Method for factory prefabrication of a customized site-specific modular wall-reinforcement kit for reinforcement of support of excavation (SOE) walls

Abstract

As improvement over conventional reinforcement of support of excavation walls (SOE walls) that requires intensive on-site labour by specialized welders and can be impeded by adverse weather and other on-site constraints, a novel methodology instead employs site-specific custom engineering and factory prefabrication of a site-specific modular wall-reinforcement kit for such SOE walls of a planned excavation site. The kit features dimensionally-fixed components of rigidly predefined non-adjustable shape and size, designed in matable pairs having matable first and second interfaces with alignable fastening apertures enabling mechanically fastened non-welded interconnection thereof during on-site installation of the kit at the planned excavation site, reducing or eliminating requirements for specialized on-site.

Description

[0001] METHOD FOR FACTORY PREFABRICATION OF A CUSTOMIZED SITE-SPECIFIC MODULAR WALL-REINFORCEMENT KIT FOR REINFORCEMENT OF SUPPORT OF EXCAVATION (SOE) WALLS

[0002] FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0003] The present invention relates generally to the field of construction, and more particularly to systems for supporting the walls of a significant excavation in a construction project.

[0004] BACKGROUND

[0005] Significant excavation projects, such as those required for complex basement structures, intricate station boxes, and tunnel portals, often necessitate internally braced reinforcement of Support of Excavation (SOE) walls. This internally braced reinforcement typically involves a system of walers and struts. Walers are beams that span across the inner face of the SOE wall, distributing earth pressures, while struts are structural elements that transfer the load from an SOE wall to another structure, which in some cases may be another SOE wall.

[0006] Available on the market are bolt-together modular solutions with generically (not site specific) modular componentry of an “adjustable” nature. In such modular solutions, waler beams are made up of varying lengths of generic modular components of predefined size and geometry fitted some means of mechanical and / or length adjustment of the assembled waler beams. Typically, these would allow for approximately 1 m of fine adjustment during on-site installation to get the generic modular solution to “fit” a particular excavation. Similar to the walers, struts are assembled of various generically dimensioned elements, and final gaps are taken up using mechanical and / or hydraulic fine adjustments to achieve the necessary fit. However, those generic / adjustable modular systems are typically unsuitable for these large-scale excavation projects for several reasons including:

[0007] (a) the systems are not designed with the capability to resist the earth pressures of such significant excavations; and

[0008] (b) due to the complexity of the systems, the cost is prohibitive for such large scale and long duration projects.

[0009] Therefore, a site-specific strut and waler system is normally custom designed for individual excavation projects of significant character. Typically, due to the uncertainty of site conditions, those struts and waler systems are developed with the intention of performing most of the work in position, on site at time of installation, thus accounting for the variable conditions of each project location. The typical workflow would include shop prefabrication of waler beams with minimal components which have a “known” location, or non-critical components which would not be impacted by the site tolerances. These waler beams may even be supplied with some excess length which would be trimmed to fit on the excavation site. On site, these waler beams are installed against the shoring wall and due to tolerances, they would be site modified and shimmed to fit along the beam length. All gussets and support brackets which connect between the shoring walls and the walers are typically supplied loose with some excessive length. These components are then trimmed to fit the exact locations and welded into place. Once the walers are fully installed, installation of struts is undertaken. These struts are sometimes shop fabricated with excessive length, to be trimmed on site to fit, or else would have a plate connection that is shipped loose, or possibly tack welded. These connections would then be field trimmed / adjusted at each location, which in typical circumstances may entail up to 100mm of inconsistent adjustment. In other situations, the installer acquires raw materials (beams, plates, pipes, etc.) and field fits and trims every component on site.

[0010] This notable amount of on-site work typically requires specialized resources, including highly skilled welders, and must adhere to stringent quality control standards. However, the conditions at construction sites can pose significant challenges to performing this work effectively. Adverse weather, restricted environments that limit the use of hot work, and other on-site constraints can impede the ability to carry out welding and fitting operations to the required standard, and within and efficient timeframe.

[0011] The need for high-quality welding under less-than-ideal conditions often results in increased costs and extended project timelines, which can strain project budgets and schedules. Furthermore, the scarcity of experienced welding professionals has become a more pronounced issue in recent years, exacerbating these challenges. As a result, there is a growing demand for stricter quality control measures for on-site welding.

