| WO/2011/006526 | TELESCOPIC TOWER ASSEMBLY AND METHOD |
| WO/2006/058972 | SAFETY DEVICE |
| WO/2001/007731 | METHOD FOR THE PRODUCTION OF HIGH, LARGE DIAMETER TOWERS IN SLIDING MOLDING |
ZAMBIANCHI, Lamberto (Via dei Prati1, Villafranca, I-47010, IT)
ZAGO, Roberto (Via Mascagni 8, Rovereto, I-38068, IT)
ZAMBIANCHI, Lamberto (Via dei Prati1, Villafranca, I-47010, IT)
| C L A I M S
1. A method for construction of a water tower (1) made of reinforced concrete comprising a bed (2) , an elevated reservoir (3) , and a stem (5) for supporting the reservoir (3) above the bed (2); the method comprising the steps of: providing the bed (2) on the ground; completing the reservoir (3) above the bed (2) and on top of a formwork (9) for forming of the stem (5) , which comprises a dismantleable annular reinforcement (8) having an internal section identical to that of the stem (5) to be formed and of a smaller height than that of the stem (5) itself, connection means (21, 22) extending between the reinforcement (8) and the reservoir (3) so as to render the reinforcement (8) and the reservoir (3) fixed with respect to one another, and a plurality of hydraulic jacks (14) distributed about the reinforcement (8) and each comprising a top mobile rod (16) , a bottom tubular foot (17) , and resting means (18) coupled to the tubular foot (17) ; making a first casting of a first segment (28) of the stem (5) that is defined by the reinforcement (8) kept in contact with the bed (2) and englobes the tubular feet (17) of the hydraulic jacks (14) ; displacing the mobile rods (16) of the hydraulic jacks (14) upwards from an initially retracted position to an extracted position, thus determining lifting of the reservoir (3) and of the reinforcement (8) for a given stretch,- carrying out, for at least one hydraulic jack (14) , and in succession for all the other hydraulic jacks (14), the operations of advance consisting in: bringing the corresponding mobile rod (16) into the retracted position, thus determining lifting of the corresponding hydraulic jack (14) for the given stretch; feeding in sand (30) through the corresponding tubular foot (17) and underneath the resting means (18); and setting the hydraulic jack (14) back into action without lifting the reservoir (3) and with said jack (14) resting on the sand (30) with the resting means (18) ; carrying out a second casting of a second segment (28) of the stem (5) defined by the reinforcement (8) on top of the first segment (28) ; and repeating the operations of lifting, advancing, and casting for a number of times necessary for completing the stem (5) .
2. The method according to Claim 1, and comprising the further steps of : identifying at least one hydraulic jack (14) that is subjected to a load lower than that of the other hydraulic jacks (14) on account of a lack of symmetry of the ensemble,- and increasing hydraulically the load of the hydraulic jack (14) that is subjected to a load lower than that of the other hydraulic jacks (14) in order to balance the loads of all the hydraulic jacks (14) .
3. The method according to Claim 2 and comprising the further step of identifying a hydraulic jack (14) that is subjected to a load lower than that of the other hydraulic jacks (14) , identifying the hydraulic jack (14) that has expanded more than the other hydraulic jacks (14) during lifting of the reservoir (3) and of the reinforcement (8) .
4. The method according to Claim 2 and comprising the further step of identifying a hydraulic jack (14) that is subjected to a load lower than that of the others by analysing the inclination of the reservoir (3) supplied by at least one inclination sensor (63) .
5. The method according to Claim 2, Claim 3, or Claim 4, wherein: each hydraulic jack (14) is a double-acting hydraulic jack and comprises two chambers (66, 67) , which are designed to be filled with pressurized oil, are provided with respective pistons (68) connected to the mobile rod (16) , and are alternatively filled and emptied for displacing the mobile rod (16) in two opposite directions; there is envisaged the further step of increasing hydraulically the load of one hydraulic jack (14) , by choking the outlet of the oil from the chamber (67) that is emptied of the oil during displacement upwards of the mobile rod (16) .
6. The method according to Claim 5 and comprising the further step of choking the outlet of the oil from the chamber (67) that is emptied of the oil during displacement upwards of the mobile rod (16) by closing a proportional valve (71) set in a position corresponding to an opening (70) for inlet/outlet of the oil.
7. The method according to any one of Claims 1 to 6 and comprising the further steps of : dividing the hydraulic jacks (14) into three operating sets, which are equivalent to one another, symmetrical, and independent ; supplying the hydraulic jacks (14) of each operating set by means of a respective proportional solenoid valve (59) ; establishing a desired value of the inclination of the reservoir (3) with respect to the vertical; bringing about lifting of the reservoir (3) by expanding together the hydraulic jacks (14) of all three the operating sets; determining, during lifting of the reservoir (3) , an effective value of the inclination of the reservoir (3) with respect to the vertical; and driving the proportional solenoid valves (59) of the three operating sets in feedback control to maintain the effective value of the inclination of the reservoir (3) with respect to the vertical equal to the desired value.
