WO2007036670A1

WO2007036670A1 - Machine for making a continuous wall in the ground

Info

Publication number: WO2007036670A1
Application number: PCT/FR2006/050941
Authority: WO
Inventors: Philippe Chagnot; Fabrice Mathieu; Daniel Perpezat; Jean-Marc Sabatie
Original assignee: Compagnie Du Sol
Priority date: 2005-09-29
Filing date: 2006-09-25
Publication date: 2007-04-05
Also published as: WO2007036670B1; FR2891287A1; US20090158623A1; EP1929094A1; JP2009510286A; FR2891287B1; CA2623007A1; KR20080048057A

Abstract

The invention concerns a machine (18) for making a continuous wall in the ground comprising a rear part (28) including means (46) for filling with concrete the portion of trench at the rear of the machine, a front part (26) including cutting means (20) for producing a portion of trench in front of the machine; and means (60, 62) for modifying the distance between said front and rear parts along a horizontal direction. The machine is characterized in that said cutting means comprise vertical guide means (28), at least one rotary cutter (20) whereof the axis of rotation is horizontal and parallel to the width of the trench and means (22) for moving said cutter along the guide means between a lower position corresponding to the base of the trench and a higher position above the trench, said cutter being adapted to cut the ground of the trench and mix it to obtain a material in pasty state.

Description

Machine for producing a continuous wall in the ground.

The present invention relates to a machine for producing a continuous wall in the ground and a method for producing such a wall.

To achieve continuous walls in the ground, the most commonly used technique is to dig a trench corresponding to the layout of the wall to be made and fill the trench with concrete with, possibly, use of a frame. More specifically, most often the trench is made in successive sections, the trench section dug being then filled with concrete to form a panel of the continuous wall.

When the wall to be made does not have a very great depth, it is possible to use an excavating machine that will move in the trench as and when the different sections of it.

U.S. Patent No. 3,893,302 discloses a machine and method for excavating trenches and constructing walls in excavated trenches. This machine comprises a cutting tool disposed in the front part of the machine in the form of an endless excavation chain provided with buckets. The back of the machine includes a vertical conduit for bringing concrete from a container located outside the trench towards the back of the machine to fill the trench just dug. This machine has a certain number of drawbacks and in particular the fact that the continuous chain with buckets does not make it possible to carry out the excavation of the trench in all terrains, in particular such a cutting tool can not be used in hard ground. However, we know that in some cases the trench will be made in geological layers of different hardnesses.

A first object of the present invention is to provide a machine for producing continuous walls in the soil which overcomes the disadvantages mentioned above.

To achieve this goal, the machine for producing a continuous wall in the ground comprises:

a rear part comprising: . first anchoring means in the side walls of the trench; and

. means for filling with concrete the trench portion disposed at the rear of the machine, - a front part comprising:

. second anchoring means in the side walls of the trench;

. cutting means for making a trench portion in front of the machine; . soil extraction means cut by the cutting means; and

means for modifying the distance between said front and rear portions in a horizontal direction; said machine characterized in that said cutting means comprises:

vertical guide means;

at least one rotating bur whose axis of rotation is horizontal and parallel to the width of the trench; and

- Means for moving said cutter along the guide means between a lower position corresponding to the bottom of the trench and an upper position disposed above the trench, said cutter being adapted to cut the soil of the trench and to knead it to obtain a material in the pasty state.

It is understood that through the use of a milling cutter whose axis of rotation is horizontal and perpendicular to the length of the trench, it can actually equip this milling tools that allow to pass all the layers of land conventionally present on construction sites. These cutting tools can be constituted by drilling peaks.

In addition, the cutter, during its movement down and up the entire height of the trench, not only performs the cutting of the soil but also the mixing of it with the water that is usually naturally present in the soil. This gives a pasty material that can be easily extracted later.

In some cases, it is desirable to inject materials during drilling, especially if the amount of water present is insufficient to obtain the pasty state. These materials can be of the mud, with or without a polymer, and additives conditioning the soil to alter its consistency and / or permeability.

