Fortification structure made of corrugated metal sheets

Abstract

A fortification structure consisting of a supporting body (1) in the form of a hollow elongated shell (5) along the horizontal axis, assembled from a set of metal corrugated sheets (4) of rectangular plan and curved cross-sectional shape and at least two walls (2,3), perpendicular to said horizontal axis of the shell and connected thereto, the shell of the supporting body has a ring-like cross-sectional shape, the interconnection of the metal corrugated sheets of the shell is made with an overlapping bolted connection (8,9), and the walls are made of a set of flat metal sheets interconnected with an overlapping bolted connection, the wall at the entrance to the structure is equipped with a sealed door, and the wall on the rear side of the structure is equipped with an emergency exit, each wall being bolted to the shell along the contour of the wall.

Description

[0001] FORTIFICATION STRUCTURE MADE OF CORRUGATED METAL SHEETS

[0002] FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0003] The present invention relates to lightweight defence construction protecting military personnel from the effects of 122 mm and 152 mm ammunition and can be used as a lightweight earth-covered shelter structure made of corrugated steel.

[0004] BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0005] Similar fortifications made of metal corrugated sheets are known, the closest among which is the fortification disclosed in UA 103264 U, published on 10.12.2015, which was selected as a prototype. The prototype fortification consists of a supporting body and partitions. The supporting body is made in the form of a hollow shell elongated along the horizontal axis. The supporting body is assembled from individual corrugated metal sheets, curved and bent to the required radius. The corrugated metal sheets form sections that are arranged in sequence along the specified horizontal axis and are connected to each other in a shell by means of steel rods located in the holes of the brackets with which each section is equipped. Rubber seals are located at the joints of the sections. The partitions are located perpendicular to the horizontal axis of the enclosure and are connected thereto. The two partitions are located at the ends of the shell of the support body (end diaphragms). One partition is located inside the shell of the supporting body, forming a dug-out doorway between it and one of the partitions at the end of the shell of the supporting body. The fortification is installed in the prepared pit and backfilled with soil.

[0006] The disadvantage of the prototype fortification is the impossibility of disassembling the sections of the supporting body into separate elements, which makes it difficult to move the structure to another location, as well as to connect the sections to each other using steel rods and brackets located outside the shell of the supporting body, which can result in deformation of the connection of the shells to each other, for example, when installing the structure in a pit, and in a loss of the tightness of the supporting body.

[0007] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0008] The present invention is based on the task of improving the assembly and disassembly of a fortification structure made of corrugated metal sheets to increase the convenience of its re-location. An additional task is to increase the safety of military personnel inside the structure, as well as the reliability and durability of the fortification itself, which is already installed in the ground.

[0009] The tasks are solved by the fact that in the fortification structure made of metal corrugated sheets, which consists of a supporting body made in the form of a hollow elongated shell along the horizontal axis, assembled from a set of metal corrugated sheets of rectangular plan and curved cross-sectional shape and at least two walls, perpendicular to said horizontal axis of the shell and connected thereto, the shell of the supporting body has a ring-like cross-sectional shape, the interconnection of the metal corrugated sheets of the shell is made with an overlapping bolted connection, and the walls are made of a set of flat metal sheets interconnected with an overlapping bolted connection, the wall at the entrance to the structure is equipped with a sealed door, and the wall on the rear side of the structure is equipped with an emergency exit, each wall being bolted to the shell along the contour of the wall.

[0010] Due to the interconnection of metal corrugated sheets by bolted connections, the described fortification structure makes it possible to disassemble the supporting body into separate easy-to-transport elements and assemble the structure at the next installation site. This operation can be carried out several times without replacing the bolts and nuts, i.e. until the threads lose their properties, and after replacing them, such operations can continue. The supporting body made of corrugated metal sheets and flat walls located perpendicular to the horizontal axis of the structure's supporting body ensure the safety of military personnel inside the structure and protection against damage from 122-mm and 152-mm ammunition. The service life of the structure, which will be in contact with the ground on its outer side, is ensured by a protective coating of zinc with a thickness of 75...90 microns or paint with a thickness of at least 50 microns on both sides of the sheets from which both the supporting body and the walls are assembled.

[0011] The advantage of the fortification structure described above is the ability to disassemble its supporting body into separate elements thanks to the bolted connection, which allows the structure to be moved to another location.

[0012] According to one preferred embodiment of the present invention, the supporting body is assembled from a set of metal corrugated sheets with a corrugation pitch of 150 mm or 200 mm and a corrugation height of 50 mm or 55 mm, thereby providing high strength and stability for the shell of the supporting body to restrain the effect of loads resulting from the blast wave pressure of artillery shells and mines, as well as from the pressure of the weight of the protective soil thickness on top and sides.

