US921545A - Structure for use in hydraulic engineering. - Google Patents

Description

w. v. mason. STRUCTURE FOR USE IN HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING.

APPLICATION FILED D30. 14, 1908.

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WITNESSES.

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W. V. JUDSON. STRUCTURE FOR USE IN HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 14, 190B.

Patented May 11, 1909.

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w/ /vsss v piers, retaining walls, dock fronts and the i that when floating the planes of its top UNITED 'STATPES PATENT ormon WILLIAM V. .TUDSON, OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY.

STRUCTURE FOR USE IN HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING.

No. 921,545. Specification of- Letters Patent. Patented May 11, 1909.

Application filed December 14, 1908. Serial No. 467,349.

T 0 all whom it may concern: vide such a caisson with an internal frame- Be it known that I, WVILLIAM V. JUnsoN, work forming one or more partitions extendinajor, corps of engineers, U. S. Army, sta- 1 ing therethrough from end to end to divide several comparttioned at Milwaukee, in the county of Mil its internal air space into have inf ments to receive different filling material, the

waukee and State of l/Visconsin, vented new and useful Improvements in l front compartment, the one next to the front Structures for Use in Hydraulic Engineer- .wall, being preferably filled with a low grade ing, of which the following is a description, 1 concrete to reinforce the wall of the caisson on g the water side and increase the effective thickness of said wall to render the same heavier, stronger, more durable and lasting. With the above and other objects in view the invention consistsin the caisson for use in hydraulic engineering herein described and 1 claimed, and all equivalents thereof. l Referring to the accompanying drawings 5 reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which are a part of this specification.

My invention relates to improvements in structures foruse in hydraulic engineering, such as foundations in water, revetinents,

The said invention consists of a reinforced concrete structure with or without cross walls, the walls and bottom so arranged as to produce air spaces and form a construction that will possess flotation, or which can easily be floated by means of auxiliary floats so that it may be assembled upon the land or upon or in a dry dock and launched or floated therefrom and then towed or propelled into position over a prepared or natl ural foundation where it may be sunk either by admission of water into the air chamber or chambers or by the addition of weights and subsequently filled or partly filled with stone, sand, concrete or other material. At the same time this structure, which may be called a caisson, shall possess such a shape and bottom will be approximately horizontal, though when set in position its front side, which will be exposed to the water, may be vertical or inclined backward from the bottom up, while its rear side, which comes against the material to be retained, whether sand, stone, earth, or gravel, will be inclined backward toward the fill from the bottom upward or from a point near the bottom upward to the top or to a point near the top.

Another object of the invention is to pro- 1 in which like characters of reference indicate the same parts in the different views; Figure 1 is a transverse vertical sectional view of a completed structure embodying the present invention; Fig. 2 is a plan view of the caisson thereof; Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view of the caisson in its floating position and containing-a compensating ballast and a partitioning framework; Fig. a is a transverse sectional view of a completed structure embodying the caisson of Fig. 3, with the front section of the interior filled with concrete and the rear section filled with rock or other material and a portion of the framework l removed; and, Fig. 5 is a plan view of the caisson shown in Fig. 3.

In the drawings the caisson of the present invention isshown as composed of concrete walls 10 containing metallicreinforcements 11 and forming an open box-like receptacle, which, because of the air space 12 contained therein, is capable of flotation to permit of its being easily and conveniently floated into position from its place of manufacture, which may be near or remote. When above its natural or prepared foundation 13 it may be gradually sunk into position thereon by admitting water to the air space 12 or by otherwise filling its interior.

, A. distinguishing feature of the present invention is that the rearwall of the caisson, the one against which the retained material 14 bears, is inclined backwardly from the bottom up. It is also preferable, but not essential tothe objects of this invention, that the front wall should be inclined rearwardly from the bottom up, to lie in an approxil mately parallel plane to the rear wall, though vide such a caisson with a sufficient amount of ballast filling when necessary to effect its uprightness or flotation, this ballast preferably constituting a low grade concrete of such a quantity and disposed in such a posi tion as to correct the position of the center of gravity with relation to the center of buoyancy and cause it to maintain its upper surface in a horizontal plane when floating.

Another object of the invention is to proit will be understood that the invention contemplates a vertical front wall as well as one inclined forwardly or rearwardly.

en the caisson is in position a filling 15 of stone or other heav r material, such as sand, earth, concrete or gravel, or a composition of these materials, is placed in the interior thereof, and a cap 16 of ordinary construction or other object for which the caisson is to constitute a foundation, is placed thereon.

