US2903856A

US2903856A - Means for laterally bracing partially submerged erect structures

Info

Publication number: US2903856A
Application number: US440081A
Authority: US
Inventors: Dean Howard J En
Original assignee: Gulf Research and Development Co
Current assignee: Gulf Research and Development Co
Priority date: 1954-06-29
Filing date: 1954-06-29
Publication date: 1959-09-15
Anticipated expiration: 1976-09-15

Description

Se t. 15, 1959 w H. J. EN DEAN 2,903,856

MEANS F OR LATERAL-LY BRACING PARTIALLY SUBMERGED ERECT STRUCTURES Filed June 29, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. 1'.

INVENTOR. iHOWARD J. 7; DEAN BY W ATTORNEY H. J. EN DEAN MEANS FOR LATERALLY BRACING PARTIALLY .SUBMERGED ERECT STRUCTURES Filed June 29. 1954 Sept. 15, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

B o i United States Patent MEANS FOR LATERALLY BRACING PARTIALLY SUBMERGED ERECT STRUCTURES Howard J. En Dean, Fox Chapel Borough, Pa., assignor to Gulf Research & Development Company, Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Delaware Application June 29, 1954, Serial No. 440,081

4 Claims. (Cl. 61-46) This invention relates to improvements in lateral bracing members for partially submerged, erect structures and to the method of installing and anchoring the same. More particularly, the subject device is adapted to the bracing of driven piles and the surface piping of wells in underwater locations, which structures are relatively slender and often are subjected to strong forces of wave action, tides and currents over their considerable submerged length.

The installation of a supporting framework to withstand these forces ordinarily requires the services of a diver, but where the brace piling of the present invention is used, operations may be conducted entirely from above the surface of the water, with minimum labor and expense.

In accordance with this invention, a number of bracing units are secured to the structure to be supported and are so arranged that they will project angularly from it in various directions, each such unit comprising several interfitting tubular members which, at installation, are initially in telescoped relation. These units are held at an angle to the pipe or other structure to which they are secured and are extended downwardly by pressure of fluent cement mixture which is forced into them. In being so extended, the lowermost section is driven into the earth bottom. When the brace piling is thus fully extended, or when such a hard foundation is reached that the sections can be extended no farther, an application of higher pressure causes the cement to open a passage, as by rupturing a seal in the internal passageway of the unit and thereupon to flow out around the foot of the terminal section and embed it. A somewhat lower pressure is then maintained on the column of cement which fills the extended piling until it sets. Thus, there is provided an encased, monolithic brace piling which extends from the supported structure to the point of anchorage and is integrally bonded with the embedded anchoring mass.

The invention is described in more detail hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in Which:

Figure 1 is a side view of the brace piling as installed, with the telescoping members extended, only one of the bracing members being shown in its entirety since the others are of similar construction.

Figure 2 is a detail view of one of the brace pilings, which is shown partly in longitudinal section.

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2, showing a modified form of the invention in which a difierent leadin is provided for the cement hose.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, a yoke is clamped or welded to the piling 11 or other erect structure at a desired height above the sea bottom which is indicated in Figure 1 of the drawings at 12. The yoke is provided with spaced projecting ears 13 in which pins 14 are received for pivotally mounting the upper, closed ends of tubular members 15.

The lower end of each tubular member 15 is formed with an inwardly directed flange 16 which closely emice braces a connected section comprising a smaller diameter tubular member 17, the upper end of which has an out' turned flange 18 in sliding contact with the inner wall of tubular member 15.

A sealing gasket 19 within the lower end of tubular member 15 surrounds the upper end of tubular member 17 and is compressed between the

opposed flanges

16 and 18 when the members are extended.

The tubular member 17 is similarly formed with an inturned flange 20 at its lower end which embraces the smaller diameter terminal section 21 with sliding fit and the member 21 has an out-turned flange 22 riding incon-. tact with the inner wall of member 17. Here, also, a gasket is interposed between the

flanges

20 and 22, as

indicated at 23.

A disc 24 of a material which will rupture under pressure of a sufliciently high value is mounted within the terminal member 21 to block the passage therein. Also,

the terminal member 21 is provided with a solid point 25 to facilitate its penetration of the earth and is perforated adjacent its lower end, as at 26.

A cement hose 27 leads from a pump (not shown) to the interior of the upper tubular member 15, being secured to such member by a fitting 28. Well cementing apparatus may be employed for injecting the cement into the brace piling units through such tubing.

If the structure to be supported is hollow, and if condi structure to be supported and the sections of the brace piling, in telescoped relation, are mounted on the yoke by pivot pins.

Positioning lines 31 which are attached to clamps 32 on the respective telescoped units are lowered to permit the units to drop to the proper angular position. This and subsequent operations will be performed on two diametrically opposite braces simultaneously for balancing of the lateralloads during the positioning operation.

Cement is then pumped into the uppermost tubular section, its pressure causing the telescoping sections to be extended downwardly and outwardly to penetrate the sea bottom.

When the sections of thebracing ,piling are fully extended, increased pressure on the column of fluent cement within them causes the sealin the lowermost section to burst. The cement thereupon fills the lower tubular section and is forced out through the perforations in its wall, forming an enlarged mass in which thefoot of the extended bracing piling is embedded.

