Tunnelling & TBM Course: Case Studies

Tunnelling practice draws upon experience from similar or comparable projects; the success of new construction is based on these experiences. Success in management largely depends on the ability to draw upon and adapt this experience, learning and lessons of failure as well as success. To make sure we had a global idea of practical difficulties faced in tunnelling projects worldwide and the available technologies to handle them, following case studies were studied during the MAS course work on Tunnelling and TBM.

For some of the projects, I have provided reference to the relevant published articles.

Case Study on Ground Improvement

• Zurich Metro (Weinber Tunnel & Zimmerberg Tunnel), Swiss - Underpinning and Microtunnel (link of paper on its instrumentation)
• Metro Vienna (Niederhofstrasse), Austria - Freezing (link)
• Mannheim Subway, Germany - Freezing (link) [5]
• Quadratsch Tunnel, Austria - Jet Grout Umbrella
• Escherberg Tunnel - Hannover Wuerzburg, Germany - Pipe Roof Umbrella
• Warsaw Metro - Consolidated body using HDD (link)

More details about the above projects can be looked at ITA-AITES World Tunnel Congress 2007's Training Course on Ground Reinforcement (link) and in ITACET's Training material on "Ground Improvement, Pre-Support and Reinforcement" held during World Tunnel Congress 2013.

Case study on Swelling Condition

• Gotthard Base Tunnel - Execution and Swelling case study [1, 2]

Case Studies on Segmental Lining

• Groene Hart Railway Channel Tunnel, Netherlands (Largest TBM in 2001)
• Passante Ferroviario Railway Tunnel, Italy
• Seattle Metro Tunnel, USA
• Wanjiazhai Water Tunnel, China
• Wuhan Road Tunnel, China
• Boston Outfall Tunnel, USA
• Bangkok Metro, Thailand
• WSK-E-Vienna, Sewage Tunnel, Austria

Special Purpose/ Dual Purpose TBMs

• Paris Subway - Lot 35B of the “EOLE” line, France - Slurry + Rock TBM [3]
• Sparvo Tunnel - Special TBM arrangement for gas protection and execution case study [4] 
• Klang Valler MRT, Kuala Lampur Metro - Variable Density TBM (EPB + Mix shield)

Case Study on Soil Conditioning

• Singapore NELP Klang River Crossing, Singapore - Soil Conditioning
• Botlek Tunnel, Netherlands - Soil Conditioning 

Case Study on Ground Water Control

• Vienna Metro (Pottendorfer Strasse), Section U6/1, Austria - Ground water control using deep wells
• Munich Metro - Ground water control using Vacuum and Compressed Air
• Bucarest Metro - Dewatering and managing related risks

Case Studies on Numerical Modelling

• Gibraltar Strait Tunnel - Feasibility Design
• Sigma 2, Athens Metro, Greece - Portal Design
• T3 Sochi Portal, Russia - Portal Design
• Maldonado Flood Control Tunnel, Buenos Aires, Argentina - Shaft Design
• Brooklyn Station (Line 5), Sao Paulo Metro - Shaft Design
• Canoas Waterwater Plant (Cribado-Y-Succion) - Shaft Design

Case Study on Slurry Shield TBM

• Wasterschelde Tunnel, The Netherlands
• Lake Mead, USA [11-12]

Case Study on Mix Shield TBM

• SMART Tunnel, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia [3]

Case Studies on Inclined Tunnels / Shafts

• St. Petersburg Tunnel - Escalator shaft, 30 degrees inclined
• Limmern Tunnel - Incline Shaft using Gripper TBM, 40 degrees inclined

Case Study on Monitoring and Interpreting TBM Output data

• Sao Paulo Metro [3] 

General Project Overview Case Studies

• Ceneri Base Tunnel, Switzerland [8, 9] (Site visit details)
• Lyon - Turin High Speed Railway Tunnel, France & Italy
• Turin Metro, Italy
• Maldonado Flood Control Tunnel, Buenos Aires, Argentina
• Metro de Porto, Portugal [3, 6] 
• Jerusalem (HSR T3) High Speed Railway, Israel

Overall, around 50 tunnelling projects were discussed regarding various aspects of the projects to give us a link between 'Theory to Design to Practice' and to understand the state of the art industrial practices.

References:

[1] Heinz Ehrbar, Gotthard Base Tunnel Sedrun section mastering squeezing rock zones, Underground Space Use: Analysis of the Past and Lessons for the Future – Erdem & Solak (eds) © 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 04 1537 452 9

[2] Kovári, Kalman. "Design methods with yielding support in squeezing and swelling rocks." World Tunnel Congress, Budapest, Hungary. 2009.

[3] Guglielmetti, Vittorio, et al., eds. Mechanized tunnelling in urban areas: design methodology and construction control. CRC Press, 2008.

[4] GATTI, Martino, Rocksoil SpA, and Giovanna CASSANI. "The largest TBM–EPB machine in the world, designed to the Appennines. The experience of the Sparvo Tunnel."

[5] Stephan Semprich: Ground freezing technique with respect to tunnelling in urban areas.

[6] Babendererde, Siegmund, et al. "Geological risk in the use of TBMs in heterogeneous rock masses-The case of “Metro do Porto” and the measures adopted." Workshop in Aveiro, Portugal (in print). 2004.

[7] Volkmann G.M., Button E.A. & Schubert W. 2006; "A Contribution to the Design of Tunnels Supported by a Pipe Roof." Proc. 41st U.S. Rock Mechanics Symp., American Rock Mech. Assoc., June 17-21, Golden, CO.

[8] Filippino, R., K. Kovari, and F. Rossi. Construction of a cavern under an autobahn embankment for the Ceneri Base Tunnel." Geomechanics and Tunneling 5.2 (2012).

[9] Anagnostou, Georg, and Heinz Ehrbar. Tunnelling Switzerland. vdf Hochschulverlag AG, 2013.

[10] Galler, R., et al. "The New Guideline NATM–The Austrian Practice of Conventional Tunnelling." BHM Berg-und Hüttenmännische Monatshefte 154.10 (2009): 441-449.

[11] Feroz, M., Jensen, M. & Lindell, J.E. 2007. The Lake Mead intake 3 water tunnel and pumping station, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. RETC Proceedings, 647 - 662.

[12] Georgios Anagnostou, Muir Wood Lecture 2014 "Some Critical Aspects Of Subaqueous Tunnelling" (link)