[0013] According to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the metal corrugated sheets contain on both sides a protective zinc coating with a thickness of 75...90 microns or a paint coating layer with a thickness of at least 50 microns, which provides corrosion protection for the main components of the fortification structure, creating conditions for their storage in open areas, under sheds, in storage facilities, as well as increasing the reliability and durability of the fortification structure itself, which is already dug into the ground.

[0014] In accordance with other preferred embodiment of the present invention, the fortification structure comprises two walls and additionally two internal partitions, wherein the wall at the entrance to the structure and the wall at the rear side of the structure are located in the end parts of the shell of the supporting body, and the two internal partitions are arranged within the supporting body, forming dug-out doorways between one of the internal partitions and the wall at the entrance to the structure and between the other of the internal partitions and the wall at the rear side of the structure, with a shelter room between the internal partitions.

[0015] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] The following is an example of the fortification structure made of metal corrugated sheets according to the present invention, illustrated by the following figures:

[0017] - Fig. 1, which shows the fortification structure, side view,

[0018] - Fig. 2, which shows the fortification structure, top view,

[0019] - Fig. 3, which shows the fortification structure with dug-out doorways, side view,

[0020] -Fig. 4, which shows a separate metal corrugated sheet of curvilinear crosssection, from which the shell of the supporting body is formed,

[0021] - Fig. 5, which shows a photographic image of the supporting body of the fortification structure in the process of its assembly.

[0022] The example of the fortification structure and the figures used do not limit other possible embodiment of the utility model, but only explain its essence and confirm its feasibility.

[0023] The following numbers are used in Fig. 1-5:

[0024] 1 - supporting body,

[0025] 2 - wall,

[0026] 3 - wall,

[0027] 4 - metal corrugated sheet,

[0028] 5 - shell of the supporting body,

[0029] 6 - transverse holes, 7 - longitudinal holes,

[0030] 8 - bolted connection in the transverse holes,

[0031] 9 - bolted connection in the longitudinal holes,

[0032] 10, 11 - internal partitions,

[0033] 12, 13 - dug-out doorways.

[0034] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE

[0035] The fortification structure made of corrugated metal sheets is a lightweight, reusable, prefabricated shelter. For this purpose, the fortification structure consists of a supporting body (1), made in the form of a hollow shell elongated along the horizontal axis, and two walls (2), (3). The shell of the supporting body (5) is assembled from a set of metal corrugated sheets (4). The sheets (4) are arranged in sequence around the horizontal axis to form a closed ring of irregular shape and along the specified axis to form a cylinder. Each ring is formed by a set of at least three metal corrugated sheets (4). Fig. 5 shows an example of the fortification structure, the shell of the supporting body (5) of which is assembled from four metal corrugated sheets (4).

[0036] Fig. 4 shows an example of the metal corrugated sheet (4) used in the fortification structure, which has a curved cross-section and a rectangular shape. The specified sheet (4) has a corrugation pitch of 150 mm or 200 mm and a wave height of 50 mm or 55 mm. For example, the metal corrugated sheet (4) with a corrugation pitch of 150 mm and a corrugation height of 50 mm or the metal corrugated sheet (4) with a corrugation pitch of 200 mm and a corrugation height of 55 mm can be used. The metal corrugated sheet (4) can have a protective zinc coating with a thickness of 75...90 microns or a paint coating with a thickness of at least 50 microns. S 235 St3sp, St3ps or S355 steel grades can be used for their manufacture. The rectangular metal corrugated sheet (4) has two rows of transverse holes (6) spaced 40 and 60 mm apart from the transverse edges of the sheet (4) and one row of longitudinal holes (7) spaced 45 mm apart from the longitudinal edges. According to the example in Fig. 4, the metal corrugated sheet (4) has two rows of transverse holes (6) and one row of longitudinal holes (7). According to the example in Fig. 4 and 5, the corrugated metal sheets (4) are connected to each other by an overlapping bolted joint (8) located in the transverse holes (6) and by a bolted joint (9) located in the longitudinal holes (7).

[0037] The walls (2), (3) are made of sheet steel, located perpendicular to the horizontal axis of the supporting body (1) and connected thereto at the end parts. A wall (2) is located at the entrance to the structure, equipped with a sealed door and forming the front wall of the entrance to the fortification structure. A wall (3) is located on the rear side, equipped with an emergency door and forming the rear wall of the emergency exit from the fortification.

