Travelling Formwork with Variable Legs for Tunnel Sections
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing formwork machinery for tunnel concrete construction often requires disassembly and reassembly when encountering tunnel sections of reduced height, leading to time-consuming and costly construction processes.
Innovation Solution
A travelling formwork system with variable-length legs, enabled by telescopically extendable and retractable hydraulic legs, allowing the formwork to be lowered and pass through tunnel sections of reduced cross-sectional area without disassembly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the formwork is designed with fixed dimensions to match the standard tunnel cross-section, then it can effectively construct the tunnel sections of normal height, but it cannot pass through tunnel sections of reduced height without disassembly
Solution Approach 1:
The formwork employs telescopic legs with variable length that can be dynamically adjusted between extended and retracted positions. This dynamic structure allows the formwork to adapt its height to match different tunnel cross-sections, enabling it to pass through reduced height sections while maintaining construction capability for normal sections.
Solution Approach 2:
The formwork is divided into modular components including multiple legs, formwork panels, and hydraulic systems that can be independently controlled. This segmentation allows selective adjustment of individual legs to achieve the required height configuration for different tunnel sections.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the formwork is disassembled to pass through reduced height sections, then it can traverse all tunnel sections, but the construction process becomes time-consuming and expensive
Solution Approach 1:
The telescopic legs provide a dynamic height adjustment mechanism that eliminates the need for complete disassembly. The legs can be quickly retracted to reduce the formwork's overall height, allowing it to pass through reduced height sections while remaining assembled, thus maintaining construction productivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The formwork changes its geometric parameters (height and cross-sectional dimensions) by adjusting the telescopic legs between extended and retracted states. This parameter change allows the formwork to adapt to different tunnel sections without disassembly, significantly reducing the time required for section transitions.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the formwork legs are made telescopic to enable height adjustment, then the formwork can pass through reduced height sections, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The telescopic legs are actuated by hydraulic cylinders that provide controlled extension and retraction. This hydraulic mechanism offers a compact and efficient solution for achieving variable leg lengths, managing the complexity through the use of well-established hydraulic technology.
Solution Approach 2:
The telescopic legs employ a nested structure where one leg component is inserted within another, allowing compact retraction while maintaining extended length capability. This nesting approach reduces the overall complexity by integrating multiple functions into a compact hierarchical structure.
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
Enables efficient and cost-effective construction by allowing the formwork to traverse sections of varying heights without the need for disassembly, thereby reducing construction time and expenses.
Implementation Method 1
the legs are telescopically extendable and retractable in order to vary their length, and are provided with hydraulic means to perform the extension and retraction operations
Implementation Method 2
Each leg has rolling means for the trolley to move on the ground of a tunnel
Data Source
AI summary
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.