Patent Application
20230349123
Internally braced geosynthetic fabric layers have been used in the construction of stabilized earth walls and slopes such as shown in
In light of these drawbacks, there is a need for improved assemblies. In particular, there is need for an improved bracing assembly that can be easily constructed away from a job site and that is not susceptible to an incorrect assembly. Furthermore, there is a need for systems and methods related to such an improved bracing assembly.
Embodiments described herein are directed to a bracing assembly for a geosynthetic wrapped system. The bracing assembly comprises a standing brace bar having a first configuration that comprises a first guide tip, a first slot connection, and a second slot connection. The bracing assembly also comprises a bottom brace bar having a second configuration different from the first configuration. The second configuration comprises a second guide tip, a third slot connection, and a first connector configured to interface with the first slot connection to couple the bottom brace bar to the standing brace bar. Furthermore, the bracing assembly comprises a cross brace bar having a third configuration different from the first and second configurations. The third configuration comprises a second connector configured to interface with the second slot connection to couple the cross brace bar to the standing brace bar and a third connector configured to interface with the third slot connection to couple the cross brace bar to the bottom brace bar. The first guide tip and the second guide tip are sized and shaped to direct insertion of the standing brace bar and the bottom brace bar respectively into a weave of a geotextile fabric material such that the first connector and the first connection slot are aligned together and with a fold line of the geotextile fabric material.
In some embodiments of the bracing assembly, the standing brace bar comprises a first slot region in which the first slot connection is formed, a second slot region in which the second slot connection is formed, and a body disposed between the first slot region and the second slot region. The first slot region is disposed between the first guide tip and the body. In some of these embodiments, the first slot region, the second slot region, the body, and the first guide tip are formed as a single monolithic structure. Additionally or alternatively, in some of these embodiments, a respective maximum height of the first slot region and the second slot region is less than a respective maximum height of the body.
In some embodiments of the bracing assembly, the bottom brace bar comprises a slot region in which the third slot connection is formed and a body disposed between the slot region and the first connecter. The slot region is disposed between the second guide tip and the body. In some of these embodiments, the slot region, the body, and the second guide tip are formed as a single monolithic structure. Additionally or alternatively, in some of these embodiments, a respective maximum height of the slot region is less than a respective maximum height of the body.
In some embodiments of the bracing assembly, the first connector comprises a first T-connector, the second connector comprises a second T-connector, and the third connector comprise a third T-connecter. Additionally, the first slot connection comprises a T-slot connection configured to receive the first T-connector through an upper portion of the T-slot and secure the first T-connector with a lower portion of the T-slot so as to couple the bottom brace bar to the standing brace bar. The second slot connection and the third slot connection comprise respective I-connectors configured to receive the second and third T-connectors. The second and third T-connectors are rotated so as to couple the cross brace bar to the bottom brace bar.
In some embodiments of the bracing assembly, the first guide tip and the second guide tip comprise respective bullnose shapes.
In some embodiments of the bracing assembly, the bottom brace bar, the standing brace bar, and the cross brace bar are made of non-metallic, rigid or semi-rigid material. In some of these embodiments, the non-metallic, rigid or semi-rigid material includes one of nylon and high-density polypropylene (HDPE).
Embodiments, described herein are also directed to an internally braced geosynthetic fabric layer that comprises a three-dimensional woven geotextile fabric having a horizontal layer section and an external layer face. The external layer face is formed by an upright fold of the geotextile fabric. The internally braced geosynthetic fabric layer also comprises a bracing assembly that supports the external layer face in an upright position. The bracing assembly comprises a standing brace bar inserted into a weave of the upright fold of the geotextile fabric and having a first configuration. The bracing assembly also comprises a bottom brace bar inserted into a weave of the horizontal layer section of the geotextile fabric, coupled to the standing brace bar proximate to a fold line of the geotextile fabric, and having a second configuration different from the first configuration. Furthermore, the bracing assembly comprises a cross brace bar coupled to the standing brace bar and the bottom brace bar and having a third configuration different from the first and second configurations. The horizontal layer section is configured to receive soil backfill to form a horizontal reinforcement layer portion of a reinforced earth zone and slope facing system and the external layer face is configured to provide a region of the reinforced earth zone and slope facing system against which soil backfill is filled and compacted.
