Lovat is to supply a pair of 6.3m diameter EPBMs for two metro projects in China.
The Canadian firm signed a contract with China Railway Tunnel Group (CRTG) to supply the RME246SE mixed face machines, which will be used to excavate a total of 6,251m over two drives on the metros in Shenzen and Guangzhou, in Guangdong province.
Geology along the routes is a combination of clay and both silty and coarse sands, and also soft-to-hard conglomerates. The drive will be below groundwater level with the head 7m-16m above invert and a maximum EPB pressure of 4 bar is foreseen.
The TBMs are to be built in China and both machines are to be delivered mid-year. The cutterhead face and rim of each machine will be equipped with chromium carbide plating to help minimise wear due to the abrasive strata.
The EPBMs will also be fitted with Lovat’s ground conditioning system.
