Patent Publication Number: US-11021846-B2

Title: Arc melted glass piles for structural foundations and method of use

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims priority to, and the benefit of, U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/731,891 filed on Sep. 15, 2018, which is incorporated by reference as if set forth fully herein. 
    
    
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH 
     No federally sponsored research funds have been used for this work. 
     FIELD 
     The technology described in this disclosure relates to pile formations used as structural foundation supports for building construction and other loads on soil substrates. 
     BACKGROUND 
     The broader societal need for glass fillers in structural pilings is not just a reduction in cost of pilings. Pilings can be substantial costs as some are as large as 24″ diameters and up to 150′ long. These are substantial components of foundations utilized for larger structures. A reduction in building costs would have far reaching effects throughout the country. Reducing building costs would put many projects that would have otherwise been neglected into reach, such as infrastructure upgrades. In fact, the current U.S. President has plans to increase infrastructure spending to $1T (whitehouse.gov). This is substantial especially considering the scale of projects. Infrastructure typically requires larger foundations that residential construction, meaning that most of these projects will require some type of pile foundation (bridges, for example, require larger foundations due to the high loading of the structures). 
     Prior art pilings include those made of steel, timber, and concrete summarized below. 
     Steel: These are used by driving the piles into soil. These cannot be used in soils with high moisture content as the steel will rust and deteriorate. 
     Timber: These have select uses. In locations were timber is very low cost, these can be economical, but they are more typically used in select locations in which the foundations are continually wet. Timber will not rot if continually wet or continually dry. 
     Concrete:
         Precast: Increased cost due to shipping of materials. Must be driven in place. Design must balance drivability and resistance; tapered piles drive easily into soil but do not transfer load from the bottom point to the soil efficiently. Preferred for frictional piles.   In-Situ Cast: Requires large bore holes for strength. Requires carefully installed rebar cages to prevent shrinkage/expansion cracking. Rebar can rust just as steel piles as concrete is a porous material. Increased cost due to having to ship materials. Added difficulty from having a time-sensitive material to install.       

