Roadway barrier components formed using a system for recycling wet concrete and means for assembling multiple components into a continuous safety barrier wall

Abstract

A wet concrete recycling system for mixing trucks returning to the cement plant throughout the workday. “Residual-collection” molds, kept on-hand at the plant, are filled with any excess wet concrete present in the returning trucks. The molds are configured to form finished components such as roadway barrier sections (i.e. jersey walls), and the like. The finished components are low in cost due to the use of recycled wet concrete, inexpensive reinforcing materials, and handles/assembly elements fabricated from other recycled materials. The finished components may be sold or leased to customers, thereby converting costs typically associated with traditional residual concrete disposal techniques into supplemental income streams. The finished components may be assembled into continuous roadway safety barrier walls. All structures assembled from two or more of the finished components are inexpensive due to the low cost of the individual components, easily constructed, and may be permanent or temporary in nature.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application is related to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60 / 535,450, filed 8 Jan. 2004, entitled “System for recycling wet concrete into precast structures and structures formed thereby.”BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] 1. Field of the Invention [0003] The present invention relates to efficiently recycling concrete waste from ready-mix cement trucks. More particularly, the present invention relates to roadway barrier components formed using a system for recycling excess wet concrete, and means for assembling the individual components into a continuous safety barrier wall. [0004] 2. Discussion of the Background [0005] Often times ready-mix concrete trucks return to the cement yard at the end of the workday with relatively large amounts of excess fresh concrete. This excess fresh concrete must be disposed of or recycled in some manner, so that the cement trucks may be cleaned for the next day's operations. [0006] The typical...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0025] Once complete, the pre-cast recycled concrete components may, for example, be assembled into a continuous roadway safety barrier wall. All structures assembled from two or more of the concrete components are inexpensive due to the low cost of the individual components, easily constructed, and may be permanent or temporary in nature.

Problems solved by technology

This disposal process results in a significant waste of refuse solid material, and a large added cost of transportation and disposal of the refuse solid material.

Moreover, cities are now beginning to wrestle with the problem of storing refuse solid material inasmuch as vast piles of it are collecting at many landfills.

However, the conventional techniques for molding concrete into pre-cast components such as paving stones or simple slabs are not suitable for the contemplated uses of the components molded from the recycled material of the present invention for the following reasons.

Historically, the process of removing the hardened concrete components from molds is time consuming and expensive because great care must be taken to ensure that the molded component is not damaged.

Moreover, the strength of any resulting pre-cast component is compromised by the lack of an internal reinforcing structure (e.g. rebar).

Finally, the resulting components are not easily manipulated and stacked because they are not made with attachable lifting handles.

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