METHOD AND DEVICE FOR THE REPAIR OF BRIDGE JOINTS

Abstract: In a device in connection with repair of bridge joints, wherein damaged material (5), at least in the area of the upper part of the joint, is to be removed by tearing up or the like, said device comprises an elongate sealing means (7) having such a width that it is insertable into an essentially horizontal position inside a bridge joint slot (4), wherein said elongate means (7) comprises sealing means (13) for achieving at least mainly sealing against torn up material falling down into the joint slot (4), and wherein the device comprises support means (9, 10, 11, 12) for securing in the essential horizontal position within the bridge joint slot. The invention also concerns a method in connection with repair of bridge joint as well as a bridge joint comprising such a device.

Description: Method and device for the repair of bridge joints This invention concerns a method and a device for use in connection with repair of bridge joints and bridge joint neighbouring road way element parts according to the respective preambles of claims 1 and 7. In repair of bridge joints, where material damaged by erosion, freezing, load and wear is removed, for example by tearing up, the, by e.g. tearing up, loosened material to date has been allowed to fall down into and through the joint slot and subsequently land below on a support bed. Fallen down material must be removed from the area of the joint slot and the bed after completed tearing up procedure which to date has been■ conducted mainly manually and with the aid of simple tools. Since this work is very laborious and time consuming it considerably prolongs the time and the cost for repairing a bridge. Fallen down and possibly washed down material further leads to stress on the environment in the area. When repairing road way elements a sealing layer of concrete, which is situated below the paving, must normally be removed and replaced. This work is often conducted by means of water jet cutting equipment, leading to asphalt containing water out-flow and contaminating the environment in the neighbourhood. This has proved to be a serious environmental problem due to contents of environmental hostile substances. It is an aim of this invention to provided a method and a device for eliminating said problems and to obtain a totally more effective and shorter repair time. These aims are achieved by a method and a device according to the above being characterized by the features of the respective characterizing portions of claims 1 and 7. By inserting and securing an elongated sealing means below the area of the joint which is to be repaired, the torn up material is prevented from falling down into the lower joint area and onto the support bed under the joint area. Material collected on the sealing means may subsequently after completed tearing up simply be dug away, scraped away or washed away so that the lower parts of the joint slot are held completely free from fallen down material so that thus the above mentioned more or less manual cleaning can be avoided. In the case of repairing road way elements using water jet cutting, the cutting is planned such that water emanating therefrom may have the possibility of flowing towards the sealing means so that it may simply be taken care of through controlled conveying or pumping to a desired place. The total stress on the environment is reduced to a minimum by this invention. In order to further enhance this effect possible water may be recycled as washing or jet cutting water. By the feature in the respective claims 2 and 8, an effective support is achieved, which is particularly recommended when great loads of torn up material is expected. The feature according to the respective claims 3 and 9, either taken separately or in combination with the feature in the respective claims 2 and 8, leads to stable fastening locally in the joint slot. By the feature in the respective claims 4 and 9, and in particular the feature of claim 10, simply activated fastening means are obtained. The feature according to claim 11 result in a solution which is particularly advantageous, since the hose shaped element simply may obtain an even sealing and fixing effect along an elongate means of considerable length, also if the meeting surfaces are uneven. By the feature of claim 12 an effective protection for the elongate means is obtained at the same time as the elements possibly may bring about an effective protection against wear in connection with subsequent excavation, scraping or washing procedures. By the feature of the respective claims 6 and 13, with or without the combination with claim 14, very simple handling of the loosened material and possible water is achieved and it is avoided that such material falls or flows down in the area of the surroundings of the bridge, which eventually could lead to, at the best, renewed cleaning and, at the worst, accidents or environmental damages. The involvement of means for separating is preferred since separated jet cutting or cleaning water simply may be conveyed to an outlet or a collecting tank or be recycled, whereas the solid contents remains in the intended container. The invention also relates to the device according to claims 7 - 14 being provided with means for fixing form parts for the subsequent concreting operations in the joint area. This feature further accentuate the total gain in connection with bridge repair since it provides a "free" effective support vertically for fixing said form parts. The invention also concerns a bridge joint including a device according to the claims 7 - 14, wherein said device is modified so as to be permanently situated in the slot of said bridge joint. By this feature is achieved that the sealing device, which is a