Reverse egg storage tank
Imitating forms in nature can produce storage tanks of exquisite structure that can hold substances at very high pressures, but weighing very little. Examples are Euplectella Aspergillum and the chicken egg. They are marvelously created to withstand extreme pressures with an extremely thin and light structure. These pressures come from outside their structures to enter inward. Storage tanks may hold substances that exert pressures in the opposite direction, that is from the inside pushing out. To imitate the egg and aspergillum, the curves of the form would need to be reversed. This may produce a structure that instead of curving inward, as a sphere or oval shape, curves outward to present an arch against the outwardly expanding substance the tank is holding on the inside to effectively redistribute the forces. Also, the amount of curvature of the tank can vary as it curves outward and the sides can curve outward reversing the sides of an egg, or like an egg curve inward or have different angles of curvature but having at least one side, whether curved and curving inward or concave or a flat facet or side angled to project inward, thus presenting a curved or pointed arch pointed inward against the outwardly expanding substances held inside the tank. This is the opposite of an egg presenting an arch against the weight of a hen. Also, the tanks with at least one side or facet curved outward away from the interior of the tank or with facets or faceted away from the interior of the tank can have different shapes or geometries and or endpoints. Again, the purpose is to form a storage tank to efficiently hold the most amount of a substance with a minimum of weight and or space.
Today there is a need for a high pressure storage tank that can store a maximum amount of a substance, such as a gas or liquid, in a minimum amount of volume. Much work has been done on the type of materials used in the construction of such tanks, but the designs or shapes of the tanks have been traditional. As, for example, tanks that store high pressure gases such as hydrogen have been either a cylindrical or flat rectangular or even spherical design. This matter is crucial, because there is a desire to power vehicles with hydrogen, which is an extremely low density gas with an extremely low boiling point Furthermore, unlike hydrocarbons, which God created to efficiently store hydrogen on a molecular scale, pure hydrogen is not as energy rich and so a lot of hydrogen has to be stored to equal the amount of energy stored in a hydrocarbon such as gasoline. Why switch to pure hydrogen? Hydrocarbons such as fossil fuels from which gasoline is derived are a very precious and finite resource. Whereas hydrogen produced from sea water is practically limitless and very easily obtainable. Moreover, God perfectly balanced the use of hydrocarbons such as glucose in our bodies which produces carbon dioxide as a byproduct, with plant life which use carbon dioxide to produce hydrocarbons such as glucose and exhale oxygen as a byproduct. Man has upset this balance, however, by cutting down plant life all over the earth to the point now where the earth's very climate is in jeopardy. So pure hydrogen is looked upon as a future fuel, as this only produces pure water when it is burned. One of the main holdups though, is the storage tank, as this in the past has involved using tanks that are too heavy. What is needed is a tank that is extremely light and extremely strong. There are two ways to accomplish this. One is to use materials that are superior in tensile strength yet light, and the other is to use an architecture or shape for the tank that provides for superior strength with a minimum of material. This can readily be found in God's creation. Take, for example, the egg. It is designed with a circular or arch shaped structure with a thin and light shell. Every one knows that putting such a thin and seemingly frail structure in the palm of the hand and having a grown man squeeze is almost impossible to crush it. This is because of the miraculous material that the egg is composed of and the way this material is put together, and also because of the miraculous architecture of the egg shape itself. It is a tear drop shape that incorporates arches to redistribute the outside pressure coming in to throughout the structure and so not failing at one small area from the forces concentrating there. This is an invention that imitates the structure of an egg by presenting an arch shaped structure to efficiently redistribute the forces acting on it and so decrease the thickness of the hull of the tank to cut down on its weight, which has been a main impediment to storing high pressure gasses or other substances. This imitation, however, is not actually copying the oval shape of an egg, as eggs were engineered to withstand outside pressures coming in as opposed to high pressure tanks that hold substances such as expanding gasses which exert pressure on the inside of the tank going out. Thus, to truly imitate an egg in this instance is to reverse the direction of the arches of the egg to redistribute the expanding forces inside the tank which leads to designing arches pointed toward the interior of the storage tank as opposed the arches of an egg which are pointed in the opposite direction.
