EP0302052B1

EP0302052B1 - Arrangement for providing protection for structures situated in water

Info

Publication number: EP0302052B1
Application number: EP86903629A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Lars Gustav Andersson
Original assignee: Dykeri & Bargnings Flynken AB
Current assignee: Dykeri & Bargnings Flynken AB
Priority date: 1986-04-16
Filing date: 1986-04-16
Publication date: 1991-11-21
Anticipated expiration: 2006-04-16
Also published as: ATE69629T1; EP0302052A1; FI884774A0; FI89529C; WO1987006286A1; FI884774A; DE3682591D1; FI89529B

Abstract

Arrangement for providing protection for structures (1) situated in water, such as piles (1) and pier foundations, comprising a number of mould-forming casting mould elements (7) extending along the surface which it is wished to protect, said elements being capable of being connected along associated elements (8, 9) by means of an edge connector. The arrangement enables, amongst other things, the intended casting mould to be installed in a simple and effective fashion. The element (7) in question is tubular and is capable of being sprung apart, in addition to which it exhibits internally inside the space (19) in the element which is intended to accommodate the casting compound a flange-forming connecting device (14, 15) at the edge (8, 9) of the element in question, in conjunction with which a joining device (13) which is so arranged as to be capable of engaging around and holding connecting devices (14, 15) arranged in pairs for the purpose of holding together the edges (8, 9) of the elements in question so as to produce a joint (12) is so arranged as to be slid onto said connecting devices (14, 15) and as to be enclosed by and cast into the mould (6).

Description

The present invention relates to an arrangement for providing protection for structures situated in water, such as piles and pier foundations, comprising a number of mould-forming casting mould elements extending along and surrounding the surface to be protected, each element arranged to be connected along its side edges by means of a joint to form a tubular casting mould element which may be sprung apart and positioned around the structure in such a way that it is effective in the area of the actual water level, said joint comprising internally, inside the space in the element which is intended to accommodate the casting compound, flange-forming connecting portions extending along the associated side edges of the element to hold together the edges and being at a distance from the inner generating surface of the element, whereby the joint so produced will be situated inside the mould and be embedded in the concrete material, whereby the mould elements will exhibit an essentially smooth circumferential external configuration.
US-A-4023374 discloses a known arrangement as mentioned above. However, this arrangement has protruding parts (60, 61) which can easily be damaged for instance by objects floating in the water or by ice formation and forces caused thereby which can cause the protective cover to loosen from the concrete casting. Furthermore, the connection members (60, 61) are exposed to oxidation and other aggressive affects caused by the surrounding conditions which will impair the connection and the protection of the body inside of the tubular cover.
US-A-2191248 discloses a known protecting arrangement having a divided cover having protruding flanges connected by a pile. Said connection is also exposed to be damaged by ice formation forces or by objects floating in the water.
Neither US-A-4023374 nor US-A-4023378 teaches how to make a protection body which is not extending down to the bottom of the sea or how to make the protection body in case of soft bottoms.
The principal object of the present invention is, in the first place to produce an arrangement of the nature indicated above which is simple to attach and which effectively gives a long lasting protection.
Said object is achieved by the invention which is characterized in that said tubular mould elements are at least temporarily supported by a releasable base which extends outwards from the structure and in that the side edges of the elements are interconnected by a joining device formed by at least one profile rail of essentially C-shaped cross-sectional configuration, said C-shaped rail comprising an essentially straight web portion and leg portions which are bent in U-shape inwards from the web portion in such a way that they extend in aligned relationship parallel to the C-rail web portion along a majority of the lengthwise extension of said web portion in the transverse crosssection thereof, said leg portions being spaced, at a distance from said web portion corresponding to substantially the thickness of said flange-forming connection portions, whereby when said C-rail is mounted over said folded-over flanges for interconnection of the side edges of the element flange - forming connection portion - having a length corresponding to that of the C-rail leg portions, will be nestingly received in the gap separating the C-rail web portion and the C-rail leg portions, said C-rail leg portions being in abutting relation with element side edges (8,9) and said C-rail being embedded in the concrete material after casting.
The invention is described below as a number of preferred embodiments, in conjunction with which reference is made to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Figs. 1-6 show the invention applied to an ice protection for a pile, where

Fig. 1 shows a side view of a pile to which a protector in accordance with the invention is intended to be applied;
Fig. 2 shows a side view of the pile with a protector fitted;
Fig. 3 shows a longitudinal section along the pile and the aforementioned protector;
Fig. 4 shows a section along the line IV-IV in Fig. 2;
Fig. 5 shows a partial section of a made joint encircled in Fig. 4;
Fig. 6 shows a side view of an upper port of said made joint; and
Fig. 7 shows a side view of a lower part of said made joint; and in which:
Figs. 8-10 show a protector arrangement for a pier foundation, where
Fig. 8 shows a side view of the pier with the associated protector;
Fig. 9 shows a section along the line IX-IX in Fig. 8;
Fig. 10 shows a section along the line X-X in Fig. 8.

