EP4239130B1 - Slurry wall cutter and method for creating a cut in the ground - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a trench wall cutter with a box-shaped housing, on the top of which a lifting device can be attached, at least one cutting wheel which is arranged on an underside of the housing and can be driven in rotation to remove soil material, wherein cutting teeth are arranged along the outer circumference of the cutting wheel in at least one circumferential row, to which at least one axial free space adjoins, and at least one clearing plate which is arranged relatively fixed to the housing and engages in the at least one circumferential free space on the cutting wheel to clear soil material, according to the preamble of claim 1.

The invention further relates to a method for creating a milling slot in the ground according to the preamble of claim 14.

A typical trench cutter with a cutter frame, which carries cutter wheels on the side below its base, whose tooth spaces can be cleaned using clearing plates, is known from the EP 3 543 408 known.

A generic trench cutter, for example, is based on the EP 1452645 A1 or from the EP 3 296 468 Rows of milling teeth are arranged along the circumference of the milling wheels, which are arranged in pairs. Between the rows of milling teeth there are axial spaces into which so-called clearing plates engage. The clearing plates are arranged on the underside of the box-shaped housing and serve to strip off any cohesive soil material adhering to the milling teeth, which can impair the milling performance, and thus keep the milling teeth free of cohesive soil material.

With the diaphragm wall cutter mentioned, the milled soil material remains in the ground and can be processed in situ with a settable suspension to form a so-called soil mortar. After hardening, the soil mortar can form a diaphragm wall segment in the created milled slot. From such Diaphragm wall segments can be used to create a sealing wall or a perimeter wall, for example for enclosing an excavation pit.

In order to create a soil mortar in situ with the milled soil material, the box-shaped housing with the drive unit of the generic diaphragm wall cutter is designed to be smaller in its outer circumference than the milling slot created. This creates a free space on the housing through which the milled soil material, which is mixed with the supplied hardening suspension to form the soil mortar by the milling wheels, has the opportunity to flow past the housing into an upper area of the milling slot.

When the trench wall cutter is in operation, the cutter wheels are driven in opposite directions, so that the two pairs of cutter wheels each rotate inwards and thus convey soil material into a central area below the cutter housing. The setting suspension can also be fed into this area in order to achieve a good mixing effect for forming the soil mortar.

With such an inward-rotating drive of the milling wheels, in certain types of soil, particularly soil layers with rock material, the further conveyance of the milling cuttings past the housing can be hindered by the clearing plates engaging like a comb between the milling teeth, for example when coarser, hard rock material is present. In certain cases, this can lead to an undesirable excessive increase in the rotational resistance on the milling wheels and thus to an increased power requirement. This can also cause damage to the clearing plates and the milling teeth.

The invention is based on the object of specifying a trench wall cutter and a method for creating a milling slot, with which a particularly efficient operation when creating a milling slot is possible.

The object is achieved on the one hand by a trench wall cutter with the features of claim 1 and on the other hand by a method with the features of claim 14. Preferred embodiments of the invention are specified in the dependent claims.

The trench wall cutter according to the invention is characterized in that the at least one clearing plate is attached to a plate holder at a distance from the housing, wherein a passage is formed between the at least one clearing plate and the housing, through which soil material milled off during operation can be guided upwards.

A basic idea of the invention is not to arrange the clearing plates directly on the underside of the box-shaped housing, but rather at a distance from the box-shaped housing on plate holders. The plate holders are arranged and designed in such a way that the at least one clearing plate is arranged at a distance from the housing through which a passage is formed for the milled soil material. Milled soil material can be guided past the clearing plates through this passage, possibly with the suspension supplied, particularly when the milling wheels are driven inwards, and can thus flow upwards in a simplified manner. The hard rock material therefore does not have to be forced through the meshing arrangement between the milling teeth and the clearing plates. In addition, the actual clearing effect of the clearing plates is maintained when soil material adheres. The passage can have a size of a few centimeters up to approx. 40% of a milling wheel diameter in the horizontal longitudinal direction and a size up to the wheel width of a milling wheel in the horizontal width direction.

