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Author: Robbins
BTS Conference
Event Name: BTS Conference
Dates: March 2-3, 2021
Location: London, UK
Stand: B26
Come visit Robbins at the BTS Conference & Exhibition in London, stand B26 and hear relevant talks on industry hot topics while getting expert advice and information from our team of experienced staff. Check back here for updates as the conference date approaches.
Over 1,200 Meters per Month in Himalayan Geology
Nepal’s first TBM-driven tunnel was a success by any standard: The Robbins Double Shield machine bored up to 1,200 meters a month and finished the Bheri Babai Diversion Multipurpose Project nearly a year early. But how were crews able to bore so quickly? And what made the contractor and owner ultimately decide to use a TBM for the first time?
Watch our complimentary 30-minute webinar with Brad Grothen P.E., Robbins Technical Director, and Missy Isaman P.E., Robbins Project Engineer, as we discuss the challenges, lessons learned, and recommendations for future tunnels in mountainous geology.
Watch the Recording
Bauma CONEXPO India
Event Name: Bauma CONEXPO India
Dates: April 20-23, 2021
Location: New Delhi, India
Come visit Robbins at Bauma CONEXPO India in New Delhi to get expert advice and information from our team of experienced staff. Stay tuned for more information on what you can expect to see from Robbins at the show.
TBMs For Norwegian Small Hydropower Projects
Small hydroelectric projects, with installed capacity up to 10 megawatts (MW), are a relatively untapped but potentially game-changing source of renewable energy in North America. In Norway, hydro projects are pioneering the use of small diameter TBMs in hard rock. Compared with drill and blast, TBMs offer increased production rates and reduction in cross section, among other benefits. The uniquely designed machines are engineered to take on steep gradients, up to a 45-degree angle in some cases.
Completing Mexico City’s Mixed Ground Mega Tunnel: Emisor Oriente
On May 23, 2019, the last of six 8.93 m diameter EPBs completed excavation at Mexico City’s Túnel Emisor Oriente (TEO), a feat marking the completion of ten years and 62.1 km of tunneling. The TEO is a critically-designated plan to stem severe flooding while boosting wastewater capacity, and is the country’s largest infrastructure project. The six EPB TBMs excavated some of the most complex geology on earth, ranging from abrasive volcanic rock to watery clays.
Project Clear: Efficient Hard Rock Tunneling below St. Louis, Missouri
The Metropolitan St. Louis Water District’s Project Clear is a 28-year program targeting water quality and wastewater capacity throughout St. Louis, MO. The extensive program involves multiple tunnels, including Deer Creek, a 6.3 km long tunnel being bored with the largest TBM ever used in the St. Louis area (6.5 m in diameter). Another tunnel, Jefferson Barracks, is using TBM components that have bored over 40 km of tunnel since 1981.
Cutting Edge Virtual Event
Event Name: Cutting Edge Conference
Dates: November 10-11, 2020
Location: Dallas, Texas, USA
Come visit Robbins at the Cutting Edge Conference, now a virtual event, and hear relevant talks on industry hot topics. Learn more about the largest hard rock TBM ever to operate in the USA at the Mill Creek Project. The 11.6 m (38.1 ft) diameter Robbins Main Beam TBM is excavating an 8 km (5 mi) long tunnel in Dallas.
Tune in during the technical sessions as well to find out the latest on tunnel boring machinery for mines, presented by Robbins Chief Engineer Dennis Ofiara:
Tuesday November 10, Session 2 – Innovation in Tunneling
| 1:30 pm MST | The Future of Tunnel Boring for Underground Mines Dennis Ofiara, The Robbins Company |
TAC 2020
Event Name: TAC 2020 Toronto: Vision Underground
Dates: September 28-30, 2020
Location: Toronto, ON, Canada
Come visit Robbins at the Tunnelling Association of Canada (TAC) Conference in Toronto, Canada and hear relevant white papers while getting expert advice and information from our team of experienced staff. Stay tuned for more information on what you can expect to see from Robbins at the show.
