Sack for the realisation of civil engineering works, process for its manufacture, and for the realisation of a work by means of several sacks of this type

Abstract

A sack for realising civil engineering works, including a sack structure with two main faces defined by two respective equal main areas of cloth that are joined over most of their periphery. The main areas of cloth define an opening for introducing filling material into the sack structure when in use. The sack includes at least one area of protective cloth whose resistance characteristics differ from the main areas of cloth. The area of protective cloth is fastened to the outside of the sack structure so as to substantially cover a single main face thereof.

Claims

1. A sack for realising civil engineering works, the sack comprising a sack structure with two main faces defined by two respective equal main areas of cloth, made with a single cloth of a permeable geotextile material folded into two equal-sized portions and joined over most of their periphery and defining an opening for introducing filling material when in use, the sack further comprising at least one area of protective cloth having resistance characteristics differing from the main areas of cloth, the area of protective cloth being fastened to an outside of the sack structure so as to substantially cover a single main face thereof, wherein the area of protective cloth is an impermeable cloth.

2. The sack according to claim 1, wherein the area of protective cloth has a greater resistance to UV rays than that of the main areas of cloth.

3. The sack according to claim 1, wherein the area of protective cloth is a large piece of waxed cloth.

4. The sack according to claim 1, wherein the main areas of cloth and the area of protective cloth are joined together over most of their periphery by stitching.

5. A method for manufacturing a sack according to claim 1, intended for realising civil engineering works, comprising the steps of: having available two equal main areas of cloth made with a single cloth of geotextile permeable material folded into two equal-sized portions; having available an area of protective cloth whose dimensions are substantially equal to the main areas of cloth, the area of protective cloth being an impermeable cloth; superimposing the two main areas of cloth so as to form a sack structure with two main faces defined by the two respective equal main areas of cloth; superimposing the area of protective cloth over one of the two main areas of cloth, so that the area of protective cloth ends up on an outside of the sack structure; and joining together the main areas of cloth and the area of protective cloth over most of their periphery so that the areas of main cloth define an opening for introducing filling material into the sack structure when in use, and such that the area of protective cloth is fastened to the outside of the sack structure so as to substantially cover a single main face thereof.

6. The method for manufacturing a sack according to claim 5, wherein the main areas of cloth and the area of protective cloth are joined together by stitching.

7. A method for realising civil engineering works with a plurality of sacks according to claim 1, comprising the steps of: having available a plurality of such sacks; filling the sacks with a filling material; closing the sacks; placing the sacks side by side and/or stacked on one another such that the area of protective cloth of each sack is positioned on an outside of the civil engineering works.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) Further features and advantages will become apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment, with reference to the accompanying drawings, given purely by way of non-restrictive example, in which:

(2) FIG. 1 shows diagrammatically in perspective a coastal protection barrier realised by means of a plurality of protective sacks incorporating aspects of the invention, arranged in stacked arrays;

(3) FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic perspective view of an example of a protective sack incorporating aspects of the invention, in an assembly condition;

(4) FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic perspective view similar to that in FIG. 2, illustrating the protective sack in the assembled condition, ready for filling; and

(5) FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic perspective view similar to that in FIGS. 2 and 3, illustrating the protective sack in the filled and closed configuration, ready for installation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(6) FIG. 1 illustrates, by way of example, a civil engineering work comprising coastal protection 10 realised with sacks 12 for protecting a coastline C of a body of water W. The sacks 12 are filled with a known type of filling material, such as sand or soil or the like, and are arranged side by side so as to form arrays 14 approximately parallel to the coastline C and arranged partially superimposed on one another, so as to form a protective structure sloping down towards the body of water W.

(7) With reference to FIGS. 2 to 4, a sack 12 comprises a main sack structure 13, realised with a lower cloth 16 and an upper cloth 18, preferably made of the same geotextile, although this does not exclude the possibility of using different cloths in particular cases, for example a nonwoven geotextile for the lower cloth 16 and a woven geotextile for the upper cloth 18, or vice versa. In particular the upper cloth 18 could also be made of a material other than geotextile. Where the material of the lower cloth 16 and the upper cloth 18 is the same, the main sack structure 13 can be produced with a single cloth, folded in half to form the lower cloth 16 and the upper cloth 18 already joined on one side, for example a short side 15 or a long side 17. Preferably, the geotextile used for the lower cloth 16 and the upper cloth 18 is a high-resistance woven geotextile, made of polyester or polypropylene.

