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A tunnel boring machine ( TBM), also known as a "mole" or a "worm", is a machine used to excavate . TBMs are an alternative to drilling and blasting methods and "hand mining", allowing more rapid excavation through hard rock, wet or dry soil, or sand (although each requires specialized TBM technologies). TBM-bored tunnel cross-sections extend up to (through June 2023). TBM tunnels are typically circular in cross-section, but may also be square or rectangular or U- or horseshoe-shaped.Commercial websites that reference the same types of material include:
Much narrower tunnels are typically bored using trenchless construction methods or horizontal directional drilling rather than by TBMs.
TBMs limit disturbance to the surrounding ground and produce a smooth tunnel wall, which reduces the cost of lining the tunnel and allows for tunneling in urban areas. Large TBMs are expensive and challenging to construct and transport, fixed costs which become less significant for longer tunnels. Tunneling speeds generally decline as tunnel size increases, but tunneling speeds using TBMs have nevertheless have increased over time. TBM speeds excavating through rock can, in the 21st century, reach over 700 meters per week, while soil tunneling machines can exceed 200 meters per week.
The first boring machine reported to have been built was Henri Maus' Mountain Slicer. Commissioned by the King of Sardinia in 1845 to dig the Fréjus Rail Tunnel between France and Italy through the Alps, Maus had it built in 1846 in an arms factory near Turin. It consisted of more than 100 percussion drills mounted in the front of a locomotive-sized machine, mechanically power-driven from the entrance of the tunnel. The Revolutions of 1848 affected the funding, and the tunnel was not completed until 10 years later, by using less innovative and less expensive methods such as Jackhammer. Hapgood, Fred, "The Underground Cutting Edge: The innovators who made digging tunnels high-tech", Invention & Technology Vol.20, #2, Fall 2004
In the United States, the first boring machine to have been built was used in 1853 during the construction of the Hoosac Tunnel in northwest Massachusetts. Made of cast iron, it was known as Wilson's Patented Stone-Cutting Machine, after inventor Charles Wilson. It drilled into the rock before breaking down (the tunnel was eventually completed more than 20 years later, and as with the Fréjus Rail Tunnel, by using less ambitious methods). Wilson's machine anticipated modern TBMs in the sense that it employed cutting discs, like those of a disc harrow, which were attached to the rotating head of the machine.Bancroft 1908, p. 65Wilson, Charles. "Dressing stone," (issued: March 13, 1847).Wilson, Charles. "Machine for tunneling rocks, etc.," (issued: March 18, 1856). In contrast to traditional chiseling or drilling and blasting, this innovative method of removing rock relied on simple metal wheels to apply a transient high pressure that fractured the rock.
In 1853, the American Ebenezer Talbot also patented a TBM that employed Wilson's cutting discs, although they were mounted on rotating arms, which in turn were mounted on a rotating plate.Talbot, Ebenezer. "Machine for tunnelling or boring rock," (issued: June 7, 1853). In the 1870s, John D. Brunton of England built a machine employing cutting discs that were mounted eccentrically on rotating plates, which in turn were mounted eccentrically on a rotating plate, so that the cutting discs would travel over almost all of the rock face that was to be removed.Brunton, John D. "Improved machine for sinking shafts," (issued: July 21, 1868).
The first TBM that tunneled a substantial distance was invented in 1863 and improved in 1875 by British Army officer Major Frederick Edward Blackett Beaumont (1833–1895); Beaumont's machine was further improved in 1880 by British Army officer Major Thomas English (1843–1935).David William Brunton and John Allen Davis, Modern Tunneling: With Special Reference to Mine and Water-supply Tunnels (New York, New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1914), p. 182.Frederick Edward Blackett Beaumont, U.K. Patent no. 1,904 (issued: July 30, 1864). (See: Patents for Inventions. Abridgments of Specifications relating to Mining, Quarrying, Tunnelling, and Well-sinking (London, England: Office of the Commissioners of Patents for Inventions, 1874), p. 247. )F.E.B. Beaumont, U.K. Patent no. 4,166 (issued: Dec. 2, 1875). (See: Patents for Inventions. Abridgments of Specifications. Class 85, Mining, Quarrying, Tunnelling, and Well-sinking (London, England: Patent Office, 1904), p. 169. )Thomas English, U.K. Patent no.s 4,347 (issued: October 25, 1880) and 5,317 (issued: December 5, 1881); "Tunneling-machine," (filed: June 4, 1884 ; issued: October 28, 1884). In 1875, the French National Assembly approved the construction of a tunnel under the English Channel and the British Parliament supported a trial run using English's TBM. Its cutting head consisted of a conical drill bit behind which were a pair of opposing arms on which were mounted cutting discs. From June 1882 to March 1883, the machine tunneled, through chalk, a total of 1,840 m (6,036 ft). A French engineer, Alexandre Lavalley, who was also a Suez Canal contractor, used a similar machine to drill 1,669 m (5,476 ft) from Sangatte on the French side. (1994). 9780002555395, Harper Collins. ISBN 9780002555395 However, despite this success, the cross-Channel tunnel project was abandoned in 1883 after the British military raised fears that the tunnel might be used as an invasion route.Terry Gourvish, The Official History of Britain and the Channel Tunnel (Abington, England: Routledge, 2006), Chapter 1, § 2: The commercial possibilities: Lord Richard Grosvenor, Sir Edward Watkin and the 'Manchester to Paris Railroad'. Nevertheless, in 1883, this TBM was used to bore a railway ventilation tunnel — in diameter and long — between Birkenhead and Liverpool, England, through sandstone under the River Mersey.
