GB263997A - Improvements in and relating to the construction of quay walls, piers and other marine structures - Google Patents

Abstract

263,997. Saxild, J., and Ingerslev, C. F. A. Dec. 2, 1925. Piers; walls.-In the construction of quay walls, piers and other subaqueous structures, a caisson of reinforced concrete is floated into position and temporarily supported while piles are driven through the bottom of the caisson down to a solid foundation and then secured by grouting and a layer of concrete cast inside the caisson, after which the latter is emptied of water, so that further operations can be carried out. The bottom of the caisson is adapted to permit the piles being driven through it by the provision of membranes without reinforcement and capable of being easily broken by the points of the piles. or by the provision of holes temporarily closed by wooden or other covers. The caisson may be supported on a prepared bed of sand or stone, or, in tidal waters, on a staging built on piles. The caisson 1, Fig. 1, of reinforced concrete, is floated into position over a soft bed 2 and supported on a bed of sand, stone or other material. Piles 3, preferably of reinforced concrete, are driven through holes 4 in the bottom of the caisson. A concrete layer 14 is cast into the bottom of the caisson, after the heads of the piles have been cut off or stripped as required, and a filling 15 is then put in. The holes 4, Fig. 4, are tapered from the upper and lower surfaces of the bottom towards the middle, where a thin membrane 6 of concrete forms a temporary closure strong enough to withstand the water pressure, but easily broken by the points of the piles. The upper taper facilitates the driving of piles at an inclination to the vertical, and the insertion of grouting, while the lower taper prevents the fracture of the surrounding concrete when the membrane 6 is broken. The temporary support for the caisson may consist of a wooden or other staging 7, Fig. 6, on to which the caisson is floated at high tide. Fig. 7 represents a caisson 1, secured by piles 3, forming a sea wall. A filling 9 of rubble, sand &c. is inserted behind the wall after erection.