Barrier system

Abstract

The invention relates to a barrier system comprising a barrier wall for stopping a flow of a substance to one side of said wall, wherein said barrier wall comprises a fabric impervious to the flow of said substance and containing high strength polyolefin fibers.

1 . A barrier system comprising a barrier wall for stopping a flow of a substance to one side of said wall, wherein said barrier wall comprises a fabric impervious to the flow of said substance and containing high strength polyolefin fibers 
     
     
         2 . The barrier system of  claim 1  wherein said system is a water barrier system comprising:
 i. a base structure located on the seabed or on the ground to be protected; 
 ii. a float for providing a buoyancy force; wherein preferably said float is accommodated on or inside of said base structure when said barrier system is not in used; 
 iii. a barrier wall interposed between and attached to the base structure and the float; the barrier wall comprising a fabric containing high strength polyolefin fibers and preferably a thermoplastic material laminated on said fabric to form a water-impervious barrier wall; 
 wherein when the float is accommodated on or inside of said base structure, said barrier wall is allowed to rest in a folded manner on or inside of said base structure. 
 
     
     
         3 . The barrier system of  claim 1  wherein said system is a water barrier system for presenting under flood risk an above-ground-level barrier wall spanning the space between at least two given spaced points to stop the water flow to one side of said barrier wall, said system comprising:
 I. a housing structure having a float-receiving chamber and preferably at least one ground liquid inlet passageway having an inlet at the top of said housing and extending between the top of said housing structure to the bottom portion of said chamber so that ground liquid can fill said chamber when permitted to do so; 
 II. a float structure for said chamber which is sized to be vertically movable therein from a bottommost position therein when there is no water build up therein to a given level and to an upper position when the water rises; and 
 III. a barrier wall interposed between and attached to the float structure and to said chamber, said barrier wall being initially located at or below ground level when said float structure is in said bottommost position and is at least partially, preferably fully, above ground level when said float structure is in its upper position; 
 wherein said barrier wall comprises a fabric containing high strength polyolefin fibers and a thermoplastic material laminated on said fabric to form a water-impervious barrier wall 
 
     
     
         4 . The barrier system of  claim 1  wherein the polyolefin fibers are polyethylene fibers, in particular high molecular weight polyethylene (HMWPE) fibers or ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) fibers. 
     
     
         5 . The barrier system of  claim 1  wherein the polyolefin fibers have a tape-like shape. 
     
     
         6 . The barrier system of  claim 1  wherein the polyolefin fibers have a tensile strength of at least 0.5 GPa. 
     
     
         7 . The barrier system of  claim 1  wherein the polyolefin fibers have a tensile modulus of at least 30 GPa. 
     
     
         8 . The barrier system of  claim 1  wherein the fabric is chosen from the group consisting of woven, knitted, plaited, braided and non-woven fabrics and a combination thereof. 
     
     
         9 . The barrier system of  claim 1  wherein the fabric is a woven fabric chosen from the group consisting of a plain weave and a basket weave fabric. 
     
     
         10 . The barrier system of  claim 1  wherein the fabric is laminated with a thermoplastic material, preferably a plastomer. 
     
     
         11 . The barrier system of  claim 1  wherein the fabric is laminated with a plastomer having a tensile modulus of at most 0.6 GPa. 
     
     
         12 . The barrier system of  claim 1  wherein the fabric is a woven fabric having a cover factor of at least 1.5. 
     
     
         13 . The barrier system of  claim 1  wherein the fabric is laminated with a plastomer, the plastomer being a thermoplastic copolymer of ethylene or propylene and containing as co-monomers one or more α-olefins having 2-12 C-atoms, in particular ethylene, isobutene, 1-butene, 1-hexene, 4-methyl-1-pentene and 1-octene. 
     
     
         14 . The barrier system of  claim 1  wherein the fabric is preferably a woven fabric, said fabric being laminated with a plastomer and wherein the amount of plastomer is chosen to yield a barrier wall having an areal density (AD) that is with at least 20%, more preferably at least 50% higher than the AD of said fabric, preferably of said woven fabric. 
     
     
         15 . The barrier system of  claim 1  wherein the thickness of the barrier wall is between 0.2 mm and 10 mm.