A preferred embodiment of the invention consists in that at least two circumferential rows of milling teeth are arranged on the at least one milling wheel, which are axially spaced from one another by a circumferential clearance into which a clearing plate engages. In particular, more than two circumferential rows, in particular four or five circumferential rows, each with a corresponding axial distance from the adjacent row of teeth, can be arranged on the milling wheel. In accordance with the existing clearances, which generally have an axial width of 2 to 10 cm, the clearing plates, which are fixed relative to the housing, are engaged in the circumferential clearances by milling teeth driven by the milling wheel. The clearing plates can slightly contact the milling teeth and tooth holders moving past, i.e. scratch them, or be spaced apart from them at a small axial distance, for example a few millimeters.

According to the invention, the at least one cutting wheel is mounted on a plate-shaped bearing plate on the underside of the housing and the at least one clearing plate is attached to the bearing plate with the plate holder. In particular, a drive device for driving the cutting wheels can be provided in the bearing plate. The plate holder can be a simple support arm to which the clearing plates are attached. The support arm can be arranged transversely to the center plane of the bearing plate. In principle, however, an L-shaped or T-shaped plate holder can also be attached to a side edge of the bearing plate or to the housing.

It is also particularly preferred that two pairs of milling wheels are arranged on the underside of the housing. Each milling wheel of a milling wheel pair is arranged on a common central bearing plate on one side. The plate holders are arranged on the respective outside so that the clearing plates can engage in the circumferential spaces between the milling teeth at an angle from the outside to the inside.

Furthermore, it is particularly expedient that one of each pair of milling wheels is mounted on one side of the bearing plate and that each milling wheel is assigned at least one clearing plate, which is attached to the bearing plate via a plate holder. Preferably, several clearing plates for each milling wheel can also be provided on each plate holder, corresponding to the number of free spaces or gaps between the circumferential rows of the milling teeth.

According to a further embodiment of the invention, it is advantageous that each cutting wheel is assigned a passage which is delimited by the housing, the bearing plate and the associated at least one clearing plate with the plate holder.

This arrangement makes it possible, in particular, for harder rock material to avoid being forced through between the milling teeth with the tooth holders and the clearing plates by allowing the rock material in question to be drained upwards through the passage.

According to a further development of the trench wall cutter according to the invention, it is provided that a feed device for feeding a liquid, in particular a hardenable suspension, such as a cement suspension. The suspension can be pumped from above ground to the diaphragm wall cutter in the cutter slot using a corresponding pumping device.

According to a further development of the invention, it is particularly expedient for the feed device to be arranged between two pairs of milling wheels and/or in at least one of the plate holders. The feed device can be arranged in a basically known manner between the two pairs of milling wheels in a central area on the underside of the box-shaped housing. Alternatively or additionally, the feed device can also be arranged on the at least one plate holder. The plate holder is at least partially hollow with a feed channel. The feed channel ends in one or more outlet nozzles for the liquid to flow out in the area of the clearing plates. This can improve the mixing effect and at the same time also cause additional free flow of cohesive material on the milling teeth.

In principle, the arrangement of the clearing plates according to the invention via plate holders can be used on various types of trench wall cutters. According to one embodiment of the invention, it is particularly advantageous that an outer circumference of the housing is smaller than a milling cross-section of the milling wheels. This creates one or more areas along the housing, which form a passage area or a passage channel between the housing and the surrounding floor wall. This makes it possible for milled soil material and in particular soil mortar produced by supplying a setting liquid to flow from the area of the milling wheels past the housing of the milling frame upwards into a section of the created milling slot above the housing of the trench wall cutter.

