Flexible Containment Tubes for Fluid Diversion

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Solution Overview

Problem

Traditional methods for fluid containment and diversion, such as sandbagging and permanent infrastructure, are costly, time-consuming, and inadequate for long-term fluid containment, as they require significant materials and labor, and temporary solutions are insufficient for preventing both floodwater diversion and standing water intrusion.

Innovation Solution

Flexible containment tubes made of vinyl-coated polyester, which can be filled with water, concrete, or expanding foam, are used to create temporary or permanent barriers, reducing material and labor costs and providing effective fluid diversion and containment by securing them with earthen anchors and vapor barriers.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If sandbagging is used for temporary fluid diversion, then fluid flow can be diverted, but installation cost and labor time increase significantly

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvefluid diversion capabilityVSAvoidinstallation time

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The containment system is divided into multiple modular flexible tubes that can be independently deployed and connected. Each tube segment can be installed separately and then joined to form a complete containment barrier, significantly reducing installation time while maintaining diversion reliability

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent uses flexible containment tubes made of vinyl-coated polyester fabric instead of rigid sandbags. These flexible shells can be quickly deployed, filled with water or concrete, and connected to form effective barriers, eliminating the time-consuming process of manually filling and stacking sandbags

Inventive Principle:

Principle #30Flexible shells and thin films

2Duration of action of stationary object

If permanent containment structures are constructed, then long-term fluid containment is achieved, but construction cost and material requirements increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecontainment durationVSAvoidmaterial quantity

Core Design Contradiction:

Duration of action of stationary objectVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The containment system transitions from static permanent structures to dynamic flexible tubes that can be filled with different materials (water, concrete, or expanding foam) depending on the application requirements. This allows the same basic structure to serve both temporary and permanent containment needs, reducing overall material requirements

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The patent enables parameter changes by allowing the flexible tubes to be filled with different substances that provide varying levels of permanence and containment strength. The same tube structure can be filled with water for temporary diversion or concrete/foam for permanent containment, eliminating the need for separate permanent infrastructure

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

3Productivity

If traditional sandbag dikes are constructed, then some liquid flow diversion is achieved, but containment effectiveness is insufficient

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveflow diversion efficiencyVSAvoidcontainment effectiveness

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The flexible tubes use composite construction with vinyl-coated polyester fabric providing both flexibility and containment effectiveness. When filled with water, concrete, or expanding foam, the composite structure achieves both high flow diversion efficiency and reliable containment that sandbags cannot provide

Inventive Principle:

Principle #40Composite materials

4Ease of manufacture

If flexible containment tubes are used, then installation cost and labor requirements are reduced, but structural stability must be maintained

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveinstallation easeVSAvoiddike stability

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of manufactureVSStability of the object's composition

Solution Approach 1:

The system uses multiple discrete tube segments that are connected together to form a stable composite structure. The segmentation allows for easy installation while the interconnected nature of multiple tubes provides collective stability that prevents individual tube failure from compromising the entire dike structure

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The flexible vinyl-coated polyester tubes, when filled with water or concrete, gain sufficient structural rigidity to maintain dike stability. The flexibility of the shells allows for easy deployment and configuration around obstacles, while the filled state provides the structural integrity needed for stable containment

Inventive Principle:

Principle #30Flexible shells and thin films

Data Source

PatentUS12152359B2Containment dike

Publication Date: 2024.11.26 P V FLOOD CONTROL CORP

AI summary

Flexible containment tubes form sections of a dike for fluid containment. For example, multiple vinyl-coated polyester tubes with a 19-inch diameter may be filled with water and stacked on top of each other to create a temporary diversion dike. Multiple sections of dike may be abutted together to form longer sections of dike. A vapor barrier or plastic membrane may wrap over dike sections and/or weaved through the flexible containment tubes as they are placed prior to filling. Configurations of the vapor barrier and associated anchoring mechanisms improve the utility of dike sections by reducing hydrostatic pressure of contained fluid on the dike, harnessing the weight of fluid columns, and mitigating seepage through the dike sections.