=Leading Frames.=--As already stated, leading frames are the patterns,
or molds, used in building the side walls of the lining. Like the ground
mold they are usually built of plank; one side being cut to the curve of
the profile, and the other being made parallel to the vertical axis of
the tunnel section. The vertical side usually has some arrangement by
which a plumb bob can be attached, as shown by Fig. 40, to guide the
workmen in erecting the frame. The combined leading frame and ground
mold shown in Fig. 39 has already been described. The use of this frame
is possible only where the masonry is begun at the invert and carried up
on each side at the same time. This mode of construction is peculiar to
the English method of tunneling; in all other methods the form of
separate ground frame shown by Fig. 40 is employed. The ground frames
are lined in and leveled up by transit and level; and, as in setting the
ground frames, care must be taken to secure accuracy in both direction
and elevation.
=Arch Centers.=--The template or form upon which the roof arch is built
is called a center. Unlike the ground molds and leading frames, the arch
centers have to support the weight of the masonry and the roof pressures
during the construction of the lining, and they, therefore, require to
be made strong. Owing to the fact that the pressures are indeterminate,
it is impossible to design a rational center, and resort is had to those
constructions which past experience has shown to work satisfactorily
under similar conditions. In a general way it can always be assumed that
the construction should be as simple as possible, that the center should
be so designed that it can be set up and removed with the least possible
labor, and that the different pieces of the framework and lagging should
be as short as possible, for convenience in handling.
Tunnel centers are usually composed of two parts,--a mold or curved
surface upon which the masonry rests, and a framework which supports the
mold. The curved surface or mold consists of a lagging of narrow boards
running parallel to the tunnel axis, which rests upon the arched top
members of two or more consecutive supporting frames. The supporting
frame is built in the form of a truss, and must be made strong enough to
withstand the heavy superimposed loads, consisting of the arch masonry
during construction, and of the roof pressures which are transferred to
the center when the strutting is removed to allow the masonry to be
placed. The framework of the center is supported either by posts resting
upon the floor of the excavation, or upon the invert masonry when this
is built first, as in the English and Austrian methods, or it may be
supported directly upon the ground where the arch masonry is built
first, as in the Belgian method of tunneling.
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