WO2021230848A1

WO2021230848A1 - New walkway for railway tunnels

Info

Publication number: WO2021230848A1
Application number: PCT/TR2021/050459
Authority: WO
Inventors: Bayezid ÖZDEN; Enver KOÇ; Beyazit ÖLÇER; Mesut YURDAKUL
Original assignee: Yapiray Demi̇ryolu İnşaat Si̇stemleri̇ Sanayi̇ Ve Ti̇caret Anoni̇m Şi̇rketi̇
Priority date: 2020-05-13
Filing date: 2021-05-11
Publication date: 2021-11-18
Also published as: EP4143420A1; EP4143420A4

Abstract

The present invention is walkway (100) for use in emergency evacuation situations in railway tunnels (200) and for maintenance personnel to provide access to the tunnel (200) by foot characterized by comprising; an adjustable stability element (130) that is able to adjust the angle between the vertical fixing element (110) and the bearing upper head (120) to a value on the scale of ± 50 ° for adjusting the angle of the upper bearing head (120) and the prefabricated hollow-cored pre-stressed concrete floor panel (150) placed thereon with the vertical axis, is freely rotatable around its supports and can be elongated when rotated counter clockwise, shortened when rotated clockwise.

Description

A NEW WALKWAY FOR RAILWAY TUNNELS

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a new walkway consisting of prefabricated pre-stressed concrete slab panel including hollow-cores, Panelton, and steel support design with an adjustable mechanism to be used in emergency evacuation situations in railway tunnels and for maintenance personnel to provide access within the tunnel by foot.

The invention particularly relates to a walkway that has a structure in which the upper bearing head and the prefabricated flooring placed thereon can be adjusted to the desired angle by means of the steel support design with an element that can be structurally elongated and shortened, which eliminates the ignorance of height difference that may occur between the floor of the train/wagon by means of the prefabricated flooring that can be adjusted in horizontal and vertical axis, can rotate clockwise and counter clockwise by controlling the movements in the horizontal and vertical axis.

State of the Art

Today, underground rail systems have started to be used in order to facilitate transportation particularly in cities where traffic density is increasing. The urban transportation that realizes the greatest traffic potential in city rail transportation are the subways. The transportation system that moves underground or sometimes above the ground and does not have a road intersection, is a closed structure in itself. Auxiliary area or service area are non-public domains that are used to store or accommodate operation, maintenance or support equipment and functions within a station. It is well known by the public that emergency cases in underground tunnels and rail transportation systems, which are closed structures, can have destructive results. If a fire breaks out in underground tunnels, the severity of the fire generally associates with the closed structure of the tunnel environment. However, in such cases, aspects such as the complexity and difficulty of evacuation and the lack of evacuation information also contribution. Service roads/walkways are constructed both in the tunnels where the rail system moves and in the main station buildings for emergency cases such as fire or for fulfilling the maintenance and repair requirements.

Current walkways are generally constructed as cast-in-place reinforced concrete. Particularly, the walkways constructed on the platforms shall be placed according to the level of the train door at the exit of the train and the passenger shall be able to reach the walkway safely. The evacuation operations create a problem particularly for children, elderly and disabled passengers in case there is any difference in height between the base of the train and the walkway. Furthermore, it is known that cast-in-place reinforced concrete walkways are disadvantageous applications in terms of material cost, labor cost and time usage. Using prefabricated elements is preferred instead of cast- in-place reinforced concrete applications as a consequence of the quality problems that may arise due to these disadvantages. The first step gap seen as a consequence of the problems that arise during the assembly phase in the walkways made up of existing prefabricated elements may prevent safe passing during the emergency evacuation from train to walkway of the passengers.

Many studies have been made and new structures have been developed today so as to improve the underground rail system stations and make them safer for both passengers and service personnel. One of these studies is the invention that is the subject of the utility model application numbered CN206189463 (U) and titled "Prefabricated Concrete Metro Station". The invention relates to a prefabricated reinforced concrete subway station of the city underground rail engineering technical field. Prefabricated assembled concrete subway station essentially comprises the following; structure stack pile, waterproof layer, L shape base angle wall, platform substitute walkway, platform, stringboard, wind channel. A solution in which the template can be saved, walking conditions are improved and the efficiency in engineering quality is increased, is provided with said invention.

As a result, the requirement for walkway developed for railway underground tunnels, having an adjustable mechanism that moves in horizontal and vertical axis, which eliminates the abovementioned problems, and the insufficiency of the current solutions makes it necessary to make a development in the relevant technical field.

