Hydraulic Lift Caisson for Building Elevation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for lifting heavy buildings are inefficient, often causing damage due to uneven lifting and lack of stability, especially when attempting to lift to great heights or across foundations, as they rely on manual labor and inadequate structural support.
Innovation Solution
A hydraulic lift caisson system comprising a rigid pipe, lifting post, threaded rods, and hydraulic jacks, designed to lift buildings in a continuous stroke, providing stability and even lifting through a network of threaded rods and locking nuts, allowing for the lifting of heavy objects to extreme heights without damaging the foundation or structure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional hand jacks and manpower are used to raise a building, then the building can be raised, but the lifting is uneven causing cracks and damage to the foundation and building structure
Solution Approach 1:
The lifting system is segmented into multiple hydraulic jacks distributed at different locations under the building, each independently controllable. This segmentation allows precise control of lifting at each point, ensuring uniform elevation and preventing structural damage from uneven lifting.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates feedback mechanisms through synchronized control of multiple hydraulic jacks, monitoring and adjusting each jack's operation to maintain uniform building elevation. This feedback control prevents uneven lifting that could cause foundation cracks or structural damage.
2Strength
If threaded rods and locking nuts are used to provide structural support, then the building can be supported, but the load carrying capacity decreases as the height of the lift increases
Solution Approach 1:
Hydraulic jacks serve as intermediary devices between the ground and the building, providing mechanical advantage through fluid pressure. This intermediary mechanism enables high load carrying capacity at great heights without relying solely on the compressive strength of threaded rods, which would be insufficient at elevated lengths.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses hydraulic jacks to generate and transmit force through incompressible fluid, providing stable and controllable lifting force. This hydraulic mechanism overcomes the limitation of threaded rods whose load capacity decreases with height, maintaining strength even at extreme lift heights.
3Reliability
If multiple hydraulic jack attachments are used to lift a building, then the building can be lifted, but it is difficult to control each jack simultaneously to lift the building evenly
Solution Approach 1:
The control system incorporates feedback from sensors monitoring the position and load of each hydraulic jack, automatically adjusting each jack's operation to maintain uniform building elevation. This feedback control simplifies the complexity of coordinating multiple jacks while ensuring reliable even lifting.
Solution Approach 2:
The hydraulic jack system uses a standardized multi-functional design where each jack can independently perform lifting, holding, and positioning functions. This universality allows simplified control architecture while maintaining the ability to lift the building evenly through coordinated operation of multiple identical units.
Data Source
AI summary
A hydraulic lift caisson for buildings including an outer rigid pipe, an inner rigid lifting post and a plurality of threaded lifting rods surrounding the inner rigid lifting post. Also included is a base lifting plate disposed within a bottom end of the outer rigid pipe and connected to a bottom end of the inner rigid lifting post and threaded rods, an anchor plate fixed to a first end of the inner rigid pipe and including a plurality of holes extending therethrough to receive the threaded lifting rods therethrough and a jacking plate disposed above the anchor plate and also including a plurality of holes extending therethrough to receive the threaded lifting rods therethrough, and at least one hydraulic jack disposed between the anchor plate and a jacking plate to lift the jacking plate, lifting post and building.