SUPPORT PACK COMPONENT
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a component for a support pack which is suitable for use in a load bearing installation such as in an underground excavation
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention provides a support pack component which includes an integral body formed with at least two divergent arms
Preferably the arms are shaped and positioned so that at least two of the components can be engaged, at least to a limited extent, with each other
Preferably the arms are shaped and positioned so that successive layers of interengaged substantially similar components can be stacked one above the other with an overlying layer bridging at least a portion of a gap which exists between the components in an underlying layer In this way a secure bond between adjacent layers is achieved
The arms may form an included angle the magnitude of which may vary according to requirement Preferably though the included angle is approximately 90° As stated the arms may form an included angle which is greater, or smaller, than 90°, according to requirement
In one form of the invention the body is substantially L-shaped The arms may equal each other in length, or one arm may be longer than the other
The body may be made from any suitable material A suitable material is a lightweight cementitious matrix which may be formed in any appropriate way e g by making use of cementitious mixtures which are known in the art or techniques which are known in the art The invention is not limited in this way
"Lightweight", as used herein, is intended to include a cementitious mixture with a density which is materially lower than the density of conventional cementitious mixtures e g comprising Portland cement and fine and coarse aggregate
Although it is preferred to form the body from a lightweight cementitious matrix the scope of the invention is not confined to this particular composition and any appropriate material may be used to form the body
The body may be reinforced in any appropriate way For example the body may have embedded in it reinforcing material, glass fibre, inclusions made from plastic or metal, or reinforcing rods or wires of any appropriate material
The body may have embedded in it a woven or welded mesh, reinforcing rods, reinforcing loops of an appropriate material, or the like The scope of the invention is not limited in this way
The body may be formed with dimensions which facilitate its handling particularly in difficult underground conditions
Handles or apertures which facilitate handling may be included in or provided on the body
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention is further described by way of examples with reference to the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of a support component according to a first form of the invention,
Figure 2 illustrates the way in which two components, each of the kind shown in Figure 1 , may be interconnected or interengaged with each other, in a horizontal sense,
Figure 3 is a plan view of the components of Figure 2 with a stacked overlying layer of components shown in dotted outline,
Figures 4 and 5 correspond respectively to Figures 2 and 3 and illustrate the engagement of components which are similar, but with different properties, to the components, of
Figures 1 and 2,
Figures 6 and 7 illustrate a different way of engaging components of the type shown in Figures 4 and 5,
Figure 8 is a plan view illustrating a modification which may be made to the component of
Figure 1 , and
Figure 9 illustrates a further possible modification of the component of the invention
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings illustrates a support component or block 10 according to a first form of the invention which includes an integral body 12 which is moulded in one piece from a suitable lightweight cementitious matrix and which, viewed in plan, is substantially in the form of an L with divergent arms 14 and 16 with an included angle 18
As is evident particularly from Figures 2 and 3 the arms 14 and 16 are substantially of the
same length and are substantially at right angles to each other, and the angle 18 is approximately 90°
The arms and the body are dimensioned so that the blocks may be interengaged with each other as shown in Figure 2 to form a layer of two components 10A and 10B with an overall substantially rectangular outline
Each arm 14, 16, has reinforcing 20 embedded in it The reinforcing, in this example, is in the form of steel rods or wires which are bent into loops Two loops extend substantially along the length of each arm The reinforcing material is fairly close to the surface of the body 12 but is covered by the cementitious material
Figure 3 illustrates the layer of components 10A and 10B of Figure 2 in solid outline with an overlying layer of components 10C and 10D in dotted outline stacked on the underlying layer The components 10C and 10D are identical to the components 10A and 10B but are turned through 90° so that a gap 22 between the components 10A and 10B, shown in Figure 2, is partially bridged by the components 10C and 10D
