Patent Application
20050271480
This application is related to copending U.S Utility patent application entitled “Elongated Structural Members for Use in Forming Barrier Walls,” filed on ______ and accorded Ser. No. XX/XXX,XXX which is entirely incorporated herein by reference.
The present disclosure relates generally to driven wall structures such as sea walls, piers, dikes, barrier walls and the like, constructed of extruded structural panels. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to anchor systems and structural members used to maintain driven wall structures in their desired positions.
Barrier walls that are formed from a plurality of elongated piles typically are driven into the earth to a depth sufficient to support the panels in an upright attitude. In some cases, the piles are in the form of extruded structural panels and are formed with male and female opposed edges so that similar panels can be locked together at their adjacent edges to form a continuous barrier wall.
In recent years, structural panels have been constructed of polyvinyl chloride and other plastics in order to reduce their weight and susceptibility to corrosion. However, these plastics have relatively low tensile and high compression strengths as compared to steel. To help maintain the structural panels in the desired positions, horizontally mounted structural elements, or wales, and vertically driven foundation members, such as piles, are mounted along the outer surfaces of the structural panels and tie rods extend from the wale elements/foundation members back through the panels to a force abutter disposed behind the barrier wall. Typically, the force abutter is a reinforced cement wall disposed a desired distance behind the barrier wall such that adequate retaining force is exerted from the force abutter through the tie rods against the barrier wall, thereby maintaining the barrier wall in the desired position. Instead of using a force abutter for several tie rods, individual ground anchors may be used with each tie rod.
Typically, the wale elements that have been used to stabilize a retaining wall were comprised of wood. The use of wood in the wales risks significant damage from both exposure to the environment as well as from infestation of the wood elements by wood borers and other insects and organisms. Wale elements also have been comprised of steel and other metals which are susceptible to corrosion when used in aquatic environments such as those that exist near sea walls. Although the steel wale elements can be protected by coatings, these coatings must be breached when passing tie rods through the wale elements to the force abutter disposed behind the barrier wall. The points at which the protective coatings are breached leave the steel wale elements subject to corrosion.
As well, the vertically driven foundation members are also frequently exposed to direct contact with bodies of water. As would be expected for structures such as piers and seawalls, the soils in which the foundation members are driven also frequently exhibit high moisture content. As such, foundation members of these structures are frequently subjected to accelerated decay and subsequent weakness, especially those made of wood. Replacement of damaged and decayed foundation members is both time consuming and expensive. Note also, soils having high moisture content are not only found near bodies of water such as lakes, streams, ponds, etc. Therefore, a need can exist for foundation members that resist decay caused by extended exposure to the elements, such as water, whether or not the structure is located near a body of water.
In the past, foundation members of wood have been impregnated or coated with various chemicals to help offset decay due to exposure to the elements. As would be expected, as those foundation members eventually decay, the chemicals used to treat the wooden foundation members can enter the environment in which the foundation members are used. For example, the potential exists for treated wood foundation members used in constructing a pier to eventually leach the chemicals into both the body of water and the soil the foundation members extend into.
Foundation members may also be constructed of cement and other similar materials. Foundation members constructed of such materials exhibit excellent resistance to corrosion. However, those foundation members are typically extremely heavy and therefore difficult to work with.
Another alternative to chemically treated wood foundation members is foundation members constructed of metal, most frequently steel. As previously noted with regard to metal wales, since most metals typically are subject to corrosion in aquatic environments, those foundation members are frequently painted or coated so as to prevent direct exposure of the metal to the environment. However, foundation members constructed of metal are often exceedingly heavy and therefore difficult to work with, much like the foundation members constructed of cement. As well, it is often desirable to attach or pass various structural elements (bolts, support rods, etc.) through the foundation members. This often requires drilling holes into and through the members. In the case of metal foundation members, breaching the protective coating by drilling can lead to unprotected metal being exposed to the elements, and subsequent corrosion.
As previously noted, tie rods are typically used to transfer retaining force from the force abutter to the barrier wall. Existing tie rods are threaded at one or both ends, or possibly threaded for their entire length, with at least a threaded section extending beyond the sea wall so that a threaded fastener and washer can be secured thereto, thereby transferring the retaining force from the force abutter to the sea wall. The tie rods are typically made of hot dipped galvanized (HDG) steel or stainless steel, both of which exhibit corrosion in salt-water environments. Corrosion is especially prevalent on that portion of the tie rod, washer, and threaded fastener which extend through and outwardly from the sea wall and are therefore exposed to air. Portions of the tie rod behind the sea wall tend to exhibit minimal corrosion as that portion is not exposed to air. Corrosion of the exposed portions of the tie rods often leads to reduced retaining force being exerted on the sea wall, and subsequent costly replacement of the corroded tie rods. Preferably, the life cycles of the various components (wales, piles, anchor system, etc.) are each maximized in that replacement of one component often requires great effort and expense, even though the remaining components still perform adequately.
In the past, portions of the tie rods that are exposed on the outside of the sea wall have been coated with paint, plastics, etc., in an attempt to prevent corrosion. These coatings must be applied after securing the tie rods and related fasteners to the sea wall since coating the threaded portion of the tie rod would prevent attachment of the threaded fastener thereto. At a minimum, securing a threaded fastener to the tie rod would result in damage to the coating on the threaded portion as the threaded fastener is urged thereon. Moreover, existing tie rods pose a threat to objects and watercraft operated in their vicinity since the exposed threaded end has the potential to scrape, puncture, etc. whatever it comes in contact with.
