US1951293A

US1951293A - Cofferdam

Info

Publication number: US1951293A
Application number: US369560A
Authority: US
Inventors: James E Cahill
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1929-06-10
Filing date: 1929-06-10
Publication date: 1934-03-13
Anticipated expiration: 1951-03-13

Description

March 13, 1934. E CAHILL 1,951,293

COFFERDAM Filed June 10, 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 13 i 23 -21 21* 22% 24 I l l I I I I I l I I I I l l l l I l l I l I 11 6 J 17': J6

I "e I I? I I :/17 I 101-75 I I J2 11 I 21 I 222 I l I l I I I I I I \I I I I l I I I I I I I I 'E QWW Janmsli. (kL/Ld/ COFFERDAM Filed June 10, 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 March 13,

J. E. CAHILL 1,951,293

' COFFERDAM Filed June 10, 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 fTW 15 3521077267 3 \E/MSlZ. UM ww M4 with reinforcing stiffening members of improved Patented Mar. 13, 1934 UNETEE STATES FATENT GFFIE 17 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in coffer-dams and its purpose is to provide a structure capable of being efiiciently, conveniently and safely used in forming an inclosure from which the water. may be pumped to form a chamber in which workmen may carry on various excavating or building operations. The types of coffer-dams heretofore in use have been disadvantageous in that, to enable the structure to withstand the pressure of the water partially or wholly surrounding the coffer-dam, it has been necessary to employ interior bracing and truss work which has occupied the space within the cofier-dam to such an extent as to interfere with the operations of the workmen being carried on therein. The principal object of the present invention is to provide an improved coder-dam in which the use of interior bracing or truss work is eliminated. A further object is to provide a coffer-dam having an enclosing wall formed of interlocking piling in combination with reinforcing external truss work located preferably above the water line. Another object of the invention is to provide a coffer-dam comprising an enclosing wall made up of interlocking sheet piling in combination construction and closure members adapted to form pockets which may be filled with mud or the like to insure a more perfect watertight closure. Still another object of the invention is to provide a coffer dam comprising a wall made up of a series of interlocking sheet piles of archshape in cross section having improved stiffening and reinforcing means attached to alternate interlocking piles. Otherobjects of the invention relate to various features of construction and arrangement which will appear more fully hereinafter.

The nature of the invention will be understood from the following specification taken with the accompanying drawings in which one embodiment is illustrated. In the drawings,

Fig. 1 shows a somewhat diagrammatic top plan view of a coder-dam made up according to the principles of the present invention for use in connection with the building of a bridge abutment, for example;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail section taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 shows an enlarged partial plan View of a portion of the enclosing wall illustrating the reinforcement of alternate sheet metal piles embodied therein;

Fig. 4 shows a top plan view of one side portion of the Coffer-dam, with parts thereof broken away, to illustrate the means for supporting the truss structure and the working platform carried by the truss structure;

Fig. 5 shows a transverse vertical section on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 shows an enlarged partial plan view of a coffer-dam wall comprising an intermediate wall formed of sheet piling and having reinforcing members extending in both directions from the sheet piling with closure members between adjacent reinforcing members and both sides of the sheet piling, and

Fig. 7 is a partial top plan view of a modified form of construction in which I-beams and angle plates are attached to all of the sheet piles forming the enclosing wall with closure members mounted between adjacent I-beams to form pockets.

In the accompanying drawings, the cofferdarn 10 is shown forming an enclosure 11 in which there is to be built a bridge abutment 12 having the outline indicated, leaving an unwatered working space around the proposed abutment and within the confining wall of the cofferdam. This cotter-dam may be located on the bank of a river, for example, having a shore line along the line 13, as indicated, so: that a portion of the coffer-dam projects out into the stream. The chamber 11 is enclosed by a double enclosing wall 14 comprising an inner wall 15 and an outer wall 16 which are connected by a transverse portion 1'7 forming a series of vertical pockets 18 adaptedto be filledwith mud or the like for further insuring a water-tight closure. One or both of the

