NO840031L - PROCEDURE FOR MODULE BUILDING OF ROADS AND PREFABRICATED UNITS FOR THIS - Google Patents

Abstract

Structural elements for use in road construction ,. traffic machines, viaducts and the like comprise a rigid shell (4), a light-flowing filling material (5) and at least one reinforcing bar or cable (6) extending through the filling material and connecting at least two opposite walls of the shell.

Description

'The present invention relates to new structural elements and their use in construction in general, including the construction of roads, runways, motorways, viaducts, aqueducts and the like, all of which in the following shall be referred to collectively as roads.

In the following, the use of structural elements according to the invention will be described mainly in connection with the construction of roads, but it will be understood that the use of the structural elements is not limited to this.

In recent years, the construction of new roads has steadily increased, both in terms of expansion of the existing network of motorways and in terms of the establishment of new road networks where earlier there was not much of a modern road. At the same time, the costs of building roads have also steadily increased, as the contributing factors have been the price of labour, the costs of preparing the ground where the road will go by dosing and/or filling so that a relatively level surface is prepared for the roadway, and the costs for such materials required for the road surface, which are particularly high when the road surface has to withstand heavy traffic. When it comes to building roads, depending on the local economy, either a large workforce will be used to prepare the ground, or a lot of heavy construction equipment will be used, or both. The costs of the road naturally increase even more. If the road e.g. laid through a swamp area or along the sea. Where the road runs through a swamp area, it is thus necessary to drain the swamp during preparation, fill up the drained area and level and/or dose the filling material. In the case of a road that will run along the water where the soil is usually very soft and the groundwater level is close to the surface, the problems are even more complex, and special measures are required to keep the groundwater away. Many times the costs of placing a road through a swamp area or along the water are so high that an alternative route around the wet area is chosen, even if this is also very expensive.

The necessity of accurate planning and dosage of the ground

<!>before the road surface is laid would be unnecessary if the road surface could be made from an extra strong mass that is resistant to the forces to which it is exposed, even if it was only supported from below. at selected points and not along the entire length of the lower surface. Such a road surface could be laid directly on uneven ground or mounted on pillars so that it was in reality supported only at selected points instead of the entire length of the lower surface and still resist all forces acting on its upper surface. fleet. The only known material that would in practice be considered for such requirements would be massive reinforced concrete, but the costs of the material and the handling of such a road surface would be so high that they would outweigh any savings by not having the ground leveled and dosed. Although the idea is good in theory, it has not yet been able to be realized in practice.

The need for extra strong, highly resistant structural elements also arises in connection with other forms of construction work, such as the construction of buildings, factory halls, bridges, aqueducts, viaducts for railways, etc.

It is an object of the present invention to provide extra strong structural elements which are lighter and cheaper than conventional structural elements of similar size and mechanical properties.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a new method for building roads, where use is made of the new structural elements according to the invention.

According to the invention, a structural element is provided which comprises a rigid shell, an easily flowing filling material in the shell and at least one reinforcing rod or cable which extends through the filling material. and binds together at least two opposite walls of the shell.

The easily flowing filler material in a structural element according to the invention can consist of solid particles, e.g. sand, clay and the like, or a liquid such as water. Where the filler material is an easily flowing particulate material such as sand, it is preferably moistened by a liquid lubricant, eg water, which enables the packing of the filler material to be maximized.

Structural elements according to the invention can take the form of plates, panels, beams, blocks, walls, pillars with or without head plates, etc.

The reinforcing bars or cables in the structural elements according to the invention can be prestressed, poststressed or not stressed at all.

It has been found that structural elements according to the invention are very strong. If concrete is used in the shell, approximately half as much concrete is required or less than would be required for conventional structural elements of similar size and mechanical properties, and at the same time they are less expensive to manufacture. These unique properties are due to the effect of the filling material, which interacts with the shell so that it resists compressive forces acting on it. The filling material, whether it is easily flowing pellet material or liquid, acts as a highly viscous liquid for the transfer of forces in all directions, thus spreading the pressure forces exerted on it transferred from the shell.

The shell can be of any suitable rigid material - which has the desired mechanical properties, such as e.g. concrete, iron, steel, aluminum or similar.

The structural elements according to the invention can be prefabricated or made in situ. Which way is preferred will depend on the circumstances, such as the size of the items and their transport costs.

