Sandbag Wall System With Sandbags Having A Waist Portion

Abstract

The invention provides a sandbag having a waist portion. The waist has a smaller cross-sectional area than the remainder of the bag, forming a bag shape that has greater resistance to movement when embedded in the backfill material supported by a sandbag wall. In use, the sandbags with a waist portion are positioned so as to extend from the wall face into the backfill, thus stabilizing the wall.

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,

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 interconnecting members attach the sandbags in adjacent courses to each other so as to stabilize and strengthen the sandbag wall structure, permitting the construction of permanent (and temporary) retaining wall structures and ones that may be higher and steeper than conventional sandbag retaining walls. The interconnecting members are plates having projections on both sides that protrude into horizontally and vertically adjacent sandbags.

Canadian patent application No. 2,426,836 (Kim) published Oct. 25, 2004 discloses a retaining wall structure which uses interconnecting members as described in WO 00/61880, in which sandbags are also placed in a position extending from the wall face into the backfill behind the wall at spaced-apart positions along selected courses, in order to stabilize the wall face and the backfill. The present invention is directed to a form of sandbag which is particularly useful in the construction of such walls.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides a sandbag having a waist portion. The waist has a smaller cross-sectional area than the remainder of the bag, forming a bag shape that has greater resistance to movement when embedded in the backfill material supported by a sandbag wall, thus serving a soil and anchoring function in relation to the wall and backfill. In use, the sandbags with a waist portion are positioned so as to extend from the wall face into the backfill, thus stabilizing the wall and the backfill. The invention permits the construction of sandbag walls that are near vertical as well as sloped.

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 sandbag having a waist according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a sandbag having two waists;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional side view of a retaining wall structure according to a further embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional plan view of the wall of FIG. 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIG. 1, sandbag 300 has a bag wall 302, a closed bottom 304 and a top edge 306 which is closed with a tie 308, holding fill material in the bag. The bag has waist 310.

The “waist” of a bag, as that term is used herein, means a portion of the bag that has a smaller cross-sectional area in a plane perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the bag (i.e an axis of running between the top and bottom of the bag) than a cross-sectional area of the bag in parallel planes that are between the waist and the bottom of the bag and between the waist and the top edge of the bag (apart from such planes through another waist, in the case of a bag having two or more waists). The waist 310 is maintained by a tie 312 surrounding it. The waist 310 effectively divides the sandbag 300 into two sections 314, 316.

In other embodiments of the sandbag, there can be multiple waists, for example two, three or more. Such additional waists enhance the resistance to movement of the sandbag and therefore its soil anchoring effect. By way of illustration, FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of the sandbag having two waists. Bag 301 has an upper waist 309 encircled by tie 313 and lower waist 311 encircled by tie 315.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, a retaining wall structure 320 according to the invention is constructed on ground 322 and comprises a plurality of courses 324 of conventional sandbags 316, forming a wall face 318. Backfill 326 is compacted behind and supported by sandbags 316.

At selected, longitudinally-spaced positions along selected, vertically-spaced courses, sandbags 300 are placed in the courses 324 so as to extend from the wall face into the backfill 326. Within a given course, such extending sandbags 300 may be positioned, for example, between every second and third conventional sandbags, or at such other spacing as is appropriate for effective stabilization of the wall face in a particular application. Likewise, the extending sandbags 300 may be positioned at selected levels during the construction of a wall, for example at every third course, or as required for a particular application. It will be understood that extending sandbags 300 can be of any desired and practical length, to extend into the backfill as far as required for a given application. Sandbags 300 may accordingly be longer and smaller in cross-section than conventional sandbags 316, if desired.

Interconnecting members 328 are used in the construction of the retaining wall 320. Preferably, the interconnecting members are of the types described in WO 00/61880. The interconnecting members 328 are placed over horizontally-adjacent sandbags in a course to attach them together and, at the same time, to attach vertically adjacent courses together.

It will apparent that the extending sandbags 300, because they extend into the backfill 326, anchor the face of the wall to the backfill supported by the wall. This anchoring effect of the extending sandbags 300 is enhanced by the bag waist 310. Backfill 326 surrounds the bag 300 and the shoulders 330 of the bottom section 316 of the sandbag press against the surrounding fill and resist movement of the bag 300 in the direction of the wall face.

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 substance defined by the following claims.

Claims

1. A sandbag comprising a bag having a wall, a closed bottom and a closed top, said bag containing a fill material, said bag having a waist.

2. A sandbag according to claim 1 wherein said bag has at least two waists.

3. A retaining wall structure comprising: (a) a plurality of courses of sandbags forming a wall face supporting a mass of backfill, each of said courses comprising a plurality of sandbags; (b) interconnecting members positioned between adjacent courses to connect sandbags of each course to said sandbags of each adjacent course; (c) at least one sandbag extending from said wall face into said backfill, said extending sandbag having a waist; and (d) said extending sandbag being attached by means of an interconnecting member to one or more of said sandbags forming said wall face.

4. A retaining wall structure according to claim 3 wherein there is a plurality of said extending sandbags, spaced apart from each other and extending from said wall face into said backfill, said extending sandbags each being attached by means of said interconnecting members to one or more of said sandbags forming said wall face.

5. A retaining wall structure according to claim 3 wherein said extending sandbag has two or more waists.