WO1998040560A1

WO1998040560A1 - A method of constructing a load carrying rig for a roadway or railway among other things

Info

Publication number: WO1998040560A1
Application number: PCT/SE1997/000413
Authority: WO
Inventors: Gunnar Herrlin; Kim Herrlin Forsgren
Original assignee: Gunnar Herrlin; Kim Herrlin Forsgren
Priority date: 1997-03-11
Filing date: 1997-03-11
Publication date: 1998-09-17
Also published as: AU2654697A

Abstract

A support frame for an elongated, load carrying construction, such as a roadway, a railroad or similar, at a certain height above the ground. The support frame comprises at least two rows of support piles (1) which are anchored to the ground in such a way that they are leaning sideways in relation to the elongated construction (5) they are intended to carry. The piles in these rows will support the elongated construction along lines which essentially are parallel with two opposite sides of it. The piles (1) of each row are inclined so that their longitudinal axes are crossing the longitudinal axes of the piles in the opposite row under the elongated construction (5; 8). The upper ends of the piles are tied in such a way so as to keep the mutual distance between the ends of neighbouring piles in opposite rows fixed. The invention also relates to a method of accomplishing such a support frame.

Description

A METHOD OF CONSTRUCTING A LOAD CARRYING RIG FOR A ROADWAY OR RAILWAY AMONG OTHER THINGS .

The present invention relates to a method of accom- pushing a support frame for an elongated, load carrying construction, such as a roadway, a railroad or similar at a certain height above the ground with the aid of support piles which are anchored to the ground. The invention also relates to a support frame obtained by meas of this method.

Conventionally roads and railroads are built directly upon the ground, involving considerable ground preparation, to even out level differences, and to accomplish the desired carrying strength. In areas where there is a risk of frost additional extensive measures have to be taken in order to avoid future frost damage for instance of a roadway. Despite large-scale ground preparations in connection with the building of a road there are still, especially where ground conditions are difficult, and after a certain time, settlings and other damages to the roadway. These are very time consuming and expensive to handle and usually requires that traffic is stopped for a prolonged period of time.

The building of a road- or railway also constitutes a far-reaching interference with nature and results in that interconnected wood- and farm areas are subdivided into separate zones which are difficult to travel in between.

In conventional roads and railways traffic crossings on the same level constitute an increased risk for accidents. Crossings on more than one plan demand the construction of expensive bridges or viaducts which will increase interference with nature even more and considerably prolongs construction time.

The available methods for building bridges, viaducts and ramps are unsuitable for road building among other things due to that costs are tremendous, interference with nature is large due to the need for cast concrete fundaments and as they result in rigid constructions which are prone to damage by settlings of the ground. This calls for extensive ground reinforcement where ground conditions are difficult and poses a risk of damage in the case of tre ours and earth quakes.

The main object of the present invention is to accom- plish a support frame for among other things roadways and railways which enable these to be built with less interference with nature and in a way so that they will not subdivide and make more difficult the travel between different areas of land. The support frame shall also result in a fast and cost efficient method of building, utilizing prefabricated elements. The construction shall also be possible to use where ground conditions are difficult and shall be considerably less sensitive to ground settlings than conven- tional constructions.

The above mentioned objects are accomplished with a method described in the first paragraph, which according to the present invention is characterized in that at least two rows of piles are anchored in the ground in a way so that they are inclined sideways in relation to the elongated construction they intend to carry and in a way so that the piles in these rows will support the aformentioned construction along lines which essen- tially are in parallel with two opposite sides of it, that the piles of each row are inclined so that their longitudinal axes are crossing the longitudinal axes of the piles in the opposite row under the elongated construction, and that the upper ends of the piles are fixated in order for the mutual distance between the ends of neighbouring piles in the opposite rows to be the same .

Applying this method results in a support frame which will be able to carry for instance a roadway, railway or similar at a desired height above the ground, wherefore no ground preparation is required along the entire road but only requires the drilling of holes for each pile, which can be done with minimal interference with nature. A road or railway built with this method will not separate various land areas from each other and permits traffic crossings in different planes. Furthermore, cost of construction can be reduced as the support frame as well as the elements of the roadway or railway it is intended to carry can be prefabricated and be transported to the building site on the road or railroad which is successively being completed. This results in that time of construction can be considerably reduced.

