Arrowhead Center, Inc.

Craig M Newtson

Paola Bandini Badiello

Seyedali Aleali

Paola Bandini

Peter Zelkowski

Method and apparatus for enhancing capacity of piles and/or anchors, which can include any type of piles and/or anchors, including but not limited to micropiles and soil nail, by disposing a tube or casing into the earth and then laterally expanding at least a portion of the casing, in plastic deformation, using an expansion member such that an enlarged area is formed in the casing. The casing can then optionally be left in place and filled with a filler material and/or can optionally be forcibly pulled out of the ground, thus compacting and thereby densifying the surrounding soil, and the thusly formed enlarged hole can be filled with a filler material and used as an anchor and/or pile. Optionally, in one embodiment, existing piles and/or anchors can be re-used by lowering an expansion member into them and creating one or more laterally expanded areas.

Laterally expanded capacity-enhanced piles and anchors

An expanding anchor and/or pile system wherein an outer shell of the pile/anchor is split lengthwise into at least two pieces and can be placed or driven into a hole in the earth in a retracted state and can subsequently be expanded such that the two or more pieces are forced outwardly&#x2014;away from one another, thus causing them to exert a lateral force against the sides of the hole and thereby resulting in greater axial load carrying capacity in tension or compression of the anchor/pile.

Growing community of inventors

Las Cruces, NM, United States of America

Craig M Newtson