appropriately modified to find its place in the joint slot, also when the joint is expanding and particularly contracting, for example in a longitudinal groove in one or both of the elements forming the joint. A bridge joint of this kind presupposes a certain initial investment cost, but allows a shorter time for conducting repair and renovating work. The invention will now be described in greater detail at the background of embodiments and with the aid of the annexed drawings, wherein: Fig. 1 shows in section a bridge joint slot with an inserted sealing device according to the invention, Fig. 2a and b show the device as form support, Fig. 3a and b show a bridge joint with permanently arranged sealing device, and Fig. 4 shows an alternative arrangement of a sealing device according to the invention. The figure 1 thus shows a bridge joint between a bridge element 1 and a base 1' . The bridge element 1 is supported on a supporting surface 2 by a supporting roller 3 such as to allow movements due to changes in temperature. At the top of a bridge joint slot 4 damaged material is depicted by 5. This material is removed for example by mechanical tearing up or so called water jet cutting. Also other removal procedures may come into question. In the upper area an expansion joint 6 is indicated with broken lines. In the bridge joint slot 4 under the area or the damaged material to be removed a sealing means 7 is inserted, said means consisting of an elongate, here beam shaped rigid body 8, which on its one side comprises a counterpart 9 for pressing on to the one element of the bridge joint slot. Opposite said counterpart 9 a tension element 10 and a tension means 11 are arranged such that when the tension means 11 is activated the tension element 10 will exceed a lateral force against the vertical base surface in such a way . that an effective fixing of the sealing means 7 is achieved. The tension force of the tension means 11 is of course adjusted in such a way that safe fastening of the sealing means 7 is obtained. Besides this possibility of tension fastening the sealing means 7 according to the example is also provided with support means 12 which may be comprised of a support structure being distributed along the means 7, wherein said support means 12 are supported against the support bed surface 2 such that reliable relief is achieved in respect of the forces exercised by torn up material onto the means 7. In order to facilitate the pulling-in sideways of the sealing means 7, the support structure is preferably provided with (not shown) roller means for rolling against the support surface 2. On its upward surface the beam shaped body 8 is provided with sealing elements 13, which may be constituted of sealing flexible elements of stiff, possibly reinforced rubber sheet or the like lying sealingly against the surfaces of the bridge joint slot. In this case the beam shaped body 8 also comprises a protective covering 14, which also may be manufactured from rubber or a rubber like material. Also metal lining may, however, come into question. In order to securely resist the water jet cutting as well as scraping, excavating etc it may be necessary to metal line the means 7 over essentially the hole width. As an example, above the sealing means there may be provided plate metal profiles with e.g. L-shaped section overlapping each other in order to allow a mutual lateral movement when the means 7 is expanded laterally. See detail 7' in Fig. 1. When the damaged material is torn up it is thus restricted by the elongate sealing means 7 from falling down into the lower region of the bridge joint slot 4. This way the remaining material in the upper part of the bridge joint slot may simply be scraped, excavated or washed away from the area of the joint. In case of jet cutting or wash water the water may be pumped away directly from the joint slot area or conveyed in the length direction of the slot. Since water jet cutting is very wearing, parts of the concrete refuse being present on top of the sealing means may be allowed to remain there as a protection for the means 7 against the powerful water jet. In order to accentuate the advantages of the invention the device may be completed with a collecting container at one end of the elongate sealing means 7. Said means may in that case be shaped in such a way that it forms a channel extended from the side of the bridge joint area. In that case material may easily flow, be washed or be scraped in the longitudinal direction of the joint down into the collecting container, and in case washing or water jet cutting has been conducted, the container is preferably equipped with means for separating water from the solid contents. This way all material resulting from the bridge repair may be advantageously taken care of at the source so as to avoid that said material falls down/is washed down or flows down onto underlying surfaces, which thus do not require cleaning. In case of collection, the sealing means 7 is preferably applied somewhat inclining with respect to the horizontal plane in the direction of the collecting container, or possibly against the side of the bridge where it is desired to locate the removed material. The scope of this invention is of course everything that is stated in the annexed claims and it should be mentioned that the sealing means 7 may be constructed in many ways. It is thus possible, according to application, to have the sealing means supported by either support means 12 or tension means 11. Often a construction is preferred, however, such as the one that is shown in the figure, where support means as well as tension means are used. The construction of the counterpart of the body and the tension means may also be made in another way. The rigid body may thus have a shape