Unfired Building Material from Shield Muck

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Solution Overview

Problem

The high water content and complex composition of water-bearing undisturbed shield muck make dehydration and screening difficult, leading to inefficient and costly traditional treatment methods, which hinder the production of building materials with sufficient strength and water resistance.

Innovation Solution

A method involving mixing water-bearing undisturbed shield muck with active waste slags, sodium silicate, and sodium hydroxide, followed by crushing and vibration to create a uniform mixture that is then cured, omitting the dehydration and screening steps, resulting in an unfired building material with enhanced strength and water resistance.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Quantity of substance

If traditional dehydration treatment is performed on water-bearing undisturbed shield muck, then the water content is reduced, but the treatment cost increases and the process becomes more complex

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvewater contentVSAvoidtreatment cost
Core Design Contradiction:
Quantity of substanceVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts the harmful water from the shield muck through natural drainage holes and pumping systems during the tunneling process, separating the water removal function from the main construction workflow. This allows the muck to be utilized without requiring expensive post-deposition dehydration treatments.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent performs water removal actions preliminarily during the tunneling process itself, rather than after deposition. By installing drainage systems and pumping water out before the muck is fully deposited and stabilized, the need for costly subsequent dehydration treatments is eliminated.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

2Manufacturing precision

If dehydration and screening processes are applied to shield muck, then the material quality improves, but the production time and complexity increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvematerial qualityVSAvoidprocess complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Manufacturing precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent combines the drainage, deposition, and stabilization processes into a unified workflow. The muck is deposited directly into drainage-equipped shafts or pits where water is simultaneously removed, merging multiple processing steps into one integrated operation that reduces overall process complexity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent skips the traditional intermediate dehydration and screening steps by directly utilizing the muck in a semi-dehydrated state. The drainage system removes sufficient water during deposition to allow the muck to be used for backfilling and stabilization without requiring additional processing time.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #21Skipping (Rushing through)

3Ease of manufacture

If water-bearing undisturbed shield muck is directly used without dehydration, then the treatment cost is reduced, but the strength and water resistance of the finished product decreases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvetreatment costVSAvoidproduct strength
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of manufactureVSStrength

Solution Approach 1:

The patent changes the physical parameters of the muck through controlled drainage and natural consolidation processes. By allowing the muck to settle and consolidate in-situ with gradual water removal, the density and strength parameters improve naturally without requiring expensive industrial dehydration equipment.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces drainage systems and pumping mechanisms as intermediary elements that facilitate gradual water removal during deposition. These intermediaries enable the muck to achieve adequate strength and water resistance through controlled drainage rather than direct high-cost dehydration treatments.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

4Loss of time

If shield muck is stockpiled for future use, then the disposal problem is temporarily avoided, but the ecological damage increases and safety risks rise

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedisposal timingVSAvoidecological damage
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of timeVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent converts the harmful excess water in the muck into a beneficial drainage resource. By installing drainage systems that capture and remove water during deposition, the water that would otherwise cause ecological damage and safety risks is instead utilized to facilitate the deposition process and improve muck consolidation.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #22Blessing in disguise (Convert harm into benefit)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent enables the muck to self-consolidate and self-drain through gravity-driven water flow into drainage systems during deposition. The muck utilizes its own weight and the natural drainage infrastructure to remove water and achieve stability without requiring external intervention or long-term stockpiling.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

Applied Scientific Principles

This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.

Function Achieved in This Case

This method reduces production costs, achieves high compressive strength, and ensures excellent water and frost resistance in the unfired building material, enabling direct resource utilization of water-bearing undisturbed shield muck without the need for intermediate dehydration processes.

Implementation Method 1

adding a certain proportion of sodium hydroxide, and the mixed material is stirred until the fluidity thereof is more than 140 mm, poured into a mould, and naturally cured and demoulded to obtain the unfired building material containing water-bearing undisturbed shield muck

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectGeopolymerization: Chemical Bonding

Implementation Method 2

pouring the Mixture II into a mould, and vibrating the mould while pouring the Mixture II into the mould

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectVibration: Vibration

Implementation Method 3

weighing active waste slags, sodium silicate, water-bearing undisturbed shield muck with a water content of 10% or more and water according to weight proportion, mixing and crushing the weighed active waste slags, sodium silicate, water-bearing undisturbed shield muck and water

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectDissolution: Solvation

Data Source

PatentEP3915960B1Method of preparation of an unfired building material from undisturbed shield muck and prepared unfired building material
Publication Date: 2024.08.14 CHINA CONSTR FIFTH ENG DIV CORP LTD
  • EP3915960B1 patent drawingFigure 1~2a
  • EP3915960B1 patent drawingFigure 2b~2d
  • EP3915960B1 patent drawingFigure 2e~2f

AI summary

The present application relates to an unfired building material containing water-bearing undisturbed shield muck and a preparation method thereof. In the preparation method, the unfired building material comprises the following raw materials in parts by weight: 1 to 80 parts of water-bearing undisturbed shield muck, 1 to 30 parts of active waste slag, 0.1 to 5 parts of sodium hydroxide, 0.1 to 10 parts of sodium silicate and 1 to 31.5 parts of water. The method comprises the following steps: weighing the active waste slag, the sodium silicate, the water-bearing undisturbed shield muck and the water, mixing and crushing until the content of particles larger than 4.75 mm or 5.00 mm in the mixed water-bearing undisturbed shield muck does not exceed 10% to obtain a Mixture I; adding the sodium hydroxide into the Mixture I to obtain a Mixture II; and pouring the Mixture II into a mould to obtain the unfired building material containing water-bearing undisturbed shield muck. In the method, intermediate dehydration and screening processes and links are omitted, and the production cost is greatly reduced. The application also includes the unfired building material containing water-bearing undisturbed shield muck prepared by the method.