Modular seawall and methods of erecting thereof

Abstract

A modular underwater seawall (12) may include at least two or more seawall sections serially connected end-to-end to each other. Each seawall section, in turn, may be triangular in cross- section and may be formed by a plurality of stacked-up layers. Each layer may be formed by a plurality of triangular pipes (50) interlocked with each other by hexagonal rods (40) and arranged side-by-side. Lower layers may be formed from a larger number of triangular pipes (50) as compared to higher layers. Each triangular pipe (50) may have a hollow void configured to be filled with water and sealed off on both ends thereof, thereby facilitating the redistribution of external pressure within the seawall (12). The modular seawall may be used to construct a circular dam for the purposes of storing and releasing electrical energy by moving large volumes of water to smooth over uneven energy production from renewable energy sources.

Description

[0001]Docket Number: MP-4-PCT TITLE MODULAR SEAWALL AND METHODS OF ERECTING THEREOF CROSS-REFERENCE DATA This application claims a priority date benefit from a US Provisional Patent Application No.63 / 615,242 with the same title and filed by the same inventor on December 27, 2023, which isincorporated herein in its entirety by reference. BACKGROUND Without limiting the scope of the invention, its background is described in connection with modular underwater walls, such as seawalls. More particularly, the invention describes modulardesigns for and methods of erecting such a wall, for example, as part of building a water reservoirfor the purposes of storing and releasing electrical energy. Broadly speaking, underwater walls, also referred to as underwater barriers or submergedbreakwaters, may serve multiple purposes in marine engineering, coastal protection, andenvironmental management. Some of their functions may be to attenuate wave energy, reducecoastal erosion, and safeguard shorelines, harbors, and marine habitats. These structures aredesigned to dissipate wave energy by inducing turbulence as waves interact with their surfaces, thereby reducing the impact of high-energy waves on adjacent coastlines. In addition to coastaldefense, underwater walls may be used to protect aquatic ecosystems by preventing sedimentdisplacement and maintaining water quality, particularly in areas susceptible to turbidity. They can also act as artificial reefs, fostering biodiversity by creating habitats for marine life. The design of underwater walls adheres to principles of hydrodynamics, material durability, and ecological integration. Key considerations include the wall’s geometry, permeability, and placement relative to wave direction and seabed conditions. Materials such as reinforced concrete,geotextiles, or natural stones may be selected for their resistance to corrosion, biofouling, andstructural fatigue. Environmental considerations are also paramount, with designs often incorporating features that minimize disruption to marine ecosystems, such as perforations to allow water flow and encourage marine colonization. Furthermore, construction methods must account for underwater conditions, requiring specialized equipment and techniques to ensure precision and sustainability. The present invention may be used for at least some of these purposes. At the same time, one particularly useful application of the present invention is to construct a large water reservoir, or dam, for storing and releasing water as a way to store and release energy. Renewable sources of electrical energy are getting more and more popular as an alternative to traditional methods and systems to produce electricity. Solar, wind, and tidal wave power plants of various sizes and capacities are being implemented in various countries, and this trend is expected to continue and expand over at least the next decade or more. The growth of renewable energy sources in the global production of electricity is accelerating. One critical limitation of electricity generation using most types of renewable energy systems is the fluctuating nature of produced power: wind power generators depend on the direction and strength of the wind; solar panels are dependent on the availability of direct sunshine, tidal wave power plants depend on the times of high and low tides for their operation. Once produced, electrical energy needs to be consumed right away or stored in some highly efficient form suitable for easy retrieval at a later time. Fluctuating energy voltage and frequency variations put additional stress on the electric power grid, endangering the power grid operation. A circular dam for generating, accumulating, storing, and releasing electrical energy is described in our other patents, such as, for example, US Patent No. 11840815 entitled “A CIRCULAR DAM AND METHODS FOR GENERATING, ACCUMULATING, STORING, AND RELEASING ELECTRICAL ENERGY,” incorporated herein in its entirety. It describes an underwater seawall defining a water reservoir built in an abundant body of water such as a seaor an ocean. The water inside the water reservoir is kept at a water level below the water leveloutside the seawall so as to create a water level difference sufficient to operate one or more water turbines positioned across the seawall of the water reservoir. Excess electrical energy from other renewable sources of electricity such as wind, solar power, or supplied by a local power grid, is used to operate water turbines as water pumps to lower the water level inside the reservoir during times of peak supply of electricity. Water is drained from outside the seawall back into the water reservoir to generate electrical energy by flowing over a plurality of water turbines. Generated electricity supplements electrical power for the local power grid during times of high demand. This patent does not describe the design of the seawall itself, nor does it go into the details of various methods of erecting a seawall. While underwater walls are generally known, they are not suitable for constructing largewater-storing structures suitable for the purposes described above. One common design is theinterlocking block system, where large, precast concrete blocks are designed to fit together like a jigsaw. This design allows for quick and relatively easy installation and repair, as individual blockscan be replaced if damaged. However, the interlocking nature may be less stable against extremelystrong forces compared to a continuous structure, and the joints between blocks can be points of weakness.Another known modular design involves the use of gabions, which are large cages filledwith rocks or concrete. Gabions are flexible and can absorb wave energy effectively, reducing the force on the seawall. They are also environmentally friendly, as they allow for water filtration and can promote marine life. However, they are not water tight, prone to erosion over time and may require regular maintenance. A more innovative approach involves the use of geotextile tubes, which are large, fabric tubes filled with sand. These are highly adaptable to different coastal topographies and can beinstalled quickly. They also have a lower environmental impact compared to traditional concretestructures. However, their durability can be a concern, as they can be susceptible to damage from prolonged exposure to harsh marine conditions. Known designs of underwater seawalls are not suitable for the purposes of creating acircular dam as described in the patent cited above. They are generally limited in the depth of water that they can withstand. These walls are located near the coast and can generally withstand water at a limited height. The need exists, therefore, for a design of a modular seawall suitable for locating the reservoir at greater depths than near the coast. SUMMARY Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to overcome these and other drawbacks of the prior art by providing a novel seawall suitable for the purposes of forming a water reservoir for storing and releasing large volumes of water to smooth over the power fluctuations associated with the use of renewable sources of electricity. It is another object of the present invention to provide methods for constructing such a seawall to make the entire water reservoir practical and less expensive. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a seawall allowing for constructing closed loop as well as opened straight and curved underwater structures with sufficient integrity so as to withstand water pressure on one side thereof. The modular seawall of the invention may include at least two or more seawall sectionsserially connected end-to-end to each other. Each seawall section, in turn, may be triangular incross-section and may be formed by a plurality of parallel stacked-up layers. Each layer, in turn,may be formed by a plurality of generally triangular pipes interlocked with each other andarranged in a side-by-side manner. Lower layers may be formed from a larger number of triangularpipes as compared to successive higher layers. Each triangular pipe may have a hollow voidconfigured to be filled with water and sealed off on both ends thereof, thereby facilitating redistribution of external pressure along and within the corresponding seawall section. A method of constructing a section or a modular seawall of the invention may include the following steps: a. forming a flat foundation bed at a seafloor,b. positioning a first sublayer of a bottom layer by placing a plurality oftriangular pipes in the side-by-side manner and interlocking the triangular pipes between themselves and with the foundation bed, c. positioning a second sublayer comprising inverted triangular pipes to fillspaces between triangular pipes of the first sublayer, wherein positioning is done to interlock all triangular pipes of the bottom layer together and with the foundation bed, d. filling the hollow voids of the triangular pipes with water and sealing offthe triangular pipes to retain the water inside the hollow voids thereof, e. repeating steps (b) through (d) to construct additional layers of triangularpipes on top of the bottom layer while interlocking triangular pipes of all layers together, wherein each successive higher layer has one less triangular pipe in the corresponding first sublayer thereof as compared with a layer directly belowthereof. Other methods may also include constructing the modular seawall from prefabricated layers or even from prefabricated sections. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Subject matter is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the concluding portion of the specification. The foregoing and other features of the present disclosure will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Understanding that these drawings depict only several embodiments in accordance with the disclosure and are, therefore, not to be considered limiting of its scope, the disclosure will be described with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings, in which: FIGURE 1 is a perspective half-section of the water reservoir using the seawall of theinvention, FIGURE 2 is a top view of a portion of a seawall of the invention, showing connectionsbetween adjacent sections of the seawall, FIGURE 3 is stage I of the seawall construction process, FIGURE 4 is stage II of the same, FIGURE 5 is stage III of the same, FIGURE 6 is stage IV of the same, FIGURE 7 is stage V of the same, FIGURE 8 is a perspective diagram view of a seawall of the present invention, FIGURE 9 is a cross-sectional view of a completed seawall, FIGURE 10 is a cross-sectional view of an elevated foundation for a seawall of the present invention.DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTIONThe following description sets forth various examples along with specific details to provide a thorough understanding of the claimed subject matter. It will be understood by those skilled in the art, however, that claimed subject matter may be practiced without one or more of the specific details disclosed herein. Further, in some circumstances, well-known methods, procedures, systems, components and / or circuits have not been described in detail in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the claimed subject matter. In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof. In the drawings, similar symbols typically identify similar components, unless context dictates otherwise. The illustrative embodiments described in the detailed description, drawings, and claims are not meant to be limiting. Other embodiments may be utilized, and other changes may be made, without departing from the spirit or scope of the subject matter presented here. It will be readily understood that the aspects of the present disclosure, as generally described herein, and illustratedin the figures, can be arranged, substituted, combined, and designed in a wide variety of differentconfigurations, all of which are explicitly contemplated and make part of this disclosure. The term “seawall” is used herein to broadly describe any wall erected on a seafloor or ona bottom surface of any body of water. Various types of substances may be typically found at thebottom of a sea or another large body of water, such as sand, gravel, mud, rock, or a combination thereof. The present invention may be used with any of these materials given a proper preparationof the wall foundation.The modular seawall may be located close to a shoreline or further away from the shoreline,depending on the purpose of the wall and the desired depth of water at the selected location. Theseawall of the invention may form a closed loop of any suitable shape or may extend from a firstend to a second end in a straight or curved manner, as the invention is not limited in this regard.One key novelty of the concept described herein is that a modular seawall is made fromtriangular pipes that may be completely filled with water from the body of water, such as seawater,and sealingly closed off on both ends. This feature offers a unique approach to constructing acircular dam. In this design, the seawall may be erected from a series of strong pipes having generally triangular cross-sections. These pipes may be made from materials like reinforced concrete, corrosion-resistant steel, fiberglass, or recycled plastic, making the pipes strong and durable. Each pipe may be configured to be completely sealed on both ends and filled with seawater, for example by using a pair of plugs or covers, thereby creating individual modules that are then assembled and interconnected to form the entire modular seawall of the circular dam. Akey advantage of this design is the inherent stability provided by the triangular shape.Triangles are known for their structural efficiency, offering enhanced strength and resistance to pressure from outside water. Filling the pipes with seawater and closing off both ends of the pipe adds additional mass and inertia to the seawall, helping it to better absorb and dissipate the pressure from outside the seawall. Moreover, the sealed nature of the pipes ensures long-term