For the production of a unit according to the invention, it is possible to first cast the shell without one of its walls, with the anchor cable or rod, or cables or rods, anchored in one or more existing walls. The rod or cable, or the rods or cables, may be prestressed or poststressed, or they may remain substantially unstressed. This is then followed by the introduction of the filling material, and at this stage the open side of the structure is at the top. During the filling of the filling material, the still open element will preferably be placed on a vibrator, which in the case of particulate filling material ensures tight packing of this, and in the case of a liquid filling material such as water ensures that air bubbles escape. When the filling material has been compacted or de-gassed, depending on the conditions, the element is applied to the missing wall. Where the shell consists of concrete, some of the moisture in the wet filling material or some of the filling water will be absorbed by the concrete during curing.

Plates according to the invention can be advantageously used in the construction of roads. In one method, the plates according to the invention are placed directly on the ground. Where this method is used, the ground will have to be prepared somewhat, but to a much lesser extent than with conventional road construction techniques.

Another way of constructing roads according to the invention comprises the introduction of prefabricated pillars in the ground, which protrude from the ground at the desired height, and placing plates according to the invention on such pillars.

The pillars can include head plates for better support of the plates. If desired, beams can be used and placed between successive pillars with or without head parts, and the plates according to the invention are then placed on such beams. Pillars and beams used in carrying out the methods according to the invention can themselves be structural elements according to the invention, or they can be conventional, e.g.

of reinforced concrete or steel. •

Pillars and beams are preferably prefabricated, while the slabs can be prefabricated or made in situ, all depending on their size.

Prefabricated pillars used in the construction of roads

according to the invention, can be of modular design, i.e. that they can be constructed so that one fits on top of the other in such a way that together they form a practically integrated pillar without changing the static properties. Thus, a plurality of such pillars can be connected to each other to form an integrated pillar of desired height.

In a road according to the invention built on pillars, the pillars act as the foundation and at the same time as supporting columns.

With the help of such modular pillars it is possible to provide any desired dosage by varying the length of the pillars above the ground according to a desired pattern. In this way, a dosed, sloping roadway can be formed.

When building roads according to the invention using pillars, the part of the pillars that is below the ground is designed so that the pillars function as piles or stakes. Such pillars are preferably driven into the ground using a vibrating tool, which forces the pillars into the ground so that the desired height remains. Connecting plates can be placed on the rising part of the pillars, and support pillars can be mounted on the connecting plates, on which the plates are again placed.

In any case, the underside of the plates will go clear

of the highest topographical point on the ground, and in this way the necessity to prepare the ground is generally eliminated.

Preferably, the plates are constructed in such a way that adjacent plates grip each other, e.g. by means of interlocking or overlapping of the ends and/or side parts.

The invention shall be described in more detail with reference to the embodiment examples shown in the attached drawings, where Fig. 1 is a perspective view, partially cut through, of a plate according to the invention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section along the line II-II in fig. 1' drawn on a "larger scale.

Fig. 3 is a section along the line III-III in fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a schematic section illustrating a phase of the production of a plate according to fig. 1-3. Fig. 5 is a section through a pillar according to the invention along the line V-V in fig. 6.

Fig. 6 is a section along the line VI-VI in fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of different roadways constructed according to the invention; and Fig. 8, 9 and 10 are perspective images of the respective a modular beam, a modular pillar and a modular edge beam, all for use in carrying out building methods according to the invention.

The plate 1 according to the invention shown in fig. 1 comprises a main part 2 and an offset end part 3 which serves for overlapping with a correspondingly designed end part on another plate according to the invention. The plate is made of a concrete shell 4,

a compact particulate filler material 5, e.g. wet sand with a moisture content of 10-20% by weight, and. a plurality of rows of reinforcing bars or rods 6, each such row in this particular case being arranged in the form of repeated V-shaped segments. The shell 4 comprises a network of metal 7, e.g. expanded metal, embedded in this as shown in fig. 2 and 3.

The wet sand used as filling material in the design example in fig. 1-3, can be replaced by other material such as clay, by a liquid wet mass such as injection mortar or the like, or by a pure liquid such as water.

Depending on factors such as size and transport, a plate of the type shown in fig. 1-3 be prefabricated or manufactured in situ. It can be made large, e.g. approximately 100 m long, and plates of such a size will necessarily have to be produced in situ. Such large plates are used for placement directly on the ground. For other applications, such as pillar-supported roadways, wall constructions and the like, smaller slabs will be used.

In order to prevent corrosion of the reinforcing bars or rods, these can be enclosed in cells 61 which are formed by means of two partition walls which extend across the width of the plate and separate the rods or rods from the filling material 5.

