GB2372279A

GB2372279A - Marine structure formed from vehicle tyre beads

Info

Publication number: GB2372279A
Application number: GB0203494A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Joseph Toland
Original assignee: TOTAL TYRE RECOVERY Ltd
Current assignee: TOTAL TYRE RECOVERY Ltd
Priority date: 2001-02-14
Filing date: 2002-02-14
Publication date: 2002-08-21
Also published as: GB0103581D0; GB0203494D0

Abstract

A marine structure is formed from a plurality of tyre beads 10 that have been cut from the side wall of a vehicle tyre such that each bead remains coated in rubber. The beads may be interconnected by straps ties or links to form a net Fig 4 used as a retainer on the seabed or a pyramidal or wedge-shaped structure Fig 7 used as an energy absorber adjacent to the sea shore. In another embodiment the beads are embedded in a cementitious material, such as concrete, to form the walls of an open cube-shaped structure Fig 11. In yet another embodiment the beads are placed in a plurality of baskets and used as gabions. The baskets may be of hexagonal form and may be produced from a waterproof fabric or textile (12, Fig 2), which are filled with the tyre beads (13, Fig 2) and soil, aggregate or other in-fill material.

Description

MARINE STRUCTURES AND FLOOD DEFENCE SYSTEMS Field of the Invention This invention relates to marine structures and flood defence systems and is concerned with the provision of improved forms of such structures and systems and improved methods of making such structures and systems.

In PCT Application No. PCT/GB 00/04526 to which reference should be made, there is described a method of removing a reinforcement bead from a pneumatic tyre, the method including the following steps : a) positioning the tyre for rotation about a predetermined axis, b) providing a cutting head which includes a reciprocable blade, c) moving the cutting head into a position in which the blade is located in register with a part of the side wall of the tyre adjacent the bead, d) effecting reciprocation of the blade so that it cuts through the tyre side wall, e) effecting stepwise rotation of the tyre about said axis, f) effecting further reciprocal movements of the blade between successive rotational movement ; of the tyre, and g) continuing steps e) and f) until the bead has been completely severed from the side wall of the tyre.

The product of the method defined above is hereinafter referred to as"a tyre bead as defined".

Summary of the Invention According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a marine structure which includes a plurality of interconnected tyre beads as defined.

According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of making a marine structure which comprises interconnecting a plurality of tyre beads as defined.

The tyre beads may be interconnected by straps, ties, links or the like so as to form a net which is placed in the sea adjacent but spaced from the shore so as to form a retainer on the sea bed.

The tyre beads may alternatively be interconnected, as by straps, ties, links or the like so that they form a pyramidal or wedgeshaped structure which, again, can be placed in the sea adjacent but spaced from the shore so as to act as an energy absorber.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided an open cube-shaped marine structure each wall of which includes at least one tyre bead as defined embedded in cementitious material.

The cementitious material may be concrete or reinforced concrete and the tyre beads will act as reinforcements for the walls of the open cube-shaped structure. One or more of the walls may contain more than one tyre bead as defined and the tyre beads in any particular wall may all be of the same size or of different sizes.

Such open cube-shaped marine structures are normally referred to as sheds and when immersed in the sea, or in contact with the sea, will act as energy absorbers.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of making an open cube-shaped structure which includes providing a plurality of tyre beads as defined and using them to reinforce the walls of the open cube-shaped structure.

According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a gabion system comprising a plurality of baskets each of which contains a plurality of tyre beads as defined.

According to a still further aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of making a gabion system which includes placing a plurality of tyre beads as defined in each of a plurality of baskets.

The baskets are preferably of hexagonal form in plan view and are produced from a waterproof fabric or textile, the baskets being interconnected in such manner that they can be moved in concertina fashion between a collapsed storage condition and an expanded condition in which they extend in line.

In producing the gabion system, the interconnected baskets are moved into their expanded condition, a plurality of tyre beads placed in each of the open baskets and the baskets then filled with soil, re-cycled aggregate or other in-fill material.

The gabion system is thus ideally suited for use as an emergency flood control unit.

Brief Description of the Drawings Figure 1 shows a marine structure comprising a plurality of stacks of rubber-coated tyre beads, Figure 2 shows a flood defence system comprising a plurality of interconnected textile liners each of which contains a stack of rubber-coated tyre beads, Figure 3 shows a marine structure comprising a plurality of rubber-coated tyre beads which are interconnected so as to form a net system, Figure 4 shows a basic net formation made from a plurality of rubber-coated tyre beads, Figures 5 and 6 show marine structures made from the basic net formation of Figure 4, Figure 7 shows a basic pyramid unit made from a plurality of rubber-coated tyre beads, Figures 8 and 9 show marine structures made from the basic pyramid unit of Figure 7, Figure 10 shows a cone structure formed by bonding together a series of rubber-coated tyre beads of different sizes, and Figure 11 shows a marine structure made using six cone structures as shown in Figure 10.

