Description:FORM 2
THE PATENTS ACT, 1970
(39 of 1970)
&
The Patents Rules, 2003
PROVISIONAL/COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
(See section 10 and rule 13)

1. TITLE OF THE INVENTION:
A CONCRETE CRASH BARRIER WITH INTEGRATED UTILITY DUCT

2. APPLICANT:

a. NAME: MAHARASHTRA RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION LIMITED
b. NATIONALITY: INDIA
c. ADDRESS: 2ND FLOOR, HOECHST HOUSE, NCPA ROAD, NARIMAN POINT, MUMBAI, MAHARASHTRA, INDIA

3. PREAMBLE TO THE DESCRIPTION:


FIELD OF INVENTION
The present invention relates to a concrete crash barrier with integrated utility duct. More specifically these are concrete crash barriers for road bridges.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
The crash barrier prevents vehicles from exiting a road when the off-road environment would be more dangerous than crashing into a barrier. Thus, its strength is very crucial to withstand high impact energy from vehicles in the event of an accident. They are in practice since many years. However, there still remains certain unmet necessities stated below.
Placement of utilities on the bridges is a major challenge till date. In many cases, telecom and other cables are scattered haphazardly along the road on various bridges & flyover. These cables are laid without any concern for standards, safety or regulations. All poles originally meant for electrical distribution are abused without any permission or approval. These cables, as they are not securely laid, get snapped often, when a vehicle carrying goods stacked beyond reasonable heights passes over bridge. These scattered wires on roads are dangerous for vehicles & pedestrians and may cause fatal accidents.
Currently, utilities are passed through ducts/voids left in the crash barrier as shown in the figure 1.
The present system of cable ducts passing through the voids left in the crash barrier has few demerits,
(i) in case of damage to any utility, the entire cable needs to be pulled out of duct as the continuous system of crash barrier with embedded ducts makes it impossible to leave intermediate openings in order to inspect and rectify faults in the utilities,
(ii) localized repair of utilities is not possible,
(iii) excessive repair time,
(iv) hard to install new utilities,
(v) in case of damage to duct and utilities, the electric current may pass through the reinforcement of the crash barrier, thus rendering it unsafe for the personal carrying out repairs.
Therefore, there was a long-standing need for a solution to place the utilities in the preferably in the crash barrier without hampering its strength as the it is meant for withstanding high impact energy from vehicles.
The present invention relates to specially designed reinforced concrete crash barriers for road bridges integrated with state-of-the-art utility ducts to withstand high impact energy from vehicles in the event of an accident.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Current invention discloses concrete crash barriers with integrated utility duct for road bridges to provide better assembly to lay, inspect, repair and replace utilities without compromising the safety needs of crash barrier.
In one aspect of the invention, it provides a concrete crash barrier with integrated utility duct for road bridges comprising a wall (100) protruding from the deck slab (300) below pavement surface (200) of bridge having
i) a 500 mm wide bottom surface (10) and a 275 mm wide top surface (30), said bottom and top surfaces are connected with each other by
a) an outer interrupted surface (20) being 1100mm high above the pavement surface (200), perpendicular to the pavement surface (200) and having interruption of 300mm at the height of 500mm, and
b) an inner surface (40) having two sloping being a first slope 50 mm (horizontal):750 mm (vertical) (40A), a second slope 175 mm (horizontal):250 mm (vertical) (40B) and a vertical face (40C); and
ii) a hollow rectangular utility duct (50) accommodated from its three sides in said wall (100)
a) at the height of 500mm from said bottom surface (10),
b) at a distance of 300mm from said top surface (30),
c) having 300mm height, and
d) being 100mm wide from said outer interrupted surface (20).
In another aspect of the invention, it provides a concrete crash barrier with integrated utility duct for road bridges comprising a wall (100) protruding from the deck slab (300) below pavement surface (200) of bridge having
i) a 500 mm wide bottom surface (10) and a 275 mm wide top surface (30), said bottom and top surfaces are connected with each other by
a) an outer interrupted surface (20) being 1550mm high above the pavement surface (200), perpendicular to the pavement surface (200) and having interruption of 300mm at the height of 500mm, and
b) an inner surface (40) having two sloping being a first slope 50 mm (horizontal):1200 mm (vertical) (40D), a second slope 175 mm (horizontal):250 mm (vertical) (40E) and a vertical face (40F); and
ii) a hollow rectangular utility duct (50) accommodated from its three sides in said wall (100)
a) at the height of 500mm from said bottom surface (10),
b) at a distance of 750mm from said top surface (30),
c) having 300mm height, and
d) being 100mm wide from said outer interrupted surface (20).
The new shape of crash barrier has been devised and designed keeping in view the safety needs of vehicles plying on the road. The design is in accordance with relevant IRC codes for the design and construction of crash barrier.
The outer surface (20) is the surface near the edge of the bridge and the inner surface (40) is the surface near the pavement surface (200). Various aspects of the present invention herein will be better appreciated and understood when considered in conjunction with the following description and the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The embodiments herein will be better understood from the following detailed description with reference to the drawings, in which the reference numerals indicate:
Reference numeral Component
100 wall
300 deck slab
200 pavement surface of bridge
10 bottom surface of wall 100
30 top surface of wall 100
20 an outer interrupted surface of wall
40 inner surface of wall 100
40A, 40D first slope of inner surface 40 of wall 100 in the first and the second aspect respectively
40B, 40E second slope of inner surface 40 of wall 100 in the first and the second aspect respectively
40C, 40F vertical face of inner surface 40 of wall 100 in the first and the second aspect respectively
50 hollow rectangular utility duct

