IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF SEA WALLS, EMBANKMENTS, BREAKWATERS, DOCKS, PIERS, AND OTHER MARINE AND RIVER STRUCTURES, AND FOR THE APPLICATION OF CERTAIN MATERIALS TO THOSE OBJECTS, WHICH IMPROVEMENTS AND MATERIALS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO OTHER USEFUL PURPOSES
Year: 1873

page_text: ETTERS PATENT to Howard Paddison, of 57, Lincoln's Inn Fields,
in the City of Westminster, in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF SEA WALLS,
EMBANKMENTS, BREAKWATERS, DOCKS, PIERS, AND OTHER MARINE AND RIVER
STRUCTURES, AND FOR THE APPLICATION OF CERTAIN MATERIALS TO THOSE
OBJECTS, WHICH IMPROVEMENTS AND MATERIALS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO OTHER
USEFUL PURPOSES."
Scaled the 15th July 1873, and dated the 17th January 1873.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Howard Paddison at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
17th January 1873.
I, HOWARD PADDISON, of 57, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the City of
Westminster, in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION
OF SEA WALLS, EMBANKMENTS, BREAKWATERS, DOCKS, PIERS, AND OTHER MARINE
AND RIVER STRUCTURES, AND FOR THE APPLICATION OF CERTAIN MATERIALS TO

page_text: THOSE OBJECTS, WHICH IMPROVEMENTS AND MATERIALS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO
OTHER USEFUL PURPOSES," to be as follows:-
My Invention relates more particularly to the construction and pro-
tection of marine and river structures such as sea walls, embankments,
breakwaters, groins, dams, docks, piers, harbours, tunnels, cofferdams,
and such other works as are required be formed in open water as the
sea lakes and rivers, and applicable to other than hydraulic works.
And my improvements consist in the mode which I employ for
depositing in place the materials of which any of the foregoing or
similar structures are composed, and also of the means as well as the
materials which I employ for carrying out such objects as herein-before
referred to.
The means which I make use of to effect the objects contemplated
under this Patent are such as will insure a certain and effectual protec-
tion of the structural materials from disturbance by currents or other
influences which are ordinarily experienced in the formation of structures
in deep water, and these objects are attained by the employment of
caissons composed of a tough and flexible material impervious to water,
and of suitable strength capable of resisting the pressure and action of
the water in which they are partially or wholly submerged. When sunk
to their destined position they may be charged or filled through suitable
openings and by convenient machinery with such materials as are. best
adapted to the nature and object of the work to be executed.
The form of the proposed caissons will vary according to circumstances
and the nature of the work. In general the rectangular or oblong form
would be preferred as being more easily manufactured and less affected
by the disturbing influences of tidal and other currents. Triangular or
other forms might in some instances be adopted with advantage. These
caissons may in most cases be built contiguous to the spot where they
are to be deposited, and may be launched or floated out to their destina-
tion, either with or without a portion of their intended loading (in the
former case) as ballast, should their gravity be insufficient to insure their
immersion, the material being in some cases of less specific gravity than
water.
Where it is found desirable to preserve the ultimate form of the
caissons during immersion a temporary framing may be fitted within
11
TL

page_text: found convenient in some cases to immerse the caissons without such
framing, and afterward to expand the sides to their proper form by the
gradual insertion of the materials which are to constitute the proposed
structure. As the bottoms as well as the sides of the caissons will be
5 flexible or yielding they will adapt themselves to the surface of the
ground on which they are deposited, thereby precluding the necessity for
previously levelling the surface, an operation which is invariably costly
in deep water. When these caissons have been fully charged the super-
structure may be continued to its completion. As the mouths of these
caissons will in most instances be above high or low water mark unless
the depth of water is very considerable the operation of filling will be
comparatively simple, and where the mouths or tops of the caissons
terminate beneath the surface of the water suitable arrangements must
bo adopted for conveying the material into the caissons without its
coming into contact with the surrounding water. These flexible caissons
may be manufactured of textile fabrics of various descriptions, such as
matting, hempen or other cloths woven to the requisite forms or formed
of sheets or layers of the material strongly united together, ropes, string,
or metallic wires joined together in a suitable manner. Between and
over the respective layers of these fabrics I propose to introduce in place
a coating of caoutchouc, gutta percha, bitumen, oil tar and its products,
and other oleaginous or resinous substances capable of rendering the
fabrics impervious to water, and at the same time imparting to it a
binding, tough, and flexible character.
In certain cases lime, sand, and coments may be advantageously
incorporated with the foregoing substances.
The caissons may be made of any suitable thickness.which the circum-
stances of the case may render necessary in order to resist the pressure
of the water in which they may be immersed. From the known dura-
bility of such substances as above enumerated, the caissons would
probably remain intact for a considerable period. In some cases they
might be allowed to remain as an integral part of the structure until
they decay and become gradually detached from the body of the work.
In other cases the two faces of the structure may be removed so soon as
the materials within them have assumed the desired solidity. The form
of the caissons must in some degree be governed by the variable depths
of the water, in which it may sometimes be requisite to place them as
on the sloping shore of a sea or river. In applying such caissons to the

