US568673A - Concrete bridge - Google Patents

Description

(No Modh) 2 Shets-Sheet 1.

A. GEISEL.

UONORETE BRIDGE.

Patented Sept. 29, 1896.

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A. GEISEL. CONCRETE BRIDGE.

N0.568,673. Patented Sept-Z9, 1896.

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ADAM GEISEL, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

CONCRETE BRIDGE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 568,673, dated September 29, 1396.

. Application filed March 23, 1896.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known'that I, ADAM GEISEL, of the city of St. Louis, State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Concrete Bridges, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof.

My invention relates to an improved concrete arch-bridge; and'it consists in the novel construction, combination, and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved arch-bridge. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional View of the bridge shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a vertical transverse sectional view on the line 4 4 of Fig. 1, the view beingbroken away at approximately the center of the bridge. Fig. 5 is a vertical transverse sectional View on the line 5 5 of Fig. 1, the view being broken away at approximately the center of the bridge. Fig. 6 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional detail of the arch used in my bridge.

Referring by numerals to the drawings, the water 1 of the river rests on the bed 2, be tween the banks 3 and 4. In each of the banks 3 and 4 an excavation is made for the abutments 5 and 6 and the wingwalls 7, 8, 9, and 10 of the bridge. Piles 11 and 12 are sunk in these excavations until a solid foundation is reached. The upper ends of these piles are sawed off on a horizontal line about one foot above the bottom of the excavation. The ground plan of the abutments and wingwalls is shown in Fig. 3, the piling being shown in dotted lines. After the piles have been driven and sawed off the excavations are cleaned out to the virgin earth. Alayer of concrete about one foot in thickness is then placed in the excavation and thoroughly to form a thorough bond between the layers.

When completed, the whole mass of each abutment and its wing-walls is a solid body of concrete. When the abutments and wing- Serial No. 584,439. on model.)

walls get above the surface of the ground, suitable false work is erected to mold said abutments and wing-walls into the desired shape. After the concrete-work has been finished, the false work is left in position about three days, or until the concrete has become sufficiently hardened to stand.

011 the facing-walls of the abutments 5 and 6 are surfaces 13 and 14, upon which the ends of the arch 15 are seated, the lines of said surfaces corresponding to the radial lines of the arch. The arch is in three pieces when the bridge is complete, and consists of the two sides 15 and 15 and the keystone 15.

The surfaces 13 and 14 are covered with tarpaper or other suitable substance to prevent the arch from forming a bond with the abutment. The side pieces 15 and 15 are each constructed in five sections 15, 15, 15, 15 15 15 15 15 15 and 15 In constructing the arch I work from each end toward the center. The end section is cast and before it has time to set the next section is cast and a bond forms between them, and so on until the pieces 15 and 15 are complete. At the boundary-line between the second and third sections from the outer ends of the pieces 15 and 15 the arch is between thirty-five and forty per cent. thicker than at the inner ends of said pieces and about ten per cent. thicker than at the outer ends. The inner ends of pieces 15 and 15 are covered with tar-paper or other suitable material to'prevent abond with the keystone. The keystone 15is then cast in posi tion. The center of the arch should be elevated slightly above a true center (about one inch to forty feet) in order that it may form a true are of a circle after the bridge is completed and settled. The false work used in casting the arch should be left in position about twenty days after the arch'is closed or long enough to allow the concrete to set.

I omit the usual hannchings on top of the arch and in their place I insert concrete walls 16 in the form of right-angled triangles. The short side of the triangle rests against the vertical face of the abutment and the hypotenuse rests upon the upper surface of the arch, thus bringing the long side of the right angle in a horizontal plane for the purpose of forming ribs to support the superstructure of the bridge. Similar walls 17 join with the wing-walls and the edges of the arch. There is no bond between the walls 16 and l7 and the arch. The space between these walls is filled with clean clay and rammed solid, after which the sidewalks and road-bed are laid in the usual way.

The iron railing is embedded in the coping and parapets, which are cast of concrete and integral with the walls 17. Several coats of plastering are applied to the face of the arch and the wing-walls, the finishing coat showing an imitation of alternate smooth and rock face stonework.

Aside from the process of construction and the details of composition used, the distinguishingfeatures of my concrete arch-bridge are the joints in the arch and the substitution of the walls 16 and 17 for the usual haunchings,t11us leaving the pieces of the arch free to expand or contract Without cracking or breaking the arch and will also allow a settlement of the support of the arch without cracking the arch.

1. A concrete bridge consisting of abuthaunchcs, and walls on top of said haunchcs,

said walls being unbonded to said haunchcs and to said abutments, substantially as specilied.

In testimony whereof I ailix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ADAM HEISE'L. \Vitncsses:

E. E. LONGAN, MAUD GRIFFIN.

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