An improved method and apparatus for constructing a soil reinforced earthen retaining wall wherein successive soil reinforcing mats embedded within an earthen formation have bent-up face elements which are slidably engaged to enable the earthen formation to settle without bulging the face elements. backing mats are disposed behind the face elements for movement relative thereto in generally vertical planes. The backing mats serve to support the successive soil reinforcing mats and permit the mats to more toward one another to accommodate settling of the formation without bulging of the face elements.
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0. 20. A soil reinforced retaining wall for an earthen formation comprising:
a) first and second welded wire soil reinforcing mats embedded in the formation in generally horizontal spaced relationship, with the second mat being disposed above the first mat;
b) a face secured to and extending upwardly from one end of the first mat and toward the second mat; and,
c) support means carried by the face and disposed for supporting engagement with the second mat, said means being movable relative to the face to permit the second mat to move vertically relative to the first mat to accommodate settling of the earthen formation without bulging of the face.
0. 21. A soil reinforced retaining wall for an earthen formation comprising:
a) first and second welded wire soil reinforcing mats embedded in the formation in generally horizontal spaced relationship, with the second mat being disposed above the first mat;
b) a face secured to and extending upwardly from one end of the first mat and toward the second mat; and,
c) support means carried by the face and disposed for supporting engagement with the second mat, said means being movable relative to the face and permitting the second mat to move vertically relative to the first mat to accommodate settling of the earthen formation without bulging of the face.
17. A soil reinforced retaining wall for an earthen formation, comprising:
a) first and second welded wire soil reinforcing mats embedded in the formation in generally horizontally horizontal spaced relationship with the second mat being disposed above the first mat and the first mat having a face extending upwardly from one end thereof toward the second mat; and,
b) support means carried by the face of the first mat and disposed for supporting engagement with the second mat, said means being movable relative to the face to permit the second mat to move vertically relative to the first mat to accommodate settling of the earthen formation without bulging of the face.
1. A soil reinforced retaining wall for an earthen formation, comprising:
a) a plurality of welded wire soil reinforcing mats successively embedded in the formation one above the other in generally horizontal spaced relationship, each mat having a generally horizontal floor comprised of a gridwork of wires and a face comprised of generally vertically extending wires wherein the wires of the face of each mat are held against horizontal displacement by the reinforcing mat thereabove and are free to move vertically relative thereto; and,
b) a welded wire backing mat disposed behind the vertically extending wires of the face of each reinforcing mat for movement relative thereto in a generally vertical plane, each backing mat having an element for supporting engagement with the next successive reinforcing mat thereabove and being spaced from the floor of the reinforcing mat therefor to permit the next successive reinforcing mat to settle to accommodate settling of the earthen formation.
9. A method of constructing a soil reinforced retaining wall for an earthen formation, comprising:
a) embedding a plurality of welded wire soil reinforcing mats in the formation in generally horizontal spaced relationship to one another so that each mat has a generally horizontal floor comprised of a gridwork of wires and a face comprised of generally vertically extending wires wherein the wires of the face of each reinforcing mat are held against horizontal displacement by the mat thereabove and are free to move vertically relative thereto; and,
b) positioning a welded wire backing mat behind the vertically extending wires of the face of each reinforcing mat for movement relative thereto in a generally vertical plane, each backing mat being disposed for supporting engagement with the next successive reinforcing mat thereabove and being spaced from the floor of the reinforcing mat therefor to permit the next successive reinforcing mat to settle to accommodate settling of the earthen formation.
2. A soil reinforced retaining wall according to
3. A soil reinforced retaining wall according to
4. A soil reinforced mat according to
5. A soil reinforced retaining wall according to
a) the face of each reinforcing mat has a wire extending transversely of the vertically extending wires of the mat; and,
b) the hog rings are connected between the backing mat and the transversely extending wire.
6. A soil reinforced retaining wall according to
7. A soil reinforced retaining wall according to
8. A soil reinforced retaining wall according to
10. A method according to
11. A method according to
12. A method according to
13. A method according to
a) the face of each reinforcing mat has a wire extending transversely of the vertically extending wires of the mat; and,
b) the hog rings are connected between the backing mat and the transversely extending wire.
