Conventional concrete pavement installation involves preparing then positioning forms around an area intended for pavement. The forms have vertical inner surfaces to receive and contain poured concrete. The forms have horizontal top surfaces, which typically are level with the surface of the poured concrete, or, once cured, pavement surface. The forms have back surfaces that rest against appropriately-spaced stakes for holding the forms in place. To provide clearance for finish troweling, concrete workers often field cut chamfers between the top and back surfaces of the forms.
Very large pavements require substantial form preparation and positioning. This is especially true if stock materials for forms are short and/or flexible. Short and flexible forms require more staking than longer, more rigid forms to ensure true, unwavy pavement edges. Short forms also require more setup time for chamferring. Regardless of whether the forms are long or short, field chamferring requires considerable time for large pavement areas.
Ideally, the forms used for receiving poured concrete should have a true height for providing a true slab thickness. Unfortunately, forms in the field typically have a height that is less than a true height for an appropriate slab thickness. These forms of inadequate height typically may be positioned so that the top surfaces are at an appropriate height relative to the desired pavement surface height, but present bottom surfaces that do not contact, thus admit gaps through which poured concrete leaks. This wastes concrete and requires additional work to remove the excess portions.
Concrete leakage from the forms, especially at the butt joints, leaves depressions in a finished slab surface causing poor aesthetics. The depressions also impair surface coverings, such as tile, because the uneven surface promotes uneven or imcomplete causing voids and/or increasing the chances of obtaining a locked construction, which leads to cracks and joint failures. Finally, removing the cured excess typically damages the slab from which the excess is chiseled. Thus, avoiding form leaks is highly desirable.
Unfortunately, none of the foregoing provides a method of forming concrete and an apparatus for same that includes stiff, infinitely long, pre-chamferred forms with predetermined true height.
In construction of concrete pavements for highways, airport runways, large warehouse buildings and the like, preventing random cracking of the concrete necessitates dividing the pavement into convenient slab sections. To this end, concrete workers pour a monolithic concrete slab that is allowed to set for a short period. Then, the workers cut transverse grooves, having a depth on the order of one-fourth of the slab thickness, across the slab, with spacing between cuts selected in accordance with the application and design. Spacings from 12 to 40 feet are common for highway pavements.
As the concrete of the slab cures, forces derived from the exothermal curing reactions cause generally vertical cracks to develop through the slab thickness at the reduced cross-sections below each groove. This controlled cracking effectively divides the slab into predetermined separate slab sections.
The vertical cracks or joints define adjacent and interlocking faces formed by the cement and aggregates in the concrete. The interlocking faces transfer vertical shear stresses among adjacent slab sections, a phenomenon commonly referred to as “aggregate interlock,” as heavy objects, such as motor vehicles, pass over the joint.
Aggregate interlock causes wear among slab intersections with increasing use of the pavement. Additionally, cyclical and extreme temperature changes decrease slab volumes. Thus, over time, as traffic continuously passes over a joint, the intersections wear and become smooth; then fail altogether, resulting in relative vertical displacement of adjacent slab sections, hence a rough pavement surface. Joint failure also becomes increasingly susceptible to water intrusion, which may freeze and cause damage among adjacent stabs.
To discourage relative vertical displacement among adjacent slabs, prior art techniques provide for implanting dowels in concrete extending across the joint intersections. Some dowels are smooth steel rods with diameters on the order of one inch and lengths of two feet. Each rod is coated or otherwise treated so that it will not bond to concrete along its length or at least on one end thereof. Thus, as a slab expands and contracts during curing and subsequently with temperature changes, the dowel is free to move horizontally relative to, yet maintain vertical alignment of adjacent slabs, augmenting the aggregate interlock to transfer vertical shear stresses across the joints. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,397,626, issued Aug. 20, 1968, to J. B. Kornick et al., for Plastic Coated Dowel Bar for Concrete and U.S. Pat. No. 4,449,844, issued May 22, 1984, to T. J. Larsen for Dowel for Pavement Joints.
