GB2519942A

GB2519942A - Temporary flood barrier

Info

Publication number: GB2519942A
Application number: GB1316746.5A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Donald Green
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2013-09-20
Filing date: 2013-09-20
Publication date: 2015-05-13
Anticipated expiration: 2033-09-20
Also published as: GB201316746D0; GB2519942B

Abstract

A temporary modular flood barrier is formed from a plurality of modules, each module comprising a spine wall 2 upstanding from a base plate 4. The wall has a formation 8 at each end co-operable directly or through an intermediÂate coupling member with a formation on the next adjacent module to connect the walls together. The spine wall has at least one aperture 10 in the face, the at least one aperture surrounded on each face of the wall with a continuous sealing formation 12. A pair of flexible anchor bags 14, 16 overlay the base plate 4 on each side of the wall 2. The bags are adapted to be filled with water and closed, to provide flexible ballast to hold the base plate on the ground. A flexible rear ballast bag 34 is placed over the anchor bag against the rear face of the spine wall, the bag having a front face proÂvided with an opening surrounded by a continuous sealing formation co-operable with the sealing formation on the rear face of the wall. The rear ballast bag seals to the rear face of the wall, so that flood water passing through the front ballast bag 18 and through the wall enters and fills the rear ballast bag.

Description

TEMPORARY FLOOD BARRIER

Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a flood protection barrier suitable for rapid tem-porary deployment in areas where flooding is expected.

Background to the Invention

Flood damage to houses and commercial property has become an in-creasing problem in the UK, with flood damage costs estimated currently at about £1.1 billion per annum. It has been estimated that maintaining existing levels of flood defence in the UK would require spending on both asset mainte-nance and construction to increase to over £1 billion per annum.

Flooding of properties may increase in the future as a result of a number of factors: * Climate change leading to rising sea levels and changes in rainfall frequency and amount; * Ageing drainage and flood defence infrastructure; * Building developments in flood-prone areas; and * Increases in paved areas, increasing the volume of water running off the ground, rather than soaking into it and being released more slowly after rainfall.

The high cost of permanent flood defences, coupled with the difficulty in predicting areas likely to be badly affected, result in many areas remaining un-protected. Temporary measures such as sandbags involve high costs because of the need to transport relatively heavy materials and the labour involved in stacking them at the desired location.

There have been many proposals for temporary flood defence systems.

For example, GB2451286A discloses a tubular system that can be inflated with pumped water after being rolled out on site. Sections of the system can be joined together using zip fasteners. 0B2427641A discloses hollow plastics moulded units which can be joined together side-by-side using tapering keys slotted into the adjacent units. The units are designed to ballast themselves by filling with flood water, but have the disadvantage that their rigidity prevents sealing against uneven ground, leading to the possibility of leakage under the barrier formed. GB2397606A discloses moulded plastics units adapted to con- nect to adjacent units by a vertical cylindrical extension on one side, engagea-ble with a part tubular socket formed in the opposite side of the next unit. The bottom of each unit is formed from a flexible plastics sheet to mould into varia-tions in the underlying surface so as to reduce leakage under the barrier formed. GB2269618A discloses horizontally arranged box-like structures into which water can be pumped to form a barrier wall. A compressible rubber mat under the structures helps to seal against minor variations in the underlying ground surface.

All these known systems have the disadvantage that the components are relatively bulky, significantly increasing the cost of transporting enough materi-als to form an effective flood barrier. They are also difficult to clean and store is after use.

Summary of the Invention

According to the present invention, there is provided a temporary flood barrier formed from a plurality of modules, each module comprising: a spine wall upstanding from a base plate, the spine wall having a for- mation at each end thereof co-operable directly or through an intermediate cou-pling member with a formation on the next adjacent module to connect the walls together, the spine wall have a region in the face thereof provided with at least one aperture through the wall, the region being surrounded on each face of the wall with a continuous sealing formation; a pair of flexible anchor bags overlying the base plate on each respective side of the wall, the bags being adapted to be filled with water and closed, to provide flexible ballast to hold the base plate on the ground; and a flexible rear ballast bag for disposal over the respective anchor bag and against the rear face of the spine wall, the bag having a front face provided with an opening surrounded by a continuous sealing formation co-operable with the sealing formation on the rear face of the wall, a rear face extending down-wardly and outwardly from the upper edge of the rear face, a base extending between the lower edge of the front face and the lower edge of the rear face, and side faces enclosing the spaces between the respective side edges of the rear and front faces and the base at each side of the bag.

