US3636718A

US3636718A - Water jetted piling

Info

Publication number: US3636718A
Application number: US19566A
Authority: US
Inventors: John B Keats
Original assignee: Borg Warner Corp
Current assignee: Borg Warner Corp
Priority date: 1970-03-16
Filing date: 1970-03-16
Publication date: 1972-01-25
Anticipated expiration: 1989-01-25
Also published as: CA927117A

Abstract

A pile and method of sinking piling into clay, sand or other material (which may be underwater) is disclosed employing a downward pointing hollow plastic nose cone base which is filled with concrete and through which water is jetted to erode away the earth. The exterior of the cone is broken by threads formed thereon to allow the pile to be advanced through strata of harder material such as shell layers. The upper surface of the nose cone includes a series of stair-stepped cylindrical flanges to receive different diameter plastic pipe. The piling may be formed of any height desired by adding additional pipe sections to the top of the initial pipe sections. The pipe sections are also preferably filled with concrete which may be reinforced by a spiral steel reinforcement rod. In assembling, the lightweight plastic members are solvent welded together at the site, concrete is poured into the nose cone about a central jetting pipe and the unit lowered to the earth. Then by either jet action or screw action or both, the piling is advanced into the earth to the desired depth. Additional pipe segments are added as needed as the piling drops further into the ground. Steel reinforcing rods and concrete are then added if desired.

Description

United States Patent Jan. 25, 1972 [5 7] ABSTRACT A pile and method of sinking piling into clay, sand or other material (which may be underwater) is disclosed employing a downward pointing hollow plastic nose cone base which is Keats [54] WATER JET'IED PILING [72] Inventor: John B. Keats, Jefiersonville, Ind.

[73] Assignee: Borg-Warner Corporation, Chicago, Ill.

[22] Filed: Mar. 16, 1970 [21] App]. No.: 19,566

[52] U.S. Cl ..6l/53.74 [51 Int. Cl. ..E02b 5/32, E02b 7/24 [58] Field ofSearch ..6l/53.74,53,56, 63; 175/19, 175/20, 21, 22

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS Great Britain Great Britain.....

seam" filled with concrete and through which water is jetted to erode away the earth. The exterior of the cone is broken by threads formed thereon to allow the pile to be advanced through strata of harder material such as shell layers. The upper surface of the nose cone includes a series of stair-stepped cylindrical flanges to receive different diameter plastic pipe. The piling may be formed of any height desired by adding additional pipe sections to the top of the initial pipe sections. The pipe sections are also preferably filled with concrete which may be reinforced by a spiral steel reinforcement rod. ln assembling, the lightweight plastic members are solvent welded together at the site, concrete is poured into the nose cone about a central jetting pipe and the unit loweredto the earth. Then by either jet action or screw action or both, the piling is advanced into the earth to the desired depth. Additional pipe segments are added as needed as the piling drops further into the ground. Steel reinforcing rods and concrete are then added if desired.

4 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures FIG. 2 H63 \FIII/I WU H21 22 cm a O a 1 a B w 20 Inventor John B. Keoi's By Attorney PATENTEU JAN25 I972 WATER .mrrsn PILING FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to piles and particularly it relates to a new and improved method and apparatus for forming and driving pilings.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The piling device and method of the present invention is devised for use on both land and in water. The inventive devices may be used to jet fence posts in soft terrain, to set pilings for boat ramps, waterway markers, large commercial docks and ramps and a host of similar applications.

Water jetted piles have in the past been formed in a large number of ways and variations. Jet pilings have been extensively used for undersea pilings. They have normally involved the use of metal piping either about or through a wooden or concrete piling member. While normally satisfactory for going through ordinary silt, the jet pile driving method has been generally considered insufficient in dealing with layers of harder material such'as shell, shale, etc., and especially difficult in slat water areas wherein a hard crust has been formed.

Also such piles that have been heretofore employed have the disadvantage of being heavy and bulky items to ship and handle. As such, either they must be essentially constructed at the site or near the site that they are intended to be used or excessive costs of shipping would necessarily be borne.

