Repair sleeve for a marine pile and method of applying the same

Claim 3

The method of reinforcing a concrete pile as set forth in claim 1 wherein fastening screws are passed through aligned openings in the sleeve and interlocked reentrant flanges so that the grout material is poured into the void at least partially encompasses said fastening screws and prevents their removal after such grout material has become hardened.

Claim 4

The method of reinforcing a concrete pile as set forth in claim 2 and wherein the concrete pile is rectangular in cross section, the repair sleeve is of a composite two-piece construction and consists of a pair of similar right-angle fiberglass-reinforced molded sections which, when brought together in edge-to-edge relationship, establish said narrow annulus, and interlocking reentrant flanges are formed on each pair of opposed edges of said sections.

Claim 5

The combination with a vertical column-like concrete pile which, in association with a plurality of similar piles, serves to support the platform of a marine pier or the like, of an open-ended tubular repair sleeve encompassing said pile and extending upwardly from the extreme lower end region of the pile to a region above the level of the water around the pier, said repair sleeve embodying a sheet of imperforate, flexible, water-impervious material molded in the form of a major circle sector in which the gap between the vertical edges thereof is of sufficient width so as to permit passage of the sleeve around the pile during installation of the sleeve, one vertical edge of said sheet being provided with an inwardly extending acute angular reentrant bend on the order of 45°, and the other vertical edge of the sheet being formed with an inwardly extending hook-shaped bend which encompasses said reentrant bend so that the two bends establish cooperating interlocking flanges which lie wholly within the tubular confines of the sleeve, said sleeve conforming in circumferential configuration to that of the pile and being centered therearound so as to establish a relatively narrow continuous void around the pile, a hardened grout material filling said void and encompassing said internally disposed interlocking flanges and serving to maintain them in their interlocking relationship against displacement, a vertical series of spaced apart closure clips of U-shape configuration arranged in straddled relation with said interlocking flanges, and a vertical series of spaced apart sheet metal fastening screws projecting through vertical series of registering holes in said interlocking flanges of the reentrant bend and in the legs of the closure clips and making threaded engagement with the latter, said fastening screws being provided with enlarged heads exteriorly of the sleeve and having shank portions which, at least in part, are encased in the hardened grout material within the void.

Claim 6

The combination with a vertical column-like concrete pile which, in association with a plurality of similar piles, serves to support the platform of a marine pier or the like, of an open-ended tubular repair sleeve encompassing said pile and extending upwardly from the extreme lower end region of the pile to a region above the level of the water around the pier, said repair sleeve embodying a sheet of imperforate, flexible, water-impervious material molded in the form of a major circle sector in which the gap between the vertical edges thereof is of sufficient width so as to permit passage of the sleeve around the pile during installation of the sleeve, one vertical edge of said sheet being provided with an inwardly extending acute angular reentrant bend on the order of 45°, and the other vertical edge of the sheet being formed with an inwardly extending hook-shaped bend which encompasses said reentrant bend so that the two bends establish cooperating interlocking flanges which lie wholly within the tubular confines of the sleeve, said sleeve conforming in circumferential configuration to that of the pile and being centered therearound so as to establish a relatively narrow continuous void around the pile, a hardened grout material filling said void and encompassing said internally disposed interlocking flanges and serving to maintain them in their interlocking relationship against displacement, a vertical series of spaced apart closure clips of U-shape configuration arranged in straddled relation with said interlocking flanges, and a vertical series of spaced apart sheet metal fastening screws projecting through vertical series of registering holes in said interlocking flanges of the reentrant bend and in the legs of the closure clips and making threaded engagement with the latter, said fastening screws being provided with enlarged heads exteriorly of the sleeve and having shank portions which, at least in part, are encased in the hardened grout material within the void.

Claim 7

The combination set forth in claim 4 and wherein the sleeve is formed of fiberglass reinforced plastic material, the hardened grout material in the extreme lower region of the void is comprised of an expoxy grout, the hardened grout material in the upper region of said void is comprised of an epoxy grout, and the hardened grout material which is disposed in the medial region of the void between said upper and lower regions is comprised of concrete grout.

Claim 8

The combination set forth in claim 5 and wherein the convex side of the sheet of fiberglass-reinforced plastic material which constitutes the outer side of the sleeve is coated with a chemically-resistant gelcoat.

Claim 9

The combination with a vertical column-like concrete pile which, in association with a plurality of similar piles, serves to support the platform of a marine pier or the like, of an open-ended tubular repair sleeve encompassing said pile and extending upwardly from the extreme lower end region of the pile to a region above the level of the water around the pier, said repair sleeve embodying a sheet of imperforate, flexible, water-impervious material molded in the form of a major circle sector in which the gap between the vertical edges thereof is of sufficient width as to permit passage of the sleeve around the pile during installation of the sleeve, one vertical edge of said sheet being provided with an inwardly extending acute angle reentrant bend, and the other vertical edge of the sheet being formed with an inwardly extending hook-shaped bend which encompasses said reentrant bend so that the two bends establish cooperating interlocking flanges which lie wholly within the tubular confines of the sleeve, said sleeve conforming in circumferential configuration to that of the pile and being centered therearound so as to establish a relatively narrow continuous void around the pile, and a hardened grout material filling said void and encompassing said internally disposed interlocking flanges and serving to maintain them in their interlocking relationship against displacement, the hardened grout material in the extreme upper and lower regions of said void being comprised of an epoxy grout and the hardened grout material in the medial regions of the void being comprised of a concrete grout.

Claim 10

The combination with a vertical column-like concrete pile which, in association with a plurality of similar piles, serves to support the platform of a marine pier or the like, of an open-ended tubular repair sleeve encompassing said pile and extending upwardly from the extreme lower end region of the pile to a region above the level of the water around the pier, said repair sleeve embodying a sheet of imperforate, flexible, water-impervious material molded in the form of a major circle sector in which the gap between the vertical edges thereof is of sufficient width as to permit passage of the sleeve around the pile during installation of the sleeve, one vertical edge of said sheet being provided with an inwardly extending acute angle reentrant bend, and the other vertical edge of the sheet being formed with an inwardly extending hook-shaped bend which encompasses said reentrant bend so that the two bends establish cooperating interlocking flanges which lie wholly within the tubular confines of the sleeve, said sleeve conforming in circumferential configuration to that of the pile and being centered therearound so as to establish a relatively narrow continuous void around the pile, and a hardened grout material filling said void and encompassing said internally disposed interlocking flanges and serving to maintain them in their interlocking relationship against displacement, the hardened grout material in the extreme upper and lower regions of said void being comprised of an epoxy grout and the hardened grout material in the medial regions of the void being comprised of a concrete grout.