Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Title: Sea wall structures, sea walls and methods of manufacture and assembly
of the same.
Description:
This invention relates to sea wall structures, sea walls and methods of
manufacture and
assembly of the same, respectively.
Sea walls are used in a wide range of marine or civil engineering applications
to separate two
or more bodies of water (for example, as a harbour wall), or as a retaining
structure (such as a dyke),
to hold-back a body of water.
Sea walls are traditionally constructed from locally-sourced construction
material, such as
sand or gravel found on the sea bed in the immediate vicinity of the intended
sea wall, which is piled
up, using dredgers, to a level above the waterline. To prevent the
construction material from washing
away, one or more layers of retaining material, such as geotextiles, rocks and
boulders, concrete etc.
are then placed or poured over the construction material to cap it and hence
keep it in-situ. The use
of dredgers is increasingly becoming disapproved of because of the adverse
effects that they cause to
marine ecosystems by disturbing and/or redistributing the sea bed. Further,
marine life living in the
sea bed, are often unable to survive the dredging process, or to survive in
the new structure, resulting
in death and subsequent decomposition within the sea wall's fill material,
which can have adverse
effects later on, for example, outgassing of methane, or forming voids in the
granular fill material. In
addition to the foregoing drawbacks, dredging is a slow, labour- and energy-
intensive procedure, and
tends to be expensive.
In attempts to combat one or more of the aforesaid problems, many modern sea
walls are
constructed from concrete slabs, which are placed vertically on the sea bed,
and which interlock to
form a contiguous structure. However, to be effective, this solution requires
a large amount of
concrete and due to the poor environment credentials of concrete as a building
material, as well as
the need to manufacture the slabs in the "dry" before transporting them to
site (the over-land and
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over-sea transportation cost; and fuel/energy usage of which tending to be
relatively high), concrete
sea walls are also considered by many to be undesirable.
Nevertheless, a significant need for sea walls exists, for example in large-
scale civil engineering
projects such as tidal power generation barrages, coastal erosion and flood
defences and so forth.
It will therefore be clear from the foregoing that a need exists for a
solution to one or more
of the above problems and/or an alternative to existing sea walls and
construction techniques for
them.
Various aspects of the invention are set forth in the appended claims.
According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided a sea wall
structure comprising a
rigid supporting structure and one or more hollow tanks affixed to or within
the supporting structure.
Another aspect of the invention provides a sea wall formed from a plurality of
sealingly
interconnected sea wall structures as herein described.
Another aspect of the invention provides a method of manufacturing a sea wall
structure as
herein described.
Another aspect of the invention provides a method of assembling a sea wall
from a plurality
of sea wall structures as herein described.
By providing a sea wall structure comprising a supporting structure and one or
more hollow
tanks, it is possible to vastly reduce the amount of material required to
construct the sea wall structure
as the portion of it formed by the tank or tanks is essentially hollow.
Further, the tank or tanks can be useful in transporting the sea wall
structure over land
because when empty (i.e. filled with air), this renders the sea wall structure
considerably lighter and
thus more easily and inexpensively handled (lifted/moved) compared to, say, a
solid concrete wall
structure.
Further, the tank or tanks can be useful in transporting the sea wall
structure over water
because, in certain embodiments, the size of the tank or tanks can be designed
in such a way that their
displacement in water is sufficient to support the weight of the sea wall
structure when floated on
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water. This means that the sea wall structure can be floated and towed to
site, rather than having to
be loaded onto a barge or the like, which greatly simplifies the installation
and assembly of a sea wall
constructed from one or more of the sea wall structures.
Moreover, the tank or tanks can be filled with ballast, such as sea water, to
orient and/or to
sink the sea wall structure and also to render it more heavy and/or solid.
Put another way, the tank or tanks of the invention can serve as buoyancy or
ballast tanks,
depending on whether they are empty (or filled with a gas), or full (e.g.,
filled with water or other
ballast), respectively.
The supporting framework is suitably manufactured from concrete, such as
moulded, poured,
reinforced concrete. Concrete is readily available in most parts of the world,
and thus it is possible, in
certain situations, to manufacture the sea wall structure locally (i.e. close
to the final installation site)
by the use of moulds and the like. This, advantageously, reduces the
environmental impact of
transporting the sea wall structure. The invention also reduces the amount of
concrete that is used
in the manufacture of sea walls, compared with solid concrete wall structures.