In principle, the trench wall cutter according to the invention can be driven in any suitable manner. According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, a drive device, in particular a hydraulic motor or an electric motor, is arranged in the housing for driving the cutting wheels. One or more central drive motors can thus be provided in the housing. Torque transmission can be carried out in a basically known manner. This can be done via a downward-running drive shaft in the bearing plate and a corresponding gear in the bearing plate or on the cutting wheels.

According to a further embodiment of the invention, it can be advantageous for the at least one cutting wheel to have a hub in which a hub motor is arranged. The hub motor can also be a hydraulic motor or preferably an electric motor. In such an arrangement, the box-shaped housing can be used to accommodate other components or can be made smaller accordingly. A basically frame-like construction of the housing is also possible.

A further preferred embodiment of the invention consists in that the at least one clearing plate and/or the plate holder are detachably attached and a connecting device is provided on the underside of the housing, with which at least one clearing plate can be attached directly to the housing. Depending on a desired type of milling with a different drive direction of the milling wheels, a particularly flexible arrangement of the clearing plates can be achieved in this way. In particular, the external clearing plates arranged on the plate holder can be partially or completely removed if necessary. Alternatively or additionally, clearing plates can be attached directly to the underside of the housing in a basically known manner. Screw connections or other easily detachable types of connection are particularly possible as connecting devices.

The invention further comprises a trench wall milling device with a carrier device on which the trench wall milling machine according to the invention is arranged so as to be vertically movable with a lifting device. The carrier device can in particular be designed to be mobile with an undercarriage, in particular a crawler chassis, and an upper carriage rotatably mounted thereon. A mast or a boom arm can be provided on the upper carriage. A cable suspension or a rigid guide rod can be used as the lifting device, which is adjustable along the mast.

The method according to the invention for creating a milling slot in the ground is characterized in that a trench wall cutter according to the invention or a trench wall cutter device according to the invention is used. A The previously described trench cutter or trench cutter device can be used. The previously described advantages can be achieved when carrying out the process.

A preferred method variant according to the invention consists in that the at least one milling wheel is driven in rotation in a rotating device, in which milled soil material is guided by the at least one clearing plate through the passage between the housing and the clearing plate. In particular when milling soil layers with harder rock inclusions, an increase in rotational resistance and the occurrence of damage can be avoided during milling, which can occur due to harder rock material being forced through between the clearing plates and the milling teeth.

Fig. 1

eine perspektivische Ansicht einer erfindungsgemäßen Schlitzwand-fräsvorrichtung;

Fig. 2

eine perspektivische vergrößerte und schematisierte Darstellung einer erfindungsgemäßen Schlitzwandfräse;

Fig. 3

eine Vorderansicht zu der Schlitzwandfräse nach Fig. 2;

Fig. 4

eine Seitenansicht zu der Schlitzwandfräse nach den Figuren 2 und 3; und

Fig. 5

eine schematische Darstellung zum Materialfluss beim Fräsen mit einer erfindungsgemäßen Schlitzwandfräse.

The invention is described further below using preferred embodiments, which are shown schematically in the drawings. In the drawings:

Fig. 1

a perspective view of a diaphragm wall milling device according to the invention;

Fig. 2

a perspective enlarged and schematic representation of a trench wall cutter according to the invention;

Fig. 3

a front view of the trench cutter after Fig. 2 ;

Fig. 4

a side view of the trench cutter after the Figures 2 and 3 ; and

Fig. 5

a schematic representation of the material flow during milling with a diaphragm wall cutter according to the invention.

A trench wall milling device 10 according to the invention with a carrier device 12 is shown in Figure 1 The carrier device 12 can have an undercarriage 14 designed as a crawler chassis, on which a superstructure 16 can be rotatably mounted. A substantially vertical mast 18 can be adjustably mounted on the superstructure 16 via a linkage mechanism 17 with adjusting cylinders. A guide rod 22 can be arranged along the mast 18 as part of a lifting device 20. A trench wall cutter 30 according to the invention is attached to the lower end of the guide rod 22, which is described in more detail below. The guide rod 22 can be moved vertically along the mast 18 as part of the lifting device 20 via movable carriages 24 that can be connected to the guide rod 22 via clamping cylinders.

