Collapsible Spill Containment Bag for Rapid Hazardous Material Response
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Environmental containers for hazardous materials are often rigid, heavy, and require specialized handling, posing transportation challenges and increasing remediation costs due to slow deployment in spill scenarios.
Innovation Solution
A collapsible containment bag with a hingedly connected design, featuring a non-porous liner and bag frame supported by wire springs, allowing for rapid expansion and collection of spills, and subsequent collapse for easy storage and transport.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If rigid environmental containers are used to contain hazardous materials, then containment reliability is improved, but transportation difficulty and handling complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The containment structure transitions from a static rigid container to a dynamic collapsible bag that can change its state between expanded (for containment) and collapsed (for transport). The bag includes collapsible sides that can be folded inward and a collapsible bottom that can be folded upward, allowing the structure to dynamically adapt between operational and storage modes.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces rigid container walls with flexible materials including a flexible outer shell and flexible inner liner. These flexible components maintain containment integrity while enabling the bag to be collapsed for compact storage and easy transportation, eliminating the need for specialized handling equipment.
2Strength
If rigid environmental containers are used for spill containment, then structural strength is improved, but deployment speed decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The bag is pre-assembled with the flexible outer shell, flexible inner liner, and wire support structure already integrated. The sides are pre-formed with fold lines and gussets, and the bottom is pre-attached to the sides, allowing for rapid deployment without requiring on-site assembly of multiple components.
Solution Approach 2:
The bag can be rapidly deployed by simply expanding the collapsible sides and bottom from their compact stored state. The wire support structure and gussets provide structural strength that activates as the bag is expanded, enabling quick response to spills without compromising containment integrity.
3Ease of operation
If collapsible sides and bottom are used to enable easy transport, then transportation ease is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The bag is divided into distinct collapsible segments including separate collapsible sides with fold lines and a collapsible bottom with fold lines. Each side can be independently folded inward along predetermined fold lines, and the bottom can be independently folded upward, simplifying the collapse mechanism while enabling compact storage.
Solution Approach 2:
When collapsed, the sides fold inward and the bottom folds upward, allowing the entire structure to collapse into a compact form that fits within its own volume. The flexible inner liner nests within the flexible outer shell, and all components consolidate into a space-efficient configuration for easy storage and transport.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Facilitates quick containment and cleanup of hazardous material spills, reducing remediation costs and environmental impact by enabling rapid deployment and efficient handling of spills.
Implementation Method 1
The bag frame may be supported by wire springs
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed are various embodiments of a collapsible containment bag configured to retain a collection of hazardous materials. In one embodiment, the containment bag includes a non-porous liner, a plastic sheeting, and a bag frame. The containment bag may be in a collapsed state initially and later expand for use at the site of an environmental spill. The containment bag may be expanded from the collapsed state through a series of actions that may include pivoting a portion of the containment bag about an edge and pulling opposing sides of the containment bag away from the center of the containment bag.