FR2462517A1 - Oil slick etc. anti-pollution barrage - is made up of inflatable floats and includes means for protection and stabilisation - Google Patents

Abstract

Anti-pollution barrage is made up of floats inflated with compressed air and includes means of protection and stabilisation. Pref. the floats contain a partition separating them into two chambers, one inflatable the other filled with water. Pref. the floats are held in position by a rigid web which is pref. perforated to allow the free passage of water. Pref. the floats flank a zone of calm water which is terminated by a skirt having holes in its lower edge to receive ballast weights. Pref. a non-inflatable space lies between each float and follows the same line.

Description

 The present invention relates to an anti-pollution dam acting in an aquatic environment.

 Up to now, systems of this kind have been vulnerable to eddies, currents, swells or surges in a liquid element which has often resulted in a twisting, overturning and, above all, overflow of the pollutant outside the dam without speaking of a launching. very difficult in bad weather.

By design, the barrier object of the invention avoids these drawbacks: it does not turn over, does not twist, always keeps its vertical position and does not allow polluting to escape. It is easy to launch, achievable in all weathers. It is operational on the spot, and efficient.

The dam according to the invettion mainly consists of floats, membranes connecting them together; a support triangle and weights.

Floats; of an adequate diameter and length have between each and the next in the same line a non-inflatable space called 'space-hinge' and pierced in the middle in the vertical direction of eyelets.

Membranes connect these two floats, to form a large V-shaped ditch, for example. between them, called 'calm water area'. One of these membranes is pierced with openings or or windows of suitable size, shape and arrangement. The membranes and floats are held in the desired position, by inverted triangles made of rigid material and lever resistant to the action of pollutants and water: galvanized metal, for example. or rigid plastic tubes. These triangles are fixed from a distance-in distance by means of secure staples, welded to the membranes. This ditch ends down by the skirt. It is pierced at the bottom by holes intended to receive the hooks of the weights. The floats, membranes and skirt are made of solid plastic and resistant to the effects of salt water and pollutants. They can title treated with a non-stick product. The membranes and skirt can also be made of solid synthetic weaving, permeable to water but impermeable to hydro-carbides, and hydrophilic. The weights are made up of elements of small diameter but of sufficient length, and will carry at their top galvanized metal safety hooks to hang them on the holes drilled at the bottom of the skirt. These hooks must allow the weights to move freely around their attachment point. The weights can be made of concrete, reinforced or not, or any other suitable material.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the floats are three in number, the first two serving to keep the boom afloat, while the third / small (16) (Pl.II / 2 2 FiR 4) is immersed and located between the ditch base or V and the skirt. I1 acts as a lever axis to the inverted triangle which acts as a balance with the two floats at the ends
This avoids the danger of seeing the float 2 submerged by the pollutant.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the third float is eliminated in order to increase the efficiency of the weights and simplify the manufacture and the implementation.

Lalplanche I / 2 attached illustrates by way of example an embodiment of a dam according to the present invention.

As shown, the dam has two floats 1 and 2, with a diameter between 1.20 and 1.50 meters or more, and about four meters long, and leaving between each float and the next, in the same line of hinge spaces 3 from 0.50 to 1 meter wide, not inflatable. They are intended to give the dam the necessary suppleness and flexibility. They are drilled in their center and in the vertical direction of concealed eyelets 4 intended for the subsequent tightening of the dam. The floats are provided with inflation tips 5 with plug fitted at the start of a float (1) and at the end of the next float (1 ') and so on so that, when folding the accordion boom sections on pallets, all of the inflation tips 5 are on the same side of the pallet. They are all directed towards the unpolluted sea - to the left as shown on Plate 1/2. The floats 1 and Z are interconnected by membranes; 6 and 7 two to three meters wide, forming a 'calm sea area' 8, a V-shaped ditch or any other form, having three to four meters of opening.The membrane which must be polluting rock when dropping is pierced with openings 9 of suitable shape, size and arrangement to absorb the force of the waves (in the example, these openings are in the form of rectanglesê These membranes are held in place, to allow the opening 8, at by means of inverted triangles 10 made of rigid and light metal, pre-galvanized, or of rigid plastic tubes capable of ensuring the same function. The triangles are held in place by means of secure clips, 11, welded to the membranes. , 50 to 2.50 meters high begins at the base of the ditch, or V. In its lower part, each hole is pierced with 20.30 or 40 cms of holes intended to receive the hooks of the weights. made of concrete in the example. They have a diameter of 6 to 15 cms and a length 2.5 to 4 meters. They are provided with their sonnet of safety hooks 14 in galvanized metal, their por; cleaning torte freedom of movement autrou of their point of attachment. The barragg being produced in sections, it is arranged at each of the ends of the sections a steering wheel 15, 25 cm wide. approximately pierced, near the edge, with concealed eyelets allowing the connection of the sections to achieve the length of dam no need to identify the pollutant layer.

Another embodiment of the barge, conforms in all respects to the previous one, but it includes, in pals, pockets added to the inflation tips 5 and containing a salt which, by chemical reaction with sea water, produces the gas necessary for automatic inflation of the floats. This gives the dam the possibility of being immediately operational as soon as it is released, after placing triangles and weights.

