Method of and apparatus for making a synthetic breakwater
AssigneeSynthetic Breakwater
InventorWilliam R. Wingfield
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method of, and apparatus for, making a synthetic breakwater involves the steps of arranging flat, approximately parallel electrodes (20 and 22) which are approximately coextensive with one another, so that they are spaced from one another by electrically insulative materials (10) with a gap of from 3 cm to 27 cm. An electrical potential is applied across these electrodes to cause a current density flowing between the electrodes of not greater than 0.1 milliamps (ma) per cm.sup.2. In the preferred embodiment, the electrodes are spaced approximately 5 cm apart and a voltage of around 3 volts is applied thereacross. The flat cathode is of expanded electrically-conductive metal, with the anode being constructed of two materials, one of them being an outer casing (30) of lead.
Claims15
A method of making a synthetic breakwater in sea water comprising the steps of:
- arranging a frame having the approximate shape of the breakwater to be made in sea water so that the frame is resting on a floor in the sea water and the frame is in said sea water, said frame comprising electrically insulative support members dfining two relatively flat, approximately parallel surfaces being separated by a gap of from 3 cm to 20 cm, said frame further comprising at least two flat electrically conductive electrodes approximately coextensive in lateral-dimension size and each being approximately of a lateral dimension size that a completed breakwater is to be, each flat electrode being mounted on one of said frame surfaces opposite the other so that said flat electrodes are spaced a fixed distance of between 3 cm and 20 cm apart;
- applying an electrical potential across said electrodes to cause a current density flowing between said electrodes of not greater than 0.1 ma/cm.sup.2, with one of said electrodes becoming an anode and the other a cathode, said electrical potential being applied to each of said electrodes at numerous locations on said electrode, said locations being relatively uniformly positioned throughout the length and breadth of each of said electrodes, whereby said electrical potential is evenly distributed across said anode and cathode electrodes.
Apparatus for making a synthetic breakwater in seawater comprising the steps of:
- a frame having the approximate shape of the breakwater to be made in seawater, said frame having a resting means for supporting said frame on a floor in the seawater, said frame comprising electrically insulative support members defining two relatively flat, approximately parallel surfaces being separated by a gap of from 3 cm to 20 cm, said frame further comprising at least two flat electrically conductive electrodes approximately co-extensive in lateral-dimension size and each being approximately of a lateral dimension size that a completed breakwater is to be, each flat electrode being mounted on one of said frame surfaces opposite the other so that said flat electrodes are spaced a fixed distance of between 3 cm and 20 cm apart;
- an electrical potential source electrically coupled to said two flat electrically conductive electrodes at numerous locations on said electrode, said locations being relatively uniformly positioned throughout the length and breadth of each of said electrodes for applying an electrical potential substantially evenly across each of said electrodes to cause a current density flowing between said electrodes of not greater than 0.1 ma/cm.sup.2, with one of said electrodes becoming an anode and the other a cathode.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.