Patent classifications
E02B3/062
Shore protection infrastructure equipped with means for recovering energy from wave motion
Described is an infrastructure for recovering and storing energy received from wave motion of lakes or sea water basins, comprising a floating or fixed quay, jetty or pier (10) substantially consisting of a platform (11) in the lower part of which are fixed walls (12, 13, 14) equipped with openings (17) for the passage of the wave motion towards inner chambers (15, 16), wherein the inner chambers comprise units for recovering the energy from the wave motion, comprising floats (18) connected by kinematic means (19, 20) to at least one transmission shaft (22) in turn associated with a unit (24) which transforms the mechanical energy into directly usable or storable electricity, the kinematic means (19, 20) being capable of converting the sussultatory motion of the floats (18) into rotary motion of the shaft (22) allowing the recovery of electricity from the relative transformation unit (24).
Floating breakwater structure
A floating breakwater structure is described. The structure includes a floating platform disposed at a water surface and a mooring system. The floating platform has one long side for facing a shore and another long side for facing a sea-horizon. The mooring system includes at least one pair of side anchors located on the seabed at one long side of the buoyancy platform, and at least one another pair of side anchors located on the seabed at the other long side of the floating platform. The mooring system also includes at least two pairs of crossing mooring spring-lines linked at one end to the floating platform. Each pair of the crossing mooring spring-lines is linked at one end to the corresponding long side of the of the floating platform and at another end to the corresponding pair of the side anchors.
SEA WALL STRUCTURES, SEA WALLS AND METHODS OF MANUFACTURE AND ASSEMBLY OF THE SAME
A sea wall structure (10) comprising a rigid supporting structure (12) and one or more hollow tanks (14) affixed to the supporting structure (12), wherein the volume of the tank or tanks (14) is such that, when filled with air, their displacement is sufficient to support the weight of the sea wall structure (10) and thus enable the sea wall structure to be floated on water (300). The rigid supporting structure (12) is suitably made from cast, reinforced concrete, and the tank or tanks (14) are suitably blow-moulded plastics components having peripheral edges that are moulded into the concrete. The sea wall structure (10) is ideally modular, having side edges that are adapted (28, 30) to engage with adjacent structures (10) to form a wall, caisson or the like.
WAVE SUPPRESSOR AND SEDIMENT COLLECTION SYSTEM FOR USE IN SHALLOW AND DEEPER WATER ENVIRONMENTS
A transportable wave suppressor and sediment collection system for suppressing wave action along the shore of a body of water, which includes a plurality of interconnected sections, each section including a base, a forward wall, and a rear wall, and having a plurality of flow pipes extending from the forward wall to the rear wall, and further including a plurality of shelves on the forward wall for dispersing wave energy, while redirecting and using the wave energy to allow water and sediment to flow into the flow pipes and for collecting sediment that is not carried into the flow pipes and settles on the shelves for being contacted by a following wave to carry the sediment into the flow pipes. In some deeper water embodiments, the sections may include a base portion, a top portion and one or more spacer portions to enable raising or changing the height of the system.
Movable tsunami buffer dam
A movable tsunami buffer dam has a unit configured such that a plurality of separate units, each of which having a shape in which a frame made of a light material is sandwiched by a pair of plates made of a light material, is stacked with said plates disposed in a pile; and a locking member for locking said unit to a ground surface such that said unit can rise up from said ground surface and collapse onto said ground surface. The separate units has a structure in which water from a tsunami can advance into a space formed between said plates by said frame. A required thickness is ensured due to said unit being configured such that said separate units are stacked, and the manufacturing cost is reduced to a greater extent than in the case of a dam configured from a single separate unit of said required thickness, because the big size lumber for obtaining the units is very expensive. The unit is installed in a state of being collapsed on said ground surface at normal times, and when a tsunami arrives, said unit rising up due to the force of the tsunami and the buoyancy of the seawater, resisting the passage of the tsunami and reducing the power of the tsunami.
AUTONOMOUS MODULAR BREAKWATER SYSTEM
Methods, systems, and computer-readable media that implement an autonomous modular breakwater system. An example system includes a plurality of autonomous submersible structures, each configured to mechanically link to any other of the plurality of autonomous submersible structures to form a breakwater. The system includes a controller configured to perform operations including: determining a location for construction of a breakwater; determining an initial location of each of the plurality of autonomous submersible structures; selecting, based at least in part on the initial location of each of the plurality of autonomous submersible structures, a subset of the plurality of autonomous submersible structures for constructing the breakwater; and transmitting, to each of the selected autonomous submersible structures, instructions to transit from the respective initial location to the location for construction of the breakwater and to mechanically couple to at least one other autonomous submersible structure to form the breakwater.
Hydrofission barrier
A barrier system and a method for dissipating energy in a body of fluid provides one or more barrier units each having an outer wall that defines a hollow inner chamber. Each barrier unit has a lower aperture and an upper aperture so fluid can flow in and out of the hollow inner chamber. Upward movement of fluid within the inner chamber is deflected inwardly and energy of the fluid is dissipated. The buoyancy of the barrier unit is controlled by a control system. Multiple barrier units can be used together to dissipate energy within a body of water over a large area. The barrier units can be easily assembled and deployed into a body of water. Where the barrier system is used in an ocean or another large body of water, the barrier units may be deployed from a ship, and may be anchored to the seafloor.
Coastal resilience systems, structures, and methods
A coastal resilience system for disrupting wave energy and storm surge flux and allowing accumulation of tidal-borne sediment has an interconnected network of biomatter-heavy floating mats positioned in water near a shoreline, and an interconnection subsystem with connection lines flexibly connecting adjacent floatable mats. Lines may be connected, at a plurality of force transfer points or regions within or near the interior of the mat, to other interconnection components positioned within the mat. In some embodiments, mats have yoke sites spaced around their edges and a connection line extends in a straight line from a first yoke site, through the interior of a mat, and to a second yoke site. The connection lines may intersect at an intersection position in the interior of the floatable mat, multiple connection lines may extend across the interior of the mat, but not always through a center of the interior of the mat.
BREAKWATER
The breakwater according to the present invention is formed from a body on which the waves hit, and comprising a plurality of surfaces, each of which has a different inclination, said inclinations defining different angles with respect to the horizontal. The angle defined by each surface increases from the front surface to the rear surface, and the length of each surface is different, decreasing from the front surface to the rear surface. It allows to provide a breakwater in which most of the wave energy returns to the sea, so that only a small part is dissipated in the breakwater.
Wave suppressor and sediment collection system for use in shallow and deeper water environments
A transportable wave suppressor and sediment collection system for suppressing wave action along the shore of a body of water, which includes a plurality of interconnected sections, each section including a base, a forward wall, and a rear wall, and having a plurality of flow pipes extending from the forward wall to the rear wall, and further including a plurality of shelves on the forward wall for dispersing wave energy, while redirecting and using the wave energy to allow water and sediment to flow into the flow pipes and for collecting sediment that is not carried into the flow pipes and settles on the shelves for being contacted by a following wave to carry the sediment into the flow pipes. In some deeper water embodiments, the sections may include a base portion, a top portion and one or more spacer portions to enable raising or changing the height of the system.