Method and assembly for soldier pile retaining wall leveling and erosion control

Abstract

A method and assembly are disclosed for building a soldier pile shore wall or soldier pile retaining wall. The method and assembly are designed to permit the shore wall to be leveled along the bed of a body of water, whether the bed of the body of water is level or not level. Simultaneously, the method and assembly prevent erosion of the bed of the body of water in the vicinity of the assembly, extending the life-span of the shore wall, and enabling maintenance of the shore wall to be performed by permitting the assembly to be re-embedded in the bed of the body of water and re-leveled at the time when erosion eventually does occur.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not Applicable.

FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable.

PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT

Not Applicable.

REFERENCE TO MICROFICHE APPENDIX CONTAINING A COMPUTER PROGRAM

Not Applicable.

BACKGROUND AND BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In the field of shore wall construction, the classical means of installing soldier pile shore wall panels has been to use a static base made of lagging that sits on the bottom of the body of water with additional lagging placed atop the static base to disperse waves at the surface of the body of water. Such installations suffer from a limited life expectancy and cannot be leveled upon the bed of a body of water that is not already level itself. Over time, the bed of the body of water will erode because of the wave action in the vicinity of the shore wall, causing erosion to occur under the shore wall and under the static base of the shore wall due to washing out of the bed of the body of water beneath the static base) of the shore wall. The course of the erosion process is magnified because classical means of lagging placement permit water to migrate through and under the lagging when it is installed atop the bed of a body of water that is not level, due to gaps between the bed of the body of water and the bottom edge of the static base of the shore wall. This erosion process ultimately causes backfill behind the shore wall to wash out, that in turn causes premature failure of the shore wall. Usually, when such erosion occurs, shore walls subject to erosion at the bed of the body of water have to be removed and completely replaced due to failure of the shore wall caused by such erosion. The same holds true for soldier pile retaining walls in general, in that migrating water can lead to premature failure and such retaining walls are not able to be leveled by classical means.

The claimed Method and Assembly for Soldier Pile Retaining Wall Leveling And Erosion Control enables the shore wall base element assembly of the shore wall to be driven or pounded into the bed of the body of water so the upper edge surface of the assembly can be leveled, allowing for the placement of any type of lagging, including, but not limited to concrete, timber or corrugated steel upon the shore wall base element assembly, resulting in a level shore wall with an uppermost edge that is above and parallel to the surface of the body of water and that will prevent erosion along the periphery of a body of water in general and in the vicinity of the shore wall base element assembly in particular.

The claimed method and assembly employs a wedge-shaped design that allows the shore wall base element assembly to cut into the bed of the body of water when driven or pounded upon from above. Because of the claimed design, the assembly can be leveled, even when the bed of the body of water is not level, and provides a solid surface through which water cannot migrate, delaying the erosion process. The leveling of the shore wall base element assembly also enables the lagging panels above the surface of the water to be leveled at the uppermost edge, resulting in a pleasing aesthetic look that is not achieved by classical means of creating soldier pile shore walls, which result in lagging panels at uneven heights above the water surface.

Eventually, the wave action of the body of water in the vicinity of the shore wall will erode the bed of the body of water in the area of the shore wall base element assembly. However, because of the shore wall base element assembly's solid surface and ability to be leveled, erosion will occur over a much longer period than with classical shore wall and soldier pile retaining wall designs. Another novel feature of the method and assembly is that when erosion ultimately does occur beneath the shore wall base element assembly of the shore wall, maintenance can be done to the shore wall, whereas classical shore wall and soldier pile retaining wall designs would have required the entire removal and reinstallation of a new shore wall system. The shore wall base element assembly can be driven further into the bed of the body of water, allowing the shore wall to be maintained and repaired instead of replaced. When erosion on the side opposite the landward side of the shore wall base element assembly eventually undermines the assembly at the base of the shore wall, the lagging above the shore wall base element assembly can be removed, the steel I-beams serving as soldier pile can be extended and driven further into the bed of the body of water and the shore wall base element assembly can be driven further into the bed of the body of water to again provide a level and impermeable base for the shore wall barrier. The lagging can then be replaced with additional lagging on top of the original lagging to bring the top of the wall to its original height.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a pictorial view of the level shore wall in its preferred embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a pictorial view of the shore wall base element assembly of the level shore wall and soldier pile retaining wall leveling and erosion control base plate assembly.

FIG. 3 is a detailed view of the reinforcing gussets of the shore wall base element assembly of the level shore wall.

