Modular raintank

Abstract

A modular wall panel for an underground infiltration tank comprising a rectilinear periphery formed of four edge members and a plurality of internal strut members which intersect each other at a plurality of junctions. The internal strut members are arranged asymmetrically. The wall panels are provided with load bearing reinforcing nodes, located in at least one junction of the strut members to direct and dissipate the induced forces. The reinforcing nodes are of varying sizes and strength. Several modular wall panels interconnect using complementary studs and holes to assemble an individual infiltration tank module.

Description

CLAIM OF PRIORITY[0001]This application claims priority to Australian provisional application No. 2006901293, filed Mar. 14, 2006.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]The present invention relates to underground raintanks, and in particularly to modular plates which form underground raintanks.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]Underground infiltration and raintanks are formed from plastic perforated tank modules, which are butted or stacked together to form the required tank size, wrapped in geotextile and surrounded in good draining medium such as sand. The geotextile material allows water to pass therethrough but prevents any sand from passing. Thus, water flows into the infiltration tank via a connecting pipe and percolates into the surrounding strata through the geotextile-covered perforated walls of the tank.[0004]Similarly, water percolating through the soil above the tank enters the tank through the geotextile-covered top perforated wall of the tank. To form a reuse or water-harvesting ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0039]The present invention as shown in the accompanying drawings overcomes the problems presented by the devices of the prior art. Because the modular wall panel of the present invention contains reinforcing nodes, the thickness of the struts is reduced. Such a construction not only saves plastic material and increases the surface opening area of the wall panel as compared to prior art products, but provides an increase in the strength of wall panel and the assembled tank module as well.

Problems solved by technology

Although the tank is strong, it uses a large amount of plastic material.

Additionally, the tank contains only approximately 50% void volume and water flow through the sidewalls is quite restricted.

Thus assembled tank modules, while having a large void volume and better flow through the walls, are considerably weaker than the tanks assembled from two half-box modules.

In addition, such tank modules still use a large amount of plastic materials and are expensive to make.

Such an arrangement of arrays does not distribute the loading across the panel equally, and can concentrate forces onto particular points of the array causing failure.

As a result, the prior art wall panels are inherently weak because all the synergistic effects of parallel vectors have no reservoir for absorbing forces on the plate.

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