Hydraulic and earth engineering – Bank – shore – or bed protection – Revetment
Reexamination Certificate
2000-06-08
2002-04-23
Bagnell, David (Department: 3673)
Hydraulic and earth engineering
Bank, shore, or bed protection
Revetment
C405S016000, C405S017000, C405S302600
Reexamination Certificate
active
06375387
ABSTRACT:
FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates, in the first place, to a method for securing, stabilising and reclaiming areas of land and subsoils above and below water.
Coastal and shoreline regions, islands, embankments, dykes, dunes and other woodland or vegetation soils laid bare, for example, due to deforestation or defoliation are exposed to high erosive forces which, sometimes irretrievably, strip away valuable subsoil. Moreover, coastal and shoreline regions, islands, embankments and dykes are subjected to high water forces, and, under certain conditions, this may lead to their destruction. Under the action of wind, dunes become so-called shifting dunes. Areas of woodland, pasture and other vegetation which are destroyed by deforestation or defoliation are exposed to irrevocable erosion. Man has always tried to combat such damage with the aid of means available to him. Thus, for example, the surface of embankments and dykes is secured with the aid of special planting schemes. Other technical means are, for example, paving with stones or covering with bitumen. Coastal regions (beaches) are secured, for example, by means of interwoven branches, so-called fascines, the ebb and flow contributing to depositing silt into areas to be protected in such manner and to reclaiming land. By contrast, areas of woodland and pasture destroyed by erosion are lost irretrievably since newly applied humus-rich soil is stripped away again as a result of new erosive forces which arise.
In the construction of artificial islands in regions of shallow water, in which dumped earth is to be secured with the aid of an enclosure of prefabricated angle supporting walls, it is repeatedly found that the latter cannot withstand the constant pressure of the dumped earth.
Even so-called tetrapods (hedgehog-shaped concrete bodies), which, by being intermeshed with one another, are intended to effect a surface structure securing of shoreline and coastal strips over an area, represent only a temporary solution to problems of erosion.
Furthermore, it is known that there are ideas of using vehicle tires, in particular old vehicle tires, for the protection of land areas, etc., these tires being filled or encased by means of concrete or other materials. The concrete used is usually so-called tipping concrete.
The measures described above for securing, stabilising and reclaiming areas of land above and below water prove either to be highly labour-intensive and cost-intensive or, because of local difficulties, to be impracticable. On the one hand, it proves difficult to provide quantities and weight of material in places where access is usually poor. Another problem is that of putting in place and putting to work the required quantities of material and local material structures in the important and critical regions under water and at relatively great depths. For this purpose, hitherto, underwater structures have had to be erected with the aid of caissons. Alternatively, materials have been introduced in bulk form inaccurately into the underwater regions to be secured.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In view of the prior art described above, in the first place a technical problem of the invention is seen in specifying an improved method for securing, stabilising and reclaiming areas of land and subsoils above and below water.
This problem is solved by the method wherein the securing is carried out by means of (old) vehicle tires interconnected in a net-like manner, weighting being accomplished by means of concrete injected in a protective sheath. The basis for the individual uses are therefore vehicle tires, preferably old vehicle tires, which are available in virtually unlimited quantity, and protective sheaths which are provided in and/or on the vehicle tires and into which concrete is injected on site. Such injecting can be carried out by remote control by way of injection hoses, and therefore, by virtue of the method according to the invention, weighting of the net structure can be achieved even in regions where access is poor. Old vehicle tires can be acquired extremely cost-effectively and, by means of different possibilities for associating them with each other and disposing them with one another, are connected to one another in a net-like manner to form bodies or sheets and, by way of the disposed and/or associated protective sheaths and injecting activities with the aid of liquid concrete or other pumpable injecting medium, become a highly loadable and at the same time flexible purpose-built structure which satisfies the respective requirements. Both vehicle tires and the injectable concrete are environmentally neutral and in no way have an adverse influence on the environmental balance. By virtue of the special injecting technique, a high-grade concrete is achieved, of which the quality, attributable to injecting by means of a protective sheath, is not diminished by, for example, components of sea water. When substrates are being introduced into the protective-sheath region of tire net structures, it is ensured that the substrate arrives, undamaged, at the target location, namely the net structure, even over long filling distances. As an alternative or in combination, it is also conceivable to use other rubber-like materials or plastics materials in the form of profiles or hollow bodies in order to produce the net structure according to the invention. The net-shaped sheet-like arrangement of old vehicle tires is used, for example, for the protection of dunes, dykes and land areas which have been eroded or are exposed to erosion. Thus, there is provision for the vehicle tires, in the first place, to be connected to one another in a net-like manner and then to be laid onto or introduced to an area of land to be secured. Particularly if the vehicle tires interconnected in a net-like manner are used for securing or stabilising dunes, there is the advantageous effect that sand swirled up by the action of wind settles in the non-preinjected tire inner spaces, thus resulting in a digging-in effect of the net structure. This effect can also be seen in use for securing dykes and shoreline and coastal regions, particularly under water. Here, due to the water flow, sand, silt and the like are deposited in the non-preinjected tire inner spaces. Furthermore, in the method according to the invention, a multilayered arrangement of vehicle tires interconnected in a net-like manner can also be carried out. There is also the possibility, while the method is being performed, of filling the vehicle tires, in each case prepared by means of a protective sheath, after they have been laid onto the area of land. Thus, for example, there may be provision for injecting the vehicle tires in a locally controlled manner with concrete, substrates or other filling media for weighting purposes and also to achieve a structure having the same nature over the entire volume. This measure serves for the purposes of weighting and of better retention on the respective land area, individual tires or a plurality of tires being injected completely or partially. The tires injected for weighting act under water in the same way as anchor or masonry structures taking effect by virtue of their weight. Injecting with concrete or other filling materials is carried out in that hoses lead from a concrete pump or a blower to permeable fabric-hoses or double surfaces embedded in the tires and liquid concrete or air-enriched substrates is introduced by way of these hoses into the hose or fabric surfaces. In this case, only the solid constituents of the pumped material remain inside the hose or fabric surface; excess water or air as means of transport pass outwards through the fabric meshes. This method can be carried out both above and below water. As an alternative to this, there may also be provision for filling the vehicle tires or the protective sheaths with earth. Thus, for the protection of, for example, land areas exposed to erosion or already eroded, the clear intermediate spaces inside and outside the vehicle tires can be filled with humus
Gabor Thomas
Harke Alfons
Scharping Dieter
Bagnell David
Farber Martin A.
Lagman Frederick L.
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