Constructing buildings with modular wall structure

Abstract

A method of construction of composite wall module system in which a first wall module and a second wall module are coupled to the first wall module by a vertical joint. The vertical joint is comprised of plurality of anchors and reinforcement bars as well as steel side plates allowing composite wall steel faceplates to be discontinuous across the vertical joint. The faceplates of the first and second modules are not made continuous across the vertical joint through continuous welding. The vertical wall joint further includes fill disposed between faceplates and side plates adjacent to anchors and reinforcement bars.

Claims

1. A composite wall module system, comprising: a first composite wall module including: a first pair of faceplates; a first set of cross-ties extending between the first pair of faceplates; and a first side plate extending between the first pair of faceplates; a second composite wall module including: a second pair of faceplates; a second set of cross-ties extending between the second pair of faceplates; and a second side plate extending between the second pair of faceplates; wherein the first and second composite wall modules are separated by a vertical joint that interfaces the first and second composite wall modules, and wherein the faceplates of the first and second composite wall modules are not made continuous across the vertical joint through continuous welding; fill disposed between the first and second pairs of faceplates of the respective first and second composite wall modules; and at least one reinforcement bar that extends along the first composite wall module transversely across the first set of cross-ties, transversely across the vertical joint, and along the second composite wall module across the second set of cross-ties to join the first and second composite wall modules together, the at least one reinforcement bar includes at least one bottom reinforcement bar and at least one top reinforcement bar, the at least one bottom reinforcement bar disposed on a bottom surface of the first and second composite wall modules, the at least one top reinforcement bar disposed on a top surface of the first and second composite wall modules; wherein at least one of the first or second side plates defines a plurality of perforations therethrough receiving a plurality of additional reinforcement bars.

2. The composite wall module system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first or second side plates includes a plurality of anchors extending transversely therefrom.

3. The composite wall module system of claim 1, further comprising connection elements secured to the first and second pairs of faceplates to couple the first and second composite wall modules together.

4. The composite wall module system of claim 3, wherein the connection elements are secured together by bolting and/or welding.

5. The composite wall module system of claim 1, further comprising additional fill disposed between adjacent module side plates of the first and second pairs of side plates that has different properties than the fill, disposed adjacent to at least one of the first or second sets of cross-ties.

6. The composite wall module system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first or second side plates further defines an opening therethrough separate from the plurality of perforations, the opening positioned to enable the fill to pass therethrough.

7. The composite wall module system of claim 6, wherein at least one of the faceplates of the first pair of faceplates defines an access opening therethrough that provides access to the plurality of additional reinforcement bars.

8. The composite wall module system of claim 1, further comprising a third composite wall module coupled to the second composite wall module.

9. The composite wall module system of claim 8, wherein the third composite wall module is transverse to the second composite wall module.

10. The composite wall module system of claim 8, wherein the third composite wall module includes an end termination plate.

11. A composite wall module system comprising: a first composite wall module including: a first pair of faceplates; a first set of cross-ties extending between the first pair of faceplates; and a first side plate extending between the first pair of faceplates; a second composite wall module including: a second pair of faceplates; a second set of cross-ties extending between the second pair of faceplates; and a second side plate extending between the second pair of faceplates; wherein the first and second composite wall modules are separated by a vertical joint that interfaces the first and second composite wall modules, and wherein the faceplates of the first and second composite wall modules are not made continuous across the vertical joint through continuous welding; fill disposed between the first and second pairs of faceplates of the respective first and second composite wall modules; and a vertical reinforcement bar assembly supported in the vertical joint between side plates of the first and second wall modules, the vertical reinforcement bar assembly including a first vertical reinforcement bar, the first vertical reinforcement bar having a first end segment and a second end segment that are vertically oriented and extend substantially parallel to at least one of the first and second pair of faceplates and to at least one of the first and second side plates, the first and second end segments connected by at least one angled segment between the first and second end segments, the at least one angled segment being transverse to the first and second end segments.

12. The composite wall module system of claim 11, wherein the vertical reinforcement bar assembly includes a second reinforcement bar.

13. The composite wall module system of claim 12, wherein the second reinforcement bar includes a plurality of straight segments and a plurality of angled segments disposed between the plurality of straight segments.

