T&TBMs MAS Course Final Trip

Day 1 (06/07/16):

During the last week we had the opportunity to visit some very interesting sites as a conclusion of the course.

To start with, we went to the hydroelectric power plant of Nant de Drance in Switzerland. In this site, an enlargement of the system was done in order to double the capacity of an upstream dam. In this way, by a pumping station is possible to save the energy with an efficiency of 85% in the surplus moments. The final capacity of the power plant will be 9000 MW. For the twin tube connection to the pumping station an open TBM was used with several ground treatment operations in order to cross a fault zone with water pressure up to 20 bar and with high risk of causing settlements to the arch dam. For the twin vertical shafts of 8 m dia. the raiseborer technique was utilised to drive a pilot tunnel from which the D&B muck could be removed from the bottom caverns. Steel lining was required in the most critical components of the tubing system with the highest requirements for the welding and junction systems. A very unique and impressive solution was construction of massive underground caverns for the installation of a batching plant and mechanical offices. A unique project with the highest standards and a very positive scope in one of the most beautiful alpine environment.

Students at Nant de Drance hydroelectric power plant with the extended dam at the back.

Day 2 (07/07/16):

During the next day we had the fantastic oportunity to visit Herrenknecht factory in Schwanau, Germany. The leader of the market is producing their machines in a taylor made and precise way, providing solutions for most of the underground excavation techniques and scenarios. We visited the microtunnelling and mining areas and then the TBMs section where the machines of the upcoming projects are being built. There were several EPBs, Mixshields and Rock TBMs in different phases of assembly and production. The possibility to see the separate components and study them in detail it is fundamental to understand its working principles and functioning. One of the most impressive experiences for a young tunneler, walking through this small town producing such powerfull and reliable tools. In the picture, a 15,7m dia. Mixshield TBM being assembled.

Students at Herrenknecht factory in Schwanau, Germany.

Day 3 (08/07/16):

To close the trip we went to northern Italy, in the border with Austria to visit the jobsite for the future Brenner Base Tunnel (BBT). The exploration phase was just finished on the italian side by driving an open rock TBM through the future emergency escape tube, that will be used in the future for the muck out of the excavated material up to the deposit area to reduce the impact on local roadways. The project consist of twin tubes for a high speed railway connection taking part of the South - North corridor from Naples to Helsinki. The construction should start by the end of this year as the tender is being closed at the moment. After receiving a presentation on the main features and challenges of this project by the client’s engineering company we went to visit the stretch finished as well as the underground TBMs assembly cavern in the core of the alps. Great attention is being paid in this project to the communication with the local people, by informing and giving access in order to reduce the opposition to such a possitive project for the enviroment and the community.

Underground TBMs assembly cavern for the Italian lot of the BBT.

Week 24: Jobsites organisation and Microtunnelling

During the last week of the Master course, Nicola della Valle (Tunnel Consult) held a very interesting lecture on the logistics and organisation of job sites in urban areas where the efficient use of the available spaces is a key for the tunnel excavation productivity. He presented some case studies from his vast professional experience of well and not so well organised job sites and the direct consequences in the overall quality of the tunnelling process.

Nicola della Valle and the students of the master after his lecture on Jobsites in Urban area

Going on during this week, Roberto Crova presented the case study of Torino Metro Line 1 Extension, a jobsite that we had the opportunity to visit during the last day of the course, where the space available was minimum to launch the machine in a telescopic way with the back up completely installed at the surface.

Cutterhead of the EPB machine to be used for the extension of Torino Metro line 1

Mario Patrucco from Politecnico di Torino held a fantastic lecture on safety in underground spaces, risk management and ventilation design. This was part of a five days module fully dedicated to the safety control.

Finally to close with the Master Course, Ray Sterling from Louisiana Tech University held a fantastic intensive course of three days concentrated on Microtunnelling and trenchless excavation techniques. 