The tank or tanks are suitably formed from blow-moulded plastics, and are
preferably
manufactured from locally-sourced recycled materials, thereby reducing the
structure's
environmental impact yet further. The tank or tanks are ideally designed with
formations, such as
flanges comprising through holes, that "key" with poured concrete of the
supporting framework.
Additionally or alternatively, and in the situation where the supporting
structure of the sea
wall structure is manufactured from poured, reinforced concrete; the or each
tank may comprise one
or more engagement means adapted in use, to engage with the rebar of the
reinforced concrete
supporting framework prior to pouring of the concrete. The provision of
engagement means usefully
enables the or each tank to be clipped to, or otherwise temporarily connected
to the rebar, thereby
facilitating retaining the or each tank in its correct position during the
concrete pouring and setting
procedure (otherwise, the tanks might float out of the concrete before it
sets). The engagement
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means, where provided, may also help to anchor the tanks into the concrete,
thereby improving the
integrity of the sea wall structure.
Where the supporting structure of the sea wall structure is made from poured
concrete, this
may usefully form a seal with the tanks that are in contact with the concrete,
thereby preventing water
from leaking through the sea wall structure (via gaps between the supporting
structure and the tanks),
in use. It may be necessary, in certain situations, to apply a bonding or
sealing agent (such as an
adhesive layer, bitumen etc.) to the tank or tanks prior to pouring the
concrete, especially where the
adhesion of the concrete to the chosen material of the tanks is poor, or
likely to be.
Each sea wall structure is preferably generally cuboidal, to facilitate the
modular assembly of
a sea wall by placing several like sea wall structures side-by-side. In a
preferred embodiment of the
invention, the sea wall structure has "left" and "right" sides, which are
complementarily engageable
with one another. In one possible embodiment, the left and right sides of the
sea wall structure
comprise lips that partially overlap one another when two sea wall structures
are placed side by side.
Such a configuration, when correctly implemented, may provide a small channel
(formed by two L-
shaped lips coming together) into which a seal can be inserted or poured, for
form a watertight (or a
substantially watertight) seal between the edges of adjacent sea wall
structures.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the (vertical) side edges of the
sea wall structure
comprise complementary connectors to engage adjacent sea wall structures with
one another. In one
embodiment of the invention, the connectors comprise a cup and pin
arrangement: the cups and pins
being disposed on opposite sides of each sea wall structure so that they can
engage to lock two
adjacent sea wall structures together. Preferably, the connectors are self-
centring, for example, with
the pin having a tapered point that engages a part-conical portion of the cup.
Thus, as the pin is
lowered into the cup, it self-aligns. More preferably still, either or both of
the complementary
connectors are slightly canted such that when they are engaged with one
another, at least one of the
two connected sea wall structures is "pulled into" engagement with the other.
Finally, a tubular steel
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pile can be installed within the sleeves formed by the connection and the top
of this steel pile can be
bolted to connection points on the top of the sea wall structure.
In certain embodiments of the invention, each tank may be provided with a
valve. The valves
are suitably controllable remotely to enable each tank to be filled
individually, in groups, or together.
.. This is suitably accomplished by providing electronically-controllable
valves. The outlet of each valve,
where provided, communicates with the interior of a tank, and the inlet of
each valve, where provided,
is connected to a fluid source. The fluid source may be sea water in or upon
which the sea wall
structure is located. Alternatively, the fluid source may comprise pipework
connected to an air or gas
supply; and/or to a supply of liquid (e.g. water) or other flowable (fluid-
like) ballast (e.g. fine, dry sand,
glass beads, metal powder and the like).
An advantage of being able to flood and empty each tank as desired is apparent
in a possible
assembly methodology for a sea wall constructed from the sea wall structures
of the invention.