durability, as there is minimal risk of internal erosion or corrosion. This makes the novel seawall low maintenance compared to other designs where water flow might cause gradual wear and tear. Fig. 1 shows a general perspective half-section view of a circular dam 10 defined by aseawall 12 of the present invention. Broadly speaking, the modular seawall may include at leasttwo seawall sections serially connected end-to-end to each other. Each seawall section, in turn,may have a pyramid- or triangular cross-sectional shape, which may be formed by a plurality ofparallel horizontal stacked-up layers. Each horizontal layer, in turn, may be formed by a pluralityof generally triangular pipes interlocked with each other and arranged in a side-by-side manner.Lower layers may be formed from a larger number of triangular pipes as compared to successivehigher layers. At least some or all triangular pipes may have a hollow void configured to be filledwith water and sealed off on both ends thereof, thereby facilitating redistribution of external pressure along and within the corresponding seawall section. In the example shown in Fig.1, the circular dam 10 may be erected on a seafloor 20 and provide for an outer water level 24 to be above the inside water level 22. The circular dam 10 maybe equipped with a series of water pumps / generators, each connecting the internal outlet 14 withthe external outlet 16. The water pumps / generators may be used to remove water from the interiorspace and pump the water outside the modular seawall 12 when excess electricity is availablefrom the electrical grid. On the other side, additional electricity may be generated when the wateris allowed to flow back into the interior space by causing the incoming water to flow over therotary generators on its way to the interior space of the circular dam 10. This electricity is suppliedto the electrical grid when a deficit in the electrical energy supply is detected. Operating thecircular dam in this manner allows for smoothing over the inevitable spikes in supply and demandwhen renewable energy generation sources are used, such as wind- and solar-powered electricalgenerators. The present invention addresses a need to erect a large-scale seawall in the most economical and environmentally friendly manner, as compared to the traditionally vertical underwater wall. A conventional wall may have to be quite wide in its cross-section to withstand a large pressure from outside water and, therefore, require a large volume of cement and other construction materials to be built from. The present design of the seawall requires substantially less volume of construction materials and, as a secondary advantage, maximizes the use of recycled materials. The modular seawall of the invention may be constructed in sections, arranged in series,such as at least two sections or more, depending on the desired overall length, from interlockingtriangular pipes. Each section may include a plurality of parallel stacked-up layer. Each layer of the plurality of layers may include a first sublayer of a plurality of triangular pipes arranged in a side-by-side manner and a second sublayer of a plurality of inverted triangular pipes, which mayalso be arranged in a side-by-side manner and placed to fill a space between triangular pipes ofthe first sublayer. In a triangular cross-section or the modular seawall, a number of triangular pipesin the first or bottom sublayer is one more than the number of inverted triangular pipes in thesecond sublayer. A successive reduction of the number of triangular pipes makes up the rest ofthe cross-sectional shape of the seawall 12. Fig.2 shows a top view of the seawall 12 being constructed. Illustrated in Fig.2 are threeexemplary sections A, B, and C, each section comprising three parallel triangular pipes 50arranged in a side-by-side manner with interlocking rods 40 in between. At least some of triangular pipes 50 may have a wall thickness defining a generallytriangular void therein, wherein the wall thickness may be equal along at least two sides of thetriangular cross-sectional shape of the pipe triangular 50. In embodiments, the wall thickness maybe the same along all three sides of the triangular cross-sectional shape thereof.Each triangular pipe 50 may further include a pair of plugs 60 configured to seal the hollowvoid therein on both sides of the triangular pipe 50. Each plug 60 may be configured to seriallyconnect the triangular pipe to an adjacent triangular pipe. In embodiments, each plug 60 may include at least one protrusion shaped to complementthe shape of the hollow void of the triangular pipe 50 so as to facilitate insertion of the plug’sprotrusion into the hollow void and sealing thereof shut. This may be done to retain water insidethe triangular pipe once assembled into the modular seawall 12.In the example shown in Fig.2, at least some of or each triangular pipe 50 may be closedoff and sealed on both ends using two plugs 60, with each of the plugs 60 having a left protrusion 62 and a right protrusion 64 extending therefrom and inserted into the corresponding ends of adjacent triangular pipes 50. For straight seawall design, each of the left and right protrusions 62 and 64 may be made to be axially aligned with the axial center line extending across the plug 60. To make a curved seawall, the left protrusion 62 may make an obtuse angle with the right protrusion 64, therefore causing adjacent straight triangular pipes 50 to be at a small angle to each other. The use of curved triangular pipes 50 is also contemplated according to the invention, although not shown in the drawings. As can be appreciated by those skilled in the art, a plug 60 may be designed differently so long as it allows for a seal to be formed at each end of the triangular pipe and facilitates a fixed attachment of one triangular pipe to an adjacent triangular pipe. In one alternative example, a plugmay be substituted by a cover configured to be placed over the outer edge of the triangular pipe50. In addition, at least some plugs 60 may include at least one opening which may include a valveto allow the triangular pipe 50 to be filled with water. In one example, while a plug 60 at one end of the triangular pipe 50 may be used to fill water via a built-in valve, the other plug may have its valve opened to allow for air to escape from the triangular pipe during the process of filling the pipe with water. In other embodiments, the triangular pipe may simply be lowered in place underthe water level and both plugs 60 may be attached on both ends thereof to seal the water insidethe pipe. No valves or other openings across the plug may be needed in this case, making the design of the pug and the seawall assembly method simpler and less expensive. Each seawall section (such as sections A, B, or C in Fig.2) may extend from a plug 60 on one side of the triangular pipe 50 to another plug 60 at the other end thereof. In embodiments, each seawall section may be at least 10 m long, at least 20 m long, at least 30 m long, at least 40 m long, at least 75 m long, at least 100 m long, at least 150 m long or more, as the invention is notlimited in this regard. Individual design of the triangular pipe 50, local seafloor conditions, andother local considerations would define the most appropriate length of each seawall section.The cross-sectional shape of each individual triangular pipe 50 and the general shape of the seawall may be that of an equilateral triangle, although other triangular shapes, such as an isosceles triangular shape, may also be used. In