such as relief and other valves, indicators and
manhole covers, makes these devices vulnerable to impact and fire
damage in the event of an accident.
These problems have been partially addressed in the past by
one or more of the following design changes:

-6-
1. installing internal excess flow valves on certain nozzles
to prevent the loss of contents in the event of total shearing off of
the external nozzle;
2. machining intentional weak points or break-off points in
the nozzles to prevent the transmission of impact stresses from the
nozzle piping to the vessel wall;
3. repositioning nozzles on the vessel from locations par-
ticularly vulnerable to impact to less vulnerable areas;
4. using supplemental external reinforcement for some of
the nozzles;
5. constructing external guards around and over external
nozzles and fittings;
6. using specially designed external valves better able to
withstand impacts and fire; and
7. using specially designed valves mounted partly internally
to reduce exposure to impacts and fire.
All seven of these remedies, while somewhat effective, are
only band-aid attempts to remedy flaws inherent in the expediency of
attaching unprotected external nozzles to the pressure vessels in the
first place. Their drawbacks are discussed below.
First, the installation of internal excess flow valves is only
practical on nozzles attached to external valves and not on relief
valve nozzles, manholes and the like. Further such devices are only
directed to the escape of material at rates in excess of the rated flow
of the device. Smaller leaks are therefore unimpeded by excess flow
valves, yet smaller leaks resulting from fire or less than total failure
of the external valve or nozzle are the most common in accidents.
Second, the purposeful machining of weak points or
breakpoints is only useful if there is some other device upstream, such
as an excess flow valve, which stops the massive flow resulting when
the breakpoint is shorn off. Such devices cannot be used on relief
valves and manway nozzles.
Third, at the insistence of reg~~latory bodies, such as the U.S.
Department of Transportation (DOT), outlets are generally prohibited
in such obviously vulnerable locations on transportation vessels as the

W W
Cry ~ ~v~ _~
-
bottoms and ends of tank cars carrying flammable gases and liquids.
Therefore, the nozzles are moved to the top of the vessel which is an
area less likely to suffer impacts. Unfortunately, three problems are
thereby created. (1) The unloading of liquified compressed gases is
complicated since the pumping of the liquid requires the lif ting of a
liquid at its boiling point to the suction of the pump which results in
cavitation. This requires cavitation tolerant or high maintenance
pumps or pressure unloading which suffers from its own hazards. (2)
Even non-boiling liquids must be pressure unloaded with the attendant
risk of introducing excessively high pressures or inappropriate (poten-
tially reactive) substances into the vessel during unloading operations.
(3) By moving the remaining unloading position to the top of the
transportation vessel, the workers involved in unloading and/or load-
ing of these cars must necessarily work at the highest level on the
vessel in a stooped position. This can result in worker discomfort, the
likelihood of falling accidents, the aggravation of back injuries and
working in a location where escape from accidental leakages is most
difficult.
Fourth, the principal drawbacks of reinforcements are that the
area of possible purchase by an impacting force is increased in pro-
~ portion to the size of the reinforcement and that the reinforcement
adds weight to the vessel. This extra weight ultimately reduces the
vessehs effective ability to contain materials, especially in transpor-
tation uses where weight is critical.
' Fifth, guards are commonly installed around small nozzles and
normally take the form of removable heavy caps, as in compressed
gas cylinders, or ~~dome~~ arrangements as in tank cars and some tank
trucks. The domes typically comprise steel cylinders bolted to the
vessel, equipped with heavy covers and containing within them the
small vessel valves, monitor ports and relief valves. Again, these
devices must be massive ii they are to deflect a a:ajor impact, and
this additional weight is a major disadvantage in transportation ves-
sels. These guards also form a discontinuity in the smoothly curved
surface of the vessel thereby increasing the likelihood that the dome
and its contents will be shorn off following a majo: impact. As a

CA 02053201 1998-09-29
_g_
variation of the fifth solution, guards have been used in some earlier
experimental transportation vessels wherein the dome was "inverted" and
placed in a recess more or less within the smoothly curved envelope of the
vessel.
Listed below are known patents which may be relevant to the
present invention. The following patents relate to recessed wells in fluid
vessels: 2,006,924 (Kizer), 2,048,454 (Kizer),1,759,734 (Davenport),
2,747,602 (Trobridge), 1,627,807 (Roussie), 1,933,233 (Wakefield), 2,067,993
(Thwaits), 2,723,862 (Dalglish), 2,858,136 (Rind), 3,884,255 (Merkle),
3,889,701 (Mueller), 3,081,104 (Schmiermann), and 2,096,444 (Arvintz).
The following patens relate to diametric and/or pressurized wells in fluid
vessels: 3,341,215 (Spector), 2,548,190 (Arpin, Jr.),1,542,116 (Welcker),
1,442,525 (Howard), 715,355 (Dees), 113,153 (Fisher), 1,053,344 (Asbury),
1,699,527 (Folmsbee), 2,675,794 (Armstrong), 3,157,147 (Ludwig), 3,658,080
(Mitchell), 3,883,046 (Thompson et al.), and 4,085,865 (Thompson et al.).
The following patents relate to rupture discs: 3,310,197 (Folmsbee et al.),
3,845,878 (Carlson), 4,183,370 (Adler), 4,553,559 (Short, III), 4,245,749
(Graves), 2,092,925 (Lithgow), and 3,109,555 (Samans). The following
patents relate to control valves: 1,544,024 (Moeller et al.),1,897,164
(Endacott), 2,423,879 (De Frees), 3,187,766 (Black), 3,310,070 (Black),
3,764,036 (Dale et al.), and 4,009,862 (De Frees).
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, an object of an aspect of the present invention is to
provide a practical contaixunent system for hazardous and/or obnoxious
materials with improved abilities to withstand catastrophic assaults from
external causes such as derailments, wrecks, collisions, fires, explosions
and projectile impacts.
An object of an aspect of the present invention is to provide a
transportation vehicle design whose valves and other fittings are more
likely to survive impacts.

CA 02053201 1998-09-29
-9-
An object of an aspect of the present invention is to provide a safer
containment system suitable for use in transportation by rail, highway, air
or water and for the storage and processing of fluid materials where the
escape of such materials following an accident could be catastrophic.
An object of an aspect of the present invention is to provide a safer
fluid containment vessel, such as a tank car, tank trailer, tank truck,
cylinder, storage vessel or process vessel.
An object of an aspect of the invention is to provide a safety system
for transportation and stationary vessels whose fittings can be easily,
safely and comfortably serviced.
An object of an aspect of the invention is to provide a safety vessel
system which is easy and relatively inexpensive to construct , maintain
and operate and is generally adaptable to retrofit on a large number of
existing rail and highway vessels.
An object of an aspect of the invention is to provide a hazardous
commodity transport vessel which is less vulnerable to vandalism.
An object of an aspect of the invention is to provide an improved
hazardous fluid containment vessel which is safer to personnel working
on the fittings thereof.
An aspect of this invention is as follows:
A fluid containment apparatus comprising:
a fluid tank having a tank shell and defining at least in part a fluid
containment compartment, with an inner surface, and an outer surface,
said tank shell having a tank shell opening therethrough;
a recessed well connected in a leak-tight manner to said tank shell
and positioned at said tank shell opening and recessed into said fluid
containment compartment such that no significant portion of said well
projects beyond the outer surface of such tank shell, said recessed well
including a well wall projecting into said fluid compartment, a well head
connected to said well wall and disposed generally opposite to said tank

CA 02053201 1998-09-29
-9a-
shell opening, a support ring connected to and positioned inside of said
well wall and generally at said shell opening, a cover plate having an
inner plate surface and an outer plate surface, securing means for securing
said cover plate to said support ring when said recessed well is to be
closed, and a well opening generally at said shell opening and generally
abutting said support ring, said cover plate being removably securable to
said support ring such that when secured to said support ring said outer
plate surface is generally flush with said tank shell outer surface and so
that said cover plate and said tank shell together form a generally smooth
exterior surface to deflect impact forces, said cover plate when in an open
position providing access to the interior of said recessed well and contents
thereof; and
equipment operatively associated with said fluid containment
compartment and mounted in said recessed well, said equipment
including an equipment connector passing through said recessed well and
into said fluid containment comparhnent, said connector being closable so
as to prevent the passage of fluid between said fluid containment
compartment and said recessed well.
The present invention as discussed in detail below addresses the
above-mentioned objects in a novel synthesis of designs to take advantage
of the natural strength and impact resistance of smoothly-curved vessel
walls, while preserving the ability to add, withdraw and monitor the
vessel contents, as well as the ability to enter the vessel. The invention
thereby actually improves the utility and safety of the vessel, particularly
for transportation vessels.
Directed to achieving these objects, improved safety vessel systems
for transportation vessels and/or stationary vessels are herein disclosed.
The pressure vessel is constructed of puncture resistant material,
preferably metal, using the basic shapes of the cylinder, spheroid and
ellipsoid, and constructed so that no significant nozzles, bosses, flanges or
other appurtenances extend beyond the basic smoothly-curved external
surface of the vessel. The vessel itself is formed such that its exterior is
also free of significant surface

-LO-
discontinuities, sharp angles, wells, protrusions and small radii bends
which could serve as purchase points for impacting objects or forces.
The exterior surface of this safety vessel system, unconnected from
piping systems, is thereby configured so that the vessel will freely roll
or tumble, if moving, and will naturally tend to deflect and redirect
away from itself projectiles hitting its curved surfaces.
This safety vessel system is mounted on its foundation or truck
in such a way that no concentrated force of sufficient magnitude to
tear or puncture the wall of the vessel can be transmitted f rom the
mount of the vessel to the vessel. Rather, the mount is designed to
break or tear away or otherwise separate from the vessel wall before
any such force exceeds fifty percent of the allowable stress on the
vessel wall. This is accomplished by using banding or pad plates to
spread out the force, shear scoring of the mounting hardware to allow
the separation at predictable points, and/or the use of lighter strength
material or shapes in the mounting hardware than in the vessel wall
at the attachment points. The connections of the safety vessel sys-
tem to the necessary piping for the transfer of fluid to or from the
system are configured similarly with suitable break points designed
into the attaching piping to prevent the transmission of excessive
stress to the attachment points on the safety vessel system. All
points of piping connection to the system, preferably including noz-
zles equipped with pressure relief valves, are protected by suitable
internal valves.
Certain variations of this invention, however, allow for the use
of conventional valves provided that they are mounted internally,
that is, mounted completely within the protective envelope formed by
the vessel walls. Preferably all lines connected to the safety vessel
system are also externally equipped with valuing such that the piping
cannot discharge to the environment if the external piping breaks at
the designated break points mentioned above. Preferably, all piping
nozzles on this system other than those attached to pressure relief
valves are also equipped with suitable internal excess flow valves.
Further, all piping nozzles on the system can be equipped with
valuing which is remotely controllable from outside the pressurized

