Interlocking Sheet Pile Connector with Ball-and-Socket Lock
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing sheet pile wall assemblies face challenges in connecting various sheet pile components and carrier elements efficiently, particularly with conventional tools that require maintaining adequate space and dealing with ground conditions that cause twisting, while also needing to withstand cross forces during installation.
Innovation Solution
The use of connecting profile strips with a ball-and-socket lock configuration, including head strips and claw strips, allows for direct coupling of sheet piles and carrier elements like tubular piles and T-carriers, with neck strips ensuring proper spacing and allowing for limited pivoting to accommodate tool operation and ground conditions, and a welded-on profile strip with a claw strip and base for secure attachment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If conventional connecting profiles with connection strips are used to press onto carrier flanges, then the connection is simple to install, but the adaptability to different sheet pile configurations is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The connecting profile strip is designed with a base that can be attached to different carrier elements (tubular piles, T-carriers, double T-carriers) and sheet piles through welding, bolting, or riveting. The ball-and-socket lock configuration with head strips and claw strips enables universal connection across various sheet pile types and configurations, making the same connecting profile adaptable to multiple applications rather than requiring different connection methods for each carrier element type.
2Ease of operation
If adequate space is maintained for conventional tool operation, then tool access is ensured, but the connecting profile complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The ball-and-socket lock configuration allows for limited pivoting movement between the head strips and claw strips, enabling the connecting profile to adapt dynamically to ground conditions and twisting during installation. This dynamic capability accommodates tool operation requirements and ground-induced deformations without requiring excessive spacing or complex adjustment mechanisms, as the joint itself can pivot to accommodate variations.
3Strength
If carrier elements are connected using slotted tubes and T-carriers with inserted beams, then the connection structure is robust, but the assembly time and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The connecting profile strip is segmented into distinct functional components: a base for attachment to carrier elements, a neck strip providing spacing and flexibility, and a ball-and-socket lock configuration with head strips and claw strips for interconnection. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function efficiently, enabling robust connections through standardized attachment methods rather than complex multi-piece assemblies, thereby reducing assembly time while maintaining connection strength.
Data Source
AI summary
An interlocking sheet profile connector comprises a first and a second connecting profile. The first connecting profile includes a base attached to the first sheet pile wall element, a neck strip projecting from the base and a head strip of larger cross section on the free end of the neck strip. The second connecting profile possesses a base attached to a second sheet pile wall element and a claw strip to secure a head strip. The head strip of the first connecting profile is thus configured both to secure the claw strip of a sheet pile as a sheet pile wall element and to secure the claw strip of the second connecting profile, while the claw strip of the second connecting profile serves both to secure the head strip of a sheet pile as a sheet pile wall element and to secure the head strip of the first connecting profile.