[0012] Given these challenges, there is a clear need for an improved approach to the installation of strut and waler systems for SOE walls. An effective solution would not only alleviate the constraints and risks associated with on-site welding but also streamline the installation process, reducing both costs and time requirements. This invention addresses these needs by proposing a method that minimizes the reliance on on-site welding, thus ensuring consistent quality and efficiency in the installation of internal bracing for SOE walls.

[0013] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0014] According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a method for factory prefabrication of a customized site-specific modular wall-reinforcement kit for reinforcement of support of excavation walls (SOE walls) at a planned excavation site, said method comprising:

[0015] (a) obtaining planning specifications of said planned excavation site;

[0016] (b) based on said planning specifications, designing a site-specific kit of modular wall-reinforcement componentry composed of dimensionally-fixed components of rigidly predefined non-adjustable shape and size, among which there are included matable pairs of components, among which each matable pair is characterized by matable first and second interfaces respectively possessed by first and second members of the matable pair, and among which a first set of one or more fastening apertures possessed by the first interface are laid out in matching pattern and alignable relation to a second set of one or more fastening apertures possessed by the second interface to enable mechanically fastened non-welded interconnection thereof during on-site installation of the site-specific kit of modular wall-reinforcement componentry at said planned excavation site;

[0017] (c) fabricating said site-specific kit of modular wall-reinforcement componentry in a factory setting of remote location to said excavation site; and

[0018] (d) co-ordinating delivery of said site-specific kit of modular wallreinforcement componentry, in less-than fully assembled form, to the excavation site for assembly and installation thereat through non-welded mechanical fastening of said matable pairs of components among said site-specific kit of modular wall-reinforcement componentry at the fastening apertures of the matable interfaces thereof.

[0019] According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of installing the customized site-specific modular wall-reinforcement kit according to the preceding aspect of the invention, comprising performing assembly of the modular wallreinforcement kit at the planned excavation site, which assembly includes non-welded mechanical fastening together of the matable pairs of the modular wall-reinforcement kit at the fastening apertures of the matable interfaces thereof.

[0020] According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided a customized site-specific modular wall-reinforcement kit produced in accordance with the first aspect of the invention.

[0021] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

[0023] Figure 1 is a perspective view of a finished excavation having support of excavation walls (SOE walls), one of which is substantially cut away for illustrative purpose, and that are reinforced by modular wall-reinforcement kit produced in accordance with an inventive methodology of the present invention.

[0024] Figure 1A is a perspective view of the assembled modular wallreinforcement kit of Figure 1 , with the SOE walls removed for clearer illustration of the assembled kit and its components.

[0025] Figure 2 is an exploded closeup perspective view of a matable pair of fastening interfaces embodied on a waler component and a cross-strut component of the modular wall-reinforcement kit of Figure 1 .

[0026] Figure 3 is an exploded closeup perspective view of a matable pair of fastening interfaces embodied on a waler component and a diagonal-strut component of the modular wall-reinforcement kit of Figure 1 .

[0027] Figure 4 is an exploded closeup perspective view of a matable pair of fastening interfaces embodied on two neighbouring waler components of the modular wall-reinforcement kit of Figure 1 , for coupling together thereof at a corner of the excavation. Figure 5 is an exploded closeup perspective view of fastening interfaces of two parallel waler components of the modular wall-reinforcement kit of Figure 1 , and a cooperating set of coupling plates included in said kit for end-to-end coupling together of the two parallel waler components.

[0028] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating different dimensional tolerances associated with installation of SOE walls.

[0029] Figure 7 is a partial top plan view of the supported excavation of Figure 1 , illustrating intentional undersizing of the modular wall-reinforcement kit to leave a sufficient gap space to accommodate the tolerances of Figure 6 and ensure fit of the assembled kit within the finished dimensions of the actual excavation, which gap space is then filled with grout or other filler during on-site installation of the kit.

[0030] DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0031] Figure 1 illustrates, in an assembled and installed final state at an excavation site 2, a customized site-specific modular wall-reinforcement kit of the present invention, in use thereof for reinforcement of a set of support of excavation walls (SOE walls) 4A, 4B. In known fashion, the SOE walls are first installed in the ground around a volume of earth to be excavated in a planned excavation project. While the illustrated example shows secant pile SOE walls, the modular wallreinforcement kit is compatible with any variety of known SOE wall type. The SOE walls 4A, 4B are not part of the modular wall-reinforcement kit of the present invention, and are installed at the excavation site in advance of the excavation, and typically in advance of the delivery of the modular wall-reinforcement kit to the excavation site. The purpose of the modular wall-reinforcement kit is to reinforce the SOE walls 4A, 4B of significant excavations for which customized reinforcement is conventionally tailor made, and welded together, on site, and for which off-the-shelf modular SOE wall reinforcement systems with hydraulically or otherwise “adjustable” modular componentry is not suited, whether owing to insufficient load bearing capability thereof, complexity of assembly, or some combination thereof. Figure 1 shows the finished state of the excavation, where the excavated space bound by the SOE walls 4A, 4B has been excavated and subsequently fitted with the installed modular wallreinforcement kit of the present invention. It will be appreciated that the intact earth surrounding the SOE walls 4A, 4B has been omitted in the interest of illustrative simplicity, but it will be understood that the illustrated SOE walls are surrounded by the intact earth that forms the earthen walls of the excavated space, which earthen walls are thereby shored up by the installed SOE walls .