     Installation methods for foundational piles include driven piles often made of steel, timber, or precast concrete. Other piles, particularly prior art piles made of concrete, may be cast in place. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 2 , loading methods for the piles include end-bearing piles and frictional piles. 
       FIGS. 1A and 1B  show two piles. The pile  20  of  FIG. 1A  is transferring load  10  to a rocky layer  19  below, as indicated by the arrow  22  at the bottom of the image. The pile of  FIG. 1B  is transferring load  10 , via friction, to a clay layer  17  (which is squeezing the pile, as indicated by the horizontal, black arrows  25 ) as well as a stronger sand layer  23  (indicated by a smaller arrow  16  at the bottom). Therefore, the left pile of  FIG. 1A  is functioning only as an end-bearing pile extending through sand  15 , soft clay  17  onto a rock substrate  19 , and the right pile of  FIG. 1B  is functioning as both an end-bearing pile bearing onto a sand substrate  16  and frictional pile held in place along an outer surface by friction between the pile  20  extending through surface sand  15 , clay  17 , onto the sand  16 . 
       FIG. 2  shows a pile  27  which relies on friction  31  to transmit loading  30 . The frictional resistance is indicated by the vertical black arrows  31  along the sides of the pile  27 . The friction both prevents the pile from pushing into the soil  29  (i.e. prevents settlement) as well as transmits vertical loading to the soil. This loading type is used by many pile types, with an increased usage in driven piles as the force of driving the pile helps to increase compressive loading on the exterior of the pile. 
     A need exists for a method of constructing piles of new materials to take advantage of a wide range of structural properties in construction. 
     SUMMARY 
     Part of the innovation proposed is using glass as a material for construction of structural piling foundations. As mentioned above, glass greatly exceeds existing materials for construction piles, such as in strength. Through experimentation, it has been discovered that glasses can be melted by using electrical arcs (high amperage, low voltage) by exposing the glass to the radiant heat produced by the arc. This is different than the traditional method of melting glass using combustible gasses. It has been proven that glass cast using arcs can utilize fluxing materials to reduce the melting temperature. As glasses cast using arcs can also receive the effects of the reduction in melting temperatures, the costs of glass as a piling material can be made further economical as compared to concrete, especially when considering the increased strength of glass. 
     By casting glasses in a bore hole, the soil surrounding the bore hole naturally form an insulative barrier, which helps to maintain heat in the system and reduces moisture content in the soil surrounding the glass. 
     Another primary concern with piling type foundations is the friction produced on the exterior of a bore hole. It has been found through preliminary experimentation that the exterior of the steel casing partially melts and absorbs nearby soil, creating a rough surface on the exterior. This rough surface should have increased friction, increasing the pile&#39;s effective strength. 
     Another advantage is that glass piles can be considered a green material. If soil is taken from bore holes and recycled as a building material by making it into glass, material can be directly used from site. This would also help in cases were an excess of soil must be removed from the construction site. In comparison to concrete, steel, or timber piles, the costs reflect the transportation costs of these materials through their manufacturing processes and to the construction site. All these transportation costs are negated by using soils from the site. 
     In one embodiment, a system for forming a molten glass filled pile  575  includes a hollow casing  650 , a control assembly  640  positioned proximately to the hollow casing, and a pivoting support device  649  connected to the control assembly. A pivoting electrode  675 A is connected to the pivoting support device and configured to extend into the hollow casing, wherein the pivoting electrode has a range of motion defined by the hollow casing. A second electrode  675 B is connected to the control assembly and configured to extend into the hollow casing within the range of motion of the pivoting electrode  675 A. An electric power source  647  is connected to the pivoting electrode and the second electrode, wherein charge on the electrodes produces a current arc  669  between the pivoting electrode and the second electrode. A lift mechanism  605  is connected to a raising and lowering shaft  691  and the lifting/lowering assembly is positioned proximately to the hollow casing to control the electrodes&#39; position within the hollow casing, i.e., a hollow steel sleeve. 
     A method of producing a piling employs steps that allow for a glass filler  500  in the field where a hollow casing  650  has been placed in a soil substrate. As noted above, the method includes positioning a pair of electrodes inside of a hollow casing, connecting the electrodes to a power source and inducing a charge on at least one of the electrodes. Moving at least one of the electrodes toward the other electrode within the hollow casing allows the the charge to initiate an arc of conduction between the pair of electrodes. Exposing glass forming materials to the heat of the arc within the hollow casing allows for forming a glass filler within the hollow casing, often from the bottom (distal end) up toward the surface and steel cap  608 . In other words the lifting apparatus described above pulls the electrodes up and out of the glass filler as the glass is formed in a molten state that cools into glass. The hollow casing is not necessarily insulated if heating an environmental material such as sand or soil is desired for melting materials outside the hollow sleeve. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The accompanying drawings, which are in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate certain examples of the present disclosure and together with the description, serve to explain, without limitation, the principles of the disclosure. Like numbers represent the same element(s) throughout the figures. One source of the  FIGS. 1A and 1B  below is https://www.slideshare.net/G. 
         FIG. 1A  is a PRIOR ART schematic representation of an end-bearing pile as disclosed herein. 
         FIG. 1B  is a PRIOR ART schematic representation of a combination end-bearing/frictional pile as disclosed herein. 
         FIG. 2  is a PRIOR ART schematic representation of a frictional pile as disclosed herein. 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic representation of a normal piling with typical ends. 
         FIG. 4  is schematic representation of a pedestal type of pile. 
         FIG. 5A  is a top plan view of a hollow casing having a glass filler and forming a pile as described herein. 
         FIG. 5B  is a top plan view of a hollow casing having a glass filler and forming a pile as described herein. 
         FIG. 5C  is a side perspective view of a glass filled pile as disclosed herein. 
         FIG. 6A  is a plan view of a cross section of a hollow casing for arc welding a glass filled pile as disclosed herein. 
         FIG. 6B  is a plan view of a cross section of a plan view of a cross section of a hollow casing with pivoting electrodes for arc welding a glass filled pile as disclosed herein. 
         FIG. 6C  is a plan view of a cross section of a hollow casing for arc welding a glass filled pile as disclosed herein. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The following description of the disclosure is provided as an enabling teaching of the disclosure in its best, currently known embodiment(s). To this end, those skilled in the relevant art will recognize and appreciate that many changes can be made to the various embodiments of the invention described herein, while still obtaining the beneficial results of the present disclosure. It will also be apparent that some of the desired benefits of the present disclosure can be obtained by selecting some of the features of the present disclosure without utilizing other features. Accordingly, those who work in the art will recognize that many modifications and adaptations to the present disclosure are possible and can even be desirable in certain circumstances and are a part of the present disclosure. Thus, the following description is provided as illustrative of the principles of the present disclosure and not in limitation thereof. 
     Through experimentation conducted and summarized herein, it was determined that glass filler  500  could be produced by using two graphite electrodes  675 A,  675 B connected to a high amperage (˜200 Amps), low voltage (˜24 Volts) electric power source  647 . This discovery led to researching the strengths of glasses compared to other materials. Upon discovering the key advantages of glass (namely, the excessive compressive strength in pure compression), it was assumed that glass could be cast underground in a steel sleeve and serve as a glass filled pile for load support in construction applications. 
     Several other discoveries have been determined. Namely, using a fluxing (such as sodium carbonate, also known as washing soda), the glass melting temperature can be reduced, increasing the advantages of glass and glass fillers  500  in pile formation. 
     By placing a series of electrodes  675 A,  675 B underground, connected through a melting head (referred herein as control assembly  640 ), which features an actuator mechanism  642  to push the electrodes  675 A,  675 B together, starting an electrical conduction arc  669  between the electrodes, and a feeding mechanism, such as a feed screw  644  and feed screw motor  670 , it was determined that a mechanism could be created that would allow for continuous casting of soda-lime glass equivalent. This material could then be cast continuously while lifting the melting head/control assembly  640 . Once the appropriate height was reached, the entire glass forming mechanism  600  could be removed from the molten glass filled pile  575 . As the top layer of glass remains molten for an extended period after removing the melting head/control assembly  640 , the cap  450  could then have steel reinforcement rods placed into the molten glass. This would then act as a capped pile in which load could be transmitted from the structure above to the glass pile  400 ,  500 . The resulting capped pile as shown in  FIG. 4  could then be constructed in contact with concrete using other traditional foundational elements. 
     With the above summary of the glass filled pile discussed herein, one can note many advantages to using the glass filled piles, particularly in the cost comparison of Table 1. 
     
