A HydroSack or a HydroSnake is a

brand name A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's goods or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create and ...

for a

flood control Flood management or flood control are methods used to reduce or prevent the detrimental effects of flood waters. Flooding can be caused by a mix of both natural processes, such as extreme weather upstream, and human changes to waterbodies and ru ...

sandbag alternative made by Gravitas International of

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

North West England North West England is one of nine official regions of England and consists of the ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial counties of Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside. The North West had a population of 7,4 ...

. They are very lightweight and thin until they come into contact with water, then they begin to retain water until they have reached capacity. The devices then resist any further water excess. These can be used to absorb, resist and redirect flowing water.

Design and use

The HydroSack and the HydroSnake are made up of an outer fabric consisting of non-woven

polypropylene Polypropylene (PP), also known as polypropene, is a thermoplastic polymer used in a wide variety of applications. It is produced via chain-growth polymerization from the monomer Propene, propylene. Polypropylene belongs to the group of polyolefin ...

with a

hydrophilic A hydrophile is a molecule or other molecular entity that is attracted to water molecules and tends to be dissolved by water.Liddell, H.G. & Scott, R. (1940). ''A Greek-English Lexicon'' Oxford: Clarendon Press. In contrast, hydrophobes are n ...

finish. The internal pads are composed of pads containing

wood pulp Pulp is a fibrous Lignocellulosic biomass, lignocellulosic material prepared by chemically, semi-chemically, or mechanically isolating the cellulose fiber, cellulosic fibers of wood, fiber crops, Paper recycling, waste paper, or cotton paper, rag ...

and a superabsorbent polymer (SAP). In this form, the HydroSack or HydroSnake weighs . The HydroSack measures and the HydroSnake measures . When a HydroSack or a HydroSnake comes into contact with water, the SAP crystallizes and absorbs the water. HydroSacks take approximately 2-3 minutes to reach full capacity. The HydroSack and the HydroSnake are very absorbent. Full capacity is between of water. It retains this weight for up to six months. HydroSacks can be stacked together to form a strong ballast. It is used as a form of flood control and can be used to minimize the damage that flooding can cause. The HydroSack has a three-section structure with handles. When a HydroSack is no longer needed, the insides can be emptied into the earth after use, without any harmful effects. HydroSacks and HydroSnakes are new innovations to replace sandbags for their multiple purposes, from road ballast signs to flood protection. Globally, other companies are making products similar to the HydroSack, such as UK-based FloodSax which have sold more than 2.5 million of their alternative sandbags worldwide and Thailand based Nanotec. Fife council in the United Kingdom recently integrated the HydroSack into their first response flood protection. In June 2013, some residents of

Rosyth Rosyth () is a town and Garden City in Fife, Scotland, on the coast of the Firth of Forth. Scotland's first Garden city movement, Garden City, Rosyth is part of the Greater Dunfermline Area and is located 3 miles south of Dunfermline city cen ...

criticized the distribution of HydroSacks for flood control, complaining that they were a single-use,

disposable product A disposable (also called disposable product) is a product designed for a single use after which it is recycled or is disposed as solid waste. The term is also sometimes used for products that may last several months (e.g. disposable air filter ...

. The

Fife Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...

Council confirmed this, but added they would last for two or three months once filled with water.

References

External links

*{{Official, http://www.gravitasint.com
MSDS for HydroSack
Bags Flood control

Design and use

See also

References

External links