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

[0007]Embodiments of the present invention enable free-standing structures, such as solar power collection systems and wind turbine generators, to be deploye

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 buil

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