Preferably, a protective shield overlies the rear ballast bag to protect it from accidental (or deliberate) damage.

Preferably each module includes a flexible front ballast bag for disposal over the respective anchor bag and against the front face of the spine wall fac- ing the flood water, the bag having a rear face provided with an opening sur- rounded by a continuous sealing formation co-operable with the sealing for- mation on the front face of the wall, a front face extending downwardly and out-wardly from the upper edge of the rear face, the front face being provided with a plurality of apertures therethrough, a base extending between the lower edge of the front face and the lower edge of the rear face, and side faces enclosing the spaces between the respective side edges of the rear and front faces and the is base at each side of the bag. The front ballast bag provides protection for the spine wall against damage from materials entrained in the flood waters.

The ballast bags are preferably formed with vertically-extending stiffening ribs spaced at horizontal intervals therealong to assist in holding the shape of the bags, in the case of the rear bags during filling with flood water, and in the case of the front bags while in use. The ribs are suitably formed using a resili-ently-deformable tape material.

Brief Description of the Drawings

In the drawings, which illustrate an exemplary embodiment of the inven-tion: Figure 1 is an exploded perspective view of a single module of the barri-er; Figure 2 is a cross section of the assembled module; Figures 3 and 4 are enlarged sectional views through the connection be- tween the ballast bags and the spine wall, showing the connected and discon-nected states; and Figure 5 is a cross-section of a portion of the spine wall showing the connection of the protective shield.

Detailed Description of the Illustrated Embodiment

Referring to Figure 1, the barrier module consists of a moulded plastic spine wall 2 mountable on a base plate 4 by means of moulded upstands 6 thereon, received in slots in the lowermost edge of the wall 2. The spine wall 2 has a vertical tubular slot 8 along each of the side edges thereof for receiving a joining member enabling watertight connection to the next adjacent spine wall.

The joining member comprises two cylindrical portions which are a sliding fit in the tubular slots 8, spaced apart by a web, so that the a degree of articulation is afforded to permit curves to be formed in the barrier. The base plate 4 may have on the underside thereof a layer of compressible material to assist in seal-ing on the ground surface, or a spiked surface to hold the plate on soft ground.

The spine wall has a plurality of apertures 10 therethrough, all the aper-tures being located in a region of the wall surrounded on each face of the wall by a sealing formation 12 shown in cross-sectional detail in Figures 3 and 4.

is The formation 12 consists of a generally tubular groove moulded into the sur-face of the wall and having a narrow opening extending along the groove. This formation co-operates with a sealing member on the ballast bags as hereinafter described. Sockets 13 are formed in the upper edge of the spine wall to permit the mounting of a security fence (not shown) to deter people from attempting to climb over the barrier. It may also be possible to mount solar panels on the wall or on the security fence to provide power for lighting, for example warning lights to indicate the barrier to pedestrians or adjacent road traffic.

A pair of anchor bags 14 and 16 each comprise flexible walls with a sealable inlet to enable them to be filled with water and then closed, after posi-tioning one on each side of the wall 2 and overlapping the base plate to hold it in place and to provide a seal around it to prevent the flow of water under the barrier.

A front ballast bag 18 is formed of flexible plastic sheet material and has a rear face 20, a base 22, a front face 24 extending between the top of the rear face 20 and the front edge of the base 22, and side faces 26 and 28. The front face 24 has a series of apertures 30 allowing flood water to enter the bag. The base 22 is integrally formed with the top of the respective anchor bag 14, alt-hough it is possible to make the anchor bags separable from the ballast bags if desired. The rear face 20 is provided with an opening corresponding in size and shape with the region of the spine wall 2 containing the apertures 10, the opening having formed around its edge a deformable cylindrical seal which can be engaged in the sealing formation 12 on the face of the spine wall to enable the ballast bag to be connected to the wall with a watertight seal. Thus, flood water entering the front ballast bag can also pass through the spine wall. The front and rear faces 24 and 20 and the base 22 are each divided horizontally into segments by resiliently deformable reinforcing ribs 32 which serve to hold the bag in shape and to provide protection for the spine wall from solid articles entrained in the flood water. The ribs are sufficiently flexible to deform to some extent when struck by solid articles, but stiff enough to hold the empty bag in Ihe correct shape. The bag can, however, be collapsed when emply 10 bring all the ribs in proximity with the others to minimise volume for transport and stor-age of the bags when not in use.