The inclination of the front wall of the caisson is desirable for dock fronts and the like, and with it the inclination of the rear wall of the caisson to a plane approximately parallel therewith serves to promote the uprightness of fiotation, and under proper 0911-.

ditions as to the distribution of weight in the walls and the ho 'tom it will require nothing in addition thereto to properly float and maintain its upper surface in a horizontal plane. However, when the proportions of the caisson or the distribution of material therein causes it to float with its upper sur face at an angle to the horizontal, a sufficient amount of ballast may be placed therein, preferably in the form of a low grade concrete 17 which may be disposed evenly over the bottom of the caisson or more to one side than the other as desired, to have the result of lowering the center of gravity and effectively raising the center of buoyancy so as to correct the defect and render the caisson more stable with a tendency to maintain its upper surface in a horizontal plane.

Under some conditions it is desired to increase the effective thickness of the front wall of the caisson which is exposed to the water, either to increase its strength to withstand the blows of vessels striking thereagainst or to increase its body to longer resist the deteriorating effect of sea water. With this object in view a partitioning framework may be formed within the caisson to divide its interior into separate compart ments to receive different filling materials so that the compartment next to the front wall of the caisson may be filled with a low grade concrete 18 to form a reinforcement for the front wall of the caisson and become in effect a part thereof. As shown in the drawings a framework suitable for this purpose comprises uprights 19, preferably with their lower ends set into the concrete ballast 17, these uprights being arranged along the inner surface of the front and rear walls of the caisson and also along an intermediate line, with brace beams 20 fitted between them and a partition 21 formed on the intermediate s'tandards 19 to divide the air space 12 into front and rear compartments.

When the caisson has been lowered into position on the foundation 13 the front compartment is filled with concrete 18, and when this is set the'framework and partition may I be removed from the rear compartment and the space filled with the stone or other filling l 15 or this framework may remain to serve as a brace between the walls of the caisson with the material 15 filled in around it.

It is obvious that when sunk the caisson has its upper surface slightly above the water level so that the concrete used in filling need not be deposited in water.

The interior frame work may be utilized to resist a part of the water pressure while the caisson is floating.

The inclination of the rear wall of the caisson as described will cause the filling 14 back of the caisson to support a part of the weight of the caisson while such retained material will lie in a slope more nearly approaching its angle of repose than it would if its front plane were vertical, thus reducing the work to be done by the revetment or retaining wall while at the same time somewhat relieving the foundation of the weight that would ordinarily be brought upon it by a revetment of this character. Thus both the foundation and the revetment may be of less expensive construction. Furthermore the inclination of the back wall of the caisson to the rear removes the center of gravity of the caisson and its filling and superimposed load farther to the rear. The effect of this shifting of the center of gravity rearwardly will be to remove the center of pressure farther back from the front toe of the caisson, thus distributing the weights better upon the foundations.

What I claim as my invention is 1. A caisson constituting a unit in the building construction of a sub-merged retaining wall or revetment, provided with a substantially horizontal bottom, a rear wall arranged at an obtuse angle to said bottom and with an air chamber to permit the caisson to be floated into position, substantially as described.

2. A caisson constituting a unit in the building construction of a sub-1nerged retaining wall or revetment provided with a substantially horizontal bottom, a front wall arranged at an acute angle to said bottom, a rear wall arranged at an obtuse angle to said bottom and an air chamber to permit the caisson to be floated into position, substantially as described.

3. A caisson constituting a unit in the building construction of a sub-merged retaining wall or revetment provided with a substantially horizontal bottom, front and rear walls each arranged at an angle to said bottom and parallel to each other, and an air chamber, substantially as described.

1. A caisson provided with an air chamber or chambers to permit of its being floated into position to serve as a structure for hydraulic engineering, the rear wall of the caisson being inclined backward and a ballast of concrete or the like within the caisson so arranged as to produce uprightness of flotation thereof.

5. A caisson provided with an air chamber of the caisson inclined backward, a ballast Within the air space of the caisson of concrete or like material, standards set into the ballast, beams connecting the standards to form to permit of its being floated into position to 1 a framework within the air space of the cais- A serve as a revetment or foundation for hyson, and a partition formed upon the frame draulic engineering, the rear wall of the caiswork and dividing the air space of the caisson being inclined backward, there being a son into front and rear compartments, the partition through the air chamber of the 1 front compartment being designed to recaisson to divide it into separate compart- I ceive a filling of concrete or the like to reinments, the front compartment being deforce and effectively enlarge the front wall signed to receive a fillin of concrete to reinof the caisson and the rear compartment beforce and efiectively en arge the front wall ing designed to receive other filling mateof the caisson and the rear compartment derial.

signed to receive other filling material. In testimony whereof, I affix my signa- 6. A reinforced concrete caisson provided ture, in presence of two witnesses.

with an air chamber so that flotation may WILLIAM V. JUDSON. be availed of to introduce it into position as part or all of a foundationor other structure for hydraulic engineering, with the rear wall WVitnesses:

R. S. C. CALDWELL, ANNA F. SOHMIDTBAUER.

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