An object of the present invention is the provision of a piling device and parts which can be quite easily transported, handled and joined together thereby enabling a single person to easily and quickly set up at the sites of their use.

A still further object of the invention is to provide standards, posts or pilings which are composed of separable sections which can be used in desired numbers for height desired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A pile device constructed in accordance with the present invention includes a generally inverted cone-shaped base member or nose cone which has a longitudinally interrupted outer cone surface preferably by threads formed thereon; water jetting means through the interior thereof and exit at the apex so that the cone may be driven by jet action aided by the breaking up of shell strata, etc., by the cone surface.

A primary feature of the present invention is the provision of devices of the kind indicated which the base member is a hollow sheet made of lightweight, preferably nonmetallic materials, such as acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene,- polyvinyl chloride or any tough, rigid plastic that can be solvent welded or bonded together by simple means and can be filled with concrete or the like at the site of use.

The other feature of the present invention is the provision of a pile which is composed in part of hollow pipes and blow molded shapes so as to be easily transported, handled and joined together.

A still further feature of the invention is the simplicity of installing special wound metal reinforcing rods which will give the maximum structural strength to the piling when said rods are imbedded in the concrete filler. Spiral wound rod is simply placed over and around the tube used for jetting and the rod is dropped in place. To bend the reinforced piling will mean that its elasticity or bending strength will depend mainly upon the tensile strength of the reinforcing rods. This contributes to greater rigidity of the resulting pile.

Another feature of the invention is the provision of a blow molded nose cone which has an interrupted cone surface, preferably double threads to screw through and break up shell, shale, etc., formations which would be impossible for a smooth faced cone to penetrate. This novel nose cone pile base has adapters of various sizes to accept pipe with inside dimensions so as to give an interference fit and also make a good solvent weld bond. The nose cone base preferably also has built-in horizontal flanges to hold muck, mud, sand, etc., blown upon the flanges during jetting period and to prevent unwanted movement of the pile ADVANTAGES OF THE INVENTION An advantage of the invention is the provision of simple, efficient and relatively inexpensive devices which by their ease of handling, assembly and positioning will prevent needless casualties, serious and permanent injuries to workmen as occurs in metal, concrete and various poison and dangerous impregnated wood pilings.

Plastic pipe and parts described herein are perfectly compatible with the sea and will not rot, corrode or be subject to the attacks of worms and other boring marine animals.

Plastics selected are integral in color and where vivid or standard colors are required or desired same will be provided.

Plastics also selected are somewhat porous and can be impregnated and coated with a Vaseline based compound of such a specific gravity that gives protection against bamacles and other crustaceous creatures as the Vaseline compound prevents adhesion to the plastic pipe. Coating also prevents vegetable growth.

ABS plastics and a few other plastics of similar properties offer no impedance to microwave in the wall thicknesses necessary for these pilings and standards. A certain portion of the pipe above the water line may be left hollow. This area may contain a radar reflector-transponder or various telemetry controlled from a shore station. Hollow space in pipe may be weather protected by a screw-in plug and a neoprene O-ring or similar joints.

The plastic jetting tube is not easily abraised or roughed by sharp grit or rusting thereby causing the jet system to be most efficient in comparison to metal pipe or tubing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The features of the present invention which are believed to be novel are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention, together with the further advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in the several figures of which like reference numerals identify like elements, and in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevational view partially in section of a finished pile and its environment of use;

FIG. 2 is an elevational view of a part of the piling of FIG. 1 with alternative construction shown in dashed lines; and

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the portion of the piling shown in FIG. 2 as seen therein approximately along the line 33.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring to FIG. 1 there is depicted a pile I0 constructed in accordance with the present invention. The pile 10 is depicted in one of its preferred environments of use: a marking pole or a fixed buoy. As can be seen, the pile l0 buried within the sea bottom I2 for a predetermined desired distance below the earth level 13 and extends through water 14 into the air above the sea. A segment 18 of the pile 10 extends above the high waterline 16 and is preferably colored by a reflecting coded marking color.

