Patent Application
20240384526
This application claims priority to Ukrainian Application No. a 2023 02374, filed May 17, 2023, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
The invention relates to a construction field, in particular, to a low-rise unit construction, and it relates to a monolithic and frame structure of a module of reinforced concrete that may be used as a building unit when erecting civilian and industrial objects.
Unit low-rise construction of monolithic and precast structure is used to build buildings having up to 4 levels both for residential and commercial purposes. The structure usually consists of a rigid space framework of precast elements which maintain weight of the building and may be made of concrete, steel or other materials, as well as represent a separate module. This module may be manufactured at a building site directly or transported from a manufacturing site. Ready modules must be further equipped internally and externally, and provided with life support systems, and to this end, its elements must be suitable for this finishing and provide maximum mounting precision.
Prior art teaches various types of module structures which have certain drawbacks. A framework system of frame tubes lacks any supplemental ribs to reinforce a ceiling and a floor which may lead to their bending and deformation, thereby significantly complicating mounting of buildings having several levels. A frame of metal profiles may have problems related to corrosion and rigidity deterioration due to environmental factors and fire. A frame of wooden beams may be vulnerable to fire, termites and other natural disasters, as well as may change its shape and size in course of time when exposed to humidity and temperature changes.
Applicant is aware of solutions for providing more efficient building methods by creating ready-to-use monolithic construction modules of reinforced concrete.
Implementation of the known solutions started at the beginning of 80s of XX century, e.g., patents U.S. Pat. No. 4,211,043A dated Jul. 8, 1980, U.S. Pat. No. 4,638,607A dated Jan. 27, 1987 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,833,841A dated May 30, 1989 teach monolithic construction modules which consist of a metal frame having a reinforced concrete flooring along its perimeter, vertical stands, a roof and a floor. These technical solutions possess several shared drawbacks. Structures which are difficult to manufacture and mount, as well as inconvenient for transportation, due to use of a large amount of metal and, in particular, concrete, negatively affect their stability, rigidity and service life.
Patent RO135122A dated Feb. 9, 2021 teaches an assembled building module in a form of parallelepiped that may be transported as a monovolume that is expanded at a site to achieve functional volumes, and methods for manufacturing thereof. The claimed module comprises a space metal structure having dimensions which are equivalent to dimensions of a unified cargo container, the structure consists of a lower rectangular frame, two lower outline beams and one or several lower floorings, a beam, two lower end beams and several beams of the floorings, beams which are connected to the beams by means of standard L-bars provided with several openings, and their structure is secured at a site or to a vehicle platform by means of traditional unified devices. This structure is precast that firstly affects its non-reliability, as well as it is required to provide a very high precision during manufacturing, a large number of preparation processes and special mechanisms during mounting at the construction site. In turn, this negatively affects price and manufacturing time. Besides, it consists of a large amount of metal, thereby making the building heavy and requiring to increase costs for erecting a foundation.
Application MX2017013192A dated Apr. 15, 2019 teaches a construction module comprising a floor, a roof and at least two columns that connect said floor to said roof, wherein said construction module is made of reinforced concrete and is monolithic. A drawback of this technical solution lies in that the construction module is suitable only for a single-level building process, since there are no inter-level connections, as well as its structure does not provide any space for quick laying of all required utility lines.
Patent UA92610C2 dated Nov. 25, 2010 teaches a construction module preferably serving as a ground floor made of reinforced concrete or a frame with a cladding, in a form of a self-supporting optionally one-piece component which can be arranged to float on a soft, quick foundation such as gravel or sand. As a result of a stable embodiment of the ground floor, an upper floor is resistant to lateral forces and pressure forces exerted from below even if it is uneven. It is hence possible to subsequently realign a building erected on the ground floor after the ground floor has unevenly settled or heaved. Drawbacks of this technical solution lie in that the structure is complex and heavy, and the structure withstands loads, but in view of large weight it could not be used to build even low-rise buildings, and this affects its transportation capabilities.
Also, application US2004231256A1 dated Nov. 25, 2004 teaches a unit building comprising a building module having a Rahmen structure including a column and a beam which are rigidly connected to each other and fixed to a base, wherein a column foot of a building unit is rigidly connected to the base, and a diagonal member is provided between the column foot of the building unit and a middle portion of a ceiling beam. A drawback of this technical solution lies in the connection of the module elements by means of the fixation elements, namely bolts and nuts, thereby complicating and slowing down a mounting process at a construction site.
