Innovative TBM powers through mountains
Sep 2012
Herrenknecht News Release
- A newly developed dual-mode Herrenknecht TBM that can be adjusted inside the tunnel for different soil conditions has broken through the Vosges Mountains in France two months ahead of schedule.
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New-design TBM powers through in France
- Excavation of the north tube of the 3.85km long Tunnel de Saverne is now complete for the Spie Batignolles TPCI/ Dodin Campenon Bernard JV after the specially adapted TBM broke through on the western side of the Vosges.
- Herrenknecht engineers adapted the 10.01m open mode convertible EPBM to the geological conditions of the project in such a way that it could handle excavation in two different soil types.
- For the first 200m of the northern tunnel it worked through unconsolidated rock comprising a mixture of sandstone and shell limestone in the closed EPB mode. In order to excavate the prevailing hard rock that followed (red sandstone) adjustments were made at the cutting wheel but the conveyor belt and screw conveyor were able to remain in place on the machine in both modes. The rest of the advance, in hard rock conditions, was continued in open mode. The Saverne Tunnel project is the first time a Herrenknecht TBM with a convertible EPB shield that can also handle the open hard rock mode with belt conveyor discharge has been used.
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Dual mode Herrenknecht EPBM at launch site
- "The Saverne Tunnel is a special challenge," said Herrenknecht Project Manager Stephan Hanusek. "The conversion went without a hitch so the machine was ready again in a few days."
- The machine is now being disassembled ready for transport back to the launch site at Ernolsheim lès Saverne, where excavation of the southern tube is scheduled to begin next month (October, 2012).
- The twin-tube rail tunnel is part of the section on the Paris-Strasbourg high-speed TGV line that is currently being expanded for speeds of up to 320km/h.
| Table 1. Herrenknecht S-670 machine and project data | |||
| Machine Data S-670 | Project Data | ||
| Type | Convertible EPB shield | Owner | RFF |
| Diameter | 10.01m | Customer | Spie Batignolles TPCI Dodin Campenon Bernard |
| Cutting wheel power | 3,600KW | Tunnel length | 2 x 3.846km |
| Rated torque | 23,707kNm | Geology | Red sandstone, sandstone, shell limestone |
| Length | 105m | ||
| Weight | 2,400 tonne | ||
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Facing steep challenges on St Petersburg Metro - TunnelTalk, August 2012
US debut for Herrenknecht vertical shaft machine technology - TunnelTalk, April 2012
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