8. The method according to any one of Claims 1 to 6 and comprising the further steps of: dividing the hydraulic jacks (14) into three operating sets, which are equivalent to one another, symmetrical, and independent ; and actuating together hydraulic jacks (14) of just one operating set at a time so that lifting of the reservoir (3) will occur in a static way by actuating together the hydraulic jacks (14) of just one operating set at a time whilst the hydraulic jacks (14) of the other two operating sets are kept in pause conditions .
9. The method according to Claim 7 or Claim 8, wherein the three operating sets are equivalent to one another, i.e., they each comprise one and the same number of hydraulic jacks (14), and are symmetrical with respect to one another, i.e., the centroids (A) of thrust of the three operating sets correspond to the vertices of an equilateral triangle centred on the centroid (B) of the weight of the reservoir (3) .
10. The method according to any one of Claims 1 to 9 and comprising the further step of constantly monitoring the reservoir (3) during lifting by means of a control unit (40), which is connected to an inclination sensor (63) that measures in real time the inclination of the reservoir (3) with respect to the vertical.
11. The method according to any one of Claims 1 to 10, wherein: provided in the bed (2) is a plurality of vertical tubular ducts (10) open at the top,- each hydraulic jack (14) is set coaxial to a respective tubular duct (10) , is initially mounted with its own tubular foot (17) slidably engaged inside the corresponding tubular duct (10) , and rests with its own resting means (18) on a bottom end of the respective tubular duct (10) itself; the resting means (18) comprise, for each hydraulic jack (14), a fixed resting rod (18) directed vertically downwards and through the corresponding tubular foot (17) , from which it projects with a bottom end stretch thereof set initially in contact with the bottom end of the corresponding tubular duct (10) .
12. The method according to any one of Claims 1 to 10, wherein: provided in the bed (2) is a plurality of vertical tubular ducts (10) open at the top; each hydraulic jack (14) is set coaxial to a respective tubular duct (10) , is initially mounted with its own tubular foot (17) slidably engaged inside the corresponding tubular duct (10) , and rests with its own resting means (18) on a bottom end of the respective tubular duct (10) itself; and the resting means (18) comprise, for each hydraulic jack (14) , a tubular element (18) provided at the bottom with a closing plate (32) , which has at least one through hole (33) for enabling off-flow of the sand (30) downwards .
13. The method according to Claim 12, wherein the closing plate (32) is hourglass-shaped and has a single central through hole (33) in order to favour off-flow of the sand (30) downwards and hinder backflow of the sand (30) upwards.
14. The method according to any one of Claims 1 to 13 and comprising the further step of progressively unwinding, during lifting of the stem (5) , the pre-compression cables (24) fixedly connected to the bed (2) off drums (25) carried by the reservoir (3) .
15. The method according to any one of Claims 1 to 14, wherein: the reservoir (3) comprises a central pipe (37), which is Co-axial to the stem (3) , and is formed by the union of a plurality of tubular segments (45) stacked on top of one another; the segments (45) that constitute the central pipe (37) are packed together by means of a plurality of pre- compression tie bars (47) , which extend from a plane bottom wall (34) of the reservoir (3) to a plate (47) for top closing of the central pipe (37) .
16. The method according to Claim 15, wherein each tie bar (47) is constituted by a metal strand set inside a vertical through hole (48) made through a side wall of the segments (45) that constitute the central pipe (37) .
17. The method according to Claim 15 or Claim 16, wherein the central pipe (37) has an external annular flange (43) that supports centrally a covering (39) of the reservoir (3) .
18. A water tower (1) made of reinforced concrete comprising a bed (2) , an elevated reservoir (3) , and a stem (5) for supporting the reservoir (3) above the bed (2); the reservoir
(3) comprising a central pipe (37) that is co-axial to the stem (3), and is formed by joining a plurality of tubular segments (45) stacked on top of one another; the reservoir being characterized in that the segments (45) that constitute the central pipe (37) are packed together by means of a plurality of pre-compression tie bars (47) , which extend from a plane bottom wall (34) of the reservoir (3) to a plate (47) for top closing of the central pipe (37) .
