Cast in place geopolymer concrete pile with heating unit
AssigneesUniversity of Tennessee Research Foundation, Hebei Research Institute of Construction and Geotechnical Investigation Co., Ltd.
InventorsBaoshan Huang, Wei Hu, Xiang Shu, Qiang He, Qingke Nie
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Methods of preparing cast-in-place geopolymer piles using electrical heating wire (130) to provide heat to cure the piles are described. The heating wire (130) can be associated with a reinforcement cage (120) inserted in the pile shaft. Rod-shaped heating units comprising electrical heating wire (130) can be inserted into a pile shaft and can be reusable. Geopolymer piles with high compressive strength can be prepared from mixtures of class F fly ash and aqueous sodium hydroxide by heating the piles with the heating wire to a stable curing temperature for at least about 24 hours.
Claims21
A method of preparing a cast-in-place geopolymer concrete pile, the method comprising:
- (a) providing a subterranean shaft, wherein the shaft extends below ground surface and comprises an open end at ground surface and a bottom end at a pre-determined depth below ground surface;
- (b) inserting one or more rod-shaped heating units into the shaft, wherein each rod-shaped heating unit has a length and a width where said length is greater than said width, wherein each rod-shaped heating unit comprises one or more lengths of insulated heating wire, wherein the insulated heating wire comprises an electrically conductive core surrounded by a layer of an electrically insulating material, and wherein each rod-shaped heating unit is connectable to a power source;
- (c) filling the shaft with an uncured concrete composition comprising an uncured geopolymer concrete or an uncured geopolymer cement;
- and
- (d) providing an electric current to the one or more rod-shaped heating units, thereby providing heat sufficient to cure the uncured concrete composition and prepare a cast-in-place geopolymer concrete pile,
- wherein one or more of the one or more rod-shaped heating units are configured to be removed from the shaft after the uncured concrete composition is cured.
A cast-in-place geopolymer concrete pile prepared by a method comprising:
- (a) providing a subterranean shaft, wherein the shaft extends below ground surface and comprises an open end at ground surface and a bottom end at a pre-determined depth below ground surface;
- (b) inserting one or more heating units into the shaft, wherein each heating unit comprises one or more lengths of a heating wire, said heating wire comprising an electrically conductive wire, and wherein each heating unit is connectable to a power source;
- (c) filling the shaft with an uncured concrete composition comprising an uncured geopolymer concrete or an uncured geopolymer cement;
- and
- (d) providing an electric current to the one or more heating units, thereby providing heat sufficient to cure the uncured concrete composition and prepare a cast-in-place geopolymer concrete pile;
- wherein the one or more heating units comprise one or more rod-shaped heating units, wherein each of the one or more rod-shaped heating units has a length and a width where said length is greater than said width, and wherein one or more of the one or more rod-shaped heating units is configured to be removed from the shaft after the uncured concrete composition is cured.
A method of producing a building or construction, the method comprising:
- installing at least one cast-in-place geopolymer concrete pile;
- and supporting a building or construction with the at least one cast-in-place geopolymer concrete pile, wherein installing the at least one cast-in-place geopolymer concrete pile comprises:
- (a) providing a subterranean shaft, wherein the shaft extends below ground surface and comprises an open end at ground surface and a bottom end at a pre-determined depth below ground surface;
- (b) inserting one or more heating units into the shaft, wherein each heating unit comprises one or more lengths of a heating wire, said heating wire comprising an electrically conductive wire, and wherein each heating unit is connectable to a power source;
- (c) filling the shaft with an uncured concrete composition comprising an uncured geopolymer concrete or an uncured geopolymer cement;
- and
- (d) providing an electric current to the one or more heating units, thereby providing heat sufficient to cure the uncured concrete composition and prepare the cast-in-place geopolymer concrete pile;
- wherein the one or more heating units comprise one or more rod-shaped heating units, wherein each of the one or more rod-shaped heating units has a length and a width where said length is greater than said width, and wherein one or more of the one or more rod-shaped heating units is configured to be removed from the shaft after the uncured concrete composition is cured.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.