page_text: formation of the banks of rivers or canals masses of suitable material
may be securely deposited, being protected during the progress of the
work by open piling along the face of the bank, and thus form an
imperishable substitute for the ordinary timber planking, and an
economical substitute for costly stonework and iron facing. Sheets or
courses of the substances of which I propose to construct the caissons
may also be employed as planking or sheathing for ships' bottoms, boats,
and other floating bodies. Amongst the many advantages pertaining to
the use of the flexible caissons hercin described is the great facility
which they afford for employing large masses of concrete of various
descriptions without exposing them to contact with surrounding water,
thereby allowing the materials time to solidify, the progress of the work
being in consequence unimpeded by currents or other obstructive
influences which constantly interfere with the execution of such works,
thereby resulting in great economy both of time and cost.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Howard Paddison in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 17th July 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HOWARD
PADDISON, of 57, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the City of Westminster, in
the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Seventeenth day of January, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the thirty-
sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Howard Paddison, Her special licence, that
I, the said Howard Paddison, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said Howard Paddison, my executors, admini-
strators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others,
from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term therein
expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend,
within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
CONSTRUCTION OF SEA WALLS, EMBANKMENTS, BREAkwaters, Docks, PIERS, AND
OTHER MARINE AND RIVER STRUCTURES, AND FOR THE APPLICATION OF CERTAIN

page_text: MATERIALS TO THOSE OBJECTS, WHICH IMPROVEMENTS AND MATERIALS ARE ALSO
APPLICABLE TO OTHER USEFUL PURPOSES," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said Howard Paddison, my executors or administrators, by
an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and
scals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said
Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and
cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Howard Paddison, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner, the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement :-
My Invention relates to the construction of marine and river structures
such as sea walls, embankments, breakwaters, groins, dams, docks, piers,
cofferdams, and such like works as are required to be formed in open
water in the sea, lakes, and rivers.
My improvements consist in the mode which I employ for depositing
in place the materials of which the foregoing or similar structures are
composed, and also of the means as well as the materials which I employ
for carrying the objects referred to into effect.
The mode by which I deposit in place the materials of which I propose
to construct any of the herein-before named structures is to form caissons
of a tough and flexible material impervious to water, and of suitable
strength to resist the action and pressure of the water in which they
may be partially or wholly submerged, and which when sunk in their
destined position act as cofferdams to protect the materials which are
subsequently placed within them from contact with the circumambient.
water.
The form of the proposed caissons will vary according to the nature of
the work which they are intended to protect. In general the rectangular
form will be preferred as being easily manufactured and capable of con-
taining the maximum quantity of materials with a minimum amount of
surface exposed to the action of the water in which they are submerged,
and consequently would be less exposed to tidal and other disturbing
influences. Triangular or other forms might be found desirable in some
cases as best adapted to the form or configuration of the structure which..

page_text: the caissons are intended to enclose.
Some structures, as for instance
breakwaters, are sometimes constructed with faces more or less inclined
to the sea, forming gradients most suitable for breaking the force of the
waves or currents infringing upon them. These caissons may in many
cases be constructed with advantage contiguous to the spot where they
are to be deposited, and they may be launched and floated out therefrom
either with or without a portion of their intended loading as ballast in
the event of their gravity being insufficient to insure their immersion,
the material being probably in some cases of less specific gravity than
water.
In some cases it may be desirable and even necessary to preserve the
ultimate form of the caissons during immersion, in which case a tem-
porary framing of suitable material may be employed so as to prevent
the sides from collapsing. It may however be found convenient to
immerse or submerge the caissons without such framing, and to expand
or force out their sides to the form they are intended ultimately to
assume by the gradual insertion of the materials which are to constitute
the proposed structure. These arrangements must greatly depend upon
the nature of the work and the objects they are intended to subserve.
It may be found desirable in some cases to permit the surrounding water
gradual to enter the caissons during their submersion through suitable
openings regulated by sluices or valves, by which arrangement the
external pressure of the surrounding water would be neutralized or
balanced, and the material of the caissons relieved of undue strain.
As in many cases (which would doubtless occur) the bottom or surface
of the ground upon which the caissons would have to be deposited might
be found to be uneven it would be necessary to make the bottom of the
caissons sufficiently flexible to allow of their adapting themselves to the
inequalities of the surface, and thus the invariably costly operation of
blasting by means of divers would be precluded, as the materials would
force the flexible bottom into contact with every part of the surface,
excepting in cases where sharp rocks protrude above the general level,
these must be removed by blasting or otherwise.
It may be remarked that in charging the caissons with the constructive
materials the operation may be effected by means of skips of ordinary
construction charged with the materials and lowered to the proper depth
through the mouths of the caissons which would be above water, or
ordinary shoots may be employed to convey the materials to the required

