Abstract: A boom for collecting material floating on the surface of a body of water which, by its configuration, requires considerably less inflation air to achieve the required degree of buoyancy to float the boom than is normally required. One embodiment incorporates an elongated collapsible first tube compartmentalized into a series of sequential compartments. Within such compartments are located inflatable flotation tubing which expands the walls of these compartments thus displacing water, thereby increasing the buoyancy of the boom. Such inflatable floatation tubing may be configured as a longitudinal sequence of inflatable annular rings within these compartments; or, the inflatable floatation tubing may be configured as a spiral coil disposed along the length of the compartments biasing the walls of the compartments outwardly. The inflation tubing can be connected by a conduit to a tube secured to and extending the length of the first tube for providing inflation gas thereto.

Abstract: A damping device for use with a conventional dirt bucket on a dirt mover which includes a skid shoe hingedly attachable to the bucket by means of a hinge at the front end of the skid shoe, the skid shoe having a wear plate attached to the bottom. The skid shoe with wear plate attached is attachable to the back of the bucket by a spring loaded leg removably connected to an outer sleeve which substantially encloses the spring loaded leg and which is rigidly attachable to the back of the bucket.

Abstract: A dynamic floating breakwater or dock device is disclosed which is generally T-shaped in cross-section, having a platform beam, a vertical beam and a keel member. The density of the device varies from top to bottom, such that the platform beam is the least dense and the keel member is the most dense, with the overall density of the device remaining less than that of water. The center of gravity of the device is located in or near the keel member, such that the device will pivot when encountering oncoming waves, the pivoting motion in conjunction with the vertical motion acting to create anti-waves which cancel or lessen the oncoming wave. The device is preferably constructed of a concrete having lightweight material such as polystyrene beads used for the aggregate.

Abstract: A depository for storing radioactive waste is comprised of a material such as natural rock, magmatic rock, or concrete. The construction body has an interior storage chamber. The size and the wall thickness of the construction body prevent emission of radioactive radiation during a projected storage time of several thousand years. The construction body is designed to provide a free, stable support on a concave to flat ground surface so that a displacement of the construction body due to tectonic movements of the earth's crust does not have an effect on its free and stable support. Preferably, the construction body has the shape of a tetrahedron.

Abstract: An excavation apparatus includes a tank partitioned into two isolated chambers. One of the chambers is adapted to hold fresh water and communicates with a flexible wand to be carried by operating personnel. The other chamber is adapted to hold excavated material and communicates with a flexible hose also to be carried by operating personnel. A single, positive displacement vacuum pump driven by a motor is selectively connectable to one or both chambers through a series of valves and hoses. Depending on the valve positions, either the intake or exhaust port of the vacuum pump is in communication with one or both the chambers. The vacuum pump can therefore by used to fill the front chamber with fresh water as well as to pressurize the front chamber so that the water held therein can be discharged through the wand under pressure sufficient to dislodge earth at the excavation site. The vacuum pump can then be used to draw the dislodged earth and discharged water into the other chamber.

Abstract: An apparatus for use in conjunction with a silt collecting pond to prevent silt from being washed from adjacent land by rainwater comprises a base adapted to rest on the bottom of the pond and a cylindrical cage defining an upwardly open interior volume extending upwardly from the base. A conduit communicates between the interior volume of the cage and the exterior of the pond. Silt cloth is mounted about the cage and a floatable safety lid is adapted to cover the upper opening of the cage. In operation, silt bearing rainwater enters the pond and rises about the apparatus. Water passes through the silt cloth at a predetermined rate such that the water stands in the pond a sufficient time to allow silt to precipitate therefrom. When the pond has been filled with silt, a sleeve is slipped into the cage and a grated lid placed atop the sleeve so that the device thereafter provides for drainage of surface rainwater from the land.

Abstract: Blades are used in association with snow buckets articulated from snow-removing vehicles. In a preferred embodiment, the snow bucket comprises rotatably mounted about its lateral sides, a floating snow blade outwardly projectable substantially horizontally in front of the lower portion of each of the side walls of the bucket, as to float according to the conformation thereunder and to confine and to force the snow between the snow blades and the bucket to enter the bucket and to shovel it and thereby increasing the snow content of a bucket per stroke. Preferably, the floating snow blades are outwardly projectable substantially horizontally in alternation, in front of or in the back of, the lower portion of each of said side walls.