Embodiments of the claimed invention resolve the prior art drawbacks and provide a construction module in a form of a parallelepiped which could be lightweight, while at the same time rigid and reliable, and which could be suitable to be used both as an individual building unit and quickly mounted one with another one in a low-rise building, while providing stability of its underlying structure against dynamic loads which could be caused by strong wind and moderate seismic factors. Embodiments of the invention also maintain a maximum space within the building unit, while providing its reliable connection between each other both in vertical and horizontal directions, in order to provide buildings having a wide possibility of internal planning and being ready for supplying life support systems under minimum adaptations. A further aspect of the invention is to provide a logistic availability of the module both in terms of dimensions and structure.
Embodiments of the invention provide a construction monolithic module of reinforced concrete, the module comprises vertical columns which are connected by lower and upper longitudinal and transverse crossbars, and floor and ceiling elements which are formed by horizontal floorings between the lower and upper crossbars and the columns. According to the invention, the vertical columns are provided with a L-shaped cross section and oriented with their corners outwardly, and the crossbars are connected to the columns flush with their external surface.
A shape of the columns provides stability of the framework against static and dynamic loads, while said connection to the crossbars makes the external surface of the module suitable both for an interconnection to corresponding surfaces of adjacent similar modules and for mounting of elements of external, e.g., frontal enclosure and finishing, to them without any additional preparation works.
Beams are arranged between the crossbars, the beams are connected to a lower surface of the horizontal floorings and to internal surfaces of the longitudinal crossbars, and equally spaced one from another and from the transverse crossbars, thereby providing the floorings with horizontal rigidity and enables to provide a uniform distribution of a load of the horizontal floorings without making the structure heavier. Therewith, a height of the cross section of the beams is smaller than a height of the cross section of the crossbars, a height of the cross section of the upper crossbars is greater or the same as a height of the cross section of the lower crossbars, and a thickness of the horizontal flooring of the ceiling element is smaller than a thickness of the horizontal flooring of the floor. This ratio of the cross sections of components of the unit which form upper and lower carrying elements of the structure enables to provide a rigid floor portion without any significant increase of the module weight which is able to withstand both static and dynamic loads on the beams and crossbars as well as on the flooring, and to provide a ceiling portion that is maximally raised within a range of the crossbars, while a load onto the horizontal flooring of the ceiling portion is normally lower than the load onto the floor element, while the greater cross section of the upper crossbars enables to reinforce the structure which is especially important when constructing a building having several levels.
Also, according to certain embodiments of the claimed invention, the L-shaped columns have support portions which protrude outside the floor elements, and the power portion of the floor element is provided with at least four symmetrically arranged intermediate supports which are secured on the power portions of the longitudinal crossbars within gaps between the beams, as well as equally spaced from the vertical columns and from each other, wherein a height of the intermediate supports is the same as a height of the support portions of the L-shaped columns. Said structure enables to provide a uniform distribution of the load onto the foundation from the entire structure of the module during its usage and to provide its balancing on the foundation or even on the ground with minimum amount of preparation works. Also, a presence of main and additional supports provides a stable gap between the foundation and the floor or, in case of low-rise building, between the ceiling portion of the lower module and the floor of the upper level, as well as it enables to construct a building having a ready-to-use space for laying utility lines being ventilation, electric networks, heating lines etc., thereby shortening time for laying engineering lines and avoids provision of openings in the construction which usually negatively affects rigidity and dynamic stability of the building, especially in case of strong wind loads.
According to a second embodiment of the claimed invention, the support portions of the L-shaped columns and the ceiling element are equipped with mechanical fixation elements in points of connection to the L-shaped columns. According to possible exemplary embodiments of the invention, these fixation elements may be made as metal embedded parts for a welded joint or metal embedded parts for a threaded joint, as concrete keys between the columns and the crossbars.
This structure enables to fix the construction units one on top of another at corners, thereby increasing reliability of the building and allowing to erect houses having from 2 to 4 levels without any additional works on setting connections at the construction site.