Another object of the invention is to provide a method for producing continuous walls in the soil using in particular but not exclusively the excavating machine described above.

The method of producing a continuous wall in the ground comprises the steps of:

- dig a trench into the ground in successive sections using a horizontal displacement machine in the trench; extract the soil corresponding to the digging of the successive sections of trench;

- move the machine in successive steps corresponding to the trench sections; and

- fill with concrete the trench section at the rear of the machine; said method being characterized in that the digging of the trench sections is carried out by the vertical displacement of a rotary tool capable of cutting the soil in the trench and kneading in the trench the cut soil to transform it into a material at the pasty condition.

Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will appear better on reading the following description of several embodiments of the invention given as non-limiting examples. The description refers to the appended figures in which:

- Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the entire excavating machine, out of the wall and carried by a handling crane;

- Figure 2 is a perspective view showing the lower part of the excavating machine;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a preferred embodiment of the means for extracting the material in the pasty state;

- Figure 4 is a top view of the lower part of the machine; and - Figure 5 is a perspective view showing the entire machine in use.

In Figure 1, there is shown a handling crane comprising a platform 10 preferably equipped with tracks 12 which carries a substantially vertical arrow 14. This arrow is used to support cable forming muffle 16 at the lower end of which is suspended the excavating machine itself 18. The cutting tool of the excavating machine is a milling cutter 20 which will be described in more detail later. The cutter 20 can be moved vertically along the chassis of the excavating machine 18 by means of a control bar

22 or KELLY. This control bar 22 can be moved vertically using a winch of the handling crane. Marker 24 indicates a surface guiding structure of control bar 22.

Referring now more particularly to FIGS. 2 and 4, a preferred embodiment of the excavating machine 18 will be described. It consists of a front portion 26 and a rear portion 28.

The front portion 26 comprises a frame constituting a vertical guide piece 29, a cut soil extraction device 30 and preferably injection tubes in the cut material of a liquid adjuvant, these tubes being referenced 32 and 34. The front portion 26 also includes two sets of two lateral anchor pads in the side walls of the trench respectively referenced 36 and 38. These pads are controlled by cylinders 40. In the extended position, the pads 36 and 38 bear on the walls 42 of the trench and thus ensure the immobilization of the front portion 26 of the excavating machine.

The rear portion 28 of the excavating machine is essentially constituted by a vertical frame 44 and a pipe 46 for pouring concrete into the trench section made. The rear portion 28 also comprises two sets of lateral pads 48 and 50 controlled by jacks 52. In the extended position, the pads 48 and 50 form anchoring means in the side walls 42 of the trench and thus ensure the immobilization of the rear portion 28 of the excavating machine 18. The front portion 26 is also equipped with the cutting tool 20 mounted at the lower end of the control bar 22. Preferably, the cutting tool is constituted by a mill equipped with two drums 54 and 56 whose axis is horizontal and parallel to the width of the trench to be produced. This cutter is rotatably mounted on a support 58 which is guided in translation by the guide member 29. The drums 54 and 56 are equipped with peaks 59 of known type.

According to an alternative embodiment, the cutting tool 20 constituted by the drums 54 and 56 could be mounted on a support guided by the vertical guide 29, this support being equipped with a motor allowing the translation of the cutting tool 20 between a lower position corresponding to the bottom of the trench and an upper position in which the cutting tool is disposed above the trench.