Therefore, there is a need for improved structural members which address these and other shortcomings of the prior art.
Briefly described, the present disclosure relates to an anchor system for maintaining a driven wall structure in a given position, the wall structure including a plurality of elongated structural panels. Each structural panel has an inner surface, an outer surface, and is disposed adjacent another structural panel. The anchor system includes a first anchor member having a proximal end, a central portion and a distal end. The proximal end includes a domed head and the distal end is threaded. The anchor system further includes a force abutter disposed on the inner side of the wall structure. The first anchor member extends through the wall structure, the domed head is disposed on the outer side of the wall structure and the distal end extends inwardly away from the inner side of the wall structure toward the force abutter.
The present disclosure also relates to a driven wall structure for retaining soil, the wall structure including a plurality of elongated structural panels, each structural panel having an inner surface, an outer surface, and being adjacent at least another structural panel and at least one elongated wale. The wale is horizontally disposed adjacent the outer surface of the wall structure. The wall structure further includes an anchor system for maintaining the wall structure in a fixed position. The anchor system has a first anchor member having a proximal end, a central portion and a distal end, the proximal end including an enlarged head and the distal end being threaded. The anchor system also includes a force abutter disposed on the inner side of the wall structure. The first anchor member extends through the wale and the wall structure, and the enlarged head is disposed on the outer side of the wall structure and the distal end extends inwardly away from the inner side of the wall structure toward the force abutter.
Yet another embodiment of the present disclosure provides a driven wall structure for retaining soil, the wall structure including a plurality of elongated structural panels, each structural panel having an inner surface, an outer surface, and being driven vertically into the soil adjacent a previously driven structural panel. The wall structure further includes at least one elongated wale, the wale being horizontally disposed adjacent the outer surface of the wall structure, and an anchor system for maintaining the wall structure in a fixed position. The anchor system includes a first anchor member, a second anchor member, and a connector. The first anchor member has a proximal end, a central portion and a distal end, the proximal end including a domed head and the distal end being threaded. The second anchor member has a first end, a middle portion, and a second end, the first end of which is threaded. The connector has a pair of threaded ends, each of the pair of threaded ends receives one of the distal end and the second end. A force abutter is disposed on the inner side of the wall structure and the first anchor member extends through the wale and the wall structure. The domed head is disposed on the outer side of the wall structure and the distal end extends inwardly away from the inner side of the wall structure. The first end of the second anchor member is secured to the force abutter and the second end extends toward the wall structure, the distal end and the second end are secured together by the connector.
Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the following specification, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
Many aspects of the anchor system can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present anchor system. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.
Reference will now be made in detail to the description of the anchor system as illustrated in the drawings. While the anchor system will be described in connection with these drawings, there is no intent to limit it to the embodiment or embodiments disclosed therein. On the contrary, the intent is to cover all alternatives, modifications and equivalents included within the spirit and scope of the anchor system as defined by the appended claims.
In particular,
Referring now to
As shown in
After adjacent structural panels 12 have been driven to the desired height, an anchor system 30 is installed. Portions of the preferred anchor system 30 shown in
A plurality of second support members 40, preferably tie rods, are installed such that one end is securely attached to a force abutter 60, in this case, a poured reinforced concrete wall that runs substantially adjacent to the wall 10 at a desired distance in the soil 11 behind the wall 10. The opposite end of each tie rod 40 is threadably secured to one end of a turnbuckle 50, which has threaded receptacles at opposed ends. Next, a plurality of first anchor members 32, preferably domed head bolts, each including a threaded end and an end with a dome-shaped head 34, are installed. Typically, each threaded end of a bolt 32 is passed through a pile 26, wale 20, and structural panel 16 of the wall. The domed head 34 acts as a force spreader such that the force exerted on the wale 20 and/or pile 26 is evenly distributed. The threaded end is then secured to the threaded receptacle opposite the one to which the tie rod 40 is secured. The turnbuckle 50 is then rotated to exert either greater or less force on the wall 10. This process is repeated until an adequate number of tie rods 22 are installed along the wall 10 such that adequate force is exerted thereon to hold the wall 10 in the desired position.
As shown in
Next, the plurality of tie rods 40′ are installed such that one end is securely attached to a force abutter, in this case, a wooden pile 26 with a protective coating 28. The wooden pile 26 is vertically driven such that it is substantially parallel to the wall 10 at a desired distance in the soil 11 behind the wall 10. The opposite end of each tie rod 40′ is passed through the structural panel 12, the wale 20, and the pile 26 such that it is exposed on the exterior surface of the wall 10. Preferably, a force spreader such as an ogee washer 49 is placed about the tie rod 40′ such that the force exerted on the pile 26 is evenly distributed. Lastly, the ogee washer 49 is secured adjacent to the pile 26 with a threaded fastener 45. This process is repeated until an adequate number of tie rods 40′ are installed along the wall 10 such that adequate force is exerted thereon to hold it in the desired position.
Although preferred embodiments of the anchor system have been disclosed in detail herein, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that variations and modifications of the disclosed embodiments can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the anchor system as set forth in the following claims.
