Classifications

• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E02—HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING; FOUNDATIONS; SOIL SHIFTING
  • E02D—FOUNDATIONS; EXCAVATIONS; EMBANKMENTS; UNDERGROUND OR UNDERWATER STRUCTURES
  • E02D29/00—Independent underground or underwater structures; Retaining walls
  • E02D29/063—Tunnels submerged into, or built in, open water
  • E02D29/073—Tunnels or shuttering therefor assembled from sections individually sunk onto, or laid on, the water-bed, e.g. in a preformed trench
• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E21—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; MINING
  • E21D—SHAFTS; TUNNELS; GALLERIES; LARGE UNDERGROUND CHAMBERS
  • E21D11/00—Lining tunnels, galleries or other underground cavities, e.g. large underground chambers; Linings therefor; Making such linings in situ, e.g. by assembling
  • E21D11/38—Waterproofing; Heat insulating; Soundproofing; Electric insulating
  • E21D11/385—Sealing means positioned between adjacent lining members

Definitions

• the invention relates to a sealing section according to the preamble of claim 1.
• Such sealing section is known from practice .
• the known sealing section comprises a body provided, on a first side thereof, with two fastening flanges extending on opposite sides, while on the opposite, second side it is provided with a nose part.
• the section is manufactured in one piece from rubber.
• a steel I-section is in each case mounted, which I -section is cast in the concrete of the relevant tunnel segment by means of anchors and partition plates.
• the short legs of the section lie parallel to the outside and inside of the tunnel walls, the intermediate flange being at right angles to the longitudinal direction of the tunnel segment.
• a steel fitted plate is welded on the open side of the resection, between the short legs, which fitted plate is set with a minimal tolerance.
• this should be effected extremely accurately so that in each case the same distance is accurately obtained between adjacent fitted plates.
• the section is provided on one of the fitted plates, with the foot formed by the two flanges and the intermediate side of the section.
• each tunnel segment comprises an air compartment.
• a second segment is placed next to it, such that the tunnel section has its nose part abutting against the front plate of the adjacent tunnel segment.
• a water-filled chamber is formed between the watertight partitions of the segment already positioned and the segment to be positioned.
• the loose tunnel segment is pulled against the segment already positioned by means of a relatively light installation. This involves the nose part of the tunnel section being flattened against the front plate.
• the tunnel section is substantially completely flattened between the adjacent longitudinal edges of the tunnel segments.
• the known sealing section has the drawback that the nose part is relatively low compared with the height of the section, and that the nose part permits a relatively slight deformation prior to deformation of the body part.
• the fitted sections must be provided on the free longitudinal edges, which is a time-consuming and particularly costly affair. Moreover, this entails the danger of water possibly flowing along the back of the fitted section.
• the object of the invention is to provide a sealing section of the type described in the preamble, in which the drawbacks mentioned are avoided, while the advantages thereof are maintained.
• a sealing section according to the invention is characterized by the features of claim 1.
• the advantage of constructing the sealing section from two materials, with the nose part being more easily deformable than the body part, is that in the first phase of joining the tunnel segments, i.e. during the formation of the water- filled chamber, only the nose part deforms, which can take place in a relatively simple manner.
• the advantage achieved by a suitable choice of the material for the nose part is that the nose part can be relatively high in comparison with the body, as a result of which great variations in the distance between the longitudinal edges of two tunnel segments to be placed next to each other can be bridged sealingly. Consequently, the fitted sections can be omitted while a sufficiently watertight and airtight chamber is nevertheless formed between the watertight partitions.
• a sealing section is further characterized by the features of claim 4.
• Manufacturing the nose part separately from the body offers the advantage that the two parts are manufactured in a simple manner from different materials in different molds, for instance by extrusion or molding, and subsequently assembled to form the desired sealing section. This moreover offers a relatively great freedom of design in respect of the component parts, while channels can for instance readily be incorporated. Accordingly, an optimal deformation characteristic can in each case be obtained.
• a sealing section according to the invention is characterized by the features of claim 7.
• the nose part with the legs inclined relative to each other offers the advantage that this nose part can be flattened against the body almost completely, with the first, relatively large part of the deformation requiring relatively little force, i.e. the deformation force increases relatively slightly, while the deformation force during the final part of the deformation is relatively great, i.e. increases rapidly.
• the legs will bend outwards, as a result of which the frontal part of the nose part is pressed between the legs into the chamber and can hence be pressed away relatively easily.
• a sealing section according to the invention is characterized by the features of claim 9.
• water can flow into the chamber of the nose part at a relatively high pressure, causing an excess pressure to be built up in the section, which presses the nose part tightly against the adjacent longitudinal edge, thereby providing an even better sealing.
• the water may possibly be forced at least partially from the chamber in the nose part .
• a sealing section according to the invention is further characterized by the features of claim 11.
• the flattened nose provides a relatively large contact surface between the nose part and the adjacent longitudinal edge, while moreover, a deformation of the nose part is suitably effected, such that the nose part is compressed transversely to the longitudinal direction, at right angles to the nose plane.
• the invention further relates to a tunnel comprising a series of tunnel segments, which tunnel is characterized by the features of claim 13.
• the invention further relates to a method for manufacturing a sealing section according to the invention, characterized by the features of claim 14, and to a method for manufacturing a tunnel comprising a series of linked tunnel segments with intermediate sealing sections, characterized by the features of claim 15.
• Fig. 1 shows a cross section of an undeformed sealing section, mounted on a longitudinal edge of a tunnel section;
• Fig. 2 shows a cross section of a sealing section according to Fig. 1, partially compressed between two tunnel segments
• Fig. 2A is a sectional top plan view of two tunnel segments, during the coupling thereof;
• Fig. 3 shows a cross section of a sealing section in an alternative embodiment
• Fig. 4 shows the deformation characteristics of a known sealing section and of a sealing section according to the invention
• Fig. 4A shows the deformation characteristic of a nose part of a sealing section according to the invention
• Fig. 5 is a top plan view of a tunnel segment having thereon a sealing section ready for transport and assembly.
• Fig. 1 shows a sealing section 1, in cross section, having a body 2, two flanges 4 extending adjacent the base 3 of the section 1 on both sides of the body 2, and a nose part 5 extending on the side of the body 2 remote from the base 3.
• the body 2 is preferably manufactured from relatively rigid rubber, at least rubber which is relatively hard to deform, for instance having a hardness of 65 Shore-A or more, and the nose part 5 is preferably manufactured from less rigid rubber, at least rubber which can be deformed more easily, for instance having a hardness of 45 Shore-A.
• the nose part 5 is elongated and preferably manufactured through molding, although extrusion is possible as well.
• the body 2 has its bottom side provided with two grooves 6, open towards the base 3 and extending in the longitudinal direction of the section 1, parallel to each other. Extending between the grooves 6 is a ridge 10 whose free side lies parallel to the otherwise flat base 3. By means of clamps 7 over the flanges 4, the section 1 can be secured against a longitudinal edge 8 of a tubular tunnel segment 9 manufactured from, for instance, concrete, with the nose part 5 extending in the direction away from the base, in the direction of a longitudinal edge 8 ' of a second tunnel segment 9' .
• a channel 11 having an approximately circular cross section. The surface area of the cross section of the channel 11 is for instance approximately equal to that of the joint grooves 6.
• the body 2 has an approximately rectangular or trapezoidal cross section, with two channel-shaped grooves 13 provided in the top face 12 thereof remote from the base 3, which grooves have a bottom 21 extending approximately parallel to the base 3 and, on the outwardly facing side, a wall 14 extending approximately at right angles to the top face 12.
• the facing longitudinal walls 15 are inwardly inclined.
• the nose part 5 has two inclined legs 16, which each have a relatively wide foot 17 and are interconnected at the side thereof remote from the body 2 by an end plate 18.
• the end plate 18 has an end face 19 on which a number of ridges 20 extend in parallel, for instance one along each side of the end face 19.
• Each foot 17 of the nose part 5 is positioned in one of the grooves 13 and is preferably fixed to the bottom thereof by gluing. Other manners of attachment are possible as well, such as vulcanizing, while if required, the nose part may be loosely arranged in the grooves.
• the foot 17 has a width which is slightly less than the width of the groove 13 and, on the inside thereof, a slightly greater height than the depth of the groove 13.
• the legs are relatively thin and positioned relative to each other and the end plate 18 such that the end plate 18 can move between the legs 16. Accordingly, between the legs 16, the end plate 18 and the body 2 a closed, airtight and watertight nose chamber 29 is enclosed.
• the legs 16 bend away outwards, with the end plate being moved approximately vertically in the direction of the end face of the body 2 (Fig. 2) .
• a relatively slight force is required, as appears from Fig. 4, left-hand side.
• a tunnel is composed from at least two segments as follows.
• the sealing section 1 is attached to the longitudinal edge 8 of a tunnel segment 9. Adjacent its two ends, the tunnel segment 8 comprises a watertight partition 22, whereinbetween an air compartment 23 is enclosed. This allows the tunnel segment 8 to float.
• a first tunnel segment 8' has already been placed on a bed.
• the second tunnel segment 8, provided with the sealing section 1 is placed next to the free longitudinal edge 9 1 of the first tunnel segment 8, such that the nose part 5 has its ridges 20 lying against the free longitudinal edge 9' of the first tunnel segment 8'.
• a watertight chamber 24 filled with water is formed between the partition 22 of the second tunnel segment 8 and the partition 22 ' of the first tunnel segment 8' .
• the second tunnel segment 8 is pulled in the direction of the first tunnel segment, with complete deformation of the nose part 5 (Fig. 2A) .
