GB754603A - Improvements in or relating to prestressed concrete roads - Google Patents

Abstract

754,603. Concrete pavements. PRELOAD CO., Inc. July 7, 1954 [July 9, 1953], No. 19898/54. Class 20(4). In concrete roads, runways, floors, &c., wedges placed transversely between long sections of the road subject the concrete to compressive stress which is periodically readjustable. Narrow wedges d are placed between long pavement sections with their points at the pavement edge, longitudinal compression being obtained by a hydraulic jack, &c., e which pushes the wedges apart, the prestress being retained by concrete filling #. The joint between wedge and concrete consists of two lubricated metal sheets with an interposed dowel which holds them at an equal height. Another arrangement provides a single wedge with its joint sheets extending beyond the pavement to a transverse beam which receives the thrust of the jacks. Automatic adjustment of the longitudinal prestress fasteners may be obtained by locating springs between a pair of wedges or between a single wedge and the corresponding external beam. At the end of and at intervals along a pavement section stationary supports are provided by running the concrete underground as an arched plate ; the anchorage length may be shortened by locating a heavy transverse beam at the starting point. At intermediate anchorages the concrete curves downwardly in both directions.