case of an isosceles triangle, a first angle may be selected to be from about 25 degrees to about 110 degrees, and the other two angles may be selected to correspond to ½ of the difference between 180 and the first angle value. In embodiments, the first angle may be at least 25 degrees, at least 30 degrees, at least 40 degrees, at least 50 degrees, at least 60 degrees, at least 70 degrees, at least 80 degrees, at least 90 degrees, at least 100 degrees, or about 110 degrees. Each side of the equilateral or both equal sides of the isosceles triangle may be selected to be at least 0.5 m, at least 1 m, at least 1.5 m, at least 2 m, or more, depending on the actual requirements and local conditions. The pipe may be made hollow, with the thickness of each sideselected to be at least 5 cm, at least 10 cm, at least 15 cm, at least 20 cm, or at least 25 cm,depending on the selected length of each side, pipe material, and local conditions.Calculations show the water pressure on the walls of the plurality of triangular pipes 50 asbeing much lower than the pressure difference between water levels on both sides of the seawall 12. Sealing the water inside the triangular pipes 50 leads to the water pressure being linearlyinterpolated between the two sides of the seawall 12. In this case, the pressure gaps betweenadjacent triangular pipes 50 remain constant and do not grow with the depth of the seawall 12. Forexample, for a 25m deep seawall 12 with a 10m water level on one side and a 20m water level onthe other side of the seawall 12, the maximum pressure gap between the adjacent triangular pipes50 does not exceed about 0.08 atm, with the total pressure gap of about 1 atm between the twosides of the seawall 12 – at any depth of the seawall. In part, this is a consequence of having agreater number of triangular pipes 50 on lower layers of the seawall, such that the pressuredifference is distributed more broadly. This redistribution of the pressure difference on the individual sidewalls of the plurality of triangular pipes 50 allows for the use of thinner pipes, which leads to significant savings on the volume of the material (as much as 80% savings). In addition, this design allows the building of a seawall 12 practically at any depth of water, which is not possible with the seawall designs of the prior art. Various methods of interlocking the triangular pipes 50 may be used for the purposes of this invention. In some embodiments, each triangular pipe may be equipped with protruding bumps or rods, engaging with cooperating depressions or openings in the adjacent triangular pipes. In other embodiments, a plurality of interlocking hexagonal rods 40 may be used, which may be positioned generally at the vertices of each triangular pipe 50 and configured to prevent adjacent pipes from sliding relative to each other. The following is a detailed description of suitable methods for constructing an underwater seawall of the present invention.METHOD I. Building a seawall from individual triangular pipes.Construction at stage I of the seawall for the purposes of erecting a circular dam may startwith creating a foundation bed 30 with a flat, hardened surface 34 along the planned outline of aseawall, for example, in the form of a ring, on a seafloor 20 at the selected location – see Fig. 3.Cement may be used for that purpose. The foundation bed 30 may have one or more metal spikesor vertical rods 32 to firmly anchor the foundation bed 30 on the seafloor 20. Additional features may be used to minimize seepage of water across the width of thefoundation bed, as described by the inventor of the present invention elsewhere. In particular, atleast in some cases, the foundation bed 30 and / or a series of adjacent spikes 32 located next to each other forming a water-tight partition or barrier so as to prevent water seepage therethrough may need to extend downwards into the sediment of the seafloor 20 to a depth of 3 to 5 meters. The depth of the water-tight barrier may be deeper than the depth of the foundation bed required to support the seawall of the invention. The extent of the foundation down into the seafloor may be determined based on local conditions required to support the seawall, while the depth of the water-tight barrier may be determined based on local soil types and water leakage rates. Extending the water-tight barrier below the foundation bed to a sufficient depth may effectively prevent the seepage of the water to the circular dam encircled by the seawall 12. The estimate of the leakage of the water through the seafloor sediment causing an undesirable filling of the circular from the bottom thereof may be based on the solution of the Laplace equation using the Darcy laws. Exemplary calculations show that the daily flow rate through the bottom of the circular dam may be inversely proportional to the area of the circular dam. For large enough designs, such as over 1 km in radius, and assuming typical sedimentpermeability in the coastal areas, the leakage may be less than 1% of the stored water over 10hours, which is sufficient for efficient energy storage. The depth of the water barrier formedduring the construction of the foundation bed 30 may depend on the nature of the seafloor structure and the expected difference in water levels inside and outside the circular dam 10. A plurality of parallel W-shaped grooves 36 may be formed along the direction of the seawall in the flat surface 34 of the bed 30 at locations intended for placement of interlocking hexagonal rods 40. Depending on the number of triangular pipes at the bottom layer of the seawall, the number of such grooves may be made to exceed that number by one, such that all triangular pipes 50 of the bottom layer may be abutted on both sides by interlocking hexagonal rods 40, as explained in more detail below. Stage I is completed when a required number of interlocking hexagonal rods 40 is placed along the flat bottom surface 34 of the foundation bed 30. Each interlocking hexagonal rod 40may be made from metal, plastic, or another suitable material and have a length corresponding tothe length of the triangular pipes 50 in the same section of the seawall 12. Each side of the cross-section of the hexagonal interlocking rod may be selected to be from about 5 cm to about 25 cm,such as at least 5 cm, at least 8 cm, at least 10 cm, at least 12 cm, at least 15 cm, at least 18 cm, atleast 20 cm, at least 22 cm, about 25 cm, or even larger if the specific circumstances require thisgreater length. The length of each side of the hexagonal interlocking rods may depend on the size of the cross-sectional triangle of the triangular pipe 50, the extent of inclination, if any, of the seafloor 20, expected maximum side loading on the seawall 12, selected sidewall safety factor, the expected impact of weather such as hurricanes in the area, marine traffic, and other factors. One side of the interlocking hexagonal rod 40 may have a V-shaped cutout 42 sized to accept one end of the triangular pipe 50, as explained below in greater detail. Individual interlocking rods 40 may be connected to each other along the length of the seawall 12 using plugs similar to that described for the connection of the triangular pipes 50 (notshown). In embodiments, plugs or other elements to transition from one interconnectinghexagonal rod to the adjacent rod may be made to occupy all space available between adjacent triangular pipes 50, so as to prevent water seepage across the seawall 12. Depending on the selected size of the triangular pipe 50 and the selected size of the interlocking