Ground Mounting Assembly With Buried Stabilizing Plates for Wind Loads
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Solution Overview
Problem
Outdoor structures such as solar panel assemblies, docks, and buildings face instability due to high winds, particularly in loose or sandy soil, as existing mounting systems lack sufficient underground resistance, leading to loosening of mounting posts and structural instability.
Innovation Solution
A ground mounting assembly with posts connected to stabilizing elements like flat plates or half-pyramid shaped structures, which are buried underground to resist lateral and uplift forces, and cross members for additional stability, allowing for temporary, semi-permanent, or permanent installations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If posts with sufficient underground surface area are used to resist wind forces, then stability is improved, but the complexity and cost of installation increases
Solution Approach 1:
The stabilizing element is divided into multiple discrete components: a post, a separate stabilizing plate, and optional cross members. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently and assembled in a modular fashion, reducing overall system complexity while achieving the required stability through distributed underground surface area.
Solution Approach 2:
The solution transitions from considering only vertical post depth to incorporating horizontal dimension by attaching stabilizing plates that extend laterally underground. This dimensional expansion provides additional surface area for soil resistance without proportionally increasing installation complexity, as the plates are attached to existing posts rather than requiring completely new structural elements.
2Stability of the object's composition
If cement caps are used to secure mounting structures, then stability is improved, but adaptability and ease of reconfiguration deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting system transitions from a static, permanent cement cap to a dynamic, adjustable system using mechanical fasteners. The stabilizing plates can be secured with bolts or other removable fastening mechanisms, allowing the structure to be reconfigured, adjusted, or removed as needed while maintaining stability during operation. This dynamic approach enables adaptability without sacrificing stability.
3Stability of the object's composition
If larger stabilizing elements are used to resist wind forces, then stability is improved, but the amount of material and cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
Rather than uniformly increasing the size of the entire post or using excessive material throughout, the solution applies stabilizing elements locally at critical underground positions. The stabilizing plates are positioned where they provide maximum resistance to wind-induced forces, concentrating material where it is most needed rather than distributing it uniformly, thus achieving stability with minimized material quantity.
Data Source
AI summary
A ground mounting assembly includes one or a plurality of posts, each attached to at least one stabilizing plate or scoop pyramid. The post may be driven into the ground and then lifted to deploy plates into a locking mechanism, or driven into the ground by a pile driver with plate held in place, released, and driven further and deployed into a locking mechanism, or driven into the ground and double pounded inside the post to drive reinforcing plate into slotted winglets, or driven, double pounded and rotated to extend the reinforcing plates horizontally from the pole or pile. The post also can used as a mooring in harbors, lakes, or at sea. A system based on a double pounder pile driven mono pole, optionally extendable in length, is also described.