walls

15 and 16 is made up of sheet piling driven into the bed of the stream and into the bank and the sheeting of one wall preferably consists of interlocking sheet piling, of well known form, having interlocking members along the joints to form a substantially watertight connection. In order to give strength to the structure without the necessity of employing any bracing or reinforecements within the chamber 11, the enclosing wall 14 is provided with one or more reinforcing truss structures 20 each of which extends around the outside of the wall 14, preferably above the water line, one such structure being shown in the drawings. This truss struc-- ture 20 is made up of a plurality of outwardly extending braces 21 extending normally to the wall of the coffer-dam and these braces are united at their outer ends by the horizontal members 22 and at their inner ends by horizontal mem-- bers 22*. A diagonal brace 23 is preferably positioned in each of the rectangular openings formed by a pair of the members 21 with one of the members 22 and a portion of the wall of the Coffer-dam, the braces 23 in adjacent openings being directed in opposite directions, as shown at the ends of the Coffer-dam, or inclined in the same direction on opposite sides of an intermediate point, as shown at the front and rear sides of the cotter-darn. This truss structure is preferably made up of steel members which are united with each other and with the wall of the cofferdam in any suitable way known in the art. At the front corners of the confer-dam, on the river side of the structure, the truss structure 20 pref erably comprises diagonal members 24 which connect the outwardly extending braces 21 across the corner of the coffer-dam, thus connecting the truss structures on adjacent walls.

The wall 14 of the cofier-dam is preferably made up in the manner illustrated particularly in Fig. 3 where the inner wall section 15 is shown as comprising a plurality of interlocking sheet piles 25 of arch shape in cross section, each pile having a web 25 connected at its ends with the curved portion 25 to which are attached the interlocking members made up of the hooked mem bers 25 and the curved guard members 25. The

locking members

25 and 25 extend vertically throughout the length of the sheet piles 25 and they interlock with the corresponding members on adjacent piles in the manner illustrated in the drawings. In the particular embodiment illustrated, the piles are so arranged that the archshaped webs of alternate piles are directed inwardly while those of the intervening piles are directed outwardly. The webs 25 of those sheet piles which are directed outwardly are reinforced by I-beams 26 having their inner flanges 26 connected to the webs of the sheet piles by fastenings 27, which may be bolts, rivets, welds or the like. These alternate sheet piles are further strengthened and reinforced by the inclined brace plates 28 which are united at one edge with the curved portion 25 of the sheet piles by rivets 29. These inclined brace plates converge toward the web 26 of the adjacent I-beam and. are attached thereto by rivets 30 which also secure in place the angle plates 31. These angle plates are spaced inwardly from the outer flanges 26 of the I-beams, thus forming vertical guide-channels 32. These guide-channels are adapted to receive the vertical plates or closure members 33, formed preferably of wood, which extend between adjacent I-beams 26 and form the outer wall 16 of the composite cotter-dam wall 14. It will be understood that the I-beams 26 and their cooperating parts constitute the division and reinforcing Walls 17 illustrated in Fig. 1. There are thus formed between the inner and outer walls of the coffer-dam the pockets 18, each pocket being bounded on its inner side by the steel sheeting 25 and on its outer side by one of the closure mem bers 33. The other two sides of each pocket are formed by two of the I-beams 26 which are reinforced by the inclined brace plates 28. These pockets 18 are preferably filled with mud or the like in order to insure a substantially watertight closure for the interior chamber of the coffer-dam. By reason of this reinforcement of alternate sheet piles, sufficient stiffness and rigidity is imparted to the enclosing wall 14 to enable it to withstand the pressure of the surrounding water without the use of any bracing structure on the inside of the wall and any necessity for the use of such reinforcement on the inner side of the ooffer-dam wall is further overcome by the use of the truss structure 20 surrounding the upper portion or other desired portions of the wall 14. An assembled pile including an annular series of interlocking piles of the form described above is claimed in my cope-nding application, Serial No. 356,009, filed April 18, 1929.

As illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5, the truss structure 20 is supported by a plurality of piles 35, preferably oak piles of round cross-section, which are driven into the bed of the river, and which terminate at their upper ends at or adjacent to the water surface 36. These piles are preferably arranged in two or more series extending parallel to the walls of the coder-dam and spaced difierent distances outwardly therefrom. Longitudinal wooden cap members 37 are supported on the upper ends of the piles 35 of each series. Timber wales 38 are secured to the walls 14 or parts thereof of the coffer-dam by bolts 39 and these timber wales serve with the cap members 37 to support the outwardly extending timbers 40. The timbers 40 are secured to the timber wales by bolts 41 and are secured in place on the cap members 3'7 by drift bolts 42 which extend downwardly through the timbers and through the cap members into the upper ends of the piles 35.

