Patent ID: 6019550
Filing Date: 2000-02-01
Classification: E02D

Abstract:
A retaining wall for reinforced infill material, of the type comprising superimposed courses of modular blocks, each block having a front face, a rear face, parallel upper and lower faces, and opposed sidewalls which extend between said upper and lower faces, and having a reinforcement material extending back from the wall into the infill material with an end portion of the reinforcement material interposed between two superimposed courses of the wall and anchored to the wall by means of an anchor element which is retained in a retaining cavity between contiguous upper and lower faces of blocks in the superimposed courses, characterised by the combination that:the blocks are provided with means permitting pivotal articulation along the courses of the blocks in the wall whilst maintaining vertical alignment between said courses;the anchor element retaining cavity is defined by an open channel in either one of the said upper and lower faces in blocks of one course and by a substantially flat surface in the plane of the contiguous faces of the blocks in the other course, the contiguous upper and lower faces of the blocks in the superimposed courses being parallel to each other, said channel extending transversely between the sidewalls of each respective block, wherein the included angle between the face of the block in which the channel is located and the rear wall of the channel is not substantially greater than 90.degree.;the anchor element has a spine which is of wedge-shaped cross-section for at least part of its length, with a plurality of spaced-apart projections extending from one side of the spine and engaging through apertures in the reinforcement material, and the anchor element is retained in said retaining cavity with the thinner edge of the spine nearer the rear face of the blocks, with said projections abutting against the rear face of the channel in the blocks of one of said superimposed courses and the side of the spine not having the projections abutting against said substantially flat surface of the blocks of the other of said superimposed courses; andsubstantially the whole thickness of the anchor element is located within said channel.