FR2462518A1 - DRAINAGE MATERIAL AND MANUFACTURING METHOD - Google Patents

Abstract

THE DEVICE INCLUDES AN INTERNAL ARMATURE 4 EQUIPPED WITH A MULTITUDE OF BOSSES 5 AND CORRESPONDING PITCHES 6 WHOSE TOPS ARE PLANE AND WHICH ARE ARRANGED IN QUINCONCE. TWO NON-WOVEN FILTER SHEETS 8 AND 9 ARE GLUED ON BOTH SIDES OF FRAME 4. A DRAINAGE PIPE 2 IS INSERTED BETWEEN TWO EXTREME SIDE PORTIONS 12 AND 13 OF FILTER SHEETS 8 AND 9. THE DRAINAGE DEVICE IS LOCATED IN THE BASEMENT THUS ALLOWS THE COLLECTION OF GROUNDWATER SUITABLELY FILTERED BY SHEETS 8 AND 9 AND COLLECTED BY THE WATERPROOF FRAME 4 IN ORDER TO BE DISCHARGED BY PIPE 2.

Description

The present invention relates to a material allowing

both the creation of a drainage device that can be used to capture and evacuate water from land as well

than the manufacturing process for this material.

  In traditional drainage methods, usually suitably perforated pipes or pipes made of porous materials are placed in the bottom of a trench and covered with pebbles or gravel. The grain size of these gravel is important to avoid clogging of the upper layer which would render the drain ineffective.

  together. In addition, these traditional methods require

  attempt by their very principle the evacuation of a significant volume of the ground coming from the excavation and intended to be replaced

by the aforementioned gravel.

To improve these drainage methods, it has already been recommended in US Pat. No. 3,563,038 to use textile sheets acting as a filter for the passage of the water contained in the basement and cooperating with a frame which can be made of expanded metal or by means of a corrugated plastic element so as to channel the water thus filtered and to direct it towards a perforated drainage pipe. Such a drainage device makes it possible to avoid the use and installation of pebbles or gravel which formed the traditional drains. As a result, it is no longer necessary to discharge the earth from the excavation to the landfill. The use as a filter of a textile sheet of fabric or nonwoven based on synthetic fibers completely enclosing the frame and

  the drainage pipe also makes it possible to obtain a

  drainage sitive not likely to clog and easy to

  implement because of its great lightness.

  Despite these advantages, this device has drawbacks

problems which make it difficult to use in practice and in particular in the case where it is necessary to place the drainage device in a substantially horizontal position, for example in the case where this device is applied to the drainage of a roadway, a track or of a railway. In this case, in fact, the drainage device

is subjected to significant crushing forces which

would deteriorate.

  The main object of the invention is therefore to produce

  tion of a material and a drainage device which allow use in any position even in the case where the device must be able to be subjected to a significant crushing force perpendicular to its plane. The invention also relates to such a drainage device which is much simpler to manufacture than the devices of known type and which makes it possible to ensure both the drainage of groundwater without any risk of clogging even in the long term while by acting as a waterproof screen preventing any flow from one side to the other

of the drainage device.

  The drainage material of the invention has a

  internal framework of planar general shape ensuring the canali-

sation of the water in the basement and made of a waterproof material. The frame is covered on both sides by a filter layer. According to the invention, the internal frame has a multitude of bosses and corresponding cells, the summits of which come into contact with the two aforementioned filter layers so as to define two sets of sinuous channels for the passage of water from the basement. cooperating respectively with one of the aforementioned filter layers. Each of these sets of channels is separated from the other set by the watertight reinforcement so that the water in the basement after passing through the filter layer and thus being freed of any fine particle of soil is channeled under the gravity action by the internal frame and cannot pass through it

not risking to escape the drainage device.

The various bosses and corresponding cells are preferably arranged in staggered rows which

allows both easy manufacturing and high resistance

tance to the crushing of the whole. The filter layers are advantageously made using sheets of

2 462518

  woven or non-woven textiles made from synthetic fibers

  long resistant to the action of possible chemical agents-

  transported by groundwater. The fixing of the textile layers on the tops of the bosses of the internal reinforcement can be done by any suitable means. This fixing is preferably carried out by gluing. To improve the fixation as well as the resistance to crushing of the internal reinforcement, the tops of the bosses which also form the

funds of the corresponding cells are preferably sensitive

darn plans.

The drainage device according to the invention produced by means of the aforementioned drainage material also comprises at least one perforated drainage pipe surrounded on its periphery by lateral end portions of the two aforementioned filter layers. For this purpose, the internal reinforcement of the

  drainage material according to the invention has advantageous-

ment a width less than that of the two filter layers which therefore each have a lateral portion free of internal reinforcement. The perforated drainage pipe can therefore be easily threaded inside the flexible duct formed by the two aforementioned lateral portions, the free edges of which can be suitably secured by

any appropriate means.

