Control apparatus and method for buoyancy adjustment of shield tunnel segments

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12371994-B2
Application number	US-202418929709-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 29, 2024
Priority date	May 17, 2023
Publication date	Jul 29, 2025
Grant date	Jul 29, 2025

Abstract

The present invention discloses a control apparatus and method for buoyancy adjustment of shield tunnel segments, wherein the inner end wall of anchor rod accommodating cavity is provided with a first slurry channel extending forward to the outer peripheral wall of anchor rod, the countersunk bolt is provided with a second slurry channel passing through the front and rear end faces of the countersunk bolt, and a locking structure is disposed in the accommodating cavity to lock the countersunk bolt in the accommodating cavity and connect the first slurry channel and second slurry channel. The entire construction process which can be carried out during the construction or operation period greatly reduces construction costs and space.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A control apparatus for buoyancy adjustment of shield tunnel segments, the control apparatus comprising:
an anchor rod including an axial accommodating cavity with a rear end opening, and a first slurry channel extending forward from an inner end wall of the accommodating cavity to an outer peripheral wall of the anchor rod, wherein the anchor rod is configured to be squeezed through a tunnel segment and into a formation;
a countersunk bolt configured to be inserted into the accommodating cavity, wherein the countersunk bolt includes a second slurry channel extending from a front end to a rear end thereof, and the second slurry channel is configured to communicate with the first slurry channel;
a locking mechanism configured to be located in the accommodating cavity to lock the countersunk bolt in the accommodating cavity; and
a threaded connection structure configured to be screwed onto the countersunk bolt and, directly or through intermediate components, configured to push against the tunnel segment.

2. The control apparatus for buoyancy adjustment of shield tunnel segments according to claim 1 , further comprising a plugging structure that is disposed at a through hole of the tunnel segment for the anchor rod to pass through and, directly or in conjunction with waterproof filler, seals a gap at the through hole.

3. The control apparatus for buoyancy adjustment of shield tunnel segments according to claim 1 , wherein the locking mechanism comprises an expansion sleeve that is configured to be expanded through inner compression and an annular cone sleeve that is configure to drive the expansion sleeve to expand, the expansion sleeve and annular cone sleeve are distributed sequentially and fitted on the countersunk bolt adjacent the front end thereof, a rear end of the expansion sleeve is provided with an outwardly protruding block, a recessed platform that fits the block is provided at a position on a peripheral wall of the accommodating cavity corresponding to the block, an inner side of the expansion sleeve is also provided with an inwardly recessed positioning platform, and one end of the annular cone sleeve facing the expansion sleeve is provided with a positioning portion that is configured to be clipped into the positioning platform.

4. The control apparatus for buoyancy adjustment of shield tunnel segments according to claim 3 , wherein the peripheral wall of the accommodating cavity is provided with a guide groove that limits and guides the block, a plurality of the guide grooves are disposed around the peripheral wall of the accommodating cavity, and the recessed platform is in communication with the guide grooves.

5. The control apparatus for buoyancy adjustment of shield tunnel segments according to claim 4 , wherein the anchor rod comprises a front section and a rear section, and the locking device is disposed inside the front section, a rear end of the front section is provided with internal threads, and a front end of the rear section is provided with external threads, the front end of the rear section is connected to the rear end of the front section through thread fit, and the annular cone sleeve is pushed forward inside the expansion sleeve to radially expand the expansion sleeve.

6. The control apparatus for buoyancy adjustment of shield tunnel segments according to claim 3 , wherein the countersunk bolt has a radially extending limit block, and the rear end of the expansion sleeve is provided with an axially extending limit groove, and the limit block fits and moves axially along the limit groove.

7. The control apparatus for buoyancy adjustment of shield tunnel segments according to claim 6 , wherein the anchor rod comprises a front section and a rear section, and the locking device is disposed inside the front section, a rear end of the front section is provided with internal threads, and a front end of the rear section is provided with external threads, the front end of the rear section is connected to the rear end of the front section through thread fit, and the annular cone sleeve is pushed forward inside the expansion sleeve to radially expand the expansion sleeve.

8. The control apparatus for buoyancy adjustment of shield tunnel segments according to claim 3 , wherein the anchor rod comprises a front section and a rear section, and the locking device is disposed inside the front section, a rear end of the front section is provided with internal threads, and a front end of the rear section is provided with external threads, the front end of the rear section is connected to the rear end of the front section through thread fit, and the annular cone sleeve is pushed forward inside the expansion sleeve to radially expand the expansion sleeve.

9. A buoyancy control method comprising the following steps:
provide the control apparatus for buoyancy adjustment of shield tunnel segments according to claim 1 ;
S 1 : lock the countersunk bolt in the accommodating cavity through the locking mechanism, and squeeze the anchor rod into the formation through the tunnel segment from inside the tunnel segment at the area subjected to buoyancy control;
S 2 : drive the anchor rod to rotate and allow a slurry to flow into the formation through the second and first slurry channels until grouting is completed;
S 3 : allow the slurry to solidify thereby combining the anchor rod with the formation, and advance the threaded connection structure advances along the countersunk bolt for a predetermined distance, so that the threaded connection structure, directly or through the intermediate components, pushes against the tunnel segment.

10. The buoyancy control method according to claim 9 , wherein in step S 1 , the process of locking the countersunk bolt in the accommodating cavity by the locking mechanism comprises:
S 11 : insert an expansion sleeve and an annular cone sleeve onto the countersunk bolt in sequence;
S 12 : insert the countersunk bolt, and the expansion sleeve and annular cone sleeve fitted thereon together into a front section of the anchor rod;
S 13 : insert a rear section of the anchor rod along the rear end of the countersunk bolt and screw the rear section into the front section of the anchor rod such that the rear section pushes the annular cone sleeve forward to insert inside and radially expand the expansion sleeve and such that a clamping block of the expansion sleeve clips into a clamping platform on a peripheral wall of the accommodating cavity, wherein the anchor rod, expansion sleeve, annular cone sleeve, and countersunk bolt are thereby fixed relative to each other.

11. The buoyancy control method according to claim 9 , wherein in step S 1 , before or during the process of squeezing the anchor rod into the formation, further comprising installing a plugging structure at a through hole of the tunnel segment for the anchor rod to pass through and, directly or in conjunction with waterproof filler, sealing a gap at the through hole.

12. The buoyancy control method according to claim 9 , further comprising assembling an extension section at a rear end of the anchor rod before squeezing the anchor rod into the formation through the tunnel segment, and removing the extension section from the anchor rod after slurry solidification.

Assignees

• Shenzhen Campus Of Sun Yat Sen Univ
• Univ Sun Yat Sen
• Southern Marine Science And Eng Guangdong Laboratory Zhu Hai
• Southern Marine Science And Eng Guangdong Hai

Inventors

• Huang Linchong
• Huang Xumin
• Liang Yu
• Zhao Chenyang
• Lin Cungang

Classifications

• E21D20/02 Primary

  with provisions for grouting · CPC title

• E21D11/083 Primary

  Methods or devices for joining adjacent concrete segments · CPC title

• Y02E10/20

  Hydro energy · CPC title

• E21D21/008

  Anchoring or tensioning means · CPC title

• E21D21/0026

  characterised by constructional features of the bolts · CPC title