The invention can be applied to a large number of different structures which are intended to be situated in water, and preferably to be immersed in said water, and which it is wished to protect against the effect of ice, waves or vessels and other objects which float in the water and which threaten to damage the structure in question. Examples of such structures are the piles which support landing-stages, pier foundations, lighthouse structures and channel markers, etc.
In Figs. 1-7 the invention is shown applied to a pile 1 beneath a quay 2, where it is wished to repair a so-called 'ice protector' 3 which has been damaged by e.g. ice, and which is shown in Fig. 1 to have been damaged towards the centre even beyond a reinforcing cage 4 attached to the pile 1, which is intended to be enclosed by and embedded in standard concrete 5. After having preferably cleaned the damaged ice protector 3, since repairs are to be made to the ice protector in this case, and a new protector is not to be constructed, said cleaning being possible by means of a high-pressure water jet and a descaling machine, a device 6 which serves e.g. as a casting mould is positioned next to the structure 1. The device 6 incorporates a number of tubular casting mould elements 7 which form a casting mould and are capable of being sprung apart and which preferably are made of a stainless material, preferably stainless sheet or some other stainless metal material, and is positioned in such a way as to extend with its mould elements 7 along the surface of the structure which it is wished to protect. The example illustrated in Figs. 1-7 relates to a device 6 formed by a single mould element component 7 which has been pre-formed so as to extend in such a way that it forms a cylinder, but which is able to be sprung apart by its element edges 8, 9 which face one another when the element 7 is slid on from the side of the structure 1 in the direction of the arrow 10. However, the device 6 can also be formed by more than one element, which will be appreciated from a subsequently described example.
The present device 6 is intended to be positioned next to the structure 1 in such a way that it is effective in the area of the actual water level 11. In order to satisfy said requirement the device 6 can be positioned in such a way, at least prior to the final casting operation, as to be supported by, for example, a lower platform or some other bottom component which is capable of being attached to the structure 1, said platform also being intended to be capable of functioning as a casting mould base. Other supporting devices for the device 6, for example chains, ropes or belts, are also so arranged as to be applied for the purpose of supporting the intended casting mould and the casting compound which it contains during the casting operation.
The finished device 6 intended to serve as a casting mould is so arranged as to be attached along the associated edges 8, 9 of the element 7 in question by means of a joint 12, which represents the novel feature of the present invention.
Not only does the joint 12 consist of a joining device 13, which can be formed by one or more profile rails having a C-shaped cross-sectional profile, and which may may made of a similar to that of the mould elements 7, but the element 7 in question may also exhibit at its respective edges 8, 9, internal flange-forming connecting portions 14, 15 inside the element, said portions being so arranged as to be capable of being joined tightly together in pairs so as to be held by the joining device 13 for the purpose of holding together the, edges 8, 9 of the element in such a way as to produce an effective and reliable joint. The joining device 13 in question is so arranged as to be slid onto said flange-forming connecting portions 14, 15, preferably in the direction of the arrow 16, from the area 17 of the upper edge of the mould element. Each connecting portion 14, 15 is so arranged as to extend along the associated edge 8, 9 of the mould element at a certain distance from the internal generating surface 18 of the mould element, said generating surface facing inwards towards an internal space 19 which is intended to accommodate concrete 20 or some other appropriate casting compound once the mould has been prepared. The connecting portions 14, 15 may appropriately be formed by a folded-over part 8A, 9A of the edges 8, 9 of the element, in conjunction with which the connecting portions 14, 15 formed by the aforementioned folded-over parts 8A, 9A, may be so arranged as to extend in such a way as to exhibit essentially congruent form with the associated externally situated edges 8, 9 of the elements, when viewed in a direction 21 outwards from the intended internal space 19 of the casting mould and towards the outside 22. In order to facilitate the engagement of the joining device 13, the latter may exhibit a guiding part 23A, 23B in the area of one of its ends 13A and the internal, hollow accommodating space 23, for example by the space 23 widening out towards said end 13A. Alternatively, the connecting portions 14, 15 may exhibit an externally similar guiding part 14A, 15A at one of their ends 14B, 15B, for example by causing the devices to taper.
In order to achieve the clamping-together of the mould elements 7 in question, belts may be so arranged as to act temporarily around the outside 24 of the generating surface of the element until the joining device 13 has been slid onto and has enclosed the connecting devices 14, 15.
Filling of the assembled mould is best achieved by pumping concrete down into the mould and by filling the mould in an upward direction starting at the bottom of the mould, in conjunction with which the joint 12 in question situated inside the mould is surrounded by concrete material 20 and is embedded therein. An externally essentially smooth circumferential form is imparted in this way to the finished ice protector 6, which still has the stainless mould element 7 attached to its outside.
In Figs. 8-10 the invention is shown applied to a structure 25 in the form of a pier foundation which exhibits elongated cross-sectional form, as may clearly be seen from Fig. 9, and which comprises an 'ice protector' which it is proposed to repair and to replace by a new ice protector 26 in the manner indicated above. A number of mould elements 27, 27¹, 27², etc., which may exhibit straight and/or curved circumferential form, are so arranged as to extend along the surface which it is wished to protect at a certain distance from the previous internal ice protector and/or structure 25. A number of joints 28, 28¹, etc., similar to the previously described joint 12 are also intended to be arranged on the edges of said mould elements 27, 27¹, etc., in conjunction with which the mould elements 27, 27¹, etc., are so arranged as to exhibit similar connecting portions in the area of the lateral edges in question. The bringing together of the mould element takes place in a manner essentially similar to that described above, in such a way that internal joints are formed which are so arranged as to be embedded in the concrete material 29 which has been filled into the mould. In order to achieve effective adhesion between the mould and the costing compound 29, the mould elements 27, 27¹ may, as in the previously described example, exhibit a number of internal casting anchorage points 30 which may be in the form of
-shaped plates positioned at a certain distance from the connecting portions. Said ice protector 26 is joined together into the form of a tube before it is applied to the intended structure 25, whereupon it is prized apart, like the previous element 7, at an open joint as it is slid around said structure 25 before subsequently being joined together in accordance with the previous example by means of joining devices extending along the joint.
Finally, a base 31 for said finished casting mould 32 is shown in Figs. 8 and 10 which consists of i.e. angle irons 33 attached to the structure 25 by means of expanding bolts 34 or similar means.
The invention is not restricted to the illustrative embodiments described above and illustrated in the drawings, but may be modified within the scope of the Patent Claims. It is possible, for example, to execute the mould elements with a surface other than a plane surface, for instance in the case of those structures which exhibit a conical lateral surface or one which is inclined from the vertical in some other way.

