Abstract: Magnesium ammonium phosphate (struvite), suitable for use as a slow-release fertilizer for example, is produced by mixing animal manure with a pre-specified amount of a magnesium-rich compound. A pre-specified amount of an enzyme, such as an urease or uricase, is added to the resultant mixture. The temperature and pH of this mixture are maintained within a pre-specified range to facilitate precipitation of the magnesium ammonium phosphate. Optionally, the enzyme-supplemented mixture may be inoculated with a pre-specified amount of bacteria, such as Bacillus sphaericus, Bacillus globisporus, or Bacillus fusiformis, or a species of Bacillus identified as Bacillus sp. SB1. This bacteria-supplemented mixture is then allowed to incubate for about 14 days to form struvite.

Abstract: A backstop for decelerating and trapping projectiles generally includes a support structure having an inclined surface and a projectile trapping medium disposed on the inclined surface. The projectile trapping medium may be either a resilient granular ballistic medium or a combination of a ballistic medium with a hydrated super absorbent polymer (SAP) gel. Preferably, the support structure is made of a shock absorbing, foamed, fiber-reinforced concrete, such as SACON®. In embodiments, the support structure also includes an enclosure. Additives may also be mixed into the projectile trapping medium to control alkalinity and prevent leaching of heavy metals.

Abstract: An initial process for preparing material to use in manufacturing fiber-reinforced structures. One embodiment envisions a method of manufacturing a cement board. The initial process includes providing an open mat of recycled carpet fibers in a container, placing a mortar mixture directly over the fiber mat, distributing the mortar through the fiber mat by moving a comb having bent tines through the mortar-fiber mixture, and vibrating the mortar-fiber mixture substantially simultaneously with the distribution of mortar through the fiber. Also provided is a method for making the final product.

Abstract: Provided are structural material for bullet traps and the like, a method of producing it, and a structure comprising it. The material is suitable for entraining and immobilizing projectiles and fine particles in a sticky gel. It is prepared by mixing cement with a thickener to form a dry mixture. Water is mixed with a fine aggregate in a mixer. The dry mixture is combined with the aqueous mixture in the mixer to form a slurry. Calcium phosphate and an alumina compound are added, mixing each separately until homogeneous. The density of the mixture is measured and an aqueous foam is added to adjust the density to a pre-specified level. Fibers are mixed into the adjusted mixture to form a homogeneous slurry that may be poured into a mold or in place at a construction site. Upon curing, the material may be used as a structural component.

Abstract: Provided are an improved structural material for bullet traps and the like, a method of producing it, and a structure comprising it. The material is suitable for entraining and immobilizing projectiles and fine particles in a sticky gel. It is prepared by mixing cement with a thickener to form a dry mixture. Water is mixed with a fine aggregate in a mixer. The dry mixture is combined with the aqueous mixture in the mixer to form a slurry. Calcium phosphate and an aluminum compound are added, mixing each separately until homogeneous. The density of the mixture is measured and an aqueous foam is added to adjust the density to a pre-specified level. Fibers are mixed into the adjusted mixture to form a homogeneous slurry that may be poured into a mold or in place at a construction site. Upon curing, the material may be used as a structural component.

Abstract: Slow-release fertilizer is produced by composting animal manure with a magnesium-rich compound The temperature of this mixture is maintained at 20-30° C. and the pH is maintained between 7-10. Urease is added to the mixture. Next, the mixture is inoculated with bacteria of the species Bacillus sphaericus, Bacillus globisporus, or Bacillus fusiformis. The mixture is then allowed to incubate for about 14 days to form magnesium ammonium phosphate. Optionally, phosphatase, an enzyme promoting the formation of phosphate from phosphorus-rich organic compounds, is added with the urease enzyme to increase the yield of magnesium-ammonium phosphate.

Abstract: A mat for covering soil comprising a lower fabric layer, an upper fabric layer superimposed over the lower fabric layer, and a water absorbing material interposed between said lower fabric layer and upper fabric layer. The mat contains tubular segments containing fabric and hydraulically setting cement. The cover, when wetted, becomes ballasted by the absorbed water and the tubular elements harden to form rigid ribs that hold the mat in conformity with the surface of the underlying soil.