Among other problems, the foregoing techniques involve significant time and labor to produce and place the dowels.
Another technique to discourage relative vertical displacement among adjacent slabs involves embedding square-shaped load plates in adjacent slabs with opposed corners of the load plate aligned with the joint. To avoid shrink- or thermally-induced stress creation between the plate and a slab, concrete workers first embed a blockout sheath in one vertical joint face for receiving a load plate. To this end, the workers nail onto a form a mounting plate, from which a blockout sheath extends, then position the form to receive poured concrete. Once the concrete is cured and bonded to the block-out sheath, the workers remove the form board and leave the blockout sheath in place. Then the workers insert a load plate into the blockout sheath. Finally, the workers pour an adjacent slab, which bonds to the exposed portion of the load plate. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,354,760, issued Mar. 12, 2002 to Boxall et al., for System for Transferring Loads Bewteen Cast-in-Place Slabs.
Drawbacks of the foregoing include the cost and labor associated with producing separate mounting and load plates, then assembling same following curing of a first concrete slab.
Referring to
Transferring loads between blocks 1102 usually is accomplished with smooth steel rods, also referred to as dowels, embedded in two blocks 1102 defining joint 1104. For instance,
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,005,331, 5,216,862 and 5,487,249, issued to Shaw et al., which are incorporated herein by reference, disclose tubular dowels receiving sheaths for use with dowel bars having circular cross-sections.
Referring to
Another shortcoming of square and round dowels is that they typically allow slabs to move only along the longitudinal axis of the dowel. As shown in
U.S. Pat. No. 4,733,513 ('513 patent) issued to Shrader et al., which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses a dowel bar having a rectangular cross-section and resilient facings attached to the sides of the bar. As disclosed in column 5, at lines 47-49 of the '513 patent, such bars, when used for typical concrete paving slabs, would have a cross-section on the order of ½ to 2-inch square and a length on the order of 2 to 4 feet.
Referring to
Unfortunately, none of the foregoing provide a method of forming concrete and an apparatus for same that includes partially coated load plates carried in slotted forms.
What are needed, and not taught or suggested in the art, are a method of forming concrete and an apparatus for same that provide partially coated load plates carried in pre-slotted, stiff, infinitely ling, pre-chamferred forms with predetermined true height that: (1) increase relative movement between slabs in a true direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of the joint; (2) reduce loadings per square inch close to the joint; (3) maximize material at the joint for transferring loads between adjacent cast-in-place slabs efficiently; (4) minimize raw materials needed in a load plate; and (5) promote exact load plate positioning to foster better perpendicular and parallel alignment with the joint and upper concrete surface.
The invention overcomes the disadvantages noted above by providing a method of forming concrete and an apparatus for same that provide partially coated load plates carried in pre-slotted, stiff, infinitely long, pre-chamferred forms with predetermined true height. An embodiment configured according to principles of the invention of an apparatus for transferring a load between a first concrete slab and a second concrete slab, defining a joint, includes a plate or dowel and edge banding disposed on a surface of the plate or dowel.
An embodiment configured according to principles of the invention of a method of forming concrete includes providing a plate having a first portion and a second portion and edge banding disposed on a surface of the first portion; providing a form having a slot configured to closely receive the second portion, inserting the second portion in the slot: positioning the form to, receive concrete; pouring a volume of concrete on the form and the first portion, curing the volume of concrete and defining cured concrete, and removing the form from the cured concrete.
An embodiment configured according to principles of the invention of a method of installing a load transfer apparatus in a concrete slab includes developing a recess in a concrete slab; and introducing a first portion of a load transfer apparatus in the recess. The first portion preferably is edge banded and/or has an elastomer coating.
