US2932745A - Standard radiation-resistant building block - Google Patents

Description

April 12., 1960 R. ALBERT! ETAL STANDARD RADIATION-RESISTANT BUILDING BLOCK Filed June 6, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 April 12, 1960 R. ALBERTI ETAL 2,932,745

STANDARD RADIATION-RESISTANT BUILDING BLOCK Filed June 6, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 April 12, 1960 ALBERTl ETAL 2,932,745

STANDARD RADIATION-RESISTANT BUILDING BLOCK Filed June 6, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. fiudgl'f ation.

United States Patent 01' STANDARD RADIATION-RESISTANT BUILDING BLOCK Rudolf Alberti, St. Andreasberg, Hans Getting, Bad

'Lauterber im Harz, and Rudolf J. L. Sigmund, Gottingen, Germany, assignors to Rudolf Alberti, St. Andreasberg, Germany Application June 6, 1957, Serial No. 664,042

5 Claims. (Cl. 250-103) from certain areas.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a new type of building block of dovetailed shape which is especially adapted for erecting radiation-resistant walls and the like either of a permanent type of construction or of a removable nature to provide temporary protection for example, in laboratories, hospitals, and the like from radioactive isotopes or other dangerous sources of radi- It is another object of the present invention to provide a building block of the type described which better complies with the various requirements made upon or to be expected of such blocks than similar blocks previously proposed. More specifically, it is an object of the invention to provide a building block of a standard design, shape, and size which affords a greater versatility of application of such blocks, has a more handy size and shape, has a far greater resistance and strength, provides a greater protection against radiation, and especially is far better adapted than similar building blocks as previously known for erecting more or less temporary, although very solid and stable walls which can be quickly taken apart and rebuilt in another shape Without requiring any mortar or similar material to hold the individual blocks together. I

For the erection of radiation-resistant walls and temporary containers for isotopes it is already known to provide so-called radiation-resistant bricks of lead which interengage with each other by a tongue-and-groove connection, or to use blocks of barium sulphate mixed with concrete or cement. In order to prevent the occurrence of continuous joints which might allow dangerous rays to penetrate therethrough, the four edge surfaces of these known square types of bricks or blocks were always made of a symmetrical, angularly concave or convex shape like a saddle or roof of an acute or right angle. 7 Although such generally square-shaped blocks with angular roof-shaped joint surfaces might be adequate for erecting straight walls, they cannot be used for the construction of corners or of completely enclosed isotope chambers or the like, but for such purposes require special corner and connecting pieces. For constructing enclosures of any kind it has therefore previously been necessary to provide blocks of different sizes and shapes which rendered the manufacture thereof, as well as their assemilily 1into walls and enclosures, rather expensive and difcu t.

The present invention overcomes these disadvantages by providing a building block for radiation-resistant walls in which all of the mentioned roof-shaped surfaces have a generating angle of 120. Such blocks are especially adapted for constructing hexagonal chambers or rooms and have a series of advantages over building blocks of any other polygonal shape which are particularly of imice portance for the construction of walls which are intended to furnish a maximum of protection against radiation.

Although the new type of building blocks permits anerection of straight walls just like the dovetailed, roofshaped blocks of prior design, it also permits the construction of corners without requiring any additional blocks of other shape. These blocks may further be used for building closed hexagonal containers or chambers of any desired dimensions, including elongated hexagonal rings or parts thereof, the straight wall portions of which may be constructed without the necessity of turning the blocks alternately in one or the other direction so as to interengage with each other. All of the new building blocks within one layer may therefore be turned-with one side either upwardly or downwardly, which cannot be done with any other polygonal blocks whichdo not have the multiple-symmetrical shape of the hexagonal blocks according to the invention with angular roof-shaped sides of an angle of The building blocks according to the invention, apart from allowing an interengaging assembly into hexagonal structures, have the further advantage over all other polygonal building blocks that, due to their symmetrical shape, their upper and lower sides may also serve as their ends so that each block may also be mounted in an upwardly erect position in an assembly with others extending in a horizontal position. This constitutes a distinct advantage for the erection of radiation-resistant wall structures since it permits and facilitates the assembly of walls and chambers of various shapes and also allows such structures to be easily fitted to already existing straight or angular walls of a building or room. All of these advantages are at tainable according to the invention by making the ends and upper and lower sides of the hexagonal building blocks of a concave or convex rooflike shape of an angularity of 120.