totally different from the H- beam shape which is shown in the figure, for example U-shape or box-shape. It is thus the question of very strong construction of the sealing means in order to resist the great loads occurring during tearing up, carrying torn up concrete refuse and scraping etc. The body therefore comprises a preferably strongly dimensioned metal construction. The tension means may also be constructed in another way whereby mechanically actuated tension means, for example actuated by screws, as well as other types of tension means may come into question. As is shown in Fig. 3a and b, the invention also concerns a bridge joint with permanently attached sealing means 35, which means in this case is modified in such a way that it allows the expansion and the contraction of the bridge joint. Herewith it is suitable that one of the elements 1, 1' forming the joint is provided with a groove or a pocket 39 in the joint slot in order to at least partially house said sealing means 35. In the example shown in Fig. 3a and b the means 35 is a sealing metal plate, which is pivotable by means of a support means 38 with hinges 37 between a sealing position (Fig. 3b) , where the sealing element 36 lie against the lower surface 40 of the pocket 39, which is preferably inclined against the slot, and against a related surface 40' on the lower side of the joint slot, and a removed position (Fig. 3a) , where it is pivoted into said pocket 39. Fig. 4 shows an alternative embodiment of the device according to the invention, wherein the sealing means in the form of a sealing plate 35' is located in an inserted position in a joint slot, which comprises pockets 39, 39' with supporting surfaces 40, 40'. The insertion of this plate 35' may be conducted essentially in the same way as is described above with respect to the means 7. As a further development the sealing means may also be used as support for form elements, which are used in order to restore the joint area after the completed tearing up and cleaning. It is particularly to note that this way it is simple to achieve an upwardly directed form for the upper joint area with a narrower slot than the main part of the bridge joint slot 4. Fig. 2a shows an example of such a form installation in connection with the beam 8, which is placed in a joint slot. The form element is shown in a collapsed position in a section in Fig. 2b, where the device comprises one or a number of screw elements 21 being distributed longitudinally, each screw comprising at its upper part means 22 for the co-operation with a wrench or the like, a bearing 28 allowing rotation but resisting axial movements, a threaded portion and at its lower end means 26 for support for but rotatability with respect to the beam 8. At its threaded portion the screw means carries a nut means 33 which is connected to tension arms 23 (see Fig. 2a) . The device further comprises two longitudinal pivotable form plates 24 which at their mutual hinge are connected to the respective tension arm 23. At their upper ends the form plates 24 are connected to the bearing 28. After insertion into the joint slot and to co-operation with said seats in the beam 8, the device is expanded by turning the screws 21. Hereby the device will attain to the position shown in Fig. 2a with the form plates 24 forming lower side walls for a joint form. As a completion of the form, side plates 25 are inserted in the upper part of the joint, said side plates being secured against tongues 29 on the upper form plate. For adjustment to the positioning of the beam 8 in different height positions with respect to the upper part of the joint, the screw 21 is preferably telescopic via e.g. threads or in any other way, or comprises other means for adjusting the height with respect to the beam 8. The sealing means 7 may be inserted into the bridge joint slot from above as well as from the side, whereby in the latter case it may be necessary to pull the sealing means into the joint slot by means of winches or the like. In order to further facilitate the pulling operation also the body of the sealing means may be provided with rollers, beside the rollers on the support construction 12. In that case co-operating with the side surfaces of the joint slot. According to a development of the invention, the support construction is adjustable in height by means of for example screw means, which are manoeuvrable from the upper side of the means 7. This way the device may be lowered or raised at wish after the insertion into the slot. For adjustment to different joint slot heights it is however, in general preferred to have a support construction 7 which at least partly consists of joinable elements. When repairing very long joints it may be necessary to assemble several elements in order to form the elongate sealing means 7. This may be done in a per se known way and will not be further described here. When using a hose 11 as tension means simple adjustment to different bridge joint lengths is easily obtained. It is herewith preferred that expandable seal limiting means are inserted inside the hose in order to limit the area of a hose of a certain length to be expanded. It is finally to be noted that using a hose means in such a way for achieving a tension effect or sealing effect is generally applicable, also in other applications than with respect to this invention. The expandable limiting means may then be constituted of for example spherical or elongated, mainly circular cylindric bodies, which after a correct axial orientation inside the hose means are expanded with the aid of a pump (via a separate conduit) in order to achieve a sealing fit against the inside of the hose means. The area between the limiting means is thereafter used for controlled fastening or sealing effect.

