Transport and use of prefabricated components in shoreline and floating structures

A seawall, levee or bulkhead structure comprising a plurality of precast concrete cylindrical modules having hexagonal cross sections which are set securely into the earth and into a bank or berm forming the shoreline of a body of water, said modules being oriented vertically and interconnected face-to-face to form a linear array at least one module deep along and adjacent to said bank, with half-hexagonal modules added to provide a flush surface on at least a portion of the structure's face.

A seawall, levee or bulkhead structure comprising a plurality of precast concrete cylindrical modules having hexagonal cross sections which are set securely into the earth and into a bank or berm forming the shoreline of a body of water, said modules being oriented vertically and interconnected face-to-face to form a linear array at least one module deep along and adjacent to said bank, with half-hexagonal modules optionally added to a flush surface on at least a portion of the structure's face, which comprises interlocking linear arrays of said modules at least two modules deep and employing half-hexagonal modules to form a vertical flush surface providing mooring space for small craft or larger vessels along a shoreline providing sufficient navigational depth for mooring at least a portion of the time.

A breakwater emplaced offshore, either floating and anchored or emplaced on the bottom of a body of water, comprising at least one linear array of a plurality of vertically-oriented precast concrete cylindrical modules having hexagonal cross sections, further comprising a plurality of half-hexagonal modules placed between the hexagonal modules to provide at least one vertical flush surface on said array, which comprises at least one additional linear array of vertically-oriented hexagonal modules, with the face of an endmost module in said additional array connected face-to-face to a module in said linear array of said breakwater so that said at least one additional linear array branches from said breakwater at a horizontal angle of approximately 60 or 90 degrees.

A combined breakwater and pier comprising at least two linear arrays of precast concrete modules with open tops, having the form of at least one of rectangular parallelepipeds, hexagonal or half-hexagonal cylinders, at least one of said arrays being connected to the shoreline or another structure connected thereto as a groin and at least another array of said modules submerged in the water at least a portion of the time and approximately paralleling said shoreline, said arrays being interconnected and at least partially covered with suitable decking to make the resulting structure suitable for pedestrian use and further comprising pluralities of piles along at least one side of said linear arrays for the mooring of small craft or larger vessels.

Methods of repairing or constructing structures selected from the group consisting of levees, causeways, dams and dikes by installing linear arrays of precast concrete modules having the form of at least one of rectangular parallelepipeds or cylindrical boxes with hexagonal or half-hexagonal cross sections by emplacing said arrays horizontally and/or vertically along at least one side of said structure and/or inside said structure to serve as a central spine or support.

Methods of repairing or constructing levees, causeways, dams and dikes by installing linear arrays of precast concrete modules having the form of at least one of rectangular parallelepipeds or cylindrical boxes with hexagonal or half-hexagonal cross sections horizontally and/or vertically along at least one side of said levee and/or inside said levee to serve as a central spine or support, wherein said linear arrays comprise horizontally oriented rectangular boxes installed along at least one side of said levee, further comprising pluralities of such boxes arranged both horizontally and vertically to form a wall central spine within said levee, having at least one linear array of said boxes forming a supporting collar along at least one side of said central spine to maintain its position relative to said levee.

A seawall, levee or bulkhead structure comprising a plurality of precast concrete cylindrical modules having hexagonal cross sections which are set securely into the earth and a bank or berm along the shoreline of a body of water, said modules being oriented vertically and interconnected face-to-face to form a linear array at least one module deep along said bank, with half-hexagonal modules optionally added to provide a flush surface on a least a portion of the structure's face, and optionally further comprising at least one additional linear array of such modules having a module connected face-to-face with a module of the array along said bank, said additional array branching from said seawall, levee or bulkhead surface at a horizontal angle of approximately 60 or 90 degrees, in which said levee further comprises a flood gate to release water from behind said structure, said flood gate comprising at least one hexagonal or rectangular precast module which is divided into upper and lower portions, the upper portion being provided with ballasting means to raise and lower it along guide means to make contact with said lower portion or open the gate to allow water to flow.

A seawall, levee or bulkhead structure comprising a plurality of precast concrete cylindrical modules having hexagonal cross sections which are set securely into the earth and into a bank or berm forming the shoreline of a body of water, said modules being oriented vertically and interconnected face-to-face to form a linear array at least one module deep along and adjacent to said bank, with half-hexagonal modules optionally added to provide a flush surface on at least a portion of the structure's face, further comprising at least one additional linear array of such vertically-oriented modules, with the face of an endmost module in said additional array connected face-to-face to a module in said linear array of said structure so that said at least one additional linear array branches from said seawall, levee or bulkhead at a horizontal angle of approximately 60 or 90 degrees.