GB1597176A

GB1597176A - Method and installation for building a maritime construction

Info

Publication number: GB1597176A
Application number: GB5141077A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Ballast Nedam Groep NV
Current assignee: Ballast Nedam NV
Priority date: 1976-12-14
Filing date: 1977-12-09
Publication date: 1981-09-03
Also published as: NL7613886A; NL165244B; FR2374475A1; NL165244C

Description

(54) METHOD AND INSTALLATION FOR BUILDING A MARITIME CONSTRUCTION (71) We, BALLAsT-NEDAM GROEP N.V. and AMSTERDAMSE BALLAST BETON EN WATER- BOUW B.V., both of No. 2 Laan van Kronenburg, Amstelveen, The Netherlands and both Body Corporates organised and existing under the laws of the The Netherlands, do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement::- The invention relates to a method of building a maritime construction comprising concrete structural elements, for example, a dam or a quay, the structural elements being prefabricated and then moved towards and deposited on their locations on a subaqueous foundation in the maritime construction with the aid of a carrier.

Such a method is described in U.K. Specification 1,436,119 wherein the structural elements are disposed with the aid of only one suspension cable of a crane standing at the end of a part of the maritime construction already built. The structural elements can be deposited quickly and accurately at their locations only with difficulty, because the carrier can turn unchecked around the suspension cable.

According to the present invention there is provided a method of building a maritime construction, for example, a dam or a quay, using prefabricated concrete structural elements, comprising moving the structural elements towards and depositing them on their locations on a subaqueous foundation in the maritime construction by means of a carrier, which is moved to above the location along a girder extending substantially in the longitudinal direction of the maritime construction, one end of said girder being supported on a part of the maritime construction already built and the other end being supported by means of a support which extends below the water level, and is displaceable with the girder in a longitudinal direction, said carrier being suspended from the girder by means of at least two suspension elements.

The invention furthermore provides an installation when used for building a maritime construction of concrete structural elements by carrying out the method as described above comprising a carrier for moving the elements towards and depositing them on a subaqueous foundation at their locations, a girder extending substantially in the longitudinal direction of the marine structure and provided adjacent one end with a support through which the girder is supported on a part of the maritime construction already built and adjacent the other end with a second support connected to the girder and displaceable with it and downwardly extensible to a greater length than the other support through which the girder is supported on a subaqueous surface, a carriage for transporting said carrier in the longitudinal direction along the girder, suspension means comprising at least two suspension elements for suspending said carrier from the carriage and lifting means for raising and lowering the carrier relatively to the carriage.

The invention will be described more fully hereinafter by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a plan view of a maritime construction during its erection by carrying out a method embodying the invention, Fig. 2 is an enlarged side elevational view taken in the direction of the arrows Il-Il in Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line Ill-Ill in Fig. 2, Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on the line IV-IV in Fig. 2, Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on the line V-V in Fig. 2, Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken on the line VI-VIin Fig. 2, Fig. 7 is an elevational view like Fig. 2 of a preferred embodiment of the invention, Fig. 8 is a structural element with a casting mould of the concrete factory, Fig. 9 is the detail IX of Fig. 2 on an enlarged scale, Fig. 10 is an elevational view taken in the direction of the arrows X-X in Fig. 9, Fig. 11 is a sectional view like Fig 6 of a further development of the arrangement embodying the invention, and Fig. 12 is an elevational view taken in the direction of the arrows XII in Fig. 11.

The method embodying the invention will be described with reference to the erection of a maritime construction 10 comprising a sand dam body 13 surrounded by quays 12 composed of concrete structural elements 9. The maritime construction 10 extends from a coast 14, where a concrete casting factory 11 for the prefabrication of the structural elements 9 is erected, and defines a harbour 15. Carrying out a method embodying the invention, the quays 12 are built by transporting the structural elements 9 with the aid of a carrier 17 displaceable along a mounting means 16 in the direction 19 to their locations 1 to 8 (Fig. 7) above a subaqueous foundation 20 in the water 18.