FIG 1 illustrates the general construction of the conventional crash barrier;
FIG 2 illustrates the construction of the inventive concrete crash barrier with integrated utility duct in accordance with the first aspect of the invention;
FIG 3 illustrates the construction of the inventive concrete crash barrier with integrated utility duct in accordance with the second aspect of the invention;
FIGs 4 and 5 show the hollow rectangular utility duct (50) explained in the examples; and
FIGs 6 to 8 show the concrete crash barrier with integrated utility duct prepared in accordance with the examples 1 and 2 of the current invention and
FIG 9 illustrates the reinforcement bars structured at clear cover to reinforcement and following the outline of the crash barrier.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION
As mentioned, there remains a long-standing need for a solution to place the utilities in the preferably in the crash barrier without hampering its strength as the it is meant for withstanding high impact energy from vehicles.
The present invention relates to specially designed reinforced concrete crash barriers for road bridges integrated with state-of-the-art utility ducts to withstand high impact energy from vehicles in the event of an accident.
In one aspect of the invention, it provides a concrete crash barrier with integrated utility duct for road bridges comprising a wall (100) protruding from the deck slab (300) below pavement surface (200) of bridge having
i) a 500 mm wide bottom surface (10) and a 275 mm wide top surface (30), said bottom and top surfaces are connected with each other by
a) an outer interrupted surface (20) being 1100mm high above the pavement surface (200), perpendicular to the pavement surface (200) and having interruption of 300mm at the height of 500mm, and
b) an inner surface (40) having two sloping being a first slope 50 mm (horizontal):750 mm (vertical) (40A), a second slope 175 mm (horizontal):250 mm (vertical) (40B) and a vertical face (40C); and
ii) a hollow rectangular utility duct (50) accommodated from its three sides in said wall (100)
a) at the height of 500mm from said bottom surface (10),
b) at a distance of 300mm from said top surface (30),
c) having 300mm height, and
d) being 100mm wide from said outer interrupted surface (20).