19. A water tower (1) made of reinforced concrete comprising a bed (2) , an elevated reservoir (3) , and a stem (5) for supporting the reservoir (3) above the bed (2) ; the stem (5) being internally provided with a spiral staircase (49) constituted by a succession of steps (50) that are fixed in cantilever fashion to a side wall of the stem (5) ; the reservoir being characterized in that: each step (50) is constituted by a block of reinforced concrete comprising a vertical base (53) that is fixed by means of bolts to a side wall of the stem (5) , and a horizontal element (54) that extends in cantilever fashion from the vertical base (53) ; the vertical base (53) is provided on one side with a through hole
(55) , inserted through which is a fixing bolt that is screwed through a blind hole made in the side wall of the stem (5) .
20. The water tower (1) according to Claim 19, wherein the vertical base (53) is shaped in such a way as to present, in a position corresponding to the through hole (55) , a resting surface (56) for the vertical base (53) of the next step (50) and so as to present on the opposite side of the through hole (55) an appendage (56) set in cantilever fashion designed to rest on the resting surface (56) of the previous step (50) .
21. The water tower (1) according to Claim 19 or Claim 20, wherein the spiral staircase (49) is provided with a metal handrail (51) comprising a succession of L-shaped metal pipes (52), each of which has a bottom end fixed to a respective step (50) and a top end fixed to the metal pipe (52) of the next step (50) .
22. A water tower (1) made of reinforced concrete comprising a bed (2) , an elevated reservoir (3) , and a stem (5) for supporting the reservoir (3) above the bed (2); the stem (5) being internally provided with a spiral staircase (49) , which is constituted by a succession of steps (50) that are fixed in cantilever fashion to a side wall of the stem (5) and is provided with a metal handrail (51) ; the reservoir being characterized in that the metal handrail (51) comprises a succession of L- shaped metal pipes (52) , each of which has a bottom end fixed to a respective step (50) and a top end fixed to the metal pipe (52) of the next step (50) . |
METHOD FOR PROVIDING A WATER TOWER, AND WATER TOWER
TECHNICAL SECTOR
The present invention relates to a method for providing a water tower and to a water tower .
PRIOR ART
The present invention relates to a method for building water towers made of reinforced concrete. As is known, water towers generally comprise a reservoir normally shaped like a truncated cone with its minor base facing downwards and connected to the top end of a stem or supporting column, which rises vertically upwards from a foundation slab or bed resting on the ground .
The water towers described above are generally built in a traditional way by providing in the first place the bed and the stem, and providing the reinforcement for the reservoir on top of the stem, and then building it. Even though the traditional method of construction of water towers described above has been used for a long time for building water towers, it presents numerous drawbacks, the most important of which is beyond doubt represented by the fact of having to reinforce and make a reservoir, which may be even of considerable dimensions, at a relatively great height and such as to render lifting of the materials necessary for construction problematical and render the working conditions hazardous for the workers .
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The aim of the present invention is to provide a method for building a water tower, as well as a water tower itself, that will be simple and inexpensive to produce and will constitute an improvement over the known art .
Provided in accordance with the present invention are a method
for building a water tower and a water tower according to what is set forth in the annexed claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The present invention will now be described with reference to the annexed drawings, which illustrate some non- limiting examples of embodiment thereof, wherein:
Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of a water tower provided according to the method of the present invention; - Figure 2 illustrates in axial cross section some details of the water tower of Figure 1 in a first step of lifting of a stem of the water tower itself;
Figures 3 to 7 illustrate, in axial cross section, the details of Figure 2 in some successive steps of lifting of the stem,-
Figure 8 is a cross section according to the line VIII- VIII of Figure 7;
Figure 9 is a view at an enlarged scale of a detail of Figure 6 ; - Figure 10 is a cross section according to the line X-X of Figure 9 ;
Figure 11 is a view of a different embodiment of the detail of Figure 9;
Figure 12 is an axial cross section at an enlarged scale of a reservoir for the water tower of Figure 1;
Figure 13 is a cross section according to the line XIII- XIII of Figure 12;
Figure 14 is a cross section at an enlarged scale of a stem of the water tower of Figure 1; - Figure 15 is a cross section according to the line XV-XV of Figure 14 ;
Figure 16 is a perspective view at an enlarged scale of a prefabricated step of a spiral staircase of Figure 14,-
Figure 17 is a schematic view of a variant of Figure 8 where three sets of hydraulic jacks are highlighted; and
Figure 18 is a schematic view, with parts removed for
reasons of clarity and partially in cross section, of a hydraulic jack used for lifting the stem of the water tower.
PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION In Figure 1, designated as a whole by the reference number 1 is a water tower made of reinforced concrete, comprising a bottom bed 2, a top reservoir 3 shaped substantially like a truncated cone and set with a smaller base 4 facing downwards, and a stem or column 5 set between the bed 2 and the smaller base 4 of the reservoir 3.