The space between the quays 12 is filled with the aid of an earth dredger 21 through a conduit 22 to form the sand dam body 13.

The mounting means 16 comprise a girder 23 (Fig. 2), which is provided at a position 24 adjacent one end with a first portal-shaped support 25, which is supported via a rotary jack 26 pivotally about a vertical axis 27 on a carriage 28. The other end 29 of the girder 23 bears on the bottom 30 through a first supporting frame 31 which is displaceable with the girder and which has a first pair of feet 32, the level of which can be varied by jackscrews 36 and through a second supporting frame 33 displaceable in the longitudinal direction 34 of the girder 23 and having a second pair of feet 35, the level of which can be varied by means of jack-screws 37.

In the transverse direction 38, the girder 23 is displaceable with respect to the supporting frames 31 and 33 on a guide 39 by means of jack-screws 40 in order to set the girder 23 above the location 41 in the longitudinal axis 42 of the quay 12, the girder 23 then turning about the vertical axis 27. The carrier 17 comprises a carriage 43 mounted on and displaceable along the girder 23. A frame 44 of the carriage is connected to an auxiliary frame 48 so as to be rotatable about a vertical axis 46 by means of a rotary crown 45. A clamping frame 47 is suspended by means of four hoisting cables 49 to the auxiliary frame 48 and is thus connected with the frame 44 so as to be rotatable about the axis 46.

By hauling or veering the lifting cables 49 to a greater or lesser extent with respect to one another the clamping frame 47 can be turned about two horizontal axes 53 and 54 extending transversely of one another so that the structural elements 9 can be tilted into the predetermined position in the maritime construction 10.

The clamping frame 47 (Fig. 9) comprises a plurality of pairs, for example six, of pivotable clamping fingers 50 energized by jack-screws 51 and gripping into lower recesses 52 provided, like oppositely disposed upper recesses 52, in the structural elements 9 by means of recessing moulds 55 of the casting moulds 56 of the concrete factory 11. As seen in Fig. 10 several structural elements may be supported by each carrier 47 at the same time for simultaneous transportation and positioning. The pivotable clamping fingers 50 are positioned opposite fixed clamping fingers 91 and can be withdrawn owing to the recesses 52 from between a newly deposited structural element 9 and a subjacent structural element 9.

By means of a carriage 57 and a lifting cable 59, the girder 23 has movably suspended from it a leveller 58 consisting of a levelling sheet 61 burdened by ballast 60 and drawn by means of a drawing cable 63 of a winch 65 in the direction 66 for levelling out the foundattion 20, the upper surface of which is formed by gravel 62. Simultaneously the carriage 57 is displaced in synchronism with the levelling sheet 61 by means of a further cable 64 of the winch 65 pulling in the direction 66.

The prefabricated structural elements 9 are formed in the concrete casting factory 11 in moulds 56 formed by a floor 89 and walls 90 (Fig. 8) comprising the moudling means 55 formed by lugs for creating the recesses 52.

After curing the structural elements 9 are transported from the concrete casting factory 11 on carriages 67 to the building site 68, where they are suspeneded from the carrier 17' hanging in the position indicated by broken lines in Fig. 2. They are then lifted and passed through the portal-shaped first support 25, after which they are swung around the axis 46 and moved into the position 9" shown in Fig. 2 by tilting them about the axis 53 and, if necessary, also about the axis 54 into the predetermined location. The structural elements 9 are accurately moved to above the prescribed locations 1 to 8 (see Fig. 7) by adjusting the carrier 17 with its pointer 71 with the aid of a marking ruler 69, which is slidable on the girder 23 with respect to a likewise slidable output ruler 70 having markings A to E forming together the programme for depositing a group 72 of structural elements 9. When the marking 0 of the ruler 69 stands above one of the markings, for example, A of the output ruler 70, the structural elements 9 are successively deposited in accordance with a pattern 82 on their locations 1 to 8, whilst the pointer 71 stands at the markings 1' to 8' respectively.

