Pivoting Wand Soil Extraction Device for Pipeline Lifting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing soil stabilization and lifting methods, such as compaction grouting and piering, face challenges with non-uniform soil conditions, requiring high pressures and large grout volumes, and are limited in effectiveness and safety, especially in dense soils, leading to structural damage and disruption.
Innovation Solution
A soil extraction/grouting device that uses a pivoting wand with cutting nozzles to soften and remove soil, creating a cavity for lifting structures, allowing for controlled grout placement and reduced pressure requirements, independent of soil porosity, with minimal disruption and predictable results.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If pressure-injected grout is used for soil densification, then soil density is improved, but high pressures are required and process control is compromised in dense soil conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by first creating a cavity in the soil using a jetting wand that erodes soil with high-pressure fluid jets, then subsequently injecting grout into the pre-formed cavity. This preliminary cavity creation eliminates the need for high-pressure grout injection to penetrate dense soils, as the grout is placed into an already-formed void where low-pressure injection suffices.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies the extraction principle by removing soil material to create a cavity before grout injection. The jetting wand extracts soil particles through fluid erosion and removes them via the casing, creating a void space that can be filled with grout at controlled, low pressures, thereby avoiding the need to force grout through dense soil matrices.
2Strength
If compaction grouting is used to densify soils, then soil strength is improved, but large volumes of grout material are required and confinement must be developed in the treated zone
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes excess soil material to create a cavity of controlled volume, then fills only this specific cavity with grout material. This extraction approach ensures that grout is placed precisely where needed without requiring large volumes to achieve confinement and densification across a broad treated zone, as traditional compaction grouting requires.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by creating a localized cavity at the specific treatment location and filling only that cavity with grout. This concentrates the grout material volume in the precise area requiring stabilization, rather than distributing large volumes across an extended treated zone to achieve confinement, thereby improving efficiency and reducing material requirements.
3Stability of the object's composition
If soil extraction is performed to remove weak soils, then soil stability is improved, but excavation and replacement methods are disruptive and costly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical excavation systems with a fluid jetting system. The jetting wand uses high-pressure fluid jets to erode and remove soil particles, transporting them through the casing for discharge. This substitution eliminates the need for heavy excavation equipment, reduces surface disruption, and allows extraction through narrow access points, greatly simplifying the manufacturing and operational complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies hydraulics by using high-pressure fluid jets to erode soil and create the cavity. The fluid jets break down soil bonds and transport removed material through the casing, providing a non-mechanical extraction method that avoids the complexity and disruption of traditional excavation and replacement procedures while achieving the same soil stability improvement.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The device efficiently lifts and stabilizes structures with reduced grout pressure and volume, minimal disruption, and predictable results, suitable for various soil types and structures, including those previously difficult to lift like masonry and brick foundations, with reduced risk of lateral damage to surrounding utilities.
Implementation Method 1
pressurizing the fluid conduit to thereby send fluid through the cutting nozzle to soften the soil
Implementation Method 2
This process uses a low-slump grout placed at controlled high pressure to strengthen low strength soils by displacement and densification of the soil
Implementation Method 3
the use of expanding polyurethane foams to densify weak soils
Data Source
AI summary
A method of moving an underground pipeline including the steps of: driving a casing into a soil proximate to the pipeline; deploying a pivoting wand from the casing about a pivoting axis, the pivoting wand having a plurality of cutting nozzles that are coupled to a fluid conduit having a longitudinal extent in the casing relative to a longitudinal axis; pressurizing the fluid conduit to thereby send fluid through the cutting nozzle to soften the soil in a direction in which the wand deploys; rotating the pivoting wand; conducting the softened soil up through the casing to form a cavity in the soil proximate the pipeline, the cavity in the soil having a shape reflective of the movement of the pivoting wand in the rotating step; positioning a lifting device beneath the pipeline. And, lifting the pipeline with the lifting device thereby drawing the pipeline toward or into the cavity.