Iron Retaining Wall or Sheathing.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 25th June, 1891-Accepted, 25th July, 1891.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improved Iron Retaining Wall or Sheathing.
We, HERMANN JOHANNES SCHMIDT and FRANZ PETER SCHMIDT of Rain-
strasse Altona in the Empire of Germany Architects do hereby declare the nature
of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
This invention consists in a new or improved construction of iron wall suitable
for and intended to be used as a retaining wall or sheathing, principally in hydraulic
engineering in the place of the wooden camp or pile sheathing or the like wooden
or other retaining walls or constructions at present employed. The nature of the
new or improved construction is as follows:
Between suitable iron piles at convenient distances apart are iron caissons open
below, fitting to the iron piles at their ends and intended to be driven into the earth
at the same time as the said piles are driven. The earth entering these caissons
as and when they are driven into the earth is removed, for instance by washing out
with water or by dredging, and its place is taken with concrete with which the
caissons are filled after they are driven into place. Suitably shaped anchors or
kedges may be inserted to keep the caissons in place against the thrust of the carth
and to connect the caissons one to the other.
The construction is shown in the accompanying drawing in which
Fig. 1 is a vertical section, on line Fig. 2, of the finished wall.
Fig. 2 a horizontal section thereof on line of Fig. 1 and
Fig. 3 a horizontal section through one of the caissons when empty showing the
construction thereof.
The caissons A are formed of the two walls of sheet iron a a¹ the ends of which
are connected by and fixed to the flanges of U irons or channel irons as shown.
The breadth of these channel irons is such that the side edge of the caison may
move within and fit sufficiently accurately to the side recess in the I beams which
are used for the iron piles C, and are of sufficient length that they may be driven
deep enough into the earth and project to the required height. The caissons may
be but slightly shorter than the piles.
It is preferable in driving this sheathing to arrange the piles and caissons in
engagement one with the other and support them in a suitable way while the
driving is done successive strokes alternately on the piles and on the caissons
along the length of the wall so that the operation of driving is substantially equally
distributed along the whole wall and thus progresses equally throughout until the
whole wall is driven in place to the required depth. The earth with which the
hollow caissons A will have become filled by the operation of driving is then
removed and the caissons filled up with concrete. During this operation, in order to
dowel the concrete fillings together each to the next in series, cross bars or plates m
may be passed through holes in the piles C and in the channel irons of the caissons,
and be embedded in the concrete so that when the ironwork eventually rusts away
the concrete fillings remain connected together in a firm wall. To these dowel bars
or plates kedges may be attached by rods m' and hold up the wall against the thrust
of the earth by being embedded in the latter.
The lower ends of the piles C and of the channel irons of the caissons A may be
pointed to facilitate their being driven into the earth.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is :-
11 A
11

page_text: which are occupied by hollow caissons open below and engaging with the piles at
their edges, the said caissons being filled with concrete; substantially as herein
described.
2) A retaining wall or sheathing composed of iron I piles the spaces between
which are occupied by caissons composed of plate walls a al connected by channel
irons engaging between the flanges of said I piles substantially as set forth, the said
caissons being open below, and when driven and the earth removed from within
them, filled with concrete or equivalent filling.
Dated this 25th day of June 1891
HERBERT & Co.,
18, Buckingham Street, Strand, W.C., London, Agents to Applicants.