       
         
           
               
             
               
                 TABLE 1 
               
             
            
               
                   
               
               
                 Cost comparison between driven steel piles and arc melted glass. 
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
               
            
               
                   
                   
                   
                 Material Cost 
               
               
                   
                 Foundation Type 
                 Material 
                 Per Foundation 
               
               
                   
               
               
                   
                 Steel Driven Piles 
                 Steel 
                 $8,139 
               
               
                   
                 Arc Melted Glass Cylinder 
                 Soda Lime Glass 
                 $1,424 
               
               
                   
                 Arc Melted Glass Pedestal 
                 Soda Lime Glass 
                   $290 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     Glass formations, therefore, present new, innovative material exhibiting increased strength above all other materials listed in Table 1. This is true even for steel; 150 ksi glass vs. 58 ksi steel. Glass also presents a lower costs than above materials on a cost per strength basis (0.88 cents/ksi concrete vs. 0.64 cents/ksi steel vs. 0.08 cents/ksi glass). Using glass as a filler material in pile construction is not time sensitive; glass can be cast when needed on site with no wait times or risk of delays. 
     In certain non-limiting embodiments, a few key components of glass filled pile systems will be required to be small, mechanized systems which must withstand temperatures between 400 and 600 deg. C. As glass filler becomes more prevalent, costs associated with components withstanding these conditions will be manageable. 
     Another key technical challenge has involved the strength of the resulting glass. While strengths of glasses are referenced as being substantial (greater than 1000 MPa in pure compression), none of these glasses have been manufactured through the same process, which is a bulk process for producing large quantities of low quality glass. 
     Casting in deeply restrictive environments could prove difficult. One major concern is a consistent method of controlling and measuring the casting process. Two possible measurable data points providing information during a glass casting process are voltage and current used to induce the electric art that melts materials and forms glass. It may prove to be necessary to include a temperature probe to verify that the glass is being cast at an appropriate temperature. 
     Casting below the water table of a river or other body of water is also possible using glass filled piles to support construction. Use of a bottom cap  402 B is possible, and it has been found that partially saturated soil has shown no negative impacts. Casting glass onto fully saturated soil may be possible as well. 
     As mentioned previously, this disclosure includes one non-limiting example of a method of casting glass inside a borehole using graphite electrodes producing an electrical arc. There are several key points that illustrate the significance of this discovery:
         i. Avoidance of combustible gases for the production of glass (they would not work correctly in a restricted air flow environment, such as a bore hole)   ii. Strengths of glasses exceed concrete   iii. On the basis of cost per strength, glass is a less expensive material than concrete   iv. Glasses can be utilized exclusively compressive in piling type foundations       

     The bore hole itself acts as a furnace, slowly cooling the glass, preventing cracking. 
     