Claims

An arrangement for providing protection for structures (1; 25) situated in water, such as piles (1) and pier foundations (25), comprising a number of mould-forming casting mould elements (7; 27, 27¹, 27²) extending along and surrounding the surface to be protected, each element arranged to be connected along its side edges (8, 9) by means of a joint (12) to form a tubular casting mould element (7; 27, 27¹, 27²) which may be sprung apart and positioned around the structure in such a way that it is effective in the area of the actual water level (11), said joint comprising internally, inside the space (19) in the element which is intended to accommodate the casting compound, flange-forming connecting portions (14, 15) extending along the associated side edges of the element to hold together the edges (8, 9)and being at a distance from generating surface of the element, whereby the joint (12) so produced will be situated inside the mould and be embedded in the concrete material, whereby the mould elements will exhibit an essentially smooth circumferential external configuration, characterized in that said tubular mould elements are at least temporarily supported by a releasable base which extends outwards from the structure and in that the side edges (8, 9) of the elements are interconnected by a joining device (13) formed by at least one profile rail of essentially C-shaped cross-sectional configuration, said C-shaped rail comprising an essentially straight web portion and leg portions which are bent in U-shape inwards from the web portion in such a way that they extend in aligned relationship parallel to the C-rail web portion along a majority of the lengthwise extension of said web portion in the transverse cross-section thereof, said leg portions being spaced at a distance from said web portion, corresponding to substantially the thickness said flange-forming connection portions (14, 15), whereby when said C-rail (13) is mounted over said folded-over flanges (8A, 9A) for interconnection of the side edges of the element flange-forming connection portion having a length corresponding to that of the C-rail leg portions, will be nestingly received in the gap separating the C-rail web portion and the C-rail leg portions, said C-rail leg portions being in abutting relation with element side edges (8,9), and said C-rail being embedded in the concrete material after casting.
An arrangement according to claim 1, characterized in that the joining profile (13) and the tubular mould elements (7; 27, 27¹, 27²) consist of stainless material, preferably stainless sheet or some other stainless metal material.
An arrangement according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the joining profile (13) exhibits a guiding part (23A, 23B) at one of its ends (13A).
An arrangement according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the connecting flanges (14, 15) exhibit a guiding part (14A, 15A) at one of their ends (14B, 15B).
An arrangement according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that said connecting flanges (14, 15) are arranged at a certain distance from casting anchorage points (30) connected to the inside of associated tubular mould elements.