This application is a 371 of Patent Cooperation Treaty international application No. PCT/CA2012/050555 filed 15 Aug. 2012, which is incorporated by reference herein.
This invention relates to floating docks.
Floating docks formed from a buoyant core with a concrete shell are known. Concrete is a favoured material for floating docks because of its strength and durability compared to other materials such as wood. The concrete is typically reinforced with steel reinforcement bars (rebar) to improve its strength. A problem with rebar is that it can corrode due to contact with sea water that gradually infiltrates through the concrete shell. Rebar corrosion can lead to concrete failure. To prevent corrosion, concrete must typically be provided in a layer at least three inches thick between the rebar and the outer surface of the floating dock. However, providing a thick layer of concrete, which raises material costs. A thick layer of concrete also adds significant weight to the floating dock, which must be compensated for in order to maintain buoyancy by making the floating dock larger. While one solution to the problem of corrosion is to use stainless steel rebar or epoxy-coated rebar such alternatives are costly. There is a need for a lightweight yet strong concrete floating dock that reduces material costs while providing strength and durability.
In one aspect, a floating dock is provided. The dock comprises a buoyant core having sidewalls with concrete-filled grooves; and a reinforcing truss embedded in and extending along a path defined by the concrete-filled grooves. The reinforcing truss may comprise reinforcement steel bars. The concrete-filled grooves may be approximately 2 to 4 inches (51 to 102 mm) deep, or be approximately 3 inches (76 mm) deep. The reinforcing truss may be selected from the group consisting of simple, lattice, Howe, Warren, Pratt, King post, Fink, Vierendeel, palladian, and grid trusses. The reinforcing truss may be a simple truss. The simple truss may span the height of the sidewalls of the buoyant core. The buoyant core may comprise expanded polystyrene foam. The buoyant core may be shaped as a rectangular prism. The buoyant core may have a bottom with concrete-filled grooves, and reinforcement steel bars embedded in and extending along a path defined by the concrete-filled grooves of the bottom. The reinforcement steel bars embedded in and extending along the path defined by the concrete-filled grooves of the bottom may connect to the reinforcement steel bars embedded in and extending along a path defined by the concrete-filled grooves of the sidewalls. The may comprise a deck, which may comprise concrete reinforced with a grid of reinforcement steel bars. The grid of reinforcement steel bars reinforcing the concrete of the deck may connect to the reinforcement steel bars embedded in and extending along the path defined by the concrete-filled grooves of the sidewalls. The dock may comprise connectors for connecting to one or more other floating docks. The connectors may comprise a pair of parallel channels formed at one end of the floating dock.
In another aspect, a method of constructing a floating dock is provided. The method comprising the steps of:
Step (a) may be preceded by the step of lining the forming bed with a mould liner. Step (d) may be followed by the steps of placing reinforcement bars in grooves formed across a bottom of the buoyant core, and connecting the reinforcement bars to the reinforcement truss.
In drawings which show non-limiting embodiments of the invention:
Throughout the following description, specific details are set forth in order to provide a more thorough understanding of the invention. However, the invention may be practiced without these particulars. In other instances, well known elements have not been shown or described in detail to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the invention. Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative, rather than a restrictive, sense.
The present invention provides a lightweight yet durable dock section having rebar trusses set in concrete-filled grooves in the sidewalls of the buoyant core.
Core 12 may be formed of expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam or any other similar material with sufficient buoyancy for dock section 10 to float and with sufficient firmness to allow grooves 14 to be formed therein. Core 12 may be formed from a single piece of buoyant material or may be formed from multiple smaller pieces of buoyant material. If formed of multiple pieces, the pieces can be assembled prior to grooves 14 being formed or grooves 14 may be formed on the separate pieces. The pieces may also be assembled prior to placing core 12 in a concrete forming bed, or may be assembled in the concrete forming bed itself.
Grooves 14 are of sufficient depth to allow reinforcing structure 16 set therein to be sufficiently spaced apart from the concrete-covered surfaces of dock section 10. In one embodiment, grooves 14 are between 2 to 4 inches (51 to 102 mm) wide and between 2 to 4 inches (51 to 102 mm) deep, and may be 3 inches (76 mm) deep and 3 inches (76 mm) wide. The minimum depth of grooves 14 depend, for example, on the type of concrete used and the environmental conditions of the location where deck section 10 will be used. In some embodiments the grooves may be cut out using a hot wire cutter.
Grooves 14 and reinforcing structure 16 along sidewalls 11 may be patterned in a simple truss as shown in the embodiment in
Grooves 14 and reinforcing structure 16 cross laterally along bottom surface 13 and join grooves 14 and reinforcing structure 16 along sidewalls 11 at nodes 19. In other embodiments, grooves 14 and reinforcing structure 16 along bottom surface 13 may be patterned in a truss. In yet other embodiments, grooves 14 and reinforcing structure 16 may be absent along bottom surface 13.
A dock section 200 according to another embodiment of the invention may be constructed as shown in
A reinforcing grid 216a and reinforcing truss 216b are formed and placed in forming bed 220, as best shown in
The deck of dock section 200 is formed by pouring concrete into forming bed 220. Concrete is sprayed, poured or otherwise applied to fill in grooves 214 of sidewalls 211 and bottom surface 213. Grooves 214 of core 212 function as formwork for the concrete to embed reinforcement truss 216b and reinforcement bars 216c. The remaining sections of sidewalls 211 and bottom surface 213 may optionally be sprayed or covered with a layer of concrete of other durable waterproof material. The thickness of this layer may depend on the environmental conditions of the location where dock section 200 will be used. Forming bed 220 and dock section 200 are then inverted, and forming bed 220 removed from the deck, to complete dock section 200. Dock section 200 can support a 8800 lb (3992 kg) weight on its deck.
A dock section 300 according to another embodiment of the invention is shown in
As will be apparent to those skilled in the art in the light of the foregoing disclosure, many alterations and modifications are possible in the practice of this invention without departing from the spirit or scope thereof.
Accordingly, the scope of the invention is to be construed in accordance with the substance defined by the following claims.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/CA2012/050555 | 8/15/2012 | WO | 00 | 5/21/2015 |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
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WO2014/026265 | 2/20/2014 | WO | A |
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