Week 23: Ventilation and Safety in underground spaces II

Elena Chiriotti Tender management

Elena Chiriotti and the students after her lecture on tenders management

This week was devoted to the study of the the safety and ventilation issues by
Achille Sorlini of Telt

Achille Sorlini and the students after his lecture on safety on work sites

and by Prof. Mario Patrucco of Politecnico di Torino
Finally Prof Romano Borchiellini of Politecnico di Torino  gave a good analysis of the design issues of tunnel ventilation

Week 22: Safety in underground spaces I

This week Prof. Patrucco started the analysis of the safety issues in tunnel construction.
The topic of  use of compressed air in Tunnelling was developed by Eng. Paolo Morzone and Eng. Luca Bicchierini of Atlas Copco company

Prof. Marina Pirulli of Politecnico di Torino  developed the topic  of tunnel vs slope stability

The important case history of the Frejus tunnel was discussed by Eng. Leone of Telt

Week 21: TBM's auxiliary systems

Starting with this week, Patrizio Torta (PM&E) presented some case studies of Claims, focusing on the importance of the rights and duties of each party acting on a project. He emphasised as well on the value of a well established contract to avoid conflicts and its catastrophic consequences in economical and schedule terms.

Patrizio Torta and the students after his lecture on claims management

Fritz Grübl (PSP Consulting Engineers GmbH and University of Applied Sciences Stuttgart) held a very interesting and dynamic lecture on TBM driving and segmental lining design. As a founder member of TACS guidance systems he discussed the evolution and state of the art of this key component of the machine for its precise steering along the designed alignment. His main research topic at Stuttgart University of Applied Sciences is Segmental Lining so he presented as well the most important aspects for its design and installation. 

Fritz Grübl and the students after his lecture regarding TBM guidance and lining

From his more than 30 years experience on TBM drives, Antonio Nicola from Salini Impregilo   pointed some very interesting and crucial aspects to take into consideration for the planning and operation phases of a mechanised tunnelling project. Focusing mainly on the auxiliary and miscellaneous systems such as:

• Muck transport
• Concrete and segments transport
• Ventilation system
• Hyperbaric facilities
• Slurry treatment plant
• EPB soil conditioning agents supply
• Dewatering and water treatment plant
• Compressed air supply
• Electricity supply

Antonio Nicola and the students after his lecture on TBM miscellaneous systems

Jarre Pietro (Global) gave us another of his peculiar presentations focusing on the importance of a well established communication and the increasing importance of the GIS and BIM based softwares to improve the interoperability of the parties involved in the design and construction process. Technology provide us with powerful tools that must be exploited to enhance the logistics, monitoring and communication during the life span of a project.

Pietro Jarre and the students after his lecture on GIS and BIM use for communication.

Week 20: Frejus Exploratory Tunnel jobsite visit

Starting with this week, Romano Allione (FIDIC Contracts expert) started with a two day seminar to explain the main concepts behind conditions of contracts of the International Federation of Consulting Engineers guidelines (Red, Silver, Yellow book). He took some time as well to present some very interesting case histories from his wide personal professional experience, such as Panama Canal where he provided his expertise.

Romano Allione and the students after his lecture on FIDIC conditions of contracts.

During this week we had the opportunity to visite the Frejus Exploratory Tunnel from the french side, we visited the segmental lining factory and the underground cavern for the assembly of a NFM single shield rock TBM. Some additional pictures are available at Site Visit section.

Course members and Master's director Daniele Peila at the jobsite entrance.

TBM's Cutterhead and Shield inside the underground assembly cavern.

Finally during this short week due to the Republic Day of Italy, Oggeri Claudio presented a very interesting lecture on the reuse of excavated material. This is a topic of mayor concern nowadays due to the higher constraints in terms of disposal of the spoil, the possibility of reutilise it instead of treating it as a by product has to be considered not only for environmental but also for economical reasons.

Frejus Exploratory tunnel site visit

Site visit to Frejus Exploratory tunnel:

40 ton crane at the main portal of the jobsite.

Segment Factory:

Segment mould with anchored gaskets installed and oiled.

Concrete casting of the key segment.

Connector socket and spacer for the reinforcement.

Forklifts for the segments handling.

Anchored gasket installation on the mould.

Longitudinal joint of the segment with guiding rod.

Invert precast segments.

Segments stockage area.

Underground TBM assembly cavern:

TBM's shield and cutterhead during assembly. 

Lifting device for the assembly of the TBM's shield components.

Overhead crane for the assembly of the backup.

Main bearing of the TBM.

Launching pit of the TBM.

Week 19: Some remarkable case histories

During this week we had the opportunity to gather some of the most interesting case studies of the carrier of Brian Fulcher (Ex Kenny Construction Company, USA). He introduced cases such as metro line extension in 72nd street NY and Rio Piedras in Puerto Rico, explaining the keys of the successes and defeats he faced during this challenging projects.

Brian Fulcher and the students after his lecture.