In order to lower the structural elements 9 carefully onto their locations 1 to 8, the lifting cables 49 are paid-out at a high rate until feelers 83 mainly formed by a plurality of arms 85 pivotable about hinges 84 and having each a feeler roller 86 are swung away against the action of the spring 87 by a subjacent structural element 9 already deposited, the feelers thus actuating a switch 88 for reducing the paying-out rate of the cables 49.

After a number of groups 72 has been deposited, the girder 23 is displaced in the longitudinal direction 19 of the quay 12 by the stepwise displacement of the pairs of feet 32 and 35 and centred to the longitudinal axis 42 by means of the jack-screws 40.

In the developed form of the invention shown in Figures 11 and 12, the other end 29 of the girder 23 bears on the bottom 30 through a single, inverted T-shaped supporting frame 73 which is displaceable with the girder 23 and, which comprises a first pair o feet 74 variable in level by means of jackscrews 78 and a second pair of feet 75 variable in level by means of jack-screws 76 and displaceable by a step S in the longitudinal direction with respect to the supporting frame 73 by means of jack-screws 77. In order to work at different depths of the water the supporting frame 73 is level-variable by means of jack-screws 79 with respect to the girder 23. For the displacement of the girder 23 reltive to the feet 74 the supporting frame 73 is transversely displaceable in guides 81 of the feet 74.

In the embodiment described above the carrier is suspended from the girder by four suspension wires. It will be appreciated that other arrangements are possible. For example the carrier may be suspended by two cables and it may be pivotable about only one hori; zontal axis.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS: 1. A method of building a maritime construction, for example, a dam or a quay, using prefabricated concrete structural elements, comprising moving the strutural elements towards and depositing them on their locations on a subaqueous foundation in the maritime construction by means of a carrier, which is moved to above the location along a girder extending substantially in the longitudinal direction of the maritime construction, one end of said girder being supported on a part of the maritime construction already built and the other end being supported by means of a support which extends below the water level and is displaceable with the girder in a longitudinal direction, said carrier being suspended from the girder by means of at least two suspension elements.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein a plurality of structural elements are supplied in a row in predetermined locations in the maritime construction and are transported to and deposited in said positions by the carrier simultaneously.

3. A method as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein subsequent to their suspension from the carrier the structural elements are turned about a vertical axis into the direction they occupy when deposited at their locations.

4. A method as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein whilst being suspended from the carrier the structural elements are tilted about a horizontal axis transverse of the longitudinal direction of the maritime construction into the orientation they have when deposited at their locations.

5. A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein whilst being suspended from the carrier the structural elements are tilted about an axis extending in the longitudinal direction of the maritime construction.

6. A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the structural elements are prefabricated with recesses for receiving gripping means of the carrier.

7. A method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the upper surface of the foundation is levelled out with the aid of a mobile leveller suspended from the girder.

8. An installation when used for building a maritime construction of concrete structural elements by carrying out the method claimed in any one of the preceding claims, comprising a carrier for moving the elements towards and depositing them on a subaqueous foundation at their locations, a girder extending substantially in the longitudinal direction of the marine structure and provided adjacent one end with a support through which the girder is supported on part of the maritime construction already built and adjacent the other end with a second support connected to the girder and displaceable with it and downwardly extensible to a greater length than the other support through which the girder is supported on a subaqeuous surface, a carriage for transporting said carrier in the longitudinal direction along the girder, suspension means comprising at least two suspension elements for suspending said carrier from the carriage and lifting means for raising and lowering the carrier relatively to the carriage.

9. An installation as claimed in claim 8, including a concrete casting factory having moulds for the structural elements such that the elements are formed with oppositely disposed recesses and wherein the carrier comprises a row of clamps which, in use, engage the recesses for gripping a plurality of structural elements.

