Retaining wall stabilization system

Abstract

An adapted retaining block, a system for retaining wall construction employing the adapted retaining block, and a corresponding method in which a single sheet of soil-stabilization material is secured to the adapted retaining block without localized clamping so as to provided double-layer anchoring to a reinforced backfill.

1 . A retaining block stabilization system for constructing retaining walls comprising:
 (a) at least one flexible sheet of soil-stabilization material for securing a retaining block to a backfill,   (b) a facing slab having a back face and a vertical dimension, and   (c) a least one connection-beam, said connection-beam being interconnected with said facing slab and disposed in a substantially horizontal manner across the back face of said facing slab in a fixed spaced relation to the back face so as to form a passageway between said back face and said connection beam for passing the sheet of said soil-stabilizing material through said passageway, looping the sheet around said connection-beam, and securing each of two resulting layers of the sheet in the backfill thereby providing a double layer of stabilizing support to said retaining block from the single sheet of said soil-stabilizing material.   
   
   
       2 . The retaining wall stabilization system of  claim 1  wherein said at least one connection-beam is implemented as two connection-beams. 
   
   
       3 . The retaining wall stabilization system of  claim 2  wherein said two connection-beams are spaced apart vertically. 
   
   
       4 . The retaining wall stabilization system of  claim 3  wherein said two beams are spaced apart vertically such that the space between said connection-beams is greater than 30% of the vertical dimension of said facing slab. 
   
   
       5 . The retaining wall stabilization system of  claim 1  wherein said connection-beam includes at least three support elements connecting said connection-beam to said facing slab so as to provide a plurality of passageways between the back face and said connection-beam. 
   
   
       6 . The retaining wall stabilization system of  claim 1  further comprising a plurality of support columns interconnected to said facing slab, a first set of said support columns having a substantially horizontal top surface and a second set of support columns having a substantially horizontal bottom surface, each of said horizontal top surfaces being configured for abutment with said bottom horizontal surfaces of said support columns associated with vertically adjacent facing slab so as to enable stacking of said retaining blocks one above another. 
   
   
       7 . The retaining wall stabilization system of  claim 1  wherein said facing slab includes at least one vertical edge having a portion formed into a step so as to mesh with a non-stepped portion of a vertical edge of a horizontally adjacent facing slab thereby facilitating alignment of the horizontally adjacent retaining block. 
   
   
       8 . A method for constructing a retaining wall comprising:
 (a) providing a retaining block having at least one integrally connected connection-beam disposed in a substantially horizontal manner across a back face of said retaining block and in fixed spatial relation to the back face so as to form a passageway between the back face and said connection-beam,   (b) covering a first portion of soil-stabilizing material with backfill so as to anchor the first portion soil-stabilizing material in the backfill,   (c) passing a second portion of said soil-reinforcing material through said passageway, and   (d) covering the second portion of said soil-reinforcing material with backfill so as to anchor the second portion of said soil-reinforcing material in the backfill, thereby providing a double layer of stabilizing support to said retaining block from a single sheet of said soil-stabilizing material.   
   
   
       9 . The method of constructing a retaining wall of  claim 8  wherein said at least one connection-beam is implemented as two connection-beams. 
   
   
       10 . The method of constructing a retaining wall of  claim 8  wherein said covering the second portion of said soil-reinforcing material with backfill includes covering the second portion of said soil-stabilizing material at height different than the first portion so that the portions of said soil-stabilizing material are spaced apart in the backfill. 
   
   
       11 . The method of constructing a retaining wall of  claim 8  wherein said connection-beam includes at least three support elements connecting said connection-beam to the back face of said retaining block slab so as to provide a plurality of passageways between the back face and said connection-beam. 
   
   
       12 . The method of constructing a retaining wall of  claim 8  wherein said retaining block includes a plurality of support columns interconnected to the back face of said retaining block, a first set of said support columns having a substantially horizontal top surface and a second set of support columns having a substantially horizontal bottom surface, each of said horizontal top surfaces being configured for abutment with said bottom horizontal surfaces of said support columns associated with adjacent said facing slabs so as to enable stacking of said retaining blocks one above another. 
   
   
       13 . The method of constructing a retaining wall of  claim 8  further comprising repeating the steps (a), (b), (c), and (d) for a plurality of courses of retaining blocks to form a wall. 
   
   
       14 . An adapted retaining block comprising:
 (a) a facing slab having a back face and a vertical dimension, and   (b) at least one connection-beam, said connection-beam being interconnected with said facing slab and disposed in a substantially horizontal manner across said back face in a fixed spaced relation to said back face so as to form a passageway between said back face and said connection beam for passing a sheet of soil-stabilizing material through said passageway and looping the sheet around said connection-beam and securing each of two resulting layers of the sheet in a backfill thereby providing a double layer of stabilizing support to said retaining block from the single sheet of the soil-stabilizing material.   
   
   
       15 . The adapted retaining block of  claim 14  wherein said at least one connection-beam is implemented as two connection-beams. 
   
   
       16 . The adapted retaining block of  claim 15  wherein said two connection-beams are spaced apart vertically. 
   
   
       17 . The adapted retaining block of  claim 16  wherein said two beams are spaced apart vertically such that the space between said connection-beams is greater than 30% of the vertical dimension of said facing slab. 
   
   
       18 . The adapted retaining block of  claim 14  wherein said connection-beam includes at least three support elements connecting said connection-beam to said facing slab so as to provide a plurality of passageways between said back face and said connection-beam. 
   
   
       19 . The adapted retaining block of  claim 14  wherein said facing slab includes a plurality of support columns interconnected with said facing slab, a first set of said support columns having a substantially horizontal top surface and a second set of support columns having a substantially horizontal bottom surface, each of said horizontal top surfaces being configured for abutment with said bottom horizontal surfaces of said support columns associated with vertically adjacent said facing slabs so as to enable stacking of said retaining blocks one above another. 
   
   
       20 . The adapted retaining block of  claim 14  wherein said facing slab includes at least one vertical edge having a portion formed into a step so as to mesh with a non-stepped portion of a vertical edge of a horizontally adjacent facing slab thereby facilitating alignment of the horizontally adjacent retaining block.