US2454403A - Method of constructing concrete vessels - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 23, 1948. 'M. PALMIERI 2,454,403

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Patented Nov. 23, 1948 UNITED STATE METHOD OF CONSTRUCTING CONCRETE VESSELS Mario Palmieri, Beverly Hills, Calif.

Application June 26, 1944, Serial'No. 542,060

2 Claims. 1

My invent-ion relates to a concrete ship or barge, and more particularly to athin shell concrete ship or barge and the method of constructing the same. It is a Well-known fact that vessels made out of concrete, either ships or barges, have been built by pouring a mix of. cement, sand, and gravel, with enough Water added to it to bring about the required fluidity and consistency, within a mold made by two systems of forms, an outside one and an inside one. In such systems, the construction of the forms requires use of large quantities of lumber. with the resulting waste of the same, which makes the process of ship construction by this method a very expensive and very inefiicient one. Furthermore, concrete ships constructed in such a way require such large amounts of reinforcing steel that it is estimated to be from twothirds to three-quarters of the total weight of steel required to build a complete steel ship of equal displacement. A ship constructed in acccrdance with my invention uses much less reinforcing steel, and, because of its decreased dead weight and increased carrying capacity, has all the benefits. heretofore argued for steel ships. The concrete shell in former concrete ships acts purely as a protective covering for the steel, while in my invention the concrete acts as true structural material.

An object of my invention is, therefore, to reduce the thickness of the shell so as to bring about an increase in carrying capacity.

Another object of my invention is to construct a concrete vessel whereby the outer shell is relieved of the task of taking care of stress originated from bending in a longitudinal direction, and these stresses are taken care of by continuous longitudinal bulkheads integral with the keel and main strength deck. 4

Another object of my invention is to eliminate many of the transverse ribs by spacing them further apart, relying on the shell, transverse bulkheads and stringers to redistribute the stresses.

Another object is to eliminate the need of double forms and use either one of the following types of forms, that is, an inside, a central, or an outside form, whichever the design of the vessel dictates, thus permitting the application of pneumatically applied concrete in all places.

Another object is to eliminate the need of wood forms, and to use closely woven steel mesh both as a form and as a reinforcing member.

Another object is to reduce the amount of reinforcing steel needed to make the vessel resistant to the nature and magnitude of the stresses to which it is subject.

Another object is to construct a vessel so that pre-fabri-cated sections of reinforcing steel can be installed either complete, or in layers, thus eliminating the need tor shooting the pneumatically applied concrete through thick sections of reinforcing steel, and consequently assuring" a perfect bedding for each layer as it is applied, and eliminating sand pockets behind'the reinforcing steel. 1 i

Another object is to utilizehigher values of ulti mate stresses of concrete which are pneumatically applied rather than placed by puddling.

A further object is to apply the principle of the arch to ship construction, thereby utilizing the higher compressive strength of concrete. By pneumatically applying the concrete in thin layers, Lam able to construct a ship which consists of a series of layers rather than a single layer of concrete. An advantage achieved by this method of construction, is that any cracks developing in the concrete are coveredand welded closed by the successive layers of concrete which are pneumatically sprayed over the first layers,thus assuring a substantially water-tight construction not possible in a onelayer construction.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiments thereof.

In the drawings:

Fig; 1 is a cross-section taken on midship.

Fig. 2 is a cross-section taken in perspective.

Fig. 3 is a perspective of a cross-section.

Fig. 4 is a cross-section of a modification.

Fig. 5 is a cross-section of the reinforcing steel.

Fig. 6 is a cross-section.

Fig. 7 is a cross-section of the keel construction.

Fig. 8 is a cross-section.

Fig. 9 is a perspective cross-section.

Fig. 10 is a cross-section.

Fig. 11 is a cross-section.