In another aspect of the invention, it provides a concrete crash barrier with integrated utility duct for road bridges comprising a wall (100) protruding from the deck slab (300) below pavement surface (200) of bridge having
i) a 500 mm wide bottom surface (10) and a 275 mm wide top surface (30), said bottom and top surfaces are connected with each other by
a) an outer interrupted surface (20) being 1550mm high above the pavement surface (200), perpendicular to the pavement surface (200) and having interruption of 300mm at the height of 500mm, and
b) an inner surface (40) having two sloping being a first slope 50 mm (horizontal):1200 mm (vertical) (40D), a second slope 175 mm (horizontal):250 mm (vertical) (40E) and a vertical face (40F); and
ii) a hollow rectangular utility duct (50) accommodated from its three sides in said wall (100)
a) at the height of 500mm from said bottom surface (10),
b) at a distance of 750mm from said top surface (30),
c) having 300mm height, and
d) being 100mm wide from said outer interrupted surface (20).
In both the aspects mentioned above the fourth side of said hollow rectangular utility duct (50) is kept open or it may be closed by an openable lid. Preferably such openable lid can be a slider lid or a screw fitted lid and preferably made of Stainless Steel.
The hollow rectangular utility duct (50) is preferably made up of Hot Dipped Galvanized Iron. It may have multiple slots inside it for a systematic placements of utility cables. The slots sizes can be varied depending upon the sizes of the cables.
More preferably the top and bottom surfaces (10, 30) of said wall (100) are flat. Further, said top surface (30) may have a provision for fitting electric pole over it. This arrangement is very convenient and safe as the electric poles mounted on the wall (100) get the electricity supply through the cables passing through the duct (50) and the cables are properly and safely held inside said duct (50) giving opportunity to change, repair, rectify them in case of any damage. Though there may be various such provisions, preferably said provision for fitting electric pole is a base plate with anchor fasteners for engaging said electric pole with it.
As can be seen in Figure 9, the crash barrier has reinforcement bars structured at clear cover to reinforcement and following the outline of said crash barrier. It continues into said pavement surface (200) and deck slab (300). Usually said reinforcement bars are selected from 12 mm dimeter steel bars and 16 mm dimeter steel bars of Fe 500D Grade. The concrete in said concrete crash barrier is of M40 Grade. The reinforcement bars pattern is repeated after certain distance so that the concrete can reach within the gaps and the bars diameter can selected as per the bending ease.
The foregoing description of the specific embodiments will so fully reveal the general nature of the embodiments herein that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments without departing from the generic concept, and, therefore, such adaptations and modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. Therefore, while the embodiments herein have been described in terms of preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments herein can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope.
Construction and working examples for the concrete crash barrier with integrated utility duct:
Example 1: In accordance with the first aspect of the invention, a concrete crash barrier with integrated utility duct was set up using following parts and materials as illustrated in Figure 2:

Reference numeral Component Specification Material
100 wall Please refer to the surface dimensions below The steel reinforcement bars of 12 mm and 16 mm dimeter and Fe 500D Grade. The concrete of M40 Grade.
10 bottom surface of wall 100 500 mm wide
30 top surface of wall 100 275 mm wide
20 an outer interrupted surface of wall 1100mm with interruption of 300 mm at the height of 500mm
40 inner surface of wall 100
40A first slope of inner surface 40 50 mm (horizontal):750 mm (vertical)
40B second slope of inner surface 40 175 mm (horizontal):250 mm (vertical)
40C vertical face of inner surface 40 100 mm (Vertical)
50 hollow rectangular utility duct 300 mm X 100 mm Hot Dipped 1.6mm thick Galvanized Iron
a base plate with anchor fasteners 250 mm x 250 mm 16 mm thick Mild Steel

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the hollow rectangular utility duct (50) used here was a perforated 3 slots utility duct as shown in Figure 4. It had a removable Stainless Steel Cover as can be seen in Figure 5. This assembly can be easily fixed on the outer/external face of a crash barrier specially designed to accommodate cable duct. Each of the three slots is 100mm wide and 100mm high to house different types of cables such as power cables, telecommunication cables, fiber optic cables, etc. The cover is a 1.2mm thick stainless steel of SS304 mirror finish grade. The stainless-steel cover is fixed using SS Hex Head Allen bolts. It has safety chain arrangement for suspending cable tray cover.