The front 26 and rear 28 parts of the excavating machine are interconnected by at least two horizontally lower horizontal cylinders 60 and upper 62 respectively. These cylinders make it possible to modify the horizontal distance between the front 26 and rear 28 parts of the machine. excavating machine and apply a thrust on the front portion 26 of the excavating machine. Preferably, this intermediate portion of the excavating machine is also equipped with a system 64 to allow the front and rear parts to take a certain angulation in a horizontal plane. This system is constituted for example by a control cylinder 66 mounted on the body of the upper cylinder 62, this control cylinder 66 controlling a rod 68 whose one end is integral with the end of the rod of the control jack 66 and whose other end is connected to the frame of the front portion 26 of the excavating machine. A second link 70 constitutes a deformable parallelogram with the first link 68. It is thus understood that it is possible by controlling the control cylinder 66 to give the front part 26 of the excavating machine a certain angulation with respect to its part. back in a horizontal plane. Thus, it is possible to make a non-rectilinear trench. Before giving this angulation, it controls the raising of the cutting tool 20 so that it is disposed above the trench. In this case, the given angle is easier to obtain since the cutting tool does not constitute resistance during this angulation. In Figure 3, there is shown a preferred embodiment of the system 30 for extracting cut materials. This system extraction is constituted by a cylindrical piece 80 whose height is at least equal to the height of the frame of the excavating machine. Inside this cylindrical part 80 is rotatably mounted an endless screw 82 with a vertical axis 84. At the upper part of the part 80 is mounted a motor 86 for rotating the worm. The upper end of the piece 80 also has an outlet for the evacuation of the extracted materials. The cylindrical piece 80 has on its height several openings such as 88 having significant dimensions to allow the introduction of the cut materials to be excavated on the worm 82.

It goes without saying that other extraction systems cut materials could be used, for example a bucket chain or a telescopic tube provided with a valve or a flexible tube crushed by rollers according to the principle used in peristaltic pumps, since these means are not purely hydraulic.

Non-purely hydraulic means of extraction means means which do not use a suspension in a liquid debris resulting from the action of the cutting tool. The use of such extraction means is made possible in particular because the cut soil is converted into a material in the pasty state. The fact that the removal of debris takes place without the use of large quantities of liquid considerably simplifies the reprocessing of the cuttings.

We will now describe the use of the machine described above and therefore the method of producing the continuous wall in the ground object of the invention.

A first section constituting a panel of the depth of the structure is made with conventional means such as a skip or a hydraulic bucket. The width of this first trench section corresponds to the dimensions of the width of the excavating machine. To ensure the stability of the ground, the panel is filled with mud.

The excavating machine 18 is then introduced into this trench section, and then positioned to begin the horizontal drilling process. For this, initially, the machine is immobilized by the front cylinders 36 and 38. It is made to penetrate vertically into the ground the cutting tool 20. This cutting tool, as we already have explained, is constituted by a cutter whose drums are driven preferably by a hydraulic motor, the drums being provided with drilling peaks.

The cutting capacities of such a tool make it possible to pass all the layers of ground conventionally present on the building sites. During this descent phase, the materials are not extracted. They are cut and mixed with the water present in the soil and preferably with materials injected by the pipes 32 and 34 during drilling. These materials can be mud with or without polymer and additives conditioning the soil to change its consistency and / or its permeability. Thus, the drums realize not only the cutting of the ground to make the trench, but also a mixing of the cut soil. Once the bottom reached by the cutting tool 20, it may or may not change direction of rotation and back to the surface. During this movement of raising and lowering of the cutting tool, it performs not only the cutting of the soil but also a mixing of the soil to transform it into a material in the pasty state.

When a trench section has been excavated and made into a paste-like material, the rear pads 50 and 52 are placed in the extended position to anchor the trench of the rear portion 28 of the machine and the front pads are retracted. By taking reaction on the rear pads, the horizontal cylinders 60 and 62 apply a thrust on the front portion 26 of the excavating machine and in particular on the system 30 for extracting the material in the pasty state. This thrust is used to force the extraction system through the openings 82. The worm 84 causes the extraction of the material in the pasty state.

In the next step, the front side pads 36 and 38 are brought into the extended position to anchor the front portion 26 of the extraction machine and the rear pads retract. The horizontal cylinders 60 and 62 are retracted to bring the rear portion 28 of the front portion 26, thereby releasing a trench section at the rear of the machine. This trench section is immediately filled with concrete or other materials applicable to this type of work using the concreting system 46. It is understood that during the concreting operation, the excavation machine being blocked by the front pads, we can repeat the drilling phase using the cutting tool 20 to make a new trench section.

