Classifications

• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E02—HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING; FOUNDATIONS; SOIL SHIFTING
  • E02B—HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING
  • E02B3/00—Engineering works in connection with control or use of streams, rivers, coasts, or other marine sites; Sealings or joints for engineering works in general
  • E02B3/04—Structures or apparatus for, or methods of, protecting banks, coasts, or harbours
  • E02B3/06—Moles; Piers; Quays; Quay walls; Groynes; Breakwaters ; Wave dissipating walls; Quay equipment
• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E02—HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING; FOUNDATIONS; SOIL SHIFTING
  • E02B—HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING
  • E02B3/00—Engineering works in connection with control or use of streams, rivers, coasts, or other marine sites; Sealings or joints for engineering works in general
  • E02B3/04—Structures or apparatus for, or methods of, protecting banks, coasts, or harbours
  • E02B3/06—Moles; Piers; Quays; Quay walls; Groynes; Breakwaters ; Wave dissipating walls; Quay equipment
  • E02B3/062—Constructions floating in operational condition, e.g. breakwaters or wave dissipating walls
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
  • Y02A—TECHNOLOGIES FOR ADAPTATION TO CLIMATE CHANGE
  • Y02A10/00—TECHNOLOGIES FOR ADAPTATION TO CLIMATE CHANGE at coastal zones; at river basins
  • Y02A10/11—Hard structures, e.g. dams, dykes or breakwaters

Definitions

• the present application for industrial invention relates to a semi-submerged breakwater barrier raised from the sea bottom or from the bottom of other water surfaces to be protected.
• breakwater structures are composed of fixed barriers obtained with piles of rocks or concrete prefabricated elements that are deposited on the bottom of the water surface in order to protect the coast against wave motion.
• a second type of said breakwater structures consists in the use of surface floating barriers made of heavy or light materials, which are anchored to the bottom by means of "dead weights" or ballasts of different kind.
• US2002/0104469 discloses a box-shaped semi-submerged barrier that is provided with a lid composed of a base from which parallelepiped projections (with square section) having the same height protrude upwards
• FR 2 720 086 discloses a box-shaped semi-submerged barrier with lamellar elements arranged at the same height according to a crossed grid.
• EP 0 346 554 discloses a barrier that is provided with lamellar elements with increasing height arranged in parallel position. Said lamellar elements do not allow for good water circulation.
• EP 1 650 335 discloses a semi-submerged barrier that is provided with internally empty barrier elements that protrude upwards from a base. The barrier elements are at the same height. A careful examination of the prior art has resulted in a new type of breakwater barriers that is capable of overcoming the problems caused by traditional barriers.
• the barrier of the invention provides an effective protective action also in case of violent wave motion (according to modes that are fully compatible with traditional fixed barriers deposited on the sea bottom).
• the latter characteristic is caused by the presence of a plurality of elements designed to intercept the wave motion, which are configured in such a way to generate the most effective interference with the waves, thus consequently breaking them.
• the breakwater barrier of the invention is obtained by using elements that can be combined to create a structure that is partially permeable to wave motion in order to effectively resist the orbital motion of water particles (that allows waves to form and propagate) and consequently dissipate most of the energy of the wave that breaks on it.
• a semi-submerged breakwater barrier it must be said that, according to a first embodiment, it is supported by submerged floating structures with "reduced thrust", being held by ballasts that are deposited directly on the bottom.
• connection between floating support structures and ballasts must be made with cables or chains, that is to say with means that do not interfere significantly with the flow of deep currents.
• the breakwater barrier of the invention can be fixed on top of a solid bearing structure, composed of a plurality of piles directly driven on the bottom.
• the barrier of the invention has been conceived as a semi-submerged barrier that - as such - is immune to the risk of being at the mercy of the waves, a condition that would considerably limit its efficacy.
• the description of the invention continues with reference to the enclosed drawings, which are intended for purposes of illustration only and not in a limiting sense, wherein:
• - figure 1 is a diagrammatic axonometric view of a first embodiment of the semi-submerged breakwater barrier of the invention
• - figure 2 is a diagrammatic view of a first installation solution of the barrier of the invention
• FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic view of a second installation solution of the barrier of the invention supported with piles;
• FIG. 4A to 4F are views of possible embodiments of the lamellar element used in the barrier of fig. 1.
• the breakwater barrier (1 ) of the invention is composed of a bearing structure designed to support a plurality of lamellar elements (2) preferably made of plastic materials, which are effectively designed to interfere with the wave motion.
• the bearing structure is formed of a back border (1 a) and a front border (1 b) with very reduced height, among which a horizontal wall (1 c) is supported, from which said lamellar elements (2) protrude vertically.
• said elements are arranged in multiple longitudinal parallel rows
• the height of the front row (F1 ) of said lamellar elements (2) is lower than the row (F2) immediately behind it, which in turn has a height lower than the successive row (F3) and so on, in such a way that the various rows of lamellar elements (2) have an increasing height from the front to the back of the barrier of the invention (1 ).
• the wave that breaks on a similar barrier (1 ) is subjected to increasing interference by the successive rows of said lamellar elements
• each of said rows (F1 , F2, F3, Fn) are regularly spaced and the multiple rows (F1 , F2, F3, Fn) of said elements (2) are staggered, meaning that the "full" spaces of each row at the front are arranged in correspondence with the "empty" spaces of the corresponding row at the back. This is done to increase the capacity of the barrier of the invention (1 ) to break the waves, which are forced to travel along such a winding path between the "full” and "empty” spaces of the successive rows of lamellar elements (2).
• Fig. 4A shows a lamellar element (2) provided with "full” structure and rectangular section; whereas Fig. 4F shows a lamellar element with rectangular section and "empty" structure, stiffened by transversal partitions
• Figure 4B relates to a lamellar element with fretted section
• fig. 4C relates to a lamellar element with arched section
• fig. 4D relates to a lamellar element with sinusoidal section
• fig. 4E relates to a box-shaped lamellar element with a basically rectangular section that is open in one of the longitudinal sides and stiffened by suitable transversal partitions (2b).
• the barrier (1 ) is associated with one or more floating bodies (3, 4), specifically two of said floating bodies (3) are externally mounted on said borders (1 a, 1 b), whereas the third floating body (4) is mounted under said horizontal wall (1 c) provided between them.
• said floating bodies (3, 4) are provided with monolithic structure, consisting in a single floating body.
• the floating bodies (3, 4), and the entire barrier (1 ) of the invention with them are anchored to a ballast (6) deposited on the bottom (F) by means of sturdy cables (5).
• the barrier of the invention (1 ), deprived of said floating bodies, is mounted on top of a suitable series of piles (7) directly driven on the bottom (F).
• the position of the barrier (1 ) on top of said bearing piles (7) must be selected according to the desired height of the top sections of the lamellar elements that emerge from the free surface of the water (P).

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Environmental & Geological Engineering (AREA)
• Ocean & Marine Engineering (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Civil Engineering (AREA)
• Structural Engineering (AREA)
• Apparatus Associated With Microorganisms And Enzymes (AREA)
• Table Devices Or Equipment (AREA)
• Revetment (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=41664538

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (2)

Citations (3)

Family Cites Families (9)

• 2009
  • 2009-06-16 IT IT000145A patent/ITMC20090145A1/it unknown
• 2010
  • 2010-06-15 WO PCT/EP2010/058346 patent/WO2010146035A1/en not_active Ceased

Patent Citations (3)

Also Published As

Similar Documents

Legal Events