-11-
portion of the system, and which is of the fail closed configuration,
except for the pressure relief valve nozzles which should be equipped
with internal fail open valuing.
The present safety vessel system includes recessed wells or
compartmei.ts attached to the vessel- wall and projecting entirely
within the ve:~sel. These wells can contain ports for attachment of
instruments, piping, valvES, relief valves, controls or manholes for
gaining personnel access to the interior of the vessel. where these
wells are provided, they are covered with flush-fitting cover plates
having thicknesses and strengths not less than that of the vessel wall
and formed such that the continuity of the external wall of the vessel
is not significantly broken. The well cover plate or flanges are con-
figured to present no significant purchase points for impacting forces.
The wells preferably provide far pressurization from the out-
side, when they are closed, to a pressure not less than the working
pressure of the safety vessel system. This not only eliminates poten-
tial nuisance leakage and the need for specialized valve capping kits,
but also contributes to the impact resistance of the system.
Manholes, if provided for access by personnel to the interior of
the vessel, are located fully within the wells. The manholes are pref-
erably constructed so that their sealing flanges tend to be tightly
closed by the internal pressure of the fluid in the system. In this
manner, no port on the system need depend entirely upon the integ-
rity of the highly stressed bolting materials for closure.
The ports of any internal valves which are not themselves
installed within the wells, as described above, are protected by flush
mounting flanges and fasteners, fail closed valves and preferably
excess flow valves.
This system when used on transportation vessels can include
special protection systems xo control ~~water hammer" hyper-pressuri-
zation of the vessel during high speed impacts.
As to transportation vessels, means for insuring that the inter-
nal valves are in their appropriate fail open or closed position and/or
that their cover plates are securely secured properly when the system
is not connected to an unloading system can be provided.

_. ~~~~ rl~~.
-12
Submerged wells with cover plates or other com partments con-
taining basic tools and specialized safety equipment needed by trained
emergency crews to handle wrecks, leaks and fires can also be
provided.
These systems are also appropriately proi:ected frum impact
and fire by usual conventional systems. As to rail tank cars these
systems can have:
i. adequate shell thickness for the vessel, preferably not
less than one inch thickness of steel, and/or the use of head shield
protection;
2. full shelf couplers;
3. insulation or lagging to protect the vessel from high or
low ambient temperatures;
4. high temperature thermal barriers on the exterior of the
vessel and all cover plates to the wells;
5. adequately-sized pressure relief valves; and
6. appropriate labeling, marking and placarding.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will
become more apparent to those persons having ordinary skill in the
art to which the present invention pertains from the foregoing
~ description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a first rail car of the
present invention.
' Figure 2 is a top plan view of the rail car of Figure 1.
Figure 3 is an enlarged side cross-sectional view of a bottom
recessed area of the tank ear of Figure i.
Figure 4 is an end cross-sectional view of the bottom recessed
area of Figure 3.
Figure 5 is an enlarged top plan view of the fluid valve well of
the rail car of Figure 1.
Figure 6 is a side elevational view of the well of Figure 5.
Figure ? is an enlarged top plan view of the relief valve well of
the rail car of Figure 1.
Figure 8 is a side elevational view of the well of Figure ?.

i~ '~1
'~ z~ ~s . ~ ~.~ .t.
-13-
Figure 9 is an enlarged top plan view of the valve control well
of the rail ear of Figure 1.
Figure 10 is a side elevational view of the well of Figure 9.
Figure il is a side elevational view of a second rail car of the
present invention.
Figure 12 is a top plan view of the rail car of Figure 11.
Figure 13 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of one of the two
liquid vapor valve tube wells of the rail ear of Figure 11.
Figure 14 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a pressure fit-
ting of Figure 13.
Figure 15 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a portion of
the cover plate of Figure 13.
Figure 16 is an enlarged side cross-sectional view of a relief
valve well of the rail car of Figure 13.
Figure 17 is an enlarged top plan view of the magnetic floating
ring of Figure 16.
Figure 18 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the bottom
recessed area of Figure 13.
Figure 19 is a side elevational view of a compressed gas safety
transport tank of the present invention.
Figure 20 is an enlarged side elevational view of the mechani-
cal arrangement within the tank of Figure 19.
Figure 21 is a side cross-sectional view of the mechanical
arrangement of Figure 20.
Figure 22 is a plan view of the support ring for the recessed
cover of Figure 21.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED
EMBODIbIENTS OF THE INVENTION
A first system of the present invention shown provided in a
railroad tank car is illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 generally at 40. The
railroad tank car 40 consists of an elongated tank 42 cylindrically
shaped with elliptical or hemispherical ends or heads 44, 46. The tank
42 is supported on conventional rail wheel assemblies 48, 50 and full
shelf couplers 52, 54 are employed at both ends of the car. Insulation
and external insulation jackets are not shown in Figures 1 and 2 for

-14-
ease of explanation, but are illustrated in many of the other figures
and discussed later. This system includes three submerged wells --a
fluid valve well 56, a relief valve well 58, and a valve control well 60
- spaced longitudinally on the top center area of the tank 42 as
shown in Figure 2.
These three wells 56, 58, 60 are shown in simplified side eleva-
tion in Figure 1. More particularly, they are shown to be positioned at
the top of the tank 42 and recessed into the interior thereof and flush
with the envelope of the tank. All of the wells, as will be discussed in
greater detail later, are constructed to receive flush mounting cover
plates when not in use and when in transit. The plates are preferably
constructed, fastened and gasketed so that the interior of the wells
can be pressurized during shipment or at other appropriate times.
The relief valve well 58 is shown in detail in Figures 7 and 8.
This well contains a (one-half inch) pressure gauge with a (one-half
inch) pressure gauge shut-off valve 62 connected thereto, a (four-hun-
dred and fifty pound) safety relief valve 66, a (one inch) thermometer
well 68, a thermometer well shut-off valve TO and a (one and a half
inch) water drain 72. The fluid valve well 56, which is shown in Fig-
ures 5 and 6, contains two vapor valves 74 and ?6 flanged to the bot-
tom of the well, a liquid valve ?8 also flanged to the bottom of the
well, a water drain 80, and ample space on the bottom of the well to
allow for the ease of installation and operation of the valves and any
associated capping kits. The valve control well 60 is shown in detail
in Figures 9 and 10. This well contains a water drain 82, hydraulic,
electric or pneumatic quick connectors 84 for the remote operation
of shut-off valves and other controls (not shown), if desired.
As shown in Figures 1 and 2, a work platform 86 and a handrail
88 for it at the top of the car provide a working area which can be
accessed by either of two ladders 90, 92 secured on opposite sides of
the car. The central upper work surface as shown at 94 in Figure 2
has a non-skid finish or grating.
Since these three wells 58, 56, 60 are submerged into the tank
42 in the upper half thereof, they are provided with water drains 72,
80, 82, respectively, to allow for the automatic removal therefrom of

~_ ~~~F~'
-15-
rain, snow melt, product spillage and wash water, which might other-
wise accumulate in the wells when they are open. Well located in
the lower half of the tank 42 need not, however, be equipped with
such drains since any liquid in them would flow out of them naturally.
Special care must be taken in the design of these drains to allow for
the tank stress relief, corrosion resistance, proper drainage, and the
ability to seal the drains during shipment or in the event of drain
leakage. These drains can be conveniently designed to function as
part of a magnetically-coupled liquid level detection system and/or to
perform heating functions if desired as will be described in greater
detail later.
A bottom well 96 near the bottom of the tank 42 is recessed
into the interior the tank. This bottom well 96 allows for a true bot-
tom outlet for the car and true gravity drainage, which is a distinct
advantage in unloading liquified gases into storage tanks (not shown).
It also provides a convenient location for a manway opening (discussed
later) to allow access to the interior of the vessel. Although locating
the manway access at the bottom of the car is a convenient position,
it can be located elsewhere on the car as well. This bottom well 96,
which is shown in detail in Figures 3 and 4, is equipped with a conven-
tional external shut-off valve 98 internal to the well and vessel sys-
tem but external to the fluid product compartment 100 of the tank 42.
A boss 102 welded to the well wall 104 provides a convenient machin-
able surface for mounting the valve 98 by means of studs threaded
into drilled and tapped holes in the boss. The boss 102 can also be
machined, drilled and tapped to provide a convenient mounting sur-
face for an optional valve capping kit if desired. The valve 98 need
not be mounted, however, by bolting to the boss 102, as a conventional
nozzle with flange can be used provided that the valve can be totally
capped and is totally inside of the well.
The well wall 104 is cylindrical and has sufficient thickness to
withstand the maximum working pressure of the vessel applied from
interior compartment 100. It is welded to the outer wall of the tank
42 without protruding significantly out from it. The outer wall of the
tank 42 is reinforced by reinforcing pad 108 around the circumference

a
_. t~~~r~;?~~
-16-
of the well. The peripheral circumference edges 110 of the pad 108,
if located externally, are bevelled to minimize the purchase points for
any impacting forces.
A bolting ring 114 with optional gasket surfaces is attached to
the circumference of the inner surface of the well wall 104 as by
welding. The ring is positioned so that when the external cover plate
116 for the bottom well 96 is bolted by bolts 118 properly in place the
cover plate fits flush with the exterior surface of the ear 40. The
cover plate 116 is of at least the same strength and thickness as the
wall of the tank 42. Preferably it is rolled to the same curvature as
the tank 42 and machined on its inner surface to accept a gasket to
allow for the sealing of the entire interior compartment 120 of the
well 96. The cover plate 116 is held to the bolting ring 114 by bolts
118 threaded into suitable drilled and tapped holes in the bolting ring.
The cover plate 116 is attached to the tank 42 by a suitable break-
away mounted hinge such that the cover plate, which typically weighs
a couple hundred pounds, can be easily swung open or closed by a sin-
gle workman using a winch and cable system (not shown) or hydraulic
system (not shown) mounted to the vessel jacket. The cover plate 116
can also be equipped with a flush mounted, quick connect valve, such
as a Schraeder valve, to allow the interior of the well compartment
120 to be pressurized. _
The well wall 104 can also include a boss 122 through which
one or more control lines for internal equipment, such as internal
valves, penetrate. A well head or end plate 124 is positioned at the
end of the well opposite from the cover plate 116. The end plate 124
is of sufficient thickness and/or curvature to withstand the internal
pressure of the tank 42 and to support the manway cover 126 without
significant deflection when the tank 42 is pressurized. The well end
plate 124 need not be flat as shown, but can be elliptical or spherical.
The manway cover 126 is preferably elliptically or oblong shaped so
that it can be easily removed through a mating elliptical hole in the
well head. The cover 126 is hingedly mounted by hinge 128 to the
tank. The cover 126 and the mating surface of the manhole in the
well head 124 are machined to accept a suitable resilient gasket, such