[0032] Typically, the modular wall-reinforcement kit will comprise, at minimum, a set of elongated walers 6A, 6B, 60 that, when installed, run horizontally of the SOE walls at the inner side thereof that faces the excavated space bound between the SOE walls. In the illustrated example, and in many practical applications, the modular wallreinforcement kit will further comprises a set of struts 8A, 8B, which in the illustrated example, each span between two of the walers 6A-6C in the assembled and installed state of the modular wall-reinforcement kit, in which the walers are suitably affixed to the inner sides of the SOE walls using any variety of known techniques for such affixation, which may vary depending on the SOE wall type. In the illustrated example, the struts include cross-struts 8A that each span perpendicularly between two parallel walers situated at a shared elevation on parallel opposing SOE walls of the supported excavation, and also diagonal-struts 8B that each span obliquely between two neighbouring walers respectively installed on two neighbouring SOE walls that intersect, perpendicularly in the illustrated example, at a corner of the supported excavation. The full modular wall-reinforcement kit may form a singular reinforcement assembly when assembled and installed, or multiple reinforcement assemblies, as per the illustrated example where two reinforcement assemblies 13A, 13B each comprising a respective set of assembled walers and struts are installed at different respective elevations on the SOE walls of the excavation. In the illustrated example, the two reinforcement assemblies 13A, 13B are assembled in matching pattern to one another from matching subsets of the overall kit, though in other cases, the multiple reinforcement assemblies in a multi-assembly scenario may differ from one another in their componentry and assembled pattern.

[0033] The design and fabrication of the modular wall-reinforcement kit is performed by a service provider who is contracted by the party that performs, or contracts another one or more entities to perform, the actual excavation, and typically also the eventual on-site assembly and installation of the modular wall-reinforcement kit, which party is referred to herein as the excavation party. The overall process flow from the excavation party’s recognized need for an excavation support solution (or shoring solution, for brevity) to the final on-site implementation of the needed shoring solution at an excavation site will typically be as follows, at least in some preferred embodiments of the present invention.

[0034] Project Request: The excavating party contacts the service provider with a request for a customized shoring solution for a planned excavation that the excavating party intends to carry out for a given construction project, which request includes, or is accompanied or subsequently supplemented by, detailed planning specifications for that planned excavation, which planning specifications may entail at a least a subset, or all, of the planning specification examples listed herein further below The request and associated planning specifications may come straight from the excavating, through an intermediary, or from a combination of associated entities involved in the planning and execution of the planned excavation.

[0035] Initial Assessment: The service provider assesses basic requirements and feasibility of developing a customized site-specific shoring solution based detailed planning specifications, and after some consultation with the excavating party, if necessary, reaching an agreeable proposal between the two parties.

[0036] Preliminary Modular Design: A preliminary design for the modular sitespecific wall-reinforcement kit is created by the service provider, based on the planning specifications of the planned excavation, using a modular design approach, contemplating standard pre-designed products, site-specific solutions, or a combination of both to provide a simple to assemble, modular solution, designed for a quick and uncomplicated installation, to provide a reduction in project duration, specialized site resources (e.g. labour and equipment) and associated risks. One of the key components of this Preliminary Modular Design is the development of a solution to overcome the potential site tolerances which are experienced in this type of construction.

[0037] Approval: The preliminary modular design is presented by the service provider to the excavating party for feedback and approval. Adjustments may be made based on excavating party input.

[0038] Material Procurement: Subject to the forgoing approval, materials required for the modular system are sourced and procured by the service provider.

[0039] Modular Component Fabrication in Controlled Environment: The components of the modular wall-reinforcement kit (e.g. walers, struts, and possibly included coupling components for fastening together thereof) are fabricated off-site in a controlled shop environment, preferably at least in part, if not entirely, using automated (e.g. robotic) or semi-automated fabrication equipment capable of both fast and precise production. This ensures high precision and quality control, minimizing the impact of site conditions on the strength, effectiveness and reliability of the final installed shoring solution compared to conventional on-site fabrication or customization thereof, and reducing the need for highly specialized resources on-site.

