Deflatable fascine

Details Deflatable fascine Deflatable fascine

1991-06-17

1993-06-01

Bui, Thuy M.

Road structure, process, or apparatus

Pavement

Modules or blocks

14 78, E01C 908, E01D 1900

Patent

active

052154017

DESCRIPTION:

BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of fascines used for filling gaps.
2. Discussion of Prior Art
It is well known to fill ditches with fascines comprising bound bundles of pipes in order to reduce the discontinuity sufficiently to allow vehicles and personnel to cross the ditch easily. Patent specifications EP 0149314 and GB 2045319 describe examples of such fascine assemblies which have been developed specifically to assist tracked and other vehicles such as tanks in the crossing of ditches.
A problem with existing fascines is that they are very bulky to store and transport, which limits the number that can be transported by and launched from a vehicle.
A further problem with existing fascines is that the pipes in the centre of the fascine are by necessity loosely packed to enable the fascine to conform to the shape of the ditch that it is filling, and the pipes have to be restrained to prevent them sliding out particularly while the fascine is being transported. These central pipes are normally restrained by nets at each end of the fascine the tension of the nets being changed depending on whether the fascine is being transported or deployed in a ditch. This adjustment adds to the complexity of using the existing fascines.


SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object of the invention is to overcome the problems outlined above and in particular to provide a fascine which packs down into a small space yet does not involve the exposure of personnel during deployment.
Thus according to the invention there is provided a fascine including, a sleeve comprising a multiplicity of axially parallel sleeve members transversely and continuously connected by at least two axially spaced flexible tie means, and a core disposed within the sleeve, wherein the core comprises a plurality of inflatable core members.
Preferably the fascine also comprises a gas supply means, which provides the advantage that inflation of the fascine does not require any external pressurized connections. Conveniently the gas supply means is constituted by a source of pressurised gas such as at least one pressurised gas cylinder, and a ring main manifold connecting the gas source to the core members at one or both ends of the fascine. In this way rapid uniform inflation of the fascine can be achieved.
In order to facilitate removal of the gas source even when the fascine is deflated the gas source is preferably located in a rigid housing positioned within the fascine.
Advantageously the gas supply means is isolated from the manifold by a valve which is preferably remotely actuable. This enables the fascine to be deployed without the exposure of personnel.
In order to prevent the whole fascine from deflating if one of the core members or the manifold develops a leak a one way valve is preferably disposed between the manifold and each core member for allowing gas to flow into the core member only.
So that the fascine can be reused even if one of the core members has been punctured, each core member is preferably individually isolatable from the manifold. This isolation may be effected by a supplementary valve means.
Preferably each core member is provided with a pressure relief valve for limiting the pressure in the core member.
The core conveniently comprises a plurality of closed, inflatable tubes which are axially parallel to the sleeve members. In order to protect the core members from being punctured, the core members preferably do not extend beyond the sleeve when the fascine is inflated and contain resilient restraining means which retract the ends of the core members towards each other as the fascine is deflated.
Each core member preferably comprise a tough outer casing surrounding an air tight inner tube.
The core preferably comprises a central core member surrounded by a plurality of surrounding core members, and the central core member is shorter than its surrounding core members in order to accommodate at least part of the manifold adjacent its end in such a manner that the manifold doe

REFERENCES:
patent: 4047257 (1977-06-01), Bondarchuk, Sr.
patent: 4277201 (1981-07-01), Abell
patent: 4312601 (1982-01-01), Allen
patent: 4566821 (1986-01-01), Knight et al.

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