Patent Application
20210102391
This invention relates generally to commercial construction and more specifically to constructing concrete floor slabs for large commercial buildings.
Many large buildings, such as warehouses, shopping malls, big box stores, the like, are constructed with a superstructure that is supported at predetermined intervals by vertical steel support columns. The support columns are embedded at their bases within and extend upwardly from the concrete floor slab of the building. It is important that the bases of the columns be isolated from the concrete floor slab so that settlement or other movement of the columns does not transfer to the slab.
To accomplish this isolation, heavy concrete footings are cast in the ground at the prospective locations of the support columns. Anchor bolts are embedded in and project upwardly from the footings. When the footings have cured, the vertically extending steel support columns are mounted to the footings by means of the anchor bolts.
Before the floor slab is poured, isolation forms are attached to the footings surrounding the columns. Typically, the column footings are square or box-shaped. The floor of the building is then prepared by grading, leveling, and compacting aggregate material throughout the floor expanse to a predetermined depth to form a base. The aggregate is compacted around and against the exterior surfaces of the isolation forms leaving the interiors of the forms empty.
With the aggregate base prepared, the concrete floor slab is poured on top of the compacted aggregate up to the upper rims of the isolation forms. The isolation forms themselves may be filled at the same time or may be filled later after the floor slab has cured. The isolation forms typically are left in place within the concrete floor slab. Isolation pockets are thus formed in the floor slab around the bases of the support columns such that the column bases are isolated from the surrounding aggregate and concrete slab. Subsequent settlement or movement of the column and footing does not transfer to the slab. This insures a rigid and stable support for a building's superstructure.
Traditional concrete floor slabs inevitably tend to crack over time as a result of shrinkage of the concrete during the curing process, settlement, and other factors. Such cracks very often begin at the corners of square isolation pockets because stresses caused by slab movement are concentrated at these “re-entrant” corners, that is, at internal corners of the slab. Accordingly, crack control joints commonly are cut or scored in the concrete floor slab. The crack control joints connect the corners of each isolation pocket to the corners of surrounding isolation pockets. In this way, cracking of the floor slab generally occurs along the crack control joints where the cracks are not too visually objectionable.
Recently, improved concrete formulas have been developed that, when cured, produce a concrete slab that is highly resistant to cracking. These new concretes can be used to create concrete floor slabs that do not develop large cracks over time. While hairline cracks may appear, they are small and generally not objectionable. Accordingly, crack control joints are not needed when using these improved concretes. The result is a concrete floor slab with a pristine continuous top surface free of large cracks or crack control joints. Such a slab is preferred, especially for buildings such as grocery stores where the appearance of neatness and cleanliness is important. Jointless floor slabs are equally important in high volume distribution warehouses where the forklifts travel at high speeds and the roughness of the joint slows production.
Slab joints are notoriously high maintenance areas costing industry enormous amounts of time and money. Traditional square isolation pocket forms have been found less than suitable for use when pouring floor slabs using modern crack resistant concretes. Specifically, stresses in the floor slab still tend to become concentrated at the corners of the isolation pockets. The concrete of the slab is indeed resistant to cracking; however, the concentrated stresses at the isolation pocket corners still can initiate unsightly cracks in the floor slab at and around these corners. Since a crack resistant floor slab does not require crack control joints, these stress induced cracks can meander and result in unsightly areas around support columns and radiating out therefrom.
A need exists for a method and apparatus for constructing isolation pockets in floor slabs poured with crack resistant concrete that eliminates concentrated stresses at the isolation pockets and thus eliminate rogue cracks in the floor slab that begin at the isolation pockets. It is to the provision of such a method and apparatus that the present invention is primarily directed.
Briefly described, an isolation pocket form comprises at least one curved barrier section with a base and an upper edge. By “curved”, we mean that the section has a non-linear horizontal cross-section. The curved section may have the shape of a circular arc (constant radius of curvature), as shown in the drawings, but that shape could be elliptical, or more generally, of varying finite curvature.
An array of support ribs is disposed around the curved barrier section and annular rings extend around the barrier section and connect the support ribs. The ribs and rings provide support and rigidity to the barrier section so that it does not tend to collapse or deform as concrete is poured around or into the isolation pocket form. One or more straight extension sections can be attached to the curved section(s) in order to accommodate varying sizes and configurations.
The isolation pocket form's barrier sections are preferably molded of an appropriate plastic material (examples of which are given further below) and has a surface that is smooth and somewhat slippery. The form may be fabricated in quarters or halves that can be connected together with appropriate fasteners into a continuous cylindrical configuration, or into various oblong racetrack shaped configurations.
Where pocket forms are to be placed near the exterior walls of the structure, the curved section(s) can be connected to linear extension(s) to accommodate interior corners, exterior corners, or “along-the-wall” scenarios. For example, at a footer location near an exterior corner of the structure, a 90° curved section may be assembled with a two straight extensions, one at either end of the curved section, forming an open pocket form configuration. The assembly is then placed with the two straight sections meeting the corner walls of the structure perpendicularly, while the curved section avoids the creation of a sharp “re-entrant” corner in the slab. Clips also may be attached around the base of the form for attaching the form to a poured concrete footing.