(8) The sack 12 further comprises a protective cloth 20 positioned on top of the upper cloth 18, outside the main sack structure 13. The protective cloth 20 is made with a preferably impermeable material. The protective cloth 20 preferably has high resistance to UV rays. The protective cloth 20 is preferably a large piece of impermeable waxed cloth, for example made with an impermeable laminated textile having a certain, desirable resistance to UV rays. The dimensions of the protective cloth 20 are substantially equal to those of the upper cloth 18, so as to cover it completely. The protective cloth 20 can be joined to an already existing sack 12, or more preferably can be fastened to the lower 16 and upper 18 cloths at the time of manufacturing the sack. In this case, it is advantageous to join the two lower 16 and upper 18 cloths and the protective cloth 20 in a single stitching operation. When joining the cloths to form the sack 12, it is advantageous to realise stitching 22 on three sides of the cloths, particularly on one short side 15 and two long sides 17, leaving the other short side 15 open so as to form the opening A of the main sack structure 13, intended for introducing the filling material at the time of use, before installation.

(9) Alternatively, in a variant embodiment of the sack 12, not illustrated, the protective cloth 20 is joined only to the underlying upper cloth 18 also on the remaining short side 15, to prevent the filling material from being accidentally introduced between the protective cloth 20 and the upper cloth 18, instead of inside the main sack structure 13, between the lower cloth 16 and the upper cloth 18. In this case, the protective cloth 20 can be joined to the upper cloth 18 on the short side 15 using any of various known techniques, for example with sewing, stitches or staples, by gluing, hot-welding or other known techniques.

(10) Before use, the sack 12 is filled with a filling material inserted into the aperture A (see FIG. 3), which is present on the side of the main sack structure 13 left suitably free of the stitching 22 between the lower cloth 16 and the upper cloth 18. As stated previously, the filling material can be of various types, such as sand, soil or other material, preferably but not exclusively loose, and even more preferably locatable in situ, in the vicinity of the site where the civil engineering works are being realised. It will be appreciated that it is possible to use a different material, depending on the specific requirements of the civil engineering project to be realised with the sacks 12. For example, the sacks 12 can be filled with bituminous material, or a hydraulic mortar, or other known material. The amount of material inserted into the sack 12 is naturally commensurate with the dimensions of said sack 12, which is filled such that it is subsequently easy to close the aperture A.

(11) At the end of filling the main sack structure 13, the aperture A is closed, for example by stitching the short side 15, previously left open. The result is visible diagrammatically in FIG. 4, which illustrates a full, closed sack 12, ready for installation in order to realise civil engineering works, for example coastal protection 10 as illustrated in FIG. 1.

(12) The sack 12 can be provided with handles, laces, eyelets or other known components, not illustrated, to make it easier to lift the sack 12 when full and closed. The full sack is placed in such a way that the lower cloth 16 of geotextile material faces downwards, in contact with the ground or with underlying sacks, while the protective cloth 20 faces upwards or, at any rate, towards the outside of the works. The portion of sack 12 facing downwards, which is formed of a lower cloth 16, is therefore permeable, whereas the upperor at any rateouter portion of the sack 12, which is covered with the protective cloth 20, is impermeable and has the desired resistance to UV rays, preferably always greater or much greater than that of the lower 16 and upper 18 cloths that form the main sack structure 13.

(13) Where the works require a number of sacks to be stacked, it is preferably for only the upper layer to be formed of sacks 12 having the protective cloth 30, while the underlying layer(s) could advantageously be realised with traditional geobag-type sacks. In this way the body of the works would remain completely permeable, while the upper portion or, at any rate, the outer portion of the overall works would be protected from bad weather, contaminants and UV rays owing to the presence of the protective cloths 20 on the respective sacks 12 positioned outermost.

(14) The provision of a protective cloth 20 covering the upper cloth 18 of the main sack structure 13 has the advantage of giving the sack 12 overall resistance to UV rays, and therefore maximum life for the sack 12, greater than the resistance to sun rays of the protective cloth 20 alone. In fact, even ifwith the passage of timethe protective cloth 20 should tear or become worn, the upper cloth 18 of the main sack structure 13 would, even still, independently provide protection from UV rays to a certain degree, depending on the material of the cloth itself.

(15) It will be appreciated that, without prejudice to the principle of the invention, the embodiments and the implementation details can vary greatly from what is described and illustrated while remaining within the scope of the present invention.