Hydraulic and earth engineering – Earth treatment or control – Rock or earth bolt or anchor
Patent
1995-11-24
1998-07-21
Graysay, Tamara L.
Hydraulic and earth engineering
Earth treatment or control
Rock or earth bolt or anchor
405270, 521692, E02D 2902
Patent
active
057825823
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The invention relates to the filling in of a hollow in the ground, for example, a quarry. More particularly, the invention relates to a method of filling in a hollow in the ground, to a method of providing a facing for a slope, to a facing providing a smooth face for a side of a hollow, to a facing unit and to a facing assembly for a slope.
It is sometimes necessary to provide a facing for a ground slope. For example, it may be necessary to provide the walls of a quarry, which are usually irregular, with a facing before the quarry is filled in. A layer of plastics material such as polyethylene can then be laid over the bottom of the quarry and the facing to prevent contaminants from material with which the quarry is filled, from entering the water course. Without a suitable facing the plastics material would be likely to be punctured.
Conventional methods of building a facing for a slope involve building formwork generally of steel or timber at the required angle adjacent to the slope, and holding the formwork in that position whilst the gap between the formwork and the slope is filled in with a suitable material. A number of problems arise in the conventional method: the formwork is heavy and unwieldy and is thus difficult to position correctly; a crane may even be required to install the formwork. Walls of a quarry are often not straight and each time the direction of the formwork has to be altered the construction becomes especially complicated. Furthermore, the known arrangements provide a facing having a rough face which tends to puncture the lining, which will allow contaminants to penetrate the facing from the material with which the quarry is filed.
A further arrangement that has been proposed in GB 2 239 036 comprises an arrangement in which a layer of impermeable plastics material is sandwiched between vertical inner and outer walls, each wall being formed of stacked gabions having wire netting sides. The gabions are, however, heavy and unwieldy and it is necessary to provide a protective fabric lining for the plastics layer before placing it against the wire sides of the gabions.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method of providing a facing for a slope, a facing assembly for facing a slope, a slope facing and a facing unit, which avoid or mitigate the problems referred to above.
According to the invention there is provided a method of filling in a hollow in the ground in which a plurality of lightweight facing units are positioned over a side of the hollow to provide a smooth face to the side, a liner is placed over the smooth face and the hollow is filled in with material, the liner obstructing the transfer of pollutants from the filling material into the side of the hollow.
As the purpose of the liner is to obstruct the transfer of pollutants from the filling material into the side of the hollow, the feature that the facing provides a smooth face is advantageous, as the likelihood of the liner being pierced by rough or protruding parts of the facing is greatly decreased, and thus transfer of pollutants is prevented. The liner may thus be laid directly on the smooth face without the need for a protective layer. Because the facing units are lightweight, they can be carried and positioned by workmen without any need for mechanical aid.
The positioning of the lightweight facing units over the side of the hollow preferably comprises the steps of positioning a first facing unit at the bottom of the side of the hollow, and building, in a plurality of steps, a facing that extends upwardly from the first facing unit, each of the plurality of steps comprising positioning a further facing unit on top of, and in interlocking engagement with, a facing unit below. Because the units interlock, it is possible to provide a facing inclined at an angle to the vertical which can increase considerably the volume of the part of the hollow to be filled in with material. Furthermore, where a hollow has sides inclined to the vertical, the facing can be built substantially parallel to the sides of
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Di Stefano Anthony Benjamin
Oliver William Robert
Cordek Limited
Graysay Tamara L.
Lagman Frederick L.
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