Therefore, a technical effect that is achieved by certain embodiments of the invention, lies in provision of a structural combination, within one and the same monolithic construction, of the longitudinal and transverse carrying elements with optimal ratios between dimensions of the elements and distances between the elements, thereby allowing to achieve a minimum weight of the module and to provide a building unit that is stable against dynamic loads, suitable for transportation by common transport routes, quick mounting, as well as for use as a low-rise building element. Simulation of influence of the dynamic loads has shown that characteristics of this module are close to characteristics of monolithic buildings of the same size.
According to a preferable exemplary embodiment of the invention, the height of the support portions of the vertical columns and of the intermediate supports is 0.2-0.4 of the column length. This ratio represents optimal provision of the above-disclosed advantages of the structure of the module and provides achievement of the technical effect both at minimum dimensions of the supports and at maximum possible ones.
According to a further exemplary embodiment of the invention, a total area of the cross section of the intermediate supports may be equal to an area of the cross section of the L-shaped column. This minimum distribution of possible acceptable distributions of the total support area does not deteriorate the uniformity of distribution of the loads, but allows to make the construction more lightweight.
According to a further exemplary embodiment of the invention, a distance between the beams is 0.10-0.20 of the length of the longitudinal crossbeams, wherein the length of the transverse crossbars is 0.4-0.75 of the length of the longitudinal crossbars, while a distance between the ceiling and floor elements is not more than the length of the transverse crossbars. This ratio enables to coordinate the optimal number of the reinforcing ribs being the beams and the distance between them in various variants of spatial lengths, while providing spatial rigidity. Therewith, the cross section of the beams is interrelated to the width of the unit structure, and the number of the beams is interrelated to the length.
According to a further exemplary embodiment of the invention, a thickness of the horizontal flooring of the ceiling element is 0.4-0.65 of a thickness of the horizontal flooring of the floor element. This design enables to provide reduction of the weight of the structure, while preserving sufficient rigidity of the module during exposure to dynamic loads.
In order to provide more complete understanding of the claimed invention and advantages thereof, the following description provides an explanation of possible exemplary embodiments thereof with a reference to figures of the appended drawings, wherein identical designations denote identical parts, and which illustrate the following:
The illustrative drawings that illustrate the invention claimed as well as the mentioned particular embodiment of the construction module are in no way intended to limit the scope of claims appended hereto but to explain the essence of the invention.
A construction module comprises of vertical columns (1) which are interconnected by upper longitudinal crossbars (2) and transverse crossbars (3), as well as lower longitudinal crossbars (4) and transverse crossbars (5). A horizontal flooring plate (6) is arranged between the crossbars (2, 3), and a horizontal flooring plate (7) is arranged between the crossbars (4, 5), the plates together form ceiling and floor elements respectively. The vertical columns (1) are provided with a L-shaped cross section and oriented with their corners outwardly, as well as provided with support portions (8) which protrude outside the ceiling element. Beams (9) are arranged between the crossbars (2, 3) of the floor element and between the crossbars (4, 5) of the ceiling element, the beams form reinforcing ribs of the horizontal floorings (6, 7). The beams (9) are connected to a lower surface of the horizontal floorings (6, 7) and to internal surfaces of the longitudinal crossbars (2, 4) and equally spaced from each other and from the transverse crossbars (3, 5), while an upper surface of the ceiling and floor elements is flat. A height of the cross section of the beams (9) is smaller than a height of the cross section of the crossbars (2-4), a height of the cross section of the upper crossbars (2, 3) is greater than a height of the cross section of the lower crossbars (4, 5), and a thickness of the horizontal flooring (6) of the ceiling element is smaller than a thickness of the horizontal flooring (7) of the floor. At least four symmetrically arranged intermediate supports (10) are provided on lower portions of the longitudinal crossbars (4) in gaps between the beams (9). The supports (10) are equally spaced from the vertical columns (1) and from each other, while a height of the supports (10) is the same as a height of the support portions (8). According to a second embodiment of the claimed inventions, the support portions (8) of the columns (1) and the ceiling element are equipped with mechanical fixation elements (11) in points of interconnection of the horizontal flooring (6), the crossbars (2, 3) and the columns (1).
