IMPROVE- MENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF JETTIES, BREAKWATERS, AND DOCKS, AND OTHER HYDRAULIC CONSTRUCTIONS." PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Aristide Balthazard
Year: 1852

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Aristidė Balthazard.Bérard, of Paris; in the,
Empire (formerly the Republic) of France, Engineer, and Che-
valier of the Legion of Honour, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF JETTIES, BREAKWATERS, AND DOCKS,
AND OTHER HYDRAULIC CONSTRUCTIONS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Aristide Balthazard"
Bérard at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 5th October 1852.
I, ARISTIDE BALTHAZARD BERARD, do hereby declare the nature of
the said, Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF JETTIES,
BREAKWATERS, AND DOCKS, AND OTHER HYDRAULIC CONSTRUCTIONS," to be
as follows:-
In order to resist the force of the waves it has been found advan-
tageous to construct breakwaters and similar structures of large blocks
of stone, in preference to employing an equal mass of small blocks.
Large blocks of stone suitable for this purpose are not always to be

page_text: met with in the neighbourhood of the intended structure, and artificial
stone or concrete has sometimes been prepared on the spot for this
purpose, but is liable to be gradually injured or destroyed, especially by
the action of sea water.
By the present Invention large blocks which may weigh from five to
ten or twenty tons, more or less, are manufactured for this purpose in
the following manner. A number of bricks are made of clay in the
usual manner and then dried; when dry, they are laid on the ground
and covered with a thin layer of coal or cinders or other suitable com-
bustible. Another layer of bricks and coal is placed upon them, and
so on, until a mass of the required form and size or rather larger is
obtained. The coal is then ignited, and the bricks baked, and at the
same time fused together at their surfaces, so as to form one large
block, which being wholly or partially vitrified is well adapted for
resisting the action of water. The block may be surrounded by a wall
to concentrate the heat, or ranges of blocks may be built up in con-
tiguity to one another, and all fired together.
-The form of the block, whether rectangular or otherwise, with an
even or irregular surface, is determined by building up the block into
the required form. These are either thrown into the water and heaped
one upon another to form breakwaters and similar structures, or they
are built up like masonry.
Another part of the Invention consists in forming those parts of
breakwaters and similar structures which are above water,, or can be
kept dry for a sufficient time, by building up the bricks into the required
form, with coal or other fuel interposed in lieu of cement, and then
firing it, so as to form a large portion or the whole of the upper part of
.the structure of one vitrified or partially vitrified mass. The bricks
employed may be of any form desired, and in some cases mere balls or
lumps of clay may be employed. The quantity of fuel employed must
be not only sufficient to bake the bricks, but also to fuse or vitrify their
surfaces sufficiently to make them adhere together. They are allowed
to cool slowly. to prevent the mass from cracking.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Aristide Balthazard Bérard in the Great Seal
Patent Office, on the 4th April 1853.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
ARISTIDE BALTHAZARD BERARD, of Paris, in the Empire (formerly the
Republic) of France, Engineer, and Chevalier of the Legion of Honour,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fifth day of October, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-two, in the six-.
teenth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
giye and grant unto me, the said Aristide Balthazard Berard,
Her special licence that I, the said Aristide Balthazard Berard,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others. as I, the
said Aristide Balthazard Berard, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to
time and at all times thereafter during the term therein expressed,
should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands,
and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
CON-
STRUCTION OF JETTIES, BREAKWATERS, AND DOCKS, AND OTHER HYDRAULIC
CONSTRUCTIONS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
Aristide Balthazard Berard, by an instrument in writing under my
hand and seal, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature
of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be per-
formed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office
within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the
said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Aristide Balthazard Berard,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement thereof (that is
to say):
The Invention relates to a new mode or modes of constructing jetties,
"