The crash barrier was tested for its strength and the results obtained are mentioned below:
Parameter Required value as per standards Observed value Conclusion
Stress in concrete (Mpa) 19.20 4.94 Results acceptable
Stress in Steel (Mpa) 300.00 116.06 Results acceptable

It signifies that the prepared concrete crash barrier with integrated utility duct has the required strength to withstand high impact energy from vehicles in the event of an accident. It is suitable from both the perspectives vis safety and utility.

Example 2: In accordance with the second aspect of the invention, a concrete crash barrier with integrated utility duct was set up using following parts and materials as illustrated in Figure 3:
Reference numeral Component Specification Material
100 wall Please refer to the surface dimensions below The steel reinforcement bars of 12 mm and 16 mm dimeter and Fe 500D Grade. The concrete of M40 Grade.
10 bottom surface of wall 100 500 mm wide
30 top surface of wall 100 275 mm wide
20 an outer interrupted surface of wall 1550 mm with interruption of 300 mm at the height of 500mm
40 inner surface of wall 100
40D first slope of inner surface 40 50 mm (horizontal):1200 mm (vertical)
40E second slope of inner surface 40 175 mm (horizontal):250 mm (vertical)
40F vertical face of inner surface 40 100 mm (Vertical)
50 hollow rectangular utility duct 300 mm X 100 mm Hot Dipped Galvanized Iron
a base plate with anchor fasteners 250 mm x 250 mm 16 mm thick Mild Steel

The hollow rectangular utility duct (50) similar to the one used in example 1 and shown in Figures 4 and 5 was used in this example.

The crash barrier was tested for its strength and the results obtained are mentioned below:
Parameter Required value as per standards Observed value Conclusion
Stress in concrete (Mpa) 19.20 19.08 Results acceptable
Stress in Steel (Mpa) 300.00 285.57 Results acceptable

It signifies that the prepared concrete crash barrier with integrated utility duct has the required strength to withstand high impact energy from vehicles in the event of an accident. It is suitable from both the perspectives vis safety and utility.

Example 3: This is a comparative example showing that the crash barrier doesn’t bear the necessary strength if the inventive concept is not followed. A concrete crash barrier with integrated utility duct was set up using following parts and materials:
Reference numeral Component Specification Material
100 wall Please refer to the surface dimensions below The steel reinforcement bars of 12 mm and 16 mm dimeter and Fe 500D Grade. The concrete of M40 Grade.
10 bottom surface of wall 100 500 mm wide
30 top surface of wall 100 275 mm wide
20 an outer interrupted surface of wall 1550 mm with interruption of 300 mm at the height of 470mm
40 inner surface of wall 100
40D first slope of inner surface 40 50 mm (horizontal):1200 mm (vertical)
40E second slope of inner surface 40 175 mm (horizontal):250 mm (vertical)
40F vertical face of inner surface 40 100 mm (Vertical)
50 hollow rectangular utility duct 330 mm X 100 mm Hot Dipped Galvanized Iron
a base plate with anchor fasteners 250 mm x 250 mm 16 mm thick Mild Steel

The hollow rectangular utility duct similar to the one used in example 1 and shown in Figures 4 and 5 but with changed dimension was used in this example.

The crash barrier was tested for its strength and the results obtained are mentioned below:
Parameter Required value as per standards Observed value Conclusion
Stress in concrete (Mpa) 19.20 19.63 Results not acceptable
Stress in Steel (Mpa) 300.00 293.74 Results are acceptable

It signifies that the concrete crash barrier with integrated utility duct prepared by just 10% increase in the length of the utility duct at bottom direction affects the strength and make the crash barrier unsafe and unsuitable for the purpose.