An embodiment configured according to principles of the invention of a method of transferring a load between an existing concrete slab and another concrete slab includes installing a first portion of a load transfer apparatus in the existing concrete slab according to the foregoing method; and pouring a second volume of concrete adjacent to the cured concrete and on a second portion of the load transfer apparatus.
The invention provides improved elements and arrangements thereof, for the purposes described, which are inexpensive, dependable and effective in accomplishing intended purposes of the invention.
Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiments, which refers to the accompanying drawings.
The invention is described in detail below with reference to the following figures, throughout which similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently, wherein:
The invention includes an apparatus for and method of forming concrete and transferring loads between concrete slabs that provide partially coated load plates carried in pre-slotted, stiff, infinitely long, pre-chamferred forms with predetermined true height.
Referring to
Form 100 has a chamfer 135 between top surface 110 and back surface 115. Chamfer 135 defines an angle 140 relative to top surface 110 ranging from 10° to 89°, preferably 22.5° and 4520 . Side surface 105 and chamfer 135 define a top surface width 143 ranging from 0.125 to 0.875 inch. Chamfer 135 provides clearance for trowels and other finishing tools and allows for faster concrete finishing.
Width 125, height 130, angle 140 and top surface width 143 vary as needed to provide a desired overall stiffness of form 100. Form stiffness dictates the amount of staking required to maintain from 100 in place against the great weight of poured concrete 155. Stiffer forms 100 require less staking, thus less labor to place forms 100 where needed.
More importantly, form stiffness impacts the trueness of an edge 145 defined by side surface 105 and top surface 110, which forms a corresponding edge in concrete 155 when cured. Good trueness is important to the overall appearance of a pavement defined by multiple slabs having adjacent edges. For example, if an edge of one slab has poor trueness and is adjacent to another slab edge that has poor trueness, the gap defined between the un-true edges will exhibit unsightly non-uniformity, or portions of the gap that may be too narrow followed by portions that may be too wide. This gap non-uniformity contributes to an overall non-professional image of the area and associated business.
Preferably, form 100 is constructed of oriented strand board (OSB). OSB stock may be manufactured to assume virtually any dimension, which may be machined, as described below, to define forms 100 of virtually any length. As the invention is intended for constructing large-scale pavement, forms 100 with very large lengths are desirable because fewer abutting forms 100 are needed to define a continuous side surface 105 and edge 145, hence slab side. This reduces the labor needed to limit and/or treat discontinuities that may occur in the slab side. OSB stock also is preferred because it may be machined to define a desired height 130. This eliminates the occurrence of concrete leaks between the bottom surface of prior art forms of inadequate height and the supporting surface underlying the concrete.
Form 100 also may be constructed of dimensional lumber, particle board, metal, plastic, cardboard, fiber board, polyurethane foam, Styrofoam®, or other rigid synthetic or other suitable materials commensurate with the purposes described herein.
A release overlay 160 is disposed on side surface 105. Release overlay 160 is constructed of phenolic paper, kraft paper, acrylic, latex, melamine, Formica®, foil, oil, high density overlay, metal or other suitable material that provides a smooth, closed-celled surface, substantially free of pores for retaining poured concrete without adhering to or marring the finished surface thereof when cured and separated from form 100.
Referring to
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Plate 300 has a first portion 315 and a second portion 320, delineated by a plane 321, defined by the intersections of sides 322 and 323, that is aligned with side surface 205. First portion 315 may be untreated. Second portion 320 has an elastomer coating 325 configured to adhere to concrete, but not to plate 300. Elastomer coating 325 is constructed of polymers, grease or other materials suitable for the purposes described herein.
In practice, when a first concrete slab adheres to elastomer coating 325 on second portion 320 and a second concrete slab adheres to first portion 315, lateral movement among the slabs, due to shrinkage, etc., will not cause localized stresses because the first plate 300 because it is adhered to elastomer coating 325. While elastomer coating 325 originally adheres to plate 300 when plate 300 is manufactured, curing concrete exerts forces on elastomer coating 325 which urges elastomer coating 325 to slide relative to plate 300 once installed.
