Patent Application
20140369753
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In the field of shore wall construction, the classical means of installing soldier pile shore wall panels has been to use a static base made of lagging that sits on the bottom of the body of water with additional lagging placed atop the static base to disperse waves at the surface of the body of water. Such installations suffer from a limited life expectancy and cannot be leveled upon the bed of a body of water that is not already level itself. Over time, the bed of the body of water will erode because of the wave action in the vicinity of the shore wall, causing erosion to occur under the shore wall and under the static base of the shore wall due to washing out of the bed of the body of water beneath the static base) of the shore wall. The course of the erosion process is magnified because classical means of lagging placement permit water to migrate through and under the lagging when it is installed atop the bed of a body of water that is not level, due to gaps between the bed of the body of water and the bottom edge of the static base of the shore wall. This erosion process ultimately causes backfill behind the shore wall to wash out, that in turn causes premature failure of the shore wall. Usually, when such erosion occurs, shore walls subject to erosion at the bed of the body of water have to be removed and completely replaced due to failure of the shore wall caused by such erosion. The same holds true for soldier pile retaining walls in general, in that migrating water can lead to premature failure and such retaining walls are not able to be leveled by classical means.
The claimed Method and Assembly for Soldier Pile Retaining Wall Leveling And Erosion Control enables the shore wall base element assembly of the shore wall to be driven or pounded into the bed of the body of water so the upper edge surface of the assembly can be leveled, allowing for the placement of any type of lagging, including, but not limited to concrete, timber or corrugated steel upon the shore wall base element assembly, resulting in a level shore wall with an uppermost edge that is above and parallel to the surface of the body of water and that will prevent erosion along the periphery of a body of water in general and in the vicinity of the shore wall base element assembly in particular.
The claimed method and assembly employs a wedge-shaped design that allows the shore wall base element assembly to cut into the bed of the body of water when driven or pounded upon from above. Because of the claimed design, the assembly can be leveled, even when the bed of the body of water is not level, and provides a solid surface through which water cannot migrate, delaying the erosion process. The leveling of the shore wall base element assembly also enables the lagging panels above the surface of the water to be leveled at the uppermost edge, resulting in a pleasing aesthetic look that is not achieved by classical means of creating soldier pile shore walls, which result in lagging panels at uneven heights above the water surface.
Eventually, the wave action of the body of water in the vicinity of the shore wall will erode the bed of the body of water in the area of the shore wall base element assembly. However, because of the shore wall base element assembly's solid surface and ability to be leveled, erosion will occur over a much longer period than with classical shore wall and soldier pile retaining wall designs. Another novel feature of the method and assembly is that when erosion ultimately does occur beneath the shore wall base element assembly of the shore wall, maintenance can be done to the shore wall, whereas classical shore wall and soldier pile retaining wall designs would have required the entire removal and reinstallation of a new shore wall system. The shore wall base element assembly can be driven further into the bed of the body of water, allowing the shore wall to be maintained and repaired instead of replaced. When erosion on the side opposite the landward side of the shore wall base element assembly eventually undermines the assembly at the base of the shore wall, the lagging above the shore wall base element assembly can be removed, the steel I-beams serving as soldier pile can be extended and driven further into the bed of the body of water and the shore wall base element assembly can be driven further into the bed of the body of water to again provide a level and impermeable base for the shore wall barrier. The lagging can then be replaced with additional lagging on top of the original lagging to bring the top of the wall to its original height.
Testing and experimentation has revealed the best mode contemplated for the retaining or shore wall design, which includes the use of 20′ long I-beams as soldier pilings with receiving slots that are 5″ wide to accommodate the side edge framing element of the shore wall base element assembly. Also, testing and experimentation has revealed the best mode of the invention includes a shore wall base element that has a vertical dimension of 4′, a horizontal dimension of 10′ and includes a rectangular metal wall panel formed from ¼″ plate mild steel. Testing and experimentation has also revealed the best mode of the invention includes framing elements along the upper edge and transverse side edges of the shore wall base elements including framing elements that are made of C-5 channel steel that is 5″ wide. Lagging is commonly available with a 5′ vertical dimension, 10′ horizontal dimension and 5″ depth dimension. The I-beam soldier pilings are spaced 10′ apart at their vertical centers to accommodate 10′ horizontal dimension shore wall base element assemblies and 10′ horizontal dimension lagging.
The foregoing description of the invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and the description is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above disclosure. The embodiment was chosen and described to best explain the invention and its application to enable others skilled in the art to best use the invention in those embodiments and with various modifications suited to the particular use contemplated. All substitutions and variations and equivalents thereof are encompassed within the scope of this invention, which is limited only by the claims appended hereto.
