Technical Field
[0001] The present invention relates to a high strength prepacked concrete track construction
process thereof, and more particularly to a high strength prepacked concrete track
construction process in which existing sleepers and fasteners are replaced, an existing
ballast layer is excavated and geosynthetics are installed on a roadbed layer, and
existing ballast gravels, that are dry-washed on the spot, are filled therein and
high strength and super early strength cement mortar is injected thereto to form a
high strength and super early strength prepacked cement ballast layer to thereby replace
the existing gravel ballast track with a concrete ballast track.
Background Art
[0002] Tracks are a portion that supports weight of a train in the railway, transmits the
weight to a roadbed, and guides running of the train. Particularly, the running stability
and driving comport of the train are directly influenced by the performance of the
track, and interaction between the track and the train is the greatest factor on noises
and vibrations.
[0003] The gravel ballast track is a conventional basic track structure, which is of cheap
construction costs and proper track elasticity so that upon occurrence of track deviation,
it is relatively easily rearranged. In the ballast track, the gravels are positioned
at the lowest portion of the track, serving to absorb shocks upon train running to
mitigate the vibrations, and distribute the load of the train transmitted via the
sleepers to thereby prevent a rail from subsiding or moving. Further, it facilitates
the draining of rainwater and prevents grasses from growing on the ballast.
[0004] However, since the gravels are likely to be broken into pieces due to frequent friction,
and draining is likely to become worse and the gravels to lose their elasticity due
to an influx of earth and sand, it needs periodic ballast cleaning or replacing, taking
much labor, cost and time.
[0005] Recently, as track deviation of the gravel ballast track increases in speed due to
making the speed, weight and density of the train speedy, heavy and dense, maintenance
cost of the track also increases, so that concrete ballast or slab ballast track is
constructed.
[0006] The concrete ballast has an advantage in that the maintenance work is mitigated,
the draining is good, and vibrations of the ballast and the train are reduced. The
slab ballast is of a structure in which the sleepers and the ballast are made in one
piece, so that the track deviation and ballast sinking due to speed-up of the train
are reduced to save the maintenance cost. Thus, upon newly constructing, the existing
gravel ballast track is gradually replaced with a concrete or slab track, and an efficient
track has been studied which is capable of reducing the maintenance that is the problem
in the existing gravel ballast track. However, since a market share of the conventional
gravel ballast track is still large at present, it is effective that the existing
ballast gravel track is modified to provide a concrete ballast track such as a slab
track or the like.
[0007] A conventional ballast modifying construction is generally carried out so as to improve
the antiquated gravel ballast track used in subway, through the processes of removal
of existing tracks, installing of new sleepers, a concrete form, a jacket and a temporary
support, and pouring and curing of concrete in sequence, the processes and structure
of which are similar to those of the construction of the slab track and that of the
track.
KR 2006 0021688 A describes a construction method of a railway track including a roadbed layer, a geotextile
having a lower part and sides mounted thereon, and a ballast layer hardened by pouring
cement mortar. However, different from the subway track, the gravel ballast track
of the existing railway has no invert so that problems are caused in that upon pouring
of concrete, the concrete flows out, the construction speed is slow because the construction
is dependent on manpower, and the train speed is restricted in a state where the temporary
support is installed so that the operation of the train is delayed for a long time.
[0008] Thus, it needs to develop a technique-intensive track structure capable of completing
a certain working within a restricted construction period without affecting the operation
of the train, and normally operating the train just after the construction.
Disclosure of Invention
Technical Problem
[0009] The present invention has been made to solve the above problems occurring in the
prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a new concrete track
construction process capable of preventing outflow of concrete with the provision
of geosynthetics even without installation of an invert.
[0010] Another object of the present invention is to provide a new concrete track construction
process capable of carrying out the evacuation of existing ballast, installation of
geosynthetics, and filling of new ballast layer with machine such as using a ballast
cleaner and a gravel dry-washer.
[0011] Further object of the present invention is to provide a new concrete track construction
process in which high strength and super early strength cement mortar is injected
into a new ballast layer using a cement mortar injector without installing the temporary
support during the ballast modification, to thereby form a high strength and super
early strength prepacked concrete ballast layer.
Technical Solution
[0012] In order to accomplish the above and other objects, there is provided a prepacked
concrete track structure is provided which comprises geosynthetics installed on a
roadbed layer, a new ballast layer formed on the geosynthetics, a sleeper installed
on the new ballast layer, a fastener installed on the sleeper, and a rail connected
to the fastener, wherein the geosynthetics is installed such that the bottom thereof
is brought into contact with the upper portion of the roadbed layer, right and left
sides of the bottom of the geosynthetics having side faces perpendicular to the bottom;
wherein the new ballast layer is composed of high strength and super early strength
prepacked concrete that is filled and cured in the internal space where the geosynthetics
are installed; wherein the sleeper consists of the plurality of sleepers installed
on the new ballast layer parallel with each other; and wherein the rail is connected
on the upper surface of the sleeper using the fastener so as to be perpendicular to
the sleeper.
