WO2012167340A1 - Containment wall block and wall construction method - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a soil-containment wall block and the respective wall construction method, the block (1) being provided with parallel wings (12) as an extension of the lateral parts thereof, which allow the positioning thereof around structural ironwork (4) of pillars (5) that thus serve as forms when the pillars (5) are concreted, whilst the wall is formed by means of the juxtaposition of the blocks (1) without mortar in such a manner as to withstand forces originating from external loads and thus to allow drainage of the soil retained by the wall (2), the blocks (1) being seated in courses, each course having the blocks (1) positioned in one direction, with the open face (14) facing in the same direction, and with the wings (12) encased around the structural ironwork (4); in the next course, the blocks (1) are positioned in the opposite direction, with the open face (14) facing in the opposite direction.

Description

 CONTAINER WALL BLOCK AND METAL CONSTRUCTION METHOD

 I

 The present invention relates to a block of soil mass retaining wall and transmitting the efforts of these lands to the foundation of the hill. The wall is formed by the dry juxtaposition of several blocks, in order to resist the efforts coming from external loads, of different soil types and conditions and their loads.

 Retaining or retaining walls are known to man in the art to contain unstable soils on sloping ground, preventing their displacement or ruin.

 Among the various types of retaining walls are reinforced concrete, which are calculated according to the type of soil and unevenness of the ground. Through the use of steel reinforcement to resist bending stresses, they overcome the demands of the ground load and its loads by transmitting the forces absorbed by the reinforcement and the concrete itself to the foundation, which in turn transfers them to the ground downstream of the ground. containment structure through appropriate foundation techniques for each case.

 This method, although well-established, has the disadvantages of high construction costs as well as more complex logistics, since several elements are required for the correct molding of concrete, with wood or metal shapes, plastic spacers, crimping and the like. This method also requires more elaborate and therefore more expensive and more expensive steel reinforcement, which implies long execution times, high costs and difficulties in quality control of the work.

Another well-known retaining wall technique is stapled ground or ground slanting, which consists of the insertion of longitudinal metal elements (bars, steel cables or ropes) inside the massif after drilling process, with subsequent injection of cementitious mortar filling the interstices and promoting the adhesion between the ground and the said metallic element. After these procedures, a protective coating is also made on the face of the slope to prevent runoff from surface water causing erosion and consequent rupture of the massif.

 This eliminates the tendency to move the ground, which is the main cause of slopes or uneven ground accidents, as internal stresses are absorbed by such metallic elements passively (in the case of staples or anchor bolts) or actively (in the case of tie rods). or strands).

 This technique also has some disadvantages, as it requires a drilling of the ground in the face to be stabilized at considerable depths (approximately 80% of the slope height), which is often only feasible with the use of own drilling equipment, because the method is limited to approximately two meters deep, making it difficult to drill longer holes. Another disadvantage is the high cost, because the amount of work hours of people and machines is quite significant, the workforce specializes in all stages of its implementation, from design to execution, and the consumption of materials. It is high. Because Portland cement mortar is used in a very fluid trace for injection, the forecast of consumption is irregular, causing problems in cost estimates.

Another containment alternative is geosynthetic soil reinforcement, which is used particularly in landfill cases. It basically consists of filling properly compacted soil layers between reinforcements and interspersed with geosynthetics.

 As the strength of the mass depends on the compaction process and the insertion of said blanket during the formation of soil layers, it can only be applied to landfills. In addition, it requires study by specialized professionals, technical guidance during the execution of the work and project specification.

 Yet another type of known retaining wall is one that utilizes masonry blocks that are used to provide support and anchorage to the geotextile while performing its function of absorbing ground stresses.

 Another type of retaining wall is the use of common masonry and conventional concrete structures. In order to fit the pillar fittings, the outer walls of the blocks at the concreting site have to be broken, which then has to be grouted, resulting in poor looking, poorly finished masonry.