According to what is illustrated in Figure 2, the water tower 1 is built starting from the laying of the reinforced-concrete bed 2 inside a trench 6. The bed 2 is generally shaped like a truncated cone with a major base facing downwards and with a smaller base or top surface 7 functioning as resting surface for a dismantleable reinforcement 8 of a mobile formwork designated as a whole by 9 and designed to enable forming of the stem 5.
The reinforcement 8 is set on top of a plurality of vertical tubular ducts 10 closed at the bottom and made through part of the bed 2.
The reinforcement 8 comprises an outer wall 11 and an inner wall 12, which can be taken down and are coaxial to one another, are arranged with their axis set vertical, and rest with their bottom base on the top surface 7 of the bed 2. Extending through an annular space 13 comprised between the walls 11 and 12 are hydraulic jacks 14 uniformly distributed about the annular reinforcement 8 and each coaxial to a respective duct 10.
Each jack 14 comprises a central cylinder 15, extending from the top end of which is a mobile rod 16, and extending from the bottom end of which is a tubular foot 17 open at the
bottom, the external diameter of which is substantially equal to the internal diameter of the tubular ducts 10. Extending moreover from the bottom end of the central cylinder 15 is a fixed resting rod 18, set co-axial with respect to the corresponding tubular foot 17 and projecting therefrom with a free end of its own. Each fixed resting rod 18 has in cross section a substantially cross shape, and the corresponding tubular foot 17 has, in the proximity of its own top end, a supply duct 19, which is designed to set in communication with the outside the space comprised between the inner surface of the tubular foot 17 itself and the outer surface of the corresponding fixed resting rod 18.
The hydraulic jacks 14 are each mounted in an initial vertical position with the central cylinder 15 immediately above the top end of the reinforcement 8, with the tubular foot 17 set through the annular space 11 and partially engaged so that it can slide inside the corresponding tubular duct 10, and with the bottom end of the fixed resting rod 18 in contact with the bottom of the tubular duct 10 itself.
In the aforesaid initial position, the mobile rod 16 of each hydraulic jack 14 is set in a retracted position and is connected, at its own free end, to a respective segment 20 (Figure 7) of a removable annular beam 21 set in a substantially horizontal plane above the reinforcement 8 and co-axial with respect to the reinforcement 8 itself.
The annular beam 21 is rendered fixed with respect to the reinforcement 8 via a plurality of tie bars 22, the length of which is substantially equal to that of the hydraulic jacks 14 without the tubular foot 17 and the fixed resting rod 18 and which are set with the mobile rods 16 in a retracted position.
The annular beam 21 is fixed with respect to the reservoir 3 and constitutes a bottom structure for a formwork (not
illustrated) for forming of the reservoir 3, which is cast and completed substantially on the ground directly above the annular beam 21 set in the position illustrated in Figure 2.
Once the reservoir 3 has been completed, the aforesaid formwork (not illustrated) is taken down, and through the holes pre-formed in a bottom wall 23 of the reservoir 3 are passed pre-compression cables 24 (Figure 7) wound on drums 25 set inside the reservoir 3 and engaged at the bottom to the bed 2.
According to what is illustrated in Figure 3, construction of the stem 5 is started by inserting inside the annular space 13 reinforcement rods 26 (Figure 8) in order to provide, around each tubular foot 17, a substantially tubular reticular reinforcement 27. Next, concrete is cast in the annular space 13 so as to englobe the reinforcements 27 and to form a first segment 28 of the stem 5. Once consolidated, the segment 28 is fixedly anchored to the bed 2 and is traversed by a plurality of vertical ducts 29, which are each defined by the corresponding tubular foot 17 and communicate with the corresponding tubular ducts 10.
Gradually inserted through further vertical holes are round metal rods, which constitute a vertical reinforcement of the stem 5.
At this point or, alternatively, at start of operations before forming of the segment 28, sand 30 is fed in through each supply duct 19 so as to completely fill the entire part of each tubular duct 10 left free by the corresponding tubular foot 17.
Once the sand 30 has been fed in, all the hydraulic jacks 14 are operated simultaneously, according to what is illustrated in Figure 4 so as to bring the mobile rods 16 into their
extracted position and lift the reservoir 3 and, via the tie bars 22, the reinforcement 8, for a stretch less than the height of the reinforcement 8 itself, in order to prevent the reinforcement 8 from sliding out of the segment 28 that functions as slide guide for the reinforcement 8.