14. A composite wall module system comprising: a first composite wall module including: a first pair of faceplates; a first set of cross-ties extending between the first pair of faceplates; and a first side plate extending between the first pair of faceplates; a second composite wall module including: a second pair of faceplates; a second set of cross-ties extending between the second pair of faceplates; and a second side plate extending between the second pair of faceplates; wherein the first and second composite wall modules are separated by a vertical joint that interfaces the first and second composite wall modules, and wherein the faceplates of the first and second composite wall modules are not made continuous across the vertical joint through continuous welding; at least one fill disposed between the first and second pairs of faceplates of the respective first and second composite wall modules; and a plurality of vertical reinforcement bars supported in the vertical joint between the first and second side plates of the first and second wall modules, each vertical reinforcement bar being spaced from and independent of other vertical reinforcement bars of the plurality of vertical reinforcement bars and including at least one angled segment disposed between a pair of end segments; wherein each end segment of the pair of end segments extends substantially parallel to at least one of the first and second pair of faceplates and to at least one of the first and second side plates.

15. The composite wall module system of claim 14, wherein at least one of the first or second side plates includes a plurality of anchors extending transversely therefrom.

16. The composite wall module system of claim 14, further comprising connection elements secured to the first and second pairs of faceplates to couple the first and second composite wall modules together.

17. The composite wall module system of claim 16, wherein the connection elements are secured together by bolting and/or welding.

18. The composite wall module system of claim 14, further comprising a third composite wall module coupled to the second composite wall module.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

(1) The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate aspects of the disclosure and, together with a general description of the disclosure given above and the detailed description given below, serve to explain the principles of this disclosure, wherein:

(2) FIG. 1 is a plan, cross-sectional view of a portion of one embodiment of a wall module system in accordance with the principles of this disclosure;

(3) FIG. 2 is a plan, cross-sectional view of a portion of another embodiment of a wall module system in accordance with the principles of this disclosure;

(4) FIG. 3 is a axonometric view of still another embodiment of a wall module system in accordance with the principles of this disclosure, the wall module system having fill portions thereof removed for clarity;

(5) FIG. 4 is a axonometric view of yet another embodiment of a wall module system in accordance with the principles of this disclosure, the wall module system having fill portions thereof removed for clarity;

(6) FIG. 5 is a axonometric view illustrating one wall module system in accordance with the principles of this disclosure;

(7) FIG. 6 is a axonometric cut-away view, where the front cutting plane passes through the middle surface of the wall module assembly, illustrating another wall module system in accordance with the principles of this disclosure, the wall module system having portions thereof removed for clarity; and

(8) FIG. 7 is a axonometric cut-away view, where the front cutting plane passes through the middle surface of the wall module assembly, illustrating yet another wall module system in accordance with the principles of this disclosure, the wall module system having portions thereof removed for clarity.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(9) Aspects of the disclosed structure and methods are described in detail with reference to the drawings, in which like reference numerals designate identical or corresponding elements in each of the several views. Additionally, the term “proximal” refers to the portion of structure that is closer to the user and the term “distal” refers to the portion of structure that is farther from the user. In addition, directional terms such as front, rear, upper, lower, top, bottom, and the like are used simply for convenience of description and are not intended to limit the disclosure attached hereto.

(10) In the following description, well-known functions or constructions are not described in detail to avoid obscuring the present disclosure in unnecessary detail.

(11) Turning to FIG. 1, a wall module system 100 includes wall modules 101, such as adjacent wall modules 101a, 101b that define a vertical joint 112 therebetween. Wall modules 101 have faceplates 110, which may be steel, fill 120 supported in an outer fill cavity 163 between faceplates 110, which may be concrete, and cross ties 130 that are secured to faceplates 110 on opposite sides of wall module 101. Cross ties 130 may be welded or mechanically anchored to faceplates 110 in a shop, and may be in the form of a rod. Wall module system 100 further includes shop-welded angles 140 secured to faceplates 110, which may be continuous or intermittent, and a field-installed nut and bolt assembly 150 that connects a pair of shop-welded angles 140 together for coupling adjacent wall modules 101a, 101b together across vertical joint 112. Wall module system 100 further includes side plates 160 (e.g., shop-welded) that extend between faceplates 110, and which may be continuous or perforated. Wall module system 100 also includes a plurality of steel headed stud anchors 170 (e.g., shear studs) that extend normal to the surface of side plates 160 on one or both sides and are disposed in spaced-apart arrangement within an inner fill cavity 162 defined between side plates 160 and adjacent wall modules 101a, 101b. Inner fill cavity 162 supports fill 180 therein to solidify structure of wall module system 100 into a solid unitary system. Fill 180 may be concrete, and may have the same and/or different properties as fill 120.