In some embodiments of the internally braced geosynthetic fabric layer, the first configuration comprises a first guide tip, a first slot connection, and a second slot connection. The second configuration comprises a second guide tip, a third slot connection, and a first connector that interfaces with the first slot connection to couple the bottom brace bar to the standing brace bar. The third configuration comprises a second connector that interfaces with the second slot connection to couple the cross brace bar to the standing brace bar and a third connector that interfaces with the third slot connection to couple the cross brace bar to the bottom brace bar. The first guide tip and the second guide tip are sized and shaped to direct insertion of the standing brace bar and the bottom brace bar respectively into the weave of the geotextile fabric such that the first connector and the first connection slot are aligned together and with the fold line of the geotextile fabric. In some of these embodiments, the first connector comprises a first T-connector, the second connector comprises a second T-connector, and the third connector comprise a third T-connecter. The first slot connection comprises a T-slot connection configured to receive the first T-connector through an upper portion of the T-slot and secure the first T-connector with a lower portion of the T-slot so as to couple the bottom brace bar to the standing brace bar. The second slot connection and the third slot connection comprise respective I-connectors configured to receive the second and third T-connectors, wherein the second and third T-connectors are rotated so as to couple the cross brace bar to the bottom brace bar.
In some embodiments of the internally braced geosynthetic fabric layer, the first guide tip and the second guide tip comprise respective bullnose shapes.
In some embodiments of the internally braced geosynthetic fabric layer, the bottom brace bar, the standing brace bar, and the cross brace bar are made of non-metallic, rigid or semi-rigid material.
Embodiments described herein are also directed to a method for constructing an internally braced geosynthetic fabric layer. The method comprises weaving a three-dimensional woven geotextile fabric material on a loom. Then, while the geotextile fabric material is in the loom, the method comprises inserting a bottom brace bar into a weave of a horizontal layer section of the geotextile fabric material and a standing brace bar into a weave of an upright fold of the geotextile fabric material. The method further comprises folding the geotextile fabric material so that the upright fold and the standing brace bar are in an angled orientation relative to the horizontal layer section and coupling the bottom brace bar to the standing brace bar while the upright fold and the standing brace bar are in the angled orientation. Further still, the method comprises coupling a cross brace bar to the bottom brace bar and to the standing brace bar. The standing brace bar has a first configuration, the bottom brace bar has a second configuration different from the first configuration, and the cross brace bar has a third configuration different from both the first configuration and the second configuration.
In some embodiments, the method further comprises coupling the bottom brace bar to the standing brace bar by interfacing a first connector of the bottom brace bar with a first slot connection formed in the standing brace bar and coupling the cross brace bar to the standing brace bar by interfacing a second connector of the cross brace bar with a second slot connection formed in the standing brace bar. The method also comprises coupling the cross brace bar to the bottom brace bar by interfacing a third connector of the cross brace bar with a third slot connection formed in the bottom brace bar. The first configuration comprises the first slot connection and the second slot connection, the second configuration comprises the third slot connection and the first connector, and the third configuration comprises the second connector and the third connector.
In some embodiments, the method further comprises coupling the bottom brace bar to the standing brace bar by inserting a first T-connector of the bottom brace bar into an upper portion of a T-slot connection formed in the standing brace bar and sliding the first T-connector down into a lower portion of the T-slot connection to prevent a first head of the first T-connector from passing through the upper portion of the T-slot connection. Additionally, the method comprises coupling the cross brace bar to the standing brace bar by inserting a second T-connector of the cross brace bar through a first I-slot connection formed in the standing brace bar and rotating the second T-connector to prevent a second head of the second T-connector from passing through the first I-slot connection. Furthermore, the method comprises coupling the cross brace bar to the bottom brace bar by inserting a third T-connector of the cross brace bar through a second I-slot connection formed in the bottom brace bar and rotating the third T-connector to prevent a third head of the third T-connector from passing through the second I-slot connection. In these embodiments, the first configuration comprises the T-slot connection and the first I-slot connection, the second configuration comprises the second I-slot connection and the first T-connector, and the third configuration comprises the second T-connector and the third T-connector.
In some embodiments, the method further comprises inserting a standing brace bar into a weave of an upright fold of the geotextile fabric material by first inserting a first guide tip of bottom standing bar into the weave of the upright fold. The methods also comprises inserting the bottom brace bar into the weave of the horizontal layer section of the geotextile fabric material by first inserting a second guide tip of bottom brace bar into the weave of the horizontal layer section.
Before any embodiments of the invention are explained in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the following drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of “including,” “comprising,” or “having” and variations thereof herein is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items. Unless specified or limited otherwise, the terms “mounted,” “connected,” “supported,” and “coupled” and variations thereof are used broadly and encompass both direct and indirect mountings, connections, supports, and couplings. Further, “connected” and “coupled” are not restricted to physical or mechanical connections or couplings.