Next, according to what is illustrated in Figure 5, the mobile rod 16 of a first hydraulic jack 14 is brought back into the retracted position, thus bringing about advance of the corresponding central cylinder 15, of the corresponding tubular foot 17, and of the corresponding fixed resting rod 18. Inside the space created along the duct 29, by lifting of the tubular foot 17, there is then fed in further sand 30, which is compacted via the fixed resting rod 18 by setting the hydraulic jack 14 in question in action again by feeding inside it hydraulic fluid at a pressure at least equal to the weight of the reservoir 3 divided by the number of the hydraulic jacks 14 used, and such as to determine safe resting of the fixed resting rod 18 on the compacted sand 30, but as not to bring about lifting of the reservoir 3 itself.
The operation of advance described above is repeated in succession for all the hydraulic jacks 14 until the configuration illustrated in Figure 6 is reached, in which the weight of the reservoir 3 is perfectly balanced by the hydraulic jacks 14, each of which rests upon a respective column of compacted sand 30 and is set with its mobile rod 16 in the retracted position.
Inside the empty space created, between the walls 11 and 12, by lifting of the reinforcement 8, the tubular reinforcements
27 are prolonged, and new concrete is then cast, which, by consolidating, determines prolongation of the initial segment
28 by a stretch equal to the lifting of the reinforcement 8.
The cycle of operations described previously starting from the
configuration of Figure 3 is then repeated a given number of times until completion, in successive segments, of construction of the stem 5 and until the configuration illustrated in Figure 7 is reached, where the reservoir has reached the desired height and the hydraulic jacks 14 are arranged with their mobile rods 16 in an almost completely retracted position.
At this point, the segments of the annular beam 21 not loaded by the hydraulic jacks 14 are taken down, and supporting columns 31 are set between the top of the stem 5 and the bottom wall 23 of the reservoir 3. After fixing of the supporting columns 31 in position in any known way, the formwork 9 can finally be dismantled. At this point, construction of the water tower 1 is completed.
As has been said previously and illustrated in greater detail in Figures 9 and 10, each jack 14 comprises a fixed resting rod 18 set co-axial to the corresponding tubular foot 17 and projecting therefrom with a free end thereof. Each fixed resting rod 18 presents in cross section a substantially cross-like shape.
According to a different embodiment illustrated in Figure 11, in each hydraulic jack 14 the fixed resting rod 18 is replaced by a tubular element 18, which is fixed at the top with respect to the respective tubular foot 17 and concentric thereto (just as the resting rod 18) and is provided at the bottom with a closing plate 32 having a central through hole 33 for enabling off -flow of the sand 30 downwards. The external diameter of the tubular element 18 is approximately
15-30 mm narrower than the internal diameter of the corresponding tubular duct 10 in such a way as to enable a convenient longitudinal sliding of the tubular element 18 inside the tubular duct 10 without at the same time enabling significant transverse movements of the tubular element 18
with respect to the tubular duct 10. In other words, each tubular element 18 is concentric to the respective tubular foot 17, is fixed at the top to the tubular foot 17, and is slightly narrower than the tubular foot 17 itself.
Preferably, each closing plate 32 is hourglass-shaped and has a single central through hole 33 in order to favour off-flow of the sand 30 downwards and hinder backflow of the sand 30 upwards. In the embodiment illustrated in Figure 11, the closing plate 32 is hourglass-shaped and has an inclination downwards (i.e., the central through hole 33 is set in a position corresponding to the lower area of the closing plate 32) . According to a different • embodiment (not illustrated) , the closing plate 32 is hourglass-shaped and has an inclination upwards (i.e., the central through hole 33 is set in a position corresponding to the highest area of the closing plate 32) . In other words, the closing plate 32 could be turned through 180° with respect to what is illustrated in Figure 11. The vertical extension of the tubular elements 18 illustrated in the embodiment of Figure 11 is approximately equal to the vertical extension of the resting rods 18 illustrated in the embodiment of Figures 9 and 10.
Using the embodiment described in Figure 11, as compared to the embodiment illustrated in Figure 9 the load is transferred into a lower area and hence involves older segments 28 of the stem 5, in which the concrete has had a longer time to cure and which hence present a higher mechanical resistance.
Consequently, it is possible to increase the average rate of lifting of the reservoir 3, i.e., it is possible to reduce the times for construction of the water tower 1.
According to what is illustrated in Figure 12, the reservoir 3 comprises a circular plane bottom wall 34 connected to the top of the stem 5 and having a central hole 35. The reservoir 3 further comprises a side wall 36 made of reinforced concrete
substantially shaped like a truncated cone tapered downwards and extending upwards from the periphery of the wall 34. Finally, the reservoir 3 comprises a central pipe 37, which is co-axial to the stem 5, extends upwards from the portion of the wall 34 surrounding the central hole 35 and projects above a free top edge 38 of the side wall 36 defined by a horizontal annular surface.