       
         
           
               
             
               
                 TABLE 2 
               
             
            
               
                   
               
               
                 This table indicates the energy costs of several glasses. 
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
            
               
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 Practical 
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 Total 
                   
                 Energy 
                 Practical 
                 Practical 
               
               
                   
                 Specific 
                 Softening 
                 Energy to 
                   
                 Req. for 
                 Energy 
                 Material 
               
               
                   
                 Heat 
                 Point 
                 Melt 1 kg 
                 Density 
                 1 kg 
                 Cost for 
                 Cost for 
               
               
                 Material 
                 (J/kg*deg. C.) 
                 (deg. C.) 
                 (kW-hr) 
                 (g/cc) 
                 (kW-hr) 
                 1 lb 
                 1 lb 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
            
               
                 Pure Silica 
                 830 
                 1683 
                 0.426 
                 2.2 
                 1.419 
                 $0.19 
                 $0.19 
               
               
                 Soda Lime 
                 880 
                 715 
                 0.212 
                 2.5 
                 0.707 
                 $0.10 
                 $0.15 
               
               
                 Borosilicate 
                 830 
                 815 
                 0.225 
                 2.23 
                 0.752 
                 $0.10 
                 $0.48 
               
               
                 Glass 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                 Aluminosilicate 
                 840 
                 910 
                 0.250 
                 2.63 
                 0.833 
                 $0.11 
                 $0.35 
               
               
                 Glass 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     Table 2 above indicates the theoretical energy costs of several glass types. While borosilicate and soda-lime glasses have similar practical energy costs, borosilicate glass requires addition of materials (e.g. boric acid), which increase the cost far beyond soda-lime glass. Additionally, while pure silica has a lower practical material cost, it also requires producing very high temperatures to create the glass. 
     To express why glass makes a better pile material more clearly, a comparison of a glass to a steel piling is shown below in a design example. For simplicity, the example uses a condition in which an end-bearing pile of  FIG. 3  is being created. In Table 3, as with previous estimates, the cost of soda lime glass assumes a melting temperature of 750 deg. C., a 30% thermal efficiency, and 50.30 per kw-hr. The cost of steel was found online at agmetalminer.com. 
     
       
         
           
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
               
                 TABLE 3 
               
               
                   
               
               
                   
                   
                 Total Area 
                 Total Pile 
                   
                   
                   
                 Material 
                 Material 
               
               
                   
                   
                 Per Foundation 
                 Length 
                 Total Volume 
                   
                 Total Weight 
                 Cost Per 
                 Cost Per 
               
               
                 Foundation Type 
                 Material 
                 (sq. in.) 
                 (in) 
                 (cu. In.) 
                 S.G. 
                 (lbs) 
                 Lb 
                 Foundation 
               
               
                   
               
             
            
               
                   
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
            
               
                 Steel Driven Piles 
                 Steel 
                 186 
                 420 
                 78120 
                 7.8 
                 21997 
                 $0.37 
                 $8,139 
               
               
                 Arc Melted 
                 Soda Lime 
                 314 
                 420 
                 131880 
                 2.5 
                 11902 
                 $0.12 
                 $1,424 
               
               
                 Glass Cylinder 
                 Glass 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                 Arc Melted 
                 Soda Lime 
                 48.8 
                 420 
                 26860.8 
                 2.5 
                 2424 
                 $0.12 
                   $290 
               