• the ridges 20 provide a relatively high closing pressure. During the deformation of the nose part 5, the water pressure in the chamber 24 is increased.
• a hatch 28 in the end partition 22' in the first tunnel segment 8' is opened, causing the water to flow from the chamber 24 and the pressure therein to fall out.
• an additionally sealing section 31 can be provided on the side of the sealing section 1 facing away from the water, between the tunnel segments 8 , 8 ' .
• Fig. 4A shows, in a full line, the pressure force (F; left-hand vertical axis) on the nose part set out against the deformation (mm) .
• the contact pressure (N/mm 2 ; right-hand vertical axis) is set out against the deformation (mm) in a broken line.
• the force and the contact pressure between the nose part 5 and the longitudinal edge 8 increase at first (0- 10 mm compression) , after which they subsequently preferably remain constant or slowly decrease to near maximal deformation of the nose part.
• the pressure force increases relatively rapidly, while the contact pressure decreases slightly.
• both the force (kN/m) and the contact pressure in each case increase during deformation of the nose part, up to the maximal deformation of the nose part (appr. 25 mm) .
• a pressure of about 50 kN/m is required, which results in a contact pressure of about 0.6 N/mm 2 .
• a complete deformation of the nose part requires a compression of 40 mm, for which a force of only about 7.2 kN/m is needed, while a contact force of about 0.9 N/mm 2 is thereby obtained (fig. 4A) .
• Fig. 5 is a top plan view of a tunnel segment 8 ready for transport, having a sealing section 1 positioned thereon for transport.
• the sealing section is substantially O-shaped, i.e. round and closed in itself. It is for instance composed of four bends 1A and a number of straight pieces IB connecting the bends, which straight pieces are fixedly connected relative to each other.
• a sealing section according to the invention can for instance have the following dimensions, which, as a matter of fact, should not be construed as being limitative in any way.
• the body 2 is for instance manufactured from rubber having a hardness of 65 Shore-A, has a width of maximally 200 mm and minimally 180 mm, at a height of 190 mm.
• the nose part 5 is manufactured from rubber having a hardness of 45 Shore-A, has a maximal width of 120 mm (measured over the feet 17) and a minimal width of 40 mm (measured over the end plate 18), at a height of 70 mm outside the body 2.
• the legs 16 have a minimal thickness of 10 mm, the end plate has a thickness of about 25 mm, the ridges projecting about 4 mm from the end face 19.
• the total length of the sealing section is about 90 m.
• Deformation of the nose part 5 enables compensation of unevennesses in the longitudinal edges up to 40 mm, while this deformation can be realized by an initial pulling force of about 500/90 kN per meter sealing section or less (below 50 ton) .
• the sealing section can readily take up deformations caused by, for instance, creep, tolerances, movements of the tunnel segments, and temperature fluctuations.
• the dimensions and materials for the sealing section may of course be chosen differently, depending on the intended practical circumstances.
• a number of nose parts may be provided side by side on a body, while, if necessary, the facing legs of the nose sections may be provided with openings through which, during compression, water can flow from the intermediate space into the nose chambers of the nose sections for further increasing the pressure therein.
• a sealing section according to the invention may be provided with a closed nose part or a nose part having a different cross section, for instance a semicircular or otherwise curved cross section, while, moreover, the body may be formed differently, for instance without channel or, conversely, with a number of channels, depending on the desired deformation characteristic.
• each nose part may be loosely positioned in the grooves in the body but may also be secured therein, for instance by gluing or welding or by other fastening means.
• Both the body and the nose part may be manufactured from materials other than rubber, for instance from suitable synthetic material.
• a tunnel according to the invention is preferably manufactured from concrete tunnel segments, yet other materials are also possible, while the tunnel segments may have any desired shape and dimensions.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Structural Engineering (AREA)
• Mining & Mineral Resources (AREA)
• General Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Civil Engineering (AREA)
• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Architecture (AREA)
• Geochemistry & Mineralogy (AREA)
• Geology (AREA)
• Environmental & Geological Engineering (AREA)
• Paleontology (AREA)
• General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Lining And Supports For Tunnels (AREA)
• Gasket Seals (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Publications (2)

Family

ID=19764313

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (7)

Cited By (1)

Families Citing this family (7)

Family Cites Families (4)

• 1997
  • 1997-01-30 NL NL1005140A patent/NL1005140C2/nl not_active IP Right Cessation
• 1998
  • 1998-01-30 EP EP98902287A patent/EP0892872B1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1998-01-30 DE DE69809846T patent/DE69809846D1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1998-01-30 WO PCT/NL1998/000064 patent/WO1998033988A1/en active IP Right Grant
  • 1998-01-30 CN CNB988004038A patent/CN1166840C/zh not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 1998-01-30 AU AU58847/98A patent/AU5884798A/en not_active Abandoned
• 2000
  • 2000-01-14 HK HK00100223A patent/HK1021394A1/xx not_active IP Right Cessation

Non-Patent Citations (1)

Also Published As

Similar Documents

Legal Events