The reservoir 3 is provided with a covering, which is designated as a whole by the number 39 and comprises a horizontal plane central slab 40 of a circular shape, supported by the central pipe 37 and co-axial thereto, and a peripheral slab 41 substantially shaped like a truncated cone tapered upwards, the internal periphery of which engages the external periphery of the slab 40, and the external periphery of which rests on the top edge 38 of the side wall 36 and engages an internal surface 42 shaped like a truncated cone of the side wall 36 itself.
The central pipe 37 has, in the proximity of its own top end, an outer annular flange 43, and the slab 40 is constituted by a beam 44 made of reinforced concrete and having an annular shape set around the central pipe 37. The beam 44 rests with its own internal periphery on the flange 43 and is limited on the outside by a surface shaped like a truncated cone.
The central pipe 37 is formed by joining a plurality of tubular segments 45 stacked on top of one another. Spread between two successive segments 45 is cementitious material or, alternatively, resins for ensuring continuity of the material and hence impermeabilization in an area corresponding to the join. In addition, the segments 45 that constitute the central pipe 37 are packed together by means of four pre- compression tie bars 47, which extend from the wall 34 to a plate 47 for top closing of the central pipe 37. According to what is illustrated in Figure 13, each tie bar 47 is
constituted by a metal strand set inside a vertical through hole 48 made through a side wall of the segments 45 that constitute the central pipe 37.
The function of the central pipe 37 is to enable inspection of the reservoir 3 when the reservoir 3 itself is full of water. For this purpose, the central pipe 37 is provided inside with a ladder (not illustrated) , which originates at the smaller base 4 of the reservoir 3 and terminates in a position corresponding to a top inspection opening (not illustrated) made through the side wall of the central pipe 37.
According to what is illustrated in Figures 14 and 15, in order to enable reaching of the smaller base 4 of the reservoir 3 (and hence continue ascent through the central pipe 37) the stem 5 is provided on the inside with a spiral staircase 49 constituted by a succession of steps 50, which are fixed in cantilever fashion to a side wall of the stem 5 and are set on top of one another at progressively increasing heights. The spiral staircase 49 is preferably provided with a metal handrail 51 comprising a succession of L-shaped metal pipes 52, each of which has a bottom end fixed to a respective step 50 and a top end fixed to the metal pipe 52 of the next step 50.
According to what is illustrated in Figure 16, each step 50 is constituted by a block of reinforced concrete comprising a vertical base 53, which is fixed by means of bolts to a side wall of the stem 5 and a horizontal element 54, which extends in cantilever fashion from the vertical base 53.
The vertical base 53 is provided on one side with a through hole 55, inserted through which is a fixing bolt (not illustrated) , which is screwed through a blind hole made in the side wall of the stem 5. In addition, the vertical base 53 is shaped in such a way as to present, in a position
corresponding to the through hole 55, a resting surface 56 for the vertical base 53 of the next step 50 and so as to present, on the opposite side of the through hole 55, an appendage 57 set in cantilever fashion and designed to rest on the resting surface 56 of the previous step 50. In other words, each step 50 rests on one side on the previous step 50 and, on the opposite side, provides a support for the next step 50. The first step 50 rests on the bottom bed 2 of the water tower 1, whereas the last step 50 does not provide any support for any step 50.
Preferably, the horizontal element 54 of each step has, both in plan view and in vertical section, the shape of a truncated cone and terminates with a vertical wall having a pair of blind threaded holes 58, screwed in which are bolts for fixing the respective metal pipe 52 of the handrail 51.
According to a preferred embodiment illustrated in Figure 17, the hydraulic jacks 14 are divided into three operating sets (represented with a dashed line in Figure 17 and designated by the roman numerals I, II and III) , which are equivalent to one another, symmetrical, and independent. The three operating sets are equivalent to one another, i.e., they each comprise one and the same number of hydraulic jacks 14, and are symmetrical with respect to one another, i.e., the centroids A of thrust of the three operating sets correspond to the vertices of an equilateral triangle centred on the centroid B of the weight of the reservoir 3. Said requisites of equivalence and symmetry of the three operating sets can be easily respected in so far as the water tower 1 is an intrinsically symmetrical and balanced structure given that it presents a perfect cylindrical symmetry about a longitudinal axis of its own set centrally.
The hydraulic jacks 14 of each operating set are connected to a respective flowrate-controlled proportional solenoid valve
59, which can be controlled to adjust the flowrate of pressurized oil that is fed to the jacks 14 of the operating set. According to a possible embodiment, provided downstream of the proportional solenoid valve 59 are shut-off solenoid valves (not illustrated) , each of which supplies the pressurized oil to a respective hydraulic jack 14 and can be closed to interrupt supply of the pressurized oil to the hydraulic jack 14 itself.
