Author: Robbins

Robbins Disc Cutter Assembly - Time Lapse

Posted by Robbins | May 26, 2017 | Videos

Did you know that all Robbins disc cutters are assembled in Kent, Washington, USA? See how we do it in this time lapse construction of a Small Boring Unit disc cutter, 6.5 inches in diameter.

Robbins Crossover TBM: Breaking Records at TEP II

Posted by Robbins | May 26, 2017 | Videos

At Mexico City’s Túnel Emisor Poniente II (TEP II), a Robbins Crossover (XRE) TBM has excavated at record-breaking speeds through varying geology – even breaking a national record of 57 meters in a single day. Watch how the 8.7 m diameter Robbins Crossover machine will supplement an existing and overtaxed wastewater line built in the 1970’s.

Robbins Continuous Conveyors

Posted by Robbins | May 26, 2017 | Videos

The Robbins Company holds nearly 90% of world records for tunnel boring machines, and behind two thirds of those TBMs are continuous conveyor systems for rapid muck removal. Every conveyor system is customized to a project’s particular requirements, including ground conditions, tunnel alignment, and project location. This video explains how Robbins continuous conveyors transport muck efficiently and why they are sought after by contractors worldwide.

Robbins Celebrates Tough Tunnels for Clean Energy

Posted by Robbins | May 17, 2017 | News

In April 2017, a ceremony was held to celebrate the commissioning of the Dariali Hydropower Project in the Republic of Georgia. Many attended the ceremony marking the first carbon-neutral hydropower project in the world, including Georgian Prime Minister, Giorgi Kvirikashvili. The power station, an independent power project (IPP) developed through Dariali Energy Ltd, was a joint venture involving three other firms: Georgian private companies Peri Ltd and Energy LLC, and state-owned Georgian Energy Development Fund (GEDF). The Dariali HPP gathers water from the Tergi River and directs it through the headrace tunnel to the power house located near the Russian—Georgian border. Each year, the site will generate 500 GWhs of carbon-neutral energy, with 70 percent of power production occurring during the country’s summer months.

Robbins also invested in the project by gaining equity through supplying tunneling equipment and services in consortium with contractor Peri. “Robbins understood the risk in the tunneling portion of the project and we were compensated for taking on part of the risk. Peri is a long-time customer, as we supplied a TBM to them 15 years ago for a small project in Georgia. It was great to be invited to invest and risk share on this project, and to work together again,” said Robbins President Lok Home. The 5 km (3 mi) long headrace tunnel for the power station was bored with the use of a 5.5 m (18 ft) diameter Robbins Main Beam TBM starting in February 2012.

Due to the remote and mountainous location of the jobsite 160 km (100 mi) from the capital Tbilisi, the machine was shipped in pieces to contractor Peri’s workshop, where they were refurbished under Robbins supervision and then delivered to the site to be assembled. Each piece was transported by truck down narrow, winding roads that eventually gave way to dirt paths. Assembly at the jobsite was difficult, as the project site at a 1,700 m (1.0 mi) altitude was blanketed in snow and components arrived in December. Bone-chilling temperatures often reached negative 15 degrees Celsius (5ºF), and 40 below with the wind chill factor. Once the machine had launched, it encountered difficult ground including slate, sandstone, limestone and malms with fault zones.

“The main challenges we faced were boring the tunnel at a 6 percent incline and having restricted access to service the machine. There were also two major landslides that delayed the project for over a year,” said Home. After the first landslide, the access tunnel, which had allowed mud and water to enter the power station, had to be relocated at a higher elevation and facing away from the river valley. When the machine was nearing the end of its bore, a second landslide blocked the exit portal for the machine as well as access to the main highway. Despite these challenges, tunneling crews persevered and the machine successfully holed through in October 2014.

Throughout the construction process, careful steps were taken to minimize the carbon footprint. Although the plant’s energy production is carbon emission free, construction of the plant was not. To offset these emissions, 7,000 seedlings are being planted all around the area in a reforestation effort. In years to come, the trees will absorb enough carbon dioxide to compensate for the emissions produced during the construction of the hydropower plant.

Overall, said Home, there is much to celebrate as the project has immense benefits: “Not only does it provide affordable electrical power for the country with essentially no pollution effects, but it also provided jobs during construction and will continue providing jobs during its operation and maintenance.”

Robbins TBM Takes on Eighth Bore for Galerie des Janots Project

Posted by Robbins | Apr 27, 2017 | News

A Robbins TBM, recently christened “Augustine”, is being commissioned to undertake its eighth bore after being launched by contractor Eiffage Civil Engineering on March 3. The TBM, which was extensively modernized and upgraded during the rebuild for the Galerie des Janots project in La Ciotat, France, has previously completed seven other successful projects across Europe and Hong Kong. This time, it will bore the Janots gallery to improve access to water in the communities east of the Aix-Marseille-Provence metropolis (Cassis, Roquefort-la-Bédoule, La Ciotat and Ceyreste). “It’s a single machine 3.5 meters (11.5 ft) in diameter, 250 metric tons (275 US tons), and 135 meters (443 ft) long, that will work 24 hours a day for almost 10 months during this operation,” says Marc Dhiersat, Project Director of Galerie des Janots for Eiffage.

Currently, the machine is ramping up as back-up decks are being installed. As of April 2017, the machine has bored more than 51 m (167 ft), mainly encountering limestone. “Limestone is a rock easy to dig, but one can be confronted with the phenomenon of karst,” explains Loïc Thévenot, Director of Underground Works for Eiffage. “For this purpose, the tunnel boring machine is equipped with a probe drill. If the karst is small, we will fill it with concrete. If it is large, we will erect a small parallel gallery.”

Galerie des Janots is one of the fourteen operations designed to save water and protect resources, which are being carried out by the Aix-Marseille-Provence metropolis, water agency Rhône Mediterranean Corsica, and the State Government. The future Janots gallery will replace existing pipelines currently located in the railway tunnel that have significant safety and vulnerability deficiencies with estimated water losses of 500,000 cubic meters (132 million gallons) per year. According to Danielle Milon, Mayor of Cassis, “This is an investment of 55 million euros (USD $59 million) with 11 million in aid from the water agency. This project required 10 years of reflection and work to improve water supply. And water is essential for the development of each municipality, and for citizens’ well-being.”

Augustine is boring a tunnel 2,750 m (1.7 mi) long, and will pass under Le Parc National des Calanques, with cover between 15 and 180 meters (50 to 600 ft), in order to replace the pipes that are currently being utilized for the water supply networks. “[The current pipes] have a capacity of transit limited to 330 liters (87 gallons) per second, which is largely insufficient in the summer period. The objective of the operation is to increase to 440 liters (116 gallons) per second,” says Dhiersat. Once the project is complete, networks can easily be maintained in comparison to the old pipes currently running beneath the railway.