Specifically, the sea wall structure can be floated to site by emptying all of
its tanks so that it floats in
water. When manoeuvred into position, the lowermost tanks can be flooded with
water to sink the
lower end of the sea wall structure, thereby beginning to right it in the
water (stand upright). Then,
further tanks can be flooded with sea water to continue the righting procedure
until the sea wall
structure floats vertically (upright) in the water. Thereafter, subsequent
tank flooding sinks the sea
wall structure to the sea bed, where it rests. Yet further flooding of yet
further tanks, for example by
pumping water into above-sea level tanks can be used to drive the base of the
sea wall structure into
the sea bed. In relation to the latter, the base (lower edge) of the sea wall
structure suitably comprises
a pile-like structure, such a downwardly extending legs/pins/skirts that can
pile into the sea bed, or a
hollow/recess on its lower edge, which can be driven into the sea bed, or
evacuated in a "suction pile"
fashion to anchor the sea wall structure into the sea bed.
Further sea wall structures can then be installed adjacent to the already-
installed sea wall
structures, to form a contiguous sea wall. Two or more sea walls so formed may
be formed in a
generally parallel, spaced-apart relationship, to form a two-walled structure,
which can be topped, for
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example, by a deck/roadway to form a causeway or access. The space between the
sea walls can be
backfilled, if desired, with various materials, including sand, gravel,
building detritus, landfill material
etc., or left empty (or emptied) to form a caisson between the sea walls.
It will be appreciated from the foregoing that the invention can be used in
the construction of
small- and large-scale civil engineering projects, such as tidal barrages for
electricity generation, dykes
for reclaiming land, tidal/flood/coastal erosion defences, and in tidal energy
generation and storage
systems, such as that described in UK Patent No: GB2507362.
Embodiments of the invention shall now be described, by way of example only,
with reference
to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a sea wall structure in accordance with the
invention;
Figure 2 is a perspective view of a partial sea wall formed by two adjacent
sea wall structures
as shown in Figure 1;
Figure 3 is a partial front view of the two sea wall structures of Figure 2
showing how the cups
and pins align;
Figure 4 is a detail view of Figure 3 showing the engagement of the cups and
pins, and an
optional steel pile;
Figure 5 is a schematic plan view on the of Figure 3 showing how the two sea
wall structures
mate, when coupled;
Figures 6 to 11 are a sequence of plan views showing how a sea wall structure
in accordance
with the invention can be manufactured;
Figures 12 is a schematic cross-section of Figure 11 on XII;
Figure 12A is a schematic cross-section of a variant of the sea wall structure
shown in Figure
12;
Figure 13 is a schematic view of a sea wall structure in accordance with the
invention;
Figures 14 and 15 are schematic side views showing the installation of a sea
wall structure in
accordance with the invention;
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Figure 16 is a schematic cross-section of a sea wall installed with a
supporting buttress;
Figure 17 is a schematic cross-section of a causeway/caisson formed using two
sea walls in
accordance with the invention;
Figure 18 is a schematic cross-section of a causeway/caisson formed with pile-
supported sea
walls in accordance with the invention; and
Figure 19 is a perspective view of a tidal power generation and storage
system, such as that
described in UK Patent No: GB2507362, constructed using sea walls in
accordance with the invention.
Referring to Figure 1 of the drawings, a sea wall structure 10 in accordance
with the invention
comprises a cast concrete supporting structure 12, which has an array (in this
case a 5 X 9 array) of
tanks 14 moulded into it. The sea wall structure 10 is generally cuboidal in
shape - having vertical left
16 and right 18 side edges, a horizontal upper edge 20 and a horizontal lower
edge 22. Extending
downwardly from the lower edge 22 are a set of piles or skirts 24, which can
be driven into the seabed
to support the sea wall structure 10, as shall be described below.
The left 16 and right 18 side edges of the sea wall structure 10 each have a
lip formation 26
intimately formed in the cast concrete supporting structure 12, the function
of which shall be
described in greater detail below. The left 16 and right 18 side edges of the
sea wall structure 10 are
also provided with complimentary coupling members, in the form of pins 28
(affixed to the right side
edge 18) and cups 30 (connected to the left side edge 16). As can be seen from
Figure 1 of the
drawings, the sea wall structure is a modular unit, which can be installed
along with other like units to
form a sea wall as shown in Figures 2, 16, 17 and 18 of the drawings.