Advantageous Effects
[0013] According to the concrete ballast track structure and the construction process thereof,
the geosynthetics are previously installed, new ballast gravels are filled therein,
and the cement mortar is injected thereto, to thereby prevent flow-out of the prepacked
concrete without installing a separate invert.
[0014] Further, the existing ballast gravels are re-used without removal, and the removal
process of the ballast, that is dependent on labor, is carried out using the ballast
cleaner so that the construction speed is greatly increased.
[0015] Further, while during the existing ballast improving process, the temporary support
is installed so that the speed of the running train should be restricted, according
to the present invention, a new ballast layer is formed with high strength and super
early strength prepacked concrete, which does not affect the operation of the train.
[0016] Particularly, since all the processes of the ballast improvement construction are
carried out using machine, the construction period is greatly shortened so that the
construction process is suitable to maintenance or construction of the railway track
within a restricted period.
Brief Description of the Drawings
[0017]
FIGS. 1 to 3 are a schematic perspective view, a sectional view, and side sectional
view illustrating a concrete ballast track structure, respectively;
FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view illustrating geosynthetics fabricated so as
to be attached to a ballast cleaner;
FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view illustrating a sleeper;
FIG. 6 is a side view illustrating a continuous injector for injecting cement mortar
in order to form a new ballast layer; and
FIG. 7 is a schematic flow chart illustrating a procedure of modifying the gravel
ballast track into a concrete ballast track according to the present invention.
Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention
[0018] Description will now be made of the construction and effects of a concrete ballast
track structure and a construction process thereof according to the present invention
with reference to accompanying drawings.
[0019] FIGS. 1 to 3 are a schematic perspective view, a sectional view, and side sectional
view illustrating the concrete ballast track structure according to the present invention,
respectively.
[0020] As illustrated in the drawings, the concrete ballast track includes, from a lower
portion thereof, a roadbed layer 10, one or more sheets of geosynthetics 30, a new
ballast layer 21, a sleeper 50, a fastener 60, and a rail 70.
[0021] FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view illustrating geosynthetics fabricated so as
to be attached to a ballast cleaner. The geosynthetics 30 may be unwoven fabric, geotextile,
geomembrane or others, and are installed on the roadbed layer 10 such that the bottom
thereof is brought into contact with the upper surface of the roadbed layer 10, and
the right and left sides thereof have the side faces perpendicular to the bottom thereof,
i.e. having a cross section shaped like ' └┘ '. Further, as illustrated in a circle
showing an enlarged cross section taken along line A-A of FIG. 4, a panel having a
certain width is inserted into both sides of the geosynthetics 30 such that both the
sides of the geosynthetics 30 are fixedly installed perpendicular to the bottom thereof
when the geosynthetics 30 are installed on the roadbed layer 10. The panel is preferably
installed on both sides of the geosynthetics 30 using lattice type polypropylene by
a length corresponding to height of the new ballast layer 21. Further, the geosynthetics
30 may be fabricated in roll type using a connection beam such that they are attached
to the ballast cleaner so that the construction is carried out through mechanization.
The installation of the geosynthetics 30 is carried out at the same time as working
type 2 using the ballast cleaner or a ballast regulator, and serves to rapidly drain
rainwater or inflow water around them, and prevents injected concrete from leaking,
so that there is no need to install a separate invert.
[0022] The new ballast layer 21 is composed of a prepacked concrete layer consisting of
new ballast gravels and high strength and super early strength cement mortar injected
thereto.
[0023] The new ballast gravels constituting the new ballast layer 21 are ones that are obtained
by basically recycling the existing ballast gravels. Herein, to reduce a time taken
to carry out the removal of the existing ballast gravels, the discharging of the removed
gravels, and the filling of the new ballast gravels, the existing ballast gravels
recycled by the ballast cleaner are washed on the spot using a dry-type washer and
then are filled in the roadbed layer 10. At this time, only the gravels having a certain
grain size are recycled, and the other part may be compensated with new gravels.
[0024] After the new ballast gravels are filled, as illustrated in FIG. 6, high strength
and super early strength cement mortar is injected between the new ballast gravels
using a continuous type injector 24 comprising a mixer 25, a mixer hood, a continuous
mixer 26, a cushion tank 27, and a pump, to thereby form prepacked concrete. Since
the cement mortar is injected into space between the sleepers 50 in a natural dropping
manner, it should have good fluidity so as to be uniformly injected between the ballast
gravels without vacancies, have a short curing time so as not to hinder the operation
of the train, and have higher strength than common cement mortar having a compressive
strength of 10MPa because it receives the load of the train. It is preferable that
the cement mortar be of the compressive strength of 30MPa or more in order to support
the load of the train. Further, it is preferable that the cement mortar be of composition
to provide an uniaxial compressive strength of 0.4MPa an hour in order not to hinder
the operation of the train. Further, it is preferable that admixtures such as superplasticity,
and fine aggregates with constant grain size be added thereto in order to improve
fluidity while considering the economical aspect. Further, it is preferable that the
cement mortar be of composition by which the curing speed is fast due to having super
early strength cement, high strength is obtained due to having additives with Ca
2+ and SO
42-, and high fluidity is obtained due to having fine aggregates with constant grain
size. Meanwhile, it is preferable that the grain size of the ballast gravels, that
are the aggregates constituting the prepacked concrete, be of 100% passing weight
ratio for 63mm mesh screen, 75 to 95% for 50mm mesh screen, 50 to 80% for 40mm mesh
screen, 25 to 50% for 30mm mesh screen, 5 to 30% for 25mm mesh screen, and 0 to 10%
for 20mm mesh screen.
