Modular Ground Water Flow Device With Replaceable Filter Element
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing ground water flow devices can become blocked over time, leading to unintended soil particle transport and potential dyke failure, as they require excavation and replacement when blockages are noticed or occur.
Innovation Solution
A ground water flow device with a support element and a filter element where the filter is housed within a tube, allowing for observation of blockages through water level differences and easy replacement, featuring flow apertures for water and soil passage and pore openings to block soil particles, with optional closures to prevent bypass or entry of soil.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a filter element is used to block soil particles, then soil particle transport is prevented, but the filter may get blocked over time requiring excavation and replacement
Solution Approach 1:
The device is divided into distinct modular components: a support element with tubes and a separate filter element. This segmentation allows the filter element to be independently accessed, removed, and replaced without excavating the entire device, resolving the contradiction between reliable soil particle blocking and ease of maintenance.
Solution Approach 2:
The filter element is nested inside the support element's tube structure. This nesting arrangement protects the filter while allowing it to be accessed through openings in the support element, enabling maintenance without full excavation and maintaining reliable soil particle blocking during operation.
2Difficulty of detecting and measuring
If the filter is housed inside a tube, then blockage can be observed through water level differences, but the device structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The tube structure acts as a feedback mechanism by visually displaying water level differences that indicate filter blockage. When the filter becomes blocked, water accumulates on one side of the tube, creating a visible level difference that provides immediate feedback on filter status without requiring complex monitoring equipment.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses water level changes as a visual indicator (analogous to color changes) to signal filter blockage. The varying water levels in the transparent or observable tube provide a simple visual cue that the filter is blocked, transforming an internal condition into an externally observable state without adding complex detection systems.
3Productivity
If flow apertures are distributed over the tube circumference, then water flow capacity is increased, but soil particles may bypass the filter
Solution Approach 1:
Different regions of the device have different functions: the tube walls have flow apertures for water passage, while the filter element provides localized soil particle blocking. The filter element is positioned to cover the flow path, ensuring that water can flow through multiple apertures while soil particles are blocked at the filter location, resolving the contradiction between flow capacity and blocking reliability.
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
The solution extends the operational period of ground water flow devices by allowing for timely filter replacement and preventing soil particle transport, thereby reducing the risk of dyke failure and enabling easier maintenance and logistical advantages through modular design.
Implementation Method 1
The filter element comprises pore openings large enough to allow the passage of water and small enough to block the passage of soil particles
Implementation Method 2
If the filter element gets blocked, even partially, it will offer more resistance to the ground water flow. This results in a higher water level on one side of the filter element
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~5
Figure 6~7
AI summary
Aground water flow device (1) has a support element (3) and a filter sheet (5). The filter sheet has a first side (7) and a second side (9). Tubes (13) are provided with flow apertures (11) which are large enough to allow the passage of water and soil particles. The tubes (13) each have an inner space (17). The tubes (13) each hold one of the filter sheets (5) in their inner space (17).A first part of the flow apertures (11) is facing the first side (7) of the filter sheets (5) and a second part of the flow apertures (1) is facing the second side (9) of the filter sheets (5), defining in each tube (13) a flow path (19) for ground water from the first part of the flow apertures (11) through the filter sheet (5) to the second part of the flow apertures (11).