Full-displacement pressure grouted pile system and method

• US 20060013656A1
• Filed: 07/13/2004
• Published: 01/19/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 07/13/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Berkel & Company Contractors Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Berkel & Company Contractors Incorporated
• Inventors: Blum, Kenneth J.
• Granted Patent: US 7,198,434 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 405/241
• CPC Class Codes: E02D 5/36 making without use of mouldpipes or other moulds
• CPC Class Codes: E02D 7/22 Placing by screwing down screw piles per se E02D5/56
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 10/44 Bits with helical conveying portion, e.g. screw type bits; Augers with leading portion or with detachable parts E21B10/42 takes precedence

Abstract

An auger bit is provided for a foundation pile system including a drilling rig adapted for mounting and rotating a grout pipe connected to the auger bit to form an auger. The auger bit includes a stem with lower and upper sections, which taper towards a transition whereat the stem has a maximum diameter. Right-hand flighting is mounted on the stem lower section and converges with left-hand flighting mounted on the stem upper section at a transition. The stem and the flighting have substantially equal diameters at the transition whereby soil is displaced laterally and compacted at the borehole perimeter during drilling of same. A pile foundation forming method includes the steps of providing a drilling rig, forming an auger with a grout pipe coupled to an auger bit, rotating the auger with the rig, forming a borehole with laterally displaced soil, pumping pressurized grout through the auger and into the borehole, placing a reinforcing cage in the wet grout and curing same.

Claims

1. A displacement-type auger bit for drilling a borehole, which bit comprises:

a stem with lower and upper sections and a longitudinally-extending, rotational axis;

said lower and upper sections terminating at lower and upper stem ends respectively;

a cutting tool mounted on said lower stem end and adapted for cutting through a subsurface material in connection with drilling a borehole;

said stem lower section having a downwardly-tapered configuration;

said stem upper section having an upwardly-tapered configuration;

a coupling mounted on said stem upper end and adapted for coupling to a grout pipe;

flighting including a flighting lower section mounted on said stem lower section and

generally helical in a first direction and a flighting upper section mounted on said

stem upper section and generally helical in the opposite direction;

a soil path generally defined by said stem and said flighting; and

an anti-wear protrusion mounted on one of said stem and said flighting generally in said soil path and adapted for spacing soil from portions of said stem or flighting.

2. The auger bit according to claim 1, which includes:

said protrusion comprising multiple, longitudinally-extending teeth formed along said stem and extending between respective turns of said flighting and adapted for trapping soil on said stem.

3. The auger bit according to claim 2 wherein said stem includes:

a hollow pipe core with a lower end located in proximity to said bit lower end and including a grout discharge opening and an upper and located in proximity to said bit upper end, said hollow pipe core being adapted for receiving grout at its upper end from said grout pipe through said coupling;

multiple spacers mounted on and extending radially outwardly from said core;

multiple plates mounted on said spacers and extending between respective flighting turns, each said plate having a leading edge protruding to form a respective tooth and a trailing edge abutting an adjacent plate leading edge; and

said stem including an outer wear surface formed by said plates and having a sawtooth-shaped, cross-sectional configuration.

4. The auger bit according to claim 3, which includes:

each said stem plate leading and trailing edges forming respective acute angles at said outer surface of said stem; and

said respective abutting plate edges being offset with respect to each other to form respective teeth.

5. The auger bit according to claim 1 wherein said anti-wear protrusion comprises a flighting block extending radially across said flighting and adapted for trapping soil on a respective face of said flighting.

6. The auger bit according to claim 4 wherein each said flighting block has a generally rectangular cross-sectional configuration with a leading edge adapted for forming an anti-wear soil shield on a section of flighting in front of said block and a trailing edge adapted for forming an anti-wear soil shield on a section of flighting behind said block.

7. The auger bit according to claim 4, which includes:

said flighting having lower and upper faces and an outer edge; and

multiple said flighting blocks extending radially from said stem to said flighting outer edge in spaced relation along said flighting upper face.

8. The auger bit according to claim 1, which includes:

said flighting having lower and upper faces and an outer edge;

said anti-wear protrusion comprising an anti-wear flighting section mounted on said flighting lower face in proximity to said stem lower end and generally covering said flighting through at least a portion of a turn thereof.

9. The auger bit according to claim 1, which includes:

a main body subassembly with said stem upper section and a portion of said stem lower section;

a tip subassembly with a portion of said stem lower section, said grout discharge opening and said cutting tool; and

said tip subassembly being joined to said main body subassembly at a connection whereat respective portions of said stem lower section and said flighting lower section align.

10. The auger bit according to claim 9, which includes:

said cutting tool including a cast guide and a reamer extension; and

said cutting tool being adapted for cutting medium-to-hard clay and weathered shale.

11. The auger bit according to claim 9, which includes:

said cutting tool including a fishtail pilot and teeth; and

said cutting tool being adapted for cutting loam and similar soils.

13. The auger bit according to claim 9 wherein said discharge opening is open at said stem outer wear surface in proximity to said stem lower end.