Example 4: This is also a comparative example showing that the crash barrier doesn’t bear the necessary strength if the inventive concept is not followed. A concrete crash barrier with integrated utility duct was set up using following parts and materials:
Reference numeral Component Specification Material
100 wall Please refer to the surface dimensions below The steel reinforcement bars of 12 mm and 16 mm dimeter and Fe 500D Grade. The concrete of M40 Grade.
10 bottom surface of wall 100 500 mm wide
30 top surface of wall 100 275 mm wide
20 an outer interrupted surface of wall 1550 mm with interruption of 300 mm at the bottom (at 0mm height)
40 inner surface of wall 100
40D first slope of inner surface 40 50 mm (horizontal):1200 mm (vertical)
40E second slope of inner surface 40 175 mm (horizontal):250 mm (vertical)
40F vertical face of inner surface 40 100 mm (Vertical)
50 hollow rectangular utility duct 300 mm X 100 mm Hot Dipped Galvanized Iron
a base plate with anchor fasteners 250 mm x 250 mm 16 mm thick Mild Steel

The hollow rectangular utility duct (50) similar to the one used in example 1 and shown in Figures 4 and 5 was used in this example.

The crash barrier was tested for its strength and the results obtained are mentioned below:
Parameter Required value as per standards Observed value Conclusion
Stress in concrete (Mpa) 19.20 23.93 Results not acceptable
Stress in Steel (Mpa) 300.00 333.55 Results not acceptable

It signifies that the concrete crash barrier with integrated utility duct prepared by deviating just in the position of the utility duct affects the strength and make it unsafe and unsuitable for the purpose.

Example 5: This is also a comparative example showing that the crash barrier doesn’t bear the necessary strength if the inventive concept is not followed. A concrete crash barrier with integrated utility duct was set up using following parts and materials:
Reference numeral Component Specification Material
100 wall Please refer to the surface dimensions below The steel reinforcement bars of 12 mm and 16 mm dimeter and Fe 500D Grade. The concrete of M40 Grade.
10 bottom surface of wall 100 500 mm wide
30 top surface of wall 100 275 mm wide
20 an outer interrupted surface of wall 1550 mm with interruption of 300 mm at the height of 500mm
40 inner surface of wall 100
40D first slope of inner surface 40 50 mm (horizontal):1200 mm (vertical)
40E second slope of inner surface 40 175 mm (horizontal):250 mm (vertical)
40F vertical face of inner surface 40 100 mm (Vertical)
50 hollow rectangular utility duct 300 mm X 110 mm Hot Dipped Galvanized Iron
a base plate with anchor fasteners 250 mm x 250 mm 16 mm thick Mild Steel

The hollow rectangular utility duct similar to the one used in example 1 and shown in Figures 4 and 5 but with changed dimension was used in this example.

The crash barrier was tested for its strength and the results obtained are mentioned below:
Parameter Required value as per standards Observed value Conclusion
Stress in concrete (Mpa) 19.20 20.83 Results not acceptable
Stress in Steel (Mpa) 300.00 303.19 Results not acceptable

It signifies that the concrete crash barrier with integrated utility duct prepared by just 10% increase in the breadth of the utility duct affects the strength and make the crash barrier unsafe and unsuitable for the purpose.

Figures 6 to 8 show the concrete crash barrier with integrated utility duct prepared in accordance with the examples 1 and 2 of the current invention and implemented in the state of Maharashtra, India waiting for its inaugural after completion of some other work and the formalities.

Unlike conventional crash barrier, where structurally no provision is made in the crash barrier to pass multiple cables, this specially designed reinforced concrete crash barrier has provision for housing utility ducts, which can carry various cables along the length of the bridge. Thus, rendering a better system to lay, inspect, repair and replace cables. These utility ducts can be accessed from the external surface of the crash barrier without disrupting traffic plying on the road. It devised and designed keeping in view the safety needs of vehicles plying on the road. The design is in accordance with relevant IRC codes for the design and construction of crash barrier.