Alternative embodiments of elastomer coating 325: (1) adhere to plate 300, but not to concrete, thereby allowing concrete to slide relative to the coating; or (2) do not adhere to plate 300 or concrete, thereby allowing concrete to slide relative to plate 300 and/or the coating.
Referring again to
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Plate 300 also is configured, and the radius of a saw (not shown) used for plunge cutting slot 260 is selected, such that distal intersections 270 in form 200 firmly cradle first portion 315. This configuration prevents plate 300 from undesired rotation or movement relative to form 20 despite significant forces exerted on plate 300 by concrete when poured on form 200 and plate 300.
Referring to
In practice, first portion 715 is received in a slot 860 in a form 800 in a direction aligned with a side 730 extending along first portion 715 and second portion 720. Coating 725, having a preferred thickness of about 0.03 inches and being compressible, allows a cured slab (not shown) adhered thereto to move somewhat relative to second portion 720.
Referring to
As with the embodiments described above, plate 900 has a first portion 915 and a second portion 920 delineated by a plane 921. First portion 915 may be untreated. Second portion 920 has an elastomer coating 925 that is similar to elastomer coating 325.
In practice, when a first concrete slab adheres to elastomer coating 925 on second portion 920 and a second concrete slab adheres to first portion 915, lateral movement among the slabs will not cause localized stresses because the first and second slabs are not fixed to plate 900, rather one slab is permitted to move relative to plate 900 because it is adhered to elastomer coating 925.
Referring to
Hexagonally-shaped plate 900 allows for faster and more efficient stress dissipation at the joint. This is because a hexagonal plate presents more perimeter in areas of high stress concentration in a cement slab. This allows for reducing the material thickness needed in a load plate, which saves material costs and machine wear. For example, a plate 900 interposed between four-inch slabs having a compressive strength of 3000 pounds-per-square-inch need only have a 3/16-inch thickness, whereas a diamond-shaped plate must have at least a ¼-inch thickness. Reduced plate thickness also promotes plate yield before concrete failure. An advantage of this is that, under great loading, plate 900 yields, rather than causing failure in the adjacent concrete slabs plate 900 ties together. Thus, the vertical relationship of slabs still is contained without catastrophic concrete failures that would require slab replacement.
Another advantage of hexagonally-shaped plate 900 relative to a diamond-shaped plate is that concrete tends to consolidate better under plate 900 because plate 900 presents less area under which concrete flows. This reduces the potential for pockets and voids forming under plate 900, which could lead to joint failure or ineffective load transfer.
A further advantage of plate 900 is that plate 900 presents surfaces that are more stable, or less likely to move, during pouring of concrete. This assures that the load plate will assume proper placement and orientation relative to the joint, thus is more likely to perform as intended.
Referring to
Referring to
Plate 900 also is configured, and the radius of a saw (not shown) used for plunge cutting slot 260 is selected, such that distal intersections 270 in form 200 firmly cradle first portion 915. This configuration prevents plate 900 from undesired rotation or movement relative to form 200 despite significant forces exerted on plate 900 by concrete when poured on form 200 and plate 900. The hexagonal shape of plate 900 renders plate 900 more stable in, and less prone to moving relative to form 200 than diamond-shaped plates during pouring.
Referring to
Edge banding 1005 preferably is disposed on vertical surface 1007 and/or vertical surface 1009 of second portion 1020 of plate 1000. Preferably, surfaces 1007 and 1009 are not parallel with plane 1021, hence the joint between concrete slabs when emplaced. While not excluded from the scope of the invention, in practice, edge banding 1005 has not been found to be needed along surfaces parallel to the joint. Abutting concrete slabs will compress each other in a direction perpendicular to the joint, but, absent joint failure, will not compress plate 1000 excessively or to the point of joint failure. Thus, little benefit may be realized from employing a plate that is compressive in a direction perpendicular to the joint.
