METHOD FOR COMPACTING SOIL, APPLICATIONS OF THIS METHOD AND DEVICES FOR ITS IMPLEMENTATION

• US 20110236140A1
• Filed: 03/23/2011
• Published: 09/29/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/23/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SC Medinger R&D
• Original Assignee: SC Medinger R&D
• Inventors: MEDINGER, Jean-Claude
• Granted Patent: US 9,121,144 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 405/271
• CPC Class Codes: E01B 27/00 Placing, renewing, working, cleaning, or taking-up the ballast, with or without concurrent work on the track; Devices therefor; Packing sleepers
• CPC Class Codes: E01C 21/00 Apparatus or processes for surface soil stabilisation for road building or like purposes, e.g. mixing local aggregate with binder recycling in place or on the road involving soil stabilisation E01C23/065 ; stabilising soil under existing surfacing E01C23/10; soil-conditioning or soil-stabilising materials C09K17/00; soil consolidation in general E02D3/12
• CPC Class Codes: E02D 3/026 by rolling with rollers usable only for or specially adapted for soil compaction, e.g. sheepsfoot rollers rollers for soil working in agriculture A01B29/00; rollers for road paving, such rollers usable also for compacting soil E01C19/23
• CPC Class Codes: E02F 5/027 with coulters, ploughs, scraper plates, or the like E02F5/102, E02F5/103, E02F5/106 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: E02F 5/103 with oscillating or vibrating digging tools
• CPC Class Codes: E02F 9/2816 Mountings therefor

Abstract

The invention relates to the methods allowing to compact the soil, and devices for carrying out these methods.

It comprises the insertion into the soil at a predetermined depth (h) under which the compaction by the upper level of the soil becomes ineffective, of an underground compacting device. By advancing this device, the soil (104) can be compacted below this specified depth.

Thanks to this invention it is possible to compact thicker layers and to improve the railway tracks repairing systems.

Claims

1. Method for compacting soils, wherein in a first stage, a soil compacting device is inserted into the soil, at a specified depth (H), and wherein in a second stage, the soil compacting device is advanced while maintaining it at said specified depth, which allows a continuous soil compacting at a depth where the methods for compacting soils from above the soil become ineffective.

2. Soil compacting device, comprising at least a wedge-shaped tool having a convex surface, tilted downwards, from front to rear, with a convexity toward soil depth in a working position of the tool, namely in a position pressed into the soil and parallel to the soil, between a leading edge and a heel below the surface generated by the leading edge when the tool is advanced parallel to the soil.

3. The device according to claim 2, wherein the at least one wedge-shaped tool is a wedge-shaped tooth whose leading edge is facing forward in order to remove the upper layers of the soil, said tooth being attached on a frame by an intermediate part acting as a common support for the tooth and for a blade which is also attached at the rear of the tooth and has a curved shape whose concavity is directed upward, whose front is at the bottom level of the removed soil and whose lowest portion is at the desired level of compaction for a single pass of the device.

4. The device according to claim 3, wherein the blade acts itself as a spring or is attached at its front end by a transverse joint and is maintained compressed by a spring.

5. The device according to claim 2, wherein the at least one wedge-shaped tool is a wedge-shaped tooth whose leading edge is facing forward in order to remove the upper layers of the soil and whose bottom portion is tilted downward to perform a first compaction at an intermediate level, said tooth being attached to a frame by means of an intermediate part which also supports, at the rear of the tooth, a compacting roller for performing a second compaction to obtain the desired level, said roller being smooth or ridged, or supporting sheep'"'"'s foot rollers.

6. The device according to claim 2, wherein it comprises a single wear blade tilted from front to rear to remove the upper layers of the soil, said blade being attached on a frame by means of an intermediate part acting as a common support for the blade and a set of rollers attached to a second intermediate part which in turn is attached to the first part, these rollers being disposed substantially next to each other, parallel to the soil surface and perpendicular to the direction of motion of the device, the first roller of these rollers being further located slightly below the tip of the wear blade, and other rollers being slightly shifted in depth so that the last is at the desired level for the depth of compaction (h).

