Piling solution

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6616381
  • Patent Number
    6,616,381
  • Date Filed
    Friday, January 25, 2002
    22 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, September 9, 2003
    21 years ago
  • Inventors
  • Examiners
    • Swann; J. J.
    • Mitchell; Katherine
    Agents
    • Merek, Blackmon & Voorhees, LLC
Abstract
An anti-jacking pile solution particularly suited for use in permafrost or cold regions. The pile includes bond breaking material for preventing frozen soil from directly gripping a pile near the surface of the soil and pulling the pile upward. A collar is attached to the pile to prevent damage and/or displacement of the bond breaking material during driving of the pile. The pile may be attached to a building by way of an adjustable connection system allowing for future adjustments in the event of vertical movement.
Description




FIELD OF THE INVENTION




The present invention relates to building foundations and in, particular pile foundations.




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




Alaska and the Northern Regions are besieged by permafrost and ice rich soils conditions that make the construction of effective and economical foundation systems very difficult and costly. Foundations constantly fail and cause extensive damage to housing and other structures. Although foundation systems have been designed to solve these problems, they are generally not economically feasible for homes, in particular, as well as many other buildings. The budgets available for the construction of housing is not adequate for the installation of elaborate piling or refrigerated systems used for large commercial structures. In fact, the majority of homeowners living in the permafrost regions of Alaska simply acquiesce to high maintenance and repair costs of their homes caused by foundation movement.




Two types of foundations are typically used for housing and light buildings constructed in areas having permafrost conditions. One is “post and pad” and the other is piling. Although the post and pad system may have many variations, it commonly consists of wood or steel posts designed and supported on treated timber footings. The houses using this system are subject to high vertical and differential movement. The annual freeze-thaw cycles and frost heaves under the pads cause movement resulting in structural stresses to the houses resulting in cracking wallboard, plumbing breaks, broken window seals and doors jamming and in some severe cases, almost total failure of the houses. Most post and pad systems are difficult to adjust once they have moved and trying to re-level the houses has been a major challenge.




Prior piling systems include wood piles, steel piles, round and H driven piles and thermopiles. Generally, these piling systems are far to expensive for housing and small projects because of high materials costs and the cost of heavy equipment such as augers and cranes to install piles at remote locations. Driven steel piles are generally the most economical of the pile systems but it has been costly to install reliable bond breakers on driven piles to prevent jacking. Jacking is characterized as a gradual uplift of the pile due to the freeze thaw action of the surrounding soil. The freeze thaw action causes the surrounding soil to grip the upper part of the pile and lifts it upward. The reason for this is that the soil near the surface has a much stronger adfreeze bond or grip on the pile than does the warmer soil at depth. Therefore, without bond breakers, steel piles can be problematic for use in foundations in permafrost regions. In these prior piling systems, when bond breakers are used, the top five to seven feet of soil around the pile has to be dug out or a large diameter hole is predrilled so the bond breaker can be attached after insertion of the pile into the soil, resulting in wasted time and expense.




In view of the foregoing it can be seen that there is a need for an effective and economical foundation system for housing and other buildings in permafrost regions.




OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




Therefore, it is an object of the invention to provide an anti-jacking pile for use in foundation systems.




Another object of the invention is to provide a pile having an anti-jacking covering thereon to resist the effects of freeze-thaw cycles in permafrost regions.




Still another object of the invention is to provide a collar for facilitating driving of a pile into soil.




Yet another object of the invention is to provide a collar attached to a pile for preventing damage to an anti-jacking covering on the pile.




Still another object of the invention is to provide a method of installing a pile having an anti-jacking covering thereon.




Yet another object of the invention is to provide an adjustable leveling system as a long-term contingency so that the house can be re-leveled in the event of vertical movement.











These and other objects, uses and advantages will be apparent from a reading of the description which follows with reference to the accompanying drawings forming a part thereof.




BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS





FIG. 1

is an elevation view of the method of the anti-jacking pile installed in the ground;





FIG. 2

is a top section view of the collar of the anti-jacking pile;





FIGS. 3 and 4

are fragmentary elevation section views of the connection of the adjustable leveling system and the upper portion of the anti-jacking pile;





FIG. 5

is a side view of the connection plate for connecting the adjustable leveling system to the anti-jacking pile, and;





FIG. 6

is a side view of the adjustment post.











In summary, the invention is directed to an anti-jacking pile solution particularly suited for use in permafrost and cold regions. The pile includes bond breaking material for preventing frozen soil from directly gripping a pile near the surface of the soil and pulling the pile upward. A collar is attached to the pile to prevent damage and/or displacement of the bond breaking material during driving of the pile. The pile may be attached to a structure by way of an adjustable connection system.




DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION





FIG. 1

shows a pile


10


after it has been driven into place into the soil


12


. A connection portion


13


of the pile


10


extends above the surface


14


of the soil


12


. The diameter and thickness of a steel pile will vary according to the particular building or structure design.




A pilot hole


16


may be drilled into the soil


12


to facilitate driving of the pile


10


. A bond breaker material


18


, is applied to the pile


10


prior to driving of the pile into the soil


12


. The bond breaker material


18


, is preferably a plastic material such that marketed under the names PERMALON® or CANVEX CB12WB, both of which have good elastic qualities under subfreezing conditions. Preferably, the bond breaker material


18


comes in six and eight foot wide rolls having ten to twelve mil thickness and is fastened to pile


10


with an approximately two-inch wide tape. The bond breaker material


18


is wrapped around the pile


10


in two layers and the first layer has a ½ pipe circumference overlap. It should be understood that the width of the bond breaker material


18


could vary and other products having similar good elastic qualities under subfreezing conditions could be substituted. Seams between adjacent wraps are preferably taped full length of the wrap and the lower end


19


of the bond breaker material


18


should also be taped in a thickness necessary to provide a sufficient clamping surface. Alternatively, a layer of grease may be applied to the pile


10


prior to application of the bond breaker material to further facilitate movement of the bond breaker material


18


relative to the pile


10


during soil movement.




In regions of Alaska, the continuous permafrost


20


may extend 1800 feet below the surface


14


of the soil


12


. At the surface


14


, the soil


12


may unthaw and refreeze to a much colder temperature than the permafrost


20


. This area of the soil


12


between the surface


14


and the continuous permafrost


20


is known as the active layer


22


. This active layer


22


is the part of the soil


12


that acts to pull the pile


10


upwardly as the soil


12


expands during frost heaves. Therefore, it is the portion of the pile


10


that is to be permanently located the active layer


22


that needs to be covered by the bond breaker material


18


. The active layer


22


is generally less than five feet in depth and therefore it is preferred that the bond breaker material


18


be applied to that portion of the pile


10


and preferably extending a few inches above the surface


14


of the soil


12


to compensate for uplift of the soil during frost heaves. It should be understood by one skilled in the art that the depth of the pile


10


into the soil


12


will vary according to construction requirements, and it should be understood that the pile


10


will generally extend fifteen to twenty-five feet farther into the continuous permafrost


20


for conventional housing construction.




A collar


24


is attached to the pile


10


adjacent the lower end


19


of the bond breaker material


18


. The collar


24


is preferably constructed of steel. As shown looking at both

FIGS. 1 and 2

, the collar


24


extends circumferentially around the pile


10


preferably overlapping the bond breaker material


18


and tightly engaged thereto to hold the bond breaker material


18


in place during welding of the collar to the pile


10


. Prior to driving the pile


10


, the collar


24


is preferably fillet welded in place along its lower edge


25


. The collar


24


is generally constructed of ¼ inch in thickness and approximately four inches in height. Although these dimensions are preferred, they may be varied as long as the function of the collar


24


of protecting the bond breaker material


18


during driving of the pile


10


is performed. The diameter of the collar


24


will vary in accordance with the diameter of the pile


10


being driven. Piles


10


for typical housing construction are six inches to ten inches in diameter.