FIG. 4 is a detailed view of the framing elements of the shore wall base element assembly of the level shore wall.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 illustrates one embodiment of the novel shore wall or retaining wall of the invention intended for installation along the periphery of a body of water. A plurality of vertical soldier pilings (1) are driven or pounded into the bed of the body of water along a longitudinal center line with uniform spacing equivalent to the longitudinal dimension of the shore wall base element assembly (2) and lagging panels (3). The opposing transverse slots (4-5) of the vertical soldier pilings are equivalent width to the width of the framing element (6) of the shore wall base element assembly. The side edge framing element is slotted into the receiving slot of the soldier pile which is an I-beam in the preferred embodiment. After the shore wall base element is inserted between adjacent soldier pilings, the shore wall base element is driven or pounded into the bed of the body of water (7). The same mechanism is repeated for a plurality of shore wall base elements which are driven or pounded into the lake bed so that they are level with the adjacent shore wall base elements. Lagging of equivalent width to the framing elements is then inserted in the slot made by the soldier piling where it is placed atop the shore wall base element to provide a level uppermost edge (8) to the finished shore wall. This is repeated with a plurality of lagging so that the uppermost edge of each lagging panel is level and the same height above the surface of the water as any adjacent lagging panel. As can be seen, the lower most edge of the shore wall base element is fully embedded in the bed of the body of water to prevent migration of water through the shore wall base element. The shore wall base elements are leveled in the horizontal plane to ensure that the lagging panels inserted atop the shore wall base elements will also be level. In situations where there is a steep drop off of the bed of the body of water, the shore wall base element can be incrementally lower than the shore wall base element adjacent to it in an amount equivalent to the height of the adjacent lagging panel, and in that situation, multiple lagging panels can be added atop a shore wall base element to achieve a level uppermost edge of the shore wall that is uniform in height above the surface of the body of water. The same method and assembly can be implemented as a retaining wall by embedding the shore wall base element assembly (now called a retaining wall base element assembly) into dry ground instead of the bed of a body of water.

FIG. 2 illustrates a pictorial view of the shore wall base element assembly comprised of a rectangular metal wall panel (9) with an opposing upper edge (10) and lower edge (11) and opposing transverse side edges (12-13). The upper edge and transverse side edges of the metal wall panel are supported by framing elements (14) along those edges. Reinforcing gussets (15) are connected perpendicular to the upper edge of the framing element and perpendicular to the rectangular metal wall panel, terminating to the equivalent width of the rectangular metal wall panel at its lower edge. The reinforcing gussets provide rigidity to the shore wall base element and also help the shore wall base element cut into the bed of the body of water or ground because of the wedge-shaped design and orientation. The shore wall base element can be constructed in a variety of sizes.

FIG. 3 illustrates the detail of the reinforcing gussets (16), showing the wedge shape of the gussets which terminate at the lower edge of the rectangular metal wall panel (17) and expand to the width of the framing element on the upper edge of the rectangular metal wall panel (18).

FIG. 4 illustrates a detailed view of the framing element along the upper edge (19) and opposing transverse side edges (20-21) of the rectangular metal wall panel. When the shore wall base element is leveled upon being embedded into the bed of the body of water or ground, the framing element at the upper edge of the shore wall base element will be level, enabling level lagging panels to be placed atop the framing element's uppermost surface.

Testing and experimentation has revealed the best mode contemplated for the retaining or shore wall design, which includes the use of 20′ long I-beams as soldier pilings with receiving slots that are 5″ wide to accommodate the side edge framing element of the shore wall base element assembly. Also, testing and experimentation has revealed the best mode of the invention includes a shore wall base element that has a vertical dimension of 4′, a horizontal dimension of 10′ and includes a rectangular metal wall panel formed from ¼″ plate mild steel. Testing and experimentation has also revealed the best mode of the invention includes framing elements along the upper edge and transverse side edges of the shore wall base elements including framing elements that are made of C-5 channel steel that is 5″ wide. Lagging is commonly available with a 5′ vertical dimension, 10′ horizontal dimension and 5″ depth dimension. The I-beam soldier pilings are spaced 10′ apart at their vertical centers to accommodate 10′ horizontal dimension shore wall base element assemblies and 10′ horizontal dimension lagging.

The foregoing description of the invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and the description is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above disclosure. The embodiment was chosen and described to best explain the invention and its application to enable others skilled in the art to best use the invention in those embodiments and with various modifications suited to the particular use contemplated. All substitutions and variations and equivalents thereof are encompassed within the scope of this invention, which is limited only by the claims appended hereto.