A rear ballast bag 34 is formed in essentially an identical way to the front ballast bag, but has no apertures in the rear (i.e. furthest from the flood water) face 36 thereof. The rear ballast bag seals to the rear face of the wall 2, so that flood water passing through the front ballast bag 18 and through the wall 2 en-ters and fills the rear ballast bag.

A curved security panel 38 is securable over the exterior of the rear bal-last bag 34 to protect it against accidental damage or vandalism. The upper edge of the panel 38 is formed with a hook profile that engages in a groove ex- tending across the rear face of the spine wall in such a manner as to resist re- moval when the panel is rrnaled into us normal posftion, as hereinafter de- scribed with reference to Figure 5. The panel is provided with a portion 39 ex-tending beneath the anchor bag 16 and securable to the underside of the base plate 4 by clips, twist-locks or the like, this being achieved before the anchor bag 16 is filled with water. The portion 39 may be hinged to the remainder of the panel to reduce volume for transportation purposes.

Figures 3 and 4 illustrate in enlarged cross-section the connection be- tween the bags (18, 34) and the formations 12 in the spine wall, before and af- ter connection, respectively. The cylindrical seal 40 formed around the open-ings in the bags (the remainder of the bag is omitted from each figure for the sake of simplicity in illustration) is of a resiliently-deformable plastics material which can be compressed sufficiently to be able to be squeezed through the narrow opening 42 extending along a generally tubular groove 44 moulded into the faces of the spine wall, expand in the groove to hold the ballast bag in place and to resist the passage of water between the interior and exterior of the bag.

Figure 5 illustrates the attachment of the upper edge of the protective shield or security panel 38 to the spine wall. The spine wall 2 is provided with a groove 50 extending horizontally across the rear face thereof, the groove having an upper overhanging lip 52 extending along it. The upper edge of the security panel 38 is provided with a hook formation 54 which can be inserted into the groove 50 under the lip 52 50 that, when the panel is rotated downwardly into its final position, disengagement of the hook formation from the groove is resisted.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A temporary flood barrier formed from a plurality of modules, each module comprising: a spine wall upstanding from a base plate, the spine wall having a for- mation at each end thereof co-operable directly or through an intermediate cou-pling member with a formation on the next adjacent module to connect the walls together, the spine wall have a region in the face thereof provided with at least one aperture through the wall, the region being surrounded on each face of the wall with a continuous sealing formation; a pair of flexible anchor bags overlying the base plate on each respective side of the wall, the bags being adapted to be filled with water and closed, to provide flexible ballast to hold the base plate on the ground; and a flexible rear ballast bag for disposal over the respective anchor bag and against the rear face of the spine wall, the bag having a front face provided is with an opening surrounded by a continuous sealing formation co-operable with the sealing formation on the rear face of the wall, a rear face extending down-wardly and outwardly from the upper edge of the rear face, a base extending between the lower edge of the front face and the lower edge of the rear face, and side faces enclosing the spaces between the respective side edges of the rear and front faces and the base at each side of the bag.
2. A temporary flood barrier according to Claim 1, comprising a pro-tective shield overlying the rear ballast bag.
3. A temporary flood barrier according to Claim 1 or 2, wherein each module includes a flexible front ballast bag for disposal over the respective an-chor bag and against the front face of the spine wall facing the flood water, the bag having a rear face provided with an opening surrounded by a continuous sealing formation co-operable with the sealing formation on the front face of the wall, a front face extending downwardly and outwardly from the upper edge of the rear face, the front face being provided with a plurality of apertures therethrough, a base extending between the lower edge of the front face and the lower edge of the rear face, and side faces enclosing the spaces between the respective side edges of the rear and front faces and the base at each side of the bag.
4. A temporary flood barrier according to Claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the ballast bags are formed with vertically-extending stiffening ribs spaced at hori-zontal intervals therealong to assist in holding the shape of the bags.
5. A temporary flood barrier according to any preceding claim, wherein the anchor bags are formed integrally with the respective ballast bags.
6. A temporary flood barrier, substantially as described with refer-ence to, and/or as shown in, the drawings.