-1?-
as one formed of "Gylon~~ when the transported fluid material is
liquified hydrogen sulfide.
Equally spaced bolts 132 are threaded into a series of equally
spaced, drilled and tapped blind holes in the manway cover 126 and
also pass through removable bolting ring 134 which seats against the
exterior side of the well head 124. This arrangement securely holds
the cover 126 in place against its gasket and seat area regardless of
the pressure within the well compartment 120 or the fluid product
compartment 100. Leak checking can easily and accurately be done
through the large opening 136 in the center of the bolting ring 134.
Corrective bolting stress adjustment can be made around the entire
circumference of the manway gasket to assure an easy, tight seal,
similar to a conventional flange. However, unlike a conventional
flange, the manway cover 126 tends to be pressed tightly into place as
the pressure in the fluid product compartment 100 rises. Unlike a
conventional boiler manway-with-yoke, the present manway can be
easily and selectively tightened around its entire circumference
thereby eliminating the seepage problems typically associated with
boiler closures.
An internal valve and actuator 140 on the inside of the fluid
~ product compartment 100 is attached to boss 102 and connected to a
flow passage through the boss 102 to the valve 98. Internal valve and
actuator 140 is externally controlled by means of a port passing
through the well wall 104 at boss 122. Since this is a liquid eduction
bottom outlet port, the valve 98 is configured to be fail closed. An
internal excess flow valve 142 is attached to internal valve 140 so
that in the event of failure of the external piping during unloading,
for example, the flow through the valve port will stop. An optional
sump, as shown in Figure 3 at 144, collects the liquid at the bottom of
the fluid product compartment 100, and for purposes of illustration
the depth of the sump 144 is shown exaggerated in this figure. Its
depth is carefully controlled so that no significant discontinuity is
thereby formed on the axterior vessel surface. A support structure
146 supports the internal valve and actuator 140, the internal excess
flow valve 142 and associated internal piping.

