Irregularly surfaced h pile

Abstract

A steel H pile has a relief design embossed on one or more major surfaces of either or both of its steel flanges and its web to provide surface irregularities thereon which increase the pile's surface friction and its friction pile load bearing capacity.

1 . An H pile for supporting structural loads, said H pile structured for insertion along a longitudinal axis into the ground, said H pile comprising:
 at least two substantially parallel flanges interconnected by a web, said flanges and said web each comprising a major surface; and   one or more design objects located on at least one of said major surfaces of the H pile and oriented non-parallel to the longitudinal axis of the H pile, wherein said one or more design objects provides surface irregularities for increasing the surface friction of the H pile with the ground when the H pile is inserted into the ground.   
   
   
       2 . The H pile of  claim 1 , wherein said one or more design objects are oriented substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the H pile. 
   
   
       3 . The H pile of  claim 1 , wherein said one or more design objects are located along a substantial portion of said at least one of said major surfaces of the H pile. 
   
   
       4 . The H pile of  claim 1 , wherein each of said one or more design objects projects to a selected height above said at least one of said major surfaces of the H pile. 
   
   
       5 . The H pile of  claim 4 , wherein said selected height is in the range of approximately 0.04 inches (1 millimeter) to approximately 1.5 inches (38 millimeters). 
   
   
       6 . The H pile of  claim 1 , wherein said one or more design objects are located on said at least one of said major surfaces of the H pile in any one or more of a plurality of selected design patterns. 
   
   
       7 . The H pile of  claim 6 , wherein said one or more of a plurality of selected design patterns may be provided in any desired unit area density. 
   
   
       8 . The H pile of  claim 1 , wherein two or more design objects are located on said at least one of said major surfaces of the H pile, said two or more design objects being of at least one of:
 two or more different shapes; or   two or more different sizes.   
   
   
       9 . The H pile of  claim 1 , wherein said flanges each comprise at least one inner major surface and at least one outer major surface thereon, and wherein said one or more design objects are located on said at least one outer major surface of each of said flanges. 
   
   
       10 . The H pile of  claim 1 , wherein said one or more design objects are located on at least one of:
 one or more of said web major surfaces;   one or more of said flange major surfaces; or one or more of said web major surfaces in combination with one or more of said flange major surfaces.   
   
   
       11 . An H pile for supporting structural loads, said H pile structured for insertion along a longitudinal axis into the ground, said H pile comprising:
 at least two substantially parallel flanges interconnected by a web, said flanges and said web each comprising major surfaces thereon; and   one or more design objects comprising the form of an alphanumeric character and located on at least one of said major surfaces of the H pile, wherein said one or more design objects provide surface irregularities for increasing the surface friction of the H pile with the ground when the H pile is inserted into the ground.   
   
   
       12 . The H pile of  claim 11 , wherein said one or more design objects are oriented substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the H pile. 
   
   
       13 . The H pile of  claim 11 , wherein two or more design objects are located on said at least one of said major surfaces of the H pile, said two or more design objects comprising the form of two or more different alphanumeric characters. 
   
   
       14 . The H pile of  claim 11 , wherein two or more design objects are located on said at least one of said major surfaces of the H pile, said two or more design objects being of at least one of:
 two or more different shapes; or   two or more different sizes.   
   
   
       15 . The H pile of  claim 11 , wherein said one or more design objects are located on at least one of:
 one or more of said web major surfaces;   one or more of said flange major surfaces; or   one or more of said web major surfaces in combination with one or more of said flange major surfaces.   
   
   
       16 . An H pile for supporting structural loads, said H pile structured for insertion along a longitudinal axis into the ground, said H pile comprising:
 at least two substantially parallel flanges interconnected by a web, said flanges and said web each comprising major surfaces thereon; and   one or more design objects comprising the form of a geometric design located on at least one of said major surfaces of the H pile and oriented non-parallel to the longitudinal axis of the H pile, wherein said one or more design objects provide surface irregularities for increasing the surface friction of the H pile with the ground when the H pile is inserted into the ground.   
   
   
       17 . The H pile of  claim 16 , wherein said one or more design objects comprise the form of at least one of an ellipse or a polygon. 
   
   
       18 . The H pile of  claim 16 , wherein said one or more design objects are oriented substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the H pile. 
   
   
       19 . The H pile of  claim 11 , wherein two or more design objects are located on said at least one of said major surfaces of the H pile, said two or more design objects comprising the form of two or more different geometric designs. 
   
   
       20 . The H pile of  claim 11 , wherein two or more design objects are located on said at least one of said major surfaces of the H pile, said two or more design objects being of two or more different sizes. 
   
   
       21 . An H pile for supporting structural loads, said H pile structured for insertion along a longitudinal axis into the ground, said H pile comprising:
 at least two substantially parallel flanges interconnected by a web, said flanges and said web each comprising a major surface; and   one or more design objects located on at least one of said major surfaces of the H pile and oriented substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the H pile, wherein said one or more design objects provides surface irregularities for increasing the surface friction of the H pile with the ground when the H pile is inserted into the ground.