The recent heavy downpours which have battered parts of the UK and caused severe flood warnings to be put in place could be a thing of the past thanks to an ingenious invention by a team of engineers.
The Self Erecting, Low Cost (SELOC) Flood Barrier is based on an idea by John Greenwood, a Reader in Geotechnical Engineering at Nottingham Trent University, and has been developed in partnership with AECOM, PAGeotechnical and NTU.
The rotary moulded polyethelene units rest unobtrusively at ground level until the flood waters arrive, at which point the flood water lifts the buoyant barrier units, which are hinged on one edge to automatically provide the flood protection. The polyethelene units can be covered with a surfacing, such as timber decking or rubber crumb, to provide a non-slip surface for pedestrians and cyclists.
The SELOC Flood Barrier is cheap and quick to install, with initial estimates suggesting that it will cost at least 50 percent less than alternative flood walls. A 50-meter-long wall could be installed in less than a week, and the barrier can be terminated running into high ground or at vertical wall.
AECOM, www.aecom.com; PAGeotechnical, www.pageo.co.uk.
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