Deep foundation porewater pressure dissipater
AssigneeBoard of Regents of the Nevada System of Higher Education, on behalf of the University of Nevada, Reno
InventorsSherif A. Elfass, Gary M. Norris
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A porewater pressure dissipater is disclosed. In one example, a disclosed dissipater includes aggregate; a cylindrical receptacle for receiving the aggregate; a plate having a top surface and a bottom surface and one or more openings transcending from the top surface to the bottom surface wherein the plate secures and compacts the aggregate in the cylindrical receptacle; and one or more access tubes coupled to the top surface of the plate wherein the one or more access tubes are positioned over the one or more openings thereby forming a passageway to the cylindrical receptacle. The disclosed dissipater allows piles and shafts to be embedded at the optimum depth without concerns of liquefaction.
Claims17
A deep foundation porewater pressure dissipater, comprising:
- aggregate;
- a cylindrical receptacle formed to allow water to selectively pass through it and is for receiving the aggregate;
- a top plate having a top surface and a bottom surface and one or more openings transcending from the top surface to the bottom surface wherein the top plate secures and compacts the aggregate in the cylindrical receptacle;
- and
- one or more access tubes coupled to the top surface of the top plate;
- one or more coupling elements each comprising a first end and a second end wherein each first end is coupled to each access tube, thereby forming a passageway to the cylindrical receptacle and the deep foundation porewater pressure dissipater which allows water to flow from a bearing soil to an outlet surface and facilitating dissipating pressure from water buildup,
- wherein the dissipater has a through passage passing through the top plate, the cylindrical receptacle and a bottom plate of the dissipater to allow a portion of a pile or shaft body to pass through the dissipater.
A method of assembling a deep foundation porewater dissipater, comprising:
- arranging uniform or nonuniform aggregate in a cylindrical receptacle;
- coupling a top plate and a bottom plate to the cylindrical receptacle so that the top plate compacts the aggregate and the bottom plate seals the aggregate within the cylindrical receptacle wherein the top plate comprises a top surface and a bottom surface and one or more openings transcending from the top surface to the bottom surface;
- and
- coupling an access tube to each of the openings within the top plate by one or more coupling elements each of which comprises a first end and a second end thereby forming a passageway to the cylindrical receptacle allowing water to flow from a side or bottom surface of the cylindrical receptacle through the opening and into the access tube when in use, thereby forming an assembled deep foundation porewater dissipater capable of facilitating dissipating pressure from water buildup, and
- wherein the dissipater has a through passage passing through the top plate, the cylindrical receptacle and a bottom plate of the dissipater to allow a portion of a pile or shaft body to pass through the dissipater.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.