Patent ID: 8906189

Claim:
A method of bonding a strip of flexible sheet on at least one rigid support, said strip of flexible sheet constituting a part of a sealing membrane for a wall of an insulated tank for confining a liquefied gas, integrated into a load-carrying structure of a ship, said sheet and said support comprising at least one continuous thin metal foil, bonded in a sandwich between two glass fiber fabrics, said insulated tank wall being formed by assembling a plurality of prefabricated panels each of which comprises a seal membrane inserted between two thermally-insulating barriers, said strip of flexible sheet providing continuity of sealing of said sealing membrane at a junction between two prefabricated panels; the method comprising the following successive steps of: de-dusting a bonding zone; depositing a uniform film of polymerizable adhesive on at least one of the two surfaces of the flexible sheet and of the support that are to be bonded together; smoothing said film of adhesive; placing the strip of flexible sheet on the support; roller-pressing the deposited flexible sheet so as to eliminate any residual bubbles; and placing on said flexible sheet a film to provide protection against adhesive overflowing around said flexible sheet, the protective film being of dimensions greater than those of the flexible sheet; the method comprising subsequently: a step of applying pressure on said strip of flexible sheet against the support by means of a press, and of simultaneously heating said strip for at least part of the time during which pressure is applied, said pressure and said heating being simultaneously applied to the whole strip.