Patent Application
20180080177
The present invention relates to a casing for concrete appropriate for the construction of a concrete bedding of a ballastless railway and further relates to a method for the construction of a ballastless railway.
A ballastless railway track, also known as “slabtrack”, is known in the state of the art and refers to a railway track in which the rails are attached directly to a concrete bedding or concrete ground and are not mounted on sleepers embedded in ballast, which is the case in conventional railways. A train, a tram or a metro can for example drive on such ballastless railway track.
Ballastless railways offer many advantages comparted to conventional railways. They aim for example at a correct positioning of each element that is part of the railway, such as the rails and the concrete bedding, in which the geometric parameters remain almost unchanged in time. Furthermore, they require less maintenance than in conventional railways, as a result of which, as less interventions are needed, the operational availability of the railway infrastructure is increased simultaneously.
The criteria for the construction of such ballastless railways are however often much more demanding than for a conventional railway, as they require a larger precision as to the aligning and the finishing. A correct positioning of the rails on the concrete bedding is for example crucial during the installation of ballastless railways. Furthermore, it is also important that the concrete bedding is sufficiently robust to resist the forces applied thereupon, especially when the railway is used for example high-speed trains.
Methods for the construction of a ballastless railway with a view to the correct positioning of the rails onto the concrete bedding are known in the state of the art. EP 1 323 866 and EP 1 460 174 describe for example methods for the construction of a ballastless railway, in which a concrete bedding is first installed and in which the rail attachment elements for attaching the rails to the concrete bedding are placed in the concrete bedding before it has hardened and are positioned correctly in the concrete bedding by means of a positioning mechanism.
EP 1 310 596 describes a method for constructing a ballastless railway, in which the concrete bedding is poured around anchoring elements that allow to attach rails to the concrete betting via attachment plates that fit around the anchoring elements, in which temporary attachment plates are first positioned, in the position where the final attachment plates will be placed, by means of a positioning mechanism (a crane) and are provided with the anchoring elements, followed by the pouring and hardening of concrete up to the height where the temporary attachment plates are positioned to subsequently remove the temporary attachment plates and to install the final attachment plates together with the rail for constructing the railway.
A problem with the abovementioned positioning mechanisms is that they are often heavy and hard to work with, especially when rails have to be constructed in places that are difficult to reach or where there is little space such as for example in a tunnel, underground, on a bridge or at places where there is a lot of traffic, as a result of which the installation of the rail attachment elements as well as the rails is very labour-intensive and very time-consuming. Furthermore, specialized personnel is required for adjusting everything correctly.
There is a need for an improved method for the construction of a ballastless railway, in which the construction can be realized in a simple, unambiguous and cost-efficient way, with a concrete bedding that is sufficiently robust and has a correct finishing and alignment, as well as in which the rails can be attached to the concrete bedding easily in the correct position without the use of heavy positioning mechanisms that are difficult to handle.
The present invention aims to find a solution for at least some of the above-mentioned problems.
The invention aims to provide a casing for concrete that allows to construct a concrete bedding for a ballastless railway in a simple and cost-efficient way, in which the rails can be attached to the concrete bedding easily in the correct position without the use of heavy positioning mechanisms that are difficult to handle. The invention furthers relates to a method for the construction of a ballastless railway using a similar casing.
In a first aspect, the invention relates to a casing for concrete, appropriate for use in the construction of a concrete bedding of a railway according to claim 1.
The casing according to the present invention allows a concrete bedding for a ballastless railway to be constructed in a simple and cost-efficient way, in which the rails can easily be positioned and mounted to the concrete bedding without the use of heavy positioning mechanisms that are difficult to handle.
In a second aspect, the invention relates to a method for the construction of a ballastless railway according to claim 15. The method preferably uses a casing for concrete according to claim 1.
The invention relates to a casing for concrete appropriate for the construction of a concrete bedding of a railway that allows to construct a well aligned and finished concrete bedding in a simple and cost-efficient way, that ensures the rails to be mounted in the correct position on the bedding for the construction of a ballastless railway.
Unless otherwise specified, all terms used in the description of the invention, including technical and scientific terms, shall have the meaning as they are generally understood by the worker in the technical field of the invention. For a better understanding of the description of the invention, the following terms are explained specifically.
“A”, “an” and “the” refer in the document to both the singular and the plural form unless clearly understood differently in the context. “A dowel” means for example one or more than one dowel.
When “approximately” or “about” are used in the document together with a measurable quantity, a parameter, a period or moment, etc., variations of +/−20% or less, preferably +/−10% or less, more preferably +/−5% or less, still more preferably +/−1% or less, and even still more preferably +/−0.1% or less than and of the cited value are meant, as far as such variations apply to the invention that is described. It will however be clearly understood that the value of the quantity at which the term “approximately” or “about” is used, is itself specified.
The terms “include”, “including”, “consist”, “consisting”, “provide with”, “contain”, “containing”, “comprise”, “comprising” are synonyms and are inclusive of open terms that indicate the presence of what follows, and that do not exclude or prevent the presence of other components, characteristics, elements, members, steps, known from or described in the state of the art.
The citation of numeric intervals by means of end points includes all integers, fractions and/or real numbers between the end points, including these end points.
In a first aspect, the present invention relates to a casing for concrete, appropriate for use in the construction of a concrete bedding of a railway, preferably a ballastless railway. The casing contains at least one casing element and a reinforcement, in which the at least one casing element is connected bearingly to the reinforcement. The reinforcement is in particular connected bearingly to at least a part of at least one attachment means, which attachment means is appropriate for the attachment of at least one rail to the concrete bedding to be constructed.
The term “casing” or “casing for concrete”, herein used as synonyms, is a term known in the state of the art and relates to a typically temporary installed mould or counter mould, formed by means of one or more casing elements, where concrete can be provided into. The mould or counter mould hereby holds the concrete in its place during the provision and hardening of the concrete. As a result of the bearing connection of at least one casing element with the reinforcement, the mould or counter mould also preferably holds the reinforcement in its place while it is embedded in the concrete. The one or more casing elements that can form the mould or counter mould, can contain any material known in the state of the art, such as for example wood, plastic, metal, e.g. steel or a combination of these materials and can have any shape or dimensions. The at least one casing element is preferably plate-shaped. In places where the casing element holds the concrete in its place during its hardening, an additional coating or layer can be provided allowing the casing element to be removed more easily from the concrete, once it has hardened.
The term “reinforcement” or “reinforcement for concrete”, as used here as synonyms, is a term known in the state of the art and refers to a reinforcing element that is provided in concrete for reinforcing it and making it more resistant to for example compressive or tensile forces to which the concrete is subjected. When a reinforcement is present in the concrete, the term “reinforced concrete” is typically used. The reinforcement according to the present invention can contain any configuration known in the state of the art and can for example be provided in the form of rods, nets, cables, grids, etc. and can further contain any material known in the state of the art, such as metal, e.g. steel, optic fibre, plastic, etc. According to a preferred embodiment, the reinforcement according to the present invention contains steel.
According to a preferred embodiment, the casing according to the present invention contains at least one first plate-shaped casing element and at least one second plate-shaped casing element that form an upwardly open, gutter-shaped construction with a ground, for example a ground onto which a concrete bedding will be placed, and between which two plate-shaped casing elements the reinforcement is comprised. In such gutter-shaped construction, concrete can then be provided, in which the casing elements also determine the shape of the concrete bedding to be constructed, while the reinforcement between the two casing elements is also embedded in the concrete bedding. The at least one first casing element and the at least one second casing elements are preferably substantially perpendicular to the ground onto which the concrete bedding will be installed and they extend preferably substantially in parallel to each other. In this way, a straight, well-finished concrete bedding can be obtained.
According to a preferred embodiment, the at least one casing element is demountably connected to the reinforcement. Once the concrete is provided in the casing, this allows the at least one casing element, that serves as a mould or counter mould for the construction of the concrete bedding, to be disassembled for the reinforcement—that is then embedded in the concrete—so that the at least one casing element can be removed from the constructed reinforced concrete bedding and can optionally be recycled and reused. The bearing connection or mounting of the reinforcement to the at least one casing element can be realized in any way known in the state of the art. The reinforcement for example doesn't have to be connected directly to the at least one casing element, but can also be connected bearingly to the casing element via a connecting piece.
The attachment means according to the present invention can include any attachment means known in the state of the art for attaching at least one rail to a concrete bedding. WO 2014 198 585, WO 2014 184 059 and WO 2009 043 822 give non-limiting examples of attachment means that can be used according to the present invention and are hereby included by reference. The attachment means can for example include at least one screw, plate, spring element, dowel, etc. in any form, configuration or material. When in the present invention, it is said that the reinforcement or a connection element is connected bearingly to at least a part of the attachment means, it means that the reinforcement or the connection element can be connected bearingly to any part of the attachment means, such as for example to a screw, a plate, a spring element, a dowel, etc. or any combination of the parts of the attachment means, such as for example a combination of a dowel and a screw.
The casing according to the present invention does not only allow to construct a well-finished reinforced concrete bedding for a railway, but because the reinforcement is connected bearingly to at least a part of at least one attachment means, it also allows that part of the attachment means to be automatically provided with the provision of the casing. This allows to position that part of the attachment means in such way in the casing that, once concrete is provided in the casing and a concrete bedding is formed, the rails can be mounted in a correct, i.e. a desired position to the concrete bedding by means of the at least partially prepositioned attachment means. With other words, by providing the casing, at least a part of the attachment means will also automatically be provided at already a correct position in the casing where the rails will later be mounted on the concrete bedding to be constructed. When concrete is poured in the casing, that part of the attachment means will be surrounded and fixed already at the correct position in the concrete and thus already be provided in the concrete bedding, so that when the rails have to be attached to the concrete bedding afterwards, the rails can simply be displaced to this position and can be attached using the at least one attachment means. In this way, no external, heavy positioning mechanisms that are hard to work with, are required anymore to correctly position the attachment means in the concrete bedding, which is now the case in methods according to the state of the art.
The at least one attachment means preferably contains at least one dowel. A “dowel” as used here, is a term known in the state of the art and refers to a anchoring element that is typically used for the anchoring of an object, typically a screw, in a non-elastic material, such as for example concrete. The dowel is hereby typically placed in a precisely fitting hole in the non-elastic material or can be placed in the non-elastic material when this material is in another state. For example in the case of concrete, the dowel can be surrounded by concrete in a non-hardened state or it can be placed in the concrete when it is still in a non-hardened state, after which the concrete hardens and the dowel is fixed in the concrete. The dowel can include any form as well as any material known in the state of the art. The dowel preferably contains a plastic material that is preferably elastic or at least partially elastic. The dowel is preferably hollow and substantially tubular-shaped with an open end and an opposite closed end. To realize an anchoring, the screw is typically inserted via the open end in the hole of the dowel. The inner surface of the tubular-shaped dowel is hereby typically provided with a screw pattern that is complementary to the screw pattern of the screw that is inserted in the dowel, so that the screw is inserted in the dowel by means of a turning movement and thus gets fixed in the dowel. Dowels with two open ends can for example also be used instead of the said dowels with an open and a closed end. A dowel with two open ends has the advantage that a liquid, such as for example water, cannot accumulate in the dowel, and can be used for drainage.
According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the reinforcement is connected bearingly to the at least one dowel. The bearing connection between the reinforcement of the casing and the at least one dowel, allows this dowel to already be positioned correctly in the casing even before the concrete is provided. In this way, when providing the concrete in the casing, the at least one dowel can be surrounded by concrete and can be anchored in the concrete bedding and this already in the correct position where afterwards, after the formation of the concrete bedding, a rail can be provided and attached to the concrete bedding. The attachment means preferably contains at least one screw that fits in the dowel. This screw is preferably only provided in the dowel when the concrete bedding is already constructed by means of the casing of which the reinforcement is connected bearingly to the at least one dowel. In this way, the rail can be attached to the concrete bedding by means of the screw by placing the screw in the prepositioned dowel in the concrete bedding. Furthermore, the attachment means preferably contains, next to at least one screw, at least one spring element and at least one fixation plate for further positioning and fixing the rail on the concrete bedding.
