An insulated vessel (10, 100, 130) is provided which is adapted to receive a low or high temperature material to be insulated from the environment. The vessel comprises inner and outer membranes (20, 110, 140) and (30, 120, 150) and an outer casing (40, 170). The inner membrane defines an inner cavity for receiving the low or high temperature material and has a first portion which defines an entrance into the inner membrane. The outer membrane encases the inner membrane such that a space is defi...

A vessel with a ballast system including a plurality of ballast tanks provided with means for feeding water into the tanks and expelling water therefrom and an air bubbling system including underwater openings and means for blowing air through said openings into the water surrounding said vessel. The ballast system and the air bubbling system include a common tube system being alternatively connectable to the ballast tanks, for operating the filling and emptying of the tanks, and to the air bubb...

The invention relates to buoyant vessels, which may be ships or stationary floating containers. The boundary walls of such vessels are made from prestressed concrete providing an outer layer, an inner layer, and struts between the layers. The vessel may contain a tank suitable for the containment of liquid methane or other liquid at low temperatures and the boundaries of the tank may include parts of the boundaries of the vessel.

A procedure and a novel vessel are provided for breaking ice. The procedure comprises the cyclical steps of firstly pretensioning an ice-sheet by plowing under a portion of the ice-sheet with the bow of an icebreaking vessel; secondly superimposing on that pretensioned ice-sheet, a massive momentum force due to the reaction of an impulse force due to accelerating water rapidly downwardly from within a bow chamber; and finally refilling the bow chamber with water. Preferably the impulse force is ...

An apparatus for performing a chemical reaction between a reactant gas and a fluid material to produce a gaseous product comprises an elongated thermally insulated reaction vessel, to be held in a vertical position and to contain a fluidised bed, having mounted within it at least one dividing member which is shorter than the internal length of the vessel and which divides the interior of the vessel into at least two regions, at least one to act as a riser for the fluidised bed and a region surro...

A closure adapted to be applied to a neck of a vessel or container so as to seal a comparatively wide mouth in said neck has a rim or skirt which is divided up into a plurality of sections by slits between the sections depending from a lid portion of the closure and a stressing or tensioning band placed around the rim, the arrangement being such that there is at most only slight engagement between corresponding screw threads or the like on the neck and in the skirt when the closure is applied to...

A cylindrical pressure vessel is provided with means to prevent dispersal of fragments of the vessel wall in the event of the vessel bursting. The vessel is wrapped in two layers of chains, one, the underlayer, lying circumferentially around the barrel of the vessel, the other extending axially. The ends of the axial chains are connected to domed covers which embrace the ends of the vessel.

A vessel with a ballast system including a plurality of ballast tanks provided with pumps for feeding water into the tanks and expelling water therefrom and an air bubbling system including underwater openings and compressors for blowing air through said openings into the water surrounding said vessel. The ballast system and the air bubbling system include a common tube system being alternatively connectable to the ballast tanks, for operating the filling and emptying of the tanks, and to the ai...

A multihull vessel has a center section; a pair of floats displaceable from normal positions laterally extended on either side of the center section upwardly to positions above the center section and inwardly toward the center axis of the vessel as well as downwardly toward any hull or sides of the center section and inwardly to positions below any superstructure of the center section; arms consisting of pivotally mounted and jointed members connecting the floats to the center section and capabl...

A processing vessel for mixing a liquid containing solid pieces comprises a container having a top opening and a hemispherical bottom portion, a horizontal or inclined agitator drive shaft extending into the container and a substantially circular agitator mounted on the drive shaft for rotation therewith. The agitator comprises a pair of substantially annular semicircular blades, each formed with an internal segment-shaped web and carrying at its outer periphery a plurality of scrapers which are...