The support of the cutting face of the trench is achieved by the support of the cutting tool 20 on the ground in the pasty state. The lateral support can be achieved by a biodegradable fluid exerting a hydrostatic pressure on the limited volume of the thrust module.

It is also possible to check the verticality of the excavating machine. The pairs of upper and lower bearing pads respectively of the front portion 26 and the rear portion 28 of the excavating machine ensure that the frame of the machine is indeed in a vertical position. This position control is performed prior to the introduction of the cutting tool for the realization of the next trench section. Any verticality error can be corrected by acting suitably on the different front and rear and lower and upper skids.

In addition, as indicated, preferably, the excavating machine comprises a system 64 which makes it possible to achieve a certain angulation in a horizontal plane between the front 26 and rear 28 parts of the excavating machine. A non-rectilinear trench can be made or, in the case of a straight trench, a horizontal error of trajectory can be corrected.

Claims

1. Machine for producing a continuous wall in the ground comprising: a rear part comprising:

. first anchoring means in the side walls of the trench; and

. second anchoring means in the side walls of the trench;

vertical guide means

- Means for moving said milling cutter along the guide means between a lower position corresponding to the bottom of the trench and an upper position disposed above the trench, said cutter being able to cut the ground of the trench and to knead it. to obtain a material in the pasty state.

2. Machine according to claim 1, characterized in that said front portion further comprises means for injecting a liquid adjuvant in the cut soil to promote obtaining the material in the pasty state.

3. Machine according to any one of claims 1 and 2, characterized in that said cutter is mounted on a support subject to move along the vertical guide means, said support being moved with a bar of vertical control.

4. Machine according to claim 3, characterized in that the control bar is moved via a winch of a handling crane.

5. Machine according to any one of claims 1 and 2, characterized in that said cutter is mounted on a support subject to move along the vertical guide means, said support being equipped with motor means.

6. Machine according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that said means for extracting the material in the pasty state are not purely hydraulic means

7. Machine according to claim 6, characterized in that said extraction means comprise a hollow cylindrical piece extending substantially over the entire height of the trench and pierced with openings facing towards the front of the machine and a screw without end to vertical axis mounted in said cylindrical piece.

8. Machine according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that said means for changing the horizontal distance are adapted to apply a thrust on the front of the machine when said first anchoring means are activated.

9. Machine according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that it further comprises means for creating an angulation in a horizontal plane between the front and rear parts of the machine.

10. A method of producing a continuous wall in the soil comprising the steps of:

- dig a trench into the ground in successive sections using a horizontal displacement machine in the trench;

extract the soil corresponding to the digging of the successive sections of trench; - move the machine in successive steps corresponding to the trench sections; and

- fill with concrete the trench section at the rear of the machine; said method being characterized in that the digging of the trench sections is carried out by the vertical displacement of a rotary tool capable of cutting the ground in the trench and kneading in the slice the cut soil to turn it into a pasty material.

11. The method of claim 10, characterized in that injects an adjuvant in the cut soil to facilitate obtaining the material in the pasty state.

12. Method according to any one of claims 10 and 11, characterized in that the cutting tool is a rotary cutter whose axis of rotation is orthogonal to the direction of movement of the machine, said cutter being moved vertically.

13. Method according to any one of claims 10 to 12, characterized in that the material is extracted from the trench in the pasty state using a non-purely hydraulic system mounted on the machine.

14. A method according to any one of claims 10 to 13, characterized in that it exerts a thrust forward with the help of the machine to maintain the trench face size.

15. A method according to any one of claims 10 to 14, characterized in that it creates a certain angulation in a horizontal plane between the front and rear parts of the excavating machine to achieve a non-rectilinear trench.