Brief Description of the Invention

The present invention relates to a new walkway that meets the above-mentioned requirements, eliminates all disadvantages and brings some additional advantages, consists of prefabricated hollow-cored pre-stressed concrete slab panel and steel support design with adjustable mechanism to be used in emergency evacuation situations in railway tunnels and for maintenance personnel to provide access within the tunnel by foot.

The aim of the invention based on the state of the art is to ensure that the upper bearing head and the prefabricated flooring placed thereon can be adjusted to the desired angle by means of the steel support design of the developed walkway having an element that can be structurally elongated and shortened.

The aim of the invention is to provide flexibility of use and thus the prevention of height difference between the train/wagon floor and the walkway, especially in railway tunnels, by means of the adjustable length of the walking path in vertical and horizontal axes.

Another aim of the invention is to reduce the labor costs and to shorten the time required for assembly by means of the easy installation process of the prefabricated hollow-cored pre-stressed concrete slab panel product on the designed walkway.

Another aim of the invention is to reduce the material cost by means of the lightweight structure of the walkway.

Another aim of the invention is to ensure safe use by eliminating the risk of people being exposed to accidents such as stumbling and falling due to the gaps by covering these gaps between two prefabricated pre-stressed concrete floor panel products with cement mortar after the assembly of the same.

Another aim of the invention is to ensure that the upper bearing head and the prefabricated flooring placed thereon can be adjusted at the desired angle by means of the adjustable stability element of the walkway that can be structurally elongated and shortened.

Another aim of the invention is to provide a structure that can rotate clockwise and counterclockwise by controlling the movements of the adjustable stability element contained in the walkway in the horizontal and vertical axis.

Another aim of the invention is to provide an environment that is appropriate for walking by smoothing the surface of the panel in the designed walkway.

Another aim of the invention is to facilitate the production and shorten the duration required during construction/assembly as the walkway is completely prefabricated.

Another aim of the invention is to provide elasticity of space during construction/assembly, by means of closing and opening the walkway with an adjustable stability element. Another aim of the invention is to provide ease of transportation and storage by means of the lightweight and closable structure of the walkway.

The structural and characteristic features of the present invention will be understood clearly by the following drawings and the detailed description made with reference to these drawings and therefore the evaluation shall be made by taking these figures and the detailed description into consideration.

Brief Description of Drawings

In order to understand the advantages of the present invention with its structure and additional elements, it shall be evaluated with the following defined figures.

Figure-1 ; is a schematic general view of the assembled state of the walkway inside the tunnel. Figure-2; is a schematic general view of the disassembled state of the prefabricated hollow-cored pre-stressed concrete slab panel,

Figure-3; is a schematic general view of the disassembled state of the walkway,

Figure 4; is a schematic general view of the adjustable stability element.

Reference Numbers

100. Walkway

110. Vertical fixing element

120. Upper bearing head

130. Adjustable stability element

131. Nut

132. Rod

133. Upper section

134. Plate

135. Lower section

136. Body

140. Cable tray support 150. Panel 200. Tunnel

Detailed Description of the Invention In this detailed description, the walkway (100) consisting of prefabricated hollow-cored pre stressed concrete floor panel (150) and steel support design with adjustable stability element (130) to be used in emergency evacuation situations in railway tunnels (200) and for maintenance personnel to provide access within the tunnel (200) by foot is explained as an example for a better understanding of the subject and without any limiting effect.

The walkway (100) shown in Figure-1 mainly comprises an adjustable stability element (130) that can adjust the upper bearing head (120) and the prefabricated hollow-cored pre-stressed concrete floor panel (150) placed thereon to the desired angle, and can be structurally elongated and shortened. The height difference that may occur between the walkway (100) and the floor of the train is eliminated by changing the angle of said panel (150). It is ensured that the movements of said walkway (100) in the horizontal and vertical axis are controlled; it has a structure that can rotate clockwise and counterclockwise.

The prefabricated hollow-cored pre-stressed concrete floor panel (150) shown in Figure-2 is a carrier element, it forms a surface suitable for walking by its smoothened upper surface. It is possible to pass larger openings with fewer deformations by the pre-stressed production of said panel (150).