14. A method according to
15. A method according to
16. A method according to
18. A soil reinforced retaining wall according to
19. A soil reinforced retaining wall according to
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The present invention relates to the retention of earthen formations and, more particularly, is concerned with a retaining and reinforcing mechanism made up of welded wire mats having face sections which are secured to one another. In its more specific aspects, the invention is concerned with an improved method and apparatus which accommodates settling of the earthen formation, without bulging of the face sections of the wall.
The prior art relating to the present invention is exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 4,117,686 to William K. Hilfiker. That patent discloses a method and apparatus for constructing retaining walls from welded wire gridworks of the type with which the present invention is concerned. In the structure of the patent, the face sections of the gridworks are secured together, either through means of separate ties, or by plastically deforming the distal wires of the face sections as the wall is erected. Another form of wire retention wall may be seen in French patent 7,507,114, published Oct. 1, 1976. In the structure of that patent, the wire trays have U-shaped face sections which are superimposed upon one another and, in at least some instances, secured together with wire ties. Other patents of interest to various techniques which have been provided for securing the face sections of compressible welded wire retaining walls together are William K. Hilfiker U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,505,621, 4,856,939, 5,722,799 and 5,733,072.
The present invention provides a welded wire reinforced soil retaining wall where the horizontal soil reinforcing elements may move toward one another in response to the settling of an earthen formation, without bulging of the face sections. This is achieved by securing the successive face sections of the wall in slidable engagement with one another and supporting the soil reinforcing mats on backing mats which are free to move vertically, without bulging. The face sections of the reinforcing mats of the present invention have no cross wires which are engaged as the fill compacts. The successive face sections hold one another against outward displacement, without bulging. In one embodiment, extensions on the successive face sections serve both to secure the sections in slidable engagement with one another and to secure the backing mats against outward displacement, while permitting the reinforcing mats to settle. In another embodiment, the backing mats for each successive face section have extensions which slidably engage the next successive backing mat to hold it against outward displacement. Releasable connectors secure the backing mats to the face sections of the soil reinforcing mats to facilitate erection of the wall, while permitting the backing mats to release to accommodate settling of the fill in the retained earthen formation.
A principal object of the invention is to provide a soil reinforced retaining wall utilizing welded wire soil reinforcing elements having face sections which can accommodate settling of the retained earthen formation, without bulging.
Another object of the invention is to provide such a wall in which the face maintains its integrity and aesthetic appearance, even where settlement of the earthen formation takes place.
Still another object of the invention is to provide such a wall which will adapt to the settlement of a retained earthen formation which frequently occurs as the result of inadequate compaction of fill and/or poor fill quality.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide such a wall in which the soil reinforcing elements are securely held together during erection of the wall, while still permitting relative movement of the elements in response to settlement of the earthen formation being retained.
Still another and more specific object is to provide such a wall wherein the number of components and their complexity is no greater than that of other soil enforced wire walls presently in use.
Another object is to provide such a wall which maintains its integrity throughout its life.
These and other objects will become more apparent when viewed in light of the accompanying drawings and following detailed description.
First Embodiment
Referring now to
The stiffening mat ST has floor and face sections SF and SS and is comprised longitudinal wires 14 and transverse 16 welded together at their intersections. Typical spacing is 6 inches for the longitudinal wires and 12 inches for the transverse wires, with the face section SS having the height of 7 inches and the floor section SF having a length of 23½ inches.
The backing mat BM is of generally planer configuration and comprises longitudinal wires 18 and transverse wires 20 welded together at their intersections. Typical spacing is 8 inches for the longitudinal wires and 3 inches for the transverse wires.
The top soil reinforcing mat TR is of a modified construction, as compared to the mat SM. Mat TR has a face section TS and a floor section TF. The mat TR is comprised of longitudinal wires 22 and transverse wires 24 welded together at their intersections. Typical spacing for the longitudinal wires is 6 inches and for the transverse wires is 12 inches. The length of the floor section TF is determined by the depth of the formation being reinforced. The face section TS terminates at one of the transverse wires 24 and typically has a height of approximately 24 inches.
