The Tensar Corporation

Atlantech International, Inc.

Philip D Egan

Steve Maher

Mark Wayne

Robert G Anderson

Paul Specht

Robert A Miller

Augusto Bazzocchi

Philip M Taylor

A retaining wall system formed from a wire facing unit having an upstanding face section and a rearwardly extending floor section the rear end of which is provided with aligned, transversely extending, openings defined by upstanding, inserted U-shaped, in the wire elements. The apertures in the forward portion of a geogrid, preferably an integral, uniaxially-stretched, polymer geogrid, can be seated over the protuberances and a connecting rod inserted through the openings to secure the geogrid to the wire facing unit. Strengthening struts can be engaged between cross-wires at the top of the face section of the wire facing unit and at the rear of the floor section of the wire facing unit. An aggregate, including soil or the like, can then be placed behind the face section and over the floor section of the wire facing unit and over the geogrid to form a geogrid-reinforced retaining wall section. Multiple sections may be formed side-by-side and multiple tiers can be constructed with the front faces of superior sections aligned or set back from each other to permit plantings to be placed in front of superior face sections. The connecting rod may be rigid. Alternatively, the connecting rod may be resilient or flexible to facilitate inserting the same between a pair of wires into the aligned openings formed by the protuberances, particularly for interior wire facing units in a series of laterally juxtaposed sections where access to the openings from the sides of the wire facing unit is difficult.

Retaining wall system and method of making retaining wall

Concrete blocks are used to build plantable retaining walls having varying angles. The blocks have a hollow inner volume, open at the top and bottom to enable the plants to grow therein. The side walls of the block each have a portion which is parallel to the longitudinal axial vertical center plane of the block. The parallel portions of the side walls include a plurality of connector-receivers to allow for the interconnection of one block with superimposed blocks at varying staggering positions by the engagement of discrete connector devices. The blocks may be interconnected to geogrids for the construction of reinforced retaining walls. The connection to the geogrids may be made using the same connector connecting the blocks or a distant one.

Plantable wall block assembly and retaining wall formed therefrom

Precast modular concrete wall blocks are assembled to form a retaining wall in front of a limited depth cut wall face. Arched confinement cells are formed behind the courses of blocks by sections of vertically oriented sheet material for reception and retention of a particulate fill material. Each wall block is provided with a channel or slot for attaching opposed edge portions of the cell-forming sheets of material to the rear surfaces by an interference fit or by comb-like grid connecting devices to define generally semi-circular confinement cells to reinforce the retaining wall. The fill material uniformly flexes the cell-forming sheet material and also surrounds the space between the confinement cells and cut wall face.

Modular wall block retaining wall reinforced by confinement cells for

An interconnected block system including a plurality of staggered rows of block members formed of concrete or the like secured to the upper surface only of an underlying, interconnecting, grid-like, matrix sheet. In one embodiment, a plurality of connector elements are connected to the matrix material preferably by bodkin connections to form one or a multiplicity of openings or apertures above the upper surface of the matrix sheet for reception of the block-forming material. The block members are cast on top of the matrix sheet material to capture the connector elements which provides a mechanical interlock between the block member and the matrix. The matrix sheet material preferably includes a layer of geotextile bonded on an opposite side from the block members. An alternate embodiment provides a strip or mat to underly the matrix sheet with a plurality of projections upstanding therefrom and passing through the matrix sheet. Free end portions of the projections are configured to retain block-forming material cast to surround the projections. Multiple layers of interconnected blocks may be made without waiting for the concrete to set by using preformed mold elements which are left in place in the final product and which act to support superimposed layers as they are cast. A sleeve may be secured to a leading edge of the matrix sheet to receive and retain a sand-filled tube or the like to prevent lifting of the matrix sheet by wave action or the like. An alternative block includes slots extending from an upper surface to a lower surface for engagement with connector devices securing a sheet material matrix to the lower surface and optionally a sheet material matrix to the upper surface of the block.

Interconnected block system

An interconnected block system including a plurality of staggered rows of block members formed of concrete or the like secured to the upper surface only of an underlying, interconnecting, grid-like, matrix sheet. In one embodiment, a plurality of connector elements are connected to the matrix material preferably by bodkin connections to form one or a multiplicity of openings or apertures above the upper surface of the matrix sheet for reception of the block-forming material. The block members are cast on top of the matrix sheet material to capture the connector elements which provides a mechanical interlock between the block member and the matrix. The matrix sheet material preferably includes a layer of geotextile bonded on an opposite side from the block members. An alternate embodiment provides a strip or mat to underly the matrix sheet with a plurality of projections upstanding therefrom and passing through the matrix sheet. Free end portions of the projections are configured to retain block-forming material cast to surround the projections. Multiple layers of interconnected blocks may be made without waiting for the concrete to set by using preformed mold elements which are left in place in the final product and which act to support superimposed layers as they are cast. A sleeve may be secured to a leading edge of the matrix sheet to receive and retain a sand-filled tube or the like to prevent lifting of the matrix sheet by wave action or the like.