It should be emphasized that the proportional solenoid valve 59 of one operating set is independent of the proportional solenoid valves 59 of the other two operating sets. In addition, to each hydraulic jack 14 there can be coupled a respective linear position sensor 60 (typically a linear encoder) , which measures the position of the rod 16 with respect to the cylinder 15 so as to be able to measure in real time the effective expansion of the hydraulic jack 14 itself. During lifting, the system is constantly monitored by a control unit 61, which is connected to pressure sensors 62 for measuring the effective pressure in the proportional solenoid valves 59, is connected to the position sensors 60 (if present) for measuring the effective extension of each hydraulic jack 14, and is connected to an inclination sensor 63 (illustrated in detail in Figure 12) , which measures in real time the inclination of the reservoir 3 with respect to the vertical. In certain particular situations, the control unit 61 could also be connected to a series of strain gauges with large bases applied to the reservoir 3 for measuring the stresses induced on the reservoir 3 itself by lifting.
According to what is illustrated in Figure 12, the inclination sensor 63 comprises a plumb-line 64 suspended inside the central pipe 37 of the reservoir 3 and a reader 65 (for example, a telecamera or a magnetic proximity sensor) , which reads the position of the free end of the plumb-line 64. Said mode of implementation of the inclination sensor 63 presents
the dual advantage of being economically advantageous to produce and offering a high precision of measurement. As an alternative or in addition (in order to have redundant measurements) to the inclination sensor 63 illustrated in Figure 12, it is possible to use commercially available inclinometers, which are fixed (screwed or glued) to a wall of the reservoir 3 or of the central pipe 37.
Upon lifting of the reservoir 3 described previously, by means of the respective proportional solenoid valve 59, the hydraulic circuits of the hydraulic jacks 14 of each operating set are connected in parallel to an oil pump (not illustrated) . Lifting of the reservoir 3 is performed by expanding the hydraulic jacks 14 of all three the operating sets together. During lifting of the reservoir 3, the control unit 61 determines the effective value of inclination of the reservoir 3 with respect to the vertical by means of the inclination sensor 63 and governs the proportional solenoid valves 59 in feedback control in order to maintain the effective value of the inclination of the reservoir 3 with respect to the vertical equal to a desired pre-set value (typically the ideal condition of perfect verticality) and in any case not above a maximum pre-set value (for obvious reasons of safety and stability of the structure) . In other words, a desired value (typically the ideal condition of perfect verticality) of the inclination of the reservoir 3 with respect to the vertical is established beforehand, and, during lifting, the effective value of the inclination of the reservoir 3 with respect to the vertical measured by the inclination sensor 63 is used as feedback variable by the control unit 61 for adjusting opening of the proportional solenoid valves 59 of the three operating sets. Typically, the error signal of the inclination of the reservoir 3 with respect to the vertical (i.e., the difference between the desired value and the effective value of the inclination of the reservoir 3 with respect to the vertical) is processed by
one or more PID regulators to determine a signal for driving the proportional solenoid valves 59. For example, if during lifting the reservoir 3 leans towards one operating set, then the control unit 61 will increase the flow of oil to this operating set and simultaneously will decrease the flow of oil to the other two operating sets. It is clear that, if the effective value of the inclination of the reservoir 3 with respect to the vertical exceeds the maximum value, then lifting is immediately interrupted to determine and eliminate the cause of said excessive inclination.
Thanks to the feedback control described above, it is possible to ensure that during lifting the reservoir 3 will maintain a correct inclination with respect to the vertical and it is hence possible to carry out lifting at an average rate higher than the average rate used up to the present day. In any case, lifting of the reservoir 3 is normally carried out at a low average rate so as to be always in static conditions. The low operating rate guarantees a high margin of safety in the lifting operation in so far as, if the dynamic actions are totally eliminated, it is possible to refer to the standards for static conditions. In addition, lifting can be stopped at any instant for enabling monitoring, calibrations, or modifications on the electrical control system or on the hydraulic system.
The function of the pressure sensors 62 and of the position sensors 60 is to monitor the situation of the system in order to check whether, as a whole, the system is balanced (as may be expected in view of the high degree of symmetry of the system itself) or presents any imbalance that is potentially an index of malfunctioning or the like. In other words, given that the system has an extremely high degree of symmetry, the pressure of the oil would have to be the same in all three proportional solenoid valves 59, and the expansion would have to be the same for all the hydraulic jacks 14. If this does
not occur, it is possible that there is malfunctioning, which it is advisable to investigate.
