GB2398331A

GB2398331A - Interlocking self-filling flood barrier units

Info

Publication number: GB2398331A
Application number: GB0303465A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Timothy Robert Drury
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2003-02-14
Filing date: 2003-02-14
Publication date: 2004-08-18
Also published as: GB0303465D0

Abstract

A flood barrier unit 1 comprises a tank formed of resilient material and having opposed front and rear walls with adjoining side walls and a base (8, Fig 3). The front wall has one or more openings 6 at a low level to permit the inflow of water (12, Fig 3) while the rear and side walls are watertight. The side walls are also shaped 3 and (4, Fig 2) to co-operate with a side wall of another such unit to assist in forming a watertight seal. The base is elastic and/or flexible to conform closely to the ground under the loading provided by water in the tank. The tank may be formed as a prismatic shape with trapezoidal or triangular side walls narrower at the top than at the base. Each side wall may have a protruding section 5, such as a generally upright corrugation or rib, or a complementary recess to receive such a section.

Description

239833 1 - 1

FLOOD BARRIER

This invention relates to an emergency flood barrier system intended to supplement or replace sandbag flood defenses.

The standard method used for centuries to hold back flood water involves the use of sandbags. These have proved moderately effective because they can wedge together to form a relatively watertight seal, they are simple to store as empty bags and are widely available at a low cost. However, sandbags require a very large investment of labour and time to fill, to deploy as an effective barrier, to remove and to dispose of correctly. Moreover they are permeable and leak during use.

There is a need for a simple modular system that can be easily and quickly deployed in time of flood emergencies, and that can provide a reliable seal.

According to the invention there is provided a flood barrier unit comprising a tank formed of resilient material, said tank comprising opposed front and rear walls with adjoining side walls and a base, the front wall having one or more openings at a low level to permit the inflow of water; the rear wall being watertight; each side wall being watertight and shaped to co-operate with a side wall of another such unit to assist in forming a watertight seal; and the base being elastic and/or flexible to conform closely to the ground under the loading provided by water in the tank. Preferably, the tank is formed as a prismatic shape with generally trapezoidal or triangular side walls narrower at the top than the base so as to provide a stable shape with a low centre of gravity. In a particularly preferred embodiment, the prismatic shape is such that, for storage, the tanks can interlock with inverted tanks fitting in between.

In a preferred embodiment, the co-operation between complimentary side walls can be achieved by each side wall having a protruding section or a complementary recess to receive such a section. Each tank may have one side wall of each type or two of one type [other tanks having two of the other typed. In a preferred arrangement the protruding section is in the form of generally upright corrugations or ribs, arranged to fit into corresponding corrugations or recesses. In this way the units -2 - can be easily interlocked together by dropping one unit down next to the previous one.

For a more robust locking together, facing pairs of side walls may be provided with a plug and socket arrangement. Once the assembled tanks fill with water, the internal hydrostatic pressure and the resilient structure of the tank walls and the elastic base cause the tanks to be squeezed tightly together and to the ground, thus sealing out the flood water.

In general the tanks are rectangular in plan view, so they can be laid like a course of bricks. Although the primary purpose of the units is to keep back flood water, it will be understood that they may be used in reverse to define a water storage pond or lagoon. In both cases it is necessary to have corresponding corner units to enable a barrier to turn. According to the invention there is provided a corner unit where both the front and rear walls are L shaped or, in a preferred embodiment, where the corner unit includes two pairs of opposing walls shaped to co-operate with the side walls of a barrier unit. This arrangement may allow a barrier to turn in either direction using a single type of corner module. Alternatively the barrier units may be curved in the shape of a radial sector of an annulus, so that they can combine to form a circular ring wall.

The invention thus provides a modular system of lightweight interlocking barrier and corner units. With these, a flood barrier of variable length and shape may be installed or removed rapidly by a minimum of personnel. No tools or training are required to accomplish this. All ballast necessary to secure the assembled barrier will be provided by the flood water itself thus leading to significant savings of time, labour and property.

The product concept presented here relates to a flood barrier suitable for temporary deployment by hand in urban or suburban areas. The scope of the invention may allow development of further systems differing in scale and construction in order to provide flood defence in other circumstances.

As described above, this concept may also be developed for use 'in reverse', offering a mobile water storage facility. Such a product may function as a reservoir, pool or tank of any size in a wide variety of applications.

A specific embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 represents an oblique front view of a standard unit; Figure 2 represents an oblique rear view of a standard unit; Figure 3 represents a schematic sectional view showing the unit in use; Figure 4 represents an oblique front view of a corner unit; Figure 5 illustrates the connection of two flood barrier units; Figure 6 represents a plan view of part of an assembled barrier; and Figure 7 represents a plan view of an assembled pool or tank facility.

The flood barrier unit, a prism-shaped shell 111 moulded of a suitable plastic material, connects to others by means of a plug (31 and a socket 141 to form a stable barrier as shown in Figure 5. A water-tight seal between units is achieved by means of corrugated interlocking mouldings [51 on each connecting surface. The barrier unit is further provided with a row of apertures [61 which, in use, face the flood: rising water [121 flows through these into the body of the unit where it acts as ballast.

The unit also has a water-tight, flexible floor [81 which may be integrally moulded with the rest of the tank or separately made of a suitable sheeting, e.g. vinyl film. As the unit fills, water pressure forces the floor to make a close seal with the ground [131, moulding over and into surface imperfections and preventing seepage beneath the barrier. This system also ensures grip and resistance to lateral movement.

Each unit [11 is provided with air vents [71 to enable the incoming water to displace air and fill the unit. In order to aid movement of the units, handhold apertures [91 are provided at the top of each unit. These, or a filling aperture [101, enable the structure to be partially pre-filled with a hose pipe, providing sufficient ballast to prevent the empty barrier from being swept away by flood waters when empty.

J

The corner unit shown in Figure 4, a shell (21 moulded of a suitable plastic material, is designed to enable a barrier to turn at right angles in either direction without compromising the integrity of the barrier. Any number of corner units may be included in either a barrier assembly as shown in Figure 6 or a reservoir assembly as shown in Figure 7. A corner unit may be filled manually with ballast water by hose or bucket via a funnelled aperture 110] and drained by means of a plug [111.

A barrier may be secured from theft or unauthorized disassembly by using locking cables designed for the purpose. With these, units may be secured to their immediate neighbours by means of their integral hand-holds. The units may be coloured to favour either high visibility in the interest of safety or low visibility in sympathy with the surrounding area. The shape of the unit will allow stable and efficient stacking when stored. All necessary instructions for use may be moulded into the surface of the units as pictograms. s

Claims

1 A flood barrier unit comprising a tank formed of resilient material, said tank comprising opposed front and rear walls with adjoining side walls and a base, the front wall having one or more openings at a low level to permit the inflow of water; the rear wall being watertight; each side wall being water tight and shaped to co-operate with a side wall of another such unit to assist in forming a watertight seal; and the base being elastic and/or flexible to conform closely to the ground under the loading provided by water in the tank.

2 A flood barrier unit according to claim 1, in which the tank is formed as a prismatic shape with generally trapezoidal or triangular side walls narrower at the top than the base.

3 A flood barrier unit according to claim 1 or claim 2, in which each side wall has a protruding section or a complementary recess to receive such a section.

4 A flood barrier unit according to claim 3, in which the protruding section is in the form of a generally upright corrugation or rib.