US20140369750A1

US20140369750A1 - Grout containment sheet and method

Info

Publication number: US20140369750A1
Application number: US13/917,941
Authority: US
Inventors: Baltazar Siqueiros
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2013-06-14
Filing date: 2013-06-14
Publication date: 2014-12-18

Abstract

A water-impermeable grout containment sheet and a method for using the sheet, for example, during the construction of a roadway to support vehicular traffic. An excavation is first cut into a road bed, and a moisture (i.e., water) impermeable grout containment sheet is laid inside the excavation. A plurality of concrete panels are positioned adjacent one another to be coupled together within the excavation, such that at least one of the panels sits on top of the water-impermeable grout containment sheet. Grout is then pumped below the one panel to hold the panel in place within the excavation. The water-impermeable grout containment sheet lies between the grout and the road bed to establish a containment envelope to stop the grout from migrating away from the panel and prevent water from seeping outwardly from the grout into the road bed and into the grout from the excavation.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a moisture (i.e., water) impermeable grout containment sheet and to a method including the step of locating the sheet within an excavation so as to lie between a (e.g., concrete) panel that has been lowered into the excavation and grout that has been pumped below the panel. The group containment sheet and method have particular application during roadway construction or repair where a plurality of concrete panels are laid in excavations formed in a road bed and connected to one another to support vehicular traffic.
2. Background Art
As new communities are built, it is essential to have a roadway system to link each community with neighboring communities. Therefore, a series of highways and freeways are constructed to support vehicular traffic. A common technique for building such roadways is to lay a number of heavy concrete panels or slabs end-to-end and side-by-side one another. All of the panels must be held in place relative to one another and connected together to establish a smooth and continuous driving surface. The foregoing is often accomplished by first grading a road bed and cutting excavations therein within which the concrete panels are laid.
Once the concrete panels are located within the excavations, grout is typically pumped below the panels to retain the panels above the road bed. However, with the heavy panels sitting on top, the grout has been known to migrate underneath adjacent panels located within a single excavation or within adjacent excavations. Such migration can adversely affect the stability and level of the concrete panel relative to other panels. Moreover, the water with which the grout is mixed can sometimes seep into and be absorbed by the road bed below the panel. What is even more, the grout lying below the panel within the excavation is susceptible to the negative effects of being exposed to too much water. Such additional water may originate as rain water and/or ground water from the road bed. Until it is completely cured and hardened, which could take up to seven days or more, grout which becomes either too dry or too wet may become brittle or weakened and lose its maximum structural integrity and load-bearing ability.
Therefore, what would be desirable is a means to prevent the grout that is pumped between a concrete and and the road bed upon which the panel is laid from migrating away from the panel as well as losing its moisture and becoming too wet throughout the road construction project.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Briefly, and in general terms, a grout containment sheet and method are disclosed having particular application, for example, during roadway construction or repair when excavations are cut into a road bed and (e.g., precast concrete) panels are laid inside the excavations to be connected end-to-end and/or side-by-side. Prior to laying a panel within an excavation, a moisture (i.e., water) impermeable (e.g., polyurethane) grout containment sheet is positioned inside the excavation to cover at least the bottom thereof. The grout containment, sheet must be sufficiently strong to prevent water from passing therethrough.
The panel is lowered into the excavation so as to lie upon the grout containment sheet. In order to hold the panel in place within the excavation, grout or a similar adhesive bonding material is pumped below the panel such as, for example, by way of filler tubes which run through the panel. Thus, the grout containment sheet lies between the grout and the road bed above which the panel is located. By virtue of the foregoing, the grout containment sheet establishes a containment envelope around the grout throughout the construction project to prevent the grout from migrating away from the panel. At the same time, the grout containment sheet creates a barrier that prevents the grout from both drying out as a consequence of the moisture of the grout being absorbed by the road bed and from becoming too wet as a consequence of being exposed to rain water and ground water. Accordingly, the maximum strength, structural integrity and load-bearing characteristics of the grout upon which the panel is laid and supported can be maintained.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an excavation that has been cut into a road bed and a grout containment sheet located within and covering the bottom of the excavation according to a preferred embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 2 shows a solid panel such as, for example, a precast concrete panel used during the construction of a roadway lowered into the excavation and laying upon the grout containment sheet; and