Now looking to

FIGS. 3

,


4


,


5


and


6


, the supporting beams


30


of a building (not shown) are connected to the pile


10


by an adjustable connection system


32


. The system uses a two-part telescoping sleeve


34


and post


36


which slides into pile


10


and is welded thereto. The sleeve


34


includes four plates


38


,


40


,


42


and


44


extending horizontally outwardly from the sleeve


34


to accept connection to support struts


46


,


48


,


50


and


52


. The opposite ends of support struts


46


,


48


,


50


and


52


are connected to brackets


54


,


56


,


58


and


60


which are in turn connected to the support beams


30


.




As shown in

FIG. 5

, a plate


62


is used to join sleeve


34


directly to support beam


30


. Plate


62


provides a larger surface to engage support beam


30


to allow for slight variations in alignment. Sleeve


34


slidably engages post


36


which slides into pile


10


and is welded thereto. The telescoping sleeve


34


and post


36


are adjustably connected by bolts. Post


36


includes a plurality of holes


64


to facilitate vertical adjustment of the telescoping sleeve


34


.




While this invention has been described as having a preferred design, it is understood that it is capable of further modifications, uses and/or adaptations of the invention following in general the principle of the invention and including such departures from the present disclosure as come within the known or customary practice in the art to which the invention pertains and as maybe applied to the central features hereinbefore set forth, and fall within the scope of the invention and the limits of the appended claims.



Claims
  • 1. A method of installing an anti-jacking pile system, comprising the steps of;a) wrapping a section of outer surface of a pile with a bond breaking material, said section having an upper end and a lower end; b) attaching a collar at a location adjacent said bond breaking material at said lower end of said section and further attaching said collar directly to said outer surface of a pile for protecting said bond breaking material from being damaged by the surrounding soil during driving of said pile; c) driving said pile into soil a sufficient depth to act as a support for a building.
  • 2. The method as set forth in claim 1, further including the step of;a) applying a coating of lubricant to said pile prior to wrapping said section with said bond breaking material.
  • 3. The method as set forth in claim 1, wherein the step of attaching a collar further includes;a) welding a lower portion of said collar to said outer surface of said pile to prevent said collar from moving upward as said pile is driven.
  • 4. The method as set forth in claim 1, wherein the step of attaching a collar further includes;a) placing said collar around a portion of the lower end of said bond breaking material to hold said bond breaking material in place during driving of said pile.
  • 5. The method as set forth in claim 1, wherein;a) said bond breaking material is plastic.
  • 6. The method as set forth in claim 1, wherein the step of attaching a collar further includes;a) clamping said collar onto said bond breaking material.
  • 7. The method as set forth in claim 1, further comprising the step of;a) joining said pile to a building using adjustable leveling system.
  • 8. The method as set forth in claim 7, wherein;a) said adjustable leveling system includes a steel plate joined to said pile for providing an adjustable base for connecting said pile system to said adjustable leveling system; b) said steel plate is joined to a sleeve which is telescopingly connected to a post extending from said pile for facilitating vertical adjustment.
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Number Name Date Kind
3180099 Mikolajczyk et al. Apr 1965 A
3370432 Butler et al. Feb 1968 A
3630037 Howard Dec 1971 A
4464083 Wathey Aug 1984 A
4585681 Kidera et al. Apr 1986 A
4721418 Queen Jan 1988 A
4818148 Takeda et al. Apr 1989 A
5177919 Dykmans Jan 1993 A
6179526 Knight et al. Jan 2001 B1
Non-Patent Literature Citations (5)
Entry
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Stark et al., Expedient MESL Construction in COld Weather, Technical report ERDC/CRREL TR-00-9, US Army Corps of Engineers, Jul. 2000; 21 pages and appendix A.*
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Pub. No. US2002/0001506A1: Pub. Date: Jan. 3, 2002.