hexagonal rod 40, the geometry of the triangular pipe 50 may be adjusted to provide two facets 55 and 56 at the symmetrical bottom angles along the bottom side 53 of the isosceles triangular shape to form a space for the interlocking hexagonal rods 40, as will be explained belowin greater detail. The top end 54 between the two sides 51 and 53 may remain sharp – see Fig.4.Fig.3 is an example of a seawall 12 designed to have three triangular pipes 50 on the bottompayer. Four hexagonal interlocking rods 40 are used in this case to fix the position of each of thethree triangular pipes when they are placed over the interlocking hexagonal rods 40. The weightof the pipes filled with water would be sufficient to keep them in place on the foundation bed 30of the seawall 12.Once the interlocking rods 40 are in place (see Fig. 4), stage II of the method starts witheach of the three triangular pipes 50 being prepared by (i) attaching a plug 60 on one side, (ii)filling the inside of the triangular pipe with water, and (iii) installing the other plug 60 and placingthe triangular pipe 50 on its designated place on the foundation bed 30 as shown in Fig. 4. Theweight of the triangular pipes 50 filled with water may be sufficient for keeping them in place. In other embodiments, additional sealing and / or securing steps to form a single-body construction may be taken, such as gluing the triangular pipes 50 in place or interconnecting them using mechanical securing means and fasteners. In further yet embodiments, one or both of the side walls of the seawall of the invention may be further covered by an additional layer of an insulated paint, epoxy, or another sealant to prevent leaks in between the pipes and further attach components of the seawall together. This completes the formation of the first sublayer of the bottom layer of the seawall section 12. Following the placement of the bottom triangular pipes 50 on the foundation bed 30 of theseawall12, stage III illustrated in Fig. 5 may include placing of inverted triangular pipes 50 inbetween the adjacent pipes of the bottom layer of the foundation bed 30 to fill in the space inbetween the pipes. This constitutes forming a second sublayer of the bottom layer of the seawall12. The process then continues to stage IV, as seen in Fig. 6, by placing a second layer ofinterlocking hexagonal rods 40 and a second layer of triangular pipes 50 on top of the bottomlayer. This process continues further until the last stage V seen in Fig. 7, in which the single toptriangular pipe 50 is placed on top of the entire structure, completing the pyramid-shaped arrangement of triangular pipes 50 and interlocking hexagonal rods 40 in between thereof. A perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of one section of the seawall 12 described above is seen in Fig.8. A cross-sectional view of an alternative design is seen in Fig.9. Shown here is an example of a seawall with 6 triangular hexagonal pipes 50 on the bottom layer. The difference between thisdesign and the design shown in Figs. 3-8, besides the larger number of triangular pipes 50, is inthe (i) presence of a solid top triangular pipe 57, and (ii) presence of flat sections 58 along the sidewall of the seawall. Using a solid top triangular pipe 57 may further improve the stability of the construction by adding a top weight, as this section is likely to remain above the water level.In addition, as this last pipe may be located above the water level, filling it with water duringseawall construction may not be practical. As to flat sections 58, they may be made as individualpieces placed between the adjacent parallel interlocking hexagonal rods 40. At the same time, in further embodiment, the two inclined side walls of the seawall 12 may be made as a single piece, for example by pouring liquid cement between the external triangular pipes 50 and the temporary mold piece made from wood or another suitable material. The temporary mold piece may be removed once the cement hardens. One example of such a design is seen in Fig.1. Although having a horizontally flat foundation bed is preferred for the purposes of erecting the seawall of the invention as described above, it may be difficult to find a location with a perfectly flat horizontal seafloor of a large enough size. An incline in the seafloor surface may bepresent. To address such seafloor surface irregularities, one or more sections may be created sothat seawall 12 may have a higher or a lower number of layers, depending on the location of thesecorresponding seawall sections. Fig. 10 shows an example of a longitudinal cross-section of the seawall 12 having a stepdesign made along the foundation bed 30 in which the left section of the seawall (section A) hastwo layers of triangular pipes 50 and the right section of the seawall (section B) has three layersof triangular pipes 50. Depending on local topography, additional steps may be used for deepersections of the seawall. At the same time, the top of the seawall has the same shape along the entire circumference thereof. In further yet embodiments, not all triangular pipes may have the same wall thickness. Those triangular pipes 59 that have one side facing outwards (either toward one side of the seawallor the other) may have the wall facing outwards to be thicker (for example, twice as thick) as theother walls. This may be helpful in keeping the overall wall thickness between the triangular voids inside the pipes to be consistent throughout the entire seawall. As can be appreciated by those skilled in the art, two walls of adjacent triangular pipes together form a wall having double the thickness of individual pipe walls, except for the walls facing outward. For that reason, doubling the wall thickness of these individual walls would make the seawall have uniform wall thicknessthroughout its triangular cross-section, see Fig. 11. To simplify production, the seawall sectionshown in Fig.11 may include internal triangular pipes 50 with the even wall thickness all around the pipe and the triangular pipes 59 with one side being twice as thick and having a shape on one end of the triangle 59a having two peaks of the size corresponding to the size of the interlocking hexagonal rod 40 and the other end of the thicker wall 59b having a V-shaped notch to cover the top of the interlocking hexagonal rod 40 to be placed under thereof. The same triangular pipe 59 may be used for the right and the left side of the seawall, with reversing the orientation of the direction of the triangular pipe 59 between one side and the other side of the seawall 12. In other words, the end of the triangular pipe 59 facing one end of the wall section on the internal side of the seawall will face the other end of the wall section on the external side of the seawall. A further advantage of this embodiment is the elimination of the need for a single external side wall to be poured on the internal or the external sides of the seawall 12. Overall, the method of erecting a seawall of the invention may include the following steps for formation of each section: a. forming a flat foundation bed at a seafloor,b. positioning a first sublayer of a bottom layer by placing a plurality of triangularpipes in the side-by-side manner and interlocking the triangular pipes between themselves and with the foundation bed, c. positioning a second sublayer comprising inverted triangular pipes to fill spacesbetween triangular pipes of the first sublayer, wherein positioning is done to interlock all triangular pipes of the bottom layer together and with the foundation