System and method for establishing an anchorage or reinforcement in an object with the aid of in situ liquefaction and displacement of a material having thermoplastic properties

A system for establishing an anchorage or a reinforcement in an object with the aid of a material having thermoplastic properties, which is brought to the site of the anchorage or reinforcement in a solid state, is liquefied in situ, and, in a liquefied state, is displaced to contact the object, the system comprising:

• a housing with a proximal housing part and a distal housing part, the distal housing part having a smaller cross section than the proximal housing part, a distal end of the proximal housing part tapering down to a cross section similar to the cross section of the distal housing part, and the distal housing part being releasably couplable to the proximal housing part,
• a transmitting piece suitable for transmitting energy coupled into the transmitting piece from an energy source, the transmitting piece having a proximal and a distal end, the proximal end being arranged in the proximal housing part to be axially moveable in a limited manner and the distal end suitable for extending through the distal housing part and for protruding from a distal end of the distal housing part,
• a drive being arranged to act between the proximal housing part and the proximal end of the transmitting piece to bias the proximal end of the transmitting piece away from a proximal end of the housing,
• a permeable sleeve couplable to the distal end of the distal housing part, and a thermoplastic element comprising the material having thermoplastic properties and being positionable in the permeable sleeve,
• wherein, in an assembled configuration of the system the permeable sleeve with the thermoplastic element positioned therein is coupled to the distal end of the housing, the coupling being designed for tensile load transmission, and the proximal and the distal housing parts, the transmitting piece, the drive, the permeable sleeve and the thermoplastic element form a closed load frame in which the thermoplastic element is compressed between the transmitting piece and the permeable sleeve, and
• wherein, for enabling use of permeable sleeves and/or thermoplastic elements or for use in a revision method, the system is equipped for adjustment of an effective axial length of the distal housing part or comprises a plurality of distal housing parts or a plurality of transmitting pieces of differing axial lengths.