The longitudinal and transverse wires of the top mat TM are designated by the numerals 26 and 28, respectively, and have the same spacing as those of the top reinforcing mat TR. The mat TM has a face section FM disposed at right angles relative to its floor section MM. The face section terminates at a transverse wire 28, with distal ends of the longitudinal wires 26 being bent inwardly to form hooks 30.
The components of the wall are completed by filter mats 32 formed of conventional filter fabric. These mats are cut to compliment the shape of the backing mats BM.
The assembly sequence for the lowermost lift is illustrated in
With the backfill of the first lift in place, the components of the second lift are then assembled over those of the first lift, as shown in
The next step of assembly for the second lift is to thread a backing mat BM over the upwardly extending ends of the longitudinal wires 10 of the lower lift soil reinforcing mat so that the wires 10 pass between the lowermost adjacent transverse wires 20, as seen
Assembly of the second lift is completed by sliding the second lift backing mat BM over the upwardly extending distal wires 10 of the lower lift face mat FS to an extent such that the lower extremity of the second lift backing mat BM is spaced from the floor section FF of the second lift soil reinforcing mat by a dimension “s” of approximately 3 inches and then swinging the second lift backing mat BM forwardly and fastening it in place with a hog ring 34, as seen in
Construction of the retaining wall is completed by forming the top lift of the wall through means of the top reinforcing mat and TR and associated backing mat BM and filter mat 32 seen at the top of
Second Embodiment
The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment only in that the elements used to form the lower lifts are of a slightly different construction. The elements to form the top-most lift are of a construction identical to that of the first embodiment, as may be seen from the upper portion of
The elements of the second embodiment which are the same as those of the first embodiment are designated by like numerals and letters. The elements of the second embodiment which correspond to those of those of the first embodiment, but are somewhat modified, are designated by the same letters and numerals of the first embodiment, followed prime marks as follows:
BM′
backing mat
FF′
floor section
FS′
face section
SM′
soil reinforcing mat
10′
longitudinal wires
12′
transverse wires
18′
longitudinal wires
20′
transverse wire
The elements of the lowermost lift of the second embodiment are assembled in a manner corresponding identically to those of the elements of the first lift. This may be seen from
The differences between the first and second embodiments can be best seen from a comparison of
Assembly of the second lift is completed by swinging the backing mat BM′ in the direction of the horizontal arrow line shown in
Like the first embodiment, successive lifts are assembled over the second lift of the second embodiment until the wall reaches it desired height, with the uppermost lift being construction through use of a top reinforcing mat TR and a top mat TM. In assembly of the top most lift, the backing mat BM of that lift is threaded over the distal ends 38 of the backing mat BM′ of the lift immediately therebelow. As with all lifts of the second embodiment wall, the backing mat BM of the top lift is assembled so as to be spaced above the floor section TF by a dimension of approximately three inches.
Settling of the second embodiment wall as the result of the compaction of the fill therein is accommodated similarly to that of the first embodiment wall. In this process, the backing mats BM′ may slide vertically on the distal ends 38 over the dimension “s” for each lift, without bulging of the face of the wall. At the same time, the face section FS′ of each successive lift holds the face section of the lift therebelow through means of the transverse wire 12′ at the intersection of the face section FS′ and floor section FF′ of the next successive lift.
From the foregoing description and accompanying drawings, it is believed apparent that the present invention enables the attainment of the objects initially set forth herein. In particular, it provides a soil reinforced retaining wall wherein successive lifts may settle, without bulging of their face sections. Such settlement is accommodated by supporting the soil reinforcing mats of successive lifts on the backing mats of the lifts therebelow and permitting these backing mats to settle through means of a slidable connection. It should be understood, however, the invention is not intended to be limited to the specifics of the illustrated embodiments, but rather is defined by accompanying claims.
Hilfiker, William B., Hilfiker, Harold K.
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