AU2010227078B2

AU2010227078B2 - A Pipe and Culvert Fabrication

Info

Publication number: AU2010227078B2
Application number: AU2010227078A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Peter Andrews
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2009-10-13
Filing date: 2010-10-11
Publication date: 2016-12-22
Anticipated expiration: 2030-10-11
Also published as: AU2010227078A1

Abstract

A new pipe (1) is disclosed having an inlet (2) which is formed from a forwardly extended lip (5) having a rim (6) which has a height above the bottom (9) of the pipe and which partially occludes the pipe inlet. The pipe (1) can be placed in an embankment (30) to form a culvert. A flow splitter in the form of a willow tree (41) is used to split the flow (46) into two approximately equal and to some extent opposed streams. Rocks (42, 142) are used to generate turbulence at the inlet (2) and below the outlet (3). A multipart pipe (71) is also disclosed. 533OB-AU 7/9 < 04 CV) to to

Description

1 2010227078 30 Nov 2016 AUSTRALIA Patents Act 1990

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT ORIGINAL Name of Applicant(s): PETER ANDREWS Actual Inventor(s): PETER ANDREWS Address for Service: FRASER OLD & SOHN Patent Attorneys PO Box 560 MILSONS POINT NSW 1565 Invention Title: A Pipe & Culvert Fabrication Details of Associated Provisional Applications: 2009 904 961 Dated 13 October 2009

The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me:

5330B-AU 2 2010227078 30 Nov 2016

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to pipes and, in particular, to pipes which are utilized in the construction of culverts.

Background Art

Conventional culverts use a cylindrical reinforced concrete pipe to conduct water from an uphill side to a down hill side of some structure such as a road or other embankment.

The conventional method of constructing culverts results in several problems. One of these is the erosion of the material of the embankment or road both adjacent the inlet, and adjacent the outlet, of the pipe. Another problem which arises is the deposition of sand and other sediment in the pipe itself thereby progressively leading to partial pipe blockage.

Genesis of the Invention

The genesis of the present invention is a desire to provide an alternative to conventional pipe structures and culvert fabrication which goes at least someway towards ameliorating the abovementioned difficulties.

Summary of the Invention

In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention there is disclosed a pipe comprising a tube having an inlet and an outlet wherein said inlet comprises a generally U-shaped lip which extends transversely to the tube, rises upwardly from the bottom of the pipe, is extended forwardly of said pipe, and has a rim at a height above the bottom of said pipe.

In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention there is disclosed a method of installing a pipe to form a culvert or like structure, said method comprising the steps of : (i) installing the abovementioned pipe in a water course with said inlet facing upstream, (ii) forming an approach to either side of said pipe whilst leaving its inlet and outlet clear, and

5330B-AU 3 2010227078 30 Nov 2016 (iii) placing a flow splitter immediately upstream of, and substantially centrally placed in relation to, said inlet.

According to a third aspect of the present invention there is disclosed a culvert or like installation, said culvert comprising the abovementioned pipe installed in a water course with the inlet thereof facing upstream, said pipe having its inlet and outlet clear, and having a flow splitter placed immediately upstream of, and substantially centrally placed in relation to, said inlet.

Brief Description of the Drawings A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is an end elevation of the inlet end of the pipe of a first embodiment,

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the pipe of Fig. 1, the length of the pipe being indeterminate,

Fig. 3 is a perspective view from above of the pipe of Figs. 1 and 2,

Fig. 4 is a perspective view from above of a pipe of a second embodiment,

Fig. 5 is a perspective view from above of a prior art culvert construction,

Fig. 6 is an equivalent view but illustrating a culvert constructed utilizing the pipe of Figs.1-3,

Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the VII - VII of Fig. 6,

Fig. 8 is a plan view of the culvert of Fig. 7,

Fig. 9 is a vertical cross-section through a conventional culvert showing undercutting caused by the prior art construction,

Fig. 10 is a perspective view, similar to Fig. 6, but of a still further embodiment of the present invention,

Fig. 11 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view through the pipe of Fig. 10,

Fig. 12 is a perspective view of the inlet of the pipe of Figs. 10 and 11 showing the detail of the flow splitter and log excluder devices,

Fig. 13 is a perspective view of a low level bridge construction utilizing the pipe of Figs. 10 and 12, and

Fig. 14 is a plan view of the outlet end of the pipes of Fig. 13; and

5330B-AU 4 2010227078 30 Nov 2016

Fig. 15 is a transverse cross-sectional view through a pipe of a yet another embodiment.