Tough TBM breaks through after navigating Faults, Karst, and More
In January 2020, a Robbins 5.97 m (19.6 ft) diameter Main Beam TBM cleared its final hurdle when it broke through in Guangxi Province, China. The TBM excavated its first of two tunnels, an 11.9 km (7.4 mi) long conduit for Lot 1 of the North Line Water Irrigation Project, Letan Water Reservoir, Drought-Relief. The tunnel was marked by a gauntlet of challenges, from karst cavities to fault zones and water inflows. The workers on the jobsite, contractor Guangdong No. 2 Hydropower Bureau Co., Ltd., and the owner, Construction Management Bureau for the Letan Water Reservoir, had much to celebrate after completion of what is widely regarded as the most complex and longest tunnel on the North Line project.
Boring with the Robbins Main Beam TBM and continuous conveyor system began in summer 2015. “There was no precedent in this province for using a Main Beam TBM to excavate a tunnel longer than 10 km. We didn’t have relevant local experience to use for reference,” explained Yongjiu Jin, Deputy Manager of the Project for contractor Guangdong No. 2 Hydropower Bureau Co., Ltd. The machine did encounter a number of difficult geological obstacles as it bored through limestone rock, but was still able to achieve advance rates up to 40 m (130 ft) per day in good ground.
Much of the geology consisted of lightly weathered limestone in rock class II to III, with some sections in class IV to V rock that required the heaviest amount of ground support, ranging from rock bolts to ring beams and mesh. “Our team encountered a coal seam, gasses in the tunnel, two large water inrushes, three fault zones up to 103 m long, 11 karst cavities, and more. In order to solve the ground problems, there were more than 160 special technical research meetings held,” said Yongjiu.
Throughout tunneling, the contractor expressed thanks for Robbins Field Service staff. “Robbins personnel provided good technical support from equipment installation and commissioning through to tunnel completion. After the equipment was handed over to our company, they still helped us with equipment usage on our project, which makes us very satisfied with the Robbins after-sales service. Robbins really delivered: the after-sales phase was not the end of service, but the beginning of site service,” said Yongjiu.
While the completion of the first tunnel—the longest single-heading construction on record for water tunnels in Guangxi—is a milestone, there is more to do. The Robbins machine will be inspected and relaunched to bore a second tunnel 4.2 km (2.6 mi) in length. The ground conditions are predicted to be equally challenging, but the tunneling operation has some help from ground prediction methodology. Tunnel Reflection Tomography (TRT)—consisting of ground prediction using seismic waves—is being used to detect changing conditions ahead of the TBM. The method can predict the distribution and scale of joints and fissures, allowing the crew to plan ahead.
Located near Laibin City, the North Line project provides much needed drought relief using a network of tunnels totaling 29.4 km (18.3 mi). “This tunnel will realize the dream of drought control that people in Central Guangxi have had for many years. The breakthrough is the most important milestone event in this first phase of the North Line project,” said Yongjiu.
Big Data: Innovative Technology to make TBM Tunneling more Efficient
Modern TBMs are data-driven systems, from ground investigation tools ahead of the machine to touch-screen technology in operator’s cabins, to integration with programs on the surface. Today’s TBMs, paired with cutting-edge data collection and monitoring, can efficiently bore in even the most demanding circumstances.
In this complimentary 40-minute webinar, Robbins VP of Operations Steve Chorley and Aaron McClellan, Tunnel Superintendent III for Kiewit Underground, will explore the latest and greatest innovations in technology for TBMs. Nearly all the parameters of a TBM can be monitored today, and this data can be transmitted via radiating coaxial cables to offices on the surface or even mobile phones. Simple observations, such as cutterhead RPM and penetration rate in a given geology, can result in altered operational parameters and reduced thrust that can speed up advance and increase cutter life. All that is required is proactive analysis by management and engineers, and good communication with the TBM operator.