Flood protection for underground air vents
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Solution Overview
Problem
Underground ventilation systems, such as subway tunnels, face flooding issues due to surface storm waters entering through ventilation ducts, overwhelming existing drainage systems and causing street flooding, with existing solutions like raising gratings or using sandbags being costly, labor-intensive, or ineffective.
Innovation Solution
A manual closure assembly for ventilation shafts that includes rotatable panels which can be gravitationally lowered to seal the passage between the ventilation shaft and the atmosphere, preventing water entry into underground tunnels, featuring a support structure with lateral sidewalls, hinges, and a suspension member for easy operation and sealing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If ventilation gratings are raised above sidewalk level to prevent water entry, then flooding protection is improved, but sidewalk area for pedestrians is reduced and implementation cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs dynamic panels that can rotate between a vertical position (allowing ventilation and pedestrian access) and a horizontal position (blocking water entry). This dynamic mechanism provides flood protection only when needed, maintaining full sidewalk area availability during normal conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The ventilation shaft is divided into functional segments: the fixed support structure with lateral sidewalls, the rotatable panels for water blocking, and the suspension mechanism. This segmentation allows the system to provide flood protection through movable panels without permanently occupying sidewalk space.
2Reliability
If sandbags and plywood covers are used to prevent flooding, then water entry is blocked, but labor and materials requirements increase and response time is extended
Solution Approach 1:
The panels are pre-installed in the ventilation shaft in a vertical position that allows normal ventilation. When flooding is anticipated, the panels are simply rotated to a horizontal position to block water entry, eliminating the need for on-site assembly of sandbags and plywood covers.
Solution Approach 2:
The suspension member with lateral sidewalls and hinges enables the panels to be easily positioned and secured by the system itself, reducing the need for extensive manual labor and external materials compared to traditional sandbag and plywood methods.
3Reliability
If rotatable panels are used to seal the passage, then flooding prevention is achieved, but device complexity increases compared to fixed gratings
Solution Approach 1:
The suspension member acts as an intermediary between the fixed support structure and the rotatable panels, providing a simple hinge mechanism that enables easy rotation while maintaining structural integrity. This intermediary component simplifies the overall system compared to more complex automated closure mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The rotatable panels with hinges provide a simple dynamic mechanism that alternates between open (ventilation) and closed (flood protection) positions. This dynamic design achieves flood protection with minimal mechanical complexity compared to fixed elevated gratings or automated systems.
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
Effectively prevents flooding in underground ventilation systems by allowing normal ventilation when not needed and automatically sealing during flooding threats, reducing water ingress and alleviating street flooding, while being simpler, faster, and more cost-effective than existing methods.
Implementation Method 1
one or more rotatable panels operable to be gravitationally lowered to seal the passage between the ventilation shaft and atmosphere
Data Source
Figure 1~2A
Figure 3
Figure 4
AI summary
Apparatus allowing ventilation through a ventilation shaft to an underground ventilation duct fluidly communicating through the ventilation shaft to an atmospheric opening of the shaft and on threat of flooding operable to prevent downward flow of surface water into the underground ventilation duct includes one or more hinged panels closing a ventilation passage between the top and bottom of a support fitting in the shaft to prevent flooding. The panels have handles on their topside and pivotable arms on their underside and are liftable to an upright home position allowing ventilation, using tools to reach through grating covering openings on the shaft and lift the panel handles and after the panels are partially lifted, using reach tools to engage and lift the arms to press them again support sidewalls to exert lateral force on underside of the panels to complete upward rotation to the home position.