New Method of Fortification by Sluices

B 3

Regarding the driving of pilesoriginal: "hiement de pieux"; the process of hammering vertical beams into the ground to create a stable foundation. for the reinforcement of the base of Damsoriginal: "Dodanes"; sloping embankments or water-retaining structures., this does not provide a remedy for these two inconveniences, seeing as the shifting of the sand, together with the pressure of the water through the sand, takes its course between the piles. It seems, therefore, that the cause of these problems arises more because no sufficient rule has been found to prevent them than through any fault of the workers or contractors, who are sometimes wrongly accused.

1 FORM.

A technical diagram illustrates a cross-section of a foundation structure, likely a dam or wall. The structure is trapezoidal, with key points labeled F, A, B, C, D, and E. The interior is filled with lines representing masonry blocks or layers of construction. The top, marked at point F, shows a curved profile. Dotted or shaded regions on either side represent the levels of the surrounding soil or sand.

But insofar as we can now better provide for these two inconveniences than has been done previously (to my knowledge), and do so with piles that are driven, shaped, and attached lengthwise to one another with dovetail jointsoriginal: "queuës d'arondelles"; literally "swallow-tails," these are interlocking joints that prevent the beams from pulling apart., I provide here this second Figure. In this, it is understood that the width of a dovetail is about one-third the thickness of the pile. The lower ends are cut at a slantoriginal: "bihay" (biais); a diagonal or beveled cut., so that as each pile is driven, it is forced tightly against the pile already in place.

Note also that although these piles are drawn as square for the sake of neatness, one is nonetheless free to flatten only the two sides where the dovetail and the grooveoriginal: "feuilliere"; a channel or rabbet cut into the wood to receive the dovetail of the adjoining pile. meet. One may leave the natural roundness of the timber on the other two sides so that, by this means, the pile contains more wood and requires less labor cost. Furthermore, one can make the dovetails from a separate strip of wood and nail it against one flat side of the pile, and on the other side nail two separate strips, creating the groove between them; for in this way, the pile also retains more wood on both sides and costs less in labor than if they were made by hollowing outoriginal: "cavement"; the labor-intensive process of carving the joint directly out of the solid timber. the wood of the piles.