-18-
As is apparent from Figure 4, the bottom well 96 is oriented so
that it projects into the tank interior at an angle of approximately
twenty degrees off of the vertical center line of the tank 42. This
allows the liquid contents of the tank 42 to move freely around the
well to the outlet, so that the tank can be drained completely. As is
also apparent from this figure, blind holes 148 are drilled and tapped
into the boss 122 to accept fasteners for the mounting of the conven-
tional valve 98 inside the well, and (four) holes 150 are provided for
the mounting of an optional valve capping kit or ~~bonnet«.
External fiber glass tank insulation 152 covers the shell of the
tank 42 and circumferential reinforcing pad 108. The external tank
insulation 152 is covered with an insulation metallic (carbon steel)
jacket 156 suitably coated with a corrosion resistant paint. If the
insulation system does not in itself provide required temperature pro-
tection from fires as may occur following a wreck, then a suitable
supplemental high temperature coating can be applied, preferably
under the insulation jacket. This high temperature coating can be a
three-sixteenth inch thick ~~Thermo-Lag," for example.
The internal configuration of fluid valve well 56 and its con-
nected mechanisms and pipings is shown in elevation in Figure 6 and
in plan view in Figure 5. It is seen therein that the external vapor
valves 74 and T6 and the external liquid valve 78 are arranged in an
equilateral triangular relation to allow for maximum spacing between
the valves and for access to them. It is also within the scope of this
invention to provide for blind, drilled, tapped holes to accept bolts for
removably securing valve capping kits within the well 56. A support
ring 160 with blind, drilled, tapped bolt holes and preferably a gasket
surface is recessed into the well 56, similar to bolting ring 114 illus-
trated in Figures 3 and 4. This ring 160 is positioned so that the cover
162, when bolted into place by bolts 164, is flush with the exterior
surf ace of the vessel.
Although the well side wall 164 is preferably cylindrical, other
convenient shapes can also be used. The side wall i64 is attached
flush to the outer vessel wall itself without any significant protrusion
beyond it. The outer vessel wall can also be reinforced by a

~~~ J~~..i.
- 19-
circumferential reinforcing pad 166 whose outside edges 168, if
located externally, are similarly beveled. The shell of the well wall
164 Pxtends up through the tank 42 and the reinforcing pad 166 to be
generally flush with the reinforcing pad and to thereby define a rim
1'10 disposed about the recessed cover 162. This rim 1'10 about the
recessed cover 162 has a diameter of about twenty-four inches. The
inside surfaces of the well walls) 164 and bottom of the well are also
preferably laminated with stainless steel to retard corrosion.
The inlet to the water drain 80 is equipped for the mounting of
a (one and a half inch, three hundred pound) blind flange 172 and/or a
plug by means of several drilled and tapped blind holes in the head
i74. The water drain 80 passes through a passage through the well
head 1?4. The water drain is removably attached to the other side of
the head 1?4, and it includes a (one and a half inch) stainless steel
tube 1?8, an expansion stainless steel bellows i76, a stainless steel
inlet flange 180 and a stainless steel outlet flange welded into a con-
tinuous assembly as shown in Figure 6. The drain tube is preferably
gasketed and removably bolted inside of the tank between the well
head 174 and the boss 184 at the bottom of the car.
The boss 184 on the outside surface of the car is equipped to
have a flange 186 and/or plug 188 installed to seal the bottom of the
drain, if desired. The flange 186 mounts flush with the surface of the
vessel. However, even if it is not mounted flush, the mere fact that
the flange 186 has been shorn off does not by itself result in a loss of
any of the contents of the tank 42 as can be appreciated.
The water drain 80 provides convenient support structure for a
magnetically-coupled level indicating device. This device can com-
prise a stainless-steel ball float, as is available from Midland Manufac-
turing and as shown at 190 in Figure 6, sliding freely up and down the
drain tube 178 and riding on the liquid level in the tank. The float 190
includes a permanent magnet and the magnetic field therefrom passes
freely through the stainless steel drain tube 178 and couples with a
magnet attached to a gauging tube (not shown) or is otherwise
detected. This detection allows the user to determine from outside of

-10-
the vessel 40 the location of the liquid/vapor interface inside of the
vessel.
The water drain 80 also provides a convenient means of trans-
ferring heat to or from the fluid w~thin the tank to change the pres-
sure or temperature therein for Froaesjing purposes. A suitable heat-
ing or cooling fluid from a "heat" transfer means, as shown generi-
cally and schematically at 192 in Figure 6, can be circulated through
the drain tube 1?8 to accomplish this result. When the tank cars of
the present invention are used as storage vessels for liquefied com-
pressed gases, this heat transferring means can be especially useful.
In a preferred embodiment an internally mounted, remotely
controlled (liquid) valve and actuator 194 is positioned in the liquid
eduction line 196 from the external liquid valve Z8. This valve 194,
when remotely controlled through control line 198 from valve control
well 60, provides for the remote safety shutoff of flow to the external
liquid valve 78. In this embodiment internally mounted, remotely
controllable (vapor) valves and actuators 200 and 202 are similarly
provided on vapor eduction lines 204 and 206 for the external vapor
valves ?4 and ?6, respectively. Control lines 208 and 210 for the
vapor valves 74 and T6, respectively, pass through the fluid compart-
ment to the control well 60. A dip leg 212 in the liquid eduction line
196 is held in a bottom anchor slip-fit sleeve 214 secured to the tank
shell and over the sump 216 at the bottom of the car. Riser sections
218 and 220 extend from the vapor eduction lines 204 and 206, respec-
tively, to the upper vapor space 222 in the tank. Excess flow valves
223, 224, such as excess flow check valves available from Midland
Manufacturing, are provided in each of the eduction lines mounted to
the product side of the well head.
The relief valve well 58 and its internal configuration are
shown in elevation in Figure 8 and in top plan view in Figure 7. The
pressure relief valve 66, the pressure gauge connection and shut-off
valve 62, the thermometer well shutoff valve 70, the thermometer
well 68, and the water drain Z2 are shown in well 58, mo4nted on well
head 228 at the bottom of the well. Also shown and mounted is a clo-
sure flange 230 comprising a blind flange at the outlet - of the

... ~ ~ ~' s1
'~s v~ :a : ~ ~i
-21-
thermometer well shutoff valve 70. Each of these elements is fully
contained in the well 58 and fully within the envelope of the tank car
pressure vessel.
The bolting support ring 232 for the flush mounting cover plate
234 is positioned near the top of the well 58. This ring and plate are
preferably gasketed to provide a tight seal and are analogous to the
rings and well covers of other wells previously described, except that
there is a full-sized port 236 through the cover plate 234. The port
236 allows for pressure to escape should the pressure relief valve 66
lift. The port 236 is preferably equipped with a low-pressure rupture
disc and holder 238 mounted below a blow-away rain cover 240. In
conjunction with the rupture disc and holder 238, a sealed compart-
ment can be provided for the relief valve during periods when access
is not needed. Trace leakage, if any, from the relief valve assembly
into this sealed compartment can be absorbed, in the case of many
chemicals, by a simple absorbent system. In the event of a major
pressure buildup in the compartment, however, the rupture disc 238
opens, allowing the free operation of the pressure relief valve 66.
The rupture disc in the cover therefore deters nuisance leakage
en route to keep the compartment free of dirt, water and so forth.
The (one thousand psi) bellows expansion joint 242 is positioned
at the top of the drain tube 243 and the upper section of the drain
above this joint passes through upper and lower blind flanges 244 and
246 bolted to the opposite sides of the well head. A rupture disc 248
positioned below the (four hundred and fifty pound) relief valve 66 at
the well head 228 and above the relief valve port 266 communicates
with the internal tank safety shutoff valve 264.
Any water accumulation in the well 58 can be drained away by
water drain port 72 in a fashion similar to that of the other wells if
the well is not to be operated as a sealed system. This water drain is
analogous to the water drain in wells described with respect to Fig-
ures 5 and 6. A closure system is provided for both the water drain
port 72 and the thermometer well 68 such that they can be closed cff
in the event of small leakage through their respective tubes. In the
case of the thermo well 68, this is done with the shutroff valve 70

~ :~ ~ -~ ~ :~.
-22-
since the valve will be fully within the well. Any valve applied to the
bottom outlet of the water drain port 72 and projecting beyond the
ecmelope of the car should be applied using bolts designed to easily
break off in the event of impaci to:protect the integrity of the vessel.
Both the water drain tube 243 and the~thermo well 68 can be made in
one piece with the ear or tank 42, as is shown for the thermo well
which is welded in place or, preferably manufactured as flanged units
to be bolted onto the interior of the car, as is shown for the water
drain tube 243. This flanged separable construction of tube 243 (and
well 68) allows the units to be of metallurgy dissimilar to that of the
car without any resulting welding problems. They can also be readily
replaced if damaged without having to weld onto the vessel. The (one
inch) thermo well 68 is slip fit into a sleeve 254 secured to a bottom
anchor 256 mounted to the tank shell.
A boss 258 secured at an opening in the bottom of the tank
shell is drilled and tapped so that a (two inch, three hundred pound)
blind flange 260 can be bolted at the top and a (one inch, three hun-
dred pound) blind flange 262 bolted at the bottom with the (one inch
Schedule eighty pipe) drain tube 243 passing therethrough.
A remotely controlled valve and actuator 264 of the normally
~ open configuration is preferably mounted in the interior of the vessel
and connected to the relief valve port 266 through the well head 228.
This remotely controlled valve 264 allows for the emergency shutoff
of the relief valve 66 from the valve control well 60 by means of a
' control line 2T0 passing throueh the vessel interior. Field crews can
thus change out a defective relief valve on the railroad or at a cus-
tomer plant without the vessel being depressurized, and this thereby
is a significant improvement in the art. Figure 8 also shows the (two
inch) riser pipe 272 to the vapor area 222.
The valve control well 60 is shown in detail in Figures 9 and 10.
The function of this well is not for the discharge of tank contents but
rather as a protective remote housing for the controls and possibly
the instruments of the car 40. Its construction is essentially the same
as that of the other top mounted wells 56 and 58. It consists of a
cylindrical compartment wall 2?4 beginning flush with the external

-23-
vessel wall 42 and projecting inwardl,~ and with a bottom head 2?6.
The water drain 82 and several control lines from the internal
remotely mounted valves on the liquid and vapor eduction lines and on
the pressure relief valves are mounted on tre bottom head 2?6. A
heavy cover plate 280 is secured by Colts 282 to a gasket and to a bolt-
ing ring 284 and mounted flush with the vessel. Similarly, the shell or
wall 2?4 of the control well 60 extends up past the tank shell and up
to be generally flush with the upper surface of the reinforcing pad
286. The upper surface of the wall then defines a rim 288 around the
recessed coverplate 280 and having a diameter of about twelve
inches.
The hydraulic, electric or pneumatic pressure conducting tub-
ing for the internal safety shutoff vapor and liquid valves passes from
the interior of the vessel tank through the bottom head 2?6 and up
into the compartment 290 of the control well 60 where the hydraulic
or pneumatic quick connector 84 is provided at its end.
The enclosed compartment 290 formed by the control well 60
can be easily arranged to also contain a thermometer well and a pres-
sure gauge fitting similar to those previously shown thereby eliminat-
ing the need for those instruments in well 58 and making it possible to
reduce the diameter of the well 58, if desired. Also, the control well
60, as a control compartment, can be advantageously located near the
ground level of the car similar to the bottom well 96. If it is located
below the center line of the ear, the water drain 82 need not be pro-
vided, which can be a distinct advantage in some situations.
The control well 60 when closed forms a totally sealed control
compartment 290 which prevents any leakage from the controls
escaping to the atmosphere during shipment of the vessel. Further-
more, these important controls Por the internal car valves being posi-
tioned in a recessed sealed compartment are more likely to survive a
wreck. In the event of leaks the car discharge ports can be more eas-
ily serviced in the field due to the separate control well 60. This is
because these wells can be closed off by service personnel using the
remotely controlled valves without having to closely approach the
leaking valves.

~~.~)
-24-
It is also within the scope of this invention to duplicate the
arrangement in control well 60 at more than one location on the same
vessel, as for example close to both of the vessel ends. This allows
for the control of the valves from the most convenient point remote
from the valve compartments regardless of the orientation of the car
of ter a wreck.
As seen in Figure 10, the drain pipe 82 has a similar construc-
tion as the drain pipes 80 and ?2 of the wells 56 and 58, respectively.
This includes a flange 291 for securing the drain pipe 292 to and
through the bottom head 276. A bellows expansion joint 294 can be
provided at the upper end of the drain pipe 292 and the lower end
thereof secured in and to a boss 296 mounted to the lower portion of
the tank shell. The boss 296 is similarly drilled and tapped for secur-
ing bolts for the top and bottom flanges 29? and 298, respectively.
The drain pipe 292, which can be a one-and-a-half inch Schedule
eighty pipe, can also have a steel ball float with magnet 297 sliding
therealong to indicate the liquid/vapor interface within the vessel.
Drain pipe 82 in Figure 10 illustrates another type of water drain clo-
sure which remains attached to the car whether opened or closed.
Figures 11 and 12 illustrate in elevation and plan views another
safety tank car (or highway trailer) of the present invention generally
at 302. The car 302 is shown equipped with full shelf couplers 306 and
308 and external standard head shields 310 and 312. Referring to Fig-
ure 12, a single flush mounted, cover plate 314 is mounted over a ver-
tical well 316 at the top center of the vessel 318. This cover plate
314 can be easily accessed by personnel by way of the ladders 322, 324
and platform/handrail system 326. The vertical well 316 encloses the
later-described pressure relief devices for the car under the cover
plate 314. Also shown in dotted lines in Figure 12 are two horizontal
wells 328 and 330 passing across the diameter of the car near the lad-
ders 322, 324. These wells 328 and 330 contain the liquid and vapor
eduetion connections, pressure gauges, thermo wells and so forth, as
will be later described, and are also covered with flush mounting
cover plates 332 and 334, respectively. The elevation view of the
tank car 302 in Figure ii shows the horizontal wells 328 and 330 and

h~~~~9~~~
-25-
the cover plates 332 and 334 therefor face on and the vertical well
316 (in dotted lines) running the interior of-the vessel 321, preferably
through the center thereof and through the.bottom wall.
The bottom recessed well 340 containing the manhole cover
and opening for access to the interior of~ thewessel 321 is also shown
generally in Figure 11. This recessed well is covered by a flush
mounting cover plate 342 and is similar to the manway well 96
described in connection with Figures 3 and 4. Since the design of rail
car 302 provides for separate eduction, the manway well 340 does not
need to contain an unloading valve and thus can be considerably shal-
lower, if desired. It can, however, also contain the controls for
optional internally mounted, remotely controlled valves (not shown).
The diameter of the manway well 340 is large enough to allow for
easy passage into and out of the vessel 318 of the removable internal
parts of the rail car 302. The manway well 340 can be conveniently
located on the side of the top of the vessel 318 if desired, in addition
to its location near the bottom as illustrated in the drawings. The
construction of the manway well 340 is discussed in greater detail
later with respect to Figure 18.
Figure 13 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the tank car
302 illustrating one of the horizontal liquid and vapor eduction wells
328 (or 330). The eduetion wells 328 and 330 are positioned on oppo-
site sides of the (adders 322, 324 (Figure 12) for easy access thereto.
Figure 13 also shows the vessel shell or wall 346, the interior 348 of
the vessel, and the high temperature resistant insulation 350 within
insulation jacket 352, wherein the insulation preferably meets the
criteria of U.S. DOT Docket HM175. The eduction well 328 forms a
hollow tube 354, which is generally cylindrical in shape and can com-
prise a twelve inch, Schedule forty pipe for example. The tube 354
extends across the diameter of the vessel 318 and is firmly attached
_. at both ends thereof by welding to the vessel wall 346. By positioning
. the unloading piping wells 328, 330 horizontally the problem of drain
age of rain, snow melt, or wash water from the wells is eliminated,
and thus no drain tubes are needed for them.

;, ~
~~ ~r~~~
-26-
The vessel wall 346 is reinforced by a boss or pad 356 which
provides a convenient thickening of the metal shell 34u ir. which blind
holes 358 can be drilled and tapped for the attact~mPnt of the flush
mounting cover plates 332 (or 334) and a surface to receive a gasket.
Alternatively, a bolting ring 362 and a gasket surface can be welded to
the interior of the tube 354 at a position such that the well cover
plate 332 will again be flush with the exterior of the vessel wall 346.
This alternative construction is illustrated in Figure 15. The attach-
ing bolts 364 for the cover plates 332 can be as illustrated in the
drawings or preferably are counter sunk into the cover plate using
Allen type capscrews thereby further improving the flush exterior
surf ace of the vessel.
The metallurgy of the tube 354 and its thickness are preferably
the same, or substantially the same, as that of the vessel wall 346 so
that the tube can be easily welded to the wall. For that design the
tube 354 forms a substantial stiffener for the vessel 318, actually add-
ing strength to the vessel wall 346 near the areas of its attachment.
In the event that this is not desirable, as when weight reduction is
important, the walls of the tube 354 can be thinned and a bellows
expansion joint inserted in the tube to relieve stresses from the
expansion and contraction of the outer vessel wall diameter. (A suit-
able bellows expansion joint is shown in dotted lines in Figure 16 for
example.)
The well forms a protected cavity 366 within the protective
envelope of the vessel for the mounting of one or more vessel fittings,
such as the liquid and vapor eduction valves 368 and 370. Further,
with the cover plates 332 secured in place, this cavity 366 also forms
a unique pressure-tight container around the valves or fittings. A
safety kit built into the tank car vessel is thereby provided. A sepa-
rate, difficult to handle and install safety kit thus need not be pro-
vided on the tank ears. These safety kits are routinely used to allow
for the field crews to "cap off" valves on tank ears and trailers found
en route to be leaking.
The interior cavity 366 can be pressurized with an inert gas or
fluid prior to and during shipment. Referring to Figure 14, this

.._ ~ t% '.'.F so 'Ld _SI.
-2?-
pressurization can be done by a pressure source shown schematically
at 372 and then through a small pressure fitting 374 on the cover
plate 332. The pressure fitting 374 is mounted on the interior side of
the cover plate 332 in a small recessed area 376 formed by welding a
coupling 378 to the interior side of the cover plate. Access to the
pressure fitting 374 is provided by a drilled and tapped hole 380
through the cover plate 332. This hole 380 is plugged by a flat fitting
plug 382 when access to the pressure fitting 3?4 is not required.
The fluid (from pressure source 372) in the tube 354 can also
act as an absorbent to neutralize any vessel contents that might seep
from the fittings in the well 328. If the pressure in the well 328 is
raised slightly higher than the working pressure of the vessel interior
348, which can be easily done with a suitable inert gas, the possibility
of seepage of the contents of the vessel 318 through the fittings is
eliminated entirely. This is because any seepage which occurs will
necessarily be from the well 328 to the vessel interior 348. In either
event, seepages of vessel contents to the environment en route are
eliminated which is a significant improvement over conventional
designs.
The exterior surface 384 of the cover plate 332 is smooth and
presents no purchase points on which striking objects can snag. The
cover plate 332 itself is preferably mounted to the well 328 and the
vessel 3i8 such that its exterior surface 384 is flush with the exterior
surface of the vessel shell wall 346. The insulation 350 and insulation
' cover or jacket 352 can project beyond this smooth exterior of the
vessel, 318 without compromising the integrity of the vessel or the
well in the event o! a wreck or impact.
Figure 13 further illustrates unloading or eduction valves 368
and 370 in each well 328 (and 330), wherein the valves are quarter-
turn valves such as ball valves. The rail ear 302 would normally be
.- equipped with two such wells 328 and 330, each with liquid and vapor
valves., such that one liquid valve and one vapor valve are provided on
path side of the car. In this configuration the car 302 can be con-
netted to the unloading station piping (not shown) regardless of which
side of the rail car 302 is facing the piping.

-28-
The unloading valves 368, 370 are positioned in the well 328
such that when the cover plate 332 is removed the blind flanges 386,
388 on the valves are directly facing the outside and within easy
reach of the person making the tank car connections. The blind
flanges 386, 388 can be replaced in some applications by threaded
plugs if desired. The connection is made by the unloading person, and
the valve is then operated by turning the stem of the quarter turn
valve. This turning operation can be easily done with a short lever
(not shown) or with a rachet handle (not shown) such as used to drive
a socket wrench. Connection to the facing flanges of these valves
can be facilitated by providing drilled and tapped holes in the mating
flange of each valve so that cap screws can be used in making the
connection. A threaded connection to the valve can also be substi-
tuted, if desired.
The valves 368 and 370 are connected by means of flanges 390
or 392, respectively, or by alternative conventional means such as
threaded pipes and welding, to the eduction passage pipings 394, 396
which pass through the wall of the well tube 354 and then into the
interior 348 of the vessel itself. At convenient locations in these pip-
ings 394, 396 excess flow valves 398, 399 are installed to further pro-
tect against catastrophic leakage during the unloading process. This
design provides sufficient room within the well 328 itself so that the
excess flow valves 398, 399 and/or remotely controlled valves (not
shown) can be conveniently located in the well cavity 366 rather than
as~ shown in the vessel interior 348 which contains the product. This
makes the servicing of the excess flow valves less difficult and haz-
ardous since entry into the vessel itself is not required. The bodies of
the excess flow valves 398, 399 (or remotely controlled valves) are
still completely protected from impact. The wells 328 (and 330) also
provide a convenient location for other instrumentation such as pres-
sure gauge fittings 400 and thermo well fittings 401 as shown in dot-
ted lines.
An externally-controllable internal valve and actuator 404 can
be installed conveniently along the internal piping of each of the
eduction pipes as shown by the dotted lines on the liquid eduction line

_ 2~~ ~~~.~~.
-29-
394 in Figure 13. This valve and actuator 404 improves the integrity
and serviceability of the vessel. Except for the feature of remote
controllability, externally controlled internal valves are rendered
unnecessary by this novel tank design for the following reasons:
a). the conventional valves are fully protected from impact
and shearing off within the wells which themselves are fully pro-
tected within the envelope of the vessel wall;
b). the present novel well and cover plate configuration
defines a built-in valve sealing safety kit to prevent leakage through
packing glands or fittings to the environment;
c). the wells can be pressurized if desired to prevent any
leakage of the fluid commodity into the well itself; and
d). the wells can be easily or readily duplicated on the car.
This duplication means that even if one set of valves is defective and
must remain sealed off inside of its protective well that a second
complete set of valves is provided in another well so that the rail car
can still be conveniently unloaded before servicing the defective
valves. The probability of simultaneous failure of the valves in all of
the wells is extremely small as can be appreciated.
The vapor eduction piping 396 terminates in the upper vapor
portion 402 of the vessel 318 as shown in Figure 13 which allows for
the withdrawal of the vapors. The -liquid eduction piping 394 termi-
nates in an optional bottom sump 405 to provide full liquid drainage.
When the sump 405 is provided, any protrusions at the bottom of the
vessel wall 346 are minimized and smoothly rounded so that no signifi-
cant purchase points for any impacting objects are provided.
This placement of the unloading fittings in a fully protected
location on the side of vessel, particularly at or below the center line
of the vessel, is advantageous since the unloading crew need not climb
to the top elevation of the tank which can be some thirteen feet in
the air. Instead the crew can safely work from low level platforms
only a few feet off of the ground or even on the ground itself. This
greatly reduces the likelihood of potentially hazardous falls during
tank car loading and unloading procedures. Many persons have been
injured in railroad u~uoad_ng/loading accidents when they fell many

-30-
feet to the ground while making connections to conventional tank
ears. Additionally, the workers can service the unloading valves f rom
a comfortable standing position while using these horizontally
mounted internal valve wells 328, 330. The worker thus need not
crouch, kneel or lie down to make the connections to the tank cars, as
is now necessary with both bottom and top unloading cars. The
worker is therefore at or near ground level and in a comfortable
standing position. He can thereby rapidly complete his work and also
easily and quickly escape from the area of the valve fittings in the
event of the unexpected release of noxious tank contents during a
connection procedure.
By removing the cover plates 332, 334 at both ends of the wells
328, 330 during unloading, flow-through ventilation of the wells can
be easily provided by natural or forced ventilation, as by a fan posi-
tioned relative to the well, blowing escaping seepages away f rom the
worker making the connection. The present design thus represents a
significance improvement in tank car design from the standpoint of
worker conveniences and safety.
Figure 16 is a cross-sectional view of the rail ear 302 showing
the vertical well 316 secured within and to the vessel 318. This well
provides a fully protective housing for the (four hundred and fifty
pound) safety relief valve 408 preferably with an integral rupture disc
assembly 410 upstream of the relief valve seat, a bottom unloading
valve 412 and a magnetically-coupled tank level reading device 414.
Other instrumentation and controls for internal devices in the tank
can also be conveniently located in this well. The vertical well 316
protects all these devices with a strength at least equal to that of the
vessel 318 itself, since the entire well 316 is contained within the
protective envelope of the vessel walls 346. The well 316 is covered
and sealed at both ends by cover plates 314, which mount flush with
the outer surface of the vessel wall 346.
The well 316 can be formed by 2 tube 416, such as a ten inch
Schedule 40S pipe 304 L S.S., from the top to the bottom of the vessel
318. The tube 416 is attached to the inner surf aces of the vessel 318
by means of flange connections 418 and bolts 420, and sealed by

-31-
gaskets 422. This is an alternative to the welding connection used for
the pipe of Figure 13 and has three advantages. First, the metallurgy
of the tube 416 and flange e~nneetions 418 can be substantially differ-
ent from that of the vessel 318 without presenting any problems typi-
cally associated with dissimilar metal welding. Second, this flange
connection 418 allows for the use of magnetically permeable materi-
als such as stainless steel for the tube 416 which makes the
magnetically-coupled level reading device 414 possible. Third, the
tube 416 and its flanges 418 become removable, renewable parts of
the vessel 318 so that the welding on the car itself during repairs is
not necessary:
The vessel wall 346 is reinforced and thickened where the
flanges 418 connect with pad or boss 438 at both ends of the tube 416.
These thickened areas strengthen the vessel wall 346 at the points of
penetration and form convenient surfaces for drilling and tapping
blind holes 421 to gate with the bolts 420 securing the tube 416 and
its flanges 418 to the vessel wall 346. It can also be machined to
accept a suitable gasket seal. Another set of blind, drilled and tapped
holes is made on the exterior side of the boss 438 along with a suitable
gasket surface to mate with the bolts securing the top and bottom of
the cover plate 314. The arrangement of the vessel wall 346, mss 438
and cover plates 314 is again such that the cover plates mount flush
with the exterior surface of the vessel presenting no significant pur-
chase points for impacting objects. The external bolts are preferably
countersunk into the cover plates 314 to further reduce any purchase
points for any impacting objects striking the vessel.
Alternatively, as in the case of some of the previously-
deseribed designs, the cover plate 314 can be attached to the well
316, instead of to the vessel wall 346, by a bolting ring welded to the
interior surface of the well wall in a position, such that the outer sur-
face of the cover plate 314 is flush with oute~ surface of the vessel
wall 346. A gasket surface on the bolting ring then seals the interior
of the well 316.
The well tube 416 is generally cylindrical and preferably has a
strength and thickness similar to that of the vessel wall 346. The tube

-32-
416 thereby functions as a stiffener and strengthener for the vessel
3i8 in the areas of its attachment. If this is not desired as for reasons
of minimizing the weight of the well, the wall of the tube 416 can be
thinned and an expansion joint or bellows, shown in dotted lines and
by reference numeral 426, inserted in the wall of the tube 416 near
the top thereof.
The top cover plate 314 is perforated by aperture 428 through
which fluid can escape should the relief valve 408 in the tube 416
vent. This aperture 428 is fitted with a rain cover 430 and with a low
pressure rupture disc assembly to permit the cavity around the relief
valve 408 to be moderately pressurized if desired. In this manner,
trace leakages into the cavity can be absorbed by a suitable absorbent
material rather than seep to the external environment. Furthermore,
with the optional disc assembly 432, the cavity can be completely
sealed against rain and snow melt water thereby eliminating the need
for water drainage tubes. One design of this invention provides a
pressure tight joint between the cover and the pressure relief valve so
that the rupture disc does not communicate with the cavity between
the valve and the well.
A bottom cover plate 436, which is similar to cover plate 314
~ and is complete with pressurization fitting, is provided at the bottom
of the tube 416. When the bottom -cover plate 436 is employed, the
bottom attachment of the well tube 416 is flanged to a boss 438 on the
interior of the vessel 318 similar to the attachment on the top con-
~ nection to the vessel. The fully protected bottom outlet valve 412
can be conveniently located then at the bottom area of the well 416
directly above the bottom cover plate 436. Valve 412 in Figure i6 is
depicted as a (one inch) angle valve with its connection to the vessel
running through the tube 4i6 near the bottom of the vessel. The out-
let connection piping 440 inside of the vessel 318 is equipped with an
excess flow valve 442 and can be equipped also with az externally
controllable internal valve shown with dotted lines at 444.
The vertical well 316 can be transformed into a fully sealable,
pressure tight compartment for use as a sealed safety kit on the con-
ventional outlet valve 412, thereby eliminating the need for the

~~a ~~~~_
-33-
externally controllable internal valve 444 by one of three means.
First, the pressure relief valve 408 can be mounted in a separate well
of its own and replaced if desired by an optional vapor eduction valve
(not shown). In this case the top cover plate 314 would move with the
relief valve 408 to the~separate well and a cover plate for this verti-
cal well similar to cover plate 332 would be used. Second, the pres-
sure relief valve 408 can be fitted with a suitable seal, such as an
0-ring compression system, to join it to the cover plate 3i4 and aper-
ture and optional rupture disc assembly in a pressure tight manner
such that the interior of the well cavity and the aperture do not com-
municate. Third, a bulkhead 448 can be installed (removably if
desired) across the tube 416, as shown with dotted lines, allowing for
the independent pressurization of the upper well cavity 450 and the
lower well cavity 452. If the bulkhead 448 is installed, the level ~~sig-
nal~~ can still be sensed above and below the bulkhead with relative
ease from the upper and lower well cavities 450 and 452. Direct
waste liquid drainage, if desired, from the upper well cavity 450 can
be provided by a flexible or rigid tube 451a connecting the upper well
cavity 450 to the outside environment by passing through the bulkhead
448, the lower well cavity 452 and the bottom cover plate 436. Any
such waste Liquid drain would be sealed in transit with a removable
flush mounting plug on the cover plate and further equipped with an
excess flow valve 451b which would close should the upper well cavity
450 pressurize due to a discharge from the relief valve 408.
The liquid level float magnet ring assembly 414 surrounds the
outside of the tube 416 and floats on the liquid contents of the vessel
318. Figure i? shows in cross-section detail the magnetic float ring
level assembly 414, which consists of five hollow spheres 454 con-
nected by frame 456. The frame 456 holds a series of magnets on its
inner circumference to project a magnetic field through a tube, sech
as the vertical tube 416 shown in Figure 16, made of a magnetically
transparent material, such as stainless steel. The field can easily be
sensed and the location of the magnets and hence of the float easily
determined. This magnetic field can be readily detected by a mag-
netic device inside of the upper well cavity 450 or the lower well

2 .~ ~ ;; :~ ;~, :~.
-34-
cavity 452. Although similar level sensing devices are commercially
available, the present novel «ertically disposed tube 416 extending
diametrically through the vessel X18 and protectively housing valves
or other fittings therein lends itself readily to the installation of this
magnetic float ring 1ev21 assembly 414.
The relief valve 408 can have straight-through design as illus-
trated in Figure 16 or can be an angle valve. It is connected to the
interior of the vessel 318 by means of a relief valve passage (two inch)
piping 460 beginning at the inlet of the relief valve in the upper well
cavity 450 and passing through the wall tube 416 and then upwards
into the vapor space 402 of the vessel 318 itself. An externally con-
trollable, internally mounted shutoff valve, shown in dotted lines at
462, is preferably installed at a convenient point within the vessel 3i8
along the passage piping 460. This shutoff valve 462 increases the
serviceability of the relief valve 408 if the relief valve has to be ser-
viced while fluid product is in the vessel 318. However, this exter-
nally controllable, internal valve 462 can be made superfluous with
the relief valve well design as shown in Figure 16 by providing a com-
pletely self-contained safety capping kit for each relief valve. These
relief valve wells further provide ample room for a completely pro-
tected standard shutoff valve (with or without remotely controlled
actuators) shown with dotted lines at 463 to be installed and operated
safely inside of the upper well cavity 450 upstream from the relief
valve 408, also allowing for field servicing of the relief valve 408, if
necessary.
The basic arrangement of the internal manway well 340 to the
vessel 318 is illustrated in cross-section in Figure 18. The manway
cover or closure 466 is held in place against its gasket and mating
gasket seal 470 by both the internal pressure of the vessel 318 and by
a series of bolts or studs 4?2 threaded into blind, drilled, tapped holes
around its circumference. These studs 4?2 pass through a removable
rigid ring 4T4 through pre-drilled stud receiving holes and which bears
against the exterior side of the manway well head 4T6. The studs 4'12
can be made to apply an evenly distributed and locally adjustable
force to close and seal the manway closure 466. The closure 466 is

-35-
hinged on the vessel interior 348 by a hinge 480 which helps position
the closure 466 against its seating surface.
The head 476 of the well 340 is sufficiently strong to handle the
internal pressure of the contents of the vessel 318. It can take the
form of a flat plate as shown in Figure 18 or of an elliptical or r~2a:i-
spherical head as desired. The well head 476 is attached to a well
wall 482 which is also of sufficient strength to withstand the internal
vessel pressure. If the cavity 484 of the well 340 is only to provide
the manway access area, this wall 482 can be very short. If additional
protected space in the cavity 484 is desired for the mounting of con-
trols, valves or safety equipment, the wall 482 can be made longer,
and thus the well 340 deeper, to accommodate the equipment.
The well wall 482 is attached, preferably by welding, to the
vessel wall 346. The vessel wall 346 is thickened or reinforced in the
area of attachment of the well wall 482 by a boss or pad 485. If the
pad 485 is attached to the exterior of the wall 482, as is shown in Fig-
ure 18, its edges are bevelled to present little, if any, purchase point
area for impacting objects.
A thick cover plate 486 for the well 340 is mounted flush with
the exterior surface of the vessel wall 346 or of the pad 485, which is
even closer to the cover plate, again so that no significant purchase
points are offered. The cover plats 486 is hinged conveniently to the
exterior of the pad 485 or the vessel wall 346, as by means of a hinge
488. The hinge 488 is designed to break or shear away if struck,
rather than to transfer significant stress to the vessel wall '346 or to
the cover plate 486. The cover plate 486 is held firmly in place, when
closed, preferably by means of countersunk Allen capserews, which
are threaded into blind, drilled, tapped holes 490 in a bolting ring 492
which in turn is welded to the interior surface of the vessel wall 346
such that the exterior surface of the cover plate 486 is flush with the
exterior smooth surface of the tank car shell 346. The cover plate
486 can be rolled, if desired, to conform when in place to the exterior
contour of the vessel.
The bolting ring 492 has a gasket surface and gasket 496 so that
the well cavity 484 can be sealed gas tight and thereby form a safety

r a.~ ~.~ ,~ . r
~c,
-36-
seal against chance leakage from the manway cover seal. Small seep-
age into the cavity 484 from the manway cover seal can be absorbed
by a suitable absorbent material if desired. Alternatively, the cavity
484 can be pressurized by an inert gas to a pressure in excess of the
tank car pressure.
The cavity 484 can be advantageously used to contain equip-
ment, tools and supplies for emergency repairs of the tank car 302 in
a completely protected environment. This equipment can include
items not now readily transportable to emergency scenes by repair
crews aboard scheduled commercial flights due to government prohi-
bitions. Such items could include fresh breathing air cylinders, a gen-
erator with fuel/oil, flares and specialized tools. A safety capping kit
such as shown schematically at 498 for field crews to cap off a leak-
ing vessel valve is an example of a storable item. These uses of the
protected cavity 484 substantially improve the ability of repair crews
to deal with leakages en route.
A compressed gas safety transport tank of the present inven-
tion is shown generally at 500 in Figure 19. Referring thereto, it is
seen that it preferably comprises a front cab shown generally at 502
supporting the front portion of a cylindrical elongated tank 504 on a
wheel assembly 505. The tank 504 is supported on a wheel assembly
shown generally at 506 at its rear er~d. It is understood that the tank
40, vessel 318, and tank 504 can be tank cars, cargo tanks, cylinders
or any other pressure vessel. The internal mechanical arrangement
for the tank 504 is shown generally at 508 in dotted lines in Figure 19
and in greater detail in Figure 20 through a longitudinal plane of the
tank 504.
The tank 504 has a cylindrical cross-sectional shape, as is
apparent from Figure 21, and has smooth and curved end head sur-
faces. Insulation with a metal jacket covering with epoxy and fire
retardant coating shown at 512 covers and protects the tank 504. An
opening 514 is formed through the top surface of the tank 504 and a
recessed well shown generally at 516 is,fitted at the opening. The
longitudinal walls or shell 518 of the recessed well 516 extend up
through the shell 520 of the tank 504 at the opening. The shell 518 is