The method of the invention comprises pouring support post footings with embedded upwardly extending anchor bolts at predetermined intervals. An isolation pocket form according to the invention is assembled from barrier sections at each footing and is attached with clips or other fasteners. Support posts are anchored to the footings using the anchor bolts and nuts. The floor surrounding the isolation pocket forms is prepared by, for example, being graded, leveled, and covered with compacted aggregate. Crack resistant concrete is then pored over the compacted aggregate up to the rims of the isolation pocket forms and may be poured simultaneously into the isolation pocket forms surrounding the support posts. The crack resistant concrete cures to form a concrete slab floor with a top exposed surface that extends across the isolation pockets and to the support posts. Since the isolation pocket forms have curved sections, there are no sharp corners at the isolation pockets. Thus, stresses due to shrinkage or settlement of the slab do not tend to be concentrated at the isolation pockets. As a consequence, there are few instances of cracks in the slab surrounding the isolation pockets. Crack control joints are not needed, resulting in a clean floor slab that is smooth and clean looking. Should the column settle or otherwise move relative to the floor slab, such movement is accommodated by the in-situ isolation pocket forms and is not transferred to the floor slab causing it to crack.
These and other aspects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the detailed description below and the accompanying drawing figures, which are briefly described as follows.
Reference will now be made to the accompanying drawing figures, wherein like numerals indicate like parts throughout the several views.
As the concrete floor slab as it cures, shrinks, and moves, stresses tend to become concentrated at the corners of the box-shaped isolation pockets. This causes cracks to radiate from these locations. To control the direction of these cracks, crack control joints 34 are cut or scored in the floor slab extending between the corners of the isolation pockets. These crack control joints direct cracks along the joints where they are much less unsightly than if allowed to advance randomly across the floor slab. As mentioned above however, these prior art isolation pocket techniques give rise to problems when pouring floor slabs using modern crack resistant concretes. The corners of box-shaped isolation pockets still tend to concentrate stress and cracks can still form at isolation pocket corners and radiate outwardly therefrom.
Preferably, the isolation pocket(s) are formed of a molded plastic material such as Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS), Polyethylene terephthalate (PET), Polypropylene (PP), Polyactic Acid (PLA), High Density Polyethylene (HDPE), Linear Low Density Polyethylene (LLDPE), or any other industry common plastic and/or thermoplastic material. Regardless of the plastic chosen, the exposed surfaces should be sufficiently smooth that cured concrete can slide along these surfaces without significant resistance. In this way, relative movement between the floor slab and the isolation pocket is accommodated without cracking or flaking the concrete surrounding the pocket.
For economy of shipping and handling, the form is constructed from several barrier sections.
For example, in the embodiments of
As shown in
A small horizontal ledge 43 is formed on the interior surface of each section to support a lid. Use of a lid results in a seamless transition in elevation from the slab surface to the pocket form isolator. If the form is circular, the round lid of
As shown in
In
Concrete 57 also is poured into the interior of the isolation pocket form up to its top rim 48. This forms a concrete plug that surrounds the support post and rests on the upper surface 58 of the concrete footing 50. The exposed surface of the floor slab thus appears to be substantially unitary and appears to extend completely to the bases of support posts. However, the concrete plugs formed around the posts as well as the footings and posts themselves are physically isolated from the larger floor slab. Accordingly, movement of the floor slab due to shrinkage or settling is not transferred to the support posts and vise versa.
While it is preferable that the isolation pocket form be filled with concrete at the same time as the floor slab itself is poured, due to the design of the invention, the concrete can be poured in any of the following methods; interior first, exterior first, or simultaneous. Simultaneous pouring is preferable, since the cured concrete surrounding support posts is consistent in color and texture with the concrete floor slab as a whole. The top rims 48 of the isolation pocket forms may be slightly visible around the support posts but that is generally not objectionable. The isolation pocket forms also can be molded from a plastic that is grey or otherwise concrete colored to minimize the visibility of the rim 48, if desired. Should movement occur between the concrete floor slab and one or more of the support posts as a result of shrinkage or settlement, the footings and support posts are isolated from this movement by the embedded isolation pocket forms. The smoothness of the surfaces of the crack-resistant isolation pocket forms facilitates movement between the slab and the pocket without snagging or catching. Furthermore, since the isolation pocket forms are radially based, there are no sharp, or reentrant, corners formed in the concrete slab by the forms at which stresses can accumulate.
The result is that cracks in the slab do not begin at the isolation pockets and radiate outwardly therefrom. Crack control joints are thus not required to be cut or scored in the concrete slab due to the isolation pockets. The finished floor slab is smooth, clean, devoid of large unsightly cracks, and devoid of crack control joints. Even if small hairline cracks form in the slab, the formulation of the concrete ensures that large unsightly cracks do not develop. Further, the curved section design eliminate stress points where such cracks might otherwise be induced.
The invention has been described herein in terms of preferred embodiments and methodologies considered by the inventors to represent the best modes of carrying the invention. It will be understood, however, that additions, deletions, and modifications might well be made to the illustrated embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention claimed below.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62910833 | Oct 2019 | US |