page_text: breakwaters, and docks, and other hydraulic constructions; of masses of
clay, united by partial fusion or vitrification, in inanner, herein-after
described.
4
In the ordinary mode of building with stone or brick the cement
employed has a calcareous base, whether it be common or hydraulic
mortar, plaster of Paris, or Roman cement. The consequence is that-
when the building is exposed to the action of water, and particularly
when exposed to sea water, the lime or a portion of it is dissolved away.
To reduce the solubility of the lime; puzzolana and similar substances
have been added to it to cause it to harden under water. Hydraulic
lime, that is lime having the property of hardening under water, has
also been manufactured from a inixture of clay and ordinary. lime.
In some localities limestones are found which calcination furnish a
natural hydraulic lime. These cements are, however, in many cases
expensive, and they are seldom perfectly efficacious, especially when
exposed to the action of sea water..
on
In the construction of breakwaters for resisting the violence of the
waves of the sea, it is advisable to employ the material in large masses,
whose weight and inertia enable them to resist the waves. In many
localities large masses of stone are not to be found; and the expense of
transporting them from a distance is so great 'that artificial stone blocks
or concrete made from hydraulic linie is manufactured on the spot.
This hydraulic concrète is of course liable to the same objections as the
hydraulic lime when used as a cement. It is to avoid these incon-
veniences and defects that I have recourse to a different. mode of
uniting the materials. For this purpose the agent which I employ is
heat, and the materials which I use are argillaceous earth or clay, either
alone or mixed with sand, which materials are very generally dis
tributed, and easily obtained in most places. The heat which I employ
is sufficient to partially fuse or vitrify the surfaces of the materials and
to cause them to adhere together.
I will now proceed to describe the mode of proceeding to construct
blocks of rectangular or other determinate forms suitable to be employed
in the construction of breakwaters or jetties.
The clay is kneaded or compressed and moulded into the form of

page_text: bricks, or simply rolled into balls for the central portion of the block.
These bricks or balls are dried in the sun or by exposure to the air, like
ordinary bricks. These bricks are built up into the form of a block;
which may be effected in a variety of different ways, without departing
from the principle of my Invention: I shall therefore merely describe
some of the principal methods, and the mode of carrying on, the
operation.
In order to effect a complete agglomeration and vitrification of the
block in every part, it is necessary, firstly, to prevent the introduction
of cold air in contact with the surfaces to be vitrified; secondly, to
provide for filling up the cavites which result from the contraction of
the clay and the combuistion of the fuel as they are: produced; and
thirdly, that the block should be exposed, at 'all parts to a sufficiently
high temperature to effect the softening of the mass,, and that this heat..
may be capable of being directed and regulated at pleasure.
..
First method of proceeding: On the ground where the block is to be
constructed, three or four layers of bricks are placed; each layer is
placed crosswise to that below it, and the bricks are not placed close
together, but spaces are left between them, so that the whole serves as
a sort of grate for the free introduction of air to all parts. This base
of the block is surrounded by a wall or inclosure constructed in a similar
manner, and having a thickness of three or four bricks measured in
the direction of their length: .Upon this base or grate, which may be
formed of bricks either baked or unbaked, there is placed another layer
of bricks arranged rather more openly than the previous layers; the
spaces between these bricks are filled with burning coals. It is upon
this last layer of bricks that the construction of the block itself com-
mences. A first layer of dried bricks placed on their 'sides and close:
together is placed in the central part where the block is to be con-
structed, and other layers are afterwards added. The inclosing wall is
raised at the same time, but a free space of froni four to six inches, is,
left between the inclosure and the block: Brick struts are introduced.
at intervals between the block and the inclosure, to prevent the block
from losing its 'form and falling against the inclosure when it begins 'to
be softened by the heat. Fragments of coal are thrown into the space:

page_text: between the block and the inclosure, as they are raised by the addition
of successive layers of bricks. Between each layer or course of bricks,
both in the block and the inclosure, a thin layer of small coal is placed,
taking care to place rather less between the layers of bricks forming the
inclosure than between those which form the block. The object of
placing fuel between the courses of bricks which form the inclosure is
merely for the purpose of baking those bricks and raising the temperature
of the exterior of the block, and preventing the excess of cold air to it,
as the cold air would retard or prevent the vitrification at the part with
which it might come in contact. The inclosure and the block are thus
raised to the height of two or three feet, more or less. The fire soon
spreads from the ignited fuel under the base of the block and inclosure
to the rest of the fuel, and produces a softening or vitrification of the
block. The contraction or shrinking of the bricks, together with the
combustion of the fuel placed between them, soon produces spaces and
cavities in the block, which are to be filled up as they form with frag-
mcnts of brick and coal. When the fire reaches or approaches the
upper courses some additional courses of bricks with coal between them
are added, and as new spaces or cavities are formed they are to be
filled up as before. This operation is repeated until the required
height is obtained. A last layer of small coal is then added, and
covered with three courses of bricks laid flat, and when the heat has
reached its highest degree all the openings are closed. Anthracite,
bituminous coal, or small coke, or other fuel capable of producing a
sufficiently high temperature, may be employed. It will be seen that
the block and the inclosure are both formed of successive courses, which
are united by their vitrification or softening, proceeding from the bottom
upwards, while the gradual or successive nature of the operation affords
the opportunity for filling up the spaces or cavities as they are produced.
When the whole has become cool the inclosure is pulled down, and
furnishes bricks suitable for ordinary building purposes, while the
central mass is found in a solid and compact block suitable for use in
hydraulic constructions.
-Second-method-of-proceeding. By the first method above described
the fuel used for baking and vitrifying the block is placed in successive