Pressure on the column of cement is maintained at a reduced, equilibrium value until the cement sets. Thus, at completion the brace piling comprises an encased, monolithic element which extends from the supported structure to the anchoring mass with which it is integrally bonded.

What I claim is:

1. Means for laterally bracing a structure, comprising initially telescoped tubular members adapted to be extended in use, means for securing the outermost of the initially telescoped members at one end to the structure to be braced thereby, a tip on the end of the innermost of said initially telescoped tubular members adapted to penetrate the earth when the members are extended from Conventional telescop'ed relation, said last named tubular member also having an opening leading to its exterior, the outermost and innermost of the initially telescoped members respec'tively constituting the upper and lower terminal mem b ers of'the extended bracing means, oppositely'extending' flanges on'contiguo'us ends of the several telescoping mem-' bers for limiting their extension, a conduit connecting with said outermost tubular member through which a settable material is forced under pressure into said merriber's' to cause their" extension from telescoped'relation and thereby to penetrate the earth'adjacent the structure to be'braced, and sealing means located within the terminal thbular' member rearwardly of the aforesaid opening therein, said sealing rrieans being adapted to be displaced ypressure of the material after extension of said members" for opening a passage therein through which the matefial'flows andemerges from the aforesaid opening to embed the earth penetrating end of the bracing means.

2. Lateral bracing means for partially submerged piling and the like comprising, in combination with a pile, circumferentially spaced bracing members secured thereas by pivoted fastening means at a distance above its ground engagement and adapted to be extended downwardly at an angle to the pile and to be anchored in the earth bottom, each said bracing member being constituted of a plurality of telescoping tubular sections, interengaging flanges on'contiguous sections to limit their extension from telescoped relation, means for fastening the assembled telescoped sections to the pile as a unit which when extended penetrates the earth bottom, the uppermost section being closed at its upper end and the lowermost section having an earth penetrating tip at its lower end, a conduit for a s'ettable material communicating with the tubular sections for delivering the material thereto in fluid form, a displaceable barrier in the lowermost tubular section against which pressure of the fluid material is exerted to extend the sections and cause said bracing member in being so extended to penetrate the earth bottom, said lowermost tubular section having an opening leading to the exterior thereof and located below said barrier, said barrier being displaceable to permit the fluid material to flow out of the aforesaid opening and upon setting to embed and anchor the earth penetrating end of said unit.

3. Lateral bracing means for piling and like slender structures which have a considerable unsupported length, said bracing means comprising a collar adapted to be secured on the piling and formed with radial ears projecting therefrom at spaced points on its circumference, tubular bracing members carrying pivot pins engaged with said ears to enable the bracing members to be positioned at a desired angularity to the structure to be supported thereby, each said bracing member comprising a number of interfitting tubular sections of progressively smaller diameter adapted to be slidably extended from an initially *telescoped relation, the upper terminal section being closed at its upper end and having an inturned flange at its open lower end, and the lower terminal section having an outturned flange at its upper end, the sections intermediate the terminal sections of such member each having an inturned annular flange at one end embracing the outside of the next adjacent section of smaller diameter and an outturned annular flange at its 4 opposite end fitting the inside ofthe next adjacent section of larger diameter, a gasket carried by each section between its inturned flange and the outturned flange of the adjacent smaller section for sealing the slip joint between sections, the upper terminal section having a closed end and a hose connection to a source of fluid earth-consolidating material under pressure, an earth penetrating tip on the end of the lower terminal'sectio'n, said lower section being formed with an opening leading to its exterior, and barrier means in the lower terminal section located rearwardly of the opening therein and displaceable under pressure of the earth-consolidating material in excess of that required to extend the bracing member and cause it to penetrate the earth, said lastnamed means when displaced permitting the earth-consolidating material to flow out of, and to form an em bedding mass around, the lower end of the bracing member.

4. Lateral bracing means for piling and like slender structures which have a considerable unsupported length, said bracing means comprising, in combination with a pile, circumferentially spaced bracing members pivotally secured to the pile at a distance above its ground engagement, means for swinging said members about their pivotal connection with the pile and holding the same at a desired angular relation thereto diverging in downward direction, each member constituting a unit comprised of a plurality of slidably interfitting tubular sections of progressively smaller diameter adapted to be installed on the pile in telescoped relation and thereafter extended to penetrate the earth, the upper terminal section being closed at its upper end and having at its lower end an inwardly directed flange defining an opening through which the next adjacent lower section is slidable for extension, an'outwardly directed flange on the upper end of the said next adjacent lower section for limiting extension of such adjacent lower section, the lowermost terminal section being formed with lateral openings to permit the flow of a settable material into the surrounding earth penetrated by the bracing means when the sections are extended under pressure of such material forced thereinto under pressure, and a diaphragm above the lateral openings in said smaller terminal section, said diaphragm blocking flow through the smaller tubular section to the lateral openings therein but rupturable under pressure of the settable material in excess of that required to extend the bracing member and to cause its penetration of the earth.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,117,075 McKown Nov. 10, 1914 1,165,459 Sprague Dec. 28, 1915 1,794,892 Goldsborough Mar. 3, 1931 1,900,622 Tada Mar. 7, 1933 2,326,353 Gross Aug. 10, 1943 2,403,643 Dresser July 9, 1946 2,440,921 Stephens May 4, 1948 2,775,095 Harris Dec. 25, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 573,415 France 1924