The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Sep. 06, 1977
Filed:
May. 05, 1976
Phillip Andrew Abbott, Houston, TX (US);
Other;
Abstract
An apparatus and method of assisting the driving of a hollow pile into soil by electro-osmosis in which electrical direct current is directed downwardly through the inside of the pile, out the bottom of the pile, and up the outside of the pile whereby water on the inside of the pile moves through the soil thereby making the pile easier to drive into the soil. The method includes insulating an electrically conductive pile preferably on the inside with an electrical non-conductor and placing water inside of the hollow pile. An electrical circuit having a d-c power source, and an anode and cathode is provided in which the anode is placed in the water inside of the hollow pile and the cathode is placed outside of the hollow pile and in electrical communication with the outside of the electrical conductive pile whereby an electrical circuit is formed between the anode and cathode through the water in the inside of the pile and through the bottom of the pile. When electrical power is supplied to the circuit, water will move down the inside of the pile and up the outside of the pile and into the soil adjacent the pile making the pile easier to drive through the soil. In addition, after the pile has been driven, the current flow may be reversed through the electrical circuit for reducing the water content of the soil adjacent the pile thereby increasing the load bearing strength of the soil.