It is preferred that the upper ends of the piles in the opposite rows of piles are kept at a desired mutual distance with the aid of transversal elements in the elongated construction the support frame is intended to carry. For this reason the upper ends of the piles in the respective rows are suitably interconnected by elongated bodies which ca be utilized as support means for the aforementioned construction elements. This reduces the number of required building components and further contributes to the rationalization of the building and manufacturing processes.

The upper ends of the piles are suitably connected to the elongated bodies by flexible joints in order to accomplish a non-rigid construction which will allow certain ground movements without being damaged.

The specific characteristics for a support frame according to the invention and for a road- and railway construction comprising such a support frame is brought forward by the ensuing patent claims.

The invention will be described in greater detail below with reference to the exemplifying embodiments thereof shown on the enclosed drawings.

Fig.l is a schematic illustration of a roadway carried by a support frame according to the invention.

Fig. 2 shows the construction in fig. 1 viewed from the front.

Fig. 3 shows a combination of a roadway and a railroad carried in parallel by support frames according to the invention.

Fig. 4 shows a combination of two roads and a railroad, viewed from the front.

Fig. 5 shows a design of a road element intended to be carried by a support frame according to the invention. Fig. 6 and 7 show two examples of railroad sleepers intended to be carried by a support frame according to the invention.

Fig. 8 and 9 show how a roadway may be carried in the case of an inclined and a vertical mountain surface, respectively.

As is shown in fig 1 and 2 a support frame according to the invention comprises a number of inclined piles 1, which in the embodiment of fig.l consist of a number of individual steel tubes or steel rods 2 which are joined together in a bundle at a mutual distance with the assistance of elements of fixation 3. Each pile may for example consist of 3-5 steel tubes with a diameter of 350 mm. Such piles can absorb large pressure loads while remaining somewhat flexible which is an advantage in the present invention which aims at accomplishing a non-rigid construction. The piles are anchored to the ground by drilling individual holes for each tube or rod 2. No effort is made in making these holes run in parallel which will cause them to diverge from each other in different directions causing the pile to be safely anchored to the ground. The depth of the holes will be dependent upon the depth to solid ground or rock.

The piles are arranged in two rows each supporting the roadway, essentially in parallel with one of its road- sides. As can be seen the holes are drilled at an angle down into the ground. Suitably at an angle of about 45° relative to a vertical axis. The holes will be situated under or at the side of the roadway depending upon the inclination of the holes and the witdh of the roadway and the height above the ground surface. The holes are drilled in such directions that the longitudinal axes of the piles in opposite rows cross each other under the construction they are intended to carry, see fig. 2. The actual point of crossing may be above or below the ground surface.

In the embodiment according to fig. 1 and 2 the upper ends of the piles of each row are interconnected by elongated bodies 4 which may consist of tubes or homogenous beams. The advantage with tubes are that these can be utilized to house different forms of wiring and pipes along the road. The piles are preferably fixed to the tubes by flexible joints in order to allow a certain movement at the point of attachement.

The piles 1 of the two rows are arranged at a mutual distance from each other and so that every other pile belongs to one row and the piles inbetween belong to the other row. In order to achieve a construction which is as flexible as possible the piles will not be joined at the cross points. The piles are suitably arranged essentially with equal distances between them but may also be arranged in pairs of neighbouring piles and with a greater distance to the next pair.

As can best be seen in fig. 2 the roadway 5, which comprises transversal roadway elements, see fig. 5, is placed on the longitudinal tubing 4. By providing each road element with fixation means 6 protruding downwards on the outer side of the tubes 4, which will absorb the pressure forces from the piles 1, the road elements will also serve as connecting means, which keep the tubes 4 at a predetermined mutual distance and prevents the piles 1 from being pushed outwards. The longitudi- nal tubing will also result in that the pressure forces from the piles are distributed along the entire width of the road elements. In a road construction of this kind where the load forces are converted into pressure forces on the piles 1 the stability of the road will increase with an increase in the load as long as that load stays within the prescribed limits. The reference 7 refers to a road fence which can be assembled in prefabricated holes in the likewise prefabricated roadway elements.