The bottom of the pile 10 comprises a generally conically shaped base member 20. This base essentially is an inverted cone pointing downward with horizontal flange segment at its upper portion. Affixed to the base is a main body portion, generally 22, of a diameter less than that of the maximum diameter of the base 20. The particular pile 20 illustrated has three

sections

22A, 22B and 22C joined together at the joints 228C and 22AB with the bottommost of the sections, section 22A, joined to the base 20 at a joint 21.

The construction of the base 20 and the bottom section 22A of the pile 10 is better shown in FIG. 2. Referring to that figure it may be seen that the generally inverted cone-shaped base 20 has a screw thread 21 spiraling about it from a generally flat nozzle or water jet opening 20] through the downward pointing apex of the cone. Rising from the base 208 of the cone in a successive stairlike manner are three concentric cylindrical segments C,,20D and 20B each of a successively smaller cylindrical diameter so as to receive plastic tubes or pipes such as the pipe section 22A illustrated in solid lines joined, at 21, to the cylindrical segment 20E. These various segments 20C and 20D allow the base 20 to be used with pipes (such as the

pipes

22X and 22Y shown in fathom lines) of different diameters and increase the utility of the single base form 20. Thus, as illustrated, the base 20 may be used with relatively thin pipings such as markers or fence posts or can be used for thicker greater load bearing pilings, such as for use in a pier or bridge.

As is better illustrated in FIG. 3 between the outer diameter (there designed 20R) of the nose cone 20 and the cylindrical segment 20C is a horizontal flange segment 20B. Similarily between the cylindrical segments 20C and 20D, and between the

cylindrical segments

20E and 20D, there are similar horizontal flangesegments designated respectively 20F and 206. These flanges resist upward forces that might tend to remove the driven pile.

A major feature of the present invention is the provision of the threading interruptions 21 on the outer cone surface of the base 20. The threads are preferably of the buttress type which is formed with a substantially horizontal face between its crests and roots. As such it presents an almost barbed cross section, as shown in FIG. 3, and when implanted also resists upward forces. More importantly, it serves to grind up and break down hard layers or materials during the pile driving process and serves to guide and spin the water rising from the jet port 201 upward along the cone surface. The vibration and movements up and down of the nose cone during the driving operation moves the serrations against material that resists the jet action and subjects to vertical forces that, especially for thin strata of shell or the like, break it up and allow the base member 20 drive through. In addition the thread allows the base 20 to be turned or threaded downward by rotation of the pipe sections 22 and screw itself into the earth. The tripartite action of jet, interruptions on the outer surface and screw threading produces easier penetration.

As mentioned above, the conical-shaped base 20 is preferably formed in a unitary manner of plastic material such as acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS). The third cylindrical joint portion 20E of the base 20 is preferably solvent welded to the pipe 22A section 22B to form the bell joint 21. The hollow interior of the base or nose cone 20 is preferably filled with ferroconcrete except for a jet pipe 30 which extends down the central axis of the conical base 20 and through the pipe section 22A. The jet pipe upper end has a joint adapter 32. The jet pipe 30 serves as a conduit for the water which is pumped out of the outlet 20.] under pressure. As shown, a collar 34, is preferably afiixed by solvent welding to the jet pipe at its ex'treme downward end so as to wedge the pipe 30 against the interior sidewalls of the cone 20 and to prevent the jet pipe 30 from passing through the cones apex opening.

The sections of tube or pipe body 22 are preferably filled with concrete or other solid materials after driving and also are preferably reinforced by unique reenforcing steel rod 36 formed in the shape of a spiral. The steel reinforcing rods 36 are preferably preformed in segments of approximately the length of the pipe segments 22A, 228, etc. They may then be assembled therewith in an easy and effective manner by simply inserting or dropping them down the pipe prior to pouring in the concrete.