Description of the Preferred Embodiments The marine structure shown in Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings comprises a plurality of rubber-coated reinforcement beads cut from vehicle tyres by the method described in PCT Application No. PCT/GB 00/04526, to which reference should be made. The rubber-coated tyre beads can be connected together by straps, ties, links or the like so that they form a series of stacks 10 which are again interconnected by straps, ties, links or the like. The interconnected stacks 10 then form an energy-absorbing structure which can be fixed to the sea bed. The stacks 10 can alternatively be arranged to that the axes of the stacks 10 are substantially horizontal.

Turning next to Figure 2, this shows a flood defence structure in the form of a gabion system comprising a plurality of interconnected hexagons. Each of the hexagons comprises upper and lower coated wire elements 11 and a durable textile liner 12 extending between the upper and lower wire elements 11. The interconnected hexagons can be expanded in concertina fashion to form the structure shown in Figure 2 and installed at a location at which a flood defence is required. A stack of rubber-coated wire beads 13 produced by the method described in PCT Application No. PCT/GB 00/04526 is then placed in each of the hexagons which are then filled with a suitable in-fill material such as soil or recycled aggregate. The rubber-coated wire beads reinforce and support the aggregate-filled liners 12.

Figure 3 shows a surf contour system which comprises a plurality of rubber-coated tyre beads 13, produced as described above, which are linked together by straps, ties, links or the like (not shown) so as to form a net system which serves to retain a sand hump at a position close to but spaced from the shoreline.

The net of interconnected tyre beads 13 provides an environmentally friendly means of protecting the shore while permitting disposal of the tyre beads 13 without the use of a land-fill site.

Figure 4 shows a basic net formation made by linking together a plurality of rubber-coated tyre beads 13 produced as described above, the tyre beads 13 being arranged in two rows extending at right angles to each other. The basic net formation comprises a generally planar sheet of coated tyre beads 13 and three such sheets can be interconnected in the manner shown in Figures 5 and 6 to form a wedge structure.

Figure 7 shows a pyramidal marine unit which comprises a plurality of rows of rubber-coated tyre beads 13 produced as described above, with the beads 13 in any one row offset relative to the tyre beads 13 in the adjacent row (s). Four of the pyramidal units of Figure 7 can be connected together by straps, ties, links or the like to form the tetrahedral structure of Figure 8 and two such tetrahedra can be interconnected to form the structure shown in Figure 9. The above structures can be placed in the sea adjacent but spaced from the shore so as to act as an energy absorber.

Figure 10 shows a cone formed by joining together five rubber-coated tyre beads 13A, 13B, 13C, 13D and 13E of progressively reducing diameters and each produced by the method described in PCT Application No. PCT/GB 00/04526, to which reference should be made. Six such cones are then joined together at right angles to one another and a casting operation carried out to produce the shed structure 14 shown in Figure 11.

The material from which the shed 14 is cast may be concrete, fibreglass, plastic or rubber or any combination of these materials.

The casting material may, if required, be aerated so that the shed 14 will float. The shed 14, if of a floatable nature, will be anchored at a position just off-shore so that an array of such sheds will act as off-shore energy absorbers. If the casting material is not aerated so that the shed 14 will not float, it can be fixed in position at a suitable marine location so that it again acts as an energy absorber.

Claims

Claims :1. A marine structure which includes a plurality of interconnected tyre beads as defined.
2. A method of making a marine structure which comprises interconnecting a plurality of tyre beads as defined.
3. A method as claimed in Claim 2, in which the tyre beads are interconnected by straps, ties, links or the like so as to form a net which is placed in the sea adjacent but spaced from the shore so as to form a retainer on the sea bed.
4. A method as claimed in Claim 2, in which the tyre beads are interconnected, as by straps, ties, links or the like so that they form a pyramidal or wedge-shaped structure which can be placed in the sea adjacent but spaced from the shore so as to act as an energy absorber.
5. An open cube-shaped marine structure each wall of which includes at least one tyre bead as defined embedded in cementitious material.
6. A marine structure as claimed in Claim 5, in which the cementitious material is concrete or reinforced concrete and the tyre beads act as reinforcements for the walls of the open cubeshaped structure.
7. A marine structure as claimed in Claim 5 or Claim 6, in which one or more of the walls contains more than one tyre bead as defined.
8. A marine structure as claimed in Claim 7, in which the tyre beads in any particular wall are of a plurality of sizes.
9. A method of making an open cube-shaped structure which includes providing a plurality of tyre beads as defined and using them to reinforce the walls of the open cube-shaped structure.
10. A gabion system comprising a plurality of baskets each of which contains a plurality of tyre beads as defined.
11. A method of making a gabion system which includes placing a plurality of tyre beads as defined in each of a plurality of baskets.
12. A method as claimed in Claim 11, in which the baskets are of hexagonal form in plan view and are produced from a waterproof fabric or textile, the baskets being interconnected in such manner that they can be moved in concertina fashion between a collapsed storage condition and an expanded condition in which they extend in line.
13. A method as claimed in Claim 12, in which the interconnected baskets are moved into their expanded condition, a plurality of tyre beads placed in each of the open baskets and the baskets then filled with soil, re-cycled aggregate or other in-fill material.
14. A method of making a marine structure substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to any of the embodiments illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
15. A marine structure made by the method of Claim 14.
16. A flood defence system substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in Figure 2 of the accompanying drawings.