EP0557268B1 - Method of making long tunnels using tubbings as lining - Google Patents

Abstract

In a method of making long tunnels using tubbing as lining, a novel combination of means and steps of the method is used, in which the tunnel is excavated with a tunnel-boring machine (1) with yielding shield casing (4) and is lined continuously in the protection of the shield tail according to the unit construction principle with tubbing blocks of special form complementing one another to form tubbing rings (15), the deformation forces occurring until a new state of equilibrium of the rock is reached are absorbed by the shield tail (4) and by the tubbing rings, which are designed so as to yield to a limited extent, an outer sealing of the tube is provided, and the gap between excavation (2) and tunnel tube is filled with a material (22) which can yield to a limited extent in order to absorb long-term deformation forces. A tunnel lining produced according to the method, special forms of the tubbing blocks and novel designs of the travelling-operation means for the tunnel are specified. <IMAGE>

Description

The invention relates to a new method for producing long tunnels in segmental construction. Furthermore, the invention relates to a tunnel extension manufactured using this new method and also includes considerations for rational operation of the tunnel and new driving resources for the tunnel.

"Long" tunnels are understood to mean tunnels with lengths of at least 10 km, but in particular much longer tunnels, which are intended to solve transregional traffic problems, in particular the problem of cross-border transit traffic. The starting point for the considerations is the planning of a new tunnel route between the southern Bavarian and northern Italian regions, whereby a tunnel to accommodate the transit traffic with the north portal in the Rosenheim area and the south portal in the Sterzing or Franzensfeste area is planned, for which there is a length of around 116 km results.

In this specific case, a suitably long tunnel seems the most appropriate solution, since it would relieve the critical traffic areas in the Inn Valley, in the Innsbruck area and in the Brenner area.

A basic consideration of the invention is that in the case of appropriately long tunnels planning, construction, coordination of the expansion and operation have to be followed in new ways if the tunnel is within a portable construction period should be set up inexpensively and operation with high throughput only causes tolerable costs.

A basic prerequisite for the above conditions is that the tunnel must be built at the highest possible tunneling speed and in compliance with extensive safety conditions and that there are no excessively long periods of time between the time it was built and when it was completed and commissioned. This means that the conventional tunnel construction method, but also the new Austrian tunnel construction method, is ruled out as a manufacturing process, since in both cases, rock protection work is necessary after the eruption and only then can it be completed. There are already approaches in the segment construction method that enable a tunnel to be expanded more efficiently using prefabricated parts. A possible segmental lining offers itself from AT-B-389 149, in which provision is made to assemble segmental rings from segmentally shaped segmental stones, with tongue and groove connections between the inclined sides of these segmental stones with grooves of the stones that are open to one another, preferably in cross-section Round springs, which can also be used as a sliding guide when inserting the individual stones into the ring, and dowels that can be inserted into the stones at the end of the ring are used. Here the tubbing stones can be connected to each other according to a modular system and the rings can be connected to each other according to a plug-in system and there is also the possibility of achieving directional deviations of the tunnel extension from the straight line by using tubbing stones that form an acute angle with each other to tubbing rings including levels defined by the end faces. where two oppositely assembled rings form a cylinder with parallel end faces, but by rotating the rings from this position, deviations in the expansion to the sides and above and below are possible.

It is also known per se in the segmental construction method to incorporate flexible zones made of deformable bodies into the segmental rings in order to absorb mountain deformations. Finally, various types of sealing between successive segment stones using insert or overlay seals are known.

The main object of the invention is to create a new method which enables the production of long tunnels at a high speed of advance and a final expansion largely following the advance. A partial task of the invention consists in the creation of tunnel expansions suitable for this method as well as new driving resources which are particularly suitable for long tunnels and which guarantee high operational safety.

A method according to the invention is basically characterized by the combination of the means and method steps, some of which are known per se, according to claim 1.

A high speed of advance is made possible by the fact that an excavation cross-section which is only insignificantly larger than the outer cross-section of the tunnel has to be provided for the excavation. It is crucial for the method according to the invention that the load of the rock is already picked up by the tunnel boring machine and its shield casing during the excavation and is continuously and flexibly transferred to the expansion, so that the excavation area is constantly under the back pressure of the shield tail and subsequently the tubbing rings and thus loosening up can be avoided. As a result, the new state of equilibrium is usually achieved with only small deformation paths and additional safeguards and supports for the mountains, for example through anchoring, shotcrete, injections etc., are unnecessary, apart from special cases. Of course, with absolutely stable mountains in the corresponding sections of the tunnel, you can do without some of the measures listed to absorb long-term deformations and you will only seal where necessary. The proposed external seal provides extensive security against gas and liquid ingress and the tunnel expansion until completion follows practically immediately after the excavation, so that the tunnel can be fully used for transport tasks right up to the excavation area.

