Innovating the Humble Sandbag

The lowly sandbag has been around for centuries, providing flood victims with a humble tool to ward off the devastation caused by high water.

But Sand Brick Technologies, LLC looked at the sandbag with fresh eyes and decided an upgrade was sorely needed. First of all they noticed that the mouth of the sandbag was about 2 inches narrower than the shovels that were used to fill them, causing frustration and slower filling. The solution? Make the mouth of the bag wider so a shovel of sand could slip right in.

The Sand Brick also adopted a different shape. While traditional bags are cylindrical, Sand Bricks are flat and each end it tapered. This allows the Bricks to be "interlocked" when stacked, creating a much stronger wall. The Bricks are also color coded, blue on one side and yellow on the other, so that volunteers can easily stack them in the checkerboard pattern that gives them their strength.

Another improvement was to the bag material itself. While existing sandbags are made from woven plastic, the Sand Brick is made of a solid sheet of plastic. This means the sand won't be contaminated by flood water and have to be dumped into a landfill after use.

The surface of the Bricks have also been textured so that they grip each other when stacked and add to the stability of the wall.

Source: ideaconnection.comAdded: 23 November 2010