The module may be formed by methods and means which are known to a person skilled in the art. All elements of the module may be made of a single-row reinforcement being rod reinforcement in the crossbars, columns and beams, and hardwired in the floorings plates, the fitting is mechanically bonded so as to form a space framework that is formed in a formwork structure at a working site, while enabling simultaneous effusing with a self-curing concrete mixture. To this end, reinforcement rod of a class A (B,D) 500C (A,B,N,R,RW,W), A (B,D) 240C (A,B,N,R,RW,W) may be used. Fine natural curing or thermally treated concrete of a hardness class not lower than C25/30, freeze-thaw resistance of F50 and watertightness W4 may be used as a material for manufacturing. A protective layer of the concrete on the external portion of the reinforcement framework must be up to 15 mm in order to avoid chipping and warping of the reinforcement. When implementing the embodiment that implies presence of the connection elements in order to mutually mount the module in vertical direction, they are either secured to the reinforcement of the module by means of welding or, if the concrete keys are used between the columns and the crossbars, a protruding reinforcement bar is preserved in these locations in order to enable concrete surface grouting of joints of corner portions of the module directly during its mounting. The external surface of the ceiling element may be provided with dropping immersed hinges which allow to perform mounting without cutting the hinges, thereby enabling to demount the module and to transfer it to another location, if necessary. Lifting and transportation of the construction is possible when the concrete strength is at least 80%.
When calculating optimal parameters and ratios for embodiments of the claimed invention, examples of geometry were taken, wherein the final module can be transported via common transportation routes as a cargo container, namely, at length of 7000-7500 mm, height and width of 3000-3500 mm. With such geometry, the height between the upper surface of the floor element and the lower portion of the ceiling element with consideration of protrusions of the beams, their ratio with the height of the ceiling crossbars and with the provided internal finishing, may be obtained within 2600-2700 mm, which is sufficient both for residential and commercial room.
The construction monolithic module of reinforced concrete is mounted on the foundation and enables to erect buildings of up to 4 levels in height. The mounting is performed on a preliminary prepared foundation of a plate or strip type. Therewith, the module is mounted on a sand-cement mortar layer without any additional fixation elements. Also, when erecting a two-level house, the modules may be mounted one on top of another one in corners onto the sand-cement mortar layer. When erecting 3- or 4-level house of the claimed modules, it is provided that they are mounted one on top of another one and interconnected in corners by means of embedded connection elements. Horizontal connection of the modules is performed via expansion joints by making adjacent walls.
Upon calculations both for static and dynamic loads in the PC software LIRA, it has been established that no explicit peaks of resonance frequencies and corresponding loads in the building elements exist both in single-level and multi-level buildings made of the claimed module. This indicates that when these dynamic loads appear as wind or small and moderate seismic loads, the construction of the claimed module will remain balanced and stable, and according to a pattern of loads which appear within the building elements, it is close to monolithic buildings of reinforced concrete having a weight that is many times greater. During the modeling and calculation process it has been established that change of the number of the elements of the module and falling of the ratio of their sizes beyond the limits stated in the exemplary embodiments of the structure will lead to appearance of notable peaks of resonance frequencies and corresponding loads onto the elements of the module which fall beyond the acceptable limits.
According to field tests conducted according to methods for calculating loads and influences which are commonly accepted in the art, it has been established that 4-level building made of the claimed construction modules is capable of withstanding the following loads:
This satisfies statutory requirements according to indicators of actual rigidity of concrete and reinforced concrete products according to components of perception of horizontal loads of seismic and wind types which affect the building.
It allows to conclude that the uniform distribution of static and dynamic loads is further facilitated by symmetrical arrangement of the beams relative to each other and relative to the crossbars, as well as arrangement and shape of both main and additional supports. Therewith, owing to the features of the construction described in the claims, the distribution of the main weight of the construction of the building module is mostly in its lower portion, thereby allowing to distribute the weight of external equipment.
In order to provide external filling of the house made of the claimed monolithic units, glass units, sandwich panels, reinforced concrete plates, thin-layered elements, bricks or small piece lightweight material or a gas concrete block type may be used, while providing openings for window or door units. The space between the ceiling element and the floor element allows its technical equipping with all life support systems (electricity, water supply, sewerage system, heating, ventilation, conditioning).
Therefore, the claimed technical solution enables to provide lightweight, rigid and reliable monolithic structure of the construction module having opened contour, wherein optimal ratios of rigidity to static and dynamic loads and weight are considered, it is suitable for transportation to the construction site by means of standard cargo transportation and suitable for use both as the individual building unit and the low-rise building element to create buildings with the wide possibility of internal planning.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| A 2023 02374 | May 2023 | UA | national |
