Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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CONTAINMENT WALL WITH REMOVABLE SECTION
This invention is in the field of containment structures for tanks and the
like, and in
particular a containment wall with improved access to the tank.
BACKGROUND
Containment structures are now commonly required to be placed around liquid
storage
tanks to prevent stored liquids from escaping the tank location if the tank
leaks. 'T'hese
containment structures generally include a wall around the tank, or around a
plurality of
tanks. The area enclosed and the height of the wall are designed to enable the
structure to
contain all the liquid that can be stored in the tanks enclosed. A membrane
covers the
ground under the tanks, and in some designs is sealed to the bottom edges of
the walls.
In other designs the membrane follows the wall up and is fastened to the top
of the wall
so that no seal is required as the membrane is then continuous from the top of
the wall s
down and over the ground to the top of opposite walls.
A typical containment wall comprises vertical panels which are often
corrugated to
provide added rigidity, and the panels are connected together to form the
wall. Braces
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are provide at intervals, conveniently where the panels are connected. The
braces extend
outward from the panels to the ground to support the walls in their vertical
orientation.
Access is required to the tanks for removal of contents, cleaning, and like
procedures.
Hoses must be connected to tank fittings to remove contents, and long wands
are often
inserted through the tank fittings to clean sand and the like from the tanks.
Tank fittings
for cleaning and removal of contents are positioned generally near the bottom
of the
tanks, lower than the top of the containment wall. The containment wails are
often quite
close to the tanks, so that access over the wall to the tank fittings is not
practical. Access
ports are therefore provided in the middle of the walls with removable covers
fastened
and sealed to the wall. These access ports are quite small and so care must be
taken when
positioning the panels that the ports are aligned with the tank fittings.
In order to access the tanks for cleaning and content removal it is necessary
to climb over
the containment wall, often several times, to connect and disconnect equipment
to the
tank fittings, and for like purposes.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a containment wall
apparatus that
overcomes problems in the prior art.
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The present invention therefore provides a U-shaped containment wall panel
that defines
a wide opening between legs of the U. The bottom edge of the U-shaped panel
rests on
the ground, and the vertical ends of the panel are attached conventionally to
adjoining
containment wall panels, with braces attached as in the prior art to support
the U-shaped
panel in the vertical orientation. The bottom wall section of the U-shaped
panel extends
between the legs thereof and a top edge of the bottom wall section is located
at distance
above the ground that is selected to allow access as required for tank
fittings that are
located close to the inside of the containment wall.
A removable panel section covers the opening and seals to the vertical legs
and the top
edge of the bottom wall section of the U-shaped panel. Thus when the panel
section is
removed, an opening is formed in the containment wall that can extend a
considerable
lateral distance to provide a wide opening for easy access to tank fittings.
The opening
significantly improves access for personnel into the area enclosed by the
containment
walls as well, since there is only a low portion of the U-shaped panel that a
person
working on the site must step over to enter the enclosure and gain access to
the tanks for
any required operations.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
While the invention is claimed in the concluding portions hereof:, preferred
embodiments
are provided in the accompanying detailed description which may be best
understood in
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conjunction with the accompanying diagrams where like parts in each of the
several
diagrams are labeled with like numbers, and where:
Fig. 1 is a top view of a containment structure enclosing a tank and where an
embodiment of the U-shaped panel of the present invention is installed in one
of the
containment walls;
Fig. 2 is a front view of the U-shaped panel of Fig. 1 with the removable
panel section
thereof removed to provide a wide opening;
Fig. 3 is a front view of the U-shaped panel of Fig. 1 with the removable
panel section
thereof installed to close the opening;
Fig. 4 is a top view of the removable panel section installed as in Fig. 3;
Fig. 5 is a top view of an alternate removable panel section installed in the
U-shaped
panel of Figs. 2 and 3;
Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a brace attached to the removable panel
section.
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENTS
Fig.1 illustrates a top view of a containment structure 1 enclosing a tank 3.
An
embodiment of a U-shaped containment wall panel 5 of the present invention,
illustrated
5 in Figs. 2 and 3, is installed in one of the containment walls 7 forming the
containment
structure 1.