bed, d. filling the hollow voids of the triangular pipes with water and sealing off thetriangular pipes to retain the water inside the hollow voids thereof, ande. repeating steps (b) through (d) to construct additional layers of triangular pipes on top of the bottom layer while interlocking triangular pipes of all layers together, wherein each successive higher layer has one less triangular pipe in the corresponding first sublayer thereof as compared with a layer directly below thereof. The method of constructing a seawall may include repeating steps (b) through (d) until atop layer is formed by a single triangular pipe, thereby completing the formation of the corresponding section of the seawall.METHOD II Building a seawall from individual wall layersAs an alternative to the method described above, seawall 12 of the invention may beconstructed using pre-fabricated full or partial layers. Fabrication of layers having a plurality of triangular voids extending therethrough from one end to the opposite end, may be accomplished using plastic extrusion techniques, cement pouring techniques, including designs with metal or fiberglass reinforcements, or other suitable methods. Each layer of the seawall, which is to be positioned on top of the previous layer, may have a smaller number of triangular voids, to correspond to the concept of making the entire seawall have a triangular cross-section. Once the layer is fabricated, it may be positioned on top of the previous layer and the openings on bothsides of the triangular voids may be closed off using side plugs or other methods – to enclose andseal inside the volume of water filling the triangular voids. Furthermore, engagement elements such as hooks, protrusions, etc. may be provided as part of one or both adjacent layers to facilitatethe attachment of two adjacent layers together.In further embodiments, engagement lines or rails may be provided on top of each successive layer to be engaged with corresponding matching extended protrusions on the oppositelayer. Once positioned on top of a previous layer, each successive layer can be moved along thelower layer using these extended engagement features as rails to bring adjacent portions of the neighboring sections of the seawall together. In further yet embodiments, triangular voids in each layer may be made having a geometry that varies from one layer to another. For example, a lower layer may have smaller voids and more partitions connecting various parts of the layer together. Higher seawall layers may have larger voids and fewer partitions, as the side pressure on the seawall may be less towards its top as compared to that on the lower layers. In this case, the method of erecting each section of the seawall of the invention may include the steps of: a. forming a flat foundation bed at a seafloor,b. positioning and securing a prefabricated bottom layer on the flat foundation bed, the bottom layer comprising a plurality of triangular-shaped hollow voids extending from one end thereof to the other end thereof, c. filling the hollow voids with water and sealing off thereof to retain the water insidethe bottom layer, d. repeating steps (b) and (c) to position, secure, and fill with water of additionalprefabricated layers comprising a plurality of triangular-shaped hollow voids, each successively higher layer is narrower than the layer directly below thereof, and e. continuing to repeat steps (b) and (c) until placement of a top layer so as tocomplete formation of the triangular-shaped section of the seawall. METHOD III. Building an entire section of the seawall one at a time In a further variation of the method of the present invention, the modular seawall may be erected using pre-fabricated whole sections. Each section may be manufactured to have a full triangular cross-section as a single piece with a plurality of triangular voids, including those of different geometries if desired, extending from one end to the opposite end of the section. One suitable way to make these sections may be to vertically pour cement into a disposable or reusable form having suitable openings to accept liquid cement therethrough. The form may beturned 90 degrees to extend upward from the seafloor. In the case of a reusable form, once thepoured cement is solidified, the form elements may be disassembled and removed. In the case of using a disposable form, the form elements may remain in place and become a part of the seawall section. The prefabricated seawall section may then be turned 90 degrees from its verticalorientation as it was manufactured to a horizontal orientation and placed onto the seawallfoundation bed. As before, the triangular side openings may be closed off with side covers or plugsto keep the internal voids filled with seawater. In other embodiments, at least one side of each void may be sealed off during the manufacturing process with poured cement during the fabrication of the seawall section. Inembodiments, the foundation and the seawall section may have complementary rails or otherengagement elements extended along the length of the seawall. These engagement elements may be used to move one section of the seawall next to the adjacent section and bring the two adjacentsections into contact with each other so as to avoid water leaks in between the wall sections.In one example of a seawall extending from the seafloor up to a height of 25 m, each sectionof the wall may also be about 25 m long or more, so as to extend above the water during themanufacturing process. Having the length of each wall section be at least equal to the final heightof the seawall may be advantageous to ensure that during the manufacturing process, the liquidcement which is poured down the form, will be able to displace the seawater from the internalvolume of the form and fill the entire space intended to be occupied by the cement material. In a further yet embodiment of the method of the present invention, the step of pouringliquid cement may be conducted into a form oriented horizontally and representing the final shape and location of the wall section. The form may be configured to be single-use, such that once the poured cement solidifies, the wall section is complete, and the form remains in place. The form may have a vent at the top and be configured for filling with liquid cement starting from the bottomof the form. In other embodiments, the form for each wall section may extend above the waterlevel so as to ensure that the cement is able to replace the seawater inside the form.The method of erecting the modular seawall of the invention may include the following steps: a. forming a flat foundation bed at a seafloor,b. positioning and securing to the foundation bed of a first prefabricated section ofthe seawall comprising a plurality of triangular-shaped hollow voids, c. filling the hollow voids with water and sealing off thereof to retain the water insidethe first prefabricated section of the seawall, and d. repeating steps (b) and (c) to position, secure, and fill with water of additionalprefabricated sections of the seawall so as to complete formation of the modular seawall. Furthermore, this and the previous method may further include a step of prefabrication of alayer of the section or a full section of the modular seawall, wherein the fabrication is done with the layer of the section or the full section oriented vertically, followed by the step of turning and positioning the layer of the section or the full section on a previous layer or on a foundation bed in a horizontal orientation. In another embodiment