Temporary floating breakwater and causeway with simulated beach and kelp

Abstract

A durable, quickly deployable temporary floating breakwater (FBW) can protect areas in austere locations. A plurality of inflatable modules is encapsulated within a common cover, which holds the modules together and in some embodiments supports a causeway thereupon. A separate floating causeway can be included. Embodiments include a semi-permeable “sloping beach” section which causes waves to break before reaching the FBW. A bed of wave-energy-absorbing synthetic kelp can be attached to the sloping beach. The beach and/or kelp can include low-surface-energy fibers and films, such as olefins and polypropylenes, to remove oil from the water in case of an oil spill or accident. In embodiments, the FBW can be temporarily sunk to avoid extremely high seas, ice, and/or other surface hazards. The FBW is lightweight, can be quickly and compactly stowed, and in some embodiments can be transported and deployed from the deck of an LCU 1610.

1 . A temporary floating breakwater comprising:
 a plurality of inflatable modules; and   an encapsulating fabric cover configured for surrounding the inflatable modules when they are inflated, and thereby maintaining the inflatable modules in close proximity to one another;   the floating breakwater when deployed being of sufficient size and having suitable characteristics for protecting shorelines and watercraft from waves having heights of more than 10 feet.   
     
     
         2 . The temporary floating breakwater of  claim 1 , further comprising a semi-permeable sloping beach section which is extendable from the encapsulating fabric cover so as to cause approaching waves to break before reaching the encapsulating fabric cover. 
     
     
         3 . The temporary floating breakwater of  claim 2 , wherein the sloping beach section includes at least one of low surface energy fibers and films such as olefins and polypropylenes configured to remove oil from both surface and water columns and the surface zone in the event of an oil spill or accident. 
     
     
         4 . The temporary floating breakwater of  claim 2 , further comprising a bed of simulated floating kelp material attached to the sloping beach and configured for absorbing energy from waves approaching the encapsulating fabric cover. 
     
     
         5 . The temporary floating breakwater of  claim 4 , wherein the bed of simulated floating kelp material includes at least one of low surface energy fibers and films such as olefins and polypropylenes configured to remove oil from both surface and water columns and the surface zone in the event of an oil spill or accident. 
     
     
         6 . The temporary floating breakwater of  claim 1 , further comprising a rigid top deck of textile cells integral with the encapsulating cover and supportable by the plurality of inflatable modules so as to serve as a causeway. 
     
     
         7 . The temporary floating breakwater of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of inflatable modules can be deflated so as to temporarily sink the floating breakwater and thereby avoid damage due to surface hazards. 
     
     
         8 . The temporary floating breakwater of  claim 1 , wherein each inflatable module includes a plurality of air-enclosing flotation bladders. 
     
     
         9 . The temporary floating breakwater of  claim 1 , wherein the inflatable floating modules are configured for filling with urethane foam. 
     
     
         10 . The temporary floating breakwater of  claim 1 , wherein the inflatable modules are one of square and rectangular in cross section. 
     
     
         11 . The temporary floating breakwater of  claim 1 , further comprising a floating causeway formed by a plurality of floating modules and a causeway top surface supported thereby. 
     
     
         12 . The temporary floating breakwater of  claim 1 , further comprising mooring points suitable for attachment of mooring lines thereto. 
     
     
         13 . The temporary floating breakwater of  claim 12 , wherein the mooring points are each able to sustain 25 k lbf applied by a mooring line. 
     
     
         14 . The temporary floating breakwater of  claim 12 , wherein the mooring points include abrasion-resistant sacrificial nylon layers. 
     
     
         15 . The temporary floating breakwater of  claim 12 , further comprising a plurality of mooring lines and a plurality of anchors configured for stabilizing a location of the floating breakwater when deployed on a body of water. 
     
     
         16 . The temporary floating breakwater of  claim 15 , wherein the plurality of anchors includes at least one vacuum pile anchoring system. 
     
     
         17 . A temporary floating breakwater system, comprising:
 a plurality of inflatable floating breakwater support modules;   an encapsulating fabric cover configured for surrounding the inflatable floating breakwater support modules when they are inflated, and thereby maintaining the inflatable floating breakwater modules in close proximity to one another; a floating causeway formed by a plurality of floating causeway modules and a causeway top surface which is supportable thereby; and   a plurality of mooring lines and anchors configured for stabilizing a location of the floating breakwater and floating causeway when the floating breakwater and floating causeway are deployed on a body of water;   the floating breakwater system when deployed being of sufficient size and having suitable characteristics for protecting shorelines and watercraft from waves having heights of more than 10 feet.   
     
     
         18 . The temporary floating breakwater system of  claim 17 , wherein the floating breakwater system is configured for packaging in a plurality of containers suitable for simultaneous transport on the deck of vessel having a size and general characteristics comparable to an LCU 1610 class vessel. 
     
     
         19 . The temporary floating breakwater of  claim 18 , wherein the temporary floating breakwater system is configured for deployment from the deck of the vessel with the assistance of a utility vessel.