Vaulted Retaining Structure for Port Wharf Walls

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Solution Overview

Problem

Traditional retaining structures for port wharf walls require extensive and costly earthworks to install longiligne metal tie rods and anchor curtains, which are time-consuming and labor-intensive, especially when dealing with significant height differences between soil portions.

Innovation Solution

A retaining structure featuring a vaulted front portion with integral wall elements that extend vertically into the soil, replacing the need for metal tie rods and anchor curtains, allowing for a simpler and faster construction process without extensive earthworks, and behaving as a monolithic structure to reduce flexing moments and displacements.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Stability of the object's composition

If traditional metal tie rods and anchor curtains are used to ensure stability of the retaining structure, then the structural stability is improved, but the complexity of earthworks and construction time increase significantly

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvestructural stabilityVSAvoidcomplexity of earthworks
Core Design Contradiction:
Stability of the object's compositionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent merges the functions of the front retaining wall and rear anchor curtain into a single integrated retaining wall structure. The wall incorporates both the retaining function at the front and the anchoring function at the rear, eliminating the need for separate metal tie rods and anchor curtains. This integration simplifies the overall structure and reduces the complexity of earthworks while maintaining structural stability.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent extracts and eliminates the unnecessary metal tie rods and separate anchor curtain from the traditional retaining structure. By removing these redundant components and replacing them with an integrated wall design, the complexity of earthworks and construction is significantly reduced while the essential stability function is preserved through the integrated structure.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

2Stability of the object's composition

If extensive earthworks are performed to install metal tie rods and anchor curtains, then the structural stability is ensured, but the construction time and labor intensity increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvestructural stabilityVSAvoidconstruction speed
Core Design Contradiction:
Stability of the object's compositionVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent combines the retaining wall and anchor curtain into a single integrated structure, which eliminates the need for extensive earthworks to install separate metal tie rods and anchor curtains. This merging of functions allows for faster construction while ensuring structural stability through the integrated design.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

Instead of following the traditional sequence of building the retaining wall first and then installing metal tie rods and anchor curtains in extensive earthworks, the patent inverts the approach by creating an integrated wall structure that performs both functions simultaneously, thereby reducing construction time and labor intensity while maintaining stability.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

3Reliability

If metal tie rods are positioned at great depth to ensure stability, then the structural reliability is improved, but the volume of soil to be cleared and backfilled increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvestructural reliabilityVSAvoidvolume of soil to be cleared
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSVolume of stationary object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent removes the need for deep positioning of metal tie rods by extracting this function and replacing it with an integrated retaining wall structure. The wall achieves structural reliability through its integrated design and interaction with the soil mass, eliminating the requirement to clear and backfill large volumes of soil at great depths.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent merges the anchoring function previously requiring deep metal tie rods into the integrated retaining wall structure. The wall itself provides the necessary anchoring through its design and interaction with the soil, reducing the volume of soil that needs to be cleared and backfilled while maintaining structural reliability.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Data Source

PatentEP3359744B1Foundation structure
Publication Date: 2022.03.16 SOLETANCHE FREYSSINET SAS
  • EP3359744B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3359744B1 patent drawingFigure 2~3
  • EP3359744B1 patent drawingFigure 4~5B

AI summary

The invention relates to a retaining structure (12) in ground (S) comprising a vertical front part and delineating a first portion of ground (S1) from a second portion of ground. The front part (14) takes the form of a juxtaposition of bowed walls (16), each bowed wall (16) having a concave side facing the first portion of ground and a convex side facing the second portion of ground, and the retaining structure (12) further comprising a rear part (20) comprising a plurality of wall elements (22), the largest faces of which extend vertically into the second portion of ground (S2), each wall element (22) being positioned between two adjacent bowed walls (16) and being transverse to the front part (14).