of the invention, each section of the seawall may be made to interlock with an adjacent section as it is lowered down from the water surface. One example of such a feature is a vertically oriented self-locking joint, such as a dovetail or a tongue-and-groove joint. One part of this joint may be present on an already installed section of the seawall, while thecomplementary other part of the self-locking joint may be formed on an adjacent end of the nextseawall section to be installed. In this case, installation of the entire seawall may be done one section at a time and entirely from the surface of the water, eliminating the need for expensive underwater work to join the adjacent seawall sections. Furthermore, this process may be automated and performed by a robotic mechanism located on a ship which may hold a number of seawall sections to be installed. Step (b) of the method, in this case, may include a step of securing a new seawall section to the previously installed seawall section while lowering thereof onto the foundation bed, wherein each seawall section comprise a two-part self-locking joint, with a first part located on one end of the seawall section and a second, complementary part located on the opposite end of the same seawall section. It is contemplated that any embodiment discussed in this specification can be implemented with respect to any method of the invention, and vice versa. It will be also understood thatparticular embodiments described herein are shown by way of illustration and not as limitationsof the invention. The principal features of this invention can be employed in various embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention. Those skilled in the art will recognize, or be able to ascertain using no more than routine experimentation, numerous equivalents to the specific procedures described herein. Such equivalents are considered to be within the scope of this invention and are covered by the claims. All publications and patent applications mentioned in the specification are indicative of the level of skill of those skilled in the art to which this invention pertains. All publications and patentapplications are herein incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each individualpublication or patent application was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated byreference. Incorporation by reference is limited such that no subject matter is incorporated thatis contrary to the explicit disclosure herein, no claims included in the documents are incorporated by reference herein, and any definitions provided in the documents are not incorporated by reference herein unless expressly included herein. The use of the word “a” or “an” when used in conjunction with the term “comprising” in the claims and / or the specification may mean “one,” but it is also consistent with the meaning of “one or more,” “at least one,” and “one or more than one.” The use of the term “or” in the claims is used to mean “and / or” unless explicitly indicated to refer to alternatives only or the alternatives are mutually exclusive, although the disclosure supports a definition that refers to only alternatives and “and / or.” Throughout this application, the term “about” is used to indicate that a value includes the inherent variation of error for the device, the method being employed to determine the value, or the variation that exists among the study subjects. As used in this specification and claim(s), the words “comprising” (and any form of comprising, such as “comprise” and “comprises”), “having” (and any form of having, such as“have” and “has”), “including” (and any form of including, such as “includes” and “include”) or“containing” (and any form of containing, such as “contains” and “contain”) are inclusive or open- ended and do not exclude additional, unrecited elements or method steps. In embodiments of any of the compositions and methods provided herein, “comprising” may be replaced with “consisting essentially of” or “consisting of”. As used herein, the phrase “consisting essentially of” requires the specified integer(s) or steps as well as those that do not materially affect the character or function of the claimed invention. As used herein, the term “consisting” is used to indicate the presence of the recited integer (e.g., a feature, an element, a characteristic, a property, a method / process step or a limitation) or group of integers (e.g., feature(s), element(s),characteristic(s), propertie(s), method / process steps or limitation(s)) only.The term “or combinations thereof” as used herein refers to all permutations and combinations of the listed items preceding the term. For example, “A, B, C, or combinations thereof” is intended to include at least one of: A, B, C, AB, AC, BC, or ABC, and if order is important in a particular context, also BA, CA, CB, CBA, BCA, ACB, BAC, or CAB. Continuing with this example, expressly included are combinations that contain repeats of one or more item or term, such as BB, AAA, AB, BBC, AAABCCCC, CBBAAA, CABABB, and so forth. The skilled artisan will understand that typically there is no limit on the number of items or terms in any combination, unless otherwise apparent from the context. As used herein, words of approximation such as, without limitation, “about”, "substantial" or "substantially" refers to a condition that when so modified is understood to not necessarily be absolute or perfect but would be considered close enough to those of ordinary skill in the art to warrant designating the condition as being present. The extent to which the description may vary will depend on how great a change can be instituted and still have one of ordinary skilled in the art recognize the modified feature as still having the required characteristics and capabilities of the unmodified feature. In general, but subject to the preceding discussion, a numerical value herein that is modified by a word of approximation such as “about” may vary from the stated value by at least ±1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 12, 15, 20 or 25%. All of the devices and / or methods disclosed and claimed herein can be made and executed without undue experimentation in light of the present disclosure. While the devices and methods of this invention have been described in terms of preferred embodiments, it will be apparent to those of skill in the art that variations may be applied to the devices and / or methods and in the steps or in the sequence of steps of the method described herein without departing from theconcept, spirit, and scope of the invention. All such similar substitutes and modifications apparentto those skilled in the art are deemed to be within the spirit, scope, and concept of the invention asdefined by the appended claims.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A modular seawall 12 comprising at least two seawall sections serially connected end-to-end to each other, wherein each seawall section, in turn, is triangular in cross-section andis formed by a plurality of parallel stacked-up layers, wherein each layer, in turn, is formedby a plurality of generally triangular pipes 50 interlocked with each other and arranged ina side-by-side manner, wherein lower layers are formed from a larger number of triangular pipes 50 as compared to successive higher layers, and wherein each triangular pipe has ahollow void configured to be filled with water and sealed off on both ends thereof, therebyfacilitating redistribution of external pressure along and within the corresponding seawall section.

