TRAVELLING FORMWORK FOR CONCRETE FORMING OF A TUNNEL

Abstract

A travelling formwork for concrete forming of a tunnel includes a trolley provided with a front pair of legs, a rear pair of legs and a supporting structure attached to the front and rear pair of legs, and a reconfigurable formwork assembly mounted on the supporting structure. The reconfigurable formwork assembly can be configured in a deployed position for concrete casting and in a folded position for its transportation. The length of each leg is variable so that the formwork assembly and the trolley can be lowered when the formwork assembly is in its folded configuration. The travelling formwork can travel through a tunnel having sections of reduced cross-sectional areas, without the need to disassemble the formwork trolley when it has to pass through tunnel sections of reduced cross-sectional area.

Claims

1. A travelling formwork for concrete forming of a tunnel, the travelling formwork comprising: a trolley provided with a front pair of legs, a rear pair of legs and a supporting structure attached to the front and rear pair of legs, a reconfigurable formwork assembly mounted on the supporting structure, wherein the reconfigurable formwork assembly can be configured in a deployed position for concrete casting and in a folded position for its transportation, and wherein the length of each leg is variable so that the formwork assembly and the trolley can be lowered when the formwork assembly is in its folded configuration.

2. A travelling formwork according to claim 1, wherein the legs are telescopically extendable and retractable in order to vary their length.

3. A travelling formwork according to claim 2, further comprising hydraulic means for extending and retracting the legs.

4. A travelling formwork according to claim 3, wherein the hydraulic means comprises an hydraulic cylinder for each leg.

5. A travelling formwork according to claim 4, wherein the travelling formwork further comprises a controller for controlling the operation of each hydraulic cylinder, and wherein the controller is adapted to extend or retract all the hydraulic cylinders simultaneously or individually when the reconfigurable formwork assembly is in its folded configuration, and wherein retraction of the legs is impeded when the reconfigurable formwork assembly is in its deployed configuration.

6. A travelling formwork according to claim 5, wherein each leg has rolling means for the trolley to move on the ground of a tunnel.

7. A travelling formwork according to claim 6, wherein the rolling means are crawler tracks.

8. A travelling formwork according to claim 7, wherein the crawler tracks are self-driven.

9. A travelling formwork according to claim 1, wherein the trolley has a passage dimensioned such that vehicles can travel lengthwise and internally trough the trolley, when the legs of trolley are in their extended position.

10. A travelling formwork according to claim 1, wherein the reconfigurable formwork assembly is formed by a plurality of panels attached to each other in an articulated manner, and wherein travelling formwork has hydraulic means for moving the panels from the deployed configuration to the folded configuration and vice versa.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] To complete the description and in order to provide a better understanding of the invention, a set of drawings is provided. These drawings form an integral part of the description and illustrate embodiments of the invention, which should not be interpreted as restricting the scope of the invention, but just as examples of how the invention can be carried out. The drawings comprise the following figures:

[0017] FIG. 1. shows a front view of a formwork trolley according to the invention in its deployed configuration inside a tunnel, while the poured concrete is still fresh.

[0018] FIG. 2. shows a similar representation than FIG. 1 once the concrete has cured, and the formwork is partially retracted.

[0019] FIG. 3. shows a similar representation than FIG. 2 with the formwork and the trolley's legs, fully retracted.

[0020] FIG. 4. shows a similar representation than FIG. 1 of an alternative formwork configuration with flat sides.

[0021] FIG. 5. shows a longitudinal cross-sectional view taken at plane A-A in FIG. 4.

[0022] FIG. 6. shows in a perspective view of the embodiment of FIGS. 4 and 5.

DESCRIPTION OF WAYS OF CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0023] FIGS. 1 to 3 show a preferred embodiment of a travelling formwork (1) for concrete construction of a tunnel (2), wherein the travelling formwork (1) has a trolley (3) provided with a front pair (4) of legs, a rear pair (5) of legs and an overhanging supporting structure (6) attached to the front and rear pair of legs (4,5).

[0024] As shown in FIG. 1 for example, the trolley (3) has a passage (12) dimensioned such that vehicles can travel lengthwise and internally trough the trolley, when the legs of the trolley are in their extended position.

[0025] The travelling formwork (1) also has a reconfigurable formwork assembly (7) mounted on the supporting structure (6). The reconfigurable formwork assembly (7) can be configured in a deployed position for concrete casting (FIG. 1) and in a folded position (FIG. 3) for its transportation lengthwise in a tunnel.

[0026] According to the invention, the length of each leg is variable so that the formwork assembly (7) and the trolley (3) together can be lowered when the formwork assembly is in its folded configuration, as shown in FIG. 3, thus, in such configuration the travelling formwork (1) is capable of passing through tunnel sections of reduced cross-sectional areas.

[0027] In this embodiment, the legs are telescopically extendable and retractable in order to vary their length. For that, each leg has a hydraulic cylinder (not shown), which may be manually operated or operated by means of a controller. The controller may be adapted to extend or retract all the hydraulic cylinders simultaneously or individually, when the reconfigurable formwork assembly is in its folded configuration.

[0028] Each leg has a fixed tubular part (9) and a movable part (10) which is insertable inside the fixed tubular part (9). The fixed part (9) is joined to the supporting structure (6), and the movable part (10) is fitted with a crawler track (8) at its free end, so that the trolley can move on the tunnel ground (11). Optionally, the crawler tracks (8) are self-driven.

[0029] Each crawler track (8) is rotatable with respect to the axis of the respective leg, in order to drive the travelling formwork (1) along curved sections of a tunnel. For that, one or more hydraulic cylinders (13) are fitted between the movable part (10) and a part of the crawler track (8) of each leg.

[0030] Conventionally, the formwork assembly (7) is formed by a plurality of articulated panels, and hydraulic means are provided for moving the panels from the deployed configuration to the folded configuration and vice versa. In the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 3, the formwork assembly (7) has a vault section (7a) and two curved side wall sections (7b, 7c). In the embodiment of FIGS. 4 to 6, the formwork assembly (7) has a vault section (7a) and two flat side wall sections (7b, 7c).