A road built in this way with crossing fundament piles can be constructed with a minimum of interference with nature, as one in principle only has to drill the holes for the piles 1. The roadway can then be built succes- sively as soon as the piles have been anchored to the ground and their upper ends have been joined with the longitudinal tubes 4. The building process is thus allowed to progress using the already built stretch of the roadway for transport to the building site. The resulting road construction will also have a built in flexibility which considerably reduces the risk for damage due to ground movements.

The road can be construed regardless of the type of terrain, even across streams and will not subdivide land areas and will allow traffic crossings on different planes. Furthermore the risk for accidents involving animals will be almost eliminated and the possibilities of preventing slippery roads will be greatly enhanced. The roadway can thus be provided with heating through electrical wiring or hot water pipes in the tubes 4. Also the removal of snow is made more simple as walls of snow resulting from the removal can be avoided. The roadway can also be provided with an effective drainage system in order to avoid accidents due to cars skidding on the water surface.

Fig. 3 shows how a road 5 and a railroad 8 can be built in parallel and close to each other without requiring wide excavation or filling areas through the terrain. The roadway and the railway are therewith most suitably carried by separate support frames according to the invention including crossing fundament piles and inter- connecting tubes 4. The road and railroad respectively can thus be built independent of each other and at differnet points in time such that for example a road afterwards can be complemented with a parallel railroad.

The invention allows roads with an arbitrary width to be built and the width can be subsequently increased by the addition of a parallel support frame without causing disturbance in the trafic on the already existing road. For example a complementary lane could be added to a road with meeting traffic in order to accomplish a two-lane highway and also be complemented with a railroad if this is desirable, see fig. 4.

Fig. 5 shows a roadway element 9 which is designed to be placed on the longitudinal tubes 4 of the support frame. The tubes are indicated by the dotted lines. The elements are placed side by side with or without spacing in between for draining purposes. The elements have downward protruding pressure absorbing fixation means 6 which co-operate with the outer sides of the tubes 4 in order to keep them and the upper ends of the fundament piles in place at a mutually fixated distance. With this construction the roadway element 9 becomes part of the support frame construction. The tube 4 or the upper ends of the fundament piles 1 can however be held in place at a desired mutual distance by other means for example with the aid of devices to absorb pulling forces such as wires or similar.

The roadway elements 9 are preferably prefabricated in armored concrete and are provided with holes 10 for receiving poles for a road fence 11. They may also be provided with not shown features such as heating elements and drainage openings.

Indicated by 12 are prodtruding fixation means arranged to be received in corresponding holes in a neighbouring roadway element. These locking devices can be varied as desired and may for example be replaced by steel rods passing through holes in the roadway elements. Alternatively the edge surfaces of the elements may be designed with tounges or match-board type locking devices.

Fig. 6 shows two elements in the form of railway sleepers 13 intended to carry rails 14 which has been indicated by the point dotted lines. Apart from this they can be manufactured similar to the roadway elements 9 according to fig. 5. As the sleepers 13 are placed at a certain mutual distance, snow may pass freely between them eliminating the risk for snow obstruction of the railroad.

An alternative design of a railway sleeper 15 is shown in fig. 7. Here the sleeper is intended to be strung on the longitudinal tube of the support frame which thereby is passing through the openings 16. Fig. 8 shows how similar techniques can be utilized for the building of a support frame in the case of a sloping ground surface or a sloping mountain side 17. A number of fundament piles are forced down into the mountain at an inclination whereafter the upper ends as in earlier examples are joined with longitudinal tubes 4 or similar. These tubes build the support for a second row of fundament piles 18 which are drilled into the mountain more or less horisontally 17. On these an additional pair of longitudinal tubes 4 can be placed which as in the previously described constructions serve as a support for roadway elements or railway sleepers .

Fig. 9 shows an alternative in the case of vertical mountain sides where a row of horisontal fundament piles 20 are drilled into the mountain side upon which the longitudinal tubes 4 are mounted in the same way as shown in fig. 8.

In the text above the invention has been described in relation to the embodiments shown in the drawings which however can be varied in several respects within the framework of the patent claims that follow. The con- struction and form of the fundament piles may thus be altered whereby apart from steel also concrete piles may be possible to utilize. The form of the roadway elements and the railway sleepers respectively may also vary according to wish among other things in relation to which type of elongated bodies which are being used for the interconnection of the upper ends of the fundament piles. It is also possible to make the road elements as such in such a way that they accomplish the necessary joining of the ends of the piles longitudi- nally in the direction of the road being built whereby the elongated bodies 4 may be exluded.