  In a preferred embodiment, the free edges of the two lateral portions intended to surround the drainage pipe are secured by a seam line. The edges of the two filter layers are more preferably connected to each other, for example by means of seam lines.

  so as to completely enclose the internal reinforcement.

  In the case where the drainage device must have large dimensions, provision may be made for each filtering layer to have at least one lateral portion free of internal reinforcement on the edge of the reinforcement. The whole

  drainage device can then be constituted by the assembly

  blocking of several identical elements via said respective portions of each of the elements with a certain overlap. Elements can be arranged superimposed on the drainage pipe or side

side by side depending on the applications.

The subject of the invention is also a method of manufacturing

  tion of a drainage material. According to this process, one starts from a flat sheet of thermoplastic material wound in a coil. First of all, the temperature is increased by heating the flat sheet in order to make it more malleable. It is then passed between two calendering rollers having on their periphery a plurality of fingers which deform the thermoplastic sheet passing between said rollers. A textile sheet is then fixed, for example by gluing to the major part of each face of the continuous strip of honeycomb reinforcement thus obtained, leaving a lateral portion of said sheets on one or more of the lateral sides of the continuous honeycomb strip textiles extending beyond the or

edges of the honeycomb reinforcement.

  optionally, the continuous strip of drainage material is then finished by making seam lines so as to possibly subject the respective edges of the two textile sheets. In a preferred method, the outer edges of two lateral portions of textile sheets are connected together by means of a seam line so as to leave a longitudinal pocket intended to allow the mounting of a drainage pipe by

sliding inside said pocket.

  The present invention will be better understood from the study of

the detailed description given as examples in no way

  limiting of some embodiments illustrated by the accompanying drawings, in which: FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an installation allowing the continuous production of the drainage material of the present invention; fig. 2 is a partial elevation view comprising a partial cutaway of a first embodiment of a drainage device according to the present invention;

  fig. 3 is a sectional view along III-III of the device

  drainage pattern of fig. 2; fig. 4 is a schematic elevational view of another embodiment of a drainage device according to the invention; fig. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4 of a variant of the drainage device according to the invention; fig. 6 is an enlarged schematic view in cross section of another embodiment of a drainage device illustrating in particular the junction between the various elements which constitute it; fig. 7 schematically shows in section the substantially horizontal arrangement of a drainage device of the invention. Referring first to Figs. 2 and 3, it can be seen that in the embodiment illustrated in these figures the drainage device of the invention comprises a drainage material referenced i as a whole and a pipe for

drainage 2 provided on a part of its periphery with perfora-

3. The drainage material comprises an internal reinforcement 4 of generally planar shape produced from a sheet of thermoplastic material of suitable thickness and waterproof. This sheet has a honeycomb structure constituted by a multitude of bosses 5 and corresponding cells 6. The various bosses and cells have flattened vertices of substantially circular shape as can be seen in FIG. 2. The junction surfaces between a vertex 5 and a neighboring cell 6, if we consider one of the faces of the reinforcement 4, have

curved forms resulting as will be seen from the manufacture-

tion of said frame.

  The different bosses 5 are arranged as seen in FIG. 2 in rows and staggered thus defining sinuous passages materialized by the arrows 7 in FIG. 2 the water tending to flow each time from a top 5 towards the hollow of a cell 6. The internal frame 4 is covered on its two faces by a layer

  filter 8, 9 each consisting of a sheet of non

  woven from long synthetic fibers fixed by gluing to the substantially flat tops of the various external bosses 5. In FIG. 3 o the thicknesses have been exaggerated to facilitate understanding, the glued surfaces are referenced 5a. It will of course be understood that this fixation

  could be done by any other means such as thermo-

  welding or equivalent. Furthermore, the nonwoven could be replaced by a textile made of woven material insofar as this textile would be able to play the role of filter thus avoiding the passage of fine particles of earth which

  may clog the drainage system.

On the two lateral edges of the frame 4, the filter sheets 8 and 9 are secured by a seam line to the upper part in FIG. 3 and 11 at the lower part thus completely surrounding the internal reinforcement 4. Although this arrangement makes it possible to ensure the best possible filtering, it could however be envisaged in certain applications to leave the upper edge of

  the internal reinforcement 4 by removing the seam line 10.