Detailed Description

As seen in Figs. 1 to 3, the pipe 1 of a first embodiment has an inlet 2 and an outlet 3. The pipe 1 is substantially cylindrical having a substantially circular transverse cross-section and, as indicated schematically in Fig. 2, is of indeterminate length, being manufactured to a length suitable for the job required.

The inlet 2 has a generally U-shaped lip 5 which extends upwardly from the bottom of the pipe, not unlike the lower lip of the human mouth. The lip 5 has a substantially horizontal rim 6 which terminates in a semi-circular front end 8. As best seen in Figs. 1 and 2, the height of the rim 6 above the bottom 9 is approximately half way between the distance between the bottom 9 of the pipe and the top 10 of the pipe. A second embodiment of the pipe 21 is illustrated in Fig. 4 in which the lip 25 is more elongated than is the lip 5 of Figs. 1 to 3. A prior art culvert is illustrated in Fig. 5 and takes the form of an embankment 30 through which a conventional cylindrical pipe 31 passes. The embankment has a roadway 32 on top with two spaced apart tyre tracks 33 caused by motor vehicles passing along the roadway 32. Grass 34 grows on the embankment 30 but not in the tyre tracks 33. A stream 35 or intermittent water course passes through the pipe 31. In some instances a generally V or U-shaped cuff or gauntlet 37 is provided at each end of the pipe 31 in order to protect the embankment 30 from erosion. The gauntlet 37 is sometimes referred to as a headwall. It is also possible to have the roadway 32 substantially flush with the top of the pipe 31.

Fig. 6 is equivalent to Fig. 5 but illustrates the culvert having the pipe 1 of Figs. 1 to 3 installed therein.

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Turning now to Figs. 7 and 8, it will be seen that immediately upstream of, and centrally positioned in relation to, the lip 5 is a flow splitting mechanism which preferably takes the form of a tree 41 (which is preferably a willow tree). Placed around the roots of the tree 41 are numerous rocks 42 which are also located alongside either side of the rim 6. As seen in Fig. 8, preferably a wall of substantially vertical bars 44 is driven into the bed of the stream 35 so as to resist the movement of any logs or any large branches in the downstream direction which might block the pipe 1. Downstream of the pipe 1 are rocks 142 which are positioned below the outlet 3 and, as indicated by the arrow in Fig. 7, are at a height which is substantially below the level of the rim 6.

The flow of water through the pipe 1 is illustrated schematically in Fig. 8 by a number of broken lines indicating the direction of flow 46. It will be seen that the tree 41 functions as a flow splitter which splits the flow 46 into two approximately equal flows which pass over and through the rocks 42 and thus into the lip 5 from opposite directions. This has two consequences. The first is that the transverse forces generated by the two opposite flows are substantially counteracted and this tends to remove some of the energy from the flow 46. In addition, the water passing over the rim 46 drops into the pipe 1 and is therefore both accelerated and made turbulent.

The turbulence of the water flowing into the pipe 1 means that sediment contained in the flow 1 is maintained flowing and thus is not deposited within the pipe 1. In addition, the increased speed of the water and the high static pressure head at the inlet means that more water is able to flow through the pipe 1 than is able to flow through the conventional pipe 31 of the same internal diameter.

Furthermore, as seen in Fig. 8, the water passing out of the outlet 3 strikes the rocks 142 and is substantially de-energised thereby since the flow is directed in many different directions and the oppositely directed flow portions de-energise the flow to a large extent. This has the result of there is no undercutting of the outlet 3 as is the case with a conventional pipe 103 as illustrated in Fig. 9 where a waterfall action develops and the embankment 30 is undercut by a series of head walls 39 which progressively move upstream.

