MODULAR WALL SECTION FOR A LIQUID CONTAINMENT BARRIER AND A LIQUID CONTAINMENT BARRIER

SECTION DE PAROI MODULAIRE POUR BARRIERE DE CONFINEMENT DE LIQUIDE ET BARRIERE DE CONFINEMENT DE LIQUIDE

English Abstract

A modular wall section for a liquid containment barrier
includes a shell form body having sidewalls connected by an
upper bridge section. Each of the sidewalls converge
inwardly from a bottom edge toward the bridge section. The
bottom edge of at least one sidewall has an outwardly
projecting anchoring flange with openings adapted to receive
ground anchors.

Claims

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THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
1. A liquid containment barrier, comprising:
a plurality of shell form bodies, each shell form body
being formed from a single sheet of sheet metal having
sidewalls connected by an upper bridge section, each of the
sidewalls converging inwardly from a bottom edge toward the
bridge section;
a first anchoring flange extends outwardly from the
bottom edge of a first one of the sidewalls and a second
anchoring flange extends outwardly from the bottom edge of a
second one of the sidewalls, openings adapted to receive
ground anchors extending through the first anchoring flange;
and
the shell form bodies being formed into a rectangular
enclosure and secured together, the shell form bodies being
overlapped with sealant positioned between the overlap, and
the overlap secured together by sheet metal screws, a liquid
containment liner being secured to the second anchoring flange
inside of the rectangular enclosure.
2. The liquid containment barrier as defined in Claim 1,
wherein the shell form body has internal braces positioned
transversely between the sidewalls.
3. The liquid containment barrier as defined in Claim 1,
wherein at least one clamping bar is used as means for
attaching the liquid containment liner to the second anchoring
flange.

Description

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TITLE OF THE INVENTION:
Modular Wall Section For A Liquid Containment Barrier
and A Liquid Containment Barrier
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a modular wall section
for a liquid containment barrier and a liquid containment
barrier constructed from a plurality of modular wall
sections.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
When a liquid storage tank ruptures, gallons of liquid
escape from the ruptured tank onto surrounding lands. If the
liquid in the liquid storage tank were chemicals or petroleum
products, the rupture of such a liquid storage tank would
cause significant environmental damage. In order to prevent
this from occurring laws have been passed requiring that a
liquid containment barrier be built to surround each liquid
storage tank. These liquid containment barriers are
presently being built from a plurality of modular wall
sections fabricated from metal plate or concrete.
STJNMRY OF THE INVENTION
What is required is an inexpensive and yet effective
modular wall section for a liquid containment barrier.
According to the present invention there is provided a
modular wall section for a liquid containment barrier which
includes a shell form body having sidewalls connected by an
upper bridge section. Each of the sidewalls converge
inwardly from a bottom edge toward the bridge section. The
bottom edge of at least one of the sidewalls has an outwardly
projecting anchoring flange with openings adapted to receive
ground anchors.
The modular wall section, as described above, is
relatively inexpensive to produce and transport. It is

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preferred that the shell from body be formed from a single
sheet of material. Suitable materials include sheet metal,
aluminum and fire resistant polymer plastic. The preferred
material at present is sheet metal, as sheet metal is a
relatively low cost material and the required shape can be
stamped out in a relatively inexpensive manufacturing
process. The shell form bodies can then be formed into a
rectangular enclosure and secured together inexpensively by
overlapping the shell form bodies with sealant positioned
between the overlap and the overlap secured together by sheet
metal screws.
Although beneficial results may be obtained through the
use of the modular wall section, as described above, even
more beneficial results may be obtained when the shell form
body has internal braces positioned transversely between the
sidewalls.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
These and other features of the invention will become
more apparent from the following description in which
reference is made to the appended drawings, the drawings are
for the purpose of illustration only and are not intended to
in any way limit the scope of the invention to the particular
embodiment or embodiments shown, wherein:
FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a modular wall section
constructed in accordance with the teachings of the prevent
invention.
FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of a plurality of modular
wall sections secured together to form a liquid containment
barrier in accordance with the teachings of the present
invention.
FIGURE 3 is an end elevation view, in section, of an
overlapped connection between two of the modular wall
sections illustrated in FIGURE 1.
FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of the modular wall
section illustrated in FIGURE 1, showing detail as to

