Sandbag Wall Ststem with Multi-Compartment Sandbag

Abstract

A bag for holding fill material for use in the construction of sandbag retaining walls and erosion control has two or more longitudinally-extending compartments formed by a line of attachment between opposed bag wall sections. In use, if one compartment wall fails, the bag as a whole will remain functional within the wall. The compartments can also be filled with different fill materials, for example soil and dry mix concrete, to provide walls having characteristics suited for particular applications.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention pertains to sandbag wall systems for use in erosion control, flood protection, coastal protection, slope stabilization and similar applications, and to improved bags, walls and methods of making such walls.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In the art of erosion control, flood protection, coastal protection, slope stabilization and the like, it is known to build stable and effective walls of sandbags, preferably using interconnecting plates to connect the bags together and stabilize the wall. See, for example, international patent publication WO 00/61880 (Kim), dated Oct. 19, 2000. The bags used in such walls may be made of geotextile, a material having properties desirable for such applications. Geotextile is, however, subject to degradation by UV light from exposure of the wall face to sunlight. Additives can be incorporated in geotextile to render the material resistant to UV light, but it is preferable for environmental reasons to reduce or avoid chemical additives in the material. It would be desirable to provide a bag that, if the exposed face fails due to damage from UV exposure (or other causes, such as mechanical damage) the bag as a whole would not fail and would substantially remain functional within the wall.

Further, it is desirable to be able to grow vegetation on the face of a sandbag retaining wall. This can be done by using soil mixed with grass or other plant seeds as a fill material. However, for particular applications, other fill material such as gravel may be useful, and it would be desirable to provide for both kinds of fill material, or others, in a suitable configuration in the bag.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides a multi-compartment bag for holding fill material, for use in the construction of sandbag walls. The bag has a wall, a closed bottom and a top edge, the bag wall having opposed wall sections attached together along a line extending from the bag bottom towards the top edge, forming two compartments in the bag that open to the top edge and are adapted to receive fill material.

According to another embodiment, the bag has a plurality of lines of attachment between opposed wall sections, forming a plurality of compartments, such as three or more compartments.

According to another embodiment, there is provided a sandbag wall comprising a plurality of such bags. The compartments in a bag may be filled with different fill materials, such as soil or dry mix concrete, and the bags are positioned such that the compartments with a given fill material are aligned end to end, for example having the compartments with soil as the fill material positioned to form the exposed face of the wall.

The invention further provides a method of constructing a sandbag wall. Bags having multiple compartments are provided, the compartments are filled with fill material, the bags are closed and a plurality of such filled bags are positioned to form the wall. The different compartments may be filled with different fill material.

In this specification, “fill material” means any material that is suitable for use in bags in the construction of walls, including sand, soil, gravel, dry mix concrete (which hardens after wetting and curing) and mixtures thereof, including fill material with seeds for vegetation. The term “sandbag” as used in this specification means a bag containing any “fill material.”For further clarity, the term is not limited to a bag in which the fill material is sand. The term “wall” as used herein in relation to structures made of sandbags includes any array of sandbags that is suitable for the purpose of erosion control (for example along shorelines, riverbanks, etc.), flood control, retaining or stabilizing slopes or embankments, noise barriers, landscaping, and for similar applications.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a bag having two compartments according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is an end view on the line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an end view similar to FIG. 2 showing another embodiment of the bag, having three compartments;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of a course of bags in a sandbag wall; and

FIG. 5 is a vertical cross-sectional view through a sandbag wall.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, bag 10 has a wall 12, a closed bottom 14 and a top edge 16. It is preferably made of geotextile material and formed of a single piece thereof by sewing along bottom edge 16 and longitudinal side edge 18. The wall 12 accordingly has two opposed wall sections 20, 22 that form the two sides of the bag.

Wall sections 20, 22 are attached together along a line of attachment 24, preferably by sewing, thus forming two compartments 26, 28, extending from the bottom 14 toward the top edge 16 of the bag. The line of attachment may extend all the way to top edge 16 but it is not necessary that it do so, since the bag is not filled to the top edge to permit it to be closed.

Preferably, the line of attachment 24 is approximately perpendicular to the top edge of the bag, so each compartment has a uniform cross-section along its length.