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Turning now to Figs. 10 to 12 a pipe 51 of a still further embodiment is illustrated, which is substantially as before save that the lip 55 is enlarged upwardly so that the rim 56 is at a height above the top 10 of the pipe 51. Furthermore, the top 10 of the pipe 51 is substantially flush with the embankment 30 which has a roadway 32 and tyre tracks 33 as before.

As best seen in Figs. 11 and 12, a flow splitter post 61 is centrally positioned immediately upstream of, and adjacent to the inlet of, the pipe 51. The post 61 is provided with a cross bar 62 and a number of guard fingers 63 which extend in the downstream direction from the cross bar 62.

The flow splitter post 61 functions as a device to split the flow entering the pipe 51 and the guard fingers 63 constitute an excluding device to exclude logs and other large items of debris which would otherwise enter the pipe 51 in times of flood. As schematically indicated in Fig. 12 the guard fingers 63 can be manufactured from treated pine logs, PVC sewer pipe, and the like.

As seen in Fig. 11, at the downstream end of the pipe 51 are located rocks 142, native trees 143 and native grasses 145 the function of which will be explained hereafter in relation to Fig. 14.

It is possible to use the pipes 51 of Figs. 10 to 12 in a culvert construction which functions as a bridge as illustrated schematically in Fig. 13. Here a plurality of pipes 51 are laid side by side with the number of pipes 51 being sufficient to carry the maximum flow of the stream to be bridged except when in flood. Each of the pipes 51 as illustrated in Fig. 13 is provided with a flow splitter and log excluding device as illustrated in Fig. 12, however, this device is not illustrated in Fig. 13 so as not to overburden the drawing. A similar situation arises in respect of Fig. 10.

Positioned above the pipes 51 is a timber deck 66 which is flush with the roadway 32. In Fig. 13 part of the roadway 32 is illustrated in a cutaway fashion so as to better illustrate the individual timber beams 67 of the timber deck 66. Instead of a timber deck 66, a layer of concrete, packed gravel, etc can be used to form the roadway 32.

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In Fig. 14 the downstream side of the bridge of Fig. 13 is illustrated in plan view. Immediately downstream from the outlet of the pipe 51 are located rocks 142, native grasses 145 and native trees 143. In times of low flow through the pipes 51 the rocks 142, trees 143 and native grasses 145 divert the flow into a multitude of different paths as schematically illustrated in Fig. 8 so as to thereby absorb much of the energy of the flowing water.

However, in times of flood, water passes over the embankment 30 and the timber deck 66 of the bridge as well as flowing through the pipes 51. Under these circumstances, the rocks 142, native trees 143 and native grasses 145 impede the flow of water and therefore raise the water level of water within the water course immediately downstream of the deck 66. This body of water provides a pressure in an upstream direction on the downstream surface of the embankment 30 and thus reduces the net downstream force on the structure caused by the water flowing downstream.

Thus in connection with both Fig. 11 and 13, in times of flood only a relatively shallow flow passes over the top 10 of the pipe 51, the bulk of the water is diverted into the pipes 51, debris is diverted by the flow splitter post 61 and guard fingers 63 so that such debris flows over the top 10 of the pipe 51 and thereby maintains the pipe 51 clear.

Turning now to Fig. 15, yet another embodiment of pipe 71 is illustrated. The pipe 71 is fabricated from four pieces namely a baseplate 72, two oppositely curved side walls 73 and 74 and a lid 75. The lid 75 has two spaced apart longitudinally extending ribs 77 which prevent inward movement of the upper edges of the side walls 73, 74. The baseplate 72 has a longitudinally extending spine 78 which prevents inward movement of the lower edges of the side walls 73, 74.

