Modular, Transportable Foundation Systems and Methods of Making and Using Same

Abstract

A system for lifting and moving a pre-tensioned concrete a foundation system comprising a pair of bridles secured to ends of the foundation, at least one lifting tendon spanning the underneath the foundation between the bridles and lifting arms attached to the bridles and tendon to apply a compressive clamping force to the foundation while lifting the foundation.

1 . A bridle system for compressing against and lifting a concrete foundation, comprising:
 a pair of bridles, each comprising:
 an elongated body having a first elongated face and a second elongated face between first and second ends; 
 the first face having a plurality of sleeves extending away from the first face, the sleeves spaced along the first face between the first and second ends, each sleeve having a length greater than a thickness of the foundation through which the sleeves will extend; 
 a compression pad disposed on at least a portion of the first face for sandwiching between the first face and the foundation; 
 a plurality of adapter guides disposed between the first and second ends and open at least at the second face, the adapter guides comprising a wall surface or wall surfaces within the body; 
 a pin guide associated with each of the plurality of adapter guides, the pin guide open from a top surface of the body through the adapter guide to a bottom surface of the body, the pin guide structurally configured to receive a pin for securing a portion of a bridle adapter into the adapter guide; 
 at least one tension member anchor emanating from the bottom surface of the body and structurally configured to react a tension load imposed by a tension member; and 
   wherein when the pair of bridles engage opposed ends of the foundation, at least one tension member spans between the bridles and reacts tension against the at least one tension member anchor.   
     
     
         2 . The bridle system of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of sleeves are round tubes 
     
     
         3 . The bridle system of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of adapter guides comprise two rectangular boxes. 
     
     
         4 . The bridle system of  claim 3 , wherein the plurality of sleeves are two round tubes and a first tube is located between the first end of the body and a first adapter guide and a second tube is located between the second end of the body and a second adapter guide 
     
     
         5 . The bridle system of  claim 3 , wherein the two adapter guides are open on both the first and second faces of the body. 
     
     
         6 . The bridle system of  claim 5 , comprising locking pins structurally configured to engage the two pin guides and lock the pins to the top surface of the body. 
     
     
         7 . The bridle system of  claim 1  comprising safety arm anchors disposed adjacent each end of the body. 
     
     
         8 . A system for lifting and moving a concrete foundation, comprising:
 a pair of bridles each having a compression face, a plurality of sleeves extending perpendicularly from the compression face, at least one bridle adapter receptacle for securing at least one bridle adapter to the bridle, and at least one tension member anchor disposed on a bottom surface of the bridle;   at least one bridle adapter for each bridle, the adapter having a portion structurally sized and shaped to mate with the at least one bridle adapter receptable, the bridle adapter having an opening adjacent a bottom surface for connecting to a lifting tendon, and having a lifting connection for engaging a lifting arm on a gooseneck;   at least one lifting tendon having a length spanning the foundation between the bridle adapter openings, each end of the at least one tendon having a structure for connecting the tendon end to the bridle adapter opening; and   a pair of steerable bogies to which the pair of goosenecks are operatively coupled.   
     
     
         9 . A method of moving a foundation with the system of  claim 8 , comprising:
 attaching a bridle to each end of the foundation by passing the sleeves through apertures in first and second ends of the foundation, and securing the bridles to the foundation using the sleeves;   attaching the at least one tendon to one of the at least one bridle adapter for a first bridle;   driving the steerable bogie to position the at least one tendon beneath the foundation;   securing the bridal adapter to the first bridle;   securing another end of the at least one tendon to the at least one bridal adapter for the second bridle;   securing the at least one bridal adapter to the second bridle;   applying tension to the at least one tendon and compression to the foundation through the pair of bridles;   lifting the foundation by applying additional tension to the at least one tendon; and   moving the lifted foundation with the steerable bogies.   
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 8 , the a first of the pair of goosenecks is coupled to a first of the pair of bridles and a second of the pair of goosenecks is coupled to a second of the pair of bridles, and wherein each bogie and gooseneck combination comprises one or more force-producing devices for applying compressive force to a portion of the foundation through the compression face on each bridle while simultaneously applying a tensile force to the at least one tendon. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the at least one or more force-producing devices also lift the foundation while it is being compressed. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the pair of bogies move the lifted foundation without causing tensile failure of the foundation. 
     
     
         13 . A bridle system for compressing against and lifting a concrete foundation, comprising:
 a pair of bridles, each bridle comprising:
 an elongated body having a first elongated face and a second elongated face between first and second ends; 
 the first face having a plurality of projections extending away from the first face, the projections spaced along the first face between the first and second ends, each having a length greater than a thickness of the foundation for securing the bridle to an end of the foundation; 
 a plurality of adapter guides disposed between the first and second ends of the body and open at least at the second face; 
 a pin guide associated with each of the plurality of adapter guides, the pin guide communicating from a top surface of the body to the adapter guide, the pin guide structurally configured to receive a pin for securing a portion of a bridle adapter into the adapter guide; 
 at least one cable anchor disposed at a bottom of the bridle body; and 
   wherein when the pair of bridles engage opposed ends of the foundation, at least one pretensioned cable spans underneath the foundation between the at least one cable anchor on each bridle for securing the bridles to the foundation in combination with the projections.   
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein each bridle comprises first and second cable anchors disposed adjacent the first and second ends and each cable anchor accommodating a plurality of pretensioned cables. 
     
     
         15 . A method of lifting a concrete foundation with the system of  claim 13  comprising:
 mating a first bridle to a first end of the foundation by inserting the projections into corresponding apertures in the first end of the foundation; 
 mating a second bridle to a second end of the foundation by inserting the projections into corresponding apertures in the second end of the foundation; 
 using the projections to secure the first and second bridles to the ends of the foundation; 
 applying tension to a cable strung between the at least one cable anchor on each bridle to secure the bridles to the ends of the foundation; 
 lifting the foundation by applying force to the bridles to compress an upper portion of the foundation between the bridles while reacting the force against the tension cable. 
 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprising moving the lifted foundation. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein each bridle comprises first and second cable anchors disposed adjacent the first and second ends and each cable anchor accommodates a plurality of pretensioned cables. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein applying tension is applying a load to teach of the plurality of the cables of between 500 lbf and 1,000 lbf.