In constructing a ship or barge in accordance with my invention, I first construct a light wood form I shaped to follow the contour of each rib, which comprises one edge or face 2 and one side only 3. Openings 4 are provided intermittently to allow for the continuity of the longitudinal stringers 5. Holes 8 are drilled intermittently along the face 2 for the full length, through which small rods 9- are inserted and extend '2" beyond the inside and outside faces of the concrete ribs l0. Wooden stringer forms ll composedof one face and one side are installed between the rib forms I up the sidesof the ship, and girder forms l-Z between the ribs- I along, the bottom. Light weight welded steel trusses [3 are then installed 3. in each rib form, and longitudinally reinforcing steel I4 is placed in each stringer form H and girder form l2 and securely anchored to the rib steel trusses l3. Pre-assembled sections of the longitudinal bulkhead l5 and pre-assembled sections of the transverse bulkhead steel l6 are then installed and welded in place. A layer of onequarter of an inch wire cloth I1 is inserted at the center line. I then pneumatically apply concrete in thin layers on all sides of the forms 2 and 3 of the required thickness, thereby eliminating the use of complete wooden forms and by the use of the wire cloth I! the entire center longitudinal bulkhead can be constructed without the use of wooden forms. After the pneumaticall; placed concrete has been applied to form the center longitudinal and transverse bulkheads as well as the framework of the ribs, stringers and girders, and has reached the state of hardness such as to guarantee a substantial value of ultimate compressive strength, the wood forms I, I I and 12 are removed and layers of wire mesh l3 (see Fig. 3) are attached to the inside and outside faces of the ribs [0 by inserting over the projecting ends I9 of the bars 9, and bending the ends of the bars as at so as to securely anchor and hold the mesh It to the fact of the ribs Ill. The mesh l8 spans the space between the ribs 2| and the girders, and acts as a form upon: which a layer of pneumatically applied concrete can be placed. A second layer of mesh is then applied to the inside and outside face under the same process of anchoring to the bars 9, and pneumatically applied concrete is built up to the final thickness required so as to completely bury all the steel, mesh and fastenings, well below the exterior surface of the concrete.

A modification of my invention by which a ship or barge can be constructed, is shown in Fig. 6. I first pre-assemble sections of the hull steel 24, which has a layer of fine mesh inserted between the longitudinally extending steel 25a which acts as a form upon which concrete of any thickness can be applied by pneumatically spraying the same thereon in layers. After the sections of the hull steel have been completely assembled and welded together, pneumatically placedponcrete is applied to the lower half of the hull and allowed to cure until it has reached sufficient compressive strength to insure the safe completion of the installation of the remaining pre-assembled steel sections 21, after which the remaining pressurised concrete is applied under the same process to build up the stringers, girders, and keels.

In applying theconcrete, a base coat is shot on both sides of the mesh 25 to a thickness of approximately one inch. The initial shrinkage is permitted to take place and the curing of the material is started before a second coat is applied, so that any shrinkage of temperature cracks are completely sealed with the application of successive coats, thus assuring a positive dense packing of the material. By building up these dense areas in successive layers or laminations, the heat generated through the hydration of the cement, so detrimental to the quality of the finished product, is eliminated, thus assuring the lack of great changesin temperatures and stresses. Other layers can be applied to build a section up to the line of final or complete coat which is applied in one continuous coat over the entire compartment area. In constructing a ship or barge with this method, no wood forms of any type are required. I

A modification of my invention comprises constructing a ship of pro-formed ribs. These are constructed as shown in Fig. 9. I use a wood form 32 to the shape and thickness of the hull and ribs. Sections of pipe 33 are placed intermittently in the forms 32, and lengths of steel bars 34 are inserted to which stringer bars 35 are welded. Light weight steel trusses 36 are then welded to the stringer bars34. Dowels 3'! are welded intermittently to the trusses 36 which are folded over the hull steel 38 to anchor it securely to the ribs 39. After all steel is placed in the rib forms 32, I pneumatically apply concrete to build up to the required shape, leaving the ends tapered at approximately a angle to form a bonding surface ll). These pro-formed ribs are then assembled and held in place by the transverse steel of the deck girders 4! which are also attached to a center longitudinal bulkhead 42 which is constructed by forming a grid of steel members over which is placed a wire mesh screen against which pneumatically shot concrete can be placed to build up the center longitudinal bulkhead 43. The reinforcing steel 38 is then applied to the exterior face and contours of the ribs 39 after the wooden forms 32 have been removed, and a layer of wire mesh 44 inserted between the reinforcing steel 38 upon which the exterior face of the ship can be pneumatically applied to the desired thickness.

