Method for the production of an underground passage, and also pipe section for use with said method

Abstract

 A method for producing an underground passage comprises the steps of:
- providing a driving device (4),
- providing a pipe section (3,8),
- driving the pipe section (3,8) into the subterranean ground (6) by means of the driving device (4),
- removing from the pipe section (3,8) the soil material that has gone into the pipe section while it is being driven into the subterranean ground (6).
The method is characterized by the use of a pipe section (3,8) whose height measurement is less than the width measurement.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to the production of an underground passage, such as a tunnel. The invention is concerned in particular with the production of the underground passage in such a way that the objects present above it do not suffer any disruption. Examples that can be mentioned are the production of tunnels below existing sections of rail, roadways and the like. In such cases it is extremely important that the existing sections are not in the least disrupted by slight subsidence and the like. The fact is that subsidence leads to poor conditions on the section of road or rail, and this makes travelling on it less comfortable, and can also lead to dangerous situations and even to section closures.

[0002] In this connection the international patent application 2004/044381 proposes forcing a number of pipe sections sequentially through the subterranean ground by means of a horizontally positioned pile-driving device. These can be pipe sections with relatively large diameters and can also be a number of pipe sections in succession which together can cover a fairly long length. However, problems occur in the finished underground passage or tunnel particularly in the case of pipe sections having a large diameter. For instance, the entrances and exits from ground level have to be produced to quite a great depth, in order to be able to reach the bottom of the underground passage placed in this way. This is due to the fact that cylindrical pipe sections of sufficiently great width are automatically also of fairly great height, and consequently ultimately lie deep below ground level.

[0003] A further disadvantage is that the corresponding entrances and exits are relatively long, since their gradient percentage must remain limited. This also means that the potential excess water in the event of heavy rainfall is proportionately greater, which in turn gives rise to the need for providing fairly large water storage cellars. All this leads to relatively high costs, and sometimes, as a result of such long entrances and exits, the use of such tunnels is made difficult or even impossible if work has to be carried out in an existing environment which offers little room for manoeuvre or alternative routes.

[0004] The object of the invention is therefore to provide a method of the type described in the preamble in which these disadvantages are overcome. That object is achieved by means of a method for producing an underground passage, comprising the steps of:

• providing a driving device,
• providing a pipe section,
• driving the pipe section into the subterranean ground by means of the driving device,
• removing from the pipe section the soil material that has gone into the pipe section while it is being driven into the subterranean ground, which method is
• characterized by the use of a pipe section whose height measurement is less than the width measurement.

[0005] With the method according to the invention it is possible to produce an underground passage or tunnel of a particular width whose bottom parts nevertheless lie in a relatively shallow position. This is made possible by the fact that the pipe sections used are not completely cylindrical, but are, as it were, of a flattened design. In such a flattened pipe section the entrances and exits do not have to be made so deep, so that with a particular gradient percentage they can remain relatively short.

[0006] The pipe sections can be driven into the subterranean ground in all kinds of known ways. A known method is, for example, to use hydraulic piston/cylinder devices by means of which the pipe sections are driven in succession into the subterranean ground. The disadvantage of this known method is, however, that the diameter and total length of the sequentially placed pipe sections that can be handled by it are limited.

[0007] In another known method pile-driving devices can be used. There are different types of such devices. A first type is a pile-driving device that strikes hammer blows on the pipe section with relatively high frequency. The disadvantage of these pile-driving devices is that when they are used in certain types of ground with relatively high moisture, flow can occur. This is, of course, very undesirable, since it can cause subsidence in the subterranean ground above the pipe sections. Since in the case of the production of tunnels there is generally only a relatively shallow layer above the tunnel, such a flow phenomenon will directly give rise to subsidence.

[0008] In the method according to the invention it is therefore preferable to use pile-driving devices that can deliver blows with relatively low frequency, with high energy and at high speed. In the case of such a method shear occurs between the soil particles, instead of flow. Such a method and also a pile-driving device suitable for use of said method are described in the abovementioned international patent application 2004/044381.

[0009] In the method according to the invention a number of pipe sections can be used in succession in the usual manner, which pipe sections are connected to each other. This connection can be obtained, for example, by means of welding, or by means of mechanical connections.

[0010] In order to make it easier to drive the sections into the ground, bentonite can be added on the inside and/or the outside of said sections.

[0011] The non-round, slightly flattened shape of the pipe sections can be obtained in various ways. According to a first possibility, two cylindrical pipe bodies fixed to each other by means of connecting plates can be used next to each other, which plates are fitted above and below the two pipe bodies situated next to each other. In this way it is possible to form a pipe section whose external shape comprises two half cylinders facing towards each other, and also two flat connecting plates that are parallel to each other.