The following discussion is presented to enable a person skilled in the art to make and use embodiments of the invention. Various modifications to the illustrated embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles herein can be applied to other embodiments and applications without departing from embodiments of the invention. Thus, embodiments of the invention are not intended to be limited to embodiments shown, but are to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and features disclosed herein. The following detailed description is to be read with reference to the figures, in which like elements in different figures have like reference numerals. The figures, which are not necessarily to scale, depict selected embodiments and are not intended to limit the scope of embodiments of the invention. Skilled artisans will recognize the examples provided herein have many useful alternatives and fall within the scope of embodiments of the invention.
Furthermore, as seen in
Various embodiments for manufacturing the standing brace bar 22, the bottom brace bar 24, and the cross brace bar 26 are contemplated. Such embodiments include but are not limited to injection molding or the like. In some embodiments, the first slot region 30, the second slot region 34, the body 32, and the first guide tip 28 are formed as a single monolithic structure. Similarly, in some embodiments, the third slot region 52, the body 54, and the second guide tip 50 are formed as a single monolithic structure. Furthermore, the second connector 70, the third connector 72, and the body 74 can be formed as a single monolithic structure. Additionally, the bottom brace bar 24, the standing brace bar 22, and the cross brace bar 22 can be made of a non-metallic, rigid or semi-rigid material. In some embodiments, the non-metallic, rigid or semi-rigid material can include one of nylon, high-density polypropylene (HDPE), or another suitable polymer.
To construct the geosynthetic fabric layer 100, the standing brace bar 22 and the bottom brace bar 24 can be inserted into a weave of the geotextile fabric 102 using the first guide tip 28 and the second guide tip 50 in a direction shown by the arrows X such that the bottom brace bar 24 is located in the horizontal layer section 104, the standing brace bar is located in the external layer face 106, and the first connector 56 is aligned with first slot connection 36 at the fold line 108. In some embodiments, the standing brace bar 22 and the bottom brace bar 24 can be inserted into the weave of the geotextile fabric 102 while the geotextile fabric 102 is in the loom. Additionally or alternatively, in some embodiments, the standing brace bar 22 and the bottom brace bar 24 can be inserted into the weave of the geotextile fabric 102 while the geotextile fabric 102 is in motion on the loom. Furthermore, in some embodiments, the standing brace bar 22 and the bottom brace bar 24 including the first and second guide tips 28 and 50 can be shaped slightly differently such that an installer can readily identify and differentiate the standing brace bar 22 from the bottom brace bar 24 so as to facilitate quick and reliable installation during the weaving process of the geotextile fabric 102. Such embodiments, greatly reduce the time and labor needed to install a system on a job site. For example, the preinstallation and differing configurations the standing brace bar 22 and the bottom brace bar 24 can reduce installation time by approximately 4 hours per every one roll of geosynthetic fabric layer 100.
Once the standing brace bar 22 and the bottom brace bar 24 are inserted into the weave of the geotextile fabric 102 and the geotextile fabric 102 has been fully woven, the geotextile fabric 102 can be folded along the fold line 108 so that the upright fold that forms external layer face 106 and the standing brace bar 22 are in an angled orientation relative to the horizontal layer section 104. Then, while the upright fold and the standing brace bar 22 are in the angled orientation, the bottom brace bar 24 can be coupled to the standing brace bar 22 to form a connection 110. In embodiments where the first slot connection 36 is the T-slot connection and the first connector 56 is the T-connector, the connection 110 can be formed by inserting the T-connector into upper portion 44 of a T-slot connection and sliding the T-connector down into the lower portion 46 of the T-slot connection to prevent the head 64 of the T-connector from passing through the upper portion 44 of the T-slot connection.
Furthermore, the geosynthetic fabric layer 100 can be constructed by coupling the cross brace bar 26 to the standing brace bar 26 to form connection 112 and coupling the cross brace bar 26 to the bottom brace bar 24 to form connection 114 as shown in
In some embodiments, the woven geotextile fabric 102 with the inserted standing brace bar 22 and bottom brace bar 24 are joined together into a roll of similarly constructed woven geotextile fabric layers. Then, the roll can be spread out at a job site where the connections 110, 112, and 114 are formed in the manner described above. This procedure can eliminate some assembly of the system on the job site and allow the geotextile fabric 102 to arrive on site ready to be rolled out in place where the cross brace bar 26 can be added.
It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that while the invention has been described above in connection with particular embodiments and examples, the invention is not necessarily so limited, and that numerous other embodiments, examples, uses, modifications and departures from the embodiments, examples and uses are intended to be encompassed by the claims attached hereto. The entire disclosure of each patent and publication cited herein is incorporated by reference, as if each such patent or publication were individually incorporated by reference herein. Various features and advantages of the invention are set forth in the following claims.
