Soil reinforcing retaining wall anchor

Abstract

A facing anchor for securing a soil reinforcing element to a facing comprising an unbroken length of continuous wire originating with a pair of lateral extensions cast into a concrete wall and including a series of loops extending from the concrete wall, wherein the loops each include an angularly inclined distal end segment configured to receive corresponding ends of the soil reinforcing element.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION[0001]This application is related to commonly-owned and concurrently filed U.S. Design Patent Application No. ______, entitled “SOIL REINFORCING RETAINING WALL ANCHOR,” Attorney Docket No. 21801.30.BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE[0002]Retaining wall structures that use horizontally positioned soil inclusions to reinforce an earth mass in combination with a facing element are referred to as Mechanically Stabilized Earth (MSE) structures. MSE can be used for various applications including retaining walls, bridge abutments, dams, seawalls, and dikes.[0003]The basic MSE technology is a repetitive process where layers of backfill and horizontally placed soil reinforcing elements are positioned one atop the other until a desired height of the earthen structure is achieved. Typically, grid-like steel mats or welded wire mesh are used as reinforcement elements. In most applications, the reinforcing mats consist of parallel transversely extending wires weld...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

"The patent text describes a problem with the connection between soil reinforcing mats and facing anchors in Mechanically Stabilized Earth (MSE) structures. The issue is caused by misaligned or misplaced anchors, which can result in uneven stress distribution and potential failure of the reinforcing wires. The patent proposes a solution to this problem by introducing a new system that allows for better alignment of the anchors and wires, reducing stress concentration and the likelihood of failure."

Problems solved by technology

A potentially serious problem emerges, however, when a single-loop facing anchor and the corresponding end of a soil reinforcing mat fail to align properly.

In the field, however, it is not uncommon to encounter anchors that are misaligned relative to the ends of the soil reinforcing mats or are otherwise misplaced or bent.

In well compacted backfills, the configuration (e.g., squareness) of the grid-like reinforcing mats will be fixed and virtually unable to deform to connect properly to a bent or misplaced anchor, rendering the concrete panel useless.

However, if the anchors are positioned incorrectly, poor connection contact between anchor and reinforcing mat will occur and the stress transfer to the longitudinal wires will not be uniform and proportional.

The above-described misalignment results in significantly higher tensile stresses in the working wires than if all connections were made equally.

This uneven stress distribution, due to poor transfer load at the connection, may result in seriously overstressed reinforcing wires that may lead to tensile failure of the welded wire reinforcing mats.

Bending the reinforcement mat wires or the facing anchors to create a connection does not solve this problem as it only results in poor conformance to tolerances.

Certainly in those instances an uneven stress distribution will occur at the panel connection and may result in a future soil reinforcement failure.

Whether cast into the concrete on site or in a manufacturing facility, the single-loop facing anchors are prone to both horizontal and vertical misalignment, in addition to axial twisting and inconsistent depth placement.

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