The process of forming the pile in accordance with the present invention employs the nose cone or conically shaped base member 20 with the jet pipe segment 30 placed therein. The base member 20 is filled with concrete 40 preferably of the ferroconcrete type, to approximately the level indicated by the numeral 37. That is, it is substantially filled with concrete 40 to. weigh it and stiffen it. While the concrete is setting, the outer pipe segment 22A is placed thereon and the bell joint 21 formed between the

segments

20E and 22B, preferably by solvent welding. (Of course, other types of joints may be employed, if desired.) If the depth of the water in which the pile is to be driven requires it, additional segments such as 228 may be added by solvent welding at this time atop of the segment 22A with similar additional segments of the jet pipe 30 added through them. The unit formed thereby is dropped to make contact with the soil or earth at the point in which the pile is to be driven and water, under pressure, is pumped through the pipe 30 to erode away the earth below the now weighted and stifiened base 20, while the entire unit is rotated in a direction to advance the screw threads 21.

The serrated edges formed by the threads function to break the harder areas and provide a swirling action to the water force up between the earth and the base 20. As the base 20 moves downward additional units of the pipe segment 22 and the jet pipe 30 may be added and are preferably solvent welded to the unit. When the desired position is reached the water is disconnected from the pipe 30. At that time the segments of jetting pipe above the pipe 30 may be withdrawn for reuse and the reinforcement bars 36, and concrete 48 (or such other filler as may be employed) inserted. The segment 18 (FIG. 1) of the pile 10 above the maximum water line may be maintained empty so as to save on materials. if so maintained, the bottom of the cavity formed therein should be filled with an insulator such as styrofoam to prevent condensation of th concrete and the top plugged by a suitable plug.

In areas where it is not possible to completely jet a piling, a rotary action cutting tool is simply solvent welded to the extended jet tubing. Pressure upon the cutting tool can be adjusted by simply adding the amount of concrete and reinforcing rod in the hollow tubing to permit maximum efficiency by pressure to the cutting mechanism.

As should now be obvious a new and improved water jetted piling has been described which has several advantageous features. The above-described piling may be used in both land and water, but is especially useful for the underwater pilings. The light weight of the primary material make the piling easily transported and assembled. This also allows the elements to be easily handled on the site and eliminates the need for extensive equipment at the erection site. The above-described system employing one type of base unit may produce piles of several diameters depending upon the ultimate use. The base of the unit renders it especially useful in breaking through salt or shell layers in ocean piling driving.

While particular embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made without dcparting from the invention in its broader aspects and, therefore, the aim in the appended claims is to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

l. A base member for use in a piling structure comprising:

a generally conical-shaped member having an opening for receiving a water jetting pipe and a longitudinally interrupted conical outer surface so as to better be able to break through and break up soil obstructions during driving, wherein said base member conical outer surface is interrupted by substantially upward facing surface segments so as to present a barbedlike longitudinal cross section to the base member.

2. A base member for use in a piling structure comprising:

a generally conical-shaped member having an opening for receiving a water jetting pipe and a longitudinally interrupted conical outer surface so as to better be able to break through and break up soil obstructions during driving, wherein said interrupted surface is formed into threading.

3. The base member for use in a piling structure, as defined in claim 2, wherein:

said threading is of the buttress type with upward facing surfaces between the crests and roots.

4. The base member for use in a piling structure, as defined in claim 1 wherein:

said top of said base member has a plurality of concentric cylindrical segments formed thereon to receive a plurality of different diameter pipe sections.

t t v w

Claims

1. A base member for use in a piling structure comprising: a generally conical-shaped member having an opening for receiving a water jetting pipe and a longitudinally interrupted conical outer surface so as to better be able to break through and break up soil obstructions during driving, wherein said base member conical outer surface is interrupted by substantially upward facing surface segments so as to present a barbedlike longitudinal cross section to the base member.

2. A base member for use in a piling structure comprising: a generally conical-shaped member having an opening for receiving a water jetting pipe and a longitudinally interrupted conical outer surface so as to better be able to break through and break up soil obstructions during driving, wherein said interrupted surface is formed into threading.

3. The base member for use in a piling structure, as defined in claim 2, wherein: said threading is of the buttress type with upward facing surfaces between the crests and roots.

4. The base member for use in a piling structure, as defined in claim 1 wherein: said top of said base member has a plurality of concentric cylindrical segments formed thereon to receive a plurality of different diameter pipe sections.