Systems and methods for safely transporting granular material

Abstract

Systems and methods are provided for safely and efficiently transporting granular material. In one embodiment, a method includes providing an expandable container in an unexpanded state, expanding the expandable container from the unexpanded state to an expanded state, and depositing granular material within the expandable container via an input valve. In this embodiment, the expandable container includes at least a top plate, a bottom plate, an outer material coupled to the top and bottom plates, an input valve associated with the top plate, and a discharge valve associated with the bottom plate. The expandable container can also include a containment bladder, for holding the granular material within the container, and a discharge bladder, for assisting in discharging the granular material from the container.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of safely transporting granular material, comprising:
 providing an expandable container in an unexpanded state, the expandable container comprising:
 a top plate; 
 a bottom plate; 
 an outer material; 
 an input valve associated with the top plate; and 
 a discharge valve associated with the bottom plate, 
   expanding the expandable container from the unexpanded state to an expanded state by lifting the expandable container at the top plate; and   depositing granular material within the expandable container via the input valve.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein depositing the granular material causes the expandable container to expand while in a lifted state. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising discharging granular material from the expanded container via the discharge valve. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein said discharging causes the expandable container to return to the unexpanded state. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , further comprising stacking the expandable container, in the unexpanded state, on top of another expandable container in an unexpanded state. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the expandable container comprises a restraint device removably coupled to the top and bottom plates and/or support members associated with the top and bottom plates, and wherein expanding the expandable container further comprises removing the restraint device. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the expandable container comprises a containment bladder coupled to the top and bottom plates. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein discharging further comprises inflating a discharge bladder. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , where inflating the discharge bladder biases the granular material within the containment bladder toward the discharge valve. 
     
     
         10 . An expandable container for safely transporting granular material, comprising:
 a top plate;   a bottom plate;   an outer material coupled to the top and bottom plates;   an input valve associated with the top plate; and   a discharge valve associated with the bottom plate,   wherein the expandable container can be expanded by applying opposing forces to the top and bottom plates, respectively.   
     
     
         11 . The expandable container of  claim 10 , further comprising a containment bladder coupled to the top and bottom plates. 
     
     
         12 . The expandable container of  claim 10 , wherein the outer material comprises a fabric having at least one of: an elastic modulus of between about 100 and 200 GPa, or a tensile strength of between about 2000-4000 MPa. 
     
     
         13 . The expandable container of  claim 10 , wherein the outer material is coupled to the top and bottom plates via retaining rings. 
     
     
         14 . The expandable container of  claim 10 , wherein the input valve and/or discharge valve comprises a spring-loaded plate. 
     
     
         15 . The expandable container of  claim 10 , further comprising a discharge bladder positioned outside the containment bladder. 
     
     
         16 . The expandable container of  claim 15 , wherein the discharge bladder is configured to be inflated via an inflation port. 
     
     
         17 . The expandable container of  claim 16 , wherein the discharge bladder, once inflated, provides a shape that biases the granular material within the containment bladder toward the discharge valve. 
     
     
         18 . The expandable container of  claim 10 , further comprising a restraint device configured to be removably coupled to the top and bottom plates, thereby preventing the expandable container from expanding and/or contracting. 
     
     
         19 . The expandable container of  claim 10 , wherein the top and/or bottom plate further comprises reinforcement members. 
     
     
         20 . The expandable container of  claim 19 , wherein the reinforcement members of the top and/or bottom plate are coupled to the input and/or discharge valves, respectively.