The total width of the internal frame 4 is less than that of the two filter layers 8 and 9 which therefore each have a lateral portion 12, 13 whose extreme edges are secured by means of a seam line 14 so as to define a pocket that can receive - as we

  see in figs. 2 and 3 the drainage pipe 2. The dimensions

  sions of said pocket are therefore chosen so as to be suitably adapted without excessive tightening to the diameter

outside of the drainage pipe 2.

  When the entire drainage system has been placed in a trench in the area to be cleaned up, the

  drainage 2 being placed either at the bottom of the dispo-

substantially vertical, ie on the side of the device placed almost horizontally, the assembly operates as follows. Groundwater can penetrate from both sides of the drainage material 1 either through the filter layer 8 or through the

2 46 S 18

filter layer 9. In passing, the filtered groundwater is freed of fine soil particles. The water then flows on each side of the internal reinforcement 4 without risking to come out on the other side of the drainage material taking into account the tightness of the plastic sheet which constitutes the reinforcement 4. The water thus collected

  flows by gravity into the pocket region

  titrated by the lateral portions 12 and 13, the water then penetrating through the perforations 3 in the drainage pipe 2. It will be noted that the latter has no perforations in its lower part which thus forms a sealed drainage channel allowing the drainage of visible drainage water at 15

in fig. 3.

The honeycomb structure of the internal frame 4 with its multiple bosses arranged in staggered rows makes it possible to use the drainage device in an almost horizontal position even in the case where it risks being subjected to significant crushing forces the particular structure of the internal reinforcement 4 allowing to ensure even in this case an excellent behavior

to the drainage device of the invention.

The material of the invention can be easily manufactured continuously on the installation shown schematically

in fig. 1 in section. A flat sheet of thermo-material

  plastic 16 is unwound from a reel 17, then is subjected to the action of a heating device 18. Once it has thus been made more malleable, the sheet of thermoplastic material 16 is subjected to action of two calendering rollers 19 and 20 comprising on their periphery a plurality of pins or fingers of substantially cylindrical shape and referenced 21. These fingers are arranged so as to produce the various bosses and cells 5 and 6 in staggered rows visible in FIGS. 2 and 3. Note the great simplicity of the manufacturing process of the invention which allows by the simple use of forming fingers of substantially cylindrical structure to produce the honeycomb structure shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. The ends of the fingers 21 in fact cause a deformation of the thermoplastic material so that the surfaces bordering the respective vertices of the different bosses 5 have a concave shape 22 as can be seen in FIG. 3 which is attached to a corresponding convex shape 22a of the neighboring cell 6. A suitable spacing of the fingers 21 of the two calendering rollers 19 and 20 makes it possible to adapt the inclination of these

connecting surfaces 22 and 22a.

The continuous honeycomb strip 23 coming from the calendering rollers passes between two sizing rollers 24 which 1 deposit on the flat tops of the bosses on the two faces of the honeycomb strip 23 an appropriate adhesive. Two continuous strips of textile material 25 and 26 are unwound at the same speed as the thermoplastic sheet 16 from the reels 27 and 28 and applied by means of pressing and gluing rollers 29 and 30 to the two faces of the continuous honeycomb strip 23. The resulting material is

wound on the reel 31.

  If desired and depending on the applications, we also carry out before winding on the spool 31 the production of the different seam lines necessary for finishing the material and the production of a side pocket intended to receive a hose. drainage as shown. on the

fig. 2 and 3.

  To make the lateral portions 12 and 13 of the material shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, continuous textile bands 25 and 26 are used which are wider than that of the honeycomb band 23 which is glued on all of the

peaks of the bosses of its two surfaces.

  In most applications, the drainage material produced on the installation shown will therefore be used

  schematically in fig. 1 so as to make a layout

drainage drain as illustrated in figs. 2 and 3. In certain applications, however, it may be necessary to have larger dimensions for the surface.

drainage.

  For this purpose, it is possible to produce a drainage device according to the invention by assembling several individual elements. A first variant is shown in FIG. 4. In this embodiment, the drainage pipe 2 will be arranged along the length of a first element of

  drainage 32 comprising on its two lateral edges of the

  tions exceeding the width of the internal frame 4. The first lateral portion 33 makes it possible to define a pocket intended for the insertion of the drainage pipe 2. The second lateral portion 34 cooperates with a corresponding lateral portion of a second element drainage 35 identical to element 32. The two sheets which constitute the lateral portion 34 cover the two corresponding sheets of the lateral portion of element 35. A third element 36 identical to the previous two is still connected in the same way with overlap by its lateral portion to that of the element 35. The attachments of the various elements to each other can be carried out in any suitable manner and

  for example by means of seams securing the different

respective lateral portions of the filter layers of each of the elements. The fastening lines or seam lines will in this embodiment be parallel to the

drainage pipe arranged longitudinally.