A method for producing a plate according to fig. 1 - 3 are illustrated in fig. 4. As shown, a trough-shaped concrete shell 9 is cast with a reinforcing mesh or tensile metal grid *10 in a mold assembly comprising an outer mold 11 and a core 12, the latter being shown in fig. 4 in extended position. First, the bottom plate of the shell 9 is cast in the mold 11 with cast-in expansion metal, and a plurality of reinforcing bars 14 are anchored in the bottom plate in the manner shown. The core 12 is then inserted and the side walls of the shell 9 are cast in the spaces between the mold 11 and the core 12, again with expanded metal or other reinforcement. Before or after hardening of the shell 9, a filling material 15 is poured, e.g. wet sand, into the shell and then the core 12 is removed. If desired, the shell 9 can be removed from the mold 11 before. introduction of the filler material 15. After the filler material 15 has been completely inserted, the shell 9, either in the mold 11 or after removal from it, is placed on a vibrator to compact the filler material, and then an upper concrete slab with metal reinforcement cast on top of the filled shell 9 so that the top points of the grid 14 or the rods 6, depending on the prevailing conditions, are cast into the upper plate in the same way as the lower top points are cast into the bottom plate of the shell 9.

The Pillar. according to the invention shown in fig. 5 and 6 comprise a pile 17 and a head plate. 18. The pile 17 is of conventional design, i.e. made of solid, reinforced concrete.

The head plate 18 comprises a concrete shell 19 and a filler 20, e.g. wet sand or solid concrete. Inside the shell 19 there are two rows of identical, external boxes 21a to 25a and 21b to 25b, all of which are filled with a filling material which can be the same or different from the filling material 20. The boxes 21a, 23a and 25a provide space for concrete-filled pipes 26a to 30a, and likewise the boxes 21b, 23b and 25b provide space for concrete-filled pipes 26b to 30b. Each of the concrete-filled pipes 26a to 30a and 26b to 30b provides space for vertical reinforcing bars, such as e.g. bar 31 in box 21b and bar 32 in box 25b. All the vertical reinforcing bars, such as the bars 31 and 32, are thus enclosed, and they extend through a filling material between two opposite walls of the head plate 18, namely the top wall and the bottom wall. The vertical reinforcing bars are preferably post-tensioned.

The head plate 18 further comprises two horizontal pipes 34, 35, both of which are filled with concrete that provide space for respective reinforcing bars 36 and 37. These two reinforcing bars are thus also enclosed in the same way as all the vertical reinforcing bars, and they extend between two opposite side walls of the concrete shell through the filling material 20. The reinforcing bars 36 and 37 are preferably also post-tensioned.

The head plate 18 according to the invention weighs less than a head plate of solid reinforced concrete with the same mechanical properties, and in the case of sand filling it is about 30% cheaper.

If desired, the head plate 18 can be designed for the placement of other structural elements on it, e.g. block-shaped elements of similar construction to the head plate 18, but high-er. Where this is practiced, the vertical reinforcing bars such as the bars 31 and 32 shown in fig. 5 and 6, pass through all the stacked elements and connect these with each other. This means that the vertical bars will only be brought into place after the elements have been stacked, and they can be post-tensioned if desired.

The vertical device thus formed can be topped by another head plate similar to the plate 18, and the vertical rods are anchored in the upper and lower plate so as to hold together all the elements stacked on the lower head plate 18. In this way, a integrated pillar where the vertical connecting rods can be post-tensioned. Where a more massive pillar is required, it is possible to place two or more pillars and head plates of the type shown in fig. 5 and 6 next to each other in an intervening manner and with horizontal rods, such as the rods 36 and 37, to connect the juxtaposed head plates 18. Here, the rods 36 and 37 can also be post-tensioned.

The illustration in fig. 7 shows examples of paths that can be constructed according to the invention. For example, 40 is a sloping road that starts on a level and rises a certain height, while 41 shows that the track is used as a runway. 4'2 shows elements of a track used as a viaduct for rails for railway vehicles. At 43, a depression in the ground is shown which is crossed by a roadway 44.

The main components of the road surface shown in fig. 7, modular pillars are shown in two different forms as pillars 45 and 46; modular beams which are shown in two different forms, the modular beam 47 and the modular beam 48, and plates 49. The pillars 45 and 46 may have a head portion according to the invention of the type shown in fig. 5 and 6, and the plates 49 can e.g. be in the form shown in fig. 1-3.