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attachment of a liquid containment liner.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED ErBODIMENT
The preferred embodiment, a modular wall section for a
liquid containment barrier generally identified by reference
numeral 10, will now be described with reference to FIGURES 1
through 4.
Structure and Relationship of Parts:
Referring to FIGURE 1, there is provided a modular wall
section 10 for a liquid containment barrier which includes a
shell form body 12 formed from a single sheet of sheet metal
14. Shell form body 12 has a first sidewall 16 and a second
sidewall 18. First side wall 16 has a first bottom edge 20
and second sidewall 18 has a second bottom edge 22. First
sidewall 16 and second sidewall 18 are connected by an upper
bridge section 24. First sidewall 16 and second sidewall 18
converge inwardly from first bottom edge 20 and second bottom
edge 22 toward bridge section 24. Referring to FIGURE 3,
shell form body 12 has internal braces 26 positioned
transversely between first sidewall 16 and second sidewall
18. Referring to FIGURE 1, first bottom edge 20 of first
sidewall 16 has an outwardly projecting anchoring first
flange 28 with openings 30 to receive ground anchors 32
illustrated in FIGURE 3. Referring to FIGURE 1, second bottom
edge 22 of second sidewall 18 has an outwardly projecting
second flange 34 which is adapted to attach to a liquid
containment liner 36 illustrated in FIGURE 4. Referring to
FIGURE 3, outwardly projecting second flange 34 has openings
3o 38 which are adapted to receive screws 40 which are used to
secure polymer plastic containment liner 36 between a
elongate flat clamping bar 42 and second flange 34.
Operation:
The use and operation of modular wall section 10 to form
a liquid containment barrier, generally indicated by
reference numeral 100, will now be described with reference

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to FIGURES 1 through 3. Referring to FIGURE 2, there is
provided a liquid containment barrier 100 which includes a
plurality of shell form bodies 12. Shell form bodies 12 are
formed into a rectangular enclosure 112 and secured together
to surround a liquid storage tank 114.
Referring to FIGURE 3, shell form bodies 12 are
overlapped with sealant 116 positioned between overlap 118.
Overlap 118 is secured together by sheet metal screws 120. A
polymer plastic containment liner 36 is secured to second
anchoring flange 34. In the event that liquid storage tank
114 ruptures and liquids escape from ruptured tank 114,
liquid containment barrier 100 will contain escaping liquid
and prevent liquid from causing significant environmental
damage to the surrounding environment. Sealant 116 which is
positioned between overlap 118 prevents leaks between shell
form bodies 12 while polymer plastic containment liner 36
that is secured to second anchoring flange 34 prevents leaks
underneath shell form bodies 12. Polymer plastic containment
liner 36 is secured to outwardly projecting second flange 34
by placing sealant 116 on outwardly projection second flange,
and then lying polymer plastic liner 36 over outwardly
projecting second flange 34. Elongate flat clamping bar 42 is
then laid over polymer plastic liner, and screws 40 are
inserted through flat clamping bar and outwardly projecting
second flange 34 so as to clamp polymer plastic liner between
elongate flat clamping bar 42 and outwardly projecting second
flange 34 to secure it in place. Screws 40 do not extend
through liner or sealant, and do not extend past outwardly
extending second flange 34.
The modular wall sections 10 provide a number of
advantages. The modular wall sections 10 are inexpensive to
manufacture, as compared to sections for other liquid
containment barriers. With braces 26 removed, large numbers
of the modular wall sections 10 can be stacked for transport
to job sites. Even with braces 26 in place, modular wall

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sections 10 can still be stacked, but not to the same extent.
Once installed to form liquid containment barrier 100,
modular wall sections 10 are as stable as, and in some cases
more stable than, other liquid containment barriers of this
5 type.
It will be recognized by one skilled in the art that
there are a variety of materials out of which modular wall
sections 100 may be made in addition to sheet metal, aluminum
lo and polymer plastic. It will also be recognized that there
are other methods of securing the liquid containment liner to
the modular wall sections, other than clamping with a
clamping bar. Care should be taken to select a liquid
containment liner that is compatible with the liquid to be
contained. Care should also be taken to select a sealant
that is compatible with the containment liner. When joining
the modular wall sections at each corner, care must be taken
in selecting the angles and cutting the modular wall sections
to make the connection.
In this patent document, the word "comprising" is used
in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the
word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are
not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite
article "a" does not exclude the possibility that more than
one of the element is present, unless the context clearly
requires that there be one and only one of the elements.
It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that
modifications may be made to the illustrated embodiment
without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention
as hereinafter defined in the Claims.

Representative Drawing