7. Device according to claim 2, comprising an intermediate part provided with a known support, which includes a longitudinal hole for receiving soil decompacting tools, such as a chisel or a tooth, wherein a flat part is added on the lower portion of said support, said flat part being attached on the lower end of said support, said flat part being provided, on its lower portion, with a first vertical fin with a hole at the front and, at its rear, with three holes spaced in the height direction, the support/flat part assembly forming said intermediate part, and wherein it also includes a compacting part provided with a blade having a curved shape whose concavity is directed upward, said blade reproducing the curve of settlement under the repeated effect of the passages of a compactor acting from the surface, said blade comprising a second vertical fin attached on the upper portion of the blade and being itself provided with a hole at the front and, at its rear, with three holes spaced in the direction of the height, these two fins being positioned against one another by aligning the two front holes and by pushing into these two holes fastening means which allow rotation of the second fin on the surface of the first fin, the rear holes on each of these fins being spaced so that when the second fin is rotated on the first fin, only one of the rear holes thereof corresponds to only one rear hole of the first fin, which allows to obtain three positions of the fins relative to each other and thus three different eccentricities for said blade.

8. Device according to claim 2, comprising a tractor vehicle used to drive a rigid frame provided with means to maintain at a specified and adjustable depth (H) under the soil level, a plurality of wedge-shaped tools.

9. Device according to claim 8, comprising means to communicate a vibrating movement to said frame, and an elastic fastener to uncouple the frame from the tractor vehicle regarding vibrations.

10. Device according to claim 2, comprising a rotor having at least one star provided with a set of spokes, wherein a wedge-shaped tool is attached to the end of at least one of said spokes, said rotor being rotated and being disposed under a protective hood, the whole assembly being driven in a translation movement which is horizontal and perpendicular to the axis of the rotor to compact a land strip with a width inferior to the width of the hood.

11. Device according to claim 10, wherein the direction of rotation of the rotor is the same as the direction of motion of the whole assembly.

12. Device according to claim 10, wherein the rotor/hood assembly is attached to a carrier vehicle at the front, at the middle or at the rear of said vehicle.

13. Device according to claim 12, wherein said carrier vehicle is a stabilizer comprising a rotor provided with stars, at least one of the stars being provided with a wedge-shaped tool, and wherein said star has at least one thick tooth which wears at the same rate as said wedge-shaped tool.

14. Device according to claim 3, wherein said device is attached to the end of two arms rotatable on a horizontal axis perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said device, the device comprising means to rotate the arms so as to maintain said device under the level of the ballast of a railway track, and wherein said device also includes means for tensioning said blade.

15. Device according to claim 2, wherein it comprises at least two wedge-shaped tools, said blades of these two wedge-shaped tools being transversely distributed between ribs and between side faces, on one or more rows at the same depth or at different depths, to form a rigid frame, which allows to compact in a single pass a thick layer to form a compacted base rock at the desired density.

16. Device according to claim 15, wherein said blades are spaced in the height direction to obtain a compacted layer whose height is greater than the height that can be achieved with a single pass.

17. Device according to claim 15 comprising, before said blades, a small diameter shaft provided with easily exchangeable picks, to form a small milling tool allowing the separation of the soil from the ballast before said blades in order to facilitate adjustment and compaction of said layer, the driving of the rotor being effected by a motor reducer located within said side faces forming said rigid frame.

18. Device according to claim 15, for the treatment of soils under the ballast of railway tracks, wherein it comprises means for the initial grading of at least one trench to engage the engine of a milling tool, means to ensure the leveling of a binder, means for mixing said binder with said soil, and wedge-shaped tools to carry out the compacting of this mixture into a thick layer.

19. Device according to claim 18, wherein the mixing means comprise a large diameter milling tool having a horizontal axis perpendicular to the direction of motion of a railcar and on which are attached members such as teeth, which allows the mixing of the entire soil subjected to treatment with said hydraulic binder.

20. Device according to claim 19, comprising probes, means for processing signals from these probes, and means for adjusting the depth of the compacting tool based on the results of this signal processing.