[0038] According to the variant shown in Fig. 3, the fortification structure may have dug-out doorways. In this case, the fortification structure contains additional internal partitions (10), (11). The internal partitions (10), (11) are located inside the support body (1). A dug-out doorway (12) is formed between an inner partition (10) and a wall (2), and a dug-out doorway (13) is formed between an inner partition (11) and a wall (3). St3sp, St3ps steel grades with a thickness of 4 mm can be used to manufacture internal partitions (10), (11). The walls (2), (3) and internal partitions (10), (11) have openings for the chimney outlet, air intakes, power supply networks and communication connectivity to the fortification structures.

[0039] If necessary, several supporting bodies (1) can be connected to form main galleries and connecting galleries between them, equipped with an entrance front wall and an emergency exit rear wall. The fortification structure inside the supporting body (1) contains internal equipment, including floor boards, suspended beds, tie-down straps, a stove, chimney parts, ventilation, LED lights, chimney sealing and fresh air supply ventilation, and glands for power and communication wires.

[0040] The fortification structure is used as follows. First, the corrugated metal sheets (4) used to form the supporting body (1), walls (2), (3), and internal partitions (10), (11), if dug-out doorways are required, as well as bolted elements (8), (9), are transported to a location where the fortification structure is to be installed. The metal corrugated sheets (4) can be easily stacked one on top of the other due to the corrugated surface. On-site assembly of the shell of the supporting body (5) is performed by connecting the metal corrugated sheets (4) using bolted connection elements (8), (9). During the assembly of the support body (1), the internal partitions (10), (11) are also installed inside the body. After assembling the support body (1), the walls (2), (3) are installed in its end parts. The fortification structure, thus assembled, is placed in a pre-excavated pit using a truck-mounted crane. To protect the fortification structure from atmospheric precipitation, a geomembrane is placed over it. After that, in order to protect militaiy personnel from the effects of ammunition, the structure is covered with a layer of earth at least 2 metres above the surface of the supporting body (1) and fortified approaches to the front wall with sealed doors (2) are arranged. An example of a shellproof fortification structure installed in a pit is shown in Fig. 6. To enhance the protective properties against shelling, an additional layer of earth is formed in the specified layer above the supporting body (1) from logs of wood at a depth of at least 0.5 metres from the ground surface. If it is required to move the fortification structure to another location, it is dismantled by performing the above steps in the inverse order.

[0041] Thus, the present invention improves the convenience of moving a fortification structure made of corrugated metal sheets by improving its disassemblability and assemblability in a new location, as well as improves the reliability of the connection of the constituent elements of the fortification structure with each other, including the safety, reliability and durability of the fortification structure itself, when it is already installed in the ground.

Claims

Claim1. A fortification structure made of metal corrugated sheets, which consists of a supporting body (1) made in the form of a hollow elongated shell (5) along the horizontal axis, assembled from a set of metal corrugated sheets (4) of rectangular plan and curved cross-sectional shape and at least two walls (2),(3), perpendicular to said horizontal axis of the shell (5) and connected thereto, characterised in that the shell of the supporting body (5) has a ringlike cross-sectional shape, the interconnection of the metal corrugated sheets(4) of the shell (5) is made with an overlapping bolted connection (8), (9), and the walls (2), (3) are made of a set of flat metal sheets interconnected with an overlapping bolted connection, the wall (2) at the entrance to the structure is equipped with a sealed door, and the wall (3) on the rear side of the structure is equipped with an emergency exit, each wall (2), (3) being bolted to the shell (5) along the contour of the wall (2), (3).

2. The fortification structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the supporting body (1) is assembled from a set of metal corrugated sheets (4) with a corrugation pitch of 150 mm or a corrugation pitch of 200 mm and a corrugation height of 50 mm or a corrugation height of 55 mm.

3. The fortification structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sheets (4) of the supporting body (1) and / or the walls (2), (3) have a protective zinc coating with a thickness of 75...90 microns.

4. The fortification structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sheets (4) of the supporting body (1) and / or the walls (2), (3) have a protective layer of paint with a thickness of at least 50 microns.

5. The fortification structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein it contains the mentioned above two walls (2), (3) and additionally two internal partitions (10), (11), wherein the wall (2) at the entrance to the structure and the wall (3) at the rear side of the structure are located in the end parts of the shell (5) of the supporting body (1), and the two internal partitions (10), (11) arearranged within the supporting body (1), forming dug-out doorways (12), (13) between one of the internal partitions (10) and the wall (2) at the entrance to the structure and between the other of the internal partitions (11) and the wall (3) at the rear side of the structure, with a shelter room between the internal partitions (10), (11).

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