Referring now to Figure 2 of the drawings, a sea wall 100 can be assembled by
connecting
together a series of like sea wall structures 10 by connecting the pins 28 and
cups 30, as previously
described, together.
In Figure 2 of the drawings, the left-hand sea wall structure 10 is installed
in the seabed and
is therefore slightly lower than the right-hand sea wall structure 10', which
has yet to be driven into
the seabed. The right-hand sea wall structure 10' is offered up to the pre-
installed sea wall structure
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and its pins 28 are offered-up to the cups 30 of the pre-installed sea wall
structure 10. Upon driving
the right-hand sea wall structure 10' into the seabed, its pins 28 engage with
the cups 30 of the pre-
installed sea wall structure 10, to form a modular assembly. The process can,
of course, be repeated
by adding additional sea wall structures 10 to the sea wall 100, to extend the
width of the sea wall 100
5 laterally, as required.
The engagement of the pins 28 and cups 30 is shown in greater detail in
Figures 3 to 5 of the
drawings. Again, the left-hand sea wall structure 10 is pre-installed, that is
to say with its piles 24
driven fully into the seabed (not shown) to anchor the sea wall structure 10
in position.
The next sea wall structure 10' is then moved into position with its pins 28
located above the
10 cups 30 of the pre-installed sea wall structure 10. Next, the (right-
hand) sea wall structure 10' can be
sunk into position, whereupon the pins 28, which have chamfered lower
peripheral edges, engage
with a part-conical portion 32 of the cups 30 of the pre-installed sea wall
structure.
As shown in greater detail in Figure 4 of the drawings, when the right-hand
sea wall structure
10' is driven fully into the seabed (not shown) the pins 28 of the right-hand
sea wall structure 10' are
guided into engagement with the cups 30 of the pre-installed sea wall
structure 10 by virtue of the
part conical guiding formation 32 of the cups 30. Therefore, the additional
sea wall structure 10' is
effectively pulled into engagement with the pre-installed sea wall structure
10 by the self-aligning
nature of the pins 28 and cups. Finally, and optional steel pile 37 can be
inserted through the cups 30
and tubular pins 28, and held in position by driving its lower end into the
sea bed and/or using a
fastener connecting the pile 37 to the sea wall structure 10.
As can be seen from Figure 5 of the drawings, which is a schematic plan view
on the of Figure
3, when the right-hand sea wall structure 10' is connected to the pre-
installed sea wall structure 10,
the lips 26 of each of the sea wall structures 10, 10' comes into engagement
with the respective
opposite side edge 16, 18 of the adjacent sea wall structure 10. A bead of
sealant 34 can be used to
form a watertight seal between the lips 26 and their corresponding mating side
edges 16, 18 of the
sea wall structures 10 and/or a grout or sealant 36 can be injected into the
cavity formed between the
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adjacent sea wall structures 10 to further inhibit and/or prevent the leakage
of seawater from one
side of the sea wall 100 to the other.
Figures 6 to 11 are a sequence of drawings showing how the sea wall structure
10 can be
manufactured relatively easily, and preferably close to the final installation
site of the sea wall 100.
Figures 6 to 11 are plan views showing how the sea wall structure 10 can be
fabricated in a generally
horizontal (laid-flat) orientation.
Referring to Figure 6 of the drawings, a shuttering arrangement 200 is formed
by arranging
(for example in a jig) a set of side shutters 202, a lower 204 and an upper
206 shutter. A set of generally
cuboid blanks 208 are placed inside the shuttering 200 atop the lower shutter
204 to form a mould
for the piles 24 as shall become apparent later. The side shutters 202
eventually form the left and
right side edges of the sea wall structure 10, and so are made up of formed
steel or reinforced concrete
members having an integrally-formed lip (not shown) and cups 30 and pins 28
(as described above).
Referring now to Figure 7 of the drawings, the next step in the procedure is
to install a set of
reinforcing bars ("rebar") for concrete, which will later be poured into the
shuttering 200.