[0040] Quality Control & Testing: The fabricated modular components are subjected to stringent quality control checks and testing by the service provider to ensure that applicable safety and design standards are met.

[0041] Transport to Site: The service provider coordinates delivery of the fabricated modular components, in entirely unassembled, or at most partially preassembled, form to the excavation site, in coordination with the excavating party’s on-site team to accommodate for site limitations, other deliveries, and an intended installation schedule for the modular wall-reinforcement kit, which inherently must follow installation of the SOE walls and excavation of the excavation area bound within the confines of those installed SOE walls.

[0042] On-site Modular Installation: The at least partially unassembled modular wall-reinforcement kit, after delivery to the excavation site, is assembled and installed on-site, typically by the excavating party’s on-site team, using the prefabricated modular components. The installation is straightforward, involving simple mating of the prefabricated modular components at predefined mating interfaces thereon and nonwelded mechanically fastened inter-attachment (typically bolted attachment) of the mating components at those mating interfaces, which can be performed by a less specialized workforce than the welded assembly involved in conventional on-site construction of a reinforcement assembly. This reduces the site scheduling complexity, project duration, and total installed cost.

[0043] Final Inspection & Sign-Off: A final inspection, by a qualified engineering entity of record for the project, is conducted to ensure the system is installed correctly and meets all safety and design requirements. The system is then signed off as ready for use.

[0044] A non-limiting example of the information that may be contained within the planning specifications to achieve sufficient input to the design stage of the process will include, generally, project design criteria including site-specific design data, climatic and seismic criteria, any special loading conditions or performance criteria, drawings, and specifications as per client requirements, among which more detailed examples may include:

[0045] 1 . Stability and geotechnical considerations from a geotechnical engineer, such as: a. Linear Loading on the walers b. Subgrade modulus (Soil Springs) for behind the SOE Walls c. Allowable deflections of the Walers

[0046] 2. Equipment surcharge Loading

[0047] 3. Storage surcharge Loading

[0048] 4. General Configuration of the SOE structural elements

[0049] 5. Consideration of any existing utilities

[0050] 6. Clashing with other temporary works items

[0051] 7. Clashing with permanent works items

[0052] 8. Design Schedule

[0053] 9. Photographs and field measurements, which or all of which may be made on an as- requested basis

[0054] 10. Detailed construction schedule which defines milestones of the SOE construction.

[0055] 1 1 .Tolerance information: Perhaps the biggest, or at least notable, consideration is the locational tolerance of the shoring walls. Due to the methods used for installation, they can have numerous and sizable tolerances, including tolerances in location, verticality and rotation. It is also important to note that the tolerances will increase as the excavation gets deeper. So, within an excavation, a solution used on a first uppermost reinforcement assembly of walers / struts may not work at the deeper levels.

[0056] Having described the general workflow involved in the design, creation, delivery and installation of the modular wall-reinforcement kit, attention is again given to Figure 1 as a non-limiting example of one such kit produced in accordance with the principles of the present invention, and of the supportive assemblies formed thereby once assembled and installed at the excavation site to reinforce the SOE walls 4A, 4B. In this illustrated example, the excavation is a rectangular one, the earthen walls of which are thereby supported by four SOE walls, of which there is a short pair of SOE walls 4A lying parallel and opposite of one another at opposing short sides of the excavation, and a long pair of SOE walls 4B lying parallel and opposite of one another at opposing long sides of the excavation, and in perpendicular relationship to the short SOE walls 4A. In a square excavation scenario, the four SOE walls would instead be of equal length. In excavations of other shape, the quantity of walls and the angles at which neighbouring walls reside to one another may of course vary.

[0057] In the illustrated example, walers 6A on the short SOE walls 4A are full- length end-fitted walers, the full-length characterization of which denotes that they respectively span substantially full widths of the respective SOE walls 4A on which they are installed, meaning that only a singular waler occupies each of these short SOE walls 4A in spanning relation to the narrower dimension of the rectangular excavation’s two horizontal dimensions. In contrast, the other walers 6B, 60 installed on the long SOE walls 4B are partial length walers, of which a plurality are installed on each such long SOE wall 4B to collectively span the notably greater width thereof, denoting the longer dimension of the rectangular excavation’s two horizontal dimensions. Walers 6B are mid-span walers each designed to couple end-to-end with two end-span walers 6C that so the combination of the mid-span waler 6B and two end-span walers 6C on each long SOE wall 4B collectively span the full length thereof. In other embodiments, there may be multiple mid-span walers 6B, or no mid-span walers 6B, in the latter case meaning that the two end-span walers 6C would be coupled together end-to-end with no mid-span walers 6B therebetween. In other scenarios, all four walls may instead be occupied by respective individual full-length walers, like those found on the short SOE walls 4A of the illustrated example.

