Segmented ballast base support structure and rail and trolley structures for unstable ground

Abstract

Unstable ground is found in many situations in many locations around the world and causes such locations to be unsuitable for building without further support or stabilization. Unstable ground, such as landfills, can be used for beneficial purposes as opposed to laying dormant. A segmented ballast base support structure according to an embodiment of the present invention can be configured to support free-standing structures, such as solar power collection systems and wind turbines. The segmented ballast base support structure can be deployed at unstable ground sites without digging or expensive filling stabilization techniques. Segments of the base support structure can be precast at an offsite location and transported to a site in segments and sections. The segmented base support structure allows for a cost effective solution to digging, as well as an easier method of shipping and transporting structures that would otherwise have to be built on site.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0001]Current methods of stabilizing unstable ground require drilling, digging, filling, or other intrusive methods in order to make the unstable ground available for supporting a free-standing structure.[0002]Unstable ground is found in many situations and in many locations around the world, and causes such locations to be unsuitable for building without further support or stabilization. Such unstable grounds can include areas of natural disasters (e.g., mudslides, earthquakes, and sink holes), areas of man-made weaknesses (e.g., landfills, brownfields, groundfills, and Superfund sites), or other surface areas that are otherwise unstable or unsuitable for normal building conditions. A person of ordinary skill in the art will note that the term “ground” as used herein does not specifically mean the soil at the surface of the earth but can be any surface, high or low (e.g., the top of building or other structure, bottom of a ravine, or basement of a buildin...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0010]The base support structure can be implemented on top of a ground treatment that can include a layer of a pliable material, such as a stabilization fabric, spanning beneath the segments, including embodiments with gaps therebetween. Above the layer of pliable material, which can be considered a bottom layer, the ground treatment can include multiple layers between the unstable ground and the base support structure such that an upper layer of the ground treatment can be sufficiently adaptable so as to track topological state changes of any of the other layers or the unstable ground beneath the layers. An example of the upper layers of the ground treatment may include a layer of selectable thickness of compactable material, such as gravel or processed material, and further optionally including a second (or more) upper layer(s) of aggregate material, such as stone. This configuration of ground treatment allows for flexibility of the ground treatment such that it can constantly adjust for, compensate for, or track topological state changes beneath the bottom layer of pliable material caused by a shifting of the unstable ground (or its cap if so configured).

[0013]The bottom layer of the ground treatment can be a liquid permeable, pliable material that can be strong and durable so as to withstand movement from the base support structure or the unstable ground and withstand changes in orientation of segments of the base support structure, either as a unified whole or relative to other segments. The ground treatment, particularly in embodiments with the pliable material and at least one upper layer, can be implemented in a manner such that it continues to maintain sufficient integrity to serve as a platform for the base support structure such that the free-standing structure coupled to the base support structure can be maintained in a stable orientation across topological state changes of the unstable ground. Further, the segments may have grips protruding from a bottom surface to adhere to a ground treatment layer better than without the grips.

[0014]Further embodiments of the present invention include a base support structure that can support a free-standing superstructure in a stable orientation, even during extreme natural occurrences such as high winds, earthquakes, and blizzard conditions. In one embodiment, the segments of the base support structure have fixed orientation relative to other segments. In another embodiment, the segments of the base support structure can change orientation relative to the other segments as allowed by the linkages and interconnection features so as to provide segmented support for the free-standing structure, as well as allowing the forces from the superstructure to be transmitted from segment to segment at reduced levels.

Problems solved by technology

Unstable ground is found in many situations and in many locations around the world, and causes such locations to be unsuitable for building without further support or stabilization.

Such unstable grounds can include areas of natural disasters (e.g., mudslides, earthquakes, and sink holes), areas of man-made weaknesses (e.g., landfills, brownfields, groundfills, and Superfund sites), or other surface areas that are otherwise unstable or unsuitable for normal building conditions.

Shifting or failing ground can cause difficulty when forming the support structure and impart negative effects to any structure later connected thereto.

Landfills experience severe shaking of the ground in an earthquake and often experience internal shifting or movement due to the nature of such areas.

Sites with unstable ground, such as landfills, are frequently unoccupied, wasted spaces due to lack of ground stability and because building would require increased time, effort, and expense to make the land suitable for building.

Thus, such sites are continually abandoned or dormant.

Although such sites appear to be serviceable for building energy-collecting or generating superstructures, as described above, the grounds are too unstable absent cost prohibitive pretreatment (e.g., drilled or excavated); thus, using prior art techniques, any superstructure for supporting energy collecting or generating devices needs to be installed on a stable structure firmly connected to a stable ground.

Moreover, because landfills or other unstable grounds are predictably unstable with variability from site to site, it is difficult to anticipate how difficult excavation and other processes will be to render the area useful for supporting free-standing structures.

Such unpredictability adds to reluctance of developers and municipals to commit to projects in which unstable grounds must first be excavated or filled.

Therefore, vast amounts of otherwise useful geographic areas are allowed to remain dormant and void of any useful purpose.

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