If, as often required, the wall structure should be designed so as to offer complete protection from a very strong and dangerous radiation and should therefore consist of a plurality of concentric rings of such blocks abutting closely against each other, the blocks should com- I ply with the further requirement that the length of each adjacent block or, in other Words, that the length of each block is equal to twice the projection of the angular sides of the end surfaces upon the base surface. If n is given a value of 2, half-stones are formed which in plan view appear equal to the end view or, in other words, in which the length is equal to the projection of the angular sides of the end surfaces upon the base surface. if n is given a value of 3, third-stones are formed, and so forth. The selection and application of the proper stones depends upon each individual case. At any rate, blocks of this type may be used for erecting walls of many different shapes and of any desired thickness very quickly and easily.

If the rectangular side walls of each building block of the shape as above-described are made of a height corresponding to one-half of their length, a very strong and stable wall structure may also be formed without use of any half-stones and solely by means of the standard blocks by placingsome of these blocks in an upwardly erect position so that the roof-shaped end surface ofone block rests astride the roof-shaped upper surface of the other block. With standard blocks having side walls of a height and length in a relation to each other as above described it will therefore always be possible, even in higher walls, to fit the individual blocks perfectly upon or into each other.

In order to provide a wall structure, and particularly one for temporary use, in which the lowest blocks also have great stability and may rest fully upon a suitable base, for example, a table top, and still attain a considerable protection from radiation without any additional enlargement of their base surface, it is also possible according to the invention to apply additional blocks differing but derived from the basic shape of the blocks as above described, in which one or both concave or convex roof-shaped surfaces are replaced by flat surfaces. Such blocks may then be used as foundation stones or as upper end stones, or also as vertical end stones. One type of such blocks which has proved very successful when used as a foundation stone has a flat lower surface but an upper surface of a concave roof shape with an inner angle of 120. A wall structure nesting in such a foundation stone has a very great stability, although such stability relies upon no more than the shape of the matching blocks.

If the walls are composed of several adjacent layers of blocks, an interengagement of these layers in a transverse direction may also be attained by placing one roofshaped block in an inverse position astride two adjacent rows of similar blocks, the concave roof-shaped surfaces of which face in an upward direction, so that the upper block clamps the lower blocks to each other like a vise. The adjacent rows of blocks will then be so securely connected both in an upward and lateral direction that no more than a thin layer of mortar will be required, even though the wall structure is intended to be of a permanent nature. This is a very important feature of the invention because, if for any reason the radiationresistant walls ever have to be changed or rebuilt, it is not necessary to break up these walls or even blast them apart with the result that the stones will be ruined and radiation-contaminated dust will be thrown around, but the individual stones may simply be picked off one after the other. i

The radiation-resistant blocks according to the present invention may be made, for example, of barium sulphate and concrete, that is, of hydraulically hardened mixtures of ground barium sulphate (barites, heavy spar), water, and cement which is added thereto in an amount of approximately of the whole mixture. Such a concrete material has a high specific gravity of, for example, 3.5 to 4 g./cm. and a correspondingly high radiation resistance. Such specific gravity of the material may be even further increased, for example, to more than S g./cm. by suitable additions of heavy metals or compounds thereof. A protection from neutrons may'also be attained by an appropriate ratio of the water content to the cement mixture. Such blocks made of a mixture of barium sulphate and concrete may also be easily cut, drilled, and so forth, a fact which is of great importance, for example, for the installation of conduits and electric wiring, and for changes in construction subsequent to the erection of the radiation-resistant wall structure.