FIG. 3 shows an adhesive bonding material (e.g., grout) pumped into the excavation below the panel, such that the grout containment sheet creates a water impermeable containment barrier between the grout and the road bed.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Shown and described herein are a water-impermeable grout containment sheet and a method for using the sheet with a solid (e.g., concrete) panel or slab where the panel is transported to and laid upon the sheet after the sheet is first located inside an excavation that is cut into a solid surface. By way of example, the grout containment sheet and method herein disclosed have particular application during roadway construction and/or repair where a plurality of concrete panels are laid inside one or more excavations so as to be connected end-to-end and/or side-by-side one another. In this same regard, the system and method are also advantageous to facilitating the removal of a panel from its excavation should such removal be required during subsequent roadway maintenance and repair.
Turning to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows a single excavation 10 that has been cut into a road bed 15. The excavation 10 can be cut by means of any of a variety of available construction machinery and plays no role in the present invention. In the event a roadway is being constructed, either a single continuous excavation or a series of adjacent excavations will be cut into the road bed for a purpose that will soon be explained. The dimensions of the excavation 10 will depend upon the purpose thereof.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of this invention, a moisture (i.e., water) impermeable grout containment sheet 20 is laid inside the excavation 10 so as to completely cover the bottom thereof. It is important that the grout containment sheet 20 be long enough to initially extend upwardly and over top of the road bed 15 so that the sheet will not be pulled entirely inside the excavation 10 when a heavy panel is laid upon the sheet. The grout containment sheet 20 may be carried to the construction site, for example, on a roll of continuous sheet material which is cut to size. Depending upon the size of the excavation 10, it may be necessary to add one or more additional containment sheets (not shown) which overlap one another in end-to-end alignment. By way of example only, the water-impermeable grout containment sheet 20 has a thickness of at last 6 mils. The sheet 20 which covers the bottom of the excavation 10 must be manufactured from a material (e.g., polyurethane) that is strong enough to support a load (e.g., a concrete panel) located inside the excavation 10 and prevent water from passing through the sheet.
With the grout containment sheet 20 laid inside the excavation 10 and covering the bottom thereof, and referring now to FIG. 2 of the drawings, a (e.g., precast) panel 25 that is manufactured from concrete or any other suitable durable and weather-resistant material is transported to and lowered, by means of an overhead crane, or the like, into the excavation. Thus, the panel 25 sits on the grout containment sheet 20, and the sheet lies between the panel 25 and the solid surface (e.g., the road bed 15) into which the excavation has been cut. The ends of the grout containment sheet 20 may then be shortened (i.e., cut) so as to conform to the dimensions of the excavation 10 and the panel 25 that has been lowered therewithin and laid upon the sheet.
FIG. 3 of the drawings shows a conventional bonding or adhesive filler material 30, such as grout, or the like, being pumped below the panel 25 within the excavation 10. The grout 30 may be pumped underneath the panel 25 by way of one or more filler tubes 32 that run completely through the panel. For example, if the panel 25 is a precast concrete panel, the filler tubes (e.g., 32) are typically embedded within the panel during the manufacturing (i.e., casting) process. The grout 30 creates a bond to hold the panel 25 in place within the excavation. Moreover, the grout 30 also creates a platform below the panel 25, whereby the panel can be selectively raised or elevated within the excavation 10 in order to be made level with adjacent panels (e.g., designated 35) which are already in place within the excavation.
Accordingly, it may be appreciated that the water-impermeable grout containment sheet 20 lies between the grout 30 and the bottom of the excavation 10 that has been cut into the solid surface (i.e., road bed 15) to receive the (e.g., concrete) panel 25. By virtue of the foregoing, the containment sheet 20 establishes a liner or barrier to prevent the grout bonding material 30 from migrating away from the panel 25 and flowing below an adjacent panel 35. To this end, portions of the sheet 20 are pulled upwardly to create a peripheral fold (designated 22 in FIGS. 2 and 3) which surrounds the panel 25. Thus, the water which is mixed into the grout will not pass downwardly through the grout containment sheet 20 to be absorbed by and contaminate the ground around and below the excavation. In this same regard, and as another important advantage, the water-impermeable grout containment sheet 20 creates an envelope around the panel 25 and the grout 30 below the panel 25 so as to prevent the grout from becoming saturated with rain or ground water to which the grout may otherwise be exposed at the construction site. That is to say, grout is known to erode and become weaker as a consequence of either losing water or being mixed with too much water. However, the grout containment sheet 20 maintains the structural integrity and load bearing characteristics of the grout during the time necessary for the grout to be fully cured and hardened.
What is even still more, the grout containment shed 20 facilitates a removal of the panel 25 from the excavation 10 for subsequent repair or replacement. By spraying or coating the bottom of the panel 25 at the time of construction with a conventional liquid bond breaker, the panel can be titled out of the excavation 10 so as to be either replaced with a different panel or cleaned, repaired and returned to the excavation. In this case, the grout 30 will adhere to the grout containment sheet 20 so as to permit a relatively easy separation of the panel 25 from the grout 30 which remains inside the excavation.
As previously explained, a plurality of panels, like those designated 25 and 35, which have been lowered into respective excavations or a single continuous excavation, like that designated 10, can be connected, such as by means of dowel bar couplers (designated 40 in FIG. 3), end-to-end and/or side-by-side. Thus, a continuous roadway may be constructed along a road bed (e.g., 15) over which vehicular traffic can travel.

Claims

1. A method for installing at least a first panel on a surface, said method comprising the steps of:

placing a moisture-impermeable sheet over the surface;

laying the first panel on top of the moisture-impermeable sheet; and

pumping an adhesive bonding material between the first panel and the moisture-impermeable sheet such that said sheet lies between the adhesive bonding material and the surface over which the sheet is placed.

2. The method recited in claim 1, comprising the additional step of cutting an excavation into a road bed such that said excavation forms the surface upon which said moisture-impermeable sheet is placed.

3. The method recited in claim 2, comprising the additional step of positioning said moisture-impermeable sheet within the excavation so as to form a containment envelope around the adhesive bonding material for preventing said bonding material from migrating away from the first panel.

4. The method recited in claim 2, comprising the additional step of manufacturing said moisture-impermeable sheet from a material that is impervious to the passage of water therethrough so as to separate the adhesive bonding material from the excavation.

5. The method recited in claim 2, comprising the additional steps of laying a second panel within the excavation adjacent said first panel; and coupling said first and second panels to one another to establish a roadway to support vehicular traffic thereover.

6. The method recited in claim 1, wherein said adhesive bonding material is grout.

7. The method recited in claim 1, comprising the additional step of manufacturing said first panel from concrete.

8. A method for constructing a roadway to support vehicular traffic thereover, said method comprising the steps of:

cutting an excavation into a road bed;

placing a moisture-impermeable sheet inside the excavation;

laying a plurality of concrete panels adjacent one another within the excavation such that at least a first of said concrete panels sits on top of said moisture-impermeable sheet;

pumping grout between the first concrete panel and the moisture-impermeable sheet such that said sheet creates a barrier between the grout and the excavation for preventing the grout from migrating away from the first concrete panel within the excavation; and

coupling said plurality of adjacent concrete panels one to the other to establish said roadway.