Features Archive
Archive of features from the global tunnels industryFeatures By Date
November 2018
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Rules of Thumb: Auger boring
Tackling various ground conditