Rib Clip
Imagine how tunnel support costs and installation time would be reduced if butt plates were not required?
Underground Support Systems has developed a patent pending Rib Clip design to do exactly this. The benefits of such a design go beyond the rib cost itself. Without butt plates, nuts and bolts are not needed to join the flanges. Also, the inner lined tunnel diameter can be reduced accordingly because there is no “lost space” caused by the butt plates protruding inside the tunnel. This change either reduces the amount of support concrete to be poured or permits a larger pipe to be installed.
The Rib Clip design allows spacers to be installed between the rib ends to accommodate expansion of the Rib Support to the full tunnel diameter.
The Rib Clip is in the final stages of field testing.
-
Eliminates butt plates, nuts, bolts
-
No lost space caused by butt plates protruding inside the tunnel, reducing the amount of support concrete or pipe size
-
Allows spacers to be installed between rib ends for expansion to the full tunnel diameter