[0012] A pipe section formed in this way possesses relatively great strength and rigidity, particularly also with regard to external loads in the vertical direction. These loads can be absorbed in a suitable manner by the two cylindrical pipes. When such a pipe section is being forced into the ground all spaces between the two pipes and connecting plates are filled with earth, so that the process can proceed in the same way as in the case of a standard cylindrical pipe section. Only those parts that are intended for the traffic flows subsequently need to be excavated, in other words the interior space of the two pipes themselves.

[0013] A flattened pipe section for use in the case of the method according to the invention can, however, also be obtained in another way. A possible alternative that can be ' mentioned is the embodiment in which a pipe section comprising two facing cylindrical pipe halves or shell halves is used, which pipe halves are fixed to each other by means of connecting plates at their facing edges. In order to increase the strength and rigidity of the pipe section with regard to the external load, the connecting plates can be connected to each other by a vertical partition.

[0014] A further alternative is formed by a pipe section of reinforced or unreinforced concrete or plastic, which is provided with a head-end reinforcement on at least one end.

[0015] The invention also relates to a pipe section for use in the method described above. Said pipe section according to the invention comprises a cross section whose height measurement is less than the width measurement. Such a pipe section can be designed in the various ways described above. In addition, any other flattened shape is possible, of course, in so far as it can withstand the loads that are exerted when the pipe section is being forced into the subterranean ground, and the loads that are exerted by the subterranean ground itself and by the installations above it, such as railways, roadways and the like.

[0016] The pipe section driven into the subterranean ground first preferably has a cutting edge in order to make the insertion work easier.

[0017] The invention will be explained in greater detail below with reference to an exemplary embodiment shown in the figures.

Figure 1 shows a first embodiment of a work project in which a pipe section according to the invention is being laid.

Figure 2 shows a cross section of a first possible embodiment of the pipe section according to the invention.

Figure 3 shows a cross section of a second possible embodiment of the pipe section.

Figure 4 shows a cross section of a third possible embodiment of the pipe section.

Figure 5 shows a second embodiment of a work project.

[0018] Fig. 1 shows an embankment 1, on which two traffic lanes, such as rail tracks or road lanes 2 are present. A traffic tunnel has to be made in this embankment 1, and it must be made in such a way that the traffic making use of the traffic lanes 2 is not disrupted by the work. In other words, during the making of the tunnel it must always be ensured that no subsidence can occur in the embankment 1.

[0019] When this work is being carried out, a first pipe section 3 is driven into the embankment 1 by means of an approximately horizontally placed pile-driving device 4. This pile-driving device 4 is placed with a bedplate 5 on the subterranean ground 6 so sturdily that it can perform blows of sufficient magnitude on the pipe section 3. Said pipe section 3 preferably has a front edge 7 which is in the form of a cutting edge. After most of the first pipe section 3 has been driven into the embankment 1, a following pipe section 8 can be fixed to it, for example by welding. The pile-driving device 4 is subsequently made to work in concert with said following pipe section 8, and so on, until the complete passage 9 opens out on the opposite sides in the embankment 1.

[0020] In the methods known until now for making underground passages 9, pipe sections 3, 8 with a circular cross section have been used. The disadvantage of this is that the height of the finished passage 9 is often greater than is desirable. This is due to the fact that the diameter of the cylindrical pipe sections has to be geared to the width that is needed for the traffic flow to be expected in the passage. The result of this is that the passage 9 ultimately lies relatively deep down in the embankment 1, which has disadvantages with regard to entrances, exits and the like.

[0021] According to the invention, in the method described above pipe sections 3, 8 of a flattened shape are therefore used, for example as shown in Figures 2 and 3. In the embodiment shown in Figure 2 the pipe section 3, 8 in cross section consists of two cylindrical pipes 10, 11, which are connected to each other by two connecting plates 12, 13. Such a pipe section 3, 8, in view of the cylindrical pipes 10, 11, possesses a relatively high resistance to vertical loads. Furthermore, a traffic lane can be provided in each of the pipes 10, 11. The connecting plates 12, 13 can be fixed to each other, for example by means of welding, bolted connections and the like. The pipes 10, 11 can also be fixed to each other.

[0022] An alternative pipe section 3, 8, comprising two semi-cylindrical shell halves 14, 15, is shown in the embodiment of Figure 3. Said shell halves 14, 15 are connected to each other at their facing edges by connecting plates 12, 13. For the sake of strength, said connecting plates 12, 13 are connected to each other by a reinforcing partition 16. Traffic lanes can be provided on either side of said reinforcing partition 16.

[0023] Figure 4 shows an embodiment in which the pipe section 3, 8 is made of reinforced concrete and is of a rectangular cross-sectional shape with vertical walls 19 and horizontal walls 20. The one head end of such a pipe section is provided with a head-end reinforcement in connection with the blows to be struck upon it by a pile-driving device; the other head end can be provided with a controllable cutting edge.