[0058] In the illustrated example, the end-span walers 60 are side-fastened walers 60 that, at one end thereof, are each designed to receive fastened connection of an end-fitting of one of the end-fitted walers 6A thereto at an inner side of the endspan side-fastened waler 60, as illustrated in Figure 4 and described below in greater detail. In an alternative implementation, the walers 6A on the short SOE walls 4A (shot wall walers) may be side-fastened walers and the end-span walers 60 may be end- fitted walers, with the latter having end-fittings by which they are fastenable to the short wall walers 6A at inner sides thereof. Each whaler 6B, 60 and each strut 8A, 8B is rigidly fixed in shape and dimension, thus having a fixed non-adjustable length that during the site-specific design of the site-specific modular wall-reinforcement kit, is chosen at least partly based on constraints of the planning specifications for the given excavation 2.

[0059] In the illustrated example, each waler 6A-6C is composed primarily of a steel beam, and more particularly an I-beam in the illustrated example, and each of the walers 6B, 60 on the long SOE walls (long wall waler) has a cross-strut receiver 10 permanently welded to this primary body of the waler (during the factory production thereof, e.g. by a robotic welder) that provides a first fastening interface 10A (e.g. bolting plate) thereon, as best shown in Figure 2, at an inner side thereof to receive a second fastening interface 12A (e.g. bolting flange or plate) embodied in an end-fitting 12 welded to a respective end of the one of the cross-struts 8A (during the factory production thereof, e.g. by the same or another robotic welder. The cross-strut 8A, like the diagonal-struts 8B, may be primary composed of a cylindrical steel tube, as shown in the illustrated example, though other forms of strut are also contemplated within the scope of the invention.

[0060] The first fastening interface 10A on the inner side of the long wall waler 6B, 6C has a first set of fastening apertures 10B (i.e. bolt holes) therein that are of equal quantity and matching layout to a matching second set of fastening apertures 12B (i.e. bolt holes) in the second fastening interface 12A on the end of the cross-strut 8A. The location of the cross-strut receiver 10 on each long wall waler 6B, 6C aligns with a corresponding cross-strut receiver 10 on a corresponding one of the long wall receivers on the opposing long SOE wall, so that this pair of cross-strut receivers 10 hosts fastened connection of the two ends of a respective one of the cross-struts 8A via bolted fastening of the first fastening interface 10A on each long wall waler 6B, 6C with a corresponding second fastening interface 12A on a respective end of the cross-strut 8A.

[0061] Each cross-strut 8A and each of the two long wall walers 6B, 6C to which it is fastened in the assembled and installed state of the modular wall-reinforcement kit denotes a respective matable pair of prefabricated modular reinforcement components having predefined factory-formed matable and alignable fastening interfaces 10A, 12A at predefined factory-fixed locations on the respective components for on-site mechanical fastening (bolted attachment) of these two components together in a weld- free manner during on-site installation of the modular wall-reinforcement kit. The illustrated example has three cross-struts 8A provided in equal quantity to the number of walers on each of the long SOE walls 4B between which these cross-struts 8A span, meaning one cross-strut per long wall waler, but it will be appreciated that the overall quantity of cross-struts 8A, and the quantity of cross-struts per waler on a given SOE wall, may of course vary, either upwardly or downwardly, depending on the excavation specifications and the given modular kit design.