               
                 Glass Pedestal 
                 Glass 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     In Table 3, the example&#39;s requirements required reaching a rock substrate below at 420 inches. The S.G. column represents the specific gravity, which dictates the weight of the material. The volume results from the pile length and the pile surface area, which is derived from the strength requirements. The material cost per unit weight is derived from a previous example which utilized the melting temperature of soda-lime glass and the heat of fusion. Assuming a 30% efficiency and $0.30 per kw-hr, the cost per unit weight of glass was found to be %0.12 per pound. 
     To explain the non-limiting example above, a required foundational pile strength of 530 tons is set as a test point. The rock substrate itself dictated design. The steel piles used utilized a cap as shown in  FIG. 4 , increasing the bearing area against the rock substrate. Despite this, the cost of soda-lime glass was determined to be less. 
     In the above example, glasses easily exceed the strength of steel as the failure strength of glass in compression is 1000 MPa (as compared to 400 MPa with steel; these values are from the diim.unict.it website). Additionally, steel has a relatively high cost when compared to glass produced on a construction site with the innovation outlined in this report. 
     Additionally, the above example includes a foundation type referred to as a “glass pedestal  300 .” This type of foundation is shown in  FIG. 3 . This would be an idealized foundation in which the bottom and top of a glass pile could be enlarged as shown in  FIG. 4  by increasing the heat generated at the top and bottom of a steel casing, causing respective large balls of soil  315  to melt at these locations and form a top cap  402 A for connecting the load to a substrate, such as rock layer  319  via a bottom cap  402 B. By doing so, glass can be found to be even more competitive as current designs restrict glass usage due to the strengths of the soils in which loads are being transferred. Essentially, the glass pile  400  of  FIG. 4  only needs an increased thickness at the bottom of the pile if transferring to a rock layer  419  below as the glass is theoretically stronger than what a typical allowable load is for a rock formation  415 . 
       FIGS. 3-6  show images of a proof of concept glass pile that has been produced. In one non-limiting example, the method for creating this small section of pile was by melting small portions of sand-soda ash mixture inside of a steel sleeve  350 ,  450 ,  550  (i.e., a hollow casing  650 ) was selected as they a readily available. 
     The procedure of one non-limiting test was to connect the two graphite electrodes  675 A,  675 B to the positive and negative terminals of an electric power source  647 . The electric power source  647 . was set to 200 amps at 24 volts. The ends  681 A,  681 B,  682 A,  682 B of the graphite electrodes were lowered into the bottom of the hollow casing  650 . Similar to welding, an arc  669  was created by moving the two electrodes together, then holding them about 0.5 inches apart. This arc was used to melt the sand-soda ash mixture, which about two cubic inches of mixture was added every 10 seconds of arcing. 
     After creating a small portion of glass, the steel sleeve  550  was cut to allow for easier viewing of the glass as shown in  FIGS. 5A, 5B, 5C . Note that the exterior  555  of the hollow sleeve  550  (e.g., steel casing) shown in  FIG. 5C  shows the rough exterior  560 . As the sand exterior to the hollow sleeve  550  began melting, it imbedded into the exterior  555  of the steel hollow sleeve  550 . This melted finish forming the rough exterior  560  should increase frictional resistance when used in a full-scale pile. This will help with design of such piles as the pile should be able to function as a frictional pile, as indicated in  FIGS. 1B and 2 . 
     An example prototype has been laid out in  FIGS. 6A, 6B, and 6C . This prototype of a glass filled pile mechanism  600  includes a mechanized feed system with a mechanical actuator  642  for contacting the graphite electrodes  675 A,  675 B, and an electrical controller (including computer implement control systems in computerized hardware) that determines the sequencing of all motors for casting the sand as a glass in the hollow casing  650 . Noting that a controlled process allows for feeding glass forming materials into an interior  699  of a hollow casing  650 , the glass forming materials may include but are not limited to silica, sand, fluxing materials, sodium carbonate, calcium oxide, magnesium oxide, aluminum oxide, iron oxide, and boron oxide. 
     In one embodiment, a system for forming a molten glass filled pile  575  includes a hollow casing  650 , a control assembly  640  positioned proximately to the hollow casing, and a pivoting support device  649  connected to the control assembly. A pivoting electrode  675 A is connected to the pivoting support device and configured to extend into the hollow casing, wherein the pivoting electrode has a range of motion defined by the hollow casing. A second electrode  675 B is connected to the control assembly and configured to extend into the hollow casing within the range of motion of the pivoting electrode  675 A. An electric power source  647  is connected to the pivoting electrode and the second electrode, wherein charge on the electrodes produces a current arc  669  between the pivoting electrode and the second electrode. A lift mechanism  605  is connected to a raising and lowering shaft  691  and the lifting/lowering assembly is positioned proximately to the hollow casing to control the electrodes&#39; position within the hollow casing, i.e., a hollow steel sleeve. The lifting and lowering mechanism is configured to move the pivoting electrode and the second electrode along an interior of the hollow casing. In other words, the lifting and lowering assembly (including