In another embodiment shown in FIG. 5 the drainage device comprises a drainage pipe 2 arranged on the short side of three drainage elements 37, 38 and 39 which are fixed respectively along fixing or seam lines perpendicular to the axis of the drainage pipe 2. The lateral portions of each of the drainage elements 37 to 39 overlap each other and thus ensure the fixing of the assembly for example by means

of sewing lines.

  In the embodiments illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5 the drainage device is preferably placed substantially vertically, the covering of the various elements taking place by their lateral portions made of textile material. Fig. 6 illustrates another possibility of covering which can be used either for a vertical application, or preferably for an almost horizontal application of the

drainage device.

  In fig. 6 there are shown three identical elements, 41 and 42 which have the structure illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3 and whose internal reinforcements 4 have been shown to simplify the drawing in the form of a simple zigzag. It should however be understood that the structure of these internal reinforcements 4 is the same as that shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the filter sheets 8 and 9 being fixed for example by gluing on most of the

  two sides of internal reinforcement 4 through

  substantially flat portions not shown on the

fig. 6 of their respective bosses.

  The entire drainage material, in this embodiment, consists of the assembly of the elements

  identical 40, 41 and 42 by covering the lateral portions

  the respective ones. For this purpose, the lateral border of the arma-

  internal structure 4 of element 41 comprises a zone 43 which is covered on its upper face by a lateral portion 44 of the textile sheet 8 which can extend over the entire

  zone 43 or possibly go beyond the edge of the frame 4.

  This lateral portion 44 is not fixed by gluing in the area 43 of the border and is free as can be seen in FIG. 6. On the other face of the same zone 43 of the border, the internal reinforcement 4 is free of filtering textile sheet, the edge of the sheet 9 stopping before zone 43. The opposite border of the reinforcement 4 of the element 41 comprises a zone 45 produced in reverse, the lateral portion 46 not fixed by gluing of the textile sheet 9 located on the underside of the element 41 relative to FIG. 6. On the contrary on the opposite face of the border zone 45, the internal reinforcement 4 is free of textile sheet, the sheet 8 stopping before zone 45. It will be noted that the total width of the filtering textile sheets 8 and 9 of the element 41 is the same and substantially equal to the width of the internal frame 4. The filter sheets 8 and 9 are however fixed on the two faces of the internal frame by being offset in a horizontal plane, one by

compared to each other.

The lateral border of the elements 40 and 42 is produced in the same way. It is therefore possible to assemble the different elements 40, 41 and 42 by engaging the respective lateral edges of two neighboring elements one inside the other. This is how the border zone 43 of the element 41 engages by its bosses in the cells of the corresponding zone of the element 40. Such engagement is made possible by the absence of textile sheet. on the underside of the internal frame 4 of the element 41 in this border area 43 as well as by the absence of bonding of the lateral portion 44 of the upper sheet 8 of the element 41. The lateral portion 44 comes further cover the filtering layer 8 of the element 40 while the lateral portion 47 of the bottom sheet 9 of the element 40 covers the filtering sheet 9 with

item 41.

  It is not necessary to provide any other fixing of the elements 40, 41 and 42 between them, the ground of the ground then covering the assembly and applying the areas of

border on each other.

The offset arrangement of the two filter layers 8 and 9 leaving a free border area of textile sheet on one of the faces of the internal frame and comprising a lateral portion of textile sheet not fixed to the frame

on the other side, is easily carried out using the installation

lation shown in fig. 1. It suffices in fact to move in two opposite directions the assembly of the lower rollers with respect to the assembly of the upper rollers which ensure the gluing and unrolling of the two textile sheets. Thus, the simple respective movement of the sizing rollers 24, the coils 27 and 28 and the pressure rollers 29 and 30 makes it possible to move the sheet.

upper textile in one direction and the lower textile sheet

in the opposite direction compared to the internal reinforcement

dimpled which remains in its initial position.

  Fig. 7 schematically illustrates an application of a

  drainage device according to the invention in sensitive position-

horizontal. The drainage device comprises a drainage material 48 obtained for example by the assembly of several identical elements as shown in FIG. 6. The device further comprises two perforated drainage pipes 49 and 50 arranged laterally on the two edges of a very long strip of said material, for example as illustrated in FIGS. 2 to 5. Above the natural terrain 51, there is a lower support underlay 52, then the drainage device, the major

  part of the material 48 being placed almost horizontally

  zontal as referenced in 48a only the lateral portions connected to the drainage pipes 49 and 50 being substantially

  vertical as referenced in 48b and 48c.

