Hexagonal Tessellation Assembly for Underground Storm Water Storage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current underground storm water storage systems, particularly concrete rectangular and cubed modular systems, face limitations due to their shape, which leads to depth restrictions, increased material usage, and transportation challenges, as well as inefficiencies in load distribution and structural integrity under soil pressure.
Innovation Solution
The use of hexagonal modules and honeycomb assemblies that distribute loads evenly, allowing for deeper installations with reduced wall thickness and rebar reinforcement, and enabling more efficient fluid communication and storage by fitting together without gaps, thus overcoming the limitations of traditional rectangular and cubed designs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If rectangular and cubed modular systems are used for underground storage, then manufacturing and assembly are simplified, but structural strength and load distribution deteriorate under soil pressure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs curved, arched modular chambers instead of rectangular shapes. The arch geometry naturally distributes lateral soil pressure along the curved surfaces to the foundation, eliminating stress concentration points. This curvature principle resolves the contradiction by maintaining manufacturing simplicity while dramatically improving structural strength and load distribution capabilities.
2Loss of substance
If deeper installations are achieved with reduced wall thickness, then material usage and costs are reduced, but structural integrity under soil pressure deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The arched chamber design distributes soil pressure evenly along the curved walls, allowing thinner wall sections to achieve the same structural integrity as thicker straight walls. The curvature transforms point loads into distributed loads, enabling reduced material usage while maintaining reliability at deeper installation depths.
Solution Approach 2:
The chambers are pre-installed in the excavated ground space before backfilling operations. This preliminary placement allows the structural form to be optimized for the final buried condition, with the arch geometry pre-configured to handle anticipated soil pressures, enabling thinner walls with adequate integrity.
3Strength
If hexagonal modules with honeycomb assemblies are used, then load distribution and structural strength improve, but manufacturing complexity and assembly difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the underground storage function into discrete, standardized hexagonal modular chambers. Each module is independently manufactured and then assembled into honeycomb patterns. This segmentation allows complex load-distributing geometry to be achieved through simple repetition of standardized units, reducing overall manufacturing and assembly complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple hexagonal modules are assembled into interconnected honeycomb assemblies where adjacent chambers share common walls. This merging approach creates a unified structural system with improved load distribution while using standardized modular components, balancing structural performance with assembly simplicity.
4Ease of operation
If rectangular modules are used, then transportation and shipping are simplified, but hydraulic efficiency and fluid communication deteriorate due to gaps between modules
Solution Approach 1:
The hexagonal geometry with its 120-degree angles and six-sided configuration creates a tessellating pattern that fits together without gaps. This asymmetric shape, when repeated in honeycomb assemblies, eliminates void spaces between modules, improving hydraulic efficiency and fluid communication while maintaining reasonable transportation characteristics through modular design.
Data Source
AI summary
Individual hexagonal shaped modules used in an assembly for underground storage of storm water and other fluid storage needs. Modules are assembled into a resultant honeycomb shape for maximized structural strength and material use efficiency. Adjacent modules are in direct fluid communications with one another via openings or windows in module side walls. Assemblies include various top and side pieces along with access ports for entry into said assembly.