SANDBAG WALL SYSTEM WITH MULTI-COMPARTMENT SANDBAG

SYSTEME MURAL EN SACS DE SABLE MULTI-COMPARTIMENTS

English 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.

Claims

-7-
WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:
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 sec-
tions 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 or 2 wherein said line of attachment is
a sewn line.
4. A bag according to any one of claims 1-3 wherein said bag is
made of geotextile.
5. A bag according to any one of claims 1-4 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-
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 sec-
tions 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 any one of claims 1-9 wherein one of said
compartments is larger than the other of said compartments.
11. A sandbag wall comprising a plurality of courses of bags accord-
ing to claim 6 or 7 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 compris-
ing 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;

-9-
(c) filling a second said compartment with a second fill mate-
rial;
(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.

Description

CA 02496084 2005-02-08
SANDBAG WALL SYSTEM WITH
MULTI-COMPARTMENT SANDBAG
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, .vor example, international patent
publication WO 00/61880 (Kim), datf;d October 19, 2000. The bags
used in such walls may be made of gE~otextile, a material having proper-
ties desirable for such applications. C~eotextile is, however, subject to
degradation by UV light from exposure of the wall face to sunlight.
Additives can be incorporated in geot~~xtile 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 desir-
able 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 subst;~ntially 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 applica-
tions, other fill material such as gravel may be useful, and it would be

CA 02496084 2005-02-08
-2-
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-comp;~rtment bag for holding fill mate-
rial, for use in the construction of sandbag walls. The bag has a wall, a
closed bottom and a top edge, the bad; wall having opposed wall sections
attached together along a line extending from the bag bottom towards
the top edge, forming two compartmf:nts in the bag that open to the top
edge and are adapted to receive fill rr.;aterial.
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 e:Kample having the compartments
with soil as the fill material positioned to form the exposed face of the
wall.
The invention further provides a med:~od 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.

CA 02496084 2005-02-08
-3-
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 s~:eds 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 "vrall" 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 shore-
lines, riverbanks, etc.), flood control, retaining or stabilizing slopes or
embankments, noise barriers, landscaping, and for similar applications.
Brief Description of the Drawings
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a bag having two compartments
according to one embodiment of the invention;
Figure 2 is an end view on the line 2-2 of Figure 1;
Figure 3 is an end view similar to Figure 2 showing another embodi-
ment of the bag, having three compartments;
Figure 4 is a top plan view of a cours ~ of bags in a sandbag wall; and
Figure 5 is a vertical cross-sectional view through a sandbag wall.
Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments
Referring to Figures 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

CA 02496084 2005-02-08
-4-
longitudinal side edge 18. The wall .l2 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 W o 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 fille~3 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 tue 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 faci~.itate 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 Figures 4 and 5, the filled bags 10, tied closed by tie 11,
are assembled into a wall configuration comprising a plurality of gener-
ally horizontal courses 15. Configurations of sandbags forming retain-
ing 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

CA 02496084 2005-02-08
-5-
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 ~~ompartment 28 of the bag will not
be affected.
The two compartments 26, 28 may bf; filled with different fill materials,
fox 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 2;8 two-thirds, or half and half, or
one-quarter and three-quarters, etc. ~Che selection will depend on the
particular application and the fill matf:rials 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 suitahle for an erosion control applica-
tion where land and water meet, as al~~ng a shoreline or the embankment
of a river or stream.

CA 02496084 2005-02-08
-6-
The bag can also be made with three or more compartments. Referring
to Figure 3, bag l0A has three compartments 26A, 28A and 28B,
formed by two generally parallel lines of attachment 24A and 24B.
Again, the compartments can be the ;game or different sizes and be filled
with the same or different fill materials. For example, compartment
26A may be filled with soil, 28A wit:1 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 forego-
ing disclosure, many alterations and modifications are possible in the
practice of this invention without departing from the scope thereof.
Accordingly, the scope of the inventi~~n is to be construed in accordance
with the substance defined by the following claims.

Representative Drawing