~~~'~~j~~'2
,~ ~,:~ ~~p ~~ ;~ ~ .L
-37-
generally flush with the top surface ~f the reinforcing pad 522 sur-
rounding the opening 514, and thereby forms a rim 524 along its upper
edge into which a cover 526 for the recessed area can be fitted. This
cover 526 is provided with a blow-away rain cover 528 positioned over
the relief valve 530 in the weL. Bolts 5S2 ara threadable through the
cover and into a support ring 534 for removably securing the cover
526 over and to the shell 518. The relief valve 530 is mounted by
bolted blind flanges 536 to the well head 538 which is secured to the
lower ends of the well shell 518.
Excess fluid can drain through the drain tube or pipe 540
secured in and passing through the well head 538. Pipe 540 can be
sealed with blind flanges 542 and optional rubber stops 544 (for emer-
gency use). Pipe 540 is built with an expansion bellows 546, and a
lower boss 548 secured to the shell 520 at a lower ooeninQ
therethrough the drain pipe 540 is secured to the boss 548 via upper
and lower flanges 550 and 552 similar to the previously-disclosed
embodiments. Similarly, a steel ball, liquid level indicating float 554
with magnet can slide up and down the drain tube 540 to react with a
gauge stick moving inside the tube as in a device manufactured by
Midland Manufacturing, for example.
~ Associated with the relief valve 530 and mounted within the
protective envelope of the tank 504- are the internal liquid and vapor
valves 556, 558 whose operations are similar to those described in the
previously-disclosed embodiments. An internal tank safety shutoff
valve 560 of the relief valve 530 is secured to the lower surface of the
well head 538 directly beneath the relief valve 530.
A vapor stand pipe 562 comes off at ninety degrees from the
internal tank safety shutoff valve 560 and passes upwardly to and
opens in the vapor space area 564 inside of the tank 504. At its other
end the internal tank safety shutoff vapor valve 560 is connected to a
pressure transfer tube 565. (The vapor stand pipe 566 from the vapor
valve 558, as best shown in Figure 20, is slip fit at its upper end in a
vapor stand pipe top anchor 568 which is welded to the tank shell
520.) Directly beneath the internal tank safety shutoff valve 560 an
opening passes through the bottom of the tank shell 520. A boss 572 is