The in Figure 1 The trench wall cutter 30 shown has two pairs of cutting wheels 40 which are arranged parallel to one another with horizontally arranged axes of rotation. On the outer circumference of the cutting wheels 40, indicated cutting teeth 44 are attached in a basically known manner.

The structure of a possible trench wall cutter 30 according to the invention is exemplified in connection with the Figures 2 to 4 explained in more detail. The trench wall cutter 30 is shown in a highly schematic manner, with the cutter teeth in particular not being shown in detail for reasons of clarity, but rather ring-shaped paths 45 or circumferential rows along which the cutter teeth of a circumferential row move on the circumference of a cutter wheel 40 when driven in rotation. The cutter teeth can be arranged on plate-shaped cutter tooth holders (also not shown) and thus connected to a cylindrical hub 42 of the cutter wheel 40. A hub motor for rotating the cutter wheel 40 can be arranged inside the hub 42.

The tracks 45 or circumferential rows of milling teeth on each milling wheel 40 are axially spaced apart from one another, with a circumferential clearance 46 remaining between them. In the embodiment shown, three orbits 45 or circumferential rows with two circumferential clearances 46 in between are provided on each milling wheel 40. A clearing plate 50 can engage in each of these circumferential clearances 46, each of which can reach close to the outer circumference of the central hub 42. The clearing plates 50 are attached on their outside radially outside the tracks 45 of the milling teeth to a plate holder 60 and are fixed relative to the rotating milling wheel 40. A plate holder 60 can be provided for each milling wheel 40.

Each pair of milling wheels 40 can be mounted on a plate-shaped bearing plate 34 located between the milling wheels 40, which is each mounted on a lower side a box-shaped housing 32. The respective plate holders 60 for the clearing plates 50 can also be attached to the bearing plate 34 for each pair of milling wheels 40. In the exemplary embodiment shown, the plate holders 60 have a holding shaft 62 flanged to the bearing plate 34. A holding bracket 64 can be attached to the holding shaft 62, to which the clearing plates 50 for each milling wheel 50 can be detachably attached, preferably via screw connections.

The plate holders 60, which preferably extend essentially parallel to the axes of rotation of the cutting wheels 40, are arranged according to the invention at a distance from the box-shaped housing 32 of the trench wall cutter 30 such that a free space or passage 70 is formed between the respective plate holder 60 and the housing 32, such as Figure 3 can be seen.

A first feed device 56 for feeding a settable suspension into the area between the cutting wheels 40 can be provided centrally between the two plate-shaped bearing plates 34 on the underside of the housing 32. Alternatively or additionally, one or more feed devices can be provided in tubular holding shafts 62.

The cutting wheels 40 can be driven in rotation via a drive device (not shown in detail), which in the embodiment shown can be hub motors in the hubs 42 of the cutting wheels 40, so that they each rotate inwards. This is shown in the illustration in the Figure 5 indicated by arrows indicating the direction of rotation.

With such a drive of the cutting wheels 40 according to Figure 5 soil material removed during milling can be mixed into a soil mortar in the middle area between the milling wheels 40 by adding a settable suspension. The removed soil material and the soil mortar produced can flow upwards through the passage 70 formed by the arrangement of the clearing plates 50 on the plate holders 60 spaced apart from the housing 32, as shown by the flow arrows in Figure 5 is indicated schematically. The box-shaped housing 32 is smaller in its circumferential dimensions than a milling cross-section which is produced by the milling wheels 40.

The outer edges of the clearing plates 50 can be designed to be inclined inwards accordingly, so that an upward flow of the milled soil material and suspension through the passage 70 between the plate holder 60 and the housing 32 is supported. As a result, particularly when milling rocky or stony soil layers, even larger rock chunks can be efficiently transported upwards past the housing 32 from the area of the milling wheels 40, thereby reducing the risk of damage to the clearing plates 50 and milling teeth.