[0062] Similarly, and as shown in Figure 3, each of the short wall walers 6A and each of the end-span long wall walers 6C has a diagonal-strut receiver 14 permanently welded thereto (during the factory production thereof, e.g. by a robotic welder) to provide a respective fastening interface 14A (e.g. bolting plate) thereon at an inner side thereof to receive a respective fastening interface 16A (e.g. bolting flange or plate) embodied in an end-fitting 16 that is welded to a respective end of one of the diagonalstruts 8B (during the factory production thereof, e.g. by the same or another robotic welder), for example in similar fashion to the end-fittings 12 of each cross-strut 8A. The diagonal-strut receiver 14 differs from the cross-strut receiver 10 in that its fastening interface 14A lies in an orientation of oblique relationship to the waler 6A, 6C instead of parallel relation thereto, in accordance with the diagonally installed relationship of each diagonal-strut 8B to the two neighbouring and perpendicularly intersecting walers 6A, 6C to which the installed diagonal-strut 8B is fastened during the on-site assembly. The fastening interfaces 14A, 16A of the waler’s diagonal-strut receiver 14 and the diagonalstrut’s end-fitting 16 having matching sets of fastening apertures 14B, 16B therein, in the same manner described above of the cross-beam receivers 10 and the cross-strut end-fittings 12 for the same non-welded mechanically fastened (bolted) attachment between these matably pairable components.

[0063] The end-fitted walers 6A each have two end-fittings 18 permanently welded to the primary body (e.g. I-beam) of the waler (during the factory production thereof, e.g. by a robotic welder), one of which end-fittings 18 can be seen in Figure 4. Each such end-fitting 18 provides a respective fastening interface 18A (e.g. bolting plate) with a respective set of fastening apertures 18B therein of matching quantity and layout to a corresponding set of fastening apertures 20B provided at a corresponding fastening interface 20A embodied as an end region of an inner side wall 20 of a respective one of the end-span long wall walers 6C, which inner side wall is one of the two flanges of the I-beam body of the illustrated I-beam waler 6C. Once again, alignment of these two fastening interfaces 18A, 20A during onsite assembly and installation of the modular wall-reinforcement kit enables non-welded mechanically fastened (bolted) attachment thereof. So, each end-fitted waler 6A and the respective side-fastened end-span waler 6C fastened to either end thereof once again denotes a matable pair of prefabricated modular reinforcement components having predefined factory-formed matable and alignable fastening interfaces 18A, 20A at predefined factory-fixed locations on the respective components 6A, 6C for on-site mechanical fastening (bolted attachment) of these two components together in a weld-free manner during on-site installation of the modular wall-reinforcement kit. In the case of the I- beam walers of the illustrated embodiment, each set of fastening apertures 18B, 20B is composed of an upper half or subset situated above the horizontal web of the I-beam, and a lower half or subset situated below the horizontal web of the I-beam.

[0064] With reference to Figure 5, in demonstration of another means of achieving predefined fastening interfaces enabling mechanically fastened non-welded connection between components of the modular wall-reinforcement kit, each mid-span waler 6B has a respective fastening interface 22A embodied at each of its ends as a perforated end region 22 of the horizontal web of the I-beam body of the waler, which perforated end region 22 is characterized as such owing to perforation thereof by a set of fastening apertures 22B (bolt holes). Each end-span waler 6C likewise has one such perforated-web fastening interface 24A embodied in a perforated end-region 24 of the horizontal web of its I-beam body, and thus likewise having a set of fastening apertures 24B perforating this end-region of the waler’s horizontal web that spans between the two upright flanges of the I-beam body. These two fastening interface 22A, 24A do not align with one another for direct fastening purposes like the directly-fastened connections described above between the side-fastening end-span long wall walers 6C and the end-fitted short wall walers 6A. Instead, the modular wall-reinforcement kit in this case includes a pair of horizontal coupling plates 26A, 26B, one for laid placement atop the perforated end regions 22, 24 of the horizontal webs of the two walers 6B, 6C and one for abutted placement against the undersides thereof, and each having two sets of fastening apertures 28A, 28B therein, each of which has matching layout to the fastening apertures 22B, 24B in one of the two walers 6B, 6C, the horizontal webs of which can therefore be fastened to the coupling plates 26A, 26B through the aligned sets of fastening apertures 22B, 24B, 28A, 28B in the walers 6B,6C and the horizontal coupling plates 26A, 26B. Each half of each coupling plate 26A, 26B thus denotes a respective fastening interface for alignment with the perforated-web fastening interface 22A, 24A of one of the two walers 6B, 6C that are coupled together by that coupling plate, when fastened to those walers 6B, 6C through the aligned sets of fastening apertures 22B, 24B, 28A, 28B.

