Claims
- 1. Apparatus for forming contiguous sections of a concrete liner in a vertical shaft in cooperation with a boring machine comprising:
- retainer form means including an expandable cylindrical form having first and second overlapping edges;
- first power means for moving said expandable form selectively between a first position of expanded circumference and a second position of contracted circumference;
- curb means including sealing means at the bottom of said expandable form for forming a lower edge of a concrete section poured between said form and the wall of said shaft;
- gripper means for frictionally engaging the wall of said shaft for supporting said retainer form means independently of said boring machine;
- adjusting means for adjusting said panel means relative to said gripper means for rotational and translational motion, whereby said gripper means can be placed in gripping relation with the wall of said shaft and said panel means can be adjusted relative to said gripper means; and
- advancing means interconnecting said gripper means and said boring machine for lowering said form means toward said boring machine while supporting the weight of said form means on said boring machine.
- 2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said form includes an outer sheath of sheet material overlapped on itself to provide an outer lap and an inner lap, said outer lap and said inner lap cooperating to seal against the flow of concrete when a section of said liner has been poured between sheath and the wall of said shaft.
- 3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the end of said outer lap of said form is beveled, the leading edge of said beveled end being adjacent the outer surface of said inner lap to define a knife edge for cutting concrete away from the outer surface of said inner lap when said form is contracted.
- 4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein said beveled portion of said outer lap is formed on a bias relative to a line parallel to the axis of said form.
- 5. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said sheath is formed of individual panels, each panel including a portion of said sheath having side edges parallel to the axis thereof and a height extending the full height of said form; each panel further including reinforcing means; and means for connecting adjacent panels together while permitting said lapped edges to move relative to one another.
- 6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said first power means interconnects said lapped edges of said sheath for moving the same relative to one another while permitting said edges to maintain said seal in the expanded position.
- 7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said first power means comprises a plurality of hydraulic cylinders having their axes extending generally circumferentially of said form and each having one end connected to said outer lap and the other end connected to the inner lap of said form; and wherein the expanded position of said form is defined by the bottoming out of the plungers of said hydraulic cylinders.
- 8. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein each of said panels comprises a plurality of fill ports including at least one such port at two different elevations on each panel for facilitating the pouring of concrete in the space between said form and the wall of said shaft.
- 9. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein said fill ports are defined by apertures in said sheath of said form and wherein each fill port includes a section of a fill pipe having a discharge end welded to said sheath adjacent to an associated aperture and extending upwardly from said aperture and toward the center of said shaft to facilitate drainage of concrete into said liner.
- 10. The apparatus of claim 9 further comprising removable cap means for each of said fill pipes and having an end surface continuing the outer surface of said sheath when inserted in an associated fill pipe.
- 11. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein said fill ports are adapted to receive vibrators for immersion into concrete poured into a liner section; said apparatus further comprising a plurality of panel vibrators mounted to the inner surface of said sheath at angularly displaced locations for enhancing the bond of said concrete to the wall of said shaft.
- 12. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said curb means includes a curb ring; and means for connecting said curb ring to the bottom of said form, said curb ring extending downwardly and outwardly from the bottom edge of said form.
- 13. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein said curb ring defines a surface having a generally frusto-conical shape to form the lower edge of a poured liner section and thereby facilitate the escape of air during the pouring of a lower liner section, such escape of air being upwardly and toward the center of said shaft.
- 14. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein said sealing means comprises an inflatable seal of toroidal shape having an outer cylindrical surface of flexible material adapted to frictionally engage the wall of said shaft when said seal means is inflated.
- 15. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein said curb ring further defines an annular peripheral recess adapted to receive said inflatable seal in sealing engagement.
- 16. The apparatus of claim 12 further comprising means for connecting the lower portion of said expandable form to said curb means for permitting said form to expand and contract relative to said curb means.
- 17. The apparatus of claim 16 wherein said curb ring includes an upper horizontal flange extending inwardly of the top thereof and wherein the bottom of said expandable form includes an inwardly extending horizontal flange adapted to rest on and slide along said horizontal flange of said curb ring; and wherein said connecting means includes a plurality of clamps connected to one of said horizontal flanges and including means for limiting the outward radial motion of the other of said flanges.