Claims

1. A method of building a level shore wall, wherein the completed shore wall will have an upper horizontal surface that is elevated above and parallel to the surface of the body of water, comprising these steps:

Embedding a plurality of vertical soldier pilings in the bed of the body of water, wherein the spacing between the vertical soldier pilings is uniform;

Embedding fully the lowermost edge of a plurality of shore wall base elements into the bed of the body of water, wherein said shore wall base elements are inserted between adjacent soldier pilings;

Leveling each shore wall base element in the horizontal plane.

2. The method of claim 1 comprising the further step of inserting one or more lagging panels atop each shore wall base element wherein the top most horizontal surface of each lagging panel is level with the top most horizontal surface of any adjacent lagging panel.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the vertical soldier pilings are I-beams.

4. The method of claim 2 wherein the vertical soldier pilings are I-beams.

5. A method of building a level retaining wall, wherein the completed retaining wall will have an upper horizontal surface that is level and above ground, comprising these steps:

Embedding a plurality of vertical soldier pilings in the ground, wherein the spacing between the vertical soldier pilings is uniform;

Embedding fully the lowermost edge of a plurality of retaining wall base elements into the ground, wherein said retaining wall base elements are inserted between adjacent soldier pilings;

Leveling each retaining wall base element in the horizontal plane.

6. The method of claim 5 comprising the further step of inserting one or more lagging panels atop each retaining wall base element wherein the top most horizontal surface of each lagging panel is level with the top most horizontal surface of any adjacent lagging panel.

7. The method of claim 5 wherein the vertical soldier pilings are I-beams.

8. The method of claim 6 wherein the vertical soldier pilings are I-beams.

9. A level shore wall comprising:

At least one shore wall base element wherein the said shore wall base element includes a rectangular metal wall panel having an opposing upper edge and lower edge, and opposing transverse side edges, wherein said upper edge and said transverse side edges are supported by a framing element, wherein said lower edge is fully embedded in the bed of a body of water, wherein said upper edge is level in the horizontal plane;

Means of leveling said upper edge;

A plurality of reinforcing gussets perpendicular to the said upper edge framing element and said rectangular metal wall panel wherein said reinforcing gussets are wedge-shaped;

Means of connecting the said reinforcing gussets to the rectangular metal wall panel and said upper edge framing element;

A plurality of vertical soldier pilings having a longitudinal centerline and spaced uniformly, each of which includes opposing transverse slots for receiving one of said transverse side framing elements.

10. The level shore wall of claim 9 wherein said vertical soldier pilings are I-beams.

11. The level shore wall of claim 9 wherein said rectangular metal wall panel is ¼″ plate steel.

12. A level retaining wall comprising:

At least one retaining wall base element wherein the said retaining wall base element includes a rectangular metal wall panel having an opposing upper edge and lower edge, and opposing transverse side edges, wherein said upper edge and said transverse side edges are supported by a framing element, wherein said lower edge is fully embedded in the ground, wherein said upper end is level in the horizontal plane;

Means of leveling said upper edge;

A plurality of reinforcing gussets perpendicular to the said upper edge framing element and said rectangular metal wall panel wherein said reinforcing gussets are wedge-shaped;

Means of connecting the said reinforcing gussets to the rectangular metal wall panel and said upper edge framing element;

A plurality of vertical soldier pilings having a longitudinal centerline and spaced uniformly, each of which includes opposing transverse slots for receiving one of said transverse side edge framing elements.

13. The level retaining wall of claim 12 wherein said vertical soldier pilings are I-beams.

14. The level retaining wall of claim 12 wherein said rectangular metal wall panel is ¼″ plate steel.

15. A soldier pile retaining wall leveling and erosion control base plate assembly comprising:

A rectangular metal wall panel having an opposing upper edge and lower edge, and opposing transverse side edges;

A frame element placed along the said upper edge of the said rectangular metal wall panel;

A frame element placed along each said transverse side edge of the said rectangular metal wall panel;

Means of connecting the said frame elements to the said rectangular metal wall panel;

A plurality of vertical reinforcing gussets perpendicular to the said upper edge framing element;

Means of connecting the said reinforcing gussets to the rectangular metal wall panel and said upper edge framing element.

16. The soldier pile retaining wall leveling and erosion control base plate assembly of claim 15 wherein said rectangular metal wall panel is ¼″ plate steel.