A modification of the radiation-resistant building blocks consists according to the invention of enclosing the same within sheet metal casings. For this purpose, a moist mixture of granular barium sulphate to which no hardening or setting agent is added is pounded into the casings and thus tightly packed therein, whereupon the casings are closed hermetically. Since the granular barium sulphate mixture in these building blocks is not set, no internal cracks can form therein even though the blocks are subjected to concussions.

Further objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of several preferred embodiments thereof, particularly when read with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figs. 1 and 2 show perspective views of a standard building block according to the invention in a reclining and an erect position, respectively;

Figs. 3, 4, and 5 show a similar building block in a plan view, an end view and a side view, respectively;

Fig. 6 shows an end view of a modification of a building block as illustrated'in Figs. 1 to 5 but derived from the basic shape thereof and adapted to serve as a foundation or end stone;

Fig. 6a shows a modification of such foundation or end stone;

Fig. 7 shows a plan view of still another foundation stone;

Fig. 8 shows a perspective view of two standard building blocks assembled in different positions;

Fig. 9 shows a plan view of an assembly of several standard building blocks;

Fig. 10 shows a plan view of a different assembly of three standard building blocks;

Fig. 11 shows a plan view of a temporary isotope container assembled from the standard building blocks according to Figs. 1 to 5;

Fig. 12 shows a side view of a portion of a multiple wall structure erected of the standard building blocks;

Fig. 13 shows an end view of a portion of another wall structure erected of such blocks; while Fig. 14 shows a diagrammatical plan view of the manner of constructing a hexagonal protective double wall according to the invention.

Referring to the drawings, Fig. 1 shows a building block of the standard design according to the invention consisting of a sheet metal casing, the left edge portion of which is shown as being broken away for the purpose of illustrating its interior. This casing is filled with a moist mixture of granular barium sulphate to which, if desired, parafiin may be added as protection from neutrons. Such mixture is tightly packed and pounded into the casing, whereupon the casing is hermetically sealed by welding. The building block thus formed is defined at its two longitudinal sides by the rectangles A, B, C, D and E, F, G, H, respectively. The base surface C, D, H, G is of a concave angular rooflike shape with a ridge line I-K, and the upper surface B, A, E, F is accordingly made of a convex angular rooflike shape with a ridge line LM. Points I and L also form the terminals of the ridge line of the concave roof shape of the front end, while points M and K also form the terminals of the ridge line of the convex roof shape of the opposite end. The two surfaces of each of these concave and convex roof shapes are disposed at an angle of to each other.

Fig. 2 shows a building block of the same standard shape as illustrated in Fig. l but placed in an upwardly erect position. Instead of being made of granular barium sulphate which is enclosed within a metal casing, as shown in Fig. l, the block according to Fig. 2 is made of a hydraulically hardened mixture of barium sulphate and concrete. The angle of the concave and convex pairs of surfaces forming the base, the upper side, and the two ends amounts in each case to 120. This angle is indicated by a in Figs. 3, 4, and 5 which show a standard block similar to those illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 in a plan view, an end view, and a side view, respectively, with Fig. 5 also showing in dotted lines an adjacent block of the same shape attached to the convex end C, B, F, G of the blocrt as shown in Fig. 1. These three drawings illustrate the ratio which must be maintained between the length and width of the block in order to assemble a plurality of these blocks into tightly abutting concentric rings. This ratio of the length to the width of the block should be int/2V3. In the embodiment shown in Figs. 3 to 5 n equals 1 so that the ratio of the length l to the serve as a foundation or end Fig. 3, the length l is also equal to twice the projection a of the two sides of the end surfaces upon the base surface.

Fig. 4 further shows that the height h of each block is equal to one-half of its length, that is, likewise equal to the projections a.

Fig. 6 illustrates a modified building block according to the invention of a shape which is derived from the standard shape as shown in Figs. 1 to 5. It is adapted to stone and thereforeprovided with a flat bottom surface. While the'foundatio'n stone shown in Fig. 6 has a convex rooflike upper surface, the one shown in Fig. on has a concave upper surface, and that shown in Fig. 7 a flat end surface. Obviously, the flat side of such block may also form the upper end of a wall or a vertical side thereof.