The U-shaped containment wall panel 5 defines a wide opening 9 between legs. I
l of the
U. The bottom edge 13 of the U-shaped panel 5 rests on the ground 15, and the
vertical
ends of the panel are attached conventionally to adjoining containment wall
panels 17,
with braces 19 attached as in the prior art to support the U-shaped panel 5 in
the vertical
orientation. The bottom wall section 21 of the U-shaped panel 5 extends
between the
legs 11 thereof and a top edge 23 of the bottom wall section 21 is located at
a distance
above the ground 15 that is selected to allow access as required for tank
fittings 25 on the
tank 3 where the tank fittings 25 are located fairly close to the inside of
the containment
wall 7, as seen in Fig. 1.
A removable panel section 27 covers the opening 9 and seals to the vertical
legs 11 and
the top edge 23 of the bottom wall section 21 of the U-shaped panel 5. In Fig.
2 the
removable panel section 27 is shown removed from the U-shaped panel 5, and
Fig. 3
shows the panel section 27 installed in the U-shaped panel S. The removable
panel
section 27 is somewhat larger than the opening 9 so that when the removable
panel
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section 27 is placed in the opening 9 on the inside of the U-shaped panel 5,
the edges of
the removable panel section 27 extend past the opening 9 so same can bear
against the
inner surface 29 of the U-shaped panel 5 adjacent to the opening 9. A sealing
member 31
is attached to either the edges of the removable panel section 27 or the inner
surface of
the U-shaped panel 5 adjacent to the opening 9.
The illustrated removable panel section 27 is shown with rotating latches 33
which pivot
out to bear against the outer surface 35 of the U-shaped panel 5 adjacent to
the opening 9
and are operative to draw the edges of the removable panel section 27 tightly
against the
seals 31 as shown in Fig. 4. Sliding latches or other mechanism known in the
art could
provide this required function as well.
Thus when the removable panel section 27 is removed, the opening 9 is formed
in the
containment wail 7 that can extend a considerable lateral distance to provide
a wide
opening 9 for easy access to tank fittings 25 for such operations as may be
required. The
opening 9 significantly improves access for personnel into the area enclosed
by the
containment walls 7 as well, since there is only the low bottom wall section
21 of the U-
shaped panel 5 that a person working on the site must step over to enter the
enclosure and
gain access to the tank 3 for any required operations.
The U-shaped panel 5 can be placed in any of the containment walls 7 and
connected to
conventional wall panels 37 and braces 39 in the same manner as connecting any
of the
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conventional wall panels 37 to each other.
The removable panel section 27 shown in Fig. 4 includes bent ends which form
flanges
41 that bear against the inner surface 29 of the U-shaped panel 5 adjacent to
the opening.
This allows the inner and outer faces 43, 45 of the removable panel section 27
to be
substantially aligned with the corresponding inner and outer surfaces 29, 35
of the U-
shaped panel 5. Fig. 5 shows an alternate embodiment of the removable panel
section
127 which is flat such that when positioned in the opening in the U-shaped
panel 5 the
removable panel section 127 is located inside the U-shaped panel 5.
Where the membrane sealing the ground to the containment walls 7 is of the
type that is
sealed to the bottom of the containment walls 7, sealing is required only of
the removable
panel section 27 to the U-shaped panel 5. Where the membrane is of the type
that passes
up the inside of the containment walls 7 and is held at the top of the
containment walls 7,
or folds over the top thereof, the membrane must be sealed to the inner
surface 29 of the
U-shaped panel 5 adjacent to the opening 9, and then the removable panel
section 27 is
sealed to the inner surface 29 of the U-shaped panel 5 adjacent to the opening
9 over the
membrane.
Fig. 6 schematically illustrates a brace 51 attached to the removable panel
section 27 by
welding bolting or the like. The brace 51 extends outward from the panel
section 27 to
the ground to support the removable panel section 27, the U-shaped panel 5,
and attached
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walls 7 in their vertical orientation if required by some particular design
consideration.
Thus the present invention provides a containment wall panel that may be
positioned at a
desired location, or at a plurality of locations in the containment wall
forming a
containment structure enclosing a tank or a plurality of tanks to provide
ready access to
tank fittings as well as providing easy access to the enclosure inside the
containment
structure. The wide opening does not require precise placement to ensure
adequate
access to the required tank fittings.
The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the
invention.
Further, since numerous changes and modifications will readily occur to those
skilled in
the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction
and operation
shown and described, and accordingly, all such suitable changes or
modifications in
structure or operation which may be resorted to are intended to fall within
the scope of
the claimed invention.
