HK1055770B - Concrete work construction method and use thereof in railway, subway or tramway tracks - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates in general to the construction of concrete structures, in particular railway, subway or tramway tracks.

In particular, the invention relates to a construction process for a concrete structure, which consists of a continuous linear concrete mass following a predetermined path and at least one composite profile at least partially inserted into the mass and positioned precisely to follow a predetermined profile, this process comprising at least the steps of a) construction of the linear mass by continuous casting of a fresh concrete mass along the specified course,b) installation of the composite profile along the specified course,c) calibration of the said profile according to the specified profile,d) insertion of the composite profile into the linear mass, the construction of the said linear mass and the insertion of the said composite profile being simultaneous.

The processes involving a/ stage are increasingly being used because they allow a very fast construction rate of the concrete mass.

The first technique, shown in Figure 1, is to use two grooves to save engravings on the concrete. After the concrete has solidified, the rails are arranged in sections in the engravings, welded end to end, and then manually calibrated in height and spacing from each other, leaving a minimum gap from the edges of the engravings.

This technique is fast for laying concrete, but slow for laying and timing rails, and is therefore generally reserved for fairly short sections of track, such as level crossings.

According to a second technique, described in patent document EP-A-0 939 164, the rail coated with an elastic material is first set up in a trench along the track and manually calibrated according to the intended profile.

Moreover, manual timing of the rails does not guarantee high precision, making it impossible to use both techniques for the construction of high-speed tracks.

In this context, the invention aims to remedy the problems mentioned above.

To this end, the construction process according to the invention, which is also in accordance with the generic definition given in the preamble above, is essentially characterized by the simultaneous construction of the linear mound and the timing of the composite profile.

In one possible embodiment of the invention, the stage of installation of the composite profile precedes the simultaneous steps of construction of the linear mound and timing of the composite profile.

The advantage is that the composite profile can be guided laterally during the linear moulding stage.

Preferably, the composite profile can be guided vertically during the linear mass casting step.

For example, step b/ of the composite profile along the said predetermined path may include an operation of laying separate sections along the said predetermined path and an operation of end-to-end connection of these separate sections.

The advantage is that fresh concrete can be mechanically fluidized during the linear moulding operation.

Preferably, the composite profile can be lifted and passed through the fresh concrete mass before the simultaneous steps a/ and d/.

For example, the composite profile may be a rail wrapped in a resilient material.

The resilient material can be placed around the rail after step b/ and before simultaneous steps a/ and d/.

Preferably, the composite profile may include a metallic profile and a filler material.

For example, the composite profile may include a metal profile, a rail at least partially inserted into the metal profile, and a resilient material filling the metal profile.

The advantage of the metal profile is that it can have crinkled side faces.

The process of the invention can be applied to the construction of a railway track for a train, a metro or a tramway.

Other features and advantages of the invention will be clearly seen from the description given below, by way of indication and not by way of limitation, by reference to the figures annexed, among which:Figure 1 is a schematic representation of the main steps of a construction process according to the preceding art,Figure 2 is a schematic representation identical to that of Figure 1 for the construction process according to the invention,Figure 3 is a schematic representation of a detail of the mould used by the process in Figure 2,Figure 4 is a representation identical to that of Figure 3, in a variant of the invention,Figure 5 is a section of a composite layout made by the process in Figure 2,Figure 6 is a side view of a curve or a section of a curve made by the process in Figure 2,Figure 7 is a view of a curve made by the process in Figure 2, and Figure 8 is a view of a curve made by the process in Figure 2,Figure 6 is a view of a curve made by the process in Figure 2,

Urban railway tracks have been constructed from concrete for over 40 years for tramways and subways.

The construction process known to the tradesman as the Anglo-Saxon slip-form appeared recently and is spreading rapidly. The railway thus built consists of a continuous linear concrete massif 10 following a predetermined course, carrying two engravings 12 parallel bounded by side edges 13 and a bottom 14.

The main parameters by which the rails 20 are calibrated are the spacing between the rails 20, the height, and the play between the edges 13 of the engravings and the rails 20.

These 20 rails are continuously supported on the 14 engraving bottoms.

The main steps of this process are shown in Figure 1.

A concrete 15 is first poured along the track course. Then the linear massif 10 is continuously built on the surface of the concrete 15 using a machine carrying a mould 16 moving along the track. Fresh concrete 17 is pumped or deposited in front of the machine, the mould giving it a predetermined shape as the machine progresses. The predetermined shape is usually substantially rectangular, with both engravings 12 located on a top face 18 of the linear massif 10.

Once the fresh concrete has solidified, the 20 rails are laid in sections in the 12 engravings and welded end to end.

Then, with the help of a crane, these 20 rails are positioned precisely so that they follow a predetermined profile.