Going on this week, Berenice Moreau (CETU, France) held an outstanding lecture on segmental lining design for fire resistance. Starting from the analysis of the catastrophic fire events that took place in the late nineties all around europe, she went through the evolution of the laws and norms concerning the lining design to introduce the theories proposed and in use nowadays in order to bring safety inside the tunnel not only in terms of stability but mainly for the people passing through. 

Berenice Moreau and the students after her lecture.

Daniele Martinelli (Politecnico di Torino) presented a great lecture on abrasivity tests to be carried out in the laboratory for the assessment of the wear phenomenon of the tools during the excavation process. Even if there are some standard tests very well known and correlated to the cutting tools life, there is also a great research on going to find tests that are more and more representative of the true conditions to be found on site.

Some representers of Pini swiss engineers came to present the project of Ceneri Base Tunnel they worked on as designers in the last years. Davide Merlini as the chief manager of the project, presented its main aspects and peculiarities. Stefano Morandi talked about the geological features as the Site Supervisor in Sigerino adit. Mateo Falanesca presented the approach adopted for the design of rock excavation and finally Francesco Rossi explained the case of a portal through filling material below a highway under operation, a masterpiece of engineering.

Pini Engineers and the students after the lecture.

Finally, Giovanni Giacomin (Ghella Mechanised Excavation Manager) presented two great case histories. Starting from Maldonado sewage system in Argentina, a two tube system to cope with the constant floods of Buenos Aires city with a pumping station to the sea. Then he presented a fantastic project developed in Australia for the Brisbane Legacy Way, an outstanding performance in terms of quality security and logistics.

Giovanni Giacomin, his son and the students after his lecture.

Week 18: Visit to TUSC laboratory

To start with this 18th week of the T&TBMs MAS Course, Gustavo Bomben from FAVA company held a great lecture presenting their products, the technology and research behind them. The main focus was Gaskets and Connectors for segmental lining, they are pioneers in the market developing precise and smart solutions to guarantee a watertight and durable lining system.

Gustavo Bomben's lecture on Gaskets and Connectors for segmental lining

Later on, we went to Politecnico di Torino TUSC (Tunnelling and Underground Space Center) Laboratory where Daniele Martinelli and Cristina Oñate Salazar (PhD TUSC researchers) carried on some of the most common tests on soil conditioning to asses the proper dosage. As the tests used for this purpose are varied and come from other industries (concrete mainly), the ability of the operators and experience in the use of the conditioning agents is the key to obtain a proper conditioning of the soils.

Daniele Martinelli, Cristina Oñate Salazar and the students in the TUSC laboratory.

Marco Arato from Atlas Copco presented a complete lecture on mucking systems for mining and tunnelling. He went thoroughly through the main features of their available systems for the handling and transport of the excavated material. LHD (Load Haul Dump) vehicles and train systems are their most developed spoiling techniques.

Marco Arato's lecture on muck transport systems.

Week 17: TBM complementary facilities

Tommaso Grosso from Astaldi presented a set of case histories emphasising mainly on his last project at Warsaw metro. He described thoroughly the organisation of the jobsite in the urban area where space is very limited and the logistics are of main importance to avoid interferences and increase the productivity of the excavation process. Special attention was paid to the TBM assembly, launching, station crossing and arrival of the machine, that require tailor-made engineered solutions as these are critical processes.

Eng. Tommaso Grosso and the students after his great lecture.

Professor Daniele Peila presented the technology and design methodology of Conveyor belts for muck transport in TBM driven tunnels. He based his lecture on a recent real case for a 7 km tunnel below the Alps. Designing every component of the system for the peak production expected is a must in order to avoid advancement limitations. This is a complex system that enhance the mucking out processes for medium to long tunnels reducing interference with the jobs and the risk of accidents due to vehicle impact to workers that is the main source of injuries for all projects.

During this week we had also the presence of Michele Mangione (ARUP) talking about segmental lining design and some very interesting case histories from his worldwide experience. His dynamic approach was the key to merge his knowledge with our interests in topics such as cross passages construction.

Michele Mangione and the students after his lecture.

A fantastic lecture was given by Richard Schulkins (MAPEI) regarding soil conditioning and backfilling grouting. His great experience in job sites all around the world was clear from his practical approach to treat topics that should not be tackled theoretically but from the continuous analysis of the conditions in the machine during the advancement. Each of these topics should never be disregarded as even if they may seem complementary, they play a paramount role on a smooth and efficient excavation process.

Richard Schulkins and the students after his lecture.