14. The auger bit according to claim 1, which includes:

said stem upper and lower sections being connected at a transition;

said flighting having substantially the same diameter as said stem at said transition; and

a V-shaped flighting point at an intersection of said lower and upper section flighting.

12. The auger bit according to claim to 9, which includes:

said cutting tool including a bullet tooth pilot and progressive bullet teeth; and

said cutting tool being adapted for cutting rock and concrete.

15. A displacement-type auger bit for drilling a borehole with a drilling rig and including a grout pipe adapted for rotation and for mounting said auger bit to form an auger, which auger bit comprises:

a stem with lower and upper sections and a longitudinally-extending, rotational axis;

said lower and upper sections terminating at lower and upper stem ends respectively;

a first anti-wear feature comprising multiple, longitudinally-extending teeth formed along said stem and extending between respective turns of said flighting and adapted for trapping soil on said stem;

a hollow pipe core with a lower end located in proximity to said stem lower end and including a grout discharge opening and an upper end located in proximity to said bit upper end, said hollow pipe core including coaxial inner and outer pipe cores, said inner pipe core being positioned within said outer pipe core and adapted for receiving grout at said pipe core upper end from said grout pipe through said coupling;

multiple spacers mounted on and extending radially outwardly from said outer pipe core;

multiple plates mounted on said spacers and extending between respective flighting turns, each said plate having a leading edge protruding to form a respective tooth and a trailing edge abutting an adjacent plate leading edge; and

said stem including an outer wear surface formed by said plates and having a sawtooth-shaped, cross-sectional configuration

each said stem plate leading and trailing edges forming respective acute angles at said outer surface of said stem; and

said respective abutting plate edges being offset with respect to each other to form respective teeth;

said flighting having lower and upper faces and an outer edge;

a second anti-wear feature comprising multiple flighting blocks extending radially from said stem to said flighting outer edge in spaced relation along said flighting upper face and adapted for trapping soil on a respective face of said flighting;

each said flighting block having a generally rectangular cross-sectional configuration with a leading edge adapted for forming an anti-wear soil shield on a section of flighting in front of said block and a trailing edge adapted for forming an anti-wear soil shield on a section of flighting behind said block;

a third anti-wear feature comprising an anti-wear flighting section mounted on said flighting lower face in proximity to said stem lower end and generally covering said flighting through at least a portion of a turn thereof;

a main body subassembly with said stem upper section and a portion of said stem lower section;

a tip subassembly with a portion of said stem lower section, said grout discharge opening and said cutting tool; and

said tip subassembly being joined to said main body subassembly at a connection whereat respective portions of said stem lower section and said flighting lower section align;

a cutting tool mounted on said lower stem end and adapted for cutting through a subsurface material in connection with drilling a borehole;

said stem lower section having a downwardly-tapered configuration;

said stem upper section having an upwardly-tapered configuration;

a coupling mounted on said stem upper end and adapted for coupling to a grout pipe;

flighting including a flighting lower section mounted on said stem lower section and generally helical in a first direction and a flighting upper section mounted on said stem upper section and generally helical in the opposite direction;

a soil path generally defined by said stem and said flighting; and

said anti-wear features being adapted for spacing soil from portions of said stem or flighting.

16. A method of constructing a subsurface, cementous foundation pile, which comprises steps of:

providing an auger drilling rig including a mast and a hoisting cable on said mast;

rotatably mounting on the mast an auger including an auger bit and a grout pipe extending upwardly from the auger bit;

hoisting the auger on the mast with said hoisting cable;

providing the auger bit with a full displacement configuration including an upwardly-expanding, tapered stem and two-directional flighting with a lower flighting section oriented in a first direction and an upper flighting section oriented in a second direction;

providing the auger bit with a cutting tool at a lower end thereof and a grout discharge opening adjacent to the lower end thereof;

drilling a borehole with said auger and compacting the adjacent soil with said auger bit while rotating said auger in a first direction with said rig;

providing a source of cementous grout and connecting same to said rig mast;

pumping said grout through said grout pipe and said auger bit and out said discharge opening into said borehole;

substantially filling said borehole with said grout under pressure;

extracting said auger with said hoisting cable while rotating same with said rig in said first direction;

providing a reinforcing cage with lower and upper ends;

attaching said reinforcing cage upper end to said hoisting cable;

hoisting said reinforcing cage on said mast with said hoisting cable;

lowering said reinforcing cage into said grout-filled borehole with said listing cable; and

retaining said reinforcing cage upper end in proximity to the ground surface; and

curing said grout around said reinforcing cage.

17. The method according to claim 16, which includes the additional step of:

providing a cutting tool with a guide and a reamer extension adapted for cutting medium-to-hard clay and weathered shale.

18. The method according claim 16, which includes the additional step of:

providing a cutting tool with a fishtail pilot and teeth adapted for cutting loam and similar soils.

19. The method according claim 16, which includes the additional step of:

providing a cutting tool with a bullet tooth pilot and progressive bullet teeth.