Hydraulic and earth engineering – Bank – shore – or bed protection
Patent
1981-12-18
1985-09-17
Corbin, David H.
Hydraulic and earth engineering
Bank, shore, or bed protection
405 17, 405258, E02B 300, E02D 1700
Patent
active
045417512
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
The invention relates to a barrier for control of erosion on land due to wind, or erosion in a body of water due to waves and currents.
On the land barrier may be used for instance for dune, bank or beach stabilization, in water for example for coastal protection, prevention of siltation in a waterway, prevention of erosion along a submarine installation such as a pipeline, and the like.
BACKGROUND ART
Various gravity types of prefabricated groins and breakwaters exist. Made of concrete, stones or other heavy materials, they have either solid cross-section or are formed as shell-like ridge-structures.
As these heavy structures are kept in place by their own weight, costly anchoring in the seabed is avoided.
The drawback of these heavy barriers is the expensive transportation of them from factory to installation site.
Other prefabricated systems consist of light materials, such as plastic, and therefore have to be anchored. For example, British Pat. No. 1383011 presents a system consisting of a sheet which, in use, forms a ridge-like barrier anchored in the seabed.
Danish Pat. No. 121080 presents a special method of filling a closed, circular hose of flexible material with sediment pumped into the interior of the hose.
Such circular cross-section of the structure, however, is inappropriate for fulfillment of most of the above objective of the present invention. A circular-cylindrical body is unstable, as it is undermined by waves and currents.
DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION
The present structure has little weight and thereby avoids expensive transportation. One or more hollows occupies the whole interior of the structure, which, when laid, is filled with natural sedimentary ballast, preferably taken from the area adjacent to the installation site, so that anchoring is avoided.
The structure has a wide base and thereby avoids undermining by waves and currents.
The barrier comprises an inexpensive, hollow, elongate structure with any suitable cross-section with a height/base width ratio less than 1.
The ballast material is placed artificially and/or naturally in at least part of the hollows of the barrier, preferably during or immediately after laying of the barrier.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
While the fields of application of the present invention cover uses above as well as under water, a full and complete understanding of the invention may be had by reference to the description of preferred embodiments relating to underwater uses as set forth hereinafter and as may be seen in the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a cross-section of a completed barrier,
FIG. 2 is a plan view of an underwater sled for producing and laying the barrier shown in FIG. 1,
FIG. 3 is a section along the line I--I in FIG. 2,
FIG. 4 is a section along the line II--II of FIG. 2,
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a barrier-shaping device of the sled shown in FIGS. 2-4,
FIG. 6 is a section through a preferred type of pump,
FIG. 7 is cross-section of an alternative grab-type device for filling and shaping the barrier,
FIGS. 8-12 are cross-sections of alternative shapes and materials of the barrier,
FIG. 13 is a plan view of a coast protected by barriers placed at intervals along the coast,
FIG. 14 is a cross-section of three parallel barriers,
FIG. 15 is a plan view of a coast protected by assemblies of barriers with different layouts.
The construction material of the barrier may be rigid or flexible, or a combination of rigid and flexible materials. The structure may consist of a sheet 13, FIGS. 1, 8, 9, enclosing the ballast material 19, or a thicker, porous material 1, FIGS. 11-12, in which at least part of the pores are filled with ballast material, or a combination hereof, FIG. 10.
In the first case the sheet 13 may be pre-shaped, FIGS. 8-10, and rigid enough to assume and/or maintain its final shape when it is laid on the floor. The sufficient rigidity may be obtained by corrugating the sheet 13, and/or by means of ribs in its transverse and/or longitudinal directions.
The spaces to be filled with b
REFERENCES:
patent: 1359575 (1920-11-01), Chenoweth
patent: 3415062 (1968-12-01), Ziegenmeyer
patent: 3570254 (1971-03-01), Turzillo
patent: 4103502 (1978-08-01), Cashman
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