Figs. 8 to 14 illustrate the versatility of the new build- 7 'ing blocks for assembling them into diiferent wall structures.

Fig. 8 shows two standard blocks mounted on each other with the lower block reclining horizontally and the upper block sitting astride thereon in a verticmly upright position.

Fig. 9 shows an angularhalf-ring structure composed of several standard blocks as maybe used, for example, for forming a temporary isotope chamber in a corner of a laboratory in front of walls 3 and'4. While blocks 5, ti, and 7 are placed in a reclining position, block 8 is standing upright. The wall thus formed completely encloses the area 9.

Fig. 10 shows a plan view of a different manner of assembling three standard blocks.

Fig. 11 illustrates a temporary isotope container in the form of a closed hexagonal ring consisting of an inner wall which is reinforced by an outer wall directly abutting against the inner wall at all points. These two rings of interlocking blocks "thus fully screen ofi a central area It). If desired, these rings may be further reinforced by additional rings. The close engagement of all, the blocks within each ring and of the ringsagainst each other is attained by making the blocks of the standard design as illustrated and their length and width in the ratio to each other as described. 1

Fig. 12 shows a side view of a portion of a wall structure composed of standard building blocks 11 to 17 according to the invention. Some of these blocks are placed in a horizontal position and others in a vertical position whereby a very secure interengagement of the individual blocks and a wall of very great solidity is attained. radiation-resistant mortar is applied ,to some or all of the joints between the individual blocks.

Fig. 13 shows an end view of 'a portion of a multiple wall structure composed of building blocks according to the invention. Two blocks of the type as shown in Fig.

Suchsolidity may be further improved if a' together. If, however, a radiation-resistant mortar .is

to beapplied to the joints it will primarily serve as a pressure transmitting agent. Such multiple-layer wall structures are also very well adapted for permanent installations, in which case the individual building blocks of barium sulphate concrete may have a weight of approximately 150 lbs. tures in laboratories, on Work tables, and the likeare, however, preferably Such blocksfor laboratory use are preferably also coated with a'stripping lacquer.

d Fig. .14 finally illustrates diagrammatically the manner of'constructing a hexagonal double wall of the building blocks according to the invention. This drawing also in- I dicates in dotted lines near the center of the complete side 6:: form the foundation or part of the foundation of the the two surfaces forming each of sides and each of said outer end sides being disposed at of the hexagonal wall that half-stones may be used, that is, such blocks in which the number of the mentioned ratio of 'l:rz/2 3 block has a value of 2,. so that such ratio for these halfstones amounts to 1: /3.

Although our invention has been illustrated and described with reference to the preferred embodiments thereof, we wish to have it understood that it is in no way limited to the details of such embodiments, but is capable of numerous modifications within the scope of the appended claims. a I

Having thus fully disclosed our invention, What we claim is:

1. A standard building-block of radiation-resistant material having two parallel opposite rectangular lateral sides, two parallel upper and lower sides, and two parallel outer end sides, each of the upper and, lower sides and each of the outer end sides comprising two surfaces inclined at an angle to oneanother, one of said upper and lower sides andone of said end sides being of a symmetrical concave angular ro'oflike said upper and lower sides and the other of said end sides being of a symmetrical convex angular roor'like shape, said upper and lower an angle of to each other.

A building block as defined in claim 1, in which the length of said rectangular lateral sides of said block relative to the distance between said lateral sides complies with a ratio of -1:n/2 wherein n forms an in tegral number.

3. A building block as defined in claim 2, wherein the value n of said ratio equals 1.

4. A building block as defined in claim 2, wherein the value n of said ratio equals 2'.

' 5. A building block as defined in claim 2, in which the height of said rectangular lateral sides amounts to one-half of their length.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,661,946 Howcott Mar. 6, 1928 1,780,107 Barry Oct. 28,1930 1,815,921

Lapof July 28, 1931 Temporary protectivewall strucassembled of blocks which can be easily handled and only havea weightof a few pounds.

between the length and width of the' shape, and the other of

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