The truss structure 20 is supported directly on the timbers 40 and the inner members 22* thereof are secured to the walls 14 of the cofier-dam by bolts 43. The truss structure 20 is preferably made up of

steel members

21, 22 and 23, having the arrangement shown diagrammatically in Fig. i, and suitably united to each other at their meeting points. A series of Wooden stringers 44 are mounted on top of the truss structure 20, being spaced apart outwardly from the parallel wall of the cofier-olam and being supported by the

underlying members

21, 22, 22 and 23 of the truss structure. An additional stringer 44 is preferably mounted on the outer side of each truss member 22, as shown in Fig. 5, and these

stringers

44 and 44 serve as supports to which the wooden flooring 45 is secured by means of nails 46 or other fastening means. Each of the outer stringers 44 is preferably nailed or otherwise secured to the outer ends of the timbers 40 upon which it rests. In this way there is provided a working floor extending continuously around the cotter-dam on its outer side and adjacent its upper edge so that the workmen are enabled to move about the coffer-dam in carrying on their operations, without the necessity of obstructing the space within the walls '14.

In many instances, particularly where the coifer-dam is comparatively deep, it is desirable to use more than one truss structure surrounding the coiTer-dam wall and in Fig. 5 such a truss structure is indicated in dotted lines and. includes the timber wale 38 attached to the coffer-dam wall, horizontal timbers 3'7 attached to the piles 35 and the outwardly extending timbers 40 mounted on the

timbers

37 and 38 In addition, these timbers may be reenforced by inclined bracing members, as described in connection with the truss structure located adjacent the top of the cotter-dam.

In Fig. 6 of the drawings, there is illustrated a modified form of construction comprising a series of interlocking sheet piles 50 forming an intermediate enclosing wall 51. The sheet piles 50 are channel-shaped in crosssection, comprising webs 50 connected by the curved parts 50 with the interlocking members made up of the hooked members 50 and the curved guard mem- =bers These sheet :piles are preferably ar ranged ininterlocking relation with the channels .of adjacent :piles directed oppositely and all of the piles of the series are reenforced by I-beams '5 52 secured thereto by rivets 53 and provided :further with inclined 'brace'plates 54 which are attached to the webs of the I-beams and to the curved parts 50 of the-sheet piles, as in the construction previously described. The I-beams 10 .and brace plates of adjacent sheet piles are -di rected in opposite directions and each I-beam has angle plates 55 secured to opposite sides thereof to form channels 56 for receiving the closure members 57, formed, preferably, of wood.

These closure members serve with the sheet piles and the reenforced I-beams to form pockets 58 .located on both sides of the sheet piling wall.

.The leakage of water into the space enclosed by the coffer-dam is thus prevented not only by the sheet piling wall and two outer enclosing .walls formed by the members 57 but also by two series of pockets which may be filled with mud or the like.

InEig. '7, there is illustrated a further modifi- 25 cation in which the sheet piles 60, forming the enclosing wall of the coffer-dam, are provided with vI-beams 61 secured to each pile of the series and directed outwardly in the same direction therefrom; .Brace plates 62 connect the I-beams 61 with the curved end portions of the sheet piles and angle plates 63 are secured to the webs of the I-beams to form channels 64 between the flanges of these angle plates and the parallel flanges 61 of the I-beams. Closure members 65, formed preferably of wood, are inserted in these guide channels 64, thus forming a series of pockets 66 between the walls formed by the interlocking sheet piling and the walls formed by the closure members 65. As in the constructions previously described, the pockets 66 are adapted to be filled with mud or the like for the purpose of preventing the leakage of water through the wall. Although one form of the invention has been shown and described by way of illustration, it will be understood that it may be constructed in various other embodiments within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim: 1. A cofier-dam comprising a continuous en- :55- closing wall, and a truss structure surrounding said enclosing wall and directly outwardly therefrom adjacent the upper part only thereof to prevent inward collapse of said wall.

2. A Coffer-dam comprising a continuous dou- 55; ble enclosing wall forming an inner eenclosure, and a reenforcing truss structure continuously surrounding said double wall to prevent the inward collapse thereof.

3. A coffer-dam comprising a surrounding agadouble enclosingwall of sheet material forming an inner enclosure, a truss structure continuously surrounding said enclosing wall and extending horizontally outward therefrom, and means for supporting said truss structure, the space within as said enclosure being unobstructed.

" 4. A coiTer-dam comprising an enclosing wall, a truss structure surrounding said enclosing wall and extending horizontally outward therefrom adjacent the upper part thereof leaving said enfjl, closure unobstructed, and means located on the outer side of said enclosing wall for supporting said truss structure, whereby aid truss structure prevents inward collapse of said wall.

5. A coifer-dam comprising a double enclosing 1 wall forming an inner enclosure, a series of piles driven :outside of saidenclosureyanda horizontal truss structure connected to the upper part'of said enclosing wall andsupported by said piles :to prevent inward collapseof said-wall.