A retaining wall having a height of greater than ten feet which includes a lower section of inextensible reinforcements and an upper section of extensible reinforcements. By the use of inextensible reinforcements in place of extensible reinforcements in a lower portion of a wall having a height greater than ten feet, the lower portion of the wall will tend to distribute the stresses of soil compaction and require less quality control/assurance during construction. Further, by the use of extensible reinforcements in the upper section of a retaining having a height greater than ten feet, the extensible reinforcements will maintain the retaining wall in place and have significantly improved corrosion resistance over inextensible metal reinforcements.

Composite retaining wall

Precast concrete wall panels are assembled to form a retaining wall in front of a cut wall face. Arched confinement cells are formed behind the wall panels by sections of vertically oriented sheet material for reception and retention of a particulate fill material. Preferably, flat, precast concrete wall panels provided with vertically oriented tabs of integral geogrid projecting rearwardly from opposite sides of a rear face thereof which are connected to opposite end portions of a length of vertically oriented geogrid by a Bodkin joint. The thus formed confinement cells are generally semi-circular. The fill material initially used fills the confinement cells and then the space around the confinement cells and in front of the cut wall face. The wall panels are vertically staggered and successive courses of confinement cells are filled until reaching a desired height for the retaining wall.

Cut wall confinement cell

A retaining wall, preferably for marine use, constructed of a plurality of corrugated panels. The corrugated panels of the wall are anchored in the earth behind the wall by a plurality of vertically spaced, horizontally extending lengths of sections of geogrid material. Geogrid sections are secured to the wall made up of a plurality of corrugated panels by walers secured to the wall. One waler is positioned on an exterior surface of the wall. An upper interior waler section and a lower interior waler section are positioned on an interior surface of the wall. In the lowermost surface of the upper interior waler section and the uppermost surface of the lower interior waler section is a grooved recess. A comb connector made of a central spine and upwardly and downwardly projecting fingers interconnects the upper and the lower interior waler sections by extending downwardly into the groove of the lower interior waler section and upwardly into the groove of the upper interior waler section. The longitudinally extending strands of the geogrid sections, whether of biaxial or uniaxial construction, are held in place between the upper and lower interior waler sections, between the downwardly extending teeth and the spine of the comb.

Marine wall

Extended lengths of grid-like reinforcing sheet material are attached to precast wall panels of a reinforcing wall by a connector comb and locking clip securing end portions of the reinforcing sheet material between a pair of attachment strips partially embedded in, and extending rearwardly from, the wall panels. The comb connector includes a spine and plurality of upwardly projecting fingers engageable through aligned openings in the attachment strips and the reinforcing sheet material used for soil reinforcement. The locking clip is interengaged with ratchet-like serrated edges formed on the free ends of the fingers of the comb to secure the reinforcing sheet material to the attachment strips.

Precast wall panel and grid connection device

A retaining wall is formed by plastic wall blocks having fingers for extending through apertures in an end portion of a grid-like sheet of material. The remainder of the grid-like sheet of material extends rearwardly to reinforce the fill behind the retaining wall formed from a plurality of courses of the wall blocks. A curved lip at the edge of one side of each block engages a recess located on a juxtaposed side of an adjacent block. Hooks extending from a bottom member of each block engage a top member of a lower block in stacked courses of blocks. The blocks are made of a one-piece or two-piece construction. In the two piece construction, the front member is secured or securable to the remainder of the block to provide retaining walls of aesthetically different configurations.

Retaining wall block system

A modular wall block is formed with recesses or troughs in a rearward end of its top and/or bottom surface configured to receive forward portions of a rigid grid connection device. Rearward end portions of the grid connection device extend beyond the rear face of the modular wall blocks. Extended lengths of a polygrid material are then secured to the rearward portions of the grid connection device for reinforcing the fill behind a retaining wall formed from a plurality of courses of said wall blocks. The grid-to-block connection does not rely on the weight or friction of superimposed wall blocks and is particularly effective in sites subject to seismic activity.

Growing community of inventors

Atlanta, GA, United States of America

Philip D Egan