The walkway (100) mounted on the inner wall of the tunnel (200) shown in Figure-3 comprises the following; a vertical fixing element (110) that is engaged with the inner wall of the tunnel (200); upper bearing head (120) that is connected to the upper part of this vertical fixing element (110) and on which the panel (150) is positioned; an adjustable stability element (130) that provides a connection between the lower part of the vertical fixing element (110) and the upper bearing head (120) and cable tray support (140) that is positioned at the point where the adjustable stability element (130) is connected to the vertical fixing element (110). The said vertical fixing element (110) is fixed to the wall of the tunnel (200) with anchor bolts and provides carriage on the vertical axis. It can be applied to any desired level and both sides of the tunnel (200) because the surface of said vertical fixing element (110) connected to the wall of the tunnel (200) are curved according to the tunnel (200) geometry. The said vertical fixing element (110) contains holes for anchor bolts. The upper bearing head (120) that structurally carries said prefabricated hollow-cred pre-stressed concrete floor panel (150) allows the panel (150) to move in both directions on the horizontal axis. The angle made by the said panel (150) with the vertical axis can be changed with the adjustable stability element (130) connected with the upper bearing head (120). The angle made by cable tray support (140) carrying the cables passing through said tunnel (200) with the vertical fixing element (110) can be adjusted as desired due to the design of the same. The adjustable stability element (130), which is structurally elongated and shortened, ensures to adjust the upper bearing head (120) and the panel (150) positioned thereon to the desired angle.

The vertical fixing element (110) is fixed to the wall of the tunnel (200) with anchor bolts during the application of said walkway (100). It can be adjusted to the desired level in the tunnel (200) according to the diameter of the tunnel (200) without taking any additional measures by means of the surface slope of said vertical fixing element (110) according to the geometry of the tunnel (200). Afterwards, a single point hinged joint of the upper bearing head (120) and the vertical fixing element (110), which can be selected in the desired length, is ensured. Then the adjustable stability element (130) shown in Figure-4, is stabilized by supporting the same with bolts to the vertical fixing element (110) and upper bearing head (120) through the perforated upper section (133) and perforated lower section (135). The angle between said vertical fixing element (110) and the upper bearing head (120) can be adjusted to a value of ± 50 ° by the adjustable stability element (130). The upper bearing head (120) is kept fixed in the desired position with a simple mechanical system that is located in the body (136) of the adjustable stability element (130) that can rotate freely around its supports and can be elongated when rotated counterclockwise with the principle of torque, can be shortened when rotated clockwise. The said mechanical system consists of a rod (132), one end of which enters into the body (136) and the other end is connected to the upper section (133), a nut (131) that limits the movement of this rod (132), and a plate (134) positioned between the nut (131) and the body (136). All types of telescopic, gear or pin mechanical systems can be used instead of said mechanical system.

Claims

1. Walkway (100) for use in emergency evacuation situations in railway tunnels (200) and for maintenance personnel to provide access to the tunnel (200) by foot characterized by comprising; an adjustable stability element (130) that is able to adjust the angle between the vertical fixing element (110) and the bearing upper head (120) to a value on the scale of ± 50 °for adjusting the angle of the upper bearing head (120) and the prefabricated hollow- cored pre-stressed concrete floor panel (150) placed thereon with the vertical axis, is freely rotatable around its supports and can be elongated when rotated counterclockwise, shortened when rotated clockwise.

2. Walkway (100) according to claim 1 , characterized by comprising; a mechanical system so as to keep the upper bearing head (120) fixed in the desired position, that is located in the body (136) of the adjustable stability element (130) that can rotate freely around its supports and can be elongated when rotated counterclockwise with the principle of torque, can be shortened when rotated clockwise.

3. Walkway (100) according to claim 1 , characterized by comprising; a vertical fixing element (110) that is fixed to the wall of the tunnel (200) with anchor bolts, ensures bearing on the vertical axis and has a surface with curvature suitable for the tunnel (200) geometry to be applied on both sides of each desired quota and tunnel (200).

4. Walkway (100) according to claim 1 , characterized by comprising; upper bearing head (120) which is connected to the upper part of the vertical fixing element (110) and on which the panel (150) is positioned.

5. Walkway (100) according to claim 1 , characterized by comprising; a cable tray support (140) that is positioned at the point where the adjustable stability element (130) connects to the vertical fixing element (110), has adjustable angle with the vertical fixing element (110), carries the cables passing through the tunnel (200).

6. Walkway (100) according to claim 1 , characterized by comprising; panel (150) which is produced with pre-stressing, whose angle is changed so as to eliminate the height difference that may occur between the walkway (100) and the base of the train and whose upper surface is smoothened.