FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates to a method for track construction developed for use in railway track construction.

In particular, the present invention relates to a method for track construction developed for use in the construction of ballastless railway tracks leveraging a prefabricated, ballastless track superstructure.

KNOWN PRIOR ART

Different types of tracks, ballasted and ballastless, are used in the construction of the railway tracks Ballastless tracks, which are more economical in the long run compared to ballasted ones, are more advantageous than ballasted lines in terms of being light and maintenance-free. This enables ballastless tracks to be widely used in the known art. In addition, ballasted tracks cause trouble in the application in tunnels due to the limited gauge, and ballast parts bouncing at high speeds in regular routes lead to serious problems. The ballastless tracks with reinforced concrete components, which can be prefabricated or cast-in-place, can be manufactured in different styles (in terms of number of the sleepers) such as intermittent, continuous, prefabricated or multi-piece. As for the curing in the production process, curing with chemical curing composition, coating with sackcloth, wetting with curing water and PVC layer methods can be used alone or in combinations.

Another problem of the practices currently applied in the known art is that they require intensive labor. In the existing applications, the bearing layers under the panels are provided with steel reinforcements. Intensive labor is required for the application of these steel reinforcements, and this manual operation reduces the application speed. Furthermore, operation steps such as placing the sliding wedge reinforcements require a sensitive operation process, and various problems can occur during the construction process in cases where the desired sensitivity cannot be achieved or there are labor-based errors.

Following a patent search concerning the known art, a patent application numbered EP1733094 B1 of Porr company was identified. The document in question describes the use of steel reinforcement placed for the sliding wedge gaps prior to the cast-in-place concrete. However, in the present invention, the sliding wedge gaps are designed to contract downwards, unlike the document no. EP1733094 B1. In this way, the prefabricated element is more easily removed from the mold during the production phase. In the patent document numbered TR 2017/02053 of Wegh Group, anchorage application is described for the sliding wedge gaps so that the shaft element is fixed in the drilled hole. However, in the present invention, instead of the sliding wedge application, the sliding wedge reinforcement is used as a solution.

As a result, as mentioned above, many problems and disadvantages are experienced in the known art, and existing systems are insufficient in eliminating these problems and disadvantages. This situation entails improvement and innovation in the known art.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a method for track construction which is developed for use in railway track construction and meets the above-mentioned requirement, eliminates all the disadvantages and provides some additional advantages.

The primary objective of the invention is to provide ease of application in the track construction process by using macro and/or micro synthetic fiber reinforcement instead of reinforcement mesh or ribbed steel reinforcement, which are frequently used in known art in the self- compacted concrete bearing layer. In the present invention, micro synthetic fiber reinforcement is used to remove drying and plastic shrinkage cracks, while macro synthetic fiber reinforcement is used to ensure structural strength. This also contributes to the standardization of product quality.

Another objective of the present invention is to provide a method for track construction that includes the operation step of placing sliding wedge reinforcements into slide wedge gaps in the panelray structuring after casting self-compacted concrete. Thus, the construction process is facilitated and the need for intensive labor is eliminated.

Yet another objective of the present invention is to eliminate the problem that, in the known art, the standard of the product quality experienced in relation to the cast-in-place panels cannot be adjusted. In the method of the present invention, using a prefabricated panel ensures standard product quality and ease of application.

The structural properties, characteristics and all the advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood thanks to the figures below and the detailed description written with reference to these figures. For this reason, the assessment should be made in consideration of the figures and detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

Figure 1 shows the construction method of the present invention.

Figure 2 shows the top view of the panelray.

Figure 3 shows the perspective view of the panelray.

Figure 4 shows the lateral view of the panelray.

Figure 5 shows a typical cross-sectional view of the track.

Figure 6 shows the schematic view of the sliding wedge.

Figure 7 shows the view of the self-compacted concrete and slab concrete.

Figure 8 shows the general view of the joint detail.

REFERENCE LIST

1 Rail

2 Fastening System

3 Panelray

4 Self-Compacted Concrete

5 Slab Concrete

6 Sliding Wedge Gap

7 Sliding Wedge Reinforcement

8 Mass Spring System

9 Steel Joint Plate

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In this detailed description, the preferred embodiments of the present invention are provided for the purpose of better explaining the subject matter, and should in no way be construed so as to limit the claims.

The present invention relates to a method for track construction developed for use in railway track construction. In the method of the present invention, firstly, a number of panelrays (3) are placed on wedges by means of rods, depending on the route. The panelray in question (3) is a prefabricated reinforced concrete element used in the ballastless track. There are at least two sliding wedge gaps (6) on the panelrays (3). In this way, the preassembly process is completed. Fastening elements (2) are assembled on the preassembled panelrays (3) in order to transfer the loads affecting the rail (1 ) to the panelray (3) and to connect the rail (1 ) to the panelray (3). The rails (1 ) are then placed on the panelrays (3) and fixed by means of the fasteners (2). The required track geometry is achieved for the panelrays (3) with the help of the support equipment. Following the achievement of the required geometry, the horizontal and vertical position controls of the track and the cleaning of the sliding wedge gaps (6) on the track and the panelray (3) are also performed at this stage. The last operation step is to cast self-compacted concrete (4) beneath the panelrays (3). Self-compacted concrete (4) is a mixture that allows panelrays (3) to work together as a reinforced concrete slab and contains a superfluid material. Joint is applied on any point with the help of a steel plate on the self-compacted concrete (4) between two successive panelrays (3). The joint detail should be applied by one-fourth of the self-compacted concrete (4) depth. The structure that allows the self-compacted concrete (4) to be cast is the sliding wedge gaps (6). These sliding wedge gaps (6) are responsible for providing resistance against shearing force. After the concrete casting, the reinforcement (7) of multiple sliding wedges is placed into the sliding wedge gaps (6). After the self-compacted concrete (4) in the sliding wedge cracks, the resistance to shear force is ensured by the sliding wedge reinforcement (7). The rails (1 ) and fastening elements (2) are coated with polythene or any other suitable material to protect them from potential concrete wastes and bounces, and then the curing is applied. The operation steps are applied for each panel, respectively, in the part where concrete casting is performed. After the self-compacted concrete (4) has obtained the minimum compressive strength, the molds are removed and cleaned to be re-used.

When the self-compacted concrete (4) reaches an adequate level of strength, the steel plate (9) in the joint gap is removed and the gap is filled with an insulating material. The coating that protects the fastening elements (2) and rails (1 ) is removed, and all the precast panels forming the entire railway are fastened to each other.