However, abutting concrete slabs do move relatively along the joint. This imparts great shear forces on interslab load plates. To reduce these shear forces and provide greater horizontal relative slab mobility, edge banding 1005 is compressive and resilient. Edge banding 1005 may be constructed of any material to obtain these characeristics, but preferably is constructed of a natural polymer and/or synthetic polymer.
Edge banding 1005 is configured so as to reduce interslab shear forces, provide great horizontal relative slab mobility or other desired functionality in consideration of slab sizing, concrete composition, shrinkage expectations and other emplacement considerations. In practice, edge banding 1005 with a thickness 1030 ranging from 0.025 to 0.25 inches has been found to perform optimally.
Preferably, second portion 1020 has an elastomer coating 1025 that is similar to elastomer coating 325. Elastomer coating 1025 also coats edge banding 1005. Similar to elastomer coating 325, while edge banding 1005 originally adheres too plate 1000 when plate 1000 is manufactured, curing concrete exerts forces on elastomer coating 1025 and edge banding 1005 that urges sliding among one or more of elastomer coating 1025, edge banding 1005 and plate 1000 once installed.
Plate 1000 is well suited for very large concrete slab installations in which the slabs require great degrees of horizontal freedom. Without this added mobility, the slabs can “lock up” and develop one or more cracks parallel to the joint anywhere from a foot therefrom to the center of the stab.
As with plate 300, plate 1000 is intended to be received in slot 260 in form 200.
Yet another embodiment of an apparatus for transferring loads between concrete slabs configured according to principles of the invention is a plate 1000 that includes independent edge banding (not shown) disposed on surfaces 1011 and/or 1013 of first portion 1015. Once installed in cured concrete, edge banding (not shown) may slide relative to plate 1000 and/or the cured concrete as needed.
Referring to
While dowel 1100 is configured in accordance with industry norms for retro-fitting an existing concrete slab to receive a load plate, the invention is not limited to square or round stock. The invention also includes plunge-cutting or otherwise slotting an existing concrete slab for receiving epoxy and any of the plates described herein, with or without edge banding or an elastomer coating.
Referring to
Step 405 of providing a sheet of material includes material suitable for performing as a concrete form, preferably OSB stock material. However, the material may be dimensioned lumber, particle board, steel and other suitable materials if commensurate with any width, length or thickness that may be machined into forms of appropriate, true dimensions for defining the desired pavement. The length of the material, ideally, should be as long as the longest side of the pavement desired. However, manufacturing material that is, e.g. two miles long, is problematic for contemporary manufacturers.
Step 410 of disposing a release overlay on the sheet includes an overlay that is suitable for retaining poured concrete without adhering thereto or marring the finished surface thereof when the concrete cures and is separated from the form.
Step 415 of cutting the sheet into a plurality of forms ties into step 405 in that the material to be cut should be selected to maximize the number of forms machined and minimize any scrap not suitable to be a form. The number of forms derived from the sheet depends on the thickness of pavement desired, which dictates the height of the forms needed. Ideally, the width of the sheet of material provided in step 405 should be an even multiple of the form height, plus some allowance for cutting.
Step 420 of cutting a chamfer in each of the plurality of forms involves machining each form derived from step 415 with a chamfer machine that cuts chamfers in board stock. The chamfer may assume any angle suitable for purposes described herein, but preferably ranges from 22° to 45°. Step 420 provides tremendous labor savings over prior art techniques and materials. Ordinarily, concrete workers field cut chamfers into concrete forms on site, which consumes considerable time. Providing workers with pre-chamfered forms eliminates this on-site step and allows for faster completion of the paving job at hand.
Referring to
Step 505 of providing a plate with a plate coating disposed on a first portion thereof involves preparing a plate 300 as described above. An elastomer coating, configured to adhere to concrete, but not to the plate, is disposed on the first portion of a plate.
