Spill containment boom

Abstract

Some embodiments of the invention relate to a spill containment boom unit for deployment in ambient water, using water absorbing material, such as SAP, to encourage expansion of a chamber thereof. Some embodiments provide boom units which comprise one or more surfaces which form at least one hollow chamber, wherein at least one wall of the hollow chamber comprises at least one fillable compartment.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A spill containment boom unit for deployment in ambient water in an axially extending arrangement, comprising:
 at least two sections;   an energy storage material between at least two of said sections, said energy storage material positioned so that when said boom unit is deployed said energy storage material applies a force to said sections to assist in setting a shape of said boom unit;   wherein said energy storage material converts from a collapsed state when stored to an expanded state when deployed thereby providing said assistance.   
     
     
         2 . The boom unit according to  claim 1 , wherein said energy storage material is compressible. 
     
     
         3 . The boom unit according to  claim 1 , wherein energy storage material is provided adjacent at least one fold location of said boom unit. 
     
     
         4 . The boom unit according to  claim 1 , wherein said energy storage material is expandable in volume by a factor of at least five when absorbing water. 
     
     
         5 . The boom unit according to  claim 1 , wherein at least one said section includes at least one rigid or semi-rigid wall. 
     
     
         6 . The boom unit according to  claim 5 , wherein said section includes sufficient energy storage material to cause a distention of said wall when said energy storage material absorbs the ambient water. 
     
     
         7 . The boom unit according to  claim 1 , wherein one or more surfaces of said boom unit form at least one hollow chamber, wherein at least one wall of said hollow chamber comprises at least one said section, wherein said at least one hollow chamber stabilizes a structure of said boom unit against externally acting forces. 
     
     
         8 . The boom unit according to  claim 7 , wherein said hollow chamber is sized to contain a volume of water sufficient for functioning as a weight to stabilize said boom unit relative to a surface of the water. 
     
     
         9 . The boom unit according to  claim 1 , wherein a said section is a portion filled with one of: gas and water. 
     
     
         10 . The boom unit according to  claim 1  wherein, when in said collapsed state, a thickness of a said section is between 0.5 and 5 cm. 
     
     
         11 . The boom unit according to  claim 1 , wherein said boom unit has an A-shaped structure including one or more ballast portions forming legs of an A-shape and one or more floatation portions forming a horizontally extending portion of the A-shape, and wherein a portion of said one or more ballast portions is positioned above the water when said boom unit is deployed. 
     
     
         12 . The boom unit according to  claim 1 , wherein said boom unit has an X-shaped structure including one or more ballast portions having an X-shaped cross-sectional profile and one or more floatation portions. 
     
     
         13 . The boom unit according to  claim 1 , wherein said boom unit includes an above-water floatation portion and a below-water ballast portion, wherein said boom unit is configured to pivot relative to a longitudinal axis of said boom unit in response to an external force acting on said floatation portion to increase a resistance of said boom unit to the external force. 
     
     
         14 . The boom unit according to  claim 1 , wherein a specific gravity of said energy storage material is smaller than that of water. 
     
     
         15 . The boom unit according to  claim 1 , wherein an above-water portion of said boom unit is shaped to maintain a below-water portion of said boom unit at a perpendicular position relative to a water surface when deployed. 
     
     
         16 . The boom unit according to  claim 1 , wherein said energy storage material is selected from: shape memory material, elastic material, a superabsorbent polymer (SAP), an open-cell foam, and sponge material. 
     
     
         17 . The boom unit according to  claim 1 , wherein when converting from said collapsed state to said expanded state said energy storage material is expandable to push apart or bring together two segments of said boom unit. 
     
     
         18 . The boom unit according to  claim 1 , wherein when converting from said collapsed state to said expanded state said energy storage material is expandable to increase an angle between two segments of said boom unit. 
     
     
         19 . A spill containment boom unit for containing a floating material spilled in water comprising:
 least one flotation compartment including a plurality of gas-filled sealed portions, said portions gas-filled and sealed prior to deployment of said boom unit;   wherein said gas-filled sealed portions do not include foam.   
     
     
         20 . A method for increasing structural strength of a spill containment boom unit, during deployment of the boom unit in ambient water, comprising:
 providing at least two sections of the boom unit with an amount of an energy storage material between said sections which, when having absorbed water, the energy storage material assists in setting a shape of said boom unit; and   deploying the boom unit in the ambient water to allow the energy storage material to absorb water.