[0025] FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view illustrating a sleeper 50. The sleeper 50
is preferably of a wide width in order to increase load distributing capability. Further,
while the sleeper 50 is preferably of heavy weight so as to reduce vibration acceleration
of the gravel ballast because the gravel ballast should support the load until the
cement mortar is filled, it is preferable that the sleeper 50 be of a width of 360mm
in order to carry out mechanized construction using a multiple tie tamper (MTT) that
is the existing maintenance device of railroad. However, the width of the sleeper
50 may vary depending upon dimension of the device used. In case of using the concrete
sleeper 50, it is possible to apply post-tension to provide a lateral reinforcement
for securing required tensile strength.
[0026] The fastener 60 installed on the sleeper 50 is preferably constructed such that it
may be controlled in length by vertically ±30mm or more and laterally ±25mm or more
using an insulating block or an eccentric bush so as to correct possible track deviation
that may occur in the future time because the sleeper 50 and the new ballast layer
21 are integrated into one piece.
[0027] Meanwhile, an asphalt surface layer 40 may be provided on the new ballast layer 21
so as to facilitate draining of water, or prevent the surface contamination such as
generation of dusts.
[0028] The construction process of the concrete ballast track having the above structure
is as follows. As illustrated in FIG. 7 (a), first, existing sleepers 50 and the fasteners
60 are removed, and new sleepers 50 and fasteners 60 are installed. Herein, if machine
such as a sleeper exchanger is used, 40 sleepers 50 an hour are generally exchanged.
After exchanging the sleepers 50 and the fasteners 60, a rail 70 is coupled to the
sleepers 50 using the exchanged fasteners 60. After the rail 70 is coupled, as illustrated
in FIG. 7 (b), the existing ballast is excavated in front of the ballast cleaner using
the same and the gravels are collected. Upon the existing ballast excavation, the
existing ballast layer 20 is excavated in such a way as to provide an inclined shoulder
layer 22 such that the upper portion of the existing ballast layer 20 rises in height
as it goes outside in order to prevent the foreign matters from coming in. Herein,
In the middle of the ballast cleaner, the geosynthetics 30 are installed on the roadbed
layer 10 exposed by the excavation of the existing ballast layer 20, using the geosynthetics
roll attached by a connection beam. In addition, in the rear of the ballast layer,
the new ballast gravels that are washed on the spot using the dry-type gravel washer
are filled in the internal space defined by the installation of the geosynthetics
30. The ballast cleaner can generally carry out the cleaning operation for an interval
of 110m an hour, and the existing processes of the removal of the existing ballast
gravels, the installing of the geosynthetics 30, the discharging of the removed gravels,
and the filling of the new ballast gravels can be simultaneously carried out using
such a ballast cleaner. After the cleaning by the ballast cleaner, as illustrated
in FIG. 7 (c), the arrangement of track gravels and line adjustment are carried out
using the MTT. Upon the line adjustment using the MTT, it can be continuously and
precisely carried out using a computer, a laser guiding device and others so that
the process may be conducted efficiently and precisely to the extent of generally
covering an interval of 1200mm an hour. After the arrangement of the track gravels
and the line adjustment, as illustrated in FIG. 7 (d), high strength and super early
strength cement mortar is injected into the new gravel layer using the continuous
type injector 24 to thereby form the prepacked concrete ballast layer 21.
[0029] Although the exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been described for
illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications,
additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope of the
invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.
Industrial Applicability
[0030] According to the concrete ballast track structure and the construction process thereof,
the prepacked concrete is prevented from flowing out, the existing ballast gravels
are re-used without removal, and the removal process of the ballast, that is dependent
on labor, is carried out using the ballast cleaner so that the construction speed
is greatly increased.
[0031] Further, the new ballast layer is formed with high strength and super early strength
prepacked concrete, so that the present concrete ballast track does not affect the
operation of the train.
[0032] Particularly, since all the construction processes are carried out using machine,
the construction period is greatly shortened so that the construction process is suitable
to maintenance or construction of the railway track within a restricted period, and
that it can be applied to a section that may be a section where track deviation occurs
repeatedly, and sections such as a connecting part, a welded part or the like where
track deviation possibly occurs.