When the reinforcement is connected bearingly to the at least one dowel, the dowel preferably contains a demountably closing element that is preferably appropriate for at least temporarily closing the open end of the dowel. This closing element is preferably present as a result of the fact that, when concrete is provided in the casing, there is a risk that the opening within the dowel is filled with concrete via the open end of the dowel, as a result of which no screw can be placed anymore afterwards for the anchoring of the attachment means. By mounting a demountably closing element at the open end of the dowel, this open end can temporarily be closed so that it can be avoided that concrete enters the dowel. After the provision of the concrete, the open end of the dowel can again be opened by disassembling the closing element from the dowel. Such closing element can contain any mechanism to close the open end of a dowel. The closing element can for example contain a screwing cap that can be screwed onto the open end of the dowel or the closing element can contain a groove or recess that fits in respectively a recess or groove that is present at the open end of the dowel to mount the closing element at the open end of the dowel. The closing element can contain any material such as for example metal, e.g. steel or synthetic material, e.g. plastic. The closing material can contain the same or another material as the material of the dowel.
It should be remarked that the dowel can also contain additional elements for, for example, the extra robust anchoring of the dowel in the concrete bedding. An extra anchoring enclosure can for example be provided around the dowel, for the extra anchoring of the dowel in the concrete bedding. This can for example be necessary when the concrete bedding is intended for the construction of a high-speed railway line, where the risk is higher that the dowel can detach from the concrete bedding. In such cases, the reinforcement will preferably be connected bearingly to the dowel via the additional element, for example the anchoring enclosure.
In a preferred embodiment, the casing according to the present invention contains at least one first plate-shaped casing element and at least one second plate-shaped casing element that form an upwardly open, gutter-shaped construction with a ground, for example a ground onto which a concrete bedding will be constructed, and between which two plate-shaped casing elements the reinforcement is comprised, where the reinforcement contains at least one connection element that mutually connects the at least one first casing element and the at least one second casing element in a bearing manner. Such connection element increases the stability of the two casing elements and avoids for example the displacement of the two casing elements during the placement of concrete. Furthermore, the connection elements are intended as structural reinforcement of a final installed concrete bedding, as a result of which the connection elements are understood to be included in the term “reinforcement” or “reinforcement for concrete” in the context of the present invention.
The at least one first casing element and the at least one second casing element are preferably connected demountably to the connection element. Once concrete has been provided in the casing, this allows the two casing elements to be disassembled from the at least one connection element—that is then embedded in the concrete—so that the casing elements can be removed from the constructed reinforced concrete bedding and optionally can be recycled and reused. The mounting of the casing elements to the at least one connection element can be realized in any way known in the state of the art. The casing elements for example do not have to be connected directly to the connection element, but can also be connected bearingly to the connection element via a connecting piece.
The connection element can have any shape such as for example rod-shaped, net-shaped, cable-shaped, grid-shaped, etc. and can further contain any material, such as for example metal, e.g. steel, optic fibre, plastic, etc. or a combination of these materials. The at least one connection element is preferably rod-shaped. According to a preferred embodiment, the at least one connection element contains steel.
According to a preferred embodiment, the at least one connection element is connected bearingly to at least a part of the at least one attachment means. In this way, the connection element not only ensures extra stability of the two casing elements, but it also allows that part of the attachment means already to be positioned correctly between the two casing elements. The attachment means preferably contains at least one dowel, in which the least one connection element is connected bearingly to the at least one dowel. When providing concrete in the casing, this dowel will then be anchored in the concrete bedding between the two casing elements and this already in the correct position where afterwards, after the formation of the concrete bedding, a rail can be provided and mounted to the concrete bedding. The dowel preferably contains a demountable closing element, similar to the one described above.
According to a preferred embodiment, the at least one connection element is connected bearingly to the dowel via at least one positioning element. Such positioning element holds the dowel in the correct position on the connection element. The positioning element preferably holds the dowel in such position between the two casing elements so that the at least one dowel is already located in the correct position between the two casing elements where afterwards, after forming the concrete bedding, a rail can be provided and mounted to the concrete bedding. The at least one positioning element preferably holds the dowel positioned with the closed end of the dowel oriented to the ground. The positioning element can for example contain a clamp system, which clamps the dowel and thus holds it in position or it can for example contain a annular holder that encloses the outer diameter of the dowel and thus holds the dowel in position. The positioning element can be an integral part of the connection element or it can be connected separately to the connection element. The positioning element, holding the dowel in place, can optionally be placed in different positions on the connection element in order to adjust the position of the dowel in the casing. Furthermore, the dowel and/or the positioning element can contain a control mechanism, that checks if the dowel is held in the correct position via the positioning element. The dowel and/or the positioning element can for example contain a magnet that allows to position the dowel and the positioning element in a correct mutual position.