These tanks reversing the curves of an egg to increase the capacity for high internal pressures can further have gridwork imitating the Euplectella aspergillum to increase the amount of storage. E. aspergillum has its gridwork on the outside to sustain the enormous pressures exerted on it from the ocean where it lives. For storage tanks to hold pressures in the inside going out, the gridwork would be on the inside surface. Both placements of the gridwork can be used, outside or inside with ports or out-takes intakes placed in different parts of the tank. Also, the arches and or curves and or angles; for both flat angular arches and or curved arches can be used and can be of different degrees; and in addition, the end sides can be curved and or be angled in or out. Furthermore, the tanks can be made of different materials as for example, but not limited to metal, ceramic, plastic, fibers, epoxy, stone, composites and or possibly a mixture and an Euplectella a. or other gridwork can br used. Also, no gridwork can br used but may have only a smooth surface. The tanks may have no sides and be spherical, except for one side that is an indentation and curved outward or be concave or vice versa where all sides may curve outward except for one curving inward or be convex like an egg's surface. At least one side has to be concave or angled inward, the opposite of the egg shape, to present an arch against the outwardly expanding forces in the interior of the tank. Facing the tank, the tank may have a number of right sides and a number of left sides or one side and or one endpoint, or just two endpoints, a right and a left endpoint or two sides. The sides may curve inward or outward. The middle can be, but not necessarily, wholly circular or partly circular with facets, or the middle may be all faceted. There may be no seams or one seam or many seams. The tanks can be manufactured in a variety of ways. The tanks may or may not be welded or molded or woven or composites. The tanks can be made of different materials or a variety of materials and or alloys. Different kinds of intakes or ports into the tank and or out-takes may or may not be used. Diifferent devices to facilitate the pressures and or temperatures of the substances may be used. The sides and middle and arches may or may not be curved and circular. The sides and middle and arches may or may not be linear and angular and circular. The sides and middle and arches may or may not be linear. Strengtheners and or belts may or may not be used. Different devices may or may not be added to tanks. The tanks may or may not be in vehicles. The tanks may or may not have layers. The tanks may or may not store different substances. Different kinds of valves may or may not be used. Different types of probes may or may not be used. Different kinds of extractors may or may not be used. Liners may or may not be used. Heat exchangers may or may not be used. Tanks may or may not reflective coatings. Suspension devices may or may not be used. Heaters may or may not be used. Insulation may or may not be used. Vents may or may not be used. Cooling devices and or refrigerating devices may or may not be used. These tanks may or may not have shells. These tanks may come in a variety of shapes and sizes but must have at least one part with an arch facing inward. These tanks may or may not contain appendages or may or may not contain layer(s) and or structures and or hydrides and or materials to increase the ability of the tank to store substances and or absorb and or adsorb substances. There may or may not be beveled welding.
Claims
1) I claim a reversed egg shaped storage tank with concave sides that arch inward having a bow tie shape. Many storage tanks that have to do with high internal pressures loosely copy the spherical shape of an egg. However, this is a misunderstanding of God's miraculous design of an egg. Egg shells were partly created to distribute forces from the outside applied inwardly as, for example, when a mother hen sits on her eggs to hatch them. Tanks built to handle high pressure have forces that are being exerted in the opposite direction, that is from the inside out. Thus, a tank holding high pressure substances that imitates the principle of the design of an egg would actually have oppositely shaped curves. This results in and comprises a “bow tie” shape, and like an egg would present arches, whether curved or angular, to the forces being applied, and then evenly redistribute them to perfectly utilize the strength of the entire structure and so efficiently use a minimum amount of material to contain the stored substance. This is the prefered embodiment. This design is not utilized anywhere else because of the misunderstanding of the spherical shape of an egg. Other designs are cylindrical presenting flat sides with no arch shape against expanding forces and a spherical top that presents the weak inside of an arch to the expanding substances and not the top of the arch itself.
2) This claimed design for further maximum strengthening with a minimum of material used for weight savings can comprise God's wonderfull creation of Euplectella aspergillum's flexible glass structure of horizontal and vertical gridwork with every second resulting square having two diagonal beams, and with every third set having criscrossed beams that are thick enough to stand out of the plane, can be used. This beautiful design helps make the creature's outer very light structure almost impossible to crush.
3) This reverse egg or “bow-tie” shaped tank of claim 1 can have angular and not curved arches.
4) Claim 1's design can have shell(s.)
5) Claim 1's design can have hydrides for added storage of substances.
6) Claim 1's design can have appendages internally to have materials to absorb or adsorb stored substances.
7) Claim 1's design can have ports or intakes-outakes.
8) Claim 1's design can have all convex sides except for one side that is concave.
9) Claim 1's design can have sides that end as a point.
10) Claim 1's design can have faceted sides.
11) I claim a storage tank with curved and concave sides.
12) Claim 11 can have angular and not curved arches.
13) Claim 11's design can have shell(s.)
14) Claim 11's design can have hydrides for added storage of substances.
15) Claim 11's design can appendages internally to have materials to absorb or adsorb stored substances.
16) Claim 11's design can have ports or intakes-outtakes.
17) Claim 11's design can have all convex sides except for one side that is concave.
18) Claim 11's design can have sides that end as a point.
19) Claim 11's design can have faceted sides.
Type: Application
Filed: Jun 1, 2006
Publication Date: Dec 6, 2007
Inventor: Abdallah Joe Albert (Laredo, TX)
Application Number: 11/445,858