- 18. The apparatus of claim 17 further comprising pin connection means for connecting said curb ring to said form for limiting relative rotation between them while permitting said form to expand and contract relative to said curb ring.
- 19. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said adjusting means for adjusting said form relative to said gripper means includes a plurality of second hydraulic cylinders arranged with their axes extending generally circumferentially of said form and having one end thereof connected to said gripper means, and the other end thereof connected to said curb means.
- 20. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising first and second alignment means, each alignment means including a plurality of tubular sections; means for connnecting said sections together while maintaining a substantially uniform outer diameter of the abutting edges of said sections, said sections being received through said curb means at a location between said form means and said wall of said shaft; said apparatus further comprising means for sealing said tube sections to said curb ring while permitting said tube sections to slide through said ring as said form means is lowered, whereby when said adjusting means adjusts said form means in rotation or translational motion, the lower ends of the free portion of said tube sections are also adjusted.
- 21. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said advancing system includes a plurality of column adjusting mechanisms based about the periphery of said form support gripper means, each of said column adjusting assemblies comprising vertically extensible power means whereby said form support gripper ring means may be adjusted in a horizontal plane using the gripper ring of said boring machine as a reaction base.
- 22. The apparatus of claim 21 wherein each of said column assemblies includes a vertical column; means for connecting the top of said column to said form support gripper means while permitting universal motion of said column over a limited range; spacer tube means connected to said gripper ring of said boring machine and telescopically receiving said column; hydraulic cylinder means having one end connected to said spacer tube means; means for connecting the other end of said hydraulic cylinder means to said column above said spacer tube; first lock means for selectively locking said column to said connecting means of said hydraulic cylinder means; and second locking means for selectively locking said column to said spacer tube means.
- 23. Apparatus for supporting a form for retaining concrete during the formation of a concrete liner in a vertical shaft and for advancing said form down said shaft behind a boring machine having first gripper means for supporting said boring machine by frictional engagement with the wall of said shaft, comprising:
- second gripper means connected to said form and including power actuation means for frictionally engaging the wall of said shaft and for supporting said form independent of said boring mechine; an advancing mechanism including a plurality of telescoping column assemblies, each including a column connected to one of said gripper means; a spacer tube receiving an associated column telescopically and connected to the other of said gripper means; vertically actuatable hydraulic cylinder means having one end connected to one of said column and spacer tube means; first selectively actuatable lock means for locking the other end of said hydraulic cylinder means to the other of said column and spacer tube means; and second selectively actuatable lock means for selectively locking said column to said spacer tube means.
- 24. A method of forming a concrete liner section about the periphery of a vertical shaft comprising:
- supporting a boring machine beneath said form by engagement with the walls of said shaft;
- constricting the circumference of a radially-expandable cylindrical retainer form to a diameter less than the inner diameter of the liner;
- locating said form axially of said shaft at the elevation of the desired liner section;
- expanding said form to define a liner space with the wall of said shaft;
- attaching said form to said wall so that it is self-supporting;
- filling said liner space with a quick setting concrete; and
- transferring the weight of said form to said boring machine after said concrete is self-supporting to the desired location of a subsequent liner section.
- 25. The method of claim 24 wherein it is desired to form said liner sections at an advance rate down said shaft commensurate with the advance rate of said boring machine; and wherein said step of transferring weight to said boring machine includes: gripping the wall of said shaft with gripper means of said boring machine; releasing form support gripper means supporting said form; interlocking vertically extensible column support assembly means between said form and said gripping means of said boring machine; breaking said form away from said previously set concrete; reducing the extension of said vertically extensible column support means to thereby lower said form support gripper means and said form down said shaft; and re-attaching said form support gripper means to the wall of said shaft when it has been moved to the desired axial location.
- 26. The apparatus of claim 25 further including the steps of joining sections of alignment tubes by extending them in said liner space through said form while sealing said tubes with said form against the flow of concrete; adjusting the bottom of said form in elevation, rotation, and translation to attain vertical alignment of said tubes; and then embedding said tubes in said liner section being formed.
CONTRACTUAL ORIGIN OF THE INVENTION
The invention described herein was made in the course of, or under, a contract with the UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY.
US Referenced Citations (7)