Abstract: A backhoe-loader with a undercarriage resting on wheels and comprising at its front end a loader structure with a loader arm and a loading bucket and at the other end a superstructure revolving 360.degree. , a driver cab is mounted to one side of the superstructure and on the other side next to the driver cab there are provided power units and a mounting pad pivotable about a vertical shaft for the horizontal pivot shaft of an excavator boom. The boom is positionable in a raised state with the dipper arm collapsed and the implement in a forward-pointing rest position above the undercarriage and outside the field of view of the driver cab. A front mudguard is present in front of the mounting pad and functions as a rest for the implement, the loader structure is mounted asymmetrically relatively to the longitudinal center axis of the undercarriage on the cab side of the undercarriage, and the rest for the implement on the front mudguard is widened toward the middle of the undercarriage.

Abstract: A stabilizer for an in situ column drilling apparatus comprises a first and second mounting arms, a first and second stabilizing members, and a first and second stabilizing tabs. The mounting arms are adapted for rotatable coupling to the shaft of column drilling systems. The first and second mounting arms are preferably positioned spaced apart along the shaft near the drilling auger. The mounting arms are coupled together by two stabilizing members at opposite ends of the arms distal the shaft. The stabilizing members are advantageously shaped to fit closely against the wall of the column to prevent changes in the auger's drilling course. The first and second stabilizing tabs are attached to the first and second stabilizing members, respectively. The first and second tabs are mounted to extend radially outward from the shaft and also prevent changes in the auger's drilling course.

Abstract: The present invention is a method of controlling this gas migration through the subsurface strata about the landfill. The method comprises the step of installing an extraction well having a zone of influence in proximity to the perimeter of the landfill. Then, there is the step of horizontally fracturing hydraulically the subsurface strata outside the perimeter of the landfill but in proximity to the perimeter of the landfill such that the resulting horizontal fractures in the subsurface strata fluidically communicate with the landfill and the zone of influence of the extraction well. The present invention also pertains to a system for controlling gas migration in subsurface strata about a landfill. The system is comprised of an extraction well which is disposed in the landfill in proximity to the landfill's perimeter. The extraction well has a zone of influence which extends beyond the perimeter of the landfill.

Abstract: An apparatus supported on a truck bed and including a high pressure water conduit for dislodging earthen material for evacuation by a suction conduit. The evacuated material and water pass through a cyclone separator with the removed air directed through a secondary separator. A blower intake induces low pressure in the separators. Solids and water removed by the first mentioned separator are subjected to screening whereat water is reclaimed and returned to a tank from which a high pressure water pump draws. An air lock receives the earthen material and water from the separator. A modified air lock is disclosed for use with highly abrasive material. The screen is positionable about a horizontal axis by a hydraulic cylinder to maintain desired inclination for maximum dewatering of the evacuated material. A water conduit and valve system permit periodic drawing of water from a secondary tank when the level of the reclaimed water in the recovery tank falls below a certain level.

Abstract: Large gas pockets in a crude oil transfer pipeline are detected and separated. As a large gas pocket forms, the liquid level drops (and the hydraulic head declines) in the export riser portion of the transfer pipeline, increasing the pressure required to transfer the fluid. Detection of the lower level and separation decreases the pressure required. Smaller gas pockets, which can be swept down the export riser portion, are not separated. The detecting and separating functions can be combined in a float-type gas vent valve, or separate gas detectors and gas vent valves can be used. The separated gas can be recombined with the crude oil, or used at an import platform, or separately transported to an on-shore facility. If the separated gas requires pressurization, a compressor-expander may be used to compress gas for flow in one direction and recover power from the expanding gas during flow in the other direction.

Abstract: A skidbase 16 and a drilling structure 18 are adapted for transfer between a jack-up platform 12 and a fixed platform 14. The jack-up platform 12 is moved into position adjacent the fixed platform 14 and raised to a height aligned with the fixed platform 14. The skidbase 16 is then transferred onto the fixed platform 14 to provide a base on which the drilling structure 18 is next placed. The jack-up platform 12 is raised to a vertical height aligned with the skidbase 16. To ensure proper location of the top surface of the jack-up platform 12 relative to the skidbase 16, a connection means 47 automatically engages and aligns the jack-up platform 12 with the skidbase 16 so that skid rails 32, 44 located on the deck of the jack-up platform 12 and on a top surface of the skidbase 16 are positioned a precise distance apart and at the same vertical height. The drilling structure 18 is then skidded onto the skidbase 16 so that drilling operations may be performed from the fixed platform 14.

