Submersible Matting System

Abstract

A submersible matting (SUBMAT) for supporting vehicles moving over soft soils, such as beaches and littoral zones is disclosed. The SUBMAT is a lightweight geotextile mattress based system that is filled with indigenous material at the deployed location to create a stable roadway capable of supporting the movement of heavy vehicles such as military trucks and tanks across the gap between low- and high-tide at the beach/water interface. A SUBMAT can be installed by a small crew of personnel in a short period of time without special material handling equipment. The system is scalable and SUBMAT units can be joined to create the desired length and width of roadway. Methods of deploying the SUBMAT are also disclosed.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A submersible matting (SUBMAT) for supporting vehicles moving over soft soils, comprising:
 a rectangular geotextile mattress having a top and a bottom, and sealed about a perimeter to define an interior mattress filling space;   one or more interior baffle in the mattress extending in a longitudinal direction, the one or more interior baffle creating two or more longitudinal tube sections within the mattress;   at least two scour tubes positioned longitudinally along a periphery of the mattress, each scour tube being sealed to define an interior scour tube filling space,   an outer textile layer covering at least a portion of the top of the mattress;   a plurality of fill points spaced at intervals along the mattress, each fill point providing an opening in the mattress and into the mattress filling space; and   
       a plurality of fill points spaced at intervals along each scour tube, each fill point providing an opening in the scour tube and into the scour tube filling space. 
     
     
         2 . The SUBMAT of  claim 1 , wherein the outer textile layer is a high strength geotextile woven into a three-dimensional lofted pattern. 
     
     
         3 . The SUBMAT of  claim 1 , wherein the mattress comprises six or more longitudinal tube sections. 
     
     
         4 . The SUBMAT of  claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of handles positioned at intervals along a periphery of the SUBMAT. 
     
     
         5 . The SUBMAT of  claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of stake rings positioned at intervals along a periphery of the SUBMAT. 
     
     
         6 . The SUBMAT of  claim 1 , wherein the mattress has a length dimension in a range of about 80-120 ft, a width dimension in a range of about 15-25 ft, and a height dimension in a range of about 6-12 inches. 
     
     
         7 . The SUBMAT of  claim 1 , wherein the longitudinal tube sections comprise tapered ends having dimensions to create an overlap junction with tapered ends on a corresponding second SUBMAT. 
     
     
         8 . The SUBMAT of  claim 1 , wherein the at least two scour tubes have a diameter that is greater than the height of the longitudinal tube section. 
     
     
         9 . The SUBMAT of  claim 1 , further comprising a fill material in the interior mattress filling space and in the scour tube filling space. 
     
     
         10 . The SUBMAT of  claim 9 , wherein the fill material is indigenous material, sand, gravel, or a mixture thereof. 
     
     
         11 . The SUBMAT of  claim 9 , wherein when filled to capacity with the fill material, the SUBMAT has a thickness in a range of about 6-12 in. 
     
     
         12 . The SUBMAT of  claim 9 , wherein when filled with the fill material, the filled SUBMAT can support vehicles having a weight of at least 70 tons. 
     
     
         13 . A roadway system for supporting vehicles moving over soft soils, comprising one or more SUBMAT of  claim 1  filled with fill material. 
     
     
         14 . The roadway system of  claim 13 , wherein the roadway system bridges a gap between low-tide and high-tide at a beach/water interface. 
     
     
         15 . The roadway system of  claim 13 , wherein the roadway system remains stable and supports the vehicles through sea state 5. 
     
     
         16 . The roadway system of  claim 13 , wherein the roadway system supports vehicles moving across a littoral zone. 
     
     
         17 . The roadway system of  claim 13 , comprising two or more SUBMATS filled with indigenous material together in series and/or parallel to create an intended length or width of roadway. 
     
     
         18 . A method of making a roadway to support vehicles moving over soft soils, the method comprising:
 deploying the SUBMAT of  claim 1  at an intended location, wherein the SUBMAT is unfilled;   placing a first end of the SUBMAT at a first position of the location, and anchoring the first end;   placing a second end of the SUBMAT at a second position, and anchoring the second end;   attaching a pumping apparatus to a fill point and pumping indigenous fill material present at the location into the mattress filling space and scour tube filling space; and   repeating the attaching and pumping step as needed until the SUBMAT is filled with the fill material to an intended capacity.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the intended location is a beach, a first landward end of the SUBMAT is placed and anchored on the beach, and a second seaward end of the SUBMAT is placed and anchored in the water. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the intended location is a beach, comprising:
 placing and anchoring a first landward end of the SUBMAT on the beach;   positioning anchors seaward and anchoring in the water several feet beyond a second seaward end of the SUBMAT;   pulling the second seaward end of the SUBMAT seaward and into position;   installing additional anchors along the sides of the SUBMAT;   attaching a dredge pump to a fill point and pumping indigenous material from the beach into the mattress filling space and scour tube filling space; and   repeating the attaching and pumping step as needed until the SUBMAT is filled with indigenous material to an intended capacity.   
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein portions of the SUBMAT deployed in water are filled first, the position and/or alignment of the unfilled SUBMAT deployed on land is adjusted, and then the remaining portions of the SUBMAT are filled.