AU689844B2

AU689844B2 - An improved method of repairing wharf piles

Info

Publication number: AU689844B2
Application number: AU14750/95A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Christopher John Workman; Gregory Allan Workman
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1994-03-11
Filing date: 1995-03-13
Publication date: 1998-04-09
Anticipated expiration: 2015-03-13
Also published as: AU1475095A

Description

liL ,J\..AUS'rIlALIA,,tL PATENTS ACT 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR OFFICE USE Short Title: Int. Cl: Application Number: Lodged: Complete Specification-Lodged: Accepted: Lapsed: Published: Priority: I e Related Art: e e Name of Applicant: Address of Applicant: TO BE COMPLETED BY APPLICANT Gregory Allan Workman of 4 Percival Road CARINGBAH 2229 Christopher John Workman 2 Stacey Street CRONULLA NSW 2230 SAME AS APPLICANTS Actual Inventor: Address for Service: ANDERSON-TAYLOR ASSOCIATES, Registered Patent Attorneys of 10 Harrison Avenue BONNET BAY N.S.W. 2226 Complete Specification for the invention entitled: AN IMPROVED METHOD OF REPAIRING WHARF PILES The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me: ii I -I This invention relates to marine restoration work. More particularly although not exclusively it discloses an improved method of repairing wharf piles.

Wharf piles which are normally metallic or wooden primarily suffer deterioration around the waterline due to impact from boats, corrosion by salt air/water and marine borers. While this normally leaves the base of the pile intact the waterline section becomes weakened 'gosand subject to failure. Typical prior art methods for *fee restoring wharf piles involve total replacement of the pile, wrapping or encapsulation of the damaged section and off: the cutting out and replacement of this damaged section *@5655 above the waterline. An example of the latter method is described in Australian patent 580848 where the replacement section comprises telescoping lengths of steel casing

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which are extended out to take the weight of the headstock goofs: S and then fillet welded around the circumferential joint.

eee It is an object of this invention to provide an improved method of pile restoration which is more economical and/ or stronger then the aforementioned techniques. Accordingly this invention discloses a method for restoring a deteriorated wharf pile which includes the following steps: Fitting a support structure to the wharf to temporarily take the weight of a headstock from the damaged pile, I A Cutting off the defective section of wharf pile so as to leave a substantially intact base section, Cutting and fitting a replacement pile column onto the base section so that it extends part way up to the headstock of the wharf, said replacement pile column being fitted with a support plate across the top thereof, Loading said replacement pile column with a predetermined weight from the headstock, Cutting and fitting an insert column section so that it extends between the plate and the headstock and carries said predetermined weight, and Securing said insert column to the top plate and headstock.

The currently preferred form of this invention will now be described with reference to the attached drawing which shows a schematic elevational view of restored wharf pile.

After fitting suitable support members (not shown) to take the load off the pile the damaged portion is cutoff and detached from the headstock 1 so as to leave a substantially intact base or stump 2. A replacement pile column 3 cut from cylindrical steel casing is joined onto -3-

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this stump and extends part way up to the headstock.

Preferably the lower section of the column is formed with a recess or sleeve 4 which fits over the upper end of the stump. Although it is shown as having a larger diameter than the rest of the column 3 this sleeve can be made to various different diameters and lengths to suite a range of stump sizes. The upper end of the column 3 is also provided with a steel plate 5 which overlaps the circumference by a small amount so that it can be fixed in place by a fillet weld 6. Hydraulic jacks 7 are also installed between brackets 8 on the side of the column 3 and the underside of the existing headstock 1. These jacks are used to preload the column so that it takes the intended weight of the original pile. Following this an insert 9, cut to fit closely between the top plate- 5 of the preloaded column 3 and the headstock 1, is placed as shown. Preferably this insert 9 also has a plate 10 welded to its upper end which squarely abuts the underside of the headstock and enables fastening by conventional means. The Slower end of the insert rests on the top plate 5 and is subsequently secured by an on-site fillet weld 11. The hydraulic jacks are then removed and the cavity 12 between the stump 2 and sleeve 4 is injected through nipple 12A with any suitable type of filler such as epoxy resin.

To contain this filler a seal 13 may be inserted around the base of the sleeve. As a final step the welds 6 and 11 are cleaned and sealed against corrosion. There may also be an epoxy telltale 14 to indicate when the cavity 12 is sufficiently packed with filler.

It will thus be appreciated that this invention at least I I I_ I in the form of the embodiment described comprises a novel and unique improvement over existing methods of wharf pile restoration. Not only is the method more economical over many existing techniques but as there is no telescoping relationship between the main replacement column and the insert section greater strength is achieved. In contrast to prior art telescoping methods where the load is taken solely by a single circumferential fillet weld the current invention provides a stable horizontal support plate to carry the weight of the insert and headstock. Consequently any deterioration or corrosion of the welding at this point does not directly affect the vertical load bearing capacity of the restored pile. It is to be understood however that the example disclosed is only the currently preferred form of this invention and a wide variety of modifications including for example the type of material and fastening means used may all be made within the scope of this concept.

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Claims

1. A me,liod for restoring a deteriorated wharf pile which includes the followi:ig steps: fitting a support structure to the wharf to temporarily take the weight of a headstock from the deteriorated pile; cutting off the defective section of wharf pile so as to leave a substantially intact base section; cutting and fitting a replacement pile column onto the base section so tha\: it extends part way up to the headstock of the wharf, said replacement pile column being fitted with a support plate across the top thereof; loading said replacement pile column with a predetermined weight from the headstock; cutting and fitting an insert column section so that said section extends between the support plate and the headstock and carries said predetermined weight; and securing said insert column to the support plate and headstock

2. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein said replacement pile column is formed with a sleeve at the lower end thereof and said replacement pile is fitted to the base section by locating said sleeve over said base section.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1 or 2 wherein hydraulic jacks are used to load said replacement pile column with said predetermined weight from the headstock.

4. The method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein said insert column after fitting between the support plate and headstock is secured in place by a fillet weld to said support plate. The method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4 and including the additional step of inserting a filler into a cavity between the sleeve and base section.

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6. The method as claimed in claim 5 wherein said filler in injected through a nipple in said sleeve and into said cavity.

7. The method as claimed in claim 6 wherein prior to injection of the filler a seal is inserted around the base of the sleeve.

8. A method for restoring a deteriorated wharf pile, said method being substantially as described herein with reference to the drawing. -7-

9. A wharf pile which has been restored by the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8. Dated This 9th Day Of March, 1995 Gregory Allan Workman Christopher John Workman By Their Patent Attorney MICHAEL ANDERSON-TAYLOR t o 9* .6 -8- ABSTRACT This is a method of restoring a deteriorated wharf pile. The method includes the steps of fitting a support structure to the wharf to take the weight of the headstock from the pile, cutting off the defective section of pile to leave an intact base section fitting a replacement pile column onto the base so that it extends part way up to the headstock -ading the replacement pile column with the weight of the headstock cutting and fitting an insert column so that it extends between the replacement pile column (3) and headstock and carries the weight of the headstock (1) and securing the insert column to the headstock and replacement pile column oo* o* o f 0