2. The modular seawall, as in claim 1, wherein at least some of triangular pipes 50 have a wallthickness defining a generally triangular void therein, wherein the wall thickness is equal along at least two sides of the triangular cross-sectional shape thereof.

3. The modular seawall, as in claim 2, wherein the wall thickness is the same along all threesides of the triangular cross-sectional shape thereof.

4. The modular seawall, as in claim 2, wherein the wall thickness along one side is about twotimes thicker than the wall thickness of the remaining adjacent sides of the triangular cross- sectional shaper thereof.

5. The modular seawall, as in claim 1, wherein each triangular pipe 50 of the plurality oftriangular pipes has a general cross-sectional shape of an equilateral triangle.

6. The modular seawall, as in claim 1, wherein each layer of the plurality of parallel stacked-up layers comprises a first sublayer of triangular pipes arranged in the side-by-side mannerand a second sublayer of inverted triangular pipes arranged in the side-by-side manner and filling a space between triangular pipes of the first sublayer.

7. The modular seawall, as in claim 6, wherein a number of triangular pipes in the firstsublayer is one more than the number of inverted triangular pipes 50 in the second sublayer.

8. The modular seawall, as in claim 1, wherein each triangular pipe further comprising a pairof plugs 60 configured to seal the hollow void therein on both sides of the triangular pipe,and wherein each plug 60 is configured to serially connect the triangular pipe 50 to anadjacent triangular pipe 50.

9. The modular seawall, as in claim 8, wherein each plug 60 comprises at least one protrusion62 or 64 shaped to complement the hollow void of the triangular pipe 50 so as to facilitateinsertion of the plug 60 into the hollow void and sealing thereof to retain water inside thetriangular pipe 50 once assembled into the modular seawall 12.

10. The modular seawall, as in claim 1, further comprising a plurality of interlocking hexagonalrods 40 positioned generally at the vertices of each triangular pipe 50 and configured toprevent adjacent triangular pipes 50 from sliding relative to each other.

11. A method of constructing a section or a modular seawall 12 of claim 1 comprising thefollowing steps: a. forming a flat foundation bed 30 at a seafloor 20,b. positioning a first sublayer of a bottom layer by placing a plurality of triangularpipes 50 in the side-by-side manner and interlocking the triangular pipes betweenthemselves and with the foundation bed 30, c. positioning a second sublayer comprising inverted triangular pipes 50 to fill spacesbetween triangular pipes 50 of the first sublayer, wherein positioning is done tointerlock all triangular pipes 50 of the bottom layer together and with the foundationbed 30,d. filling the hollow voids of the triangular pipes 50 with water and sealing off thetriangular pipes 50 to retain the water inside the hollow voids thereof, ande. repeating steps (b) through (d) to construct additional layers of triangular pipes 50on top of the bottom layer while interlocking triangular pipes 50 of all layerstogether, wherein each successive higher layer has one less triangular pipe 50 in thecorresponding first sublayer thereof as compared with a layer directly below thereof.

12. The method of constructing a seawall, as in claim 11, wherein repeating steps (b) through(d) is done until a top layer is formed by a single triangular pipe 50, thereby completing theformation of the corresponding section of the seawall.

13. A method of constructing a section of the modular seawall of claim 1 comprising thefollowing steps: a. forming a flat foundation bed 30 at a seafloor 20,b. positioning and securing a prefabricated bottom layer on the flat foundation bed,the bottom layer comprising a plurality of triangular-shaped hollow voids extending from one end thereof to the other end thereof, c. filling the hollow voids with water and sealing off thereof to retain the water insidethe bottom layer,d. repeating steps (b) and (c) to position, secure, and fill with water additionalprefabricated layers comprising a plurality of triangular-shaped hollow voids, each successively higher layer is narrower than the layer directly below thereof, and e. continuing to repeat steps (b) and (c) until placement of a top layer so as to completeformation of the triangular-shaped section of the seawall 12.

14. A method of constructing the modular seawall of claim 1 comprising the following steps:a. forming a flat foundation bed 30 at a seafloor 20,b. positioning and securing to the foundation bed of a first prefabricated section of themodular seawall 12 comprising a plurality of triangular-shaped hollow voids,c. filling the hollow voids with water and sealing off thereof to retain the water insidethe first prefabricated section of the modular seawall 12, andd. repeating steps (b) and (c) to position, secure, and fill with water of additionalprefabricated sections of the seawall so as to complete formation of the modular seawall.

15. The method of constructing the modular seawall 12, as in claims 13 or 14, furthercomprising a step of prefabrication of a layer of the section or a full section of the modular seawall, wherein the fabrication is done with the layer of the section or the full section oriented vertically, followed by the step of turning and positioning the layer of the section or the full section on a previous layer or on a foundation bed 30 in a horizontal orientation.

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