Slope and dosage used in the system are regulated by how much the pillars protrude from the ground. The modular pillars are placed one on top of the other to achieve the desired height. Thus, in the example with the road 40, a single pillar 50 is shown, while the pillars 4 6 are each made of two modular parts.

In this way, the road rises to the desired height with the desired slope.

Fig. 8 shows a beam 52 which can be used when building a road with slabs and pillars according to the invention. It has an inverted T-shaped profile and two hollow channels. 53 and 54, which, if desired, can be filled with filling material or serve for the placement of functional elements such as e.g. electrical cables or wire. Shoulders 55 and 56 serve to receive the end portions of the plates, such as the plates 1 in fig. 1.

The modular pillar 57 shown in fig. 9 comprises at one end a recess 58 and at the other end a projection 59 which is used for locking alignment with similar modular pillars. However, the pillar 57 can also be directly fixed in the ground and can above support a plate such as plate 1

on fig. 1-3, either directly or with the interposition of other structural elements such as a head plate or a beam.

The beam 60 in fig. 10 is an edge beam. Like the beam 52 in fig. 8, it comprises channels 61 and 62 and a shoulder 63, while the other shoulder in the beam in fig. 8 is replaced by a wall section 64.

The structural elements in fig. 8 to 10 may, but need not, be made according to the invention. In any case, they are useful for the construction of roads using slabs and pillar heads according to the invention of the type described above. For the construction of a road with slabs according to the invention on pillars, a vibrating unit can be used to force the pillars into the ground, which do not need to be prepared in any way. The vibrating unit forces the pillars into the ground so that they rise to the desired height. The height can be measured using any suitable instrument, such as a laser altimeter, which is accurate and easy to use. One or more pillars can be placed on top of a lowered pillar to achieve the desired height of the roadway. When a number of pillars are placed in position, beams are placed over the pillars and/or the pillars are provided with head plates, e.g. as shown in fig. 5 and 6.

The new methods for road construction with slabs and other structural elements according to the invention are very versatile and cost-saving since almost the entire road is prefabricated or made from elements fabricated in situ. Where pillars are used, the roadway will run over the uppermost topographical obstacle, so that no preparation of the ground is necessary at all. Where the slabs are placed directly on the ground, some ground preparation is necessary, but to a much lesser extent than with conventional road construction methods.

Although the principles of the invention have been described above in connection with particular devices and applications,

it will be understood that the description is only intended as an example and not as any limitation of the scope of the invention.

Claims (22)

1. Structural element, characterized in that it comprises a rigid shell, an easily flowing filler material in the shell, and at least one reinforcing bar or -cable that extends through the filling material and binds together at least two opposite walls of the shell. 2. Structural element according to claim 1, characterized in that the reinforcing rod or cable is enclosed in a cell formed by means of partitions which extend across the inner space in the shell. 3. Element according to claim 1, characterized in that the shell is made of concrete. 4. Element according to claim 1, characterized in that the shell is made of metal. 5. Element according to one of claims 1-4. characterized in that the filling material is a massive particulate material. 6. Element according to claim 5, characterized in that the particulate material has a moisture content. 7. Element according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that the filling material is sand. 8. Element according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the filling material is a liquid. 9. Element according to claim 8, characterized in that the filling material is water. 10. Element according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it is a plate. in ll. Element according to claim 10, characterized in that the plate is arranged for interaction or interlocking with other plates. 12. Element according to one of claims 1-9, characterized in that it consists of a pillar. 13. Element according to claim 12, characterized in that the pillar is a modular unit which is designed for integration into a device with other units. 14. Element according to one of claims 1-9, characterized in that it is a beam. 15. Element according to one of claims 1-9, characterized in that it is a pillar head plate. 16. Element according to claim 15, characterized in that the head plate consists of a concrete shell, a central main filling mass and external boxes with filling mass and vertical and horizontal reinforcing bars that extend through the main filling mass and the external filling masses between opposite shell walls. 17 Element according to claim 16, characterized in that the reinforcing bars are enclosed in concrete. 18. Element according to claim 15 or 16, characterized in that the head plate is arranged for interaction with other elements according to the invention. 19. Method for road construction, characterized in that slabs according to claim 10 or 11 are laid directly on the ground. 20. Method for building roads, characterized in that prefabricated pillars are lowered into the ground so that they protrude from the ground at the desired height, and that plates according to claim 10 or 11 are placed on such pillars, if desired with other structural elements in between. '21. Method according to claim 19, characterized in that beams are inserted between the pillars and the plates. 22. Method according to claim 19 or 20, characterized in that head plates are mounted on the pillars.