The reinforcement according to the present invention can contain any number of connection elements and the connection elements can be positioned in any way with respect to each other, e.g. crossed, in parallel, etc. The reinforcement preferably contains at least two connection elements. The at least two connection elements can be mutually connected via at least one tie element. Such tie elements can contain the same or another material as the material of the connection elements. The tie elements can for example contain metal, e.g. steel, optic fibre, plastic, etc. The tie elements preferably contain the same material as the connection elements. The tie elements preferably contain steel. Because of the presence of tie elements, the connection elements are mutually better stabilised and this further contributes to the general stability of the casing.
By using a casing for concrete according to the first aspect of the present invention, a ballastless railway can be obtained. This ballastless railway contains at least a reinforcement, an attachment means, a rail and a concrete bedding, in which the reinforcement is connected bearingly to at least a part of the at least one attachment means, and the attachment means and reinforcement are at least partially embedded in the concrete bedding, and in which by means of the at least one attachment means, one rail can be mounted to the concrete bedding. This ballastless railway is preferably located on a ground by means of the concrete bedding.
In a second aspect, the present invention relates to a method for the construction of a railway, consisting of the steps:
The at least one casing element of the casing is preferably removed from the casing after the formation of a reinforced concrete bedding, in which the reinforcement, to which at least a part of the at least one attachment means is connected bearingly, is also embedded in the concrete bedding.
A casing according to the present invention can preferably be used in a method for the construction of a railway as described in the Belgian patent application with number 2015/5148 filed on Mar. 16, 2015, on behalf of Top-Off NV and Sleepers BVBA, or as described in the PCT patent application with number PCT/EP2016/055699 filed on Mar. 16, 2016, on behalf of the same applicants, which are hereby enclosed by reference.
The concrete according to the present invention can contain any type of concrete and can contain any concrete composition as known in the state of the art. Furthermore, the concrete can be provided in the casing in any way, using any means or device, as known in the state of the art.
In the following, the invention will be described by means of non-limiting examples illustrating the invention, and not meant to be interpreted as limiting the scope of the invention.
Between the two casing elements (2), a reinforcement is provided, which reinforcement contains straight rod-shaped connection elements (3) that can connect the two casing elements to each other. The connection elements according to this embodiment extend in parallel to each other, perpendicular to the plate-shaped casing elements. The connection elements are mounted to the casing elements via their ends. Each casing element hereby contains recesses (not shown) in which each recess can contain an end of a rod-shaped connection element so that the end of the connection element can be shifted through the recess and can be positioned at the outer side of the casing element, i.e. at the side of the casing elements opposite to the side where concrete is provided. At both ends of each connection elements, a screw system is provided (not shown), so that, once the connection element is shifted through the recess of the casing element, the connection element can be mounted to the casing plate by means of a nut (5) that is provided onto the screw system of the connection element at the outer side of the casing elements. This system allows the casing elements to be disassembled easily from the reinforcement once the concrete has been provided, i.e. by again removing the nuts (5) from the screw system and removing the casing elements, while the reinforcement stays in the concrete. Instead of the above-mentioned screw system, other attachment methods can be used allowing the connection elements to be mounted to the casing elements and afterwards the casing elements to be removed from the connection elements.
The dowel that is shown schematically in
It should be remarked that although the connection elements according to these examples are straight rod-shaped elements that extend in parallel to each other and are substantially perpendicular to the plate-shaped casing elements, the connection elements can also take other shapes. Two connection elements can for example cross each other, they can form an angle with respect to the plate-shaped casing elements and/or they can have curved or divergent shapes and thus they do not necessarily have to be straight.
The connection or mounting of the reinforcement to the casing element can be realized in any way known in the state of the art. The reinforcement for example doesn't have to be connected directly to the at least one casing element, but can also be connected bearingly to the casing element via a connecting piece.
It will be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and that some adjustments or changes can be added to the described examples without changing the scope of the enclosed claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015/5149 | Mar 2015 | BE | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/EP2016/055712 | 3/16/2016 | WO | 00 |