This means that access to the tunnel via shafts etc. can largely be dispensed with and, ideally, such access is only possible in the area of valley crossings, where the tunnel reaches the surface, or for the supply, maneuvering or the like of the driving equipment to be used later and Provide similar tasks required connection or extension points. When finished, it will be advisable to continue the tunnel tube to ensure protected operation in areas of the route where the tunnel itself reaches the surface or the carriageway runs over the landscape surface.

A perfect seal is achieved.

A main consideration on which the further development according to claim 2 is based is that it will be advisable to design the tunnel for rail vehicles, since appropriately modified rail vehicles are unproblematic both with regard to the energy supply of the driving equipment and with regard to complete or partial automation and remote control of the driving movements , so that on the one hand the available tunnel capacity can be optimally used and on the other hand there is the possibility For example, to transport the entire tunnel or essential sections of the tunnel without the use of personnel, i.e. to guide the goods through the tunnel without personnel and passengers, which means that the particularly expensive and complex security measures that must be observed when accompanying passengers or when transporting people are dispensed with are. As an example of these otherwise necessary security measures, only short escape routes from every point of the tunnel, fire protection measures, oversized ventilation devices, lighting of the escape routes, etc. should be mentioned.

In order to significantly reduce the construction time and still achieve a large adaptation to the circumstances, the procedure is as set out in claim 3. With modern tunnel boring machines high speeds of z. B. 60 m per day. If problem zones are now identified in good time using sensors using probes leading from the tunnel boring machine and geophysical or seismographic surveys carried out continuously from the drilling machine, it is often possible to avoid such problem areas, in any case prepare for them or only cut into those areas where this is done with less Malfunctions or only requires the use of additional safety measures over short distances.

Through this targeted use of sensors and robotics, maximum automation of tunneling and expansion can be achieved with the lowest personnel expenditure and thus also with the least personnel risk. Depending on the messages from the sensors, self-programming control programs for tunneling and expansion machines can be selected, so that the relatively cheapest coordination of these kits can be selected for each instantaneous condition. Via the control unit or the higher-level computer, the transport and removal of the material, in particular the components on the one hand and the excavated material on the other hand, are coordinated depending on the available driving resources and the distance to be traveled to the next loading or unloading point, in order to both the driving resources to make optimal use of it as well as to ensure the permanent supply and disposal of the excavation area.

A tunnel lining constructed using the method according to the invention in segmental construction is specified in claim 4. In addition to the possible composition of the tubbing stones to the rings and the rings to the tunnel tube according to a simple modular system, this design has the particular advantage that the tongues of the tongue-and-groove connections also hold the part of the tubbing rings that is used to absorb the part of the flexible shield jacket recorded immediately occurring deformation path of the rock form necessary elements, so that otherwise more complex compensating devices such as deformation elements housed in their own housings are avoided and the compressible springs can also be used in conjunction with joint sealing strips for sealing the longitudinal joints.

In an embodiment according to claim 5, the use of a linear motor drive for the rail vehicles has various basic advantages over an operation of the rail vehicles with electric locomotives or electric railcars which is also possible per se. First of all, the drive power used can be adapted to the incline and slope of the route and fully automated control of the driving equipment currently available in the tunnel is possible, the supply lines to the winding sections of the linear motor being able to be fixed in place, so that the problems arising from overhead lines and pantographs are eliminated and the protection of live parts is simplified. The main advantage of a linear motor, in addition to the advantages already mentioned, is that it is possible to generate driving or braking forces acting directly on the driving means via the permanent magnet units via the linear motor, so that relatively light driving means and none because of the Transmission of the propulsive forces due to friction on the rails necessitates very heavy locomotives, i.e. the unladen weight / payload ratio becomes significantly cheaper than in the case of electric locomotive operation.

In terms of design, an embodiment according to claim 6 is recommended. This prevents deviations of the rails from a parallel position to the linear motor, which are possible both due to inaccurate assembly and any movements of the tunnel tube under the rock pressure, or driving movements or the suspension play of the rail vehicles the size of Influence air gap or require a large average air gap sizes resulting in a poor efficiency.

Finally, a further rationalization is achieved through the exercise according to claim 7.