 In order to have quality and safety, qualified labor is required, with knowledge of steel framing, carpentry, masonry lifting techniques, which consumes more time. Consequently the costs are high, as well as the consumption of materials, time spent in logistics, and still do not dispense with the usual techniques of execution of reinforced concrete structures to complete the wall.

In order to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art, the present invention provides a retaining wall and wall block that resists efforts of a geotechnical nature, offering the stabilization of massifs of soils, whatever their geomechanical properties, whether subjected to or not the action of external uploads. Another object of the present invention is a block that can be used in practically all types of civil works that require soil containment, embankment or cutting, such as highways, bridges and viaducts, protection of buildings, protection and orientation. of courses or bodies of water, protection of open areas at lower levels than the surroundings such as sports areas, parking lots, parks, among others.

 It is a further object of the present invention for a soil containment wall constructed from said block, which is of any geometric pattern applicable to soil containment structures.

 This block is dry laid, without the need for mortars to join, in order to provide a reduction in the cost of material, greater agility in its lifting, without requiring specialized labor. Moreover, the wall formed with the present block is permeable, which produces relief from the neutral pressures of the massifs of soil through the release of accumulated water, allowing its application in terrain with any soil moisture content.

 The following are schematic figures of a particular embodiment of the invention, the dimensions and proportions of which are not necessarily actual, as they are intended solely for the purpose of presenting didactically the various aspects of the invention, the scope of which of protection is determined solely by the scope of the appended claims. .

 Figure 1 is a perspective view of the present retaining wall block (1).

 Figure 2 is a perspective view of a wall (2) constructed with block (1).

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the construction of the wall (2) at the beginning of the formation of the first where arrow I indicates the direction of positioning of the blocks (1).

 Figure 4 is a perspective view of the construction of the wall (2) at the beginning of the formation of the second course, where arrow II indicates the direction of positioning of the blocks (1) in a course subsequent to that shown in figure 3.

 Description of Illustrated Configuration

 As illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 4, the present invention is a retaining wall block (1) and wall used for stabilizing downhill slopes.

 The block (1) has a hollow parallelepiped shape (11), the opening (13) of which extends throughout its height, and is provided with two parallel flaps (12) extending from its sides, forming a cross-sectional piece in the form of an".

 The dimensions of block 1 are any suitable for wall formation, for example, the length may vary from 20 to 80 cm and the height from 10 to 40 cm.

 When forming walls (2), the blocks (1) are positioned on top of each other without mortar, which keeps the wall (2) permeable, ensuring full drainage to eliminate water accumulating in the soil retained by the wall (2) , relieving neutral pressures within the massif, reducing stress and consequently minimizing the possibility of structural accident.

 The block (1) is fitted around the hardware (4) by its open face (14) between the two flaps (12), which represents a great advantage over the prior art blocks which must be raised above the ends. brackets (4) for their fitting.

The wall (2) is formed from a foundation structure (3) where the fittings (4) of the pillars (5). The bars (4) are positioned on the foundation

(3), and after concreting, the blocks (1) are positioned, which, once the rows are finished, can be filled with concrete the location of the openings (6) where the hardware is

(4) forming the pillars (5).

 The pillars (5) are thus embodied using the walls of the blocks (1) as form, which represents an economy over traditional molding techniques using wood or metal forms.

 At each row the blocks (1) are positioned in one direction (see figures 3 and 4), with the open face (14) facing in the same direction (in figure 3 indicated by arrow I), and when finding the hardware (4 ), the open face (14) of the block (1) fits around the hardware (4), which is thus positioned between the tabs (12). Then proceed with the positioning of the other blocks (1) until the end of the row.

 The next row reverses the direction of positioning of the blocks (1), turning the open face (14) in the opposite direction (in figure 4 indicated by arrow II), and the blocks (1) positioned offset in half length relative to the block (1) of the layer just below, proceeding in the same way as the previous row. In this way, a lashing between the blocks (1) of two subsequent rows is obtained and there is also the formation of empty columns for concreting of columns or filling with any suitable material.