The principles of the invention may of course also be utilized for other types of load carrying constructions than roads and railways, such as runways, piers or house foundations whereby the space below the construction may be utilized for different service functions. For example in the building of an airport the air terminal buildings can be placed under the runways.

Claims

1. A method of accomplishing a support frame for an elongated load carrying construction, such as a roadway, a railroad or similar, at a certain height above the ground surface with the aid of support piles which are anchored to the ground, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that at least two rows of piles are anchored to the ground in such a way that they are inclined sideways in relation to the elongated construction they are designed to carry and in such a way that the piles in these rows will support the aforementioned construction along lines which are essentially parallel with two opposite sides of it, that the piles of each row are inclined so that their longitudinal axes are crossing the longitudinal axes of the piles of the opposite row under the elongated construction, and that the upper ends of the piles are tied so that the mutual distance between the ends of neighbouring piles in the opposite rows are fixated.

2. A method according to claim 1 or 2 , c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that the piles are arranged at a mutual distance lengthwise in the direction of the elongated construction in a way so that every other pile is part of one row and the piles in between are part of the other row.

3. A method according to claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that the upper ends of the piles in the opposite rows are kept at the desired mutual distance with the aid of transverse construction elements of the elongated construction which the support frame is intended to carry.

4. A method according to any of the claims 1-3 , c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that the upper ends of the piles in each respective row is interconnected through elongated bodies and that these bodies are utilized as carrier elements for transverse construction elements of the elongated construction which the support frame is intended to carry.

5. A method according to any of the claims 1-4, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that the upper ends of the piles are articulately secured in order to accomplish a non-rigid construction.

6. A support frame for an elongated, load carry- ing construction, such as a roadway, a railroad or similar, at a certain height above the ground, comprising support piles anchored to the ground, c h r ct e r i z e d i n that it comprises at least two rows of piles (1) , which are anchored to the ground in such a way that they are leaning sideways in relation to the elongated construction (5; 8) that they are intended to carry and so that the piles in these rows will support the aforementioned construction along lines which are essentially parallel with two opposite sides of it, that the piles (1) of each row are inclined so that their longitudinal axes are crossing the longitudinal axes of the piles in the opposite row under the elongated construction (5; 8), and that the upper ends of the piles are so tied that the mutual distance between the ends of neighbouring piles of opposite rows are fixated.

7. A support frame according to claim 6 , c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that the upper ends of the piles (1) of the opposite rows are kept at a desired mutual distance with the aid of transverse construction elements (9; 13; 15) of the elongated construction (5; 8) the support frame is intended to carry.

8. A support frame according to claim 6 or 7 , c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that the piles (1) are arranged at a mutual distance seen lengthwise in the direction of the elongated construction (5; 8) in a way so that every other pile is part of the one row and the piles in between are part of the other row.

9. A support frame according to any of the claims 6-8 , c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that it comprises elongated bodies (4) which interconnect the upper ends of the piles (1) of each row respectively and that these bodies are arranged so as to serve as support foundations for transverse construction elements (9; 13; 15) of the elongated construction (5; 8) the support frame is intended to carry.

10. A support frame according to claim 9, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that said construction elements (9; 13; 15) are provided with fixation means (6; 16) for joint action with the elongated bodies (4) .

11. A support frame according to claim 9 or 10, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that the upper ends of the piles (1) are interconnected with the above mentioned elongated bodies (4) with flexible joints in order to accomplish a non-rigid construction.

12. A support frame according to any of the claims 6-11, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that the piles

(1) comprises a number of tubes (2) or rods, which are situated on a certain distance in relation to each other as a fixated bundle.

13. A support frame according to claim 12 , c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that each tube (2) or rod in the bundle is anchored in a separate hole in the ground and that the holes for these tubes or rods in a bundle are diverging from each other.

14. A road construction, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that it comprises transverse roadway segments (9) resting on a support frame (1, 4) according to any of the claims 6-13.

15. A railroad construction, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that it comprises sleepers (13; 15) for the rail (14) resting on a support frame (1, 4) according to any of the claims 6-13.