If you compare the cross-section of the individual tunnel tubes to the outer contours of the driving equipment intended for the tunnel or the goods to be transported through the tunnel, e.g. B. truck trains or containers, you will find enough with a light width of a tunnel tube of about 5.5 m. The excavation cross-section and thus the material removal in two such tunnel tubes is considerably smaller than the excavation cross-section of a single tunnel tube, which, if it is to accommodate two corresponding driving devices next to each other, should have a diameter of at least 9.5 m. Furthermore, the operational safety is increased by separate tunnel tubes for the two directions of travel and the mountains are disturbed by two smaller tunnels much less than by a large tunnel, whereby the rock pressure in unfavorable areas on a small tunnel is significantly lower, so that the smaller tunnel is much weaker Segment components can be used.

Further details and advantages of the subject matter of the invention can be found in the following description of the drawings.

Fig. 1

in stark schematisierter Darstellungsweise einen im Vortrieb befindlichen Tunnel im Längsschnitt durch den Ausbruchsbereich,

Fig. 2

als Detail zu Fig. 1 den Schildmantel und Schildschwanz der Tunnelbohrmaschine,

Fig. 3

als Detail zu Fig. 2 das Schildschwanzende mit den dort vorgesehenen Dichtungen,

Fig. 4

zwei miteinander verbundene Tübbingsteine in Vorderansicht,

Fig. 5

den fertiggestellten Tunnel im Querschnitt mit seinen Fahrbetriebsmitteln bei der Verwendung als rollende Landstraße,

Fig. 6

einen weiteren Querschnitt durch den Tunnel mit einem Waggon,

Fig. 7

als Detail zu den Fig. 5 und 6 den unteren Bereich der Tunnelröhre mit einem auf Schienen abgestützten Zugfahrzeug und dem vorgesehenen Linearmotor und

Fig. 8

eine Seitenansicht zu Fig. 7, wobei nur der Linearmotor und die ihm zugeordneten Teile des Zugfahrzeuges veranschaulicht wurden.

The subject matter of the invention is illustrated in the drawing, for example. Show it

Fig. 1

in a highly schematic representation, a tunnel in progress in longitudinal section through the excavation area,

Fig. 2

1 shows the shield jacket and shield tail of the tunnel boring machine,

Fig. 3

2 the tail tail end with the seals provided there,

Fig. 4

two connected tubbing stones in front view,

Fig. 5

the completed tunnel in cross section with its driving equipment when used as a rolling country road,

Fig. 6

another cross section through the tunnel with a wagon,

Fig. 7

5 and 6 as a detail of the lower region of the tunnel tube with a towing vehicle supported on rails and the intended linear motor and

Fig. 8

a side view of Fig. 7, wherein only the linear motor and its associated parts of the towing vehicle have been illustrated.

1 to 4, a tunnel boring machine 1 is used to drive a tunnel excavation 2. Such tunnel boring machines 1 are known in principle, they remove the tunnel breast 3 of the tunnel in a combined milling and excavation process and convey the excavated material to receiving devices, not shown, such as conveyor belts and the like. Like., which forward this material to provided vehicles, in particular tippers designed as rail vehicles. The tunnel boring machine 1 has a resiliently designed shield casing 4 and a likewise compliant shield tail attached to this shield casing. To generate the feed movement, hydraulic presses 5 are provided on the drilling machine 1, with the aid of which segment stones can also be pressed onto previously laid stones or segment rings pressed together in a manner to be described later.

In the protection of the shield tail, sealing membranes 6 are laid in critical breakout areas with potential water or gas access and formed into closed rings which overlap in the area of the edges 7, 8 with previously laid membranes 6 and are optionally glued. Tubbing stones 9 to 14 are inserted into the gas and moisture-tight envelope formed in this way, an even number, in the exemplary embodiment six tubbing stones, complementing each other to form a closed tubbing ring 15. The tubbing stones have the basic shape of trapezoids or trapezoids, with the trapezoidal shape the parallel sides of the stones simultaneously forming the end faces of the rings 15. Trapezoidal stones are used when the end faces of the rings are to run in planes at an acute angle to one another, so that there is the possibility of arranging such rings in different rotational positions to drive deviations of the longitudinal axis of the tunnel from the straight line.

In the case of trapezoidal stones, identical stones 9 to 14 can be used. In the case of trapezoidal stones, three pairs of identical stones are necessary to form a ring. In all cases, an optionally pull-force-transmitting plug-in plug connection is provided for the connection of the ring end faces and for the attachment of a new stone to an existing ring 15, plug-in plugs being used which engage in assigned insertion holes in the stones, are pressed in using the presses 5 and the one allow limited transfer of shear forces.

For the connection of the stones 9 to 14 to form a ring 15, the stones are provided on the oblique longitudinal sides with longitudinal grooves in the exemplary embodiment having a semicircle or circular section-shaped cross section, and 16 tongues 17 are inserted into these longitudinal grooves in order to produce tongue and groove connections 4 can have a tubular cross-section, but can also be produced from solid material, a softer core possibly being fitted in an outer tubular casing.

