Modular Tubular Ring Support Structure for Load-Bearing Walls
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing structures for retaining walls, load-bearing walls, and erosion protection often lack the combination of strength, stability, ease of installation, and cost-effectiveness, particularly in applications requiring vertical and lateral load capacities.
Innovation Solution
A support structure composed of vertically stacked mats with tubular rings, filled with granular materials and wrapped in geotextile or geomembrane fabric, forming block units that provide enhanced load-bearing capabilities and stability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If traditional materials such as wood, rocks, bricks, concrete, plastics, or steel are used for retaining walls and support structures, then the structures can provide basic strength and stability, but they are difficult and time-consuming to install and lack the combination of superior load capacity and ease of installation
Solution Approach 1:
The support structure is divided into modular blocks, each comprising stacked mats with tubular rings and infill material. These standardized blocks can be easily transported, handled, and installed by conventional equipment, significantly improving installation ease while maintaining structural strength through the modular assembly of multiple load-bearing units.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention combines multiple materials and structural elements into a composite block: stacked mats providing structural framework, tubular rings offering lateral rigidity, granular infill material contributing to vertical load capacity, and geotextile/geomembrane wrapping providing confinement and stability. This composite approach achieves superior combined vertical and lateral load capacities that exceed the sum of individual material contributions.
2Reliability
If strong and stable materials are used for support structures, then load-bearing capacity is improved, but installation time and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The mats are pre-assembled into standardized blocks with predetermined configurations of tubular rings and infill materials at the manufacturing stage. This preliminary preparation ensures structural stability is built-in during fabrication, allowing rapid on-site assembly without time-consuming field construction activities, thus reducing installation time while maintaining reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
By segmenting the structure into pre-fabricated modular blocks, the invention enables parallel installation processes where multiple blocks can be installed simultaneously or by separate crews, significantly reducing total installation time while each block maintains its engineered structural stability through the stacked mat and infill construction.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If conventional materials are used for retaining and erosion protection structures, then basic protection is provided, but cost-effectiveness is reduced due to high installation costs and time
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the physical parameters of the protection structure by using stacked mats with specific geometric configurations of tubular rings and optimized infill material properties. These parameter changes create a structure that provides superior erosion protection per unit cost compared to conventional materials, achieving better performance-to-cost ratio through engineered geometry rather than expensive materials alone.
Solution Approach 2:
The composite construction combining stacked mats, tubular rings, granular infill, and geotextile wrapping creates a cost-effective erosion protection system where each component contributes at optimal cost: the mats provide structural framework at low material cost, the infill provides erosion resistance, and the wrapping provides confinement. This composite approach achieves superior erosion protection at lower total cost than equivalent performance with conventional homogeneous materials.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a support structure including a plurality of mats, each mat including a substantially fixed matrix of spaced tubular rings. The mats are vertically stacked such that the tubular rings are co-extensive and form a matrix of tubular columns. Materials may be poured into the columns and into the void region between the columns, and geotextile or geomembrane-type fabric may wrap the mats and materials to form a block. The blocks may be arranged in one or more horizontal layers, and may be stacked and staggered with respect to blocks in a lower layer. A method of installing the structure is also disclosed.