The 18th of March 2015 was an exciting day for the company staff and management at Blobel Umwelttechnik GmbH. A few days earlier, the European Flood Protection Association had delivered a test container and installed it in the construction hall, and had also set up the test stands in the hall. Now the time had come to conduct the actual testing of three Blobel flood protection systems.
Due for testing were a window barrier in Category 03 (Object Protection: Windows) and two slide-insert barriers without supports for manual montage in Category 01 (Object Protection: Gates). A divided version of the slide-insert barriers with a central support/double support post was also tested in Category L (Landscape Protection). In addition to the experts from the European Flood Protection Association, Blobel had also arranged for a TÜV Süd inspector to be present. Extensive documentation on the barriers was submitted prior to the testing.
Inside the association’s specially designed container are test stands of various dimensions, which provide the framework for the barrier tests. The barriers have to be assembled and locked into position inside the test stand under conditions simulating a real emergency – while the inspectors clock the time required to do so. Water is then pumped to a certain height into the space between the wall of the test stand and the barriers. At specified intervals, the inspectors measure and log any leakage to within a millilitre.
Aside from the time taken to assemble and dismantle the barriers, and the watertightness of the flood protection system, the evaluation process also takes into account the storage and transportation volumes of the barriers. The European Flood Protection Association allows for various leakage tolerances, ranging from Class 0 to Class 5.
A flood protection system designated as Class 0 shows no leakage, whereas a Class 1 system leaks up to half a litre per square metre per minute. Class 2 permits leakage of between half a litre and 1 litre. The leakage rate for Class 3 is between 1 and 5 litres. For Class 4, it is between 5 and 10 litres. Finally, Class 5 describes barriers that leak more than 10 litres per square metre per minute.
Test Results:
- In Category 01 (Object Protection: Gates), both flood barrier systems with no central support/double support post – BL362 HDS (200x50) and BL324 HAP-SB (200x50) – were rated as Class 1.
- In Category L (Landscape Protection), the Blobel barrier BL329 HAP-SB (150x80) with a central support/double support post was also rated as Class 1.
- Also in Category L, the Blobel flood protection system BL361 HDS (150x80) with a central support/double support post was rated as Class 2.
- SAnd in Category 03 (Object Protection: Windows), Blobel’s window barrier plate BL341 FAP-PR 1 was even rated as Class 0.
New inspection dates have already been set for other barrier types.