It is possible to stack successive interengaged layers of components one above the other to a fairly significant height but in each case taking care that a bond is achieved which bridges an underlying gap In this way a column of stacked support components can be assembled in situ at an underground location at which hanging wall support is required
The components 10 should be of a size and mass which make transport and handling underground, particularly by hand, reasonably easy Thus the body 12 may have any appropriate dimensions both transversely and in the vertical direction
As has been indicated hereinbefore the nature of the reinforcing, if used, may vary
according to requirement Although the invention is not restricted in this way suitable reinforcing is provided by including mild steel rods or loops or mesh in the body 12 Similarly the nature of the material used in making the body 12 may vary according to requirement but preferably, as has been pointed out, the body 12 is made from a lightweight cementitious matrix
Figures 4 and 5 are views which correspond respectively to Figures 2 and 3 of interengaged components which have different proportions to the components shown in Figures 1 , 2 and 3 but which in other respects are similar The components in Figures 4 and 5 are respectively designated 10P, 10Q, 10R and 10S Each component has arms 14A and 16A which are materially longer than the arms 14 and 16 shown in Figure 1 and, in this case, the arms are of different lengths Consequently, when the components are engaged with each other in the manner shown in Figure 4 an open central core 24 is formed inside the interengaged components Each subsequent layer is formed from two components which are engaged in a similar manner but with the orientation of an upper layer being changed relatively to a lower layer so that, as is shown in Figure 5, the upper layer bridges a gap 22 which is formed between adjacent components in an immediately underlying layer It follows that it is again possible to assemble, in situ, a column of stacked support components, at an underground location, at which hanging wall support is required A further advantage is that the lateral dimensions of the column are relatively large compared to the lateral dimensions of a column using components of the type shown in Figure 1 Effectively the slendemess ratio of the column is decreased and this enhances the stability of the arrangement
Figures 6 and 7 are views which are similar to the views contained in Figures 4 and 5 respectively but, in Figures 6 and 7, the components are configured so that the cross- sectional dimensions of an assembled column are not as elongate in one direction as in the case shown in Figures 4 and 5 If the arms 14A and 16A have the correct length
relatively to the width of each arm then clearly it is possible with the arrangement shown in Figures 6 and 7 to erect a column which is substantially square, viewed in plan In other words the difference between the lengths of the arms is equal to the width of each arm
Figure 8 illustrates, in plan, a component 26 which includes a body 28 with arms 30 and 32 which diverge from each other with an included angle 34 in excess of 90° By increasing the size of the included angle it is possible to position the arms of two adjacent components between the arms 30 and 32 and thereby interlock more than two blocks in a given layer of a stacked assembly of the blocks
Figure 9 illustrates a component 36 according to a variation of the invention which includes arms 38 and 40 with an included angle 42 which is less than 90° It is possible to butt the respective ends of the arms 38 and 40 of two components against each other, leaving a diamond shaped void enclosed by the four arms, and then to stack similar components, similarly abutting each other, over the underlying components in order to form a stacked assembly of the components with a vertically extending columnar void, in a manner which is generally similar to what is illustrated in Figures 4 to 7
An important aspect of the invention lies in configuring a support component, made from suitable material, and reinforced as appropriate, so that at least two of the components can be engaged with each other in a first layer over which further interengaged components can be stacked in such a way that gaps between underlying components are at least partially bridged by the overlying components This feature enables columnar supports to be constructed in situ at underground locations in which other supports may not be particularly suitable
It is possible to vary the nature of the material from which the components are made to provide, within reason, desired yielding characteristics A substantially rigid non-yielding
characteristic may be achieved by forming the components from dense conventional cementitious material. A significant amount of load bearing capability is provided with a yielding characteristic if, on the other hand, use is made of a lightweight or cementitious mixture in forming the components. As noted a mixture of this type may be suitably reinforced by making use of fibres or reinforcing material of any appropriate kind embedded wholly or partially inside the material or, where applicable, surrounding one or more outer surfaces of each component eg. by means of bands, sheet material or the like.