SEOUL, KOREA - POSCO announced on March 18 that it, jointly with KAIST, has developed the world’s first high manganese steel grid-pattern LNG storage tank that can dramatically increase the storage capacity of an LNG tank.
This new technology, created by combining POSCO’s high manganese steel with KAIST’s grid-pattern technology, can enhance the storage capacity up to 20,000 cubic meters from existing 1,000 cubic meters.
POSCO said that its high manganese steel is an energy steel that can endure an extremely low temperature, thereby being adequate to be used as a material for LNG storage tanks.In addition, high manganese steel can be welded better than stainless steel, making it easier to manufacture storage tanks.
The inside of the tank has a grid-pattern which plays the role of scattering the pressure transmitted to the external wall, enabling the expansion of the storage capacity without thickening the external wall.
Unlike existing LNG storage tanks which have a cylindrical-type design, the brand-new LNG storage tank has a rectangular design, helping reduce the installation space.