Lockable Double Shear Dowel Connector for Slab Moment Transfer
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current lockable dowels and double shear dowels lack the capacity to resist moment forces and provide tension, making them inadequate substitutes for pour strips in concrete slab construction, leading to increased costs and construction disruptions.
Innovation Solution
The development of a connector system comprising guide tubes, dowels, sleeves, and a fixing chamber that allows for longitudinal movement and restricts motion with a locking mechanism, providing enhanced tension and moment capacity, suitable for thin slabs and capable of replacing conventional pour strips in post-tensioned structures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If standard lockable dowels and double shear dowels are used, then the construction process is simplified, but they lack the capacity to resist moment forces and provide sufficient tension capacity
Solution Approach 1:
The connector is divided into distinct functional components: guide tubes for dowel insertion and alignment, sleeves for lateral and rotational movement accommodation, and a fixing chamber for the locking mechanism. This segmentation allows each component to specialize in a specific function, achieving high tension and moment capacity without excessive overall complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide tubes are nested within the sleeves, which are in turn nested within the fixing chamber. The dowels pass through the guide tubes and are received by the fixing means inside the chamber. This nested arrangement compactly integrates multiple functions (guidance, movement allowance, and locking) into a space-efficient design suitable for thin slabs.
2Reliability
If pour strips are used to overcome shrinkage cracks, then slab continuity is maintained, but construction costs increase and construction process is disrupted
Solution Approach 1:
The connector components (guide tubes, sleeves, dowels) are pre-assembled into a complete locking mechanism that can be installed as a single unit. The fixing means is designed to be inserted and locked in place before the concrete fully cures, establishing continuity upfront rather than requiring post-curing pour strips. This preliminary action maintains slab reliability while avoiding construction disruptions.
3Productivity
If conventional pour strips are replaced with dowels, then construction is simplified, but the dowels fail to provide adequate tension and moment capacity
Solution Approach 1:
The connector allows dynamic movement during installation and service: the dowels can move longitudinally within the guide tubes to accommodate slab movement, while the fixing means provides a locking action that develops full tension and moment capacity. This dynamic design maintains construction efficiency while achieving the required strength performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The fixing means acts as an intermediary between the dowels and the concrete blocks. It receives the dowels through the guide tubes and sleeves, then locks them in place to transfer and resist tension and moment forces. This intermediary component enables the simple dowel geometry to achieve complex structural performance.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure provides a lockable double shear dowel connector comprising two guide tubes, two dowels, two sleeves, an open end, and two orifices. The dowels are disposed adjacent to each other and adjacent to a joint between adjacent blocks of building materials. The present disclosure further provides kits and methods for using and installing the connectors disclosed herein.