2007-03-30 03:54:03 · 2 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Engineering
a gas holder invented by wiggins
2007-03-30 10:22:56 · answer #1 · answered by heartsave999 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A Wiggins Gasholder is a very large gas storage tank.
A typical size would be 100 feet in diameter x 50 feet high, and they are used to store all types of gases, but usually combustible gases.
The Wiggins storage tank has an internal dome that rises and falls as the amount of gas put into and removed from the tank changes the amount of storage space required. (The gas enters the space between the steel floor of the tank and the internal dome).
A normal gas storage tank has just one fixed roof at the top which is permanently attached to the shell of the tank.
The internal rising and falling dome prevents the leakage of gas by being sealed against the walls of the tank by different means depending on the characteristics of the gas being stored. The gas sealing method is the most critical portion of the design of these tanks.
The Wiggins design eliminates the need to blanket the surface of combustible gases in a normal storage tank with another inert gas to prevent air mixing with the combustible contents and possibly creating an explosion. When using the blanketing safety system, as the gas level falls, more inert gas must be pumped into the tank and this is expensive.
You used to see these tanks being used for the storage of natural gas by municipal power generation companies that use gas fired boilers. And many of these large tanks show up on the skyline of most major cities.
2007-03-30 07:41:07 · answer #2 · answered by gatorbait 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