The rebar comprises a peripheral frame 210, a set of vertical rebars 212
(which extend into
the pile parts of the structure between the blanks 208) and a set of
horizontal rebars 214, which are
laid into the shuttering 200 to form a grid-like structure. The lengths of the
vertical 212 and horizontal
214 rebars are fabricated in sections which are connected by overlapping the
main reinforcement in
accordance with the specific reinforced concrete codes. The vertical 212 and
horizontal 214 rebars
also engage with the inner sidewalls of the shuttering 200, thereby partially
self-aligning them in the
mould. The alignment of the peripheral frame 210 is accomplished as shall be
explained next.
Referring now to Figure 8 of the drawings, a set of blow-moulded, hollow
plastics tanks 14 is
placed into the shuttering 200 in a grid -like array.
Each tank 14 has a peripheral flange portion 218, which keys the tank 14 into
the concrete,
which is poured into the shuttering 200 later. The flanges 218 may also have a
set of through holes
202 to further key the tanks 14 into the later-poured concrete.
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As can be seen, each tank has extending outwardly from its side edges, a set
of connectors
222, which are shown in cross-section in Figure 8a. Each of the connectors 222
has a supporting limb
portion 224, which is integrally formed with the flange 218 or side of each
tank 14; and a cup-like
formation 226, which clips onto the rebar 210, 212, 214. It will be
appreciated that by connecting the
tanks 14 to the rebar 210, 212, 214 thus, the spacing and arrangement of the
rebar and tanks becomes
fixed and is also centred/located within the shuttering 200 by virtue of the
lengths of the rebar being
configured to engage with the inner sidewalls of the shuttering 200 as well.
As can be seen from Figure 9 of the drawings, each tank 14 comprises a valve
228, which
enables the tanks 14 to be filled with either air or sea water, as required.
Each of the valves 228 is connected to a pipe 230, which is fed around inside
the shuttering
200 and which emerges 232 at the top of the shuttering 200.
In use, it is thus possible to fill or empty the tanks 14, as required, by
pumping air/water
into/out of the tanks 14 via the pipes 230, via an air/water supply connected
to the free end 232 of
the pipes.
It will also be noted from Figure 9 that the valves 228 of the tanks 14 are
connected in groups
thus enabling individual tanks 14, or groups of tanks 14, to be filled/emptied
individually, in groups,
all in unison.
Turning now to Figure 10 of the drawings, concrete 234 is poured into the
shuttering 200 to a
level such that the rebar 210, 212, 214 and the pipework 230, is encased in
the concrete 234, but
where the tanks 14 slightly protrude above the level of the concrete 234.
Notably, the tanks 14, and
in particular their corners and/or edges, have rounded or curved profiles,
which when encased in
concrete, avoids the formation of sharp corners in the concrete, which could
serve as stress
concentration points in the final structure. Thus, the curvature of the tanks
14 removes stress
concentration points, thereby potentially extending the duty cycle of the sea
wall structure 10 by
reducing the likelihood of the structure developing fatigue stress-induced
cracks at the corners of the
concrete where it meets the tanks.
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Once the concrete 234 has set, it is then possible to remove the shuttering
204 and 206 and
thus the sea wall structure 10 is formed.
Figure 12 is a schematic cross-section of Figure 11 on XII showing how the
tanks 14 and rebar
212 are encased in the concrete 234 to form an integral structure. The sea
wall structure can also be
fabricated horizontally so that it can be easily launched in readiness for
towing to the installation site.
Consequently, there are two options for setting out the tanks and steel
reinforcement prior to pouring
concrete. Figure 12A shows the tanks 14 located on the base of the seawall
structure 10, whereas
Figure 12 shows the tanks 14 located on the top of the sea wall structure 10.
The key difference
between these two options is that the option shown in Figure 12A can be
completed by a single
concrete pour, provided the tanks 14 are fixed or ballasted. On the other
hand, the option shown in
Figure 12 may require two pours (if the concrete cannot flow around and under
the tanks 14 to form
the continuous layer/surface shown at the bottom of Figure 12): with the tanks
14 having to be located
after the first pour (forming a skin or continuous layer/surface) and then
held in place during the
second pour. Consequently, the option shown in Figure 12A should be able to be
completed quicker,
and more cheaply, than the option shown in Figure 12.
Figure 13 is a schematic view, similar to that shown in Figure 9 of the
drawings, of the sea wall
structure 10 depicted in Figures 1 and 2. Identical reference signs have been
used to denote identical
features to avoid repetition, but it will be noted from Figure 13 that the
arrangement of rebar within
the structure is typically more complicated than that described
schematically/conceptually above.