Claims: C A I M S 1. Method of repairing bridge joints or bridge joint neighbouring road way element parts, whereby damaged material, at least in the area of the upper part of the joint or the element is to be removed by tearing up, water jet cutting or the like, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that an elongate, essentially sealing means having a rigid body is inserted into the joint area to a secured, essentially horizontal position under the area of the material to be removed, so that removed material and/or possible water jet cutting or cleaning water is prevented from falling and flowing down into and under the joint area, and that loosened material and possible water is removed in a controlled manner. 2. Method according to claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that said means is fastened by support against a bed structure below the joint slot, by for example support elements resting against the bed structure. 3. Method according to claim 1 or 2, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that said means is fastened by means of transversal support against the walls of the elements forming the joint. 4. Method according to claim 3, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that said means is fastened by transversally effective expandable elements. 5..Method according to any of the previous claims, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that material which is loosened during the tearing up process and is located on the sealing means is removed by excavating or scraping. 6. Method according to any of the previous claims, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that material which is loosened during the tearing up process and is located on the sealing means is washed away and that water being present is brought to flow in the longitudinal direction of the joint, possibly to a collecting device and/or a separation device which is located at the end of the elongate means. 7. Device in connection with repair of bridge joints or bridge joint neighbouring road way elements, whereby damaged material (5) at least in the area of the upper part of the joint is to be removed by tearing up, water jet cutting or the like, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that - it comprises an elongate sealing means (7) with such a width that it is insertable to an essentially horizontal position in a bridge joint slot (4) under the area of the material to be torn up, - that said elongate means (7) comprises a rigid body and sealing means (13) for achieving at least essential sealing against that torn up material and/or possible jet cutting or cleaning water falls and flows down into the joint slot (4) , and - that the device comprises support means (9,10,11,12) for securing the elongate means in the essentially horizontal position in the bridge joint slot. 8. Device according to claim 7, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that said support means is comprised of support elements (12) being arranged for support against a bed structure (2) below the bridge joint slot. 9. Device according to claim 7 or 8, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that said support means is comprised of transversally effective tension means (10,11) for fastening against the walls of the elements (1,1') forming the joint. 10. Device according to claim 9, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that said transversally effective tension means (10,11) are comprised of mechanically, pneumatically and/or hydraulically activated means. 11. Device according to claim 10, wherein pneumatic and/or hydraulically activated tension means are used, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that said tension means is comprised of a hose shaped element (11) , which comprises the elongate means (7) or a part thereof, and which is arranged to directly or indirectly effect a tension function against the walls of the elements (1,1') forming the joint slot. 12. Device according to any of the claims 7 - 11, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the elongate means (7) on or at its upwardly directed surface comprises flexible elements for sealing (13) against the joint slot and/or for protection (14) against wear. 13. Device according to any of the claims 7 - 12, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that it includes a collecting container, which is arranged in the area of at least one of the ends. 14. Device according to claim 13, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that said collecting container comprises means for separating liquid and solid materials. 15. Device according to any of the claims 7 - 14, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that it comprises means for applying a form for repair concreting of new material in the joint area. 16. Device according to claim 15, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that said means for applying a form is comprised of a lower form surface constituting a form device which is supported by the sealing means and which is applicable from above. 17. Bridge joint, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that in one of the elements (1,1') forming the joint it is provided with a groove or a pocket (39) for achieving at least partial housing of a sealing means, whereby it includes a device according to any of the claims 7 - 15 which is modified in order to be permanently located in said bridge joint slot. 18. Bridge joint according to claim 17, c h a r a c t e r i z¬ e d in that the device is comprised of a sealing plate (35) , which is pivotable between a removed position inside said groove or pocket (39) and a sealing position, where it is sealing against surfaces (40,40') on the elements (1,1') forming the slot.

Inventors: PULLS HANS, SKOGLUND JAN, PULLS, HANS, SKOGLUND, JAN
Applicants: PULLS HANS, SKOGLUND JAN, PULLS, HANS, SKOGLUND, JAN
Application year: 1995
Main classification: E01D19
IPC codes: E01D22