In this way the wall (2) has the blocks (1) of a row positioned with its open face (14) facing one side of the wall (2), while in the subsequent row there is an inversion in such positioning. that is, the open face (14) of the blocks (1) faces the opposite side (see figures 3 and 4). The positioning of the pillars and their fittings (4) varies according to the type and conditions of the massif, whose amount and spacing are determined according to the type of terrain, slope height, overload, etc.

 The beginning of the laying of the blocks (1) in the first row (see figure 3) is in the alignment of the wall (2) or its foundation structure (3). In the example illustrated in figure 3, there is a first block (1) seated facing the foundation structure (3). The remaining blocks (1) are laid against each other until the first row is complete, covering the entire length of the foundation structure (3), without the need to use settlement mortar between the blocks (1).

 For the laying of the second row (see figure

4), the direction of the blocks (1) must be reversed, and shifted in half block (1) relative to the lower block (1), thus providing the necessary lashing for the correct functioning of the wall (2). The use of mortar between the rows of blocks (1) is not necessary.

Advantageously, the wall (2) with the present block (1) already offers vertical alignment for the concrete pillars. The settler simply wraps the steel bars (4) pre-installed in the foundation structure (3) between the side flaps (12) of the blocks (1) at the same level as the current course being laid, no need for lifting the block (1) to the upper end of the steel bars (4) for engagement and lowering to the laying row, as is done in the case of closed section blocks. This block geometry prevents the settler from having to spend time and effort in forming the concrete pillars that reinforced the block (1). internally, and also avoid the use of wood forms for shaping the abutment.

 After laying the blocks (1), the spaces (6) are filled with concrete to form the columns (5), only in the projected alignments, ie where there are reinforcement hardware (4) for the formation the pillars (5) that help withstand the stresses caused by the soil mass upstream of the containment.

 After concreting the pillars (5), the remaining voids of the blocks (1) are filled with suitable materials, such as gravel, allowing the draining characteristics of the blocks (1) to be maintained and better structural performance of the assembly, by increasing the wall's own weight (2) and improving the friction in the mooring between the rows of blocks (D ·

 The block (1) does not need finishing or external coating, since, being a prefabricated part, it already has its own finishing.

 Advantageously, the present wall (2) does not require the use of hardware overlays (4) when constructing the foundation structure (3), which is necessary when raising the blocks to fit the hardware (4), which in addition to To be able to represent structural weakness points, when not performed correctly, there is work to perform the union of the bars. This is because the open face of the block (1) can be positioned at any height of the wall (2).

The present wall also has the advantage of being cohesive because, as the concreting of the pillars (5) is made using the block (1) as a form, the concrete adheres to the blocks (1) forming a cohesive assembly that transmits the loads from the ground mass to the pillars (5) directly, without the need for additional elements in the wall retaining structure assembly (2).

 The person skilled in the art will readily appreciate from the description and drawings shown various ways of carrying out the invention without departing from the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

 1 - CONTAINING WALL BLOCK with hollow parallelepiped shape (11), whose opening (13) extends throughout its height characterized by the fact that it comprises two parallel flaps (12) extending from its sides, forming a piece of cross section in the form of an "A".  2 - WALL characterized by the fact that it comprises a foundation structure (3) where bolt fittings (4) are anchored (5); On said foundation (3) there are blocks (1) seated in rows, in which each row the blocks (1) are positioned in one direction, with the open face (14) facing in the same direction, and with the tabs (12) fitted around the hardware (4); wherein in the subsequent row the blocks (1) are positioned in inverted direction with the open face (14) facing in the opposite direction; and the blocks (1) are the shapes of the pillars (5) made after the laying of the blocks (1).  Wall according to claim 2, characterized in that the blocks (1) are laid without mortar.