Rectilinear Pile Interlock Design for Watertight Sealing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing pile interlocks are complex, expensive to produce, and often fail to provide a watertight seal, with limited attachment points and high production costs due to hot rolling processes.
Innovation Solution
A novel interlock design featuring a rectangular socket and plug configuration, where the socket is bent and secured to the pile, and the plug is secured to an intermediate plate or directly to the pile, allowing for a press-fit or welded attachment, reducing production costs and improving watertight sealing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If hot rolling process is used to manufacture interlocks from sheet pile ends, then interlock strength and precision are improved, but production cost and manufacturing complexity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The interlock is extracted from the sheet pile end and manufactured as a separate component. Instead of forming the interlock directly from the sheet pile material through complex hot rolling, the invention uses a pre-fabricated interlock assembly consisting of a socket and plug that are manufactured separately and then attached to the sheet pile ends, simplifying the overall manufacturing process while maintaining precision
Solution Approach 2:
An intermediate attachment process is introduced between the sheet pile and the interlock. The socket and plug are attached using welding or mechanical fastening methods as an intermediary step, allowing for precise interlock fabrication without requiring complex hot rolling of the sheet pile itself, thus resolving the contradiction between precision and manufacturing ease
2Reliability
If traditional socket and plug interlocks are used, then pile interconnection is achieved, but watertight sealing is insufficient and attachment points are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The invention adds a new dimensional aspect to the interlock design by incorporating a lip or flange element that extends radially outward from the plug. This additional dimensional feature creates an overlapping joint configuration that provides both watertight sealing through the lip engagement and enhanced attachment versatility by allowing for multiple fastening points around the circumference of the interlock
3Reliability
If complex interlock designs are used to achieve watertight sealing, then sealing reliability is improved, but production cost and device complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of making the entire interlock complex, the invention applies local quality by adding sealing features only where needed. The lip or flange element is positioned specifically at the interface between the socket and plug to provide watertight sealing, while the rest of the interlock maintains a simple, easy-to-manufacture geometry. This localized approach achieves reliable sealing without increasing overall device complexity
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention includes an interlock having an elongate male plug and an elongate female socket. The socket has an open rectangular cross-section with a receiving cavity designed to receive and ensleeve the plug, which also has a rectangular cross-section. The socket includes a back wall, top wall, bottom wall, and a discontinuous front wall creating an upper and lower flange with an opening existing between the free ends of the flanges. The bottom, top, and back walls are planar in shape providing three planes on which the socket can mate to a planar portion of a structure, such as a sheet pile. The plug includes a flange-contacting surface with a pile receipt disposed inwardly from the flange-contacting surface. The inwardly set pile receipt allows an end of a plate to be secured to the plug within the outer perimeter of the plug resulting in an obstruction free flange-contacting surface.