In use a substantially flat surface 80 is prepared having the desired fall for the pipe 71. The surface 80 can be easily compacted at the desired inclination. Then the baseplate 72 is laid. Next the side walls 73, 74 are locate on the baseplate 72 and some fill 85 positioned adjacent the outer surfaces of the side walls 73, 74 to retain same approximately in position. Then the lid 75 is placed on the upper edges of the side walls 73. 74. Finally the remainder of the fill 85 is positioned and compacted so as to

5330B-AU 8 2010227078 30 Nov 2016 form the roadway 32 and simultaneously maintain the side walls 73, 74 in their final position.

Not only is the baseplate 72 more easily positioned than a cylindrical pipe but the components of the pipe 71 can be transported in a more compact volume than the assembled pipe.

Furthermore, a plurality of the pipes 71 can be laid side by side to form a bridge in the general manner indicated in Figs. 13 and 14.

The foregoing describes only some embodiments of the present invention and modifications, obvious to those skilled in the fluid dynamics arts, can be made thereto without departing from the scope of the present invention.

For example, although the pipes 1,21 are preferably made from reinforced concrete, they can also be fabricated from plastics material.

The term “comprising” (and its grammatical variations) as used herein is used in the inclusive sense of “including” or “having” and not in the exclusive sense of “consisting only of’.

5330B-AU

Claims

CLAIMS The claims defining the invention are as follows:

1. A pipe comprising a tube having an inlet and an outlet wherein said inlet comprises a generally U-shaped lip which extends transversely to the tube, rises upwardly from the bottom of the pipe, is extended forwardly of said pipe, and has a rim at a height above the bottom of said pipe.
2. The pipe as claimed in claim 1 wherein said rim has a height which is substantially intermediate the bottom and top of said pipe.
3. The pipe as claimed in claim 1 wherein said rim has a height which is above the top of said pipe.
4. The pipe as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein said tube is of substantially circular transverse cross-section.
5. The pipe as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4 and fabricated from reinforced concrete.
6. The pipe as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5 wherein said rim is substantially level.
7. A method of installing a pipe to form a culvert or like structure, said method comprising the steps of: (i) installing the pipe as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6 in a water course with said inlet facing upstream, (ii) forming an approach to either side of said pipe whilst leaving its inlet and outlet clear, and (iii) placing a flow splitter immediately upstream of, and substantially centrally placed in relation to, said inlet.
8. The method as claimed in claim 7 including the further step of: (iv) placing a turbulence generator alongside said lip of said inlet at both sides thereof.
9. The method as claimed in claim 7 or 8 including the step of: (v) placing turbulence generators downstream of, and below, said pipe outlet.
10. The method as claimed in claim 8 or 9 wherein said turbulence generators are selected from the class consisting of rocks, trees, and grasses.
11. The method as claimed in any one of claims 7 to 10 wherein said flow splitter is selected from the class consisting of a tree and a substantially vertical post.
12. The method as claimed in claim 11 wherein said tree is a willow.
13. The method as claimed in any one of claims 7 to 12 wherein said flow splitter includes guard fingers which extend therefrom in a downstream direction above said lip.
14. A culvert or like installation, said culvert comprising at least one pipe as claimed in any one of claims 1-6 installed in a water course with the inlet thereof facing upstream, said pipe having its inlet and outlet clear, and having a flow splitter placed immediately upstream of, and substantially centrally placed in relation to, said inlet.
15. The culvert as claimed in claim 14 including turbulence generators alongside said lip of said inlet and located at both sides thereof.
16. The culvert as claimed in claim 14 or 15 including turbulence generators placed downstream of, and below, said pipe outlet.
17. The culvert as claimed in claim 15 or 16 wherein said turbulence generators are selected from the class consisting of rocks, trees and grasses.
18. The culvert as claimed in any one of claims 14 to 17 wherein said flow splitter is selected from the class consisting of a tree and a substantially vertical post.
19. The culvert as claimed in claim 18 wherein said tree is a willow.
20. A culvert as claimed in any one of claims 14 to 19 wherein said flow splitter includes guard fingers which extend therefrom in a downstream direction above said lip.
21. A bridge incorporating the culvert as claimed in any one of claims 14 to 20.