According to a different embodiment, lifting of the reservoir 3 is performed by expanding together the hydraulic jacks 14 of just one operating set at a time, whilst the hydraulic jacks 14 of the other two operating sets are kept in a state of pause. In other words, lifting of the reservoir 3 envisages simultaneous expansion of the hydraulic jacks 14 of just one operating set at a time so as to enable at each step a lifting by 1-3 cm. This procedure produces minor rotations of the reservoir 3 with respect to the horizontal plane, and said rotations are enabled on account of the effect of compensation provided by the overall elasticity of the system.
It should be considered that the reservoir 3 from the static standpoint is resting on three points (the centroids A of thrust) provided with a spherical hinge. For this reason, it is possible to carry out lifting by activating one operating set at a time, and the entire reservoir 3 will rotate about the axis passing through the centroids A of thrust of the other two operating sets in pause conditions, without any onset of states of constraint of a statically indeterminate nature .
Generally, the reservoir 3 undergoes, at each lifting step, an inclination with respect to the vertical of fractions of a degree; the component along said inclined plane of the weight of the reservoir 3 is very modest and hence negligible.
According to a further embodiment, the hydraulic jacks 14 are not divided into the three operating sets described above, but form a single operating set. In other words, the hydraulic circuits of all the hydraulic jacks 14 are connected through one and the same proportional solenoid valve 59 to an oil pump. In this embodiment, all the hydraulic jacks 14 expand
together .
According to what is illustrated in Figure 18, each hydraulic jack 14 is a double-acting hydraulic jack and comprises a bottom chamber 66 and a top chamber 67, which are designed to be filled with pressurized oil, are provided with respective pistons 68 connected to the mobile rod 16, and are alternatively filled and emptied to displace the mobile rod 16 in two opposite directions. In the embodiment illustrated in Figure 18, a single common piston 68 is provided for both of the chambers 66 and 67, i.e., a single body that performs the function of piston for both of the chambers 66 and 67.
In particular, in order to expand a hydraulic jack 14 the bottom chamber 66 is filled through an inlet/outlet opening
69, and simultaneously the top chamber 67 is emptied through an inlet/outlet opening 70. In order to retract a hydraulic jack 14, the bottom chamber 66 is emptied through the inlet/outlet opening 69, and simultaneously the top chamber 67 is filled through the inlet/outlet opening 70.
Set in a position corresponding to the inlet/outlet opening 70 of each hydraulic jack 14 is a proportional valve 71, which is designed to choke outlet of oil from the top chamber 67.
In use, during lifting of the reservoir 3 there are identified any possible hydraulic jacks 14 that are less loaded, which, on account of the lower load, expand more than the others (i.e., they expand more rapidly, and hence, in one and the same time interval, they perform a greater expansion) . The difference of load between the various hydraulic jacks 14 is due to a lack of symmetry of the ensemble. In other words, on account of minor degrees of lack of symmetry, that are difficult to avoid, the centroid A of thrust of the hydraulic jacks 14 may not coincide with the centroid B of the weight of the reservoir 3 and, on account of said difference, some
hydraulic jacks 14 are less loaded than other hydraulic jacks 14. Consequently, given the same hydraulic thrust, the less loaded hydraulic jacks 14 expand more rapidly and hence determine a progressive inclination of the reservoir 3 with respect to the vertical .
In order to identify any possible hydraulic jacks 14 that are less loaded, it is possible to monitor (i.e., detect) the expansion of all the hydraulic jacks 14 so as to determine any possible hydraulic jacks 14 that expand more than the others or else it is possible to interpret the signals supplied by the inclination sensor 63 (i.e., by analysing the inclination of the reservoir 3, it is possible to determine the position of the less loaded hydraulic jacks 14, which expand more than the others) .
Once the hydraulic jacks 14 that are less loaded (i.e., subjected to a lower load) are identified, the load on the less loaded hydraulic jacks 14 is hydraulically increased in order to balance the loads of all the hydraulic jacks 14. In order to increase hydraulically the load of one hydraulic jack 14, the outlet of the oil from the top chamber 67 which is emptied of oil during the displacement upwards of the mobile rod 16 is choked. Said choking is performed by closing the proportional valve 71 set in a position corresponding to the opening 70 for inlet/outlet of the oil of the top chamber 67. In other words, in order to compensate for the differences in load on the various hydraulic jacks 14, to the force of gravity acting on the hydraulic jacks 14 there added is, where necessary, a further load of hydraulic origin (i.e., a fictitious balancing load) obtained by choking the proportional valves 71 so that the sum of the force of gravity and of the load of hydraulic origin is the same for all the hydraulic jacks 14. In this way, by balancing the overall load on all the hydraulic jacks 14, lifting of the reservoir 3 can proceed along a perfectly vertical path.