As shown above all in FIGS. 2 and 3, the stones 9 to 14 are joined together within the sealing membranes 6 under the protection of the shield tail 5 to form the rings 15 and connected to the rings 15 which have already been laid. The shield tail 5 has a circumferential lip seal 18, as well optionally (FIG. 2) a ring seal 18a with which it is supported via the respective sealing membrane 6 on an already assembled ring 15 and can furthermore have a brush seal composed of individual increments 19 which lie close to the breakout wall 2. The cavity 20 which remains free between the membranes and the cutout 2 is pressed out via a line 21 laid in or along the shield tail with a filler material 22, the pressing out in each case up to the seals 18, 19, thereby ensuring that the pressure of the rock at Feed of the tunnel boring machine 1 and the shield tail 4 continuously passes from the tunneling machine and the shield tail to the already finished tubbing rings 15 and there at most causes a deformation of the springs 17. Long-term deformations that occur later, if the joints originally determined by the springs 17 between successive stones, e.g. B. 10, 12, should be compensated for by using a compressible and / or thixotropic filling material 22 to a limited extent, for which leading outlets in cavities of stones 9 to 14 may be provided, through the material from one can pass certain overpressure. The driving of the tunnel boring machine is monitored and controlled by a control unit. Sensors for checking the mountains in front of the tunnel face 3 can be used, which indicate any faults in the mountains, so that the route can be changed in the sense of a bypass. The use and assembly of the tubbing stones 9 to 14 to the tubbing rings 15 is also controlled by the central control unit, with assembly robots preferably being used for the insertion of the parts. Most of the other operations, such as inserting the membranes 6, controlling the presses 5, supplying the filling material 22 and loading the excavated material for removal, the removal itself and the delivery of the components for the tunnel tube, are also becoming extensive automated.

In the illustrated embodiments, it is assumed that at least in the final configuration, two tunnel tubes are used for the two directions of travel. Of course, in an intermediate stage, a tunnel tube can be used intermittently for one and then for the other direction of travel.

5 and 6, the finished tunnel tubes 23 are equipped with rails 24, the supports of which are attached directly to the segment stones 14 forming the base stones of the tube 23. In a variant according to FIG. 7, a normal block 14 'is used for the tubbing rings and the tracks 24 are attached to insert moldings 25, whereby these moldings 25 can easily pass through several tubbing rings.

5 shows a low-loader rail vehicle 26 on which a truck train 27 is jacked up. 6, a normal wagon 28 runs on the tracks 24. In both cases, the tunnel light is only slightly larger than the outer contours of the respective transport units 26, 27 and 28, respectively. In FIG. 5, a railing 29 was installed outside the driving range Catwalk 30 indicated and ventilation and energy supply lines 31 summarized in a cable duct were indicated.

A linear motor drive is preferably used for the driving resources 26, 28 used in each case. Such a drive consists in principle of supports 32 supported on the block 14 or the block 25, on which the field windings 33 of a linear motor are arranged in the longitudinal direction of the tunnel. The driving equipment is equipped with permanent magnet sets 34, on which the linear field acts and thus generates locomotion in the longitudinal direction of the tunnel. Next The field windings 33 and on their side flanks are formed with guideways 35, 36 on which carriages 37 are supported with rollers 38, 39 which can be rotated about horizontal and vertical axes and which guide the permanent magnet units 34 along the field windings 33 while maintaining a constant air gap. Between these wagons 37 and the respective vehicle 26 or 28 there is a coupling 40 which permits vertical and side play, so that relative movements of the respective driving means 26, 28 with respect to the linear motor 33 are possible.

With low loader constructions 26, each individual low loader can be equipped with a permanent magnet set 34 and thus its own drive. Both propulsion and braking forces can be generated via the linear motor. It is controlled externally via central control units. Within a train unit, only some of the driving resources 26 can also have permanent magnet sets. For the passage of normal railroad cars through the tunnel tube 23, own traction vehicles are expediently used which, since the propulsion takes place via the linear motor, only need to have a low weight in contrast to locomotives.

In the exemplary embodiments shown, a range of approximately 60 to 80 km / h is recommended as the continuous and maximum speed of the driving equipment. At higher speeds, the comparatively narrow tunnel tubes 23 would cause problems due to the formation of air swirls and the displacement of air by the driving equipment. At higher speeds one would have to use closed, streamlined vehicles, such as trucks and containers, in streamlined wagons that load with the following wagons uninterruptedly loaded and / or at short intervals bypass devices for the displaced air, which significantly increase the total effort of the tunnel construction would.

