European research project tunnel system completes
8 August 2012Excavation of a tunnel system for the XFEL European research facility in Hamburg, Germany, has completed successfully, when the AMELI TBM entered its last target shaft in June 2012. In three years time electron and x-ray light will be flowing from the project tunnel system, Herrenknecht announced late last week.
Up to 27,000 ultra-short laser finishes per second will be generated in the x-ray range by XFEL with the aim of enabling the shooting of chemical reactions, for example, and giving rise to new research opportunities for physicists, biologists, chemist, doctors and material scientists.
The tube system network at the end of the tunnel proved complex for engineers. The total of eight tunnel sections involved moving AMELI three times through a finished shaft and lifting it out of the shaft four times for relocation. In order to keep the TBM directly on course over the route, Herrenknecht used a laser-guided navigation system from Vermessungstechnik.
"Tunnelling is one of the most difficult areas of the construction," said Dr Massimo Altarelli, CEO, European XFEL GmbH. "We are delighted that this work is being completed on time."
The two 500t and 560t TBMs - AMELI and TULA - were used by Hochtief and Bilfinger Berger for excavating the tunnel system network. Operation of the two machines for the total distance of 5.78km took from July 2010 to the end of June 2012.