Step 510 of providing a form having a slot configured to receive a second portion of the plate involves plunge cutting the side surface of a form with a rotary blade having a pre-determined radius selected according to the configuration of the plate received in the slot, as described above.
Step 515 of inserting the second portion in the slot represents a significant cost savings over prior load plate installation apparatuses and methods. Rather than attaching to a form a mounting plate and blockout sheath, then, after the slab has cured, removing the form while breaking free the blockout sheath followed by inserting a load plate in the blockout sheath, the present method embeds a load plate directly into the concrete stab as it cures. Once the concrete cures, the forms are removed with the load plate already embedded in the concrete and no further installation required.
Step 520 of positioning the form for receiving concrete also represents an advance over many typical concrete pouring techniques in use. Because the forms are precisely cut prior to being staked around the desired pavement area, they present a true height from support surface to pavement surface. This deters concrete from leaking through any gap that often exists between the support surface and the bottom surface of inadequately sized prior art forms.
Step 525 of pouring a volume of concrete against the form and the first portion and step 530 of curing the volume of concrete and defining cured concrete are conventional, thus described no further.
Step 535 of removing the form from the cured concrete wherein the plate remains in the cured concrete, as described above, represents a significant departure from current practices. Once the concrete cures, the forms are removed with the load plate already embedded in the concrete. Other methods require detaching a form from a mounting plate previously attached thereto, then installing a load plate in the pocket formed in the concrete.
Referring to
Step 1205 of providing a plate having a first portion and a second portion and edge banding disposed on a surface of the first portion involves preparing a plate 1000 as described above. As shown in
Steps 1210, 1215, 1225, 1230 and 1235 are similar to steps 510, 515, 520, 525, 530 and 535 above.
Referring to
Step 1305 of developing a recess typically involves developing a recess in an existing concrete slab adjacent to which a second concrete slab is intended. As shown in
Preferably, following step 1305, method 1300 includes filling the recess sufficiently with an epoxy or suitable material for bonding the dowel or plate to the concrete.
Step 1310 of introducing a first portion of a load transfer apparatus in the recess preferably involve a dowel or plate that has edge banding and/or elastomer coating as described above. The concrete worker would have to take care that the epoxy adheres only to the edge banding and/or an elastomer coating and not to the untreated portion of the dowel or plate. Once the epoxy cures, and a second concrete slab may be poured so as to encapsulate the untreated portion of the dowel or plate. The edge banding and/or elastomer coating permits the slabs to move horizontally along and perpendicularly to the joint therebetween.
An embodiment of a method 1400 of adapting existing and freshy-poured concrete slabs for transferring a load therebetween configured according to principles of the invention includes: a step 1405 of installing a load transfer apparatus in an existing concrete slab according to method 1300; and a step 1410 of pouring a second volume of concrete on a second portion of the load transfer apparatus.
Step 1405 of installing a load transfer apparatus in the existing concrete slab is described above with respect to method 1300.
Step 1410 of pouring a second volume of concrete adjacent to the cured concrete and on a second portion of the load transfer apparatus involves encapsulating only the untreated end of dowel or plate.
The invention is not limited to the particular embodiments described and depicted herein, rather only to the following claims.
This Application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/650954, filed Feb. 9, 2005, and incorporates by reference and is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Utility patent application Ser. No. 11/077557. filed Mar. 11; 2005. by Stephen F. McDonald for Method of Forming Concrete and an Apparatus for Same and U.S. Utility patent application Ser. No. 11/109781, filed Apr. 20, 2005, by Michael E. Carroll for Method of Forming Concrete and an Apparatus for Transferring Loads Between Concrete Slabs.
Number | Date | Country | |
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60650954 | Feb 2005 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 11077557 | Mar 2005 | US |
Child | 11229978 | Sep 2005 | US |
Parent | 11109781 | Apr 2005 | US |
Child | 11229978 | Sep 2005 | US |