10. An installation as claimed in claim 8 or 9, wherein the carriage is rotatable about a vertical axis by means of a rotary crown.

11. An installation as claimed in any one of claims 8 to 10, wherein the carriage is pivotable about at least one horizontal axis.

12. An installation as claimed in claim 11, wherein the carriage is pivotable about two

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. feelers 83 mainly formed by a plurality of arms 85 pivotable about hinges 84 and having each a feeler roller 86 are swung away against the action of the spring 87 by a subjacent structural element 9 already deposited, the feelers thus actuating a switch 88 for reducing the paying-out rate of the cables 49. After a number of groups 72 has been deposited, the girder 23 is displaced in the longitudinal direction 19 of the quay 12 by the stepwise displacement of the pairs of feet 32 and 35 and centred to the longitudinal axis 42 by means of the jack-screws 40. In the developed form of the invention shown in Figures 11 and 12, the other end 29 of the girder 23 bears on the bottom 30 through a single, inverted T-shaped supporting frame 73 which is displaceable with the girder 23 and, which comprises a first pair o feet 74 variable in level by means of jackscrews 78 and a second pair of feet 75 variable in level by means of jack-screws 76 and displaceable by a step S in the longitudinal direction with respect to the supporting frame 73 by means of jack-screws 77. In order to work at different depths of the water the supporting frame 73 is level-variable by means of jack-screws 79 with respect to the girder 23. For the displacement of the girder 23 reltive to the feet 74 the supporting frame 73 is transversely displaceable in guides 81 of the feet 74. In the embodiment described above the carrier is suspended from the girder by four suspension wires. It will be appreciated that other arrangements are possible. For example the carrier may be suspended by two cables and it may be pivotable about only one hori; zontal axis. WHAT WE CLAIM IS:

1. A method of building a maritime construction, for example, a dam or a quay, using prefabricated concrete structural elements, comprising moving the strutural elements towards and depositing them on their locations on a subaqueous foundation in the maritime construction by means of a carrier, which is moved to above the location along a girder extending substantially in the longitudinal direction of the maritime construction, one end of said girder being supported on a part of the maritime construction already built and the other end being supported by means of a support which extends below the water level and is displaceable with the girder in a longitudinal direction, said carrier being suspended from the girder by means of at least two suspension elements.

horizontal axes extending transversely of one another.

13. An installation as claimed in any one of claims 8 to 12, including a mobile leveller suspended from the girder.

14. An installation as claimed in any one of claims 8 to 13, including markings provided on the girder and which relate to and give indication of the pattern of locations.

15. An installation as claimed in any one of claims 8 to 14, including feelers connected with the carrier and responding to contact with structural elements already deposited.

16. An installation as claimed in any one of claims 8 to 15, wherein the girder is at one end pivotable about a vertical axis and at the other end supported on two level-variable feet spaced apart from one another in the transverse direction of the girder.

17. An installation as claimed in any one of claims 8 to 16, wherein the girder bears by its said other end on the subaqueous surface either via at least one first pair of feet or via at least one second pair of feet displaceable in the longitudinal direction of the girder with respect to the fist pair of feet.

18. An installation as claimed in any one of claims 8 to 16, wherein the girder is supported at the other end by a supporting frame having two level-variable feet and in that the girder is displaceable in its transverse direction with respect to the supporting frame.

19. An installation as claimed in any one of claims 8 to 18, wherein the said other end bears on the bottom through a single supporting frame, which comprises a first pair of level-variable feet and a second pair of feet being both level-variable and displaceable in the longitudinal direction with respect to the supporting frame.

20. An installation according to any of claims 8 to 19 in which the first support allows longitudinal displacement of the girder relative to the maritime construction.

21. An installation according to any of claims 8 to 20 including a further support at the said other end of the girder so as to provide support for the other end while the second support is raised and the girder is being advanced.

22. A method of building a maritime construction, substantially as hereinbeIore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

23. An installation when used for building a maritime construction, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.