[0065] Likewise, the upright flanges of the I-beam bodies of the mid-span and end-span walers 6B, 6C may have perforated end regions 30, 32 embodying fastening interfaces 30A, 32A with respective sets of fastening apertures 30B, 32B, for example each set having one subset of its fastening apertures 30B, 32B above the horizontal web of the I-beam body and another subset of its fastening apertures 30B, 32B below the horizontal web of the I-beam body, as shown in Figure 5. For each pair of upright waler flanges being coupled together end-to-end in this manner, there may be three vertical coupling plates used for such purpose, two smaller coupling plates 34A, 34B on the inside of the upright waler flanges, one above the horizontal web and one therebelow, and third larger coupling plate 3C on the outside of the upright waler flange, where there is no horizontal web to accommodate. The two smaller inside coupling plates 34A, 34B and the one larger inside coupling plate 34C each posses two sets fastening apertures of matching and therefore alignable layout to a respective set or subset of fastening apertures 30B, 32B on the two I-beam body flanges being coupled together by this set of three plates 34A-34C, which enables bolting of the coupling plates 34A-34C to those I-beam flanges in order to achieve non-welded mechanical interconnection therebetween. So, just as the coupling of each strut 8A, 8B to each waler denotes non-welded, mechanically fastened coupling together of a matably configured pair of modular components of fixed size and shape via factory-predefined matable fastening interfaces at fixedly predetermined locations thereon, the fastening of any coupler plate 26A, 26B, 34A, 34B, 34C, at either of its two sets of fastening apertures, to a matching set or subset of fastening apertures in a given waler denotes an equivalent weld-free mechanical fastening together of a pair of matably configured components of the modular wall-reinforcement kit.

[0066] The walers 6A-6C, struts 8A-8B and coupling plates 26A-26B, 34A-34C are all of rigidly fixed size and shape, of which at least the walers and struts are typically custom designed or modified in project-specific fashion and custom fabricated with careful precision in a quality-controlled factory setting, and thus assemble together for form a finished reinforcement assembly of precisely sized relation to a predetermined size and shape designed specifically for the given excavation project, with no integrated “adjustability” that otherwise would complicate the assembly and installation on-site and potentially sacrifice the durability and reliability of the finished reinforcement assemblies. It will be appreciated that some standardized modular componentry may be included in at least some instances, such as the coupling plates in embodiments or instances making use of same. The fastening hardware (bolts) may be off the shelf hardware, and may be sourced and supplied by the service provider in bundled combination with the modular componentry.

[0067] During the design, the walers 6A-6C are intentionally designed with lengths of undersized relation to the plan-specified widths of the SOE walls 4A, 4B that the walers are intended to span when installed, including accommodation of the various specified tolerances (position, verticality and rotation) from the planning specifications, to avoid the possibility of a failure of the modular wall-reinforcement kit, during attempted installation thereof, to fit within the actual finished dimensions of the excavation, especially in consideration that the production of the prefabricated modular wall-reinforcement kit may be at least underway, if not entirely completed, at the time that the SOE walls are being installed. As a result of this intentional undersizing of the walers 6A-6C, an intentional gap space 36 is left between the walers 6A-6C and the SOE walls 4A-4B when the modular wall-reinforcement kit is assembled and installed at the excavation site 2, which gaps are then filled on-site by application of filler between the walers and the SOE walls, for example by application of a grout applied in a nonsolid state, and then allowed to dry and set into a hardened state. Figure 6 schematically illustrates tolerances in horizontal position, verticality and rotation, in this case referring the tolerances of the internal steel reinforcement of concrete piles in a secant pile SOE wall, and Figure 7 schematically illustrates how variance among different internal pile reinforcements within the planned tolerances is accommodated via in the incorporated gap space 36. The foregoing modular methodology is an innovative approach to eliminate challenges associated with temporary support of excavation on infrastructure projects. The modular design allows project-specific adaptation to many excavation geometries. Most, and preferably all, fitting and welding (e.g. installation of strut receivers 10, 14 and end-fittings 12, 16, 18) is performed off-site in a controlled shop environment, preferably using state of the art fabrication equipment and technology, and performed in advance of the planned installation timeline, enabling it to be installed on site quickly using non-specialized, or at least less-specialized, labour and equipment. This significantly reduces the installation time and therefore the project duration, while also significantly reducing the total installed cost. Since various modifications can be made in the invention as herein above described, and many apparently widely different embodiments of same made, it is intended that all matter contained in the accompanying specification shall be interpreted as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A method for factory prefabrication of a customized site-specific modular wall-reinforcement kit for reinforcement of support of excavation walls (SOE walls) at a planned excavation site, said method comprising:(a) obtaining planning specifications of said planned excavation site;(b) based on said planning specifications, designing a site-specific kit of modular wall-reinforcement componentry composed of dimensionally-fixed components of rigidly predefined non-adjustable shape and size, among which there are included matable pairs of components, among which each matable pair is characterized by matable first and second interfaces respectively possessed by first and second members of the matable pair, and among which a first set of one or more fastening apertures possessed by the first interface are laid out in matching pattern and alignable relation to a second set of one or more fastening apertures possessed by the second interface to enable mechanically fastened non-welded interconnection thereof during on-site installation of the site-specific kit of modular wall-reinforcement componentry at said planned excavation site;(c) fabricating said site-specific kit of modular wall-reinforcement componentry in a factory setting of remote location to said excavation site; and(d) co-ordinating delivery of said site-specific kit of modular wallreinforcement componentry, in less-than fully assembled form, to the excavation site for assembly and installation thereat through non-welded mechanical fastening of said matable pairs of components among said site-specific kit of modular wall-reinforcement componentry at the fastening apertures of the matable interfaces thereof.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein step (b) comprises designing at least a subset of the modular wall-reinforcement componentry in an intentionally under-dimensioned relationship to planned dimensions of the planned excavation site to ensure fit of the kit of modular wall-reinforcement componentry, in an assembled form thereof, within finished actual dimensions of the planned excavation site, once excavated and lined with said SOE walls.