In accordance with my method of construction,

all structural members of the ship or barge, and the exterior surface ribs and central longitudinal bulkhead and all other bulkheads, can be constructed by forming a grid of reinforcing steel through the center of which isplaced a wire mesh screen upon which layers of concrete can be pneumatically shot. By this construction the concrete is completely exposed to the person applying the same, thus preventing any defective workmanship. By applying concrete in layers rather than in one solid mass, a safer curing of the concrete is achieved, which results in the minimum of cracks, and one layer completely seals the cracks in the layer below. These layers of concrete bond thoroughly together and form an integrally monolithic structure, thus forming a ship or barge which has a monolithic construction.

' In Fig. 1 is shown a cross-section of a preferred form of a ship built in accordance with my invention. However, in this figure the reinforcing steel has been left out for purposes of clarity, but it is to be understood that the same should be applied in all forms as shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

A'ship constructed in accordance with my invention, comprises an outer shell 54 which runs continuously around the exterior of the ship. Longitudinal reinforcing ribs 55 strengthen the outer shell 54. I prefer to use a double bottom 56 which rests on the longitudinal ribs 55. It should be remembered that all of the ribs and shell are built up and the inner bottom 56 is built up by applying the concrete pneumatically, thus bonding all of the structure together into a monolithic construction. On the center line of the ship is placed a central longitudinally extending bulkhead 51. This'bulkhead eliminates many of the cross-sectional ribs and takes much of the strains and stresses placed on the hull, thus permitting the entire hull to be made thinner and of lighter weight. The deck 58and intermediate decks 59 are similarly constructed of concrete and bonded to the shell 54 and center bulkhead 51.

5 I claim: 1. A process of constructing concrete ships, comprising the erection of twosided forms for the ribs, placing reinforcing steel in said forms,

Welding transverse and longitudinal bulkhead 5 reinforcing steel to said rib steel, attaching a wire cloth to said bulkhead steel pneumatically shooting concrete under pressure into said forms to build up said ribs and pneumatically applying concrete in successive layers to build up said bulkheads, connecting said ribs and bulkheads to each other with a wire mesh screen to form the exterior shell and decks of said ship, pneumatically shooting concrete in layers on both sides of said mesh to form the exterior shell and decks of said ship and. to bond said exterior shell, decks, ribs and bulkheads together.

2. A process of constructing concrete ships, comprising the erection of two-sided forms for the ribs, placing reinforcing steel in said forms, welding transverse and longitudinal bulkhead reinforcing steel to said rib steel, attaching a wire cloth to said bulkhead steel welding steel rods which extend beyond the finished bulkheads and ribs to said reinforcing steel, shooting concrete under pressure into said forms and onto said wire cloth to build up said ribs and bulkheads, connecting said ribs and bulkheads to each other with a wire mesh screen to form the exterior shell and decks of said ship and holding said wire mesh screen in place by said projecting steel rods, and pneumatically shooting concrete in layers on both sides of said mesh to form the exterior shell and decks of said ship and to bond said exterior shell, decks, ribs and bulkheads together.

MARIO PALMIERI.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 984,285 McNeillie Feb. 14, 1911 991,780 Holm May 9, 1911 1,258,726 White Mar. 12, 1918 1,267,668 Kennelly May 28, 1918 1,307,224 Weber June 17. 1910

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