One possibility here would be to install a continuous wall instead of the railing 29 in FIG. 5 and to use the outer region of the tunnel tube, which is thereby divided into segments, via spaced holes for receiving the air displaced in front of the vehicle and for returning it to the rear of the vehicle.

Claims (7)

1. A method of constructing long tunnels of tubbing construction, characterised by a combination of means and steps partly known per se, in that

   - excavation is carried out in a manner which protects the rock, using a tunnelling machine (1) with a flexible shield outer shell (4) which tapers away from the excavated face,

   - lining with basically trapezoidal tubbing bricks (9 - 14) fitted together to form tubbing rings (15) is carried out continuously corresponding to the rate of advance, to protect the shield tail,

   - the tubbing rings (15) are provided with flexible elements, i.e. flexible longitudinal joint zones incorporated in the tubbing bricks, or intermediate members (17) connecting the bricks to form a ring, so that the deformation occurring during and after excavation of the rock until a new state of equilibrium is reached is taken by the shield outer shell (4) and additionally by the flexible elements (17), and

   - in order to take long-term deformation of the rock and simultaneously distribute pressure over the tubbing rings, the annular gap between the excavation and the tubular tunnel formed by the tubbing rings is filled with a material (22) which is to a limited extent compressible or thixotropic and can be pressed out through outlets in the shield tail, and the shield tail (4) is sealed by sliding seals (18, 19) against the excavated material (2) and the front completely assembled tubbing ring (9) or the intermediate diaphragm (6) and the filling material (22) is pressed into the annular gap up to the said seals, so that during the advance the pressure of the rock is transmitted continuously from the shield tail to the filling material and consequently to the tubbing rings, and

   - the tubular tunnel formed by the tubbing rings (15), at least in those of the zones of the rock which convey water or gas, is surrounded by a sealing diaphragm for protecting the shield tail before the tubbing bricks are fitted in.
2. A method according to claim 1, characterised in that the tunnel end lining is effected by a track system (24) and preferably electric traction means (33) for rail vehicles (26, 28) corresponding to the rate of advance, up to the immediate neighbourhood of the tunnelling machine (1) in each case.
3. A method according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the construction and route of the tunnel are only approximately determined in advance, during the advance the rock in front of the tunnelling machine (1) is continuously tested, and the advance and the final route are determined in accordance with the results of the tests so as to avoid dangerous or difficult rock zones in all cases, the advance being monitored and controlled largely automatically by use of sensors and electronic control devices, and in that robots are used at least for fitting in the tubbing bricks (9 - 14) and fitting them together to form the tubbing rings and the tubular tunnel, and an overriding control unit coordinates the supply and removal of material through the already-constructed tubular tunnel.
4. Tubbing-construction tunnel lining produced by the method according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein trapezoidal tubbing bricks (9 - 14) similar to one another at least in basic shape and fitted together in even numbers to form each tubbing ring (15) are provided in the form of finished parts, and, after being fitted in, are held together at the end faces defining the annular joints by dowel-like plug-in connections permitting limited transmission of shearing forces and are held together along the sloping longitudinal joints by tongue and groove connections consisting of tongues (17) inserted into grooves (16) extending across the sloping longitudinal joints, characterised in that the tongues (17) have a round, e.g. tubular, cross-section and the grooves (16) in the longitudinal sides of the tubbing bricks (9 - 14) have a matching cross-sectional shape, hold the bricks (9 - 14) spaced apart, forming longitudinal joints, in the unloaded state and are compressible by the pressure of the rock, with reduction of the joint width, and the tubbing bricks (9 - 14) forming the bottom ones (14) of the individual tubbing rings (15) are internally provided with anchoring or bracing means for the rails (24) of a track system.
5. Tunnel lining according to claim 4, characterised in that the traction means for the tunnel (23) consists of rail vehicles (26, 28) and a linear motor drive (33, 34), the portions (33) of the linear motor winding being stationary and disposed along the road between the rails (24) of the track and coupled to permanent-magnet units (34) associated with the rail vehicles (26).
6. Tunnel lining according to claim 5, characterised in that the permanent-magnet units (34) associated with a rail vehicle or train unit are braced and guided by balancing means (37) on separate tracks associated with the windings (33) of the linear motor, in order to maintain a substantially constant air gap, and are connected to the associated rail vehicle or the like (26) by driver couplings (40) which permit transverse play.
7. Tunnel lining according to claim 5 or 6, characterised in that separate tubular tunnels (23) with a circular cross-section are provided for the two directions of travel.

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