Soil-Cement Sampling Device With Split Inner Tube
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional methods for obtaining soil-cement samples, especially for low strength soil cements and those with gravel, often damage the samples or fail to provide continuous, representative samples, making quality control challenging.
Innovation Solution
A soil-cement sampling device comprising an inner tube within an outer tube, with a connection assembly and a cutting shoe, allows for insertion into the soil-cement mixture before hardening, enabling continuous sampling and curing in situ, followed by removal for inspection and testing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If conventional coring methods are used to sample low strength soil-cement, then the sampling process can be performed, but the sample disintegrates inside the core barrel as the core bit advances through the soil-cement
Solution Approach 1:
The sampling device is divided into two separate tubes: an outer tube that remains in the ground and an inner tube that is removed with the sample. This segmentation allows the sampling function to be separated from the sample recovery function, preventing the sample from being damaged during the coring process while still enabling effective sampling.
Solution Approach 2:
The inner tube is positioned within the outer tube before insertion, creating a pre-assembled sampling unit. This preliminary arrangement ensures that the sample collection chamber is already in place and protected before the coring operation begins, preventing sample disintegration during advancement.
2Ease of operation
If conventional coring methods are used to sample soil-cement with gravel, then the sampling process can be performed, but the weak soil-cement is eroded away from the gravel and loose pieces of gravel rotate in the core barrel, destroying the soil-cement core
Solution Approach 1:
By separating the sampling function into an inner tube that collects only the soil-cement matrix, the device isolates the weak soil-cement from the gravel components. This prevents the erosion and mixing that occurs in conventional coring, where gravel pieces rotate and destroy the soil-cement core.
Solution Approach 2:
The inner tube acts as an intermediary container that selectively collects the soil-cement sample without direct contact with the gravel. This intermediate structure protects the weak soil-cement from being damaged by the gravel during the sampling process.
3Quantity of substance
If wet grab sampling is used to recover soil-cement, then a volume of soil-cement can be recovered, but the curing does not take place in the ground and the sample does not provide continuous treated soil-cement sample for entire depth
Solution Approach 1:
The sampling device provides continuous sampling along the entire depth of the soil improvement by maintaining a continuous inner tube that extends from the surface through the treated zone. This continuous structure ensures that the sample represents the entire depth of treatment, unlike wet grab sampling which only recovers discrete volumes.
Solution Approach 2:
The inner tube is pre-positioned within the outer tube before insertion, creating a ready-to-collect continuous sample chamber. This preliminary arrangement ensures that the continuous sampling capability is established before the device is inserted into the ground, allowing uninterrupted sampling through the entire depth.
Data Source
AI summary
A soil-cement sampling device and method of sampling soil-cement is provided. The soil-cement sampling device may include an inner tube arranged within an outer tube. The inner tube may be removably connected to the outer tube and may be split into two longitudinal sections removably connected to each other. The inner and outer tubes may be inserted into a recently mixed soil-cement mixture before it hardens and a sample of the soil-cement mixture may be collected in the inner tube after it hardens. Once the sample hardens, the inner tube may be removed from the outer tube and the longitudinal sections may be separated to expose the soil-cement sample for inspection and testing.