These rails 20 may be completely inserted into engravings 12, protrude at the level of the upper face 18 or be slightly protruding from that upper face 18.

Finally, a resilient material 19 is injected into the engravings 12 to fill them to a predetermined level, which in particular helps to dampen vibrations caused by tram, subway or train passages.

Positioning buoys are recycled or lost.

According to the method of the invention, shown in Figure 2, the construction steps of linear mound 10 and the timing of rails 20 are simultaneous at each point of the track.

As before, a 15 grade concrete is first poured along the predetermined track path, then rails 20 are laid out in sections along the same predetermined track and welded end to end, the rails 20 are not ground at this stage of the process.

The resilient material 19 is then placed around the rails, which can be moulded on site or preformed into blocks in the workshop, with the rail 20 then inserted into the preformed resilient material block through a specially designed opening.

Then, in a single step, linear massif 10 is built and rails 20 are positioned by a machine 30 running along the course.

As shown in Figures 6 and 7, this machine 30 has a mould 32, a guide system 34 for rail 20 and two poles 36 located in front of the machine following the normal direction of travel of machine 30, represented by an arrow in Figures 6 and 7.

The 36 poles are fitted with 37 rail grippers, which slide along the rail 20 as the machine 30 moves.

A mass of fresh concrete 17 is periodically laid in front of machine 30 and this fresh concrete is passed into the mould 32 as machine 30 moves forward and takes on a predetermined shape.

The fresh concrete 17 used is very dense and very viscous. While in the mould 32, this fresh concrete 17 is fluidized by an unrepresented mechanical device fitted to the machine 30. This device may be, for example, a vibrator.

When the mould 32 is removed, the mechanical effect of the device is very rapidly reduced and fresh concrete 17 solidifies very quickly.

Unlike the molds used in the previous art, the 32 molds do not contain grooves for creating engravings and have a generally rectangular section and include 31 overhangs at the front.

The rails 20 coated with the resilient material 19 pass through the fresh concrete 17 laid in front of the machine 30 and through the mould 32.

These rails 20 are aligned according to the profile predetermined by the guidance system 34 consisting of a set of positioning devices.

The spacing between rails 20 is adjusted by two plates 37 supported by an inner face 33 of the mould 32, as shown in Figures 3 and 4.

Each plate 37 guides 20 rails, which have a different shape depending on the type of rail.

For a -throat rail, comprising a 201-throat as shown in Figure 3, plate 37 carries an ergot 371 of a shape corresponding to that of the 201-throat.

The spacing of the 371 wheel arches of the two 37 plates is adjusted very precisely according to the wheel spacing of the trains which are to run on the track.

For a Vignole rail, shown in Figure 4, plate 37 has a 372 face to rail 20 and is bounded by two 373 edges.

The spacing of the 372 throats of the two 37 plates is adjusted very precisely according to the spacing of the wheels of the trains which are to run on the track.

The plates 37 shall extend over at least part of the length of the machine 30 and shall be strictly parallel.

The lateral position of the rails 20 is determined by the lateral position of the machine 30. The lateral position of the machine 30 is controlled at all times in relation to an external reference 38 which determines the trajectory of the machine 30.

This lateral position is transmitted to rails 20 by plates 37 and side guides 39 at the same time.

These 39 side guides are connected to the mould 32 and are for example pebbles, as shown in Figure 7, or skates, as shown in Figures 2, 3 and 4.

Two pairs of two side guides 39 for each rail 20 are shown in Figure 7, but there may be more guides.

Each pair consists of two side guides 39 located opposite each side of rail 20.

Skates are typically squares with one face 391 fixed to the bottom face 33 of the mould 32 and another perpendicular face 392 sliding on a vertical side of the rail encased in resilient material 19.

The pebbles have vertical axes and roll on a vertical side of the rail encased in a resilient material 19.

The vertical position of rail 20 may be adjusted by at least two different devices, which may be used jointly or alternatively.

One or more electromagnets 40, placed above the mould 32, as shown in Figures 3 and 4, hold the rail 20 against the bottom face 33 of the mould 32, in which case the plates 37 are made of a magnetic material, such as certain types of steel.

In one embodiment, vertical guides, skates or pebbles 41 as shown in Figure 6 are connected to the mould 32.

Two pairs of two 41 side guides for each 20 rail are shown in Figure 6, but there may be more guides.

Each pair consists of two 41 side guides, one above and one below rail 20.

The pebbles have horizontal axes and roll on a horizontal side of the rail encased in a resilient material 19.

The two embodiments can be combined and electromagnets 40 above rails 20 and pebbles 41 or skids below rails 20 can be placed in machine 30.

The fresh concrete 17 which has been cooled by the above-mentioned mechanical device covers the rails 20 and the resilient material 19, which are embedded in the linear massif 10 exactly as if the above-mentioned method had been used.

