Driver for and method of installing foundation elements and a kit of parts for assembling a driver

The invention pertains to a driver for installing foundation elements, such as anchors or piles, in a ground formation and preferably in submerged condition, comprising a housing for accommodating and guiding a weight, an element for mounting the driver on or in a foundation element, one or more connectors for connecting the driver to a source of a high pressure gas or, preferably, one or more chambers for holding a charge, and corresponding conduits allowing a high pressure gas to flow from the chamber(s) or connector(s) to below the weight. The invention also relates to a kit of parts for assembling a driver and to a method of installing foundation elements.

Drivers for installing foundation elements are generally known, e.g. from international patent application WO 00/06834, which relates to a tool for use in submerged condition. In WO 00/06834, a hammer body is fixedly supported in axial alignment with the head of a pile that is to be driven and carries a reaction body guided for movement thereon in a direction that is axial to the pile. The hammer body and reaction body define opposed first and second ends of an expansion chamber. A pyrotechnic charge is initiated to create a rapidly expanding volume of high pressure gas in the expansion chamber to generate a downward pressure force pulse to drive the pile, an equal and opposite upward pressure force pulse being applied to the reaction body. A damping structure, preferably a large volume container, operatively associated with the reaction body interacts with the water in which the tool is submerged using the inertia of the water to resist upward movement of reaction body. When the reaction body has stopped moving upwards, it descends back to the start position and applies a secondary blow to the pile.

It is an object of the present invention to improve the driver according to the opening paragraph.

To this end, the driver according to the present invention is characterised in that the housing is adapted to allow a stroke of the weight having a length such that, during upward movement of the weight (and downward movement of the foundation element), the pressure of the gas drops to a value, which will cause the weight to decelerate.

By using the gas not just to accelerate but also to decelerate the impact weight, a voluminous and heavy damping structure is in principle not required and the driver can be built relatively slender and kept relatively lightweight.

It is preferred that the housing is adapted to allow a stroke of the weight of at least 2 meters, preferably at least 5 meters, more preferably at least 10 meters. In practice, the stroke of the weight will not be longer than 50 meters, preferably not longer than 25 meters. The stroke will depend on the pressure above the weight.

The driver according to the invention can be equipped with a solid weight or, especially in a submerged condition, can use a liquid weight, typically (sea)water taken from the surroundings, as will be explained in more detail below.

The invention also relates to a kit of parts for assembling a driver for installing foundation elements, such as anchors or piles, in a ground formation and preferably in submerged condition, comprising two or more segments for assembling a housing of a selectable length for accommodating and guiding a weight, an element for mounting the assembled driver on or in a foundation element, and a section comprising one or more chambers for holding a charge and/or one or more connectors for connecting the driver to a source of a high pressure gas, and corresponding conduits allowing a high pressure gas to flow from the chamber(s) or connector(s) to below the weight. It is preferred that the total length of the segments is at least 2 meters, preferably at least 5 meters, more preferably at least 10 meters.

With this kit, the length of the tube and hence of the stroke of the impact weight can be adjusted on site and to local conditions. For instance, if the driver is to be used at a depth of two kilometres, i.e. at a surrounding pressure of approximately 200 bar, a relatively short tube will be sufficient to decelerate the impact weight.

The invention further pertains to a method of installing foundation elements, such as anchors or piles, in a ground formation and preferably in submerged condition, by means of a driver comprising a housing for accommodating and guiding a weight, an element for mounting the driver on or in a foundation element, and a source for supplying a high pressure gas, such as a pyrotechnic charge, which method comprises the steps of

mounting the driver on or in a foundation element,

arranging a weight, such as a solid weight or water taken from the surroundings, in the housing,

releasing high pressure from the source to below the weight,

allowing the weight to rise (relative to the downward moving housing) and the gas to expand to such an extent that the gas causes the weight to decelerate, preferably to expand to a pressure at which the force exerted by the gas below the weight is lower than the sum of the weight (in N) and the downward force exerted on the weight by the medium present above the weight.

It is further noted that U.S. Pat. No. 4,060,139 relates to an underwater gas discharge type hammer with a gas reservoir into which expanded ram driving gas exhausts to avoid aeration of incoming water which surrounds the gas discharge device of the hammer. The gas reservoir is also arranged as a diving bell to minimize pressure changes under the hammer ram and thereby to maximize ram stroke and improve sharpness of ram impact on the hammer anvil.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,958,647 relates to a pile driver, which includes a cylindrical housing, a movable massive weight within the housing, an annular cylindrical thrust-transferring member defining a discharge chamber below this weight, and a movable driving head attached to this annular member, forming a thrust-transmitting assembly adapted to be engaged with the pile. Pressurized gas such as compressed air is discharged from a gas discharge apparatus, called an airgun located within the discharge chamber and provides two driving thrusts for each discharge. Through discharge passages (70), the released high-pressure gas, which may be intermixed with water in the discharge chamber, is permitted to escape, thus allowing the massive weight to move downwardly.

It will be understood that the terms “upward”, “downward”, “below”, “above”, and the like as employed herein, are not restricted to the driving of foundation elements vertically. The invention is also useful where the foundation elements are to be installed in angled or, depending on the configuration of the driver and the surrounding conditions, even horizontal orientations.

The invention will now be explained in more detail with reference to the figures, which show preferred embodiments of the driver according to the present invention.

FIGS. 1A to 1C show respectively a side view, a cross-section and a detail of that cross-section of a preferred driver, comprising a solid impact weight and mounted on an anchor plate.

FIGS. 2A to 2C show respectively a side view, a cross-section and a detail of that cross-section of the driver shown in FIGS. 1A to 1C, mounted inside a hollow pile.

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Hydraulic and earth engineering

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