The Hudson River Tunnel was constructed from 1889 to 1904 using a Greathead shield TBM. The project used air compressed to to reduce cave-ins. However, there were many workers that died via cave-in or decompression sickness.
A TBM with a bore diameter of was manufactured by The Robbins Company for Canada's Niagara Tunnel Project. The machine was used to bore a hydroelectric tunnel beneath Niagara Falls. The machine was named "Big Becky" in reference to the Sir Adam Beck hydroelectric dams to which it tunnelled to provide an additional hydroelectric tunnel.
Two TBMs supplied after the 2013 acquisition of Germany's Aker Wirth (Aker Solutions) TBM and shaft-boring technology by China Railway Tunnelling Equipment (CRTE), now CREG (China Railway Engineering Equipment Group)-Germany, Note, the acquisition was sans Wirth's newer Mobile Tunnel Miner technology developed with Codelco and Rio Tinto, see article. CREG-Wirth units with boring diameter of , were used to bore two tunnels for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's Metro system. The medium excavated was water "saturated sandy mudstone, schistose mudstone, highly weathered mudstone as well as alluvium". By the company's commercial description, its products achieved an advance rate of "more than 345 meters 1,130 per month".
Reportedly the largest hard rock machine and fourth largest TBM overall (as of June 2023), a machine known as Martina, was built by Herrenknecht. Its excavation diameter is , and total length ; excavation area of , and thrust value 39,485 t, total weight 4,500 tons, and total installed capacity 18 MW. Its yearly energy consumption was about 62 GWh. Martina was used by the Italian Toto Group construction company (Toto S.p.A Costruczioni General) to bore a 2.4 km tunnel of the Variante di Valico project near Florence, Italy, in 2013. This project created the Sparvo gallery of the Italian Motorway Pass A1 ("Variante di Valico A1"), near Florence. As of this date, Martina was still owned and operated by the Toto Group.
Herrenknecht also built the world's largest-diameter slurry TBM and as of June 2023, per Guinness World Records, also the largest TBM overall; called the "Qin Liangyu" or Mixshield S-880, it has an excavation diameter of . Owned and operated by a subsidiary of the French construction company Bouygues (Dragages Hong Kong), it was used to bore the Chek Lap Kok to Tuen Mun road tunnel, undersea, to Hong Kong, China, clearing the first section of the tunnel at the large diameter, then being converted to 14 m, and working alongside 3 other TBMs (including another Herrenknect borer) to complete the tunnels, 30 m undersea, in 2019.
Rock boring machines differ from earth boring machines in the way they cut the tunnel, the way they provide traction to support the boring activity, and in the way they support the newly formed tunnels walls.
The machine stabilizes itself in the tunnel with hydraulic cylinders that press against the shield, allowing the TBM to apply pressure at the tunnel face.
Machines such as a Wirth machine can be moved only while ungripped. Other machines can move continuously. At the end of a Wirth boring cycle, legs drop to the ground, the grippers are retracted, and the machine advances. The grippers then reengage and the rear legs lift for the next cycle.
Like some other TBM types, EPB's use thrust cylinders to advance by pushing against concrete segments. The cutter head uses a combination of tungsten carbide cutting bits, carbide disc cutters, drag picks and/or hard rock disc cutters.
EPB has allowed soft, wet, or unstable ground to be tunneled with a speed and safety not previously possible. The Channel Tunnel, the Thames Water Ring Main, sections of the London Underground, and most new rapid transit tunnels completed in the last 20 years worldwide were excavated using this method. EPB has historically competed with the slurry shield method (see below), where the slurry is used to stabilize the tunnel face and transport spoil to the surface. EPB TBMs are mostly used in finer ground (such as clay) while slurry TBMs are mostly used for coarser ground (such as gravel).
Slurry separation plants use multi-stage filtration systems that separate spoil from slurry to allow reuse. The degree to which slurry can be 'cleaned' depends on the relative particle sizes of the muck. Slurry TBMs are not suitable for silts and clays as the particle sizes of the spoil are less than that of the bentonite. In this case, water is removed from the slurry leaving a clay cake, which may be polluted.
A caisson system is sometimes placed at the cutting head to allow workers to operate the machine, although air pressure may reach elevated levels in the caisson, requiring workers to be medically cleared as "fit to dive" and able to operate pressure locks.