Abstract: Tapered bags are dispensed singly from a nested configuration. They may be made of plastic, paper, aluminum foil, or aluminum foil laminated with plastic. The bags are connected at the top by a strip that has a row of perforations between the strip and the top of each bag, the strips in turn attached to each other by conventional fasteners such as staples. The taper may be formed by folding the bags so that a dispensed bag may be unfolded to have a bottom as wide as the top. A row of closely spaced perforations along the connecting portion between any two bags allows a single outermost bag to be separated by pulling and tearing along the row of perforations.

Abstract: Tapered bags are dispensed singly from a roll. They may be made of plastic, paper, aluminum foil, or aluminum foil laminated with plastic. The bags are connected on the roll alternately top-to-top and bottom-to-bottom. Each bag is tapered towards its bottom such that its top-to-top connection with the next bag is wider than the bottom-to-bottom connection. The taper may be formed by folding the bags so that a dispensed bag may be unfolded to have a bottom as wide as the top. Each bottom-to-bottom connection separates the bags along a row of perforations adjacent to a sealed seam of each bag that defines the bag and insures its integrity. A row of closely spaced perforations along the connecting portion between any two bags allows a single end bag to be separated by pulling and tearing along the row of perforations.

Abstract: Filter elements for draining wastewater into the soil in leach fields comprise net sacks filled with scrap rubber or plastic chips and supplied with fabric filter cloth. Leach fields are constructed by excavating trenches, placing a first row of filter elements at the bottom of the trenches, installing a drain pipe on top of the row of filter elements, placing a second row of filter elements on top of the first row and the drain pipe, overlapping the pieces of filter cloth to provide a barrier to the surrounding soil, and backfilling the trench with soil.

Abstract: Filter elements for draining wastewater into the soil in leach fields comprise net sacks filled with scrap rubber or plastic chips and supplied with fabric filter cloth. Leach fields are constructed by excavating trenches, placing a first row of filter elements at the bottom of the trenches, installing a drain pipe on top of the row of filter elements, placing a second row of filter elements on top of the first row and the drain pipe, overlapping the pieces of filter cloth to provide a barrier to the surrounding soil, and backfilling the trench with soil.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for installing a groundwater sampling device into the ground includes a generally cylindrical housing open at top and bottom end portions and defining a recess therein. An expendable tip member is removably connected to the bottom and portion of the housing. A well tubing or casing is positioned generally centrally in the recess and includes top and bottom end portions. An elongated spiral-wound cylinder is slidably positioned in the recess of the housing and in a surrounding relationship to the tubing. The tubing is attached to the tip member at the bottom end portion thereof and includes a lower section having a plurality of perforations about the periphery thereof to allow fluid to enter the interior of the tubing.

Abstract: A method of attaching a covering material, such as carpeting, to a concrete surface, includes applying a first adhesive over a concrete surface, providing a steel barrier including a plurality of projections extending from the bottom surface thereof, pressing the steel barrier over the adhesive such that the projections are embedded therein, and bonding the covering material over the barrier. The moisture-proof barrier construction of the present invention includes a concrete layer, a steel barrier, which is adhesively mounted to the concrete layer and includes a plurality of projections extending from the bottom surface thereof that are embedded into an adhesive between the concrete layer and the steel barrier. The barrier includes a covering material which is adhesively mounted on the steel barrier.

Abstract: A method of forming low lead leaching foamed concrete is provided. The method includes the step of dry mixing cement with a suspending agent to form a dry mixture. Water is mixed with a fine aggregate to form an aqueous mixture. The dry mixture is mixed into the aqueous mixture to form a slurry. Calcium phosphate is mixed into the slurry until all constituents are throughly distributed throughout the resulting mixture. The density of the resulting mixture is determined and an aqueous foam is added to the resulting mixture until the density of the resulting mixture is reduced to a desired level. Fibers are mixed into the resulting mixture until the fiber is distributed throughout the final mixture. The final mixture is placed into a mold. The mixture is allowed to harden and cure.

