Chute (gravity)

For other uses, see Chute (disambiguation).
Natural chute (falls) on the left and man-made logging chute on the right on the Coulonge River in Quebec, Canada.

A chute is a vertical or inclined plane, channel, or passage through which objects are moved by means of gravity.

Landform

A chute, also known as a race, flume, cat, or river canyon, is a steep-sided passage through which water flows rapidly.

Akin to these, man-made chutes, such as the timber slide and log flume, were used in the logging industry to facilitate the downstream transportation of timber along rivers. These are no longer in common use. Man-made chutes may also be a feature of spillways on some dams. Some types of water supply and irrigation systems are gravity fed, hence chutes. These include aqueducts, puquios, and acequias.

Building chute

Chutes are in common use in tall buildings to allow the rapid transport of items from the upper floors to a central location on one of the lower floors or basement. Chutes may be round, square or rectangular at the top and/or the bottom.

Home laundry chutes are placed on each floor of multistory homes allow the collection of all household members' dirty laundry to one location, conveniently next to the laundry facilities, without the constant transport of laundry bins from story-to-story or room-to-room or up and down stairs. Home laundry chutes may be less common than previously due to building codes or concern regarding fireblocking, the prevention of fire from spreading from floor-to-floor,[1] as well as child safety.[2][3] However, construction including cabinets, doors, lids, and locks may make both risks significantly less than with simple stairwells.

An elevator is not a chute since it does not operate by means of gravity.

Chutes in transportation

Goust, a hamlet in southwestern France, is notable for its mountainside chute that is used to transport coffins.

Chutes are also found in:

References

  1. Dru Sefton, Sunday, January 23, 2005. .
  2. "Laundry Chutes - a Convenient Way to a … Disaster", Check This House, Inc..
  3. January 21, 2009. "Laundry Chutes: Pros & Cons", One Project Closer.
  4. "Ingstrom Escape Chute - Building Evacuation Chute". Ingstromescapechute.com.au. Retrieved 2008-11-05.
  5. "Baker Life Chute - Rapid, Mass Evacuation from High Rise Structures during Life Threatening Emergencies". Lifechute.com. Retrieved 2008-11-05.
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