y~~~~~~~.
-38-
welded to the tank shell 520 at this opening and holes are drilled and
tapped therethrough. These holes are provided for the bolting flanges
576 and 5?8 on either side thereof. A manifold 580 passes from the
internal tank safety shutoff valve 560 through the flanges 576 and 5?3
and the boss 572 to the exterior of the tank shell 520. An external
shutoff valve 581 with a blind flange is secured to the lower end of
the manifold 580.
A bottom angled recessed area 582 on a lower side surface of
the tank 504 is shown by the dotted lines in Figure 20 and in cross-
section in Figure 21. This recessed area 582 includes a shell 584
attached generally perpendicular to the tank shell 520 and through an
opening thereof. The shell 584 extends a slight distance beyond or is
flush with the outer surface of the reinforcing pad 586 encircling this
opening. The shell 584 at its outer end defines a rim 588 into which
the cover 590 is removably fitted. The recessed cover 590 is boltable
to the support ring 594 secured to the inner surface of the shell 584.
The support ring 594 is shown in plan view with the cover 590
removed therefrom in Figure 22. In the middle of this figure the
recessed area well head 595 is shown secured at the inner ends of the
shell 584. Openings 596, 597, 598 pass therethrough and quick con-
nector couplings 599, 600 and 602 are provided thereat for the pres-
sure transfer tubes 565, 606 and 608; respectively.
Pressure transfer tube 565 passes through the interior of the
tank 504 from the lower end of the internal tank safety shutoff valve
560 to the quick connector coupling 599. Pressure transfer tube 606
passes from the internal tank safety shutoff vapor valve 558 at the
bottom of the tank to the quick connector coupling 600. Pressure
transfer tube 608 then passes from the lower internal tank safety
shutoff liquid valve 556 to the quick connector coupling 602.
An external shutoff valve 614 with blind flange positioned
below the tank 504 for the internal tank safety shutoff vapor valve
558 similarly includes a manifold 616 passing through a boss 618
welded to the tank shell 520. The boss 618 has holes drilled and
tapped therethrough for the bolting flanges 620 and 622. An internal
tank liquid dip leg 624 is connected to the end of the internal tank