lead screw and shaft) are connected to a control assembly  640  so that the arc-forming electrodes  675 A,  675 B can move freely within the hollow casing  650 . In one non-limiting embodiment, the hollow casing comprises a steel sleeve that conducts heat from the current arc. In this way, the heat emanating from the hollow casing  650  is positioned to melt soil or sand exterior  615  to the hollow casing  650 , forming the rough surface  655  as described above. The control assembly  640  includes an insulating enclosure  643  surrounding the electric power source  642  and/or a pivoting support device  649  and/or at least one actuator  642  engaging the pivoting support device  649  to move the pivoting electrode  675 A toward the second electrode  675 B and induce the electrical current arc  669  between the electrodes. A system as described in this disclosure may configure the insulating enclosure  643  to be so dimensioned to traverse the interior  699  of the hollow casing  650  as the lift mechanism  605 ,  691  moves the pivoting electrode and the second electrode. As shown in  FIG. 6B , the range of motion of the pivoting electrode is sufficient to move the pivoting electrode to a position contacting the second electrode. The control assembly  640  fits within the hollow casing with the insulating enclosure extending alongside an interior surface  657  of the hollow casing, and the insulating enclosure defines a drop slot  661  illustrated in  FIG. 6C  for directing raw materials into the hollow casing and toward respective distal ends  681 B,  682 B of the pivoting electrode and the second electrode. A pushing mechanism such as a feed screw  644  moves the raw materials from an open end of the hollow casing into the drop slot. The raw materials traverse the hollow casing toward a respective distal end  681 B,  682 B of the pivoting electrode and the second electrode. The open end of the hollow casing may be covered with a base plate  608  in some embodiments. The electrodes are made of a material selected from the group consisting of tungsten, tungsten-copper alloys, graphite, graphite alloys, and other conductive metal alloys. 
     A method of producing a piling employs steps that allow for a glass filler  500  in the field where a hollow casing  650  has been placed in a soil substrate. As noted above, the method includes positioning a pair of electrodes inside of a hollow casing, connecting the electrodes to a power source and inducing a charge on at least one of the electrodes. Moving at least one of the electrodes toward the other electrode within the hollow casing allows the the charge to initiate an arc of conduction between the pair of electrodes. Exposing glass forming materials to the heat of the arc within the hollow casing allows for forming a glass filler within the hollow casing, often from the bottom (distal end) up toward the surface and steel cap  608 . In other words the lifting apparatus described above pulls the electrodes up and out of the glass filler as the glass is formed in a molten state that cools into glass. The hollow casing is not necessarily insulated if heating an environmental material such as sand or soil is desired for melting materials outside the hollow casing  650 . 
     Positioning the hollow casing underground with the exterior environment being soil allows for glass filled piles to be formed for bearing a load thereon as discussed above. Lifting the electrodes from a first end of the hollow casing cause distal ends of the electrodes to move from an opposite end of the hollow casing toward the first end of the hollow casing, forming the glass filler with the pair of electrodes as the pair of electrodes moves from the opposite end toward the first end of the hollow casing. As noted above, the method of this disclosure optionally includes forming a glass cap in the exterior environment, wherein the glass cap connects to the hollow casing and the glass filler in the hollow casing by melting soil in the exterior environment below the opposite end of the hollow casing. 
     Operating parameters for forming the glass filler optionally include operating the power source within a range of 190-210 amps at a voltage within a range of 20-30 volts. In one non-limiting embodiment, applying the power source at about 200 amps at about 24 volts forms a desirably strong glass filler. 
     Terminology 
     Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood to one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. 
     As used in the specification and claims, the singular form “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. For example, the term “an agent” includes a plurality of agents, including mixtures thereof. 
     As used herein, the terms “can,” “may,” “optionally,” “can optionally,” and “may optionally” are used interchangeably and are meant to include cases in which the condition occurs as well as cases in which the condition does not occur. Thus, for example, the statement that a formulation “may include an excipient” is meant to include cases in which the formulation includes an excipient as well as cases in which the formulation does not include an excipient. 
     Ranges can be expressed herein as from “about” one particular value, and/or to “about” another particular value. When such a range is expressed, another embodiment includes from the one particular value and/or to the other particular value. Similarly, when values are expressed as approximations, by use of the antecedent “about,” it will be understood that the particular value forms another embodiment. It will be further understood that the endpoints of each of the ranges are significant both in relation to the other endpoint, and independently of the other endpoint. It is also understood that there are a number of values disclosed herein, and that each value is also herein disclosed as “about” that particular value in addition to the value itself. For example, if the value “10” is disclosed, then “about 10” is also disclosed. 