page_text: layers with the bricks, and the consequence is a greater amount of
shrinkage in the block than if the fuel were not so placed. The spaces
produced by the shrinkage are filled up as above mentioned. This
method is simple, and admits of the employment of almost any descrip=
tion of coal, and the bricks which form the inclosure are baked and
rendered fit for ordinary building purposes. In some cases, however,
it may not be required to manufacture ordinary bricks, and in such
cases, in lieu of constructing the inclosure as herein-before described; it
Each face of
may be made of fire bricks inclosed within iron frames.
the block may be inclosed by a single frame, or by two or more frámės
placed one upon another. When two or more frames are placed one
upon another the block may be constructed in a similar nianner to that
herein-before described, and the inclosure may be raised at the same
time by placing the frames one upon another. There is another modé
of proceeding, however, by which the complete block may be built up
and the whole vitrified at once, in lieu of building it up in the successive
manner herein-before described, and thus the required form may be
given to the block with greater accuracy. For this purpose the four
sides of the inclosure are formed of four frames containing fire bricks
and united together. The block is constructed of bricks placed close
together, or with a very small quantity of fuel interposed, and a space
of six or eight inches is left on all sides between the block and the
inclosure for the passage of the flame. Struts or supports of fire
brick are placed at intervals between the block and the inclosure:
Four vertical passages or flues are made through the block near its
centre, and these passages communicate at the bottom with eight
horizontal flues, and eight grates or furnaces placed on the exterior, two
being placed on each face of the block. The number of the vertical
A moveable vault or
and horizontal flues and grates may be varied.
dome inclosed in a frame, and resting upon the frames which forni the
inclosure, serves to cover the whole. A lever and balance weight are
connected to this dome, to facilitate the moving of it: Openings are
left in the dome for the passage of the gaseous products of combustion;
and these openings are capable of being closed at pleasure:
A slow fire is inade on each grate or furnace, and when the mass

page_text: begins to acquire a red heat the fires are increased so as to produce a
general vitrification; or softening of the block, which is facilitated by the
above described arrangement of furnaces and flies.or passages. When
the whole blockchas acquired the requisite degree of softening or vitrifi-
cation, the cavities: produced by the contraction of the bricks become
wholly or partially closed and filled up by the subsidence of the mass
occasioned by the weight of the upper courses, so that the shrinkage of
the block takes place wholly: or, chiefly in its height: When the block
is in the softened or vitrifying state, the vertical..passages in it may be
filled up with fragments of brick introduced through corresponding
openings in the dome and these fragments will then become vitrified
and connected with the block in one mass. When the whole block is
sufficiently vitrified and bound together the fire is discontinued, 'and all
the openings closed, and the whole allowed to cool gradually. The dome
iş: then lifted off, and one or more of the frames forming the inclosure
are removed, and the block is carried away. Another block may then
bé constructed in a similar manner. The cementing material which
unites the separate masses of clay which compose the block is the fused
or vitrified clay itself, and no extraneous substance is required to be
interposed as à cement. The vitrified clay is not affected by either.
fresh water or sea water, and the blocks thus made are therefore well
adapted for application to hydraulic constructions. Blocks of determi-
nate form and of very large size may be' thus made, and in many cases
at a much less cost than blocks of stone of similar dimensions, as clay is
a material very generally distributed, and frequently to be obtained in
close proximity to the required hydraulic constructions. Ferruginous
clays are to be preferred to those which do not contain iron, as they are
of greater density and more easily vitrified.
.
The methods above described for constructing a single block may
also be employed in the following manner in the construction of break-
waters, jetties, the abutments and piers of bridges, dock walls, and
similar works which are partially out of the water; or from which the,
water can be excluded during the operation. Thus, in building a
-breakwater, the_lower_part may be constructed of blocks thrown into:
the sea until the mass is raised above high-water mark, and the upper

page_text: part or a portion thereof may then be constructed by arranging the
courses of bricks and fuel on the spot, and baking and vitrifying the
whole in its place, so as to produce one continuous piece or block of
great strength and durability.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the manner
in which the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that
what I claim as my Invention is the constructing of jetties, breakwaters,
and docks, and other hydraulic constructions, or portions thereof, in single
blocks formed on the spot, or of several blocks, such blocks being in
either case formed of an assemblage of bricks or lumps of clay arranged
in determinate forms, and united by partial fusion or vitrification in
manner herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Aristide Balthazard Berard,
have hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-fourth
day of March, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight
hundred and fifty-three.
Witness,
ARISTIDE BALTHAZARD BERARD.
ELIE MOURIE,
Avocat,
13, Rue d Seine,
Paris.
(L.S.)