Energy Dissipator

Abstract

An energy dissipater comprising a plurality of periodic hyperbolic surfaces, forming a continuous surface-structure, and enveloping contiguous tunnels there through.

1 . An energy dissipater comprising a plurality of periodic hyperbolic surfaces, forming a continuous surface-structure, and enveloping contiguous tunnels there through, wherein the hyperbolic surfaces are paraboloid polyhedral polyhyparic inter connected shells. 
     
     
         2 . (canceled) 
     
     
         3 . The dissipater of  claim 1 , constructed from one or more material, selected from concrete, metal sheets, plastic resins, composite materials, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         4 . The dissipater of  claim 3 , wherein the concrete comprises materials selected from: reinforced concrete, shotcrete, ferrocement, fibre-reinforced concrete, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         5 . The dissipater of  claim 3 , wherein the concrete comprises at least one reinforcing material selected from corrugated sheets of metal, plastics, composite material, ferrocement, f.r.p. (fibre reinforced plastics), meshes made of metal, plastics, or composite material, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         6 . The dissipater of  claim 1 , wherein each shell is modular, and the dissipater comprises geometrically repetitive shells, whereby efficient mass production of the dissipater is facilitated. 
     
     
         7 . The dissipater of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of shells are manifested in one or more of the structures: cubic, diamond lattice; cube centered lattice; edge centered lattice, and octet lattice configuration and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         8 . The dissipater of  claim 1 , wherein the tunnels are arranged according to a dual-intertwined cubic network pair. 
     
     
         9 . The dissipater of  claim 1 , wherein the shells each independently have genus values between 2 and 13. 
     
     
         10 . The dissipater of  claim 1 , wherein the shells each independently have a shape selected from the shapes shown in  FIG. 1   a ,  FIG. 1   b  and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         11 . The dissipater of  claim 1 , wherein when the shells are made of reinforced concrete the shells have a thickness of 7 to 20 cm, and when the shells are made of metal or a composite material the shells have a thickness of 1-10 mm. 
     
     
         12 . The dissipater of  claim 1 , having front and hind sides, wherein shells adjacent to the front side have a thickness larger than thickness of shells adjacent to the hind side. 
     
     
         13 . The dissipater of  claim 1 , wherein the edge sizes of boxes circumscribing each polyhedral unit, is between 1.0 and 12.0 meters. 
     
     
         14 . The dissipater of  claim 1 , wherein a portion of the shells are configured to allow filling of air therein for floatability of the dissipater. 
     
     
         15 . The dissipater of  claim 1 , further comprising corrosion protection selected from a group comprising: surface glaze, spray of plastic materials thereonto, and metallic reinforcement with cathodic protection thereof and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         16 . The dissipater of  claim 1 , wherein a portion of the shells comprise ballast material adding to overall stability of the dissipater in water. 
     
     
         17 . The dissipater of  claim 1 , further comprising anchoring devices. 
     
     
         18 . A mould configured to allow producing thereof a concrete polyhyparic shell. 
     
     
         19 . A method of using the dissipater in sea, the method comprising: providing an energy dissipater comprising a plurality of hyperbolic paraboloid polyhedral inter connected shells, forming a continuous surface-structure, and enveloping contiguous tunnels therethrough;
 positioning the dissipater in the sea; and   orienting the tunnels at about 45° or parallel to the direction of wave frontages in the sea.   
     
     
         20 . The dissipater of  claim 1  further comprising reinforcements and stiffening devices, selected from: beams, plates, rings, cables, opening cage stiffeners and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         21 . The dissipater of  claim 1 , further comprising within at least a portion of openings in the tunnels wave turbines configured to allow harvesting energy of waves passing through the tunnels. 
     
     
         22 . A method of manufacturing a sponge breakwater mega-block the method comprising:
 providing moulds, each configured to allow producing by casting thereof a concrete polyhyparic surface shell;   casting concrete shells in the moulds;   assembling shells into floating megablocks;   towing the floating mega-blocks to a predetermined location for a breakwater;   assembling megablocks together into a continuous breakwater, and essentially immobilizing founding-anchoring the breakwater.   
     
     
         23 . The dissipater of  claim 1 , immobilized by one or more of: ballast; dissipater foundations; pile support, and anchorage. 
     
     
         24 .- 25 . (canceled) 
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 22 , further comprising bracing, post-tensioning, or precasting inter connecting sleeves allowing to adjoin circular edge features of adjacent megablocks together. 
     
     
         27 . The method of claim  25 , wherein a residual flexibility is maintained between adjoined mega-blocks. 
     
     
         28 .- 29 . (canceled) 
     
     
         30 . A structure of  claim 1  covered with epoxy.