Figure 14 shows how, when the tanks 14 are empty, the sea wall structure 10
can be floated
on a body of water 300 and towed, for example using a tug 302 to an intended
installation site.
Once brought into position, as shown in Figure 15 of the drawings, the tanks
14 can be flooded
by opening their respective valves 228 in a desired sequence. In this
particular example, the lowermost
tanks are flooded first; followed by subsequent rows of tanks, which causes
the sea wall structure 10
to rotate towards the vertical position as shown by dashed lines in Figure 15.
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The sea wall structure 10 can effectively float in a vertical orientation and
thus be manoeuvred
precisely into position before subsequent flooding of further tanks, which
causes the sea wall
structure 10 to sink to the seabed 306. Then, by pumping further water into
further tanks (i.e. tanks
located above sea level 308, a head of water within the sea wall structure 10
can self-pile it into the
seabed 306, thereby driving its piles 24 (or skirts) into the seabed 306 to
stabilise it.
This is shown in Figures 16, 17 and 18 of the drawings in which the piles and
skirts 24 of the
sea wall structure 10 have been driven into the seabed 306 to form an initial
anchorage.
In Figure 16 of the drawings, an additional pile or concrete block 308 is
placed on/in the
seabed 306 behind the sea wall 10/100 and is connected to the sea wall 10/100
by a buttress
framework 310. In this way, the sea wall 10/100 is able to hold back a body of
water or, as shown in
Figure 16 of the drawings, to support a differential sea level 308, 308' on
opposite sides of the sea wall
10/100.
An alternative arrangement is shown in Figure 17 of the drawings, in which two
opposing sea
walls 10/100 are installed side-by-side in a spaced-apart configuration. The
sea walls 10/100 can be
cross-braced by a supporting framework 312, which serves to stabilise the sea
walls 10/100 and form
a more rigid structure. The structure can also be topped by a deck 314, which
can be used for various
purposes, such as a roadway or access along the top of the sea wall 10/100.
A further possibility is shown in Figure 18 of the drawings in which, again, a
pair of spaced-
apart sea walls 10/100 are supported by piles 316, which are braced to their
respective sea walls
10/100 by a supporting framework 318. Again, this structure can be topped with
a deck 314.
With regard to the embodiments shown in Figures 17 and 18 of the drawings, the
space 320
between the sea walls 100 can either be left empty (i.e. as a caisson), or it
can be backfilled with sand
or other material, or allowed to flood - depending on the requirements of the
application.
Finally, turning now to Figure 19 of the drawings, a perspective view from
above of a tidal
power storage and generation system, such as that described in published
patent number GB2507362,
which is formed by a circular, outer sea wall 100' which defines a lagoon. The
lagoon is divided into
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three internal lagoons 400, which are separated by three internal sea walls
100". The outer sea wall
100' has sluice gates in it to allow seawater 300 into and out of the lagoons
at high and low tide; and
a set of tidal generators are provided in the internal sea walls 100" thus
enabling power to be
generated by allowing seawater to flow between the internal lagoons 400 in the
manner described in
published patent number GB2507362.
The following statements are not the claims but relate to various features or
embodiments of
the invention:
Statement 1 A sea wall structure comprising a rigid supporting structure
and one or more hollow
tanks affixed to the supporting structure.
Statement 2 The sea wall structure of statement 1, wherein the volume of
the tank or tanks is
such that, when filled with air, their displacement is sufficient to support
the weight
of the sea wall structure and thus enable the sea wall structure to be floated
on
water.
Statement 3 The sea wall structure of any preceding statement, wherein
the tank or tanks, and
in particular their corners and/or edges, are rounded or curved.
Statement 4 The sea wall structure of any of any preceding statement,
wherein the or each tank
comprise one or more engagement means adapted in use, to engage with rebar of
the reinforced concrete supporting framework.
The invention is not restricted to the details of the foregoing embodiments,
which are merely
exemplary of the invention. In particular, any shapes, dimensions, materials
or properties, whether
express or implied are illustrative only, and are not restrictive of the scope
of the invention.