     Publications cited herein are hereby specifically by reference in their entireties and at least for the material for which they are cited. 
     Although the present disclosure has been described in detail with reference to particular arrangements and configurations, these example configurations and arrangements may be changed significantly without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. For example, although the present disclosure has been described with reference to particular communication exchanges involving certain network access and protocols, network device  102  may be applicable in other exchanges or routing protocols. Moreover, although network device  102  has been illustrated with reference to particular elements and operations that facilitate the communication process, these elements, and operations may be replaced by any suitable architecture or process that achieves the intended functionality of network device  102 . 
     Numerous other changes, substitutions, variations, alterations, and modifications may be ascertained to one skilled in the art and it is intended that the present disclosure encompass all such changes, substitutions, variations, alterations, and modifications as falling within the scope of the appended claims. 
     Note that in this Specification, references to various features (e.g., elements, structures, modules, components, steps, operations, characteristics, etc.) included in “one embodiment”, “example embodiment”, “an embodiment”, “another embodiment”, “some embodiments”, “various embodiments”, “other embodiments”, “alternative embodiment”, and the like are intended to mean that any such features are included in one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, but may or may not necessarily be combined in the same embodiments. Note also that an ‘application’ as used herein this Specification, can be inclusive of an executable file comprising instructions that can be understood and processed on a computer, and may further include library modules loaded during execution, object files, system files, hardware logic, software logic, or any other executable modules. In example implementations, at least some portions of the activities may be implemented in software provisioned on networking device. In some embodiments, one or more of these features may be implemented in hardware, provided external to these elements, or consolidated in any appropriate manner to achieve the intended functionality. The various network elements may include software (or reciprocating software) that can coordinate in order to achieve the operations as outlined herein. In still other embodiments, these elements may include any suitable algorithms, hardware, software, components, modules, interfaces, or objects that facilitate the operations thereof. 
     Furthermore, the computers referenced herein may also include suitable interfaces for receiving, transmitting, and/or otherwise communicating data or information in a network environment. Additionally, some of the processors and memory elements associated with the various nodes may be removed, or otherwise consolidated such that single processor and a single memory element are responsible for certain activities. In a general sense, the arrangements depicted in the Figures may be more logical in their representations, whereas a physical architecture may include various permutations, combinations, and/or hybrids of these elements. It is imperative to note that countless possible design configurations can be used to achieve the operational objectives outlined here. Accordingly, the associated infrastructure has a myriad of substitute arrangements, design choices, device possibilities, hardware configurations, software implementations, equipment options, etc. 
     In some of example embodiments, one or more memory elements can store data used for the operations described herein. This includes the memory being able to store instructions (e.g., software, logic, code, etc.) in non-transitory media, such that the instructions are executed to carry out the activities described in this Specification. A processor can execute any type of instructions associated with the data to achieve the operations detailed herein in this Specification. In one example, processors could transform an element or an article (e.g., data) from one state or thing to another state or thing. In another example, the activities outlined herein may be implemented with fixed logic or programmable logic (e.g., software/computer instructions executed by a processor) and the elements identified herein could be some type of a programmable processor, programmable digital logic (e.g., a field programmable gate array (FPGA), an erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM)), an ASIC that includes digital logic, software, code, electronic instructions, flash memory, optical disks, CD-ROMs, DVD ROMs, magnetic or optical cards, other types of machine-readable mediums suitable for storing electronic instructions, or any suitable combination thereof. 
     These devices may further keep information in any suitable type of non-transitory storage medium (e.g., random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), field programmable gate array (FPGA), erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), etc.), software, hardware, or in any other suitable component, device, element, or object where appropriate and based on particular needs. Any of the memory items discussed herein should be construed as being encompassed within the broad term ‘memory element. Similarly, any of the potential processing elements, modules, and machines described in this Specification should be construed as being encompassed within the broad term ‘processor. 
     The list of network destinations can be mapped to physical network ports, virtual ports, or logical ports of the router, switches, or other network devices and, thus, the different sequences can be traversed from these physical network ports, virtual ports, or logical ports.