page_text: depth, in either case depositing their respective charges in a compact
mass. In such cases the water in the interior of the caissons would bo
gradually displaced through suitable openings,) in proportion to the
volume of materials deposited, and thus avoid the necessity for pumping,
at the same time preserving the desired equality between the internal
and external pressures. Such materials would (in the cases described)
be used for filling in these caissons as would set under water, as hydraulic
lime, concrete, Portland cement, concrete or bituminous concrete, and
this would be supplied gradually until the caissons were fully charged.
The superstructure where such was necessary or designed would then be
erected on the base thus formed, and the work continued to completion.
It is scarcely needful to remark that ties would be required to hold
the sides of the caissons from bulging when the inserted materials were
in a plastic state and during the period of setting, but as it is a charac-
teristic of the materials composing the concretes proposed to be employed
that they set rapidly under water (more especially as that in the interior
of the caissons would be comparatively quiescent) the operation would
be rendered more expeditious than when such materials have to be.
deposited in troubled water.
It would be found desirable to deposit blocks of concrete in the centre
of the caissons, as hearting round which the mass of loose concrete would
agglomerate, and thus hasten the operation. These blocks may be
deposited in a similar manner to very commonly and extensively
employed in sea works. Care must be taken in all cases by means of
suitable fenders to avoid the contingency of vessels fouling the caissons
by drifting against them or to prevent accidents and consequent damage
from heavy seas and other causes, a very useful mode of fendering will
be found in a temporary breakwater consisting of floating timber frames,
which has been proved to be very efficacious in many instances in
forming as it were temporary harbours.
The second part of my Invention consists in the manufacture of the
materials of which I propose to form the caissons, and I propose to use
a preparation composed of textile fabrics of various kinds, such as cocoa
nut fibre or other matter, hempen or other cloths woven to the requisite
form, rope, string, or metallic wires strongly united together in a suitable
manner, and in every case ultimately cemented or united together,
forming a continuous fabric by means of caoutchouc, gutta percha,

page_text: bitumen, tar and its products, oleaginous or resinous substances, any of
which or a suitable combination of them will render the fabrics
impervious to water, at the same time imparting to them a binding, tough,
and flexible character.
In certain cases lime or cements may be advantageously incorporated
with the foregoing where a more rigid material is rendered desirable.
These materials may be consolidated by passing the sheets between
rollers to produce uniformity of substance and strength.
The thickness of the material of which the caissons would be com-
posed must depend upon the judgment and discretion of the designer.
They may be made of any suitable thickness which the circumstances
of the case may render necessary in order to resist the disturbing action
of the water. Any thickness may be obtained by successive layers of
the fabric cemented together. From the known durability of such
substances as have been enumerated the caissons would probably remain
intact for a considerable period, and they would therefore be allowed to
remain as an integral part of the structure from which they would
become gradually detached by the process of decay. This would how-
ever be a remote contingency. If thought desirable the sides of the
caissons may be removed so soon as tho materials within has assumed
the desired state of solidity. The form of the caissons must in some
measure be governed by the circumstances of the case to which they are
applied, such as the depth of water, the inequality of the ground, and
other controlling circumstances. In applying such caissons to the banks
of rivers or canals cofferdams formed of sheets of the material may be
employed, supported by a fence of temporary piling as a protection
during the filling in and consolidation of the concrete, which would be
found to be an impervious bank and an economical substitute for more
costly stone or iron facing, or caissons may be placed against the piling
and filled in with concrete to form the wall or campshed. Sheets of the
proposed material may also be applied as a sheathing for ships' bottoms
and as a substitute for planking for floating bodies, the requisite strength
and lightness being obtained by interlaying sheets of wire gauze in the
body of the fabric. The advantages pertaining to the use of flexible
caissons as herein described are numerous and strikingly prominent is
the great facility which they afford for employing large masses of
concrete of various descriptions without exposing them to the disturbing
influences of surrounding water, thereby allowing the materials time to

page_text: solidify, the progress of the work being thereby unimpeded by currents
or other obstructive influences which constantly under ordinary circum-
stances interfere with the prosecution of marine and hydraulic works,
and thereby cause great loss both of time and money.
Having now described the nature of my Invention and the mode of
applying it, I would have it understood that I do not confine myself to
the precise details described as a type of the general application so long
as the main features of my Invention are carried out and retained, the
novelty which I claim being,-
Firstly. The use and application of caissons made of tough and
flexible materials to the various purposes and objects herein described
and in the manner herein described.
Secondly. The use and application of fabrics as herein described to
the purposes and objects hercin described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Howard Paddison, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Seventeenth day of July, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three.
Witness,
ARCH. H. RENTON,
37, Oakley Crescent,
Manor St.,
Chelsea.
HOWARD PADDISON. (L.S.)