Lobed Polygon Hazardous Waste Container Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing containers for hazardous waste in landfill sites face challenges in maintaining mechanical resistance and stability, especially when exposed to environmental conditions and degradation over time, particularly with flexible containers like Big Bags that cannot ensure sufficient compression resistance or adequate containment.
Innovation Solution
A container design featuring a lower shell and upper lid with a known fixing device, a lobed polygon shape for optimal stacking and stability, and a rack system to secure receptacles, allowing for efficient storage and transportation of hazardous materials while preventing percolation and leakage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If flexible containers like Big Bags are used to store hazardous materials, then storage capacity and adaptability are improved, but mechanical resistance and stability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a nested container system where flexible Big Bags are placed inside rigid polyethylene containers. The outer rigid container provides mechanical strength and structural stability, while the inner flexible Big Bag maintains storage capacity and adaptability for various hazardous material forms (powders, liquids, small solids). This nested arrangement resolves the contradiction by allowing each container type to fulfill its strength advantages.
Solution Approach 2:
The solution combines two different container materials with complementary properties: flexible polymer material for the Big Bag (providing adaptability and containment) and rigid polyethylene for the outer container (providing mechanical resistance and stability). This composite container system allows the hazardous materials to be stored in a flexible container while being protected by a rigid outer shell, thus resolving the mechanical weakness of flexible containers.
2Productivity
If drums are stacked to increase volumetric capacity, then storage density is improved, but mechanical stability and resistance to compression deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The rigid polyethylene containers are designed to nest within each other when stacked, with the lobed polygon shape allowing tight interlocking. This nesting arrangement improves volumetric capacity while the rigid structure of the outer containers provides mechanical support to prevent compression damage to inner containers, thus maintaining stability during stacking.
Solution Approach 2:
The container employs a lobed polygon shape with curved surfaces that allow smooth stacking and interlocking between containers. The curved geometry distributes compression forces more evenly across the stacking assembly, improving both volumetric efficiency and mechanical stability under stacked loads compared to flat-sided containers.
3Device complexity
If conventional containers are used without additional containment structures, then device complexity is reduced, but reliability and protection against environmental degradation worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The nested dual-container structure provides redundant containment: the inner Big Bag contains the hazardous materials while the outer rigid polyethylene container provides an additional barrier against environmental degradation, mechanical damage, and leakage. This layered approach significantly improves reliability without requiring complex active monitoring or control systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The rigid outer container serves as a pre-established protective barrier that cushions and protects the inner flexible container containing hazardous materials from environmental factors (weather, UV radiation, physical impacts) before any degradation can occur. This prior cushioning ensures reliability by preventing damage before it happens.
Data Source
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AI summary
A container (100) for holding, on the inside, at least one receptacle (50; 80) containing, in turn, dangerous waste. The container (100) comprises a lower shell (20), which is closed by an upper lid (30), which is fixed to it through fixing devices (40). The container (100) is characterized in that it is shaped, in its plan view, as a lobed polygon having a plurality of curvilinear sides (L1), (L2), (L3), (L4), (L5), (L6). Each curvilinear side (L1), (L2), (L3), (L4), (L5), (L6) comprises at least three respective curved portions (60A, 60B, 60C), wherein the central curved portion (60A) has a bend radius (R1), whose centre (C1) of curvature is opposite to the centre (C2) of curvature (with radius (R2)) of the first lateral curved portion (60B) and, respectively, is opposite to the centre (C3) of curvature (with radius (R3)) of the second lateral curved portion (60C).