:6. A coffer-dam comprising a continuous enclosing "wall forming an inner enclosure, a series of piles driven outside of said enclosure, a-truss structure connected to said enclosing wall-around the outside of said wall and supported by said piles-and a platform carried by said truss structure around said enclosing wall.

7. A coifer-dam comprising am enclosing wall of sheet piling forming an unobstructed enclosure, a series of piles driven outside of said wall, an outwardlywextending frame carried by said piles, a truss structure'mounted on said frame and attached to said 'wall to prevent the inward collapse of said wall, a plurality of stringers mounted on said truss structure parallelto said wall, and flooring carried by said stringers.

8. A coifer-dam comprising an'enclosing wall formed of a plurality of interlocking sheet piles of arch-shaped cross section having the arches of adjacent sheet piles directed in opposite direc tions, and reenforcing I-beams attached to the webs of alternate sheet piles, angle plates attached to said I-beams to form guideways in conjunction with the fianages of said I-beama'and closure members extending between adjacent I-beams and engaging said guideways.

9. A coifer-dam comprising an enclosing wall formed of interlocking sheet piling, each pile being of arch-shaped cross-section, reenforcing members attached to the webs of said sheet piling and extending longitudinally thereof, and inclined brace plates attached to said reenforcing members and to the arches of the connected sheet piles.

10. A coffer-dam comprising an enclosing wall made up of a series of interlocking sheet piles of .115 arch-shaped cross section arranaged with the arches of adjacent piles directed oppositely, reenforcing members attached to the webs of alternate sheet piles and extending longitudinally thereof, and inclined brace plates attached to 120 said reenforcing members and to the arches of the connected sheet piles.

11. A sheet pile comprising a member of archshaped cross section having interlocking members extending longitudinally of its lateral edges, 125 a reenforcing member secured to the intermediate web of said sheet pile and extending therefrom, and inclined brace plates attached to the outer portions of said sheet pile and having their opposite converging extremities secured to said 130 reenforcing member.

12. A sheet pile comprising a member of archshaped cross section having interlocking members along its edges, an I-beam attached to the web of said sheet pile and extending longitudinally thereof, and inclined brace members attached to the web of said I-beam and having their outwardly converging edges attached to said sheet pile.

13. A coifer-dam comprising a continuous series 140 of sheet piling interlocking along their vertical edges to form an inner enclosure, vertical reenforcing means secured to said sheet piles on the outer sides thereof, closure members extending between said beams to form with the outer portions 14;, of said beams an outer enclosing wall, filling material inserted in the pockets between said first named enclosing wall and said outer enclosing wall to provide a substantially water-tight closure, and means located entirely on the outside of said 153 enclosing walls for reenforcing them and preventing inward movement thereof.

wall to provide a substantially water-tight closure,

a horizontal truss structure connected to said outer enclosing walls and extending horizontally outward therefrom. continuously around said walls, said truss structure comprising outwardly extending and diagonal members adapted to prevent the inward collapse of said enclosing walls, and piles driven around the outside of said enclosing walls and connected to the outer portion of said truss structure for supporting said truss structure.

15. A cofier-dam comprising a continuous series ofsheet piling interlocking along vertical edges to form an inner enclosure of rectangular cross section having each of its walls aligned substantially in one plane, a truss structure located in a horizontal plane on the outside of said enclosing walls and extending continuously around said enclosure to prevent inward collapse thereof while leaving the space within said enclosure unobstructed, and supporting pilings spaced outwardly from said enclosure for supporting said truss structure.

16. A coiTer-dam comprising a continuous series of sheet piling interlocking along their vertical edges to form an inner enclosure of rectangular cross section having each of its walls aligned substantially in one vertical plane, vertical reenforcing members secured to the outer sides of said sheet piles and a plurality of guideways at their outer edges, closure members engaging the guideways of adjacent vertical reenforcing members to form an outer enclosing wall, a truss structure connected to said sheet piling and extending outwardly therefrom in a horizontal plane continuously around said enclosure, said truss structure comprising outwardly extending and diagonal members secured together to prevent'the inward collapse of said enclosing walls, and piles supporting the outer portion of said truss structure.

17. A coffer-dam comprising an enclosing wall of sheet material, and means for holding said wall against inward collapse, said means comprising a truss structure attached to the upper part of said wall and extending outwardly therefrom to leave the interior of said coffer-dam unobstructed.

JAMES E. CAI-IILL.