[0024] The advantages of using a flattened passage with flattened pipe sections 3, 8 also become clear in the embodiment of Figure 5. In this case the passage 9 is made deep down in the subterranean ground 6 below the traffic lanes 2. The passage 9 is connected to the ground surface by means of an entrance and exit 17, 18. Owing to the fact that the passage 9 has a flattened cross-sectional shape, the bottom boundary of said passage lies at a level less deep than if, all other cross-sectional dimensions being equal, a completely cylindrical cross-sectional shape had been selected. This means that with a certain gradient percentage the entrance and exit 17, 18 can remain shorter, which gives advantages as regards the space taken up, collection of excess rainwater and the like.

[0025] Although a pile-driving device 4 is mentioned above in connection with making the passage 9 in the subterranean ground 6, other devices are also conceivable. For example, a hydraulic press device could be used. With regard to the pile-driving device 4, it can also be pointed out that said pile-driving device is preferably designed in such a way that it delivers blows with high energy and at high speed in combination with a low frequency. This prevents flowing of the material making up the embankment 1, which is important particularly in the case of types of subterranean ground 6 that are saturated with water. However, a pile-driving device 4 which works with low frequency with higher energy blows causes shear in the particles in the subterranean ground 6, so that flowing of the subterranean ground 6 is avoided and subsidence can be prevented in a reliable manner.

Claims

1. Method for producing an underground passage, comprising the steps of:

- providing a driving device (4),

- providing a pipe section (3, 8),

- driving the pipe section (3, 8) into the subterranean ground (6) by means of the driving device (4),

- removing from the pipe section (3, 8) the soil material that has gone into the pipe section (3, 8) while it is being driven into the subterranean ground (6),

- characterized by the use of a pipe section (3, 8) whose height measurement is less than the width measurement.

2. Method according to Claim 1, in which a number of pipe sections (3, 8) are used in succession, which pipe sections (3, 8) are connected to each other.

3. Method according to Claim 1 or 2, in which the pipe sections (3, 8) are welded together.

4. Method according to one of the preceding claims, in which two cylindrical pipe bodies (10, 11) fixed to each other by means of connecting plates (12, 13) are used next to each other, which connecting plates (12, 13) are fitted above and below the two pipe bodies (10, 11) situated next to each other.

5. Method according to one of the preceding claims, in which a pipe section (3, 8) comprising two facing cylindrical pipe halves (14, 15) is used, which pipe halves (14, 15) are fixed to each other by means of connecting plates (12, 13) at their facing edges.

6. Method according to Claim 5, comprising the use of a pipe section (3, 8) whose connecting plates (12, 13) are connected to each other by a vertical partition (16).

7. Method according to Claim 1 or 2, comprising the provision of a pipe section (3, 8) made of reinforced concrete, which is provided with a head-end reinforcement on at least one end.

8. Method according to one of the preceding claims, comprising the use of a pile-driving device (4) as the driving device.

9. Method according to Claim 8, comprising the use of a substantially horizontally placed pile-driving device (4).

10. Method according to Claim 9, comprising the delivery of blows with high energy and at high speed and also with low frequency by means of the pile-driving device (4).

11. Method according to one of Claims 8-9 when dependent upon Claim 7, comprising the delivery of blows on the end of the pipe section provided with head-end reinforcement.

12. Method according to one of the preceding claims, in which bentonite is added to the outside and/or the inside of the pipe section during driving into the ground of the pipe section (3, 8).

13. Pipe section (3, 8) for use with the method according to one of the preceding claims, comprising a cross section whose height measurement is less than the width measurement.

14. Pipe section (3, 8) according to Claim 13, in which two cylindrical pipe bodies (10, 11) fixed to each other by means of connecting plates (12, 13) are used next to each other, which connecting plates (12, 13) are fitted above and below the two pipe bodies (10, 11).

15. Pipe section (3, 8) according to Claim 13, in which two facing cylindrical pipe halves (14, 15) are used, which pipe halves (14, 15) are fixed to each other by means of connecting plates (12, 13) at their facing edges.

16. Pipe section (3, 8) according to Claim 15, in which the connecting plates (12, 13) are connected to each other by a vertical partition (16).

17. Pipe section (3, 8) according to Claim 13 of reinforced or unreinforced concrete or plastic, in which at least one end is provided with a head-end reinforcement.

18. Pipe section (3, 8) according to one of Claims 13 - 17, in which at least one of the ends comprises a cutting edge (7).

19. Pipe section (3, 8) according to Claim 17 and 18, in which the cutting edge is situated on the other end.

20. Pipe section according to Claim 18 or 19, in which the cutting edge is adjustable.

Drawing