Abstract: A mobile machine arrangement for receiving, storing and distributing track ballast comprises a first machine frame, a second machine frame succeeding the first machine frame in the operating direction, a ballast storage device mounted on the first machine frame, the ballast storage device comprising a ballast conveyor band arranged at a bottom of the ballast storage device and extending longitudinally in the direction of the track, the ballast conveyor band having a forward end and the ballast storage device having an outlet below the ballast conveyor band forward end, a ballast plow arrangement vertically adjustably mounted on the first machine frame behind the ballast storage device outlet, a ballast receiving device mounted on the second machine frame and arranged to receive the track ballast, and a ballast transport device projecting from the second machine frame end towards the first machine frame, the ballast transport device having an input end preceding the ballast receiving device in the operating di

Abstract: A subsea conduit support apparatus including a frame having a plurality of legs extending to a seabed for supporting the frame. The legs are selectively moveable to position the frame member relative to the contour of the seabed. A clamp or ring is carried by the frame to hold the conduit within the apparatus and may be allowed to rotate within the frame, so that undulations or irregularities in the seabed do not affect a substantially horizontal or other selected continuous positioning of the conduit relative to the seabed.

Abstract: Methods for distributing gases throughout the interstices of porous materials and removing volatile substances from the interstices of porous materials. Continuous oscillation of pressures and flows results in increased penetration of the interstices by flowing gases and increased transport of gaseous components out of the interstices. The invention is particularly useful in soil vapor extraction.

Abstract: Dredging apparatus (10) is provided with a flow conduit (18), a first pump (28), a second pump (30), and two valves (34, 44). The flow conduit (18) comprises a first leg (20) extending downwardly to a lower portion (22) and a second leg (24) extending upwardly from the lower portion (22). A fluidizing nozzle (32) is carried by the first leg (20). An intake aperture (26) is provided on the lower portion (22) and is directed downwardly. The dredging apparatus (10) may be used to dredge up material when the material is in a water suspension (48), and to probe through material by scattering material. The valves (34, 44) are operated to switch the apparatus between various modes of operation and to increase the effectiveness of the apparatus.

Abstract: A travelling steel form system includes a three-dimentional framework mechanism with multiple faces crossing and coupling with one another. A set of form panels are fixed to the outer side of the framework mechanism on more than two faces thereof, and are capable of connecting to one another to form a predetermined shape and disconnect from one another to change the shape following expanding and retracting movement of the framework mechanism. A driving device is vertically or horizontally retractably mounted on the front end and or rear end of the framework mechanism for driving the latter to perform movements of expanding the outer diameter or reducing the outer diameter. The system is particularly suited for use in concrete placing work in civil engineering constructions.

Abstract: Drums liners and methods used in the handling of hazardous materials and liquids comprising the use of disposable drum liners having a fitting allowing communication with the interior of the liner for securing the liner to a conventional drum bung hole, said fitting to be used to evacuate and collapse the liner, and a reseal plug attached to the fitting to seal the collapsed liner, said reseal plug having means to accept a plunger. The lid of the drum is removed and the sealed liner is taken from the drum using the plunger attached to the reseal plug. The liner is then placed into a disposal drum made of the same material as the liner and compressed. Once the disposal drum contains a sufficient number of compressed liners, it is removed for incineration or other safe disposal.

Abstract: An attachment assembly for securing excavation teeth to the loading or dipper bucket on large excavation equipment. The assembly includes a bucket lip adapted to be secured to a loading or dipper bucket, and a plurality of shanks adapted to be secured to the lip and carry the excavation teeth. The lip defines a forward edge extending transversely thereacross and defining a plurality of spaced first curvilinear bearing surfaces. Each of the shanks carried by the bucket lip defines a lateral channel therein adapted to receive a portion of the bucket lip and terminating in a second curvilinear bearing surface. The second curvilinear bearing surface abuts and mates with one of the first curvilinear bearing surfaces on the bucket lip upon shank being disposed thereover.