3. The method of claim 1 or 2 wherein said kit of modular wallreinforcement componentry comprises elongated waler components of fixed length, each belonging to at least one of said matable pairs, for installation of said waler components on the SOE walls in positions spanning horizontally thereaross.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein said elongated waler components comprise partial-length waler components that are each shorter than a respective SOE wall for which the partial-length waler components are designed to collectively span across, and said kit of modular wall-reinforcement componentry further comprises waler coupling plates, each of which is a member of two of the matable pairs and has two fastening hole sets for alignment with respective fastening hole sets in two of the partiallength waler components for use in coupling thereof end-to-end with one another.

5. The method of claim 3 wherein the elongated waler components comprise at least one end-fitted waling component that defines the first member of one of said matable pairs and has a first respective end-fitting on a first end of said first member, which end fitting defines the first interface of said first one of said matable pairs, and the second member of said one of the said matable pairs is a side-fastenable waling component on which the second interface of said first one of said matable pairs resides at a side of said second member for end-to-side mating of said first and second members at a corner between a neighbouring pair of the SOE walls.

6. The method of any one of claims 3 to 5 wherein said kit of modular wallreinforcement componentry further comprises at least one strut component of fixedlength that belongs to two of said matable pairs, and is designed for fastened attachment to two of said elongated waler components at opposing ends of said strut component, which said two elongated waler components respectively belong to said two of the matable pairs.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein said at least one strut component comprises a cross-strut component configured to attach to two opposing waler components on two opposing SOE walls.

8. The method of claim 6 wherein said at least one strut component comprises a diagonal-strut component configured to attach to two neighbouring waler components that meet at a corner between a neighbouring pair of the SOE walls.

9. The method of any preceding claim wherein step (c) comprises use of at least semi-automated fabrication processes in fabrication of at least a subset of said wall reinforcement componentry.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein step (c) comprises said use of said at least semi-automated fabrication processes in fabrication of an entirety of said wall reinforcement componentry.1 1. The method of any preceding wherein step (c) is performed in advance of, or concurrently with, at least one of either installation of the SOE walls at the excavation site, or excavation of the planned excavation site.

12. A method of installing the customized site-specific modular wallreinforcement kit of any one of claims 1 to 1 1 comprising performing assembly of the modular wall-reinforcement kit at the planned excavation site, which assembly includes non-welded mechanical fastening together of the matable pairs of the modular wallreinforcement kit at the fastening apertures of the matable interfaces thereof.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein said assembly of the modular wall-reinforcement kit at the planned excavation cite consists solely of said fastening together of the matable pairs at the fastening apertures of the matable interfaces thereof, and lacks any dimensional modification or dimensional adjustment of any component of said modular wall-reinforcement kit.

14. The method of claim 12 or 13 wherein said fastening together of the matable pairs of the modular wall-reinforcement kit comprises bolting together thereof through the first and second sets of fastening apertures.

15. The method of any one of claims 12 to 14 further comprising applying a filler between at least one of the SOE walls and least one of the wall-reinforcement componentry at a gap left therebetween by an intentionally designed undersizing of at least a subset of the wall-reinforcement componentry relative to planned dimensions and tolerances of the planned excavation site.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein said filler is applied in a non-solid state, and subsequently sets into a hardened state.

17. The method of claim 15 or 16 wherein said filler is a grout.

18. A customized site-specific modular wall-reinforcement kit produced in accordance with any one of claims 1 to 11 .

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