It is important to note that the lateral guides 39 and the vertical guides 40 and 41 at the rear of the mould 32 must be arranged at a certain distance from the rear end of the mould 32 so that the fresh 17 fluidized concrete has time to fill the footprint left by the guides before leaving the area where the fluidization device is effective.

When rails 20 leave the mould 30 after being set in place, these rails do not move as the fresh concrete leaves the fluidization zone very quickly and solidifies.

Then the road is complete.

The above procedure can be applied by substituting for rails 20 all kinds of composite profiles 21, such as metal profiles 45 filled with a filler material.

These 45 metal sections have an open U-shaped section and vertical flanges 47 They must be filled with filling material to increase the rigidity of the assembly and to avoid deformation at the time of laying, especially due to the hydrostatic pressure of the fresh concrete on the flanges 47 of the U, the pressure of the side or vertical guides, or the action of the hanger.

The filling material is chosen in such a way that it can be easily removed and replaced, for example by creating gutters for pipes or electrical sheaths.

The outer faces 48 of the vertical flanges of the 45 metal sections may be stamped in such a way as to improve the anchorage of these 45 sections in the concrete.

The process of the invention can also be applied by substituting for rail 20 an assembly comprising a metal U-45 profile, a rail 49 at least partially inserted into the metal 45 profile and a flexible material 50 filling the metal 45 profile to a predetermined level, as shown in Figure 5.

The U-shaped metal profile is open upwards. The rail 49 can be either Vignole-type or throat-type. The resilient material is typically a resin. As described earlier, the metal profile 45 can be stamped on the outer faces 48 to improve the strength of the anchorage in the concrete.

It should be noted that the support of the rails 20 in the concrete 10 is continuous, which allows the use of low non-inertial rails and thus reduces the height of the concrete 10 thus saving construction time and material, concrete and resilient material.

To prevent dirt from getting on the upper rail face, on which the trains run, when passing through fresh concrete, a cleanliness cover can be placed on the top rail face.

Alternatively, the mould 32 may be equipped with scrapers and a broom to remove traces of fresh concrete deposited on the upper face of the rail.

The method of the invention was described in connection with the construction of a track of two parallel rails, but it can of course be used for the construction of track of one or three rails and more with simple adaptations.

This process can be applied to the construction of tramway, subway, regional or mainline railway lines running up to high speeds, e.g. 160 km/h. Higher speeds can be achieved by correcting microdelets on the track, e.g. by grinding.

Claims (13)

1. Concrete work construction method, this work consisting of a continuous linear slab in concrete (10) following a predetermined pathway, and at least one composite section (21) at least partly inserted in the slab (10) and positioned precisely to follow a determined profile, this method comprising at least the steps of:

   a/constructing the linear slab (10), by casting a mass of fresh concrete (17) continuously along said predetermined pathway,

   b/ positioning the composite section (21) along said predetermined pathway,

   c/ clamping said section according to said predetermined profile,

   d/ inserting the composite profile (21) in the linear slab (10), the steps of constructing said linear slab and inserting said composite section being simultaneous, characterized in that the steps of constructing the linear slab (10) and clamping the composite section (21) are simultaneous.
2. Construction method as in claim 1, characterized in that the step of positioning the composite section (21) precedes the simultaneous steps of constructing the linear slab (10) and clamping the composite section (21).
3. Construction method as in claim 2, characterized in that the composite profile (21) is guided laterally during the casting step of the linear slab (10).
4. Construction method as in claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the composite section (21) is guided vertically during the casting step of the linear slab (10).
5. Construction method as in any of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that step b/ for positioning composite section (21) along said predetermined pathway comprises an operation of positioning separate segments along said predetermined pathway and an operation connecting said separate segments end to end.
6. Construction method as in any of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the fresh concrete (17) is mechanically fluidised during the casting operation of the linear slab (10).
7. Construction method as in any of claims 2 to 6, characterized in that the composite section (21) is raised and crosses the mass of fresh concrete (17) before simultaneous steps a/ and d/.
8. Construction method as in any of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the composite section (21) is a rail ((20) encased in a resilient material (19).
9. Construction method as in claim 8, characterized in that the resilient material (19) is placed in position around the rail (20) after step b/ and before simultaneous steps a/ and d/.
10. Construction method as in any of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the composite section (21) comprises a metal section (45) and a filler material.
11. Construction method as in any of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the composite section (21) comprises a metal section (45), a rail (49) at least partly inserted in the metal section (45) and a resilient material (50) filling the metal section (45).
12. Construction method as in claim 10 or 11, characterized in that the metal section (45) comprises notched side faces.
13. Application of the construction method as in any of claims 1 to 12 to the construction of track for a railway, subway or tramway.