(12) With reference to FIG. 2, a wall module system 200 includes wall modules 201 coupled together at a vertical joint 212. Wall modules 201 have faceplates 210, fill 120 supported between faceplates 210, and cross ties 130 secured to faceplates 210 on opposite sides of vertical joint 212. Wall module system 200 further includes shop-welded angles 140 secured to faceplates 210 and a field-installed nut and bolt assembly 150 that connects shop-welded angles 140 together. Wall module system 200 also includes side plates 260 that extend vertically between faceplates 210 and define a plurality of perforations 262 therethrough for receiving reinforcement bars 270 therethrough. Reinforcement bars 270, may be in the form of a reinforcing bar lap splice arrangement. Each reinforcement bar 270 may be straight, headed, hooked, or have any other suitable geometric configuration. Wall module system 200 further includes an access opening 280 defined in faceplates 280 for positioning reinforcement bars 270 therethrough (in-field) and securing reinforcement bars 270 to side plates 260. Access opening 280 is sealed before fill 120 is positioned within a fill cavity 290 defined between faceplates 210. Fill cavity 290 is positioned to receive fill 120 therein for solidifying structure of wall module system 200 into a solid unitary system. Once fill 120 is filled within fill cavity 290, access opening 280 can be sealed shut with a faceplate segment or alternative means 282 that covers access opening 280.

(13) Referring now to FIG. 3, a wall module system 300 is similar to wall module system 100 and includes wall modules 301 that define a vertical joint 312 therebetween. Wall modules 301 have faceplates 310, fill 120, 180 (see FIG. 1) supported between faceplates 310. Wall modules 301 also include cross ties 330 that are secured to faceplates 310 on opposite sides of wall module 301. Although each wall module 301 is shown with two columns and three rows of cross-ties 330, cross-ties 330 may be provided in any number of rows and/or columns along wall module 301 with any suitable spacing between cross-ties 330. In aspects, cross-ties 330 may be disposed at one or more predetermined intervals, randomly dispersed, angled relative to one another, and/or parallel to one another. Wall module system 300 further includes shop-welded angles 340 secured to faceplates 310 and a nut and bolt assembly 350 that connects a pair of shop-welded angles 140 together for connecting adjacent wall modules 301 together across vertical joint 312. Wall module system 300 further includes side plates 360 that extend between faceplates 310. Side plates 360 are shop-welded to the faceplates via vertical welds 361. Wall module system 300 also includes a plurality of steel headed stud anchors 370 (e.g., shear studs) that extend from side plates 360 and placed on one or both faces of side plates and are disposed in spaced-apart arrangement within a fill cavity 362 defined between side plates 360 and adjacent wall modules 301. Fill cavity 362 supports fill (e.g., fill 120 or fill 180) therein to solidify structure of wall module system 300 into a solid unitary system. Fill cavity 362 may include an inner fill cavity 362a between inner surfaces of side plates 360 and one or more outer fill cavities 362b defined between faceplates 310 and outer surfaces of side plates 360.

(14) Turning now to FIG. 4, a wall module system 400 is similar to wall module systems 200 and 300 and includes wall modules 401 that define a vertical joint 412 therebetween. Wall modules 401 have faceplates 410 that define access openings or cut-outs 410a therein on one side thereof (e.g., vertical joint 412 side) for positioning of reinforcement bars 470 in the field (to be sealed before concrete placement with, for example, steel faceplate material). Wall modules 401 also support fill 120 (see FIG. 1) in inner and outer fill cavities 462a, 462b between faceplates 410. Wall modules 401 also include cross ties 330 that are secured to faceplates 410 on opposite sides of wall module 401. Wall module system 400 further includes shop-attached angles 440 secured to faceplates 410 and nut and bolt assemblies 450 that connect a pair of shop-welded angles 440 together for coupling adjacent wall modules 401 together across vertical joint 412. Wall module system 400 further includes side plates 460 that extend between faceplates 410. Side plates 460 are shop-welded to the faceplates via vertical welds 461. Side plates 460 define openings 460a therethrough and an inner fill cavity 462 therebetween. Although openings 460a are shown with a hexagonal configuration, openings 460a can have any suitable circular or non-circular configuration such as square, triangular, heptagon, octagon, etc. Side plates 460 further define a plurality of bar openings 460b therethrough for receiving reinforcing bars 470 therethrough. Reinforcing bars 470 may be parallel to one another and extend transverse to vertical joint 412.