TBMs with positive face control, such as earth pressure balance (EPB) and slurry shield (SS), are used in such situations. Both types (EPB and SS) are capable of reducing the risk of surface subsidence and voids if ground conditions are well documented. When tunnelling in urban environments, other tunnels, existing utility lines and deep foundations must be considered, and the project must accommodate measures to mitigate any detrimental effects to other infrastructure.
Types
]]TBMs typically consist of a rotating cutting wheel in front, called a cutter head, followed by a main bearing, a thrust system, a system to remove excavated material (muck), and support mechanisms. Machines vary with site geology, amount of ground water present, and other factors.
Tunnel wall types
Concrete lining
Shielded TBMs are typically used to excavate tunnels in soil. They erect concrete segments behind the TBM to support the tunnel walls.
Main Beam
Main Beam machines do not install concrete segments behind the cutter head. Instead, the rock is held up using ground support methods such as ring beams, rock bolts, shotcrete, steel straps, ring steel and wire mesh.
Shield types
Depending on the stability of the local geology, the newly formed walls of the tunnel often need to be supported immediately after being dug to avoid collapse, before any permanent support or lining has been constructed. Many TBMs are equipped with one or more cylindrical shields following behind the cutter head to support the walls until permanent tunnel support is constructed further along the machine. The stability of the walls also influences the method by which the TBM anchors itself in place so that it can apply force to the cutting head. This in turn determines whether the machine can bore and advance simultaneously, or whether these are done in alternating modes.
Open/Gripper
Gripper TBMs are used in rock tunnels. They forgo the use of a shield and instead push directly against the unreinforced sides of the tunnel.
Single shield
A single-shield TBM has a single cylindrical shield after the cutting head. A permanent concrete lining is constructed immediately after the shield, and the TBM pushes off the lining to apply force to the cutter head. Because this pushing cannot be done while a next ring of lining is being constructed, the single-shield TBM operates in alternating cutting and lining modes.
Double shield
Double Shield (or telescopic shield) TBMs have a leading shield that advances with the cutting head and a trailing shield that acts as a gripper. The two shields can move axially relative to each other (i.e., telescopically) over a limited distance. The gripper shield anchors the TBM so that pressure can be applied to the cutter head while simultaneously the concrete lining is being constructed.
Tunnel-face support methods
In hard rock with minimal ground water, the area around the cutter head of a TBM can be unpressurized, as the exposed rock face can support itself. In weaker soil, or when there is significant ground water, pressure must be applied to the face of the tunnel to prevent collapse and/or the infiltration of ground water into the machine.
Earth Pressure Balance
Earth pressure balance (EPB) machines are used in soft ground with less than of pressure. It uses muck to maintain pressure at the tunnel face. The muck (or spoil) is admitted into the TBM via a screw conveyor. By adjusting the rate of extraction of muck and the advance rate of the TBM, the pressure at the face of the TBM can be controlled without the use of slurry. Additives such as bentonite, polymers and foam can be injected ahead of the face to stabilize the ground. Such additives can separately be injected in the cutter head and extraction screw to ensure that the muck is sufficiently cohesive to maintain pressure and restrict water flow.
Slurry shield
Slurry shield machines can be used in soft ground with high water pressure or where granular ground conditions (sands and gravels) do not allow a plug to form in the screw. The cutter head is filled with pressurised slurry, typically made of bentonite clay that applies hydrostatic pressure to the face. The slurry mixes with the muck before it is pumped to a slurry separation plant, usually outside the tunnel.
Open face soft ground
Open face soft ground TBMs rely on the excavated ground to briefly stand without support. They are suitable for use in ground with a strength of up to about with low water inflows. They can bore tunnels with cross-section in excess of . A backactor arm or cutter head bore to within of the edge of the shield. After a boring cycle, the shield is jacked forward to begin a new cycle. Ground support is provided by precast concrete, or occasionally Ductile iron (SGI) segments that are bolted or supported until a support ring has been added. The final segment, called the key, is wedge-shaped, and expands the ring until it is tight against the ground.
Tunnel size
TBMs range diameter from . Micro tunnel shield TBMs are used to construct small tunnels, and is a smaller equivalent to a general tunnelling shield and generally bore tunnels of , too small for operators to walk in.
Backup systems
Behind all types of tunnel boring machines, in the finished part of the tunnel, are trailing support decks known as the backup system, whose mechanisms can include conveyors or other systems for muck removal; slurry pipelines (if applicable); control rooms; electrical, dust-removal and ventilation systems; and mechanisms for transport of pre-cast segments.
Urban tunnelling and near-surface tunnelling
Urban tunnelling has the special requirement that the surface remain undisturbed, and that ground subsidence be avoided. The normal method of doing this in soft ground is to maintain soil pressures during and after construction.
See also
Notes
(2025). 9783433016763, Ernst & Sohn. ISBN 9783433016763
Further reading
External links
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