In order to use bag 10 in the construction of a wall, it is filled with one or more suitable fill materials, for example by means of pouring the fill material into the open top end 16 of the bag, filling both compartments, and then closing the top end, for example by tying it with a suitable closure. It will be understood that filling the bag requires leaving enough empty space at the top to facilitate such tying, as the top edge is gathered together by such tie. The open top end may also be closed by sewing, stapling, etc.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, the filled bags 10, tied closed by tie 11, are assembled into a wall configuration comprising a plurality of generally horizontal courses 15. Configurations of sandbags forming retaining walls and erosion control structures are well known in the prior art, for example WO 00/61880, and bags 10 can be employed in such configurations. Such walls comprise a plurality of generally horizontal courses of sandbags, the courses being arranged in a vertical or sloping configuration. In the present invention, the bags in each course 15 are laid so that one compartment 26 is adjacent to the outer (i.e. exposed) face 31 of the wall and the other compartment 28 is adjacent the inner side 33, i.e. adjacent to the backfill 35 and the slope in back of the wall. It will be apparent that, in the event that the exposed face of a bag in the wall fails, for example due to UV degradation of the bag material, or mechanical damage, the contents of compartment 26 of the bag will be subject to erosion from the wall, but compartment 28 of the bag will not be affected.

The two compartments 26, 28 may be filled with different fill materials, for example, compartment 26 may be filled with soil, or soil mixed with seeds, and compartment 28 with sand, gravel or dry mix concrete, depending on the requirements of the particular retaining wall or erosion control application. In such case, the bags 10 are positioned such that the compartments 26 filled with soil form the outer face of the wall, to facilitate the growth of vegetation on the wall face. This both enhances the appearance of the wall and protects the bags from exposure to sunlight.

The two compartments 26, 28 are of any desired size and can be the same or different. For example, compartment 26 may be one-third the volume of the bag and compartment 28 two-thirds, or half and half, or one-quarter and three-quarters, etc. The selection will depend on the particular application and the fill materials used. For example, a bag with compartment 26 being one-third of the bag volume and filled with soil and compartment 28 being two-thirds of the bag volume and filled with dry mix concrete would be suitable for an erosion control application where land and water meet, as along a shoreline or the embankment of a river or stream.

The bag can also be made with three or more compartments. Referring to FIG. 3, bag 10A has three compartments 26A, 28A and 28B, formed by two generally parallel lines of attachment 24A and 24B. Again, the compartments can be the same or different sizes and be filled with the same or different fill materials. For example, compartment 26A may be filled with soil, 28A with gravel and 28B with dry mix concrete, or as suitable for any particular application.

As will be apparent to those skilled in the art in the light of the foregoing disclosure, many alterations and modifications are possible in the practice of this invention without departing from the scope thereof. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is to be construed in accordance with the sub-stance defined by the following claims.

Claims

1. A bag for holding fill material, said bag being for use in the construction of sandbag walls, comprising a bag wall, a closed bottom and a top edge, said bag wall having opposed wall sections attached together along a line extending from said bag bottom towards said top edge, forming two compartments in said bag that are open to said top edge and adapted to receive said fill material therein.

2. A bag according to claim 1 wherein said line of attachment is generally perpendicular to said top edge.

3. A bag according to claim 1 wherein said line of attachment is a sewn line.

4. A bag according to claim 1 wherein said bag is made of geotextile.

5. A bag according to claim wherein said bag is filled with said fill material and is closed at said top edge.

6. A bag according to claim 5 wherein one of said compartments is filled with a first fill material and a second said compartment is filled with a second fill material.

7. A bag according to claim 6 wherein said first fill material is one of soil, dry mix concrete, gravel and sand, and said second fill material is one of dry mix concrete, gravel and sand.

8. A bag for holding fill material, said bag being for use in the construction of sandbag walls, comprising a bag wall, a closed bottom and a top edge, said bag wall having opposed wall sections attached together along a plurality of lines extending from said bag bottom towards said top edge, forming a plurality of compartments in said bag that are open to said top edge and adapted to receive said fill material therein.

9. A bag according to claim 8 wherein there are two said lines of attachment and three said compartments.

10. A bag according to claim 1 wherein one of said compartments is larger than the other of said compartments.

11. A sandbag wall comprising a plurality of courses of bags according to claim 6 wherein said bags in a course are positioned such that said compartments filled with said first fill material are aligned end to end with each other and said compartments filled with said second fill material are aligned end to end with each other.

12. A method of constructing a sandbag wall comprising the steps of:

(a) providing a bag for holding fill material, said bag comprising a bag wall, a closed bottom and a top edge, said bag wall having opposed wall sections attached together along a line extending from said bag bottom towards said top edge, forming two compartments in said bag that are open to said top edge and adapted to receive said fill material therein;

(b) filling a first said compartment with a first fill material;

(c) filling a second said compartment with a second fill material;

(d) closing said bag;

(e) positioning a plurality of said filled bags to form said wall.

13. A method according to claim 12 wherein said first compartments of said plurality of filled bags form an outer face of said wall.

14. A method according to claim 12 wherein said first fill material is one of soil, dry mix concrete, gravel and sand, and said second fill material is one of dry mix concrete, gravel and sand.

15. A method according to claim 14 wherein said first fill material is soil and said first compartments of said plurality of filled bags form an outer face of said wall.