Method and system to manufacture native soil flowable fill

• US 9,593,457 B2
• Filed: 08/04/2015
• Issued: 03/14/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 08/04/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Vermeer Manufacturing Company
• Original Assignee: Vac-Tron Equipment LLC (VAC-TRON Holdings, Inc.)
• Inventors: Buckner, Don M.
• Primary Examiner(s): LAGMAN, FREDERICK LYNDON
• Application Number:
  US14/817,354
• Publication Number:
  US 20160032549A1
• Time in Patent Office: 588 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 2101/28 Mixing cement, mortar, clay, plaster or concrete ingredients
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 2101/50 Mixing mined ingredients and liquid to obtain slurries
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 23/53 using driven stirrers
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 23/60 Mixing solids with solids
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 27/1125 with vanes or blades extending parallel or oblique to the stirrer axis
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 27/11251 having holes in the surface
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 27/191 with similar elements
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 27/192 with dissimilar elements
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 27/70 with paddles, blades or arms
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 27/701 comprising two or more shafts, e.g. in consecutive mixing chambers
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 27/906 with fixed axis
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 35/2218 Weight of at least one component to be mixed
• CPC Class Codes: C04B 14/14 Minerals of vulcanic origin granite C04B14/048
• CPC Class Codes: C04B 14/361 Soil, e.g. laterite
• CPC Class Codes: C04B 2111/00663 as filling material for cavities or the like
• CPC Class Codes: C04B 2111/00706 around pipelines or the like
• CPC Class Codes: C04B 2111/00732 for soil stabilisation
• CPC Class Codes: C04B 28/02 containing hydraulic cements other than calcium sulfates
• CPC Class Codes: C04B 28/04 Portland cements
• CPC Class Codes: C09K 17/00 Soil-conditioning materials or soil-stabilising materials specially adapted for boreholes or wells C09K8/00; fertilisers C05; consolidating by placing solidifying or pore-filling substances in the soil E02D3/12
• CPC Class Codes: C09K 17/10 : Cements, e.g. Portland cement
• CPC Class Codes: E02D 15/04 : Placing concrete in mould-pipes, pile tubes, bore-holes or narrow shafts
• CPC Class Codes: E02D 2250/0023 : Cast, i.e. in situ or in a mold or other formwork
• CPC Class Codes: E02D 2250/0053 : using suction or vacuum techniques
• CPC Class Codes: E02D 2300/0018 : Cement used as binder
• CPC Class Codes: E02D 3/00 : Improving or preserving soil or rock, e.g. preserving permafrost soil securing of slopes or inclines E02D17/20; damming or interrupting passage of underground water E02D19/12; improving soil for agricultural purposes A01; soil stabilisation for road building or like purposes E01C21/00, E01C23/10; setting rock anchoring bolts E21D
• CPC Class Codes: E02D 3/12 : Consolidating by placing solidifying or pore-filling substances in the soil making piles E02D5/46; soil-conditioning or soil-stabilising materials C09K17/00; consolidation of ground around boreholes or wells E21B43/025
• CPC Class Codes: E02D 5/36 : making without use of mouldpipes or other moulds

Abstract

A method to manufacture native soil flowable fill includes hydro excavating native soil to form a hole at a first excavation, and transferring the native soil from the first excavation to a mixing tank. The method also includes adding a pozzolan component, cement and water to the mixing tank, mixing the native soil in the mixing tank with the added pozzolan component, cement and water to form the native soil flowable fill, and transferring the native soil flowable fill back to the first excavation and into the hole.

Claims

1. A system to manufacture a native soil flowable fill, the system comprising:

a water pump;

a water hose coupled to the water pump;

a nozzle coupled to the water hose and configured to generate a jet of water;

a vacuum pump;

a suction wand having a suction hose coupled to the vacuum pump and configured to remove native soil from a first location to form a hole;

a collection tank coupled to the suction hose; and

a mixing tank in fluid communication with the collection tank and configured to mix the native soil with additional components to form the native soil flowable fill, wherein a bottom of the mixing tank being hingedly connected thereto, and having a tray extending outwards from the bottom in order to direct the native soil flowable fill into a container or the excavation site as the bottom is opened downwardly.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the mixing tank further comprises a plurality of paddles for mixing.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the mixing tank further comprises a hydraulic latch secured to the mixing tank and configured to open the bottom of the mixing tank.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the mixing tank further comprises the native soil, an added pozzolan component, cement and water, which are contained therein.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the native soil flowable fill comprises 30-90% by weight of the native soil, 0-50% by weight of the added pozzolan component, 0-50% by weight of the cement, and 10-45% by weight of the water.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein an amount, by weight, of the added pozzolan component added to the native soil to form the native soil flowable fill comprises a function of an amount by weight of siliceous material present in the native soil.

7. The system of claim 5, wherein an amount, by weight, of the water added to the native soil flowable fill comprises a function of an amount by weight of water present with the native soil.

8. A method to manufacture a native soil flowable fill, the method comprising:

removing native soil from a first excavation;

transferring the native soil from the first location to a mixing tank having a bottom hingedly connected thereto and a tray extending outwards from the bottom;

adding a pozzolan component, cement and water to the mixing tank;

mixing the native soil in the mixing tank with the added pozzolan component, cement, and water to form the native soil flowable fill;

transferring the native soil flowable fill from the mixing tank to the excavation; and

filling the first excavation with the native soil flowable fill.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein an amount, by weight, of the added pozzolan component added to the native soil flowable fill comprises a function of an amount, by weight, of siliceous material present in the native soil when transferred to the mixing tank.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein an amount, by weight, of the water added to the native soil flowable fill is a function of an amount, by weight, of water present with the native soil when transferred to the mixing tank.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the pozzolan component comprises fly ash.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein the pozzolan component comprises a natural pozzolana material.

13. The method of claim 8, wherein an amount, by weight, of the cement added to the native soil flowable fill comprises a function of an amount, by weight, of sand present in the native soil when transferred to the mixing tank.

14. A system to manufacture a native soil flowable fill, the system comprising:

a suction hose configured to remove native soil from a first location;

a collection tank coupled to the suction hose; and

a mixing tank having a bottom hingedly connected thereto and a tray extending outwards from the bottom, the mixing tank in fluid communication with the collection tank and configured to mix the native soil with additional components to form the native soil flowable fill.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the mixing tank further comprises a plurality of paddles for mixing.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the mixing tank further comprises a hydraulic latch secured to the mixing tank and configured to open the bottom of the mixing tank.

17. The system of claim 14, wherein the additional components comprise a pozzolan component, cement, and water.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the native soil flowable fill comprises 30-90% by weight of the native soil, 0-50% by weight of the pozzolan component, 0-50% by weight of the cement, and 10-45% by weight of the water.