-39-
safety shutoff liquid valve 556 opposite to that of the pressure trans-
fer tube 606 and has its lower open end adjacent and opening to a
sump 626 formed in the lower surface of the shell 520.
Thus, the safety vessels described above offer novel solutions
to some vexing problems in the transportation and containment of
hazardous fluid materials. In particular. these vessels help prevent
nuisance leakages, especially during transportation; help prevent cat-
astmphie failure of the vessels due to impacts, collisions, fires, explo-
sions, derailments, and terrorism; help prevent vandalism to vessel
fittings, especially during the transportation of the vessel; and help
provide a safer working environment, especially for workers who are
loading and unloading rail transportation vessels and for personnel
who are handling railroad tank car leakage emergencies, especially
those dispatched on short notice from distant places. Thus, the
present invention provides a novel and practical safety vessel system
which is adaptable to the transportation of hazardous materials by rail
and highway, and also in stationary applications, such as in storage
tanks, process vessels, and reactors.
This invention thus eliminates the reliance on conventional
valves for a perfect seal by using an internal valve/actuator device
remotely controlled from the outside environment and/or placing con-
ventional valves inside of sealable compartments or wells which are
fully contained within the smooth protective envelope of the vessel
wall. When either, or preferably both, of these steps are taken, the
conventional valve, safely located inside of the well, can fail or leak
and still not cause any discharge of material to the environment.
With the internal valve and actuator closed, there is no avail-
able pressure to leak from the external valve. In many applications,
it may be possible for 'the conventional valve which is positioned in
the well to be eliminated entirely with the port to the fully-contained
internal valve and actuator being blocked with a highly reliable flange
and gasket. If the sealed well system is used, then even leakage from
- the valve, fittings or flanges in the well is contained behind a simple,
highly reliable flange and plug system sealing the well from the envi-
ronment. If multiple sealed wells as disclosed herein are used, the

lr~,J~«9,
~r~~~~~
-40-
transport vessel can move safely to its destination to be unloaded on
schedule following the complete failure of the valves or fittings in
any one of the wells. The vessel at its destination can then be
repaired without any delay, danger or leakage to the environment.
The sealed wells, of course, can also be pressurized with a suitable
inert gas, generally nitrogen or carbon dioxide, before shipment so
that none of the car's contents leaks even into the wells, which is
desirable for safety or corrosion reasons. Alternatively, a suitable
absorbent material can be placed in the wells to absorb any trace
leakage materials f rom the vessel interior.
The catastrophic failure of transportation vessels following
wrecks or derailments is sometimes abetted by the fires which follow
due to the failure of other nearby vessels. Fire and explosion can
cause stationary vessels to fail, and impact damage from passing vehi-
cles as well as debris from nearby accidents and explosions can cause
the vessel contents to discharge.
Regulatory bodies have required that head shields be used at
the ends of rail vessel ears to protect against end impacts. The safety
vessel system described above for rail and highway vessels can also
and additionally include such shields. Further, the overall vessel wall
thickness can be increased and/or additional shielding applied to pro-
tect against penetrating impacts on the side and bottoms of the
vessels.
Fire is another major cause of vessel failure. The present
safety vessel system addresses the fire problem by incorporating a
high temperature ceramic or an ablative coating material, such as
~~Thermo-Lag,~~ to resist the effect of pool fires and impinging fires on
the walls of the vessels. Although such coating or insulation systems
are already required on many existing tank cars, they do not protect
conventional valves and fittings. The present safety vessel system
wherein valves and fittings are safely contained within the protective
envelope of the vessel walls, however, shields the valves and fittings
from the high temperatures of fire impingement. They are thus pro-
tected by both the sheer mass of the vessel and its contents, as well
as by the cover plates and wells, and are thereby more likely to

d z ~, _t_
-41-
perform properly and reliably. Further, with the remotely-controlled
internal valves and actuators in place on all of the vessel nozzles,
including the relief valves, the discharge of any of the valves can be
safely controlled, if necessary, when there is a fire. The vessels and
' their valves and fittings of the present safety valve system are thus
more likely to survive fires.
The rounded surfaces of the vessel tend to deflect impacts,
rolling away from them, rather than allowing the energy of the
impact to tear the vessel, its nozzles or its fittings. The safety vessel
systems of the present invention take advantage of this protective
property of the smoothly rounded cylinders, ellipsoids and spheres by
eliminating all protrusions from the vessel. In these shapes, the
stresses are most evenly distributed over the entire shell of the ves-
sel. Furthermore, these smooth curving shapes are inherently good
deflectors of impact and piercing forces likely to be encountered
when the vessel strikes an object, such as a steel rail, a railroad cou-
pler, a vehicle, a boulder, a wall or an abutment during a wreck, or
when a projectile such as a bullet, steel or rock fragment strikes the
vessel as may occur during vandalism or an explosion. The vulnerable
relief valves, other valves and fittings are all safely contained in
wells within the walls of the vessel. The vulnerable protrusion of the
manway nozzle is eliminated completely by the present submerged
well manway.
The vessel is mounted on its supporting structure, such as
trucks, wheels or skirt, by means of connections which are preferably
weaker than the vessel walls to which they are attached. This can be
accomplished by banding or by incorporating parts which are designed
to uncouple or shear cleanly before the stress in the vessel walls
exceeds approximately fifty percent of the allowable stress of the
vessel walls. The present safety vessel systems are therefore free to
tumble, roll or °slide smoothly during an accident and spend their
kinetic energy relatively smoothly and over a wide surface while
deflecting impactsa The probability of vessel failure as from punc-
tures or failure of the fittings, which can rPSUlt in the catastrophic
loss of the vessel contents, is therefore practically eliminated.

-42-
The safety vessel systems disclosed herein preferably include
water hammer resistance features. Water hammer is a hydraulic
effect or rapidly rising pressure inside closed vessels when a non-com-
pressible fluid is suddenly decelerated as can theoretically occur in a
few remotely possible wreck scenarios, such as a direct head-on colli-
sion with a hard immovable object. The water hammer resistance
system of the present invention includes the four below-discussed
design criteria.
First, the vessel walls are designed to be thick enough to with-
stand the peak pressure developed by the fluid in the vessel during a
head-on impact at fifty miles per hour; the walls are preferably at
least nine-tenths of an inch or more of steel. Second, hardened,
highly stressed materials subject to brittle fracture are preferably
excluded from the vessel walls. Third, external head protection and
cushioning are provided by laminations, hydraulic cushioning and/or
sacrificial cushioning, such as wood, designed to slow the rate of
deceleration of the vessel and thereby reduce the stresses in the ves-
seI walls. Fourth, an internal cushioning system, such as sacrificial
head chambers or collapsible devices to slow the rate of deceleration
of the fluid within the vessel, can be used. This rate deceleration
~ greatly reduces the peak pressure attainable during an impact.
Vandalism is also a threat to the safe transportation of hazard-
ous commodities. The present safety vessel system, by sealing all of
the discharge fittings inside of closed, sealed wells, reduces the likeli-
' hood that a casual, untrained vandal can gain quick or obvious access
to the protected valves. Special tools are required to gain access to
the sealed wells of this invention. Additionally, the present remotely
controllable, internal valves and actuators further reduce the proba-
bility of successful vandal access because the operation of these
valves requires special equipment and knowledge not generally avail-
able to the public. The thckenPd walls of the present system, pro-
vided to increase the survivability of the vessel in the event of an
impact, also resist small arms projectiles and explosives commonly
available to vandals.