Yet another embodiment, (Pl.II / 2 - Fig. 5) consists in modifying the floats so that they have inside, a partition separating them into two chambers, 17 one, 1/3 downwards, carrying openings on its outer walls, intended to fill with water as soon as it is released, and the other 2/3, Wers le haut, intended to be inflated to constitute the floating element proper. The lower part (1/3) will easily fill with water because it is distended by the inflation of the upper part. This variant, although more complex to manufacture, has advantages: the floats thus having their own ballast, acquire great stability. They also increase the efficiency of the ballasts or then make it possible to reduce their weight.

 The operation of the assembly is as follows: The weights are long and of small diameter; they have complete freedom of movement around their attachment point; a free space of several tens of centimeters is between them. As a result, the sinkers offer no grip on backwash and sub-subwoofer current - and the sinker remains constantly vertical, pulling the dam into the correct position in all weathers. The skirt will offer all the less grip on so-called currents as it is shorter. The crown of the dam (floats and 'calm water area') have the greatest possible stability in their situation. The 'calm water zone' because it is filled with water does not turn over (the example of the half-full bottle which is tossed but which does not turn over, "fluctuat nec mergitur" in a sense) The openings 9 arranged in the membrane 7 partially absorb the force of the waves and allow the floats to overcome them without overturning the crown. In addition, the weights keeping their vertical position, maintain their traction downwards. The dam therefore keeps its desired position in the best conditions even in rough seas. Hence the claim of e ^; 2icacity per all time.

 How many elements of one or more of the embodiments envisaged in order to obtain a dam are capable of achieving the optimum efficiency characteristics.

Manufacturing takes place in the factory in sections of around 200 m.

with shorter sections to allow a dam to be completed without waste. Before folding, only one branch of the triangles will be provided in its clips, membrane side 7, the other branch is folded flat on this same membrane. Accordion folding on pallets will then do the folding points located at the space-hinge
The implementation is done with two boats, one light to hold the end of the dam already put in the water and help to identify the pollutant layer, the other boat would be of the type 'landing craft' with a stern opening onto the water.In the case of chemical inflation, it suffices to secure the second branch of the triangle in its attachments on the membranes 6 and to hang the weights before dropping In the case of inflation by compressed air, it is advisable that the inflation hose has two outlets for simultaneously inflating the floats 1 and 2, 1 'and 2' and so on, all the tips being of the same side. Each end of section is connected to the next one (by ropes, for example). So much to close the dam.

Subsequently, during pollutant collection work, it will be necessary to tighten the dam. This will be done by deflating two floats 2, side by side, and by connecting the eyelets 4 of the hinge spaces being at each side of the deflated floats so that they are face to face, but outside the dam , and so on as many times as necessary.

 At the end of the operations, the dam could have been treated with some detergent and one of the links of the dam was undone to tow it in 'single file' for a ride on the high seas: the water will take care of it. finish cleaning. It is then deflated, hailed and brought back to the ground to be cleaned with clean water, dried and folded for a new use.

Such a dam finds its use wherever pollution is declared or threatens to declare. It is operational on any body of water. It is mainly intended for the protection of nature, man, its activities, its facilities, its works against pollution on the sea, river, lake or any other body of water. islands, chateau or riverside towns, ports, seashores, beaches, oyster beds, fishing grounds, flea and aquatic fauna, etc. either by identifying the polluting layer until it is mopped up, or by surrounding the places to be protected with a dam barrier, in the case of wild pollution. gn fact, the best protection must be operated at the possible source of pollution such as ships, tankers drilling rig or exploitation of oil at sea (derricks offshore platforms ..) or refineries, port facilities, riverside factories or coastal polluting, etc. They should be forced upon them, by national and international authorities, to possess enough sections of this dam to identify themselves, at the first symptom of such a disaster; disasters such as the world has experienced in recent decades will be put in the bud.

Claims (6)

R EV E N 1 I C A T I O N S 1) Anti-pollution dam allowing to fight against the pollutuion which  includes protection means and stabilization means,  characterized by the fact that it includes air-inflatable floats compressed 2) Dam according to claim 1 characterized in that the floats  have an interior partition separating them into two chambers, one inflatable and the other filling with water 3) Dam according to claims 1 and 2 characterized by the fact had these floats are connected together by ditch-forming membranes called  'calm water area' held in this shape by rigid triangles 4) Dam according to claims 1 and 3 characterized in that one of the membranes is pierced with openings allowing free passage  some water 5) Dam according to claims 1 and 2 characterized in that a non-inflatable space called 'hinge space' is fitted out each float and the next in the same row 6) Dam according to claims 1 and 3 characterized in that the ditch calm water zone 'ends with a skirt pierced with holes in 7) the bottom intended to receive the weights

 these floats are inflated by chemical means upon contact with water between the base of the 'one of calm water' and the skirt 10) Dam according to claims 1, 2 and 9 characterized in that third small diameter submerged float is attached to the assembly  in the water any freedom of movement 9) Dam according to claims 1 and 6 characterized in that a free space is left between each ballast and the next to allow  from their attachment point 8) Dam according to claims 1, 6 and 7 characterized in that a  safety hooks allowing total freedom of movement around  the weights are long, of small diameter and carry at their top Dam according to claims 1 and 6 characterized in that