Reusable Blockout Mold for Anchor Bolt Recesses
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing blockouts for forming recesses around anchor bolts in concrete molds are typically made from expanded polystyrene, which are time-consuming, messy, and wasteful, posing occupational and environmental hazards due to their non-reusable nature and the need for on-site manufacturing and removal.
Innovation Solution
A reusable blockout system comprising a body portion with an external profile matching the recess, an elongate bore, and a releasable locating mechanism, made from durable plastics with a resilient outer surface or sleeve, allowing easy mounting, adjustment, and removal from the anchor bolt after concrete setting.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If blockouts are made from expanded polystyrene and manufactured on-site, then they can be easily shaped to fit anchor bolts, but they require significant time for production and removal, create messy work environments, and cannot be reused
Solution Approach 1:
The blockout is divided into a removable outer shell and an inner core structure. The outer shell can be stripped away after the inner core sets the concrete, allowing rapid removal without manual digging while maintaining the ability to be shaped for anchor bolt fitment.
Solution Approach 2:
The blockout transitions from a static, permanently embedded polystyrene form to a dynamic system where the outer shell is intentionally designed to be removed after serving its purpose, converting the waste removal process into a controlled extraction of a specific component.
2Ease of manufacture
If blockouts are made from expanded polystyrene, then they provide good insulation and ease of shaping, but they create occupational health and safety hazards and environmental pollution
Solution Approach 1:
The material composition is changed from expanded polystyrene to concrete or similar non-hazardous material. This parameter change eliminates the health and environmental hazards associated with polystyrene dust and debris while maintaining the shaping and insulation properties needed for formwork.
3Ease of manufacture
If blockouts are made from expanded polystyrene, then they can be easily cut and shaped on-site, but they result in material waste and require additional cleaning equipment
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of discarding the entire blockout as waste, the design allows for selective recovery and removal of only the outer shell material after the inner core has fulfilled its function of setting the concrete. This reduces overall material waste and eliminates the need for extensive cleaning operations.
4Reliability
If blockouts are manually dug out from concrete recesses, then they can be removed from set concrete, but the process is time-consuming and requires hand tools
Solution Approach 1:
The blockout is segmented into an inner core and outer shell, where the outer shell is designed for easy removal once the inner core has set the concrete. This segmentation allows the formwork to be stripped away rapidly without manual digging, reducing removal time while ensuring reliable concrete setting.
Solution Approach 2:
The outer shell is pre-designed with features that facilitate easy removal after concrete setting, such as reduced adhesion surfaces or removable configurations. This preliminary design consideration eliminates the need for time-consuming manual excavation while ensuring the concrete has properly set.
Data Source
AI summary
A blockout mold is mountable on an anchor bolt to enable a recess to be formed around the anchor bolt when concrete is poured, and is easily stripped from the recess after the concrete has set. The blockout mold has a body and a neck portion with an elongate bore therethrough to receive the shank of the anchor bolt. Pairs of vertically spaced slots in the neck portion enable a releasable clip to selectively secure the neck portion to the shank; while the body has a sleeve of compressible material to enable the blockout mold to be stripped from the recess.