(15) With reference to FIG. 5, a wall module system 500 includes wall modules 501 such as wall modules 501a, 501b, and 501c that are coupled together via vertical joints 512 such as vertical joints 512a, 512b, and 512c to enable wall modules 501 to couple to one another in a parallel relation to one another (e.g., in lateral or side-by-side direction) and/or transverse to one another (e.g., perpendicular to one another such as wall modules 501c, 501d). Wall modules 501 can include a pair of faceplates 510 that are separated by any number and/or arrangement of cross-ties 530 and side plates 560. Similar to wall module systems 100-400, wall module system 500 is arranged to receive fill therein. Wall module system 500 can include a force transfer zone 520 having vertical joint 512 between adjacent wall modules 501. Wall modules 501, such as wall module 501d can include an end termination plate 515. At corner intersections, such as T-joints and L-joints additional side plates 540 may be required.

(16) Referring now to FIG. 6, a wall module system 600 includes wall modules 601 such as wall modules 601a, 601b that are coupled together via a vertical joint 612. Like the foregoing wall modules, wall modules 601a, 601b include faceplates 610 and side plates 660. Side plates 660 include side plates 660a and 660b, each of which includes steel headed stud anchors 680 on inner and/or outer surfaces thereof. Cross-ties 630 extend from faceplates 610. In this system, a plurality of vertical reinforcement bar assemblies 670 are supported in an inner cavity 662 along vertical joint 612 that is defined between inner surfaces of inner side plates 660a of adjacent wall modules 601 to form a force transfer zone 650. Each vertical reinforcement bar assembly 670 can include a plurality of straight and angled (e.g., pre-bent) segments 670a, 670b that form a fixed scissor lift-type structure (e.g., a zig-zag or wavelike shape) and includes a bar lap splice zone 670c for use between reinforcing bars in vertically adjacent wall modules. Although each segment is shown having a linear arrangement, each segment may have a curvilinear arrangement. Each vertical reinforcement bar assembly 670 can include a plurality of crossing points 670d where angled segments 670b intersect. Each vertical reinforcing bar assembly 670 is spaced-apart between faceplates 610 (e.g., in a front-to-back direction) relative to adjacent vertical reinforcing bar assemblies 670.

(17) With reference to FIG. 7, a wall module system 700 includes wall modules 701 that are coupled together via vertical joint 712. Wall modules 701 are positioned above wall modules 702 below along the horizontal joint 711. Wall module system 700 is similar to the foregoing wall module systems and includes faceplates 701 and cross-ties 730 that extend from faceplates 701. Wall module system 700 further includes side plates 760a, 760b that have a plurality of vertically spaced-apart openings 760c. A force transfer zone 713 is defined between side plates 760a of adjacent wall modules 701 along vertical joint 712. Wall module system 700 further includes a plurality of horizontal reinforcement bars 740a and 740b. Bottom reinforcement bars 740a are installed in situ before faceplates 701, cross-ties 730, and/or side plates 760a, 760b, which may be prefabricated together as unit (e.g., a steel module), are installed on top of bottom reinforcement bars 740a. Top reinforcement bars 740b are installed on top of the wall module system 700. The length of horizontal bars 740 is defined by a reinforcement bar embedment length in fill (e.g., concrete) extending laterally outward beyond the joint 712 on each side.

(18) Persons skilled in the art will understand that the structures and methods specifically described herein and illustrated in the accompanying figures are non-limiting exemplary aspects, and that the description, disclosure, and figures should be construed merely as exemplary of particular aspects. It is to be understood, therefore, that this disclosure is not limited to the precise aspects described, and that various other changes and modifications may be effectuated by one skilled in the art without departing from the scope or spirit of the disclosure. Additionally, it is envisioned that the elements and features illustrated or described in connection with one exemplary aspect may be combined with the elements and features of another without departing from the scope of this disclosure, and that such modifications and variations are also intended to be included within the scope of this disclosure. Indeed, any combination of any of the disclosed elements and features is within the scope of this disclosure. Accordingly, the subject matter of this disclosure is not to be limited by what has been particularly shown and described.