Abstract: Filter elements for draining wastewater into the soil in leach fields comprise net sacks filled with scrap rubber or plastic chips and supplied with fabric filter cloth. Leach fields are constructed by excavating trenches, placing a first row of filter elements at the bottom of the trenches, installing a drain pipe on top of the row of filter elements, placing a second row of filter elements on top of the first row and the drain pipe, overlapping the pieces of filter cloth to provide a barrier to the surrounding soil, and backfilling the trench with soil.

Abstract: Shock-absorbing blocks for bullet stops at firing ranges and for traffic trol are made by encasing scrap rubber tires in concrete. To ensure firm attachment of the tires to the concrete, reinforcements such as wire loops are fastened to the tire. To prevent the formation of air pockets during the pouring of the concrete mixture into a mold holding the tire, vent holes are punched into the side walls of the tire. To allow the concrete mixture to flow under the tire in the mold, the tire is propped up with support blocks. Wires may be strung across the top of the tire and attached to the side walls of the mold to prevent movement of the tire while the concrete is being poured into the mold. The concrete mixture may contain an aqueous foam additive, a stabilizer, and fiber reinforcements such as steel or organic polymers.

Abstract: The invention is a pop-up target system wherein a three-dimensional target is raised by a knee-like action. The target may take the form of a head and torso manufactured in two parts, a front half and a back half, which are hinged at the top of the head portion and may incorporate a thick, relatively massive material which will absorb incoming bullets. The bases of the torso halves are each mounted through hinges to two separate four-wheeled platforms or trucks which are constrained by tracks or guide cables to move linearly to move the bases of the torso halves together in an upright position or apart in a flat horizontal position. The linear relative position of the torso halves is controlled by linear moving means attached to the wheeled platforms or trucks such that at the maximum separation between the torso halves, the two halves of the target lays inclined on a brace so as to be out of horizontal alignment, preferably 5 to 10 degrees out of alignment.

Abstract: Shock-absorbing blocks for bullet stops at firing ranges and for traffic trol are made by encasing scrap rubber tires in concrete. To ensure firm attachment of the tires to the concrete, reinforcements such as wire loops are fastened to the tire. To prevent the formation of air pockets during the pouring of the concrete mixture into a mold holding the tire, vent holes are punched into the side walls of the tire. To allow the concrete mixture to flow under the tire in the mold, the tire is propped up with support blocks. Wires may be strung across the top of the tire and attached to the side walls of the mold to prevent movement of the tire while the concrete is being poured into the mold. The concrete mixture may contain an aqueous foam additive, a stabilizer, and fiber reinforcements such as steel or organic polymers.

Abstract: The invention's first embodiment uses shape memory alloy (SMA) fibers that are blended into a concrete composite material as straight fibers and are made to deform themselves and anchor and interlock themselves after dispersement in the composite material resulting in a more evenly distributed and interlocked fiber reinforcement of the cementitious material. A self-shaping fiber can be imparted to the concrete material by making the fibers out of SMA such as nickel-titanium alloy known as nitinol where the cementitious composite material mixture is briefly heated above the "transition" temperature prior to hardening that causes the fibers to change shape. Nitinol fibers are used alone in place of conventional steel fibers.

Abstract: The invention relates to a grout injection device and method for depositing a liquid grouting material in a hole formed by a cone penetrometer. The device is a modular design with a sliding sleeve member that replaces older grouting injection devices with exit port opening actuated by fluidic pressures with an improved more reliable mechanical design that is actuated by withdrawal of the cone penetrometer pipe string by friction between the sliding sleeve and the soil wall formed by the cone penetrometer. The invention solves the problem of pressure losses that can occur with prior art devices resulting in partially opened grout exit ports. The instant invention's design also achieves proper channeling of the grout flowing out of the device's grout exit ports for even distribution of grout filling the hole. This is achieved by the invention's boss structures mounted on an adapter unit of the device.