Advantages of the current invention when compared to prior art
(i) A new system of Crash Barrier Integrated with Utility Ducts to provide a better assembly to lay, inspect, repair and replace utilities without compromising the safety needs of crash barrier,
(ii) Provides a better, reliable, safe and easy to use assembly to carry utilities along the length of the bridge,
(iii) Faults in the utilities can be easily rectified without the need to remove entire cable from the duct,
(iv) Localized faults/damages to the utilities can be easily,
(v) Cable ducts can be accessed from the external surface of the crash barrier without disrupting traffic plying on the bridge,
(vi) Installation, repair and replacement of utilities can be carried out easily and speedily.
, Claims:CLAIMS
I/We claim:
1. A concrete crash barrier with integrated utility duct for road bridges comprising a wall (100) protruding from the deck slab (300) below pavement surface (200) of bridge having
i) a 500 mm wide bottom surface (10) and a 275 mm wide top surface (30), said bottom and top surfaces are connected with each other by
a) an outer interrupted surface (20) being 1100mm high above the pavement surface (200), perpendicular to the pavement surface (200) and having interruption of 300mm at the height of 500mm, and
b) an inner surface (40) having two sloping being a first slope 50 mm (horizontal):750 mm (vertical) (40A), a second slope 175 mm (horizontal):250 mm (vertical) (40B) and a vertical face (40C); and
ii) a hollow rectangular utility duct (50) accommodated from its three sides in said wall (100)
a) at the height of 500mm from said bottom surface (10),
b) at a distance of 300mm from said top surface (30),
c) having 300mm height, and
d) being 100mm wide from said outer interrupted surface (20).

2. A concrete crash barrier with integrated utility duct for road bridges comprising a wall (100) protruding from the deck slab (300) below pavement surface (200) of bridge having
i) a 500 mm wide bottom surface (10) and a 275 mm wide top surface (30), said bottom and top surfaces are connected with each other by
a) an outer interrupted surface (20) being 1550mm high above the pavement surface (200), perpendicular to the pavement surface (200) and having interruption of 300mm at the height of 500mm, and
b) an inner surface (40) having two sloping being a first slope 50 mm (horizontal):1200 mm (vertical) (40D), a second slope 175 mm (horizontal):250 mm (vertical) (40E) and a vertical face (40F); and
ii) a hollow rectangular utility duct (50) accommodated from its three sides in said wall (100)
a) at the height of 500mm from said bottom surface (10),
b) at a distance of 750mm from said top surface (30),
c) having 300mm height, and
d) being 100mm wide from said outer interrupted surface (20).

3. The concrete crash barrier with integrated utility duct as claimed in claims 1 and 2, wherein said fourth side of said hollow rectangular utility duct (50) is kept open or is closed by an openable lid.

4. The concrete crash barrier with integrated utility duct as claimed in claim 3, wherein said openable lid is selected from a slider lid or a screw fitted lid and is made from Stainless Steel.

5. The concrete crash barrier with integrated utility duct as claimed in claims 1 and 2, wherein said hollow rectangular utility duct (50) is made up of Hot Dipped Galvanized Iron.

6. The concrete crash barrier with integrated utility duct as claimed in claims 1 and 2, wherein said hollow rectangular utility duct (50) has multiple slots inside it.

7. The concrete crash barrier with integrated utility duct as claimed in claims 1 and 2, wherein said top and bottom surfaces (10, 30) are flat surfaces.

8. The concrete crash barrier with integrated utility duct as claimed in claims 1 and 2, wherein said top surface (30) has a provision for fitting electric pole over it.

9. The concrete crash barrier with integrated utility duct as claimed in claim 8, wherein said provision for fitting electric pole is a base plate with anchor fasteners for engaging said electric pole with it.

10. The concrete crash barrier with integrated utility duct as claimed in claims 1 and 2, wherein said concrete crash barrier has reinforcement bars structured at clear cover to reinforcement and following the outline of said crash barrier and continuing into said pavement surface (200) and deck slab (300).

11. The concrete crash barrier with integrated utility duct as claimed in claim 10, wherein said reinforcement bars are selected from 12 mm dimeter steel bars and 16 mm dimeter steel bars of Fe 500D Grade.

12. The concrete crash barrier with integrated utility duct as claimed in claims 1 and 2, wherein concrete in said concrete crash barrier is of M40 Grade.
Dated this 29th day of October 2022
Signature: To be digitally signed by-
Name: Mr. Parag M. More
MORE & KADAM LEGAL ASSOCIATES
INTELLECTUAL PLATFORM®
Patent Agent for applicant
Patent Agent Regn. No. IN/PA-1688
On behalf of applicant