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AbstractA Swiss company developed a modular sand barrier for flood damage and erosion protection, spate irrigation, dam reinforcement and other. Compared to traditional systems the barrier is quickly deployable and has more damming potential with fewer filling material. It can be seen as an evolved & saving manpower sandbag based system. They look for companies active in the field of civil engineering, infrastructure protection, oil/gas extraction or industrial fabric for various types of co-operation.DetailsMobile flood defence gains more and more importance because only part of the existing flooding risks can be covered by means of a permanent defence. Furthermore it can be considered that the intensity and frequency of the so-called flash-flooding as a result of the climate change will increase while the warning time remains extremely short.For this purpose the Swiss company developed a modular, mobile sand barrier system with both qualities: rapidity and strength in order to make an important contribution to the environmental protection of land and town in the combat against flood and erosion damages. The system consists of tubular textile modules and a device to fill the modules automatically with sand or other material like gravel, concrete, decontaminated mud etc. The device is fixed on a truck (concrete mixer) with an adjusted connecting piece. The system can be seen as an evolution of the traditional, more static system based on sandbags. Compared to it the modular system of the Swiss company needs less work force, can be quickly set-up over large distances, has an excellent ground adherence and high stability. It’s suitable for static and dynamic water and allows a rapid, complete and accurate recovery of the sand. If the concrete mixer truck has a conveyer belt, it is possible to build barriers of any shape and height (up to 2 meters) especially if there are obstacles like rock massifs or channels. For not passable sites the traditional sandbags are an ideal complement of the modules. The modules have a standard length of 10-13 m (on request also longer), a diameter of 32 cm and a height of 20-25 cm (with a filling degree of 70-80%). After filling the flexible modules are closed up with tie strings. Tailored to specific need and situation, various sand modules may be assembled and/or put on top of each other, in order to form a continuous sand barrier of any desirable length, width and height. Example of sand saving thanks to the construction of mobile anti flooding barriers with the modular system (sand module, diameter: 0.32 m, length: 10 m, 1000 kg instead of sandbags: 16 kg): The construction of a barrier of 30.5 m length and 0.33 m height requires 600 sandbags of 16 kg: 600 x 16 kg sand = 9.6 tons of sand (30.5 linear m of dike and 0.33 m height; according to the calculations of the Emergency Management British Columbia) For the same construction by means of modular units but at least 45 cm height, 6.8 tubular modules are sufficient: Total weight 6.8 tons of sand. Sand saving realized = 2.8 tons of sand Sand recovery For the sand recovery a truck with a crane and 2 persons are needed only. This enables a fast and complete recovery. Specifications The system includes following components: • sand-filling tube (11 m long , 0.32 m diameter, ca 1.2 ton sand by 80% filling grade, about 23 cm height • a connecting piece for the truck • folding machine for cartouches setting up • strings • various accessories The filling system of the modules can be operated centrally or laterally. • Centrally: Sand-filling tube directly connected with the connecting piece for the truck • Laterally: Sand-filling tube indirectly connected to the mobile sand container (truck, dumper etc.) through a conveyor belt itself connected on its end with the adapter for the filling tube Further applications The modular sand barrier can serve for other strategic objectives e.g. to create larger areas of safety especially by means of concrete/sand mixture or to attenuate crash impacts by vehicles or landslides, airports-flooding, shore erosion, spate irrigation, underwater barriers, infrastructures protection, dam elevation, dam reinforcement, road deflection, motorway protection, anti-crash and anti-vibration of bridge structures (railway), barriers against sand dunes. Price Usually the price indicated for the traditional sand bags refers to empty bags. Voluntary workers who fill the bags with sand, seal, transport, deploy and finally recover the bags are not included. This can lead to a distortion when comparing the traditional sand bags with the system developed by the Swiss company. Innovative Aspects: • little work force needed: 3 workers for central deploying, 2 workers for lateral deploying. • quick deployment over large distances: 4 minutes per module (equivalent to 1 ton of sand which means approx. 70 sand bags) • excellent ground adherence • high stability • for static and dynamic waters • high seal capacity • rapid complete and accurate recovery of sand: 1-2 minutes per module • transport less expensive • vandalism resistant • ideal system of filling and deploying for employees of civil protection, disaster management, fire brigades, explosion and ballistic protection, emergency managers More protection potential if bags are filled with other materials like gravel, concrete, decontaminated mud etc.
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