  The drainage device is covered with a sub-

  upper support layer 53 coated with the wearing layer 54 intended to produce a road surface, for example of road or motorway. The drainage material 48 prevents the upwelling of water from the natural terrain 51 through the lower support sub-layer 52, which rise would be due to the thrusts resulting from the passage of vehicles on the roadway 54. Furthermore, if said roadway 54 is porous, the installation of the drainage material 48 prevents the passage of water from the upper sub-layer 53 in the direction of the lower sub-layer 52 which prevents degradation of the support of the roadway. The drainage water captured by the material 48 flows through the substantially vertical portions 48b and 48c in the direction of the two drainage pipes.

49 and 50 by which it is evacuated.

  The thickness of the thermoplastic materials forming the internal reinforcement of the material of the invention can be chosen as the thickness of the filtering textile sheets

depending on the applications.

the drainage material of the invention can be used to produce drainage devices which can be installed in all cases where traditional horizontal or vertical drainage methods are usually applied each time the water from a ground may be

captured or evacuated by gravity.

Claims (19)

  1. Drainage material comprising an internal reinforcement of generally planar shape ensuring the channeling of the water from the basement made of a waterproof material and covered on both sides by a filtering layer, characterized in that the internal reinforcement has a multitude of bosses and corresponding cells, the summits of which come into contact with the two filter layers and which define two sets of sinuous channels for the passage of water from the basement cooperating respectively with one of the filter layers.   2. Material according to claim 1, characterized in that the different bosses are arranged in rows in a staggered arrangement.   3. Material according to claims l or 2, characterized   by the fact that the filter layers are made of a woven or nonwoven synthetic textile material with long fibers.   4. Material according to any one of the claims   above, characterized in that the filter layers are fixed to the bosses of the internal frame by gluing. 5. Material according to any one of claims   previous, characterized in that the aforementioned bosses have a substantially flat top portion.   6. Drainage material according to any one of   previous claims, characterized in that the frame has a width less than that of the two filter layers which therefore each have a   lateral portion free of internal reinforcement.   7. Drainage material according to claim 6, characterized in that it is constituted by the assembly of several identical elements by overlapping the portions respective sides. 8. Drainage material according to claim 7, characterized in that the lateral edge of the internal reinforcement of each element comprises an area covered on 24 52 518   one of its faces by a lateral portion of textile sheet not fixed to the frame on this zone, said zone being free of textile sheet and on its other face and coming to engage by its bosses in the cells of the   corresponding area of the armature of the neighboring element. 9. Drainage device characterized in that it comprises in combination a drainage material according to one any of the preceding claims, and a hose   perforated drainage surrounded on its periphery by two lateral portions of said filter layers free of internal reinforcement. 10. Drainage device according to claim 9, characterized in that the two edges of the two lateral portions surrounding the drainage pipe are connected between them for example by a seam line.   11. Drainage device according to claims 9   or 10, characterized in that the edges of the two filter layers are connected, for example by stitching, so that enclose the internal reinforcement.   12. Drainage device according to any one of Claims 9 to 11, characterized in that each   filter layer has at least one lateral portion free of internal reinforcement on the edge of said reinforcement, the device being constituted by the assembly of several drainage elements via said portions respective sides.   13. Drainage device according to claim 12, characterized in that the assembly of the different   elements are covered with overlapping assembly lines   substantially parallel to the drainage pipe.   14. Drainage device according to claim 12, characterized in that the assembly of the different elements are made with overlap along assembly lines   substantially perpendicular to the drainage pipe. 15. Process for the continuous production of a material   drainage according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that one starts from a flat sheet of thermoplastic material wound in a reel, the said flat sheet is heated and passed between two rollers calendering device fitted with peripheral cylindrical fingers drique, we then fix for example by gluing a textile sheet on most of each side of the strip continuous honeycomb obtained.   16. The manufacturing method according to claim 15, characterized in that one leaves on one of the lateral sides of the continuous strip of cellular reinforcement a   lateral portion of said textile sheets.   17. The manufacturing method according to claims 15 or 16, characterized in that the extreme edges of said textile sheets are connected together for example at by means of a seam line.   18. The manufacturing method according to claim 16, characterized in that there is left on the lateral edge of the honeycombed reinforcement a zone having on one of the faces a lateral portion of textile sheet projecting beyond the edge of the reinforcement. and not fixed to the reinforcement on this zone, the other face of said zone being free of textile sheet.   19. The manufacturing method according to claim 18, characterized in that lower and upper rollers are moved in two opposite directions ensuring the gluing of the internal frame and cooperating with the two sheets.   textiles for movement and bonding.