Claims (14)

1. Trench cutter comprising

   - a box-shaped housing (32), on the upper face of which a lifting apparatus (20) can be mounted,

   - at least one cutting wheel (40), which is arranged on a lower face of the housing (32) and can be driven in rotation to remove soil material, wherein cutting teeth (44) are arranged along the outer circumference of the cutting wheel (40) in at least one circumferential row, which at least one axial circumferential clearance (46) adjoins, and

   - at least one clearing plate (50), which is fixedly arranged relative to the housing (32) and engages in the at least one circumferential clearance (46) on the cutting wheel (40) to clear away soil material,
   wherein the at least one cutting wheel (40) is mounted on a planar bearing plate (34) on the lower face of the housing (32),

   characterised in that
   the at least one clearing plate (50) with the plate holder (60) is mounted on the bearing plate (34), and

   - in that the at least one clearing plate (50) is mounted on the plate holder (60) so as to be spaced apart from the housing (32), which plate holder is arranged so as to be spaced apart from the housing (32), wherein a passage (70) is formed between the at least one clearing plate (50) mounted on the plate holder (60) and the housing (32), through which passage soil material that has been cut out during operation can be guided upwards.
2. Trench cutter according to claim 1,
   characterised in that
   at least two circumferential rows of cutting teeth (44) are arranged on the at least one cutting wheel (40), which teeth are axially spaced apart from one another by a circumferential clearance (46), in which a clearing plate (50) engages.
3. Trench cutter according to any of claims 1 or 2,
   characterised in that
   two pairs of cutting wheels (40) are arranged on the lower face of the housing (32).
4. Trench cutter according to claim 3,
   characterised in that

   from each pair of cutting wheels (40), one cutting wheel (40) is mounted on one side of the bearing plate (34) and

   in that at least one clearing plate (50), which is mounted on the bearing plate (34) by means of a plate holder (60), is assigned to each cutting wheel (40).
5. Trench cutter according to claim 4,
   characterised in that
   a passage (70), which is delimited by the housing (32), the bearing plate (34) and the assigned at least one clearing plate (50) with the plate holder (60), is assigned to each cutting wheel (40).
6. Trench cutter according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
   characterised in that
   a supply system (56) for supplying a liquid, in particular a curable suspension, is arranged.
7. Trench cutter according to claim 6,
   characterised in that
   the supply system (56) is arranged between two pairs of cutting wheels (40) and/or in at least one of the plate holders (60).
8. Trench cutter according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
   characterised in that
   an outer circumference of the housing (32) is smaller than a cutting cross section of the cutting wheels (40).
9. Trench cutter according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
   characterised in that
   a drive apparatus, in particular a hydraulic motor or an electric motor, is arranged in the housing (32) for driving the cutting wheels (40).
10. Trench cutter according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
    characterised in that
    the at least one cutting wheel (40) comprises a hub (42), in which a hub motor is arranged.
11. Trench cutter according to any one of claims 1 to 10,
    characterised in that
    the at least one clearing plate (50) and/or the plate holder (60) are detachably fastened and a connecting system for at least one clearing plate (50) is provided on the lower face of the housing (32).
12. Trench cutter device comprising a carrier equipment (12), on which a trench cutter (30) is arranged to be vertically movable by a lifting apparatus (20), characterised in that
    a trench cutter (30) according to any one of claims 1 to 11 is provided.
13. Method for making a cut trench in the ground,
    characterised in that
    a trench cutter (30) according to any one of claims 1 to 11 or a trench cutter device (10) according to claim 12 is used.
14. Method according to claim 13,
    characterised in that
    the at least one cutting wheel (40) is driven in rotation in a rotational direction, wherein cut-out soil material is guided through the passage (70) between the housing (32) and the clearing plate (50) by the at least one clearing plate (50).

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