w E~ r ~~ ..'~ ~ ~B_
-43-
The present invention, especially when used in rail transporta-
tion, increases worker safety. Current designs of standard hazardous
materials tank cars discourage bottom outlets due to the difficulty in
guarding them from impact damage. As a result, unloading fittings
are placed generally at the top and center of the car, requiring the
workers to climb to and work at elevations of such height to cause
serious injury in the event of a fall therefrom. Guard rails provide
only limited protection from falling, and routes of escape are limited
by the necessity of climbing dawn safely from the confined area of
the top platform. A worker suddenly exposed to a hazardous concen-
tration of escaping product during unloading or loading accidents runs
a great risk of injury from falling from the top of the car, especially
if he is rendered unconscious by the escaping material. Furthermore,
top unloading connections force the workers to assume relatively
uncomfortable crouching, kneeling or lying positions while connec-
tions are being made.
The designs of the present invention, while still allowing for
top unloading if desired, eliminate the objections to bottom and side
unloading positions. The valves of the present invention are com-
pletely protected during transportation from impact damage by the
internal valve wells and cover plates. Massive bottom skid protection
is thus not needed. The protection provided is also superior to that of
current convenrional bottom outlet valves which have only a portion
of the valve and/or stem inside of the vessels.
A bottom liquid outlet makes gravity unloading of tank cars
possible and is often preferable from an operating standpoint to pres-
sure unloading. Bottom unloading connections can be made while
standing, kneeling or sitting on the ground, eliminating significant
falling hazards to the workers. With the protective valve wells of the
present invention, conventional valves, if desired, can be safely used
for bottom unloading applications. If the reanotely controllable, inter-
nal valves and actuators of this invention ,are used, worker safety is
also improved since the workers need nct be near the valve during the
valve opening and closing procedures. This reduces the likelihood of
injury in the event a bad joint connection is made.

- 44 -
The side unloading alternative of the present invention pro-
vides ..other advantages. For example, workers can perform valve
connections and operations from a comfortable full standing position
at ground level if the side wells are placed in the lower portion of the
vessel. If the side wells are placed on or near the mid-line position of
the vessel, a short platform only a few feet off the ground is required.
A fall or jump from such a height is not likely to cause significant
injury. Furthermore, the worker need not and cannot place his head
or face inside of the well in order to make connections. Also, these
through the ear wells can be readily ventilated according to this
invention before and during loading and unloading operations further
reducing the probability that the workers will be exposed to escaping
hazardous materials.
Where a remotely controllable, internal valve and actuator is
used, the loading and unloading system or operator can remotely close
the valve connections from a safe distance. This is especially useful
in the event of a fire or a downstream leak from the connected piping
in the plant or factory. The valves, inside their respective wells, are
protected from fire and impact damage even during material transfer
operations. Of course, if total failure of downstream piping occurs,
the internal excess flow valves disclosed herein automatically seal off
the vessel.
The safety vessel system herein improves the ability of
response teams to deal with emergency leak control during shipment,
while at the same time greatly reducing the probability of the need
for such leak control efforts. Each valve and fitting for the vessel,
including the relief valves, has a built-in safety capping kit in the
form of the valve well itself. These wells are sealed with extremely
reliable and simple flange connections. The wells can be readily pres-
surized with an inert sealing fluid, if necessary, thereby providing
another effective means of sealing off any leakage frnm a defective
fitting therein. Response teams thus need not transport them or han-
dle less effective, bulky, massive, conventional upping kits when
traveling to an accident scene. The possibility that a kit will not fit
perfectly to the car is also eliminated.

~~':~t~~~~
-45-
Since there is sufficient protected room within the vessel for
shut-off valves ~n the relief valves, the present design also provides
an effective means of field replacing defective relief valves en route.
Where a remotely controllable, internal valve and actuator is used,
this shut: off can even be safely accomplished from a location on the
car remote from the defective relief valve. Even without a remotely
controllable, internal valve and actuator in place, sufficient room
exists in the wells to provide a conventional shut-off valve, with or
without remote control, for the safety relief valves.
Finally, room can readily be provided within the manway well
or another separate well for~the secure storage of certain repair and
safety equipment often needed by repair crews. This equipment is
difficult to transport by commercial airliner due to government regu-
lations or airline rules or size and weight restrictions. Such equip-
ment includes containers of compressed breathing air, electric gener-
ators, compressors and specialized tools. It is thereby readily assured
that when a trained emergency crew arrives at an accident scene
involving a safety vessel of the present invention that all necessary
and useful equipment is conveniently there for them. Locating such
equipment within a massively protected well, under a cover, tends to
assure its survival following wrecks and most common assaults.
From the foregoing detailed description, it will be evident that
there are a number of changes, adaptations and modifications of the
present invention which come within the province of those skilled in
the art. However, it is intended that all such variations not departing
from the spirit of the invention be considered as within the scope
thereof as limited solely by the claims appended hereto.

Representative Drawing
A single figure which represents the drawing illustrating the invention.
Administrative Status

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Please note that "Inactive:" events refers to events no longer in use in our new back-office solution.

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Event History

Description Date
Inactive: Expired (new Act pat) 2011-10-10
Inactive: Late MF processed 2010-10-18
Letter Sent 2010-10-12
Inactive: Entity size changed 2003-10-06
Inactive: Office letter 2003-10-01
Grant by Issuance 2002-01-29
Inactive: Cover page published 2002-01-28
Pre-grant 2001-11-01
Inactive: Final fee received 2001-11-01
Notice of Allowance is Issued 2001-05-02
Letter Sent 2001-05-02
Notice of Allowance is Issued 2001-05-02
Inactive: Approved for allowance (AFA) 2001-04-20
Letter Sent 2000-11-16
Reinstatement Requirements Deemed Compliant for All Abandonment Reasons 2000-11-02
Deemed Abandoned - Failure to Respond to Maintenance Fee Notice 2000-10-10
Inactive: Correspondence - Formalities 1999-02-05
Amendment Received - Voluntary Amendment 1998-09-29
Inactive: Application prosecuted on TS as of Log entry date 1998-09-21
Letter Sent 1998-09-21
Inactive: Status info is complete as of Log entry date 1998-09-21
Request for Examination Requirements Determined Compliant 1998-09-04
All Requirements for Examination Determined Compliant 1998-09-04
Letter Sent 1997-12-22
Reinstatement Requirements Deemed Compliant for All Abandonment Reasons 1997-12-15
Deemed Abandoned - Failure to Respond to Maintenance Fee Notice 1997-10-10
Application Published (Open to Public Inspection) 1992-04-11

Abandonment History

Abandonment Date Reason Reinstatement Date
2000-10-10
1997-10-10

Maintenance Fee

The last payment was received on 2001-09-24

Note : If the full payment has not been received on or before the date indicated, a further fee may be required which may be one of the following

  • the reinstatement fee;
  • the late payment fee; or
  • additional fee to reverse deemed expiry.

Patent fees are adjusted on the 1st of January every year. The amounts above are the current amounts if received by December 31 of the current year.
Please refer to the CIPO Patent Fees web page to see all current fee amounts.

Fee History

Fee Type Anniversary Year Due Date Paid Date
MF (application, 6th anniv.) - standard 06 1997-10-10 1997-12-15
Reinstatement 1997-12-15
Request for examination - standard 1998-09-04
MF (application, 7th anniv.) - standard 07 1998-10-13 1998-09-04
MF (application, 8th anniv.) - standard 08 1999-10-11 1999-09-22
Reinstatement 2000-11-02
MF (application, 9th anniv.) - standard 09 2000-10-10 2000-11-02
MF (application, 10th anniv.) - standard 10 2001-10-10 2001-09-24
Final fee - standard 2001-11-01
MF (patent, 11th anniv.) - standard 2002-10-10 2002-09-19
MF (patent, 12th anniv.) - small 2003-10-10 2003-09-16
MF (patent, 13th anniv.) - small 2004-10-12 2004-10-04
2004-10-04
2005-09-15
MF (patent, 14th anniv.) - small 2005-10-10 2005-09-15
MF (patent, 15th anniv.) - small 2006-10-10 2006-09-11
2006-09-11
MF (patent, 16th anniv.) - standard 2007-10-10 2007-10-09
MF (patent, 17th anniv.) - standard 2008-10-10 2008-09-24
MF (patent, 18th anniv.) - standard 2009-10-13 2009-10-07
MF (patent, 19th anniv.) - standard 2010-10-12 2010-10-18
Reversal of deemed expiry 2010-10-12 2010-10-18
Owners on Record

Note: Records showing the ownership history in alphabetical order.

Current Owners on Record
MONTANA SULPHUR & CHEMICAL COMPANY
MONTANA SULPHUR & CHEMICAL COMPANY
Past Owners on Record
ZINK DONALD G.
ZINK DONALD LAWRENCE
JOHN E. SCHWARTZ
Past Owners that do not appear in the "Owners on Record" listing will appear in other documentation within the application.
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Description 1994-03-04 45 2,257
Description 1998-09-28 46 2,483
Abstract 1994-03-04 1 32
Claims 1994-03-04 12 595
Drawings 1994-03-04 12 425
Representative drawing 1999-07-01 1 24
Representative drawing 2002-01-02 1 9
Courtesy - Abandonment Letter (Maintenance Fee) 1997-11-09 1 185
Notice of Reinstatement 1997-12-21 1 171
Reminder - Request for Examination 1998-06-10 1 117
Acknowledgement of Request for Examination 1998-09-20 1 177
Courtesy - Abandonment Letter (Maintenance Fee) 2000-11-06 1 183
Notice of Reinstatement 2000-11-15 1 171
Commissioner's Notice - Application Found Allowable 2001-05-01 1 164
Maintenance Fee Notice 2010-10-17 1 171
Late Payment Acknowledgement 2010-10-17 1 164
Late Payment Acknowledgement 2010-10-17 1 164
Correspondence 2003-09-30 1 18
Fees 2003-09-15 1 34
Correspondence 2003-10-05 4 157
Correspondence 2003-10-05 2 91
Correspondence 2001-10-31 1 51
Correspondence 2001-05-01 1 71
Correspondence 1993-09-26 2 67
Correspondence 1999-02-04 1 35
Fees 2000-11-01 1 57
Fees 1997-11-09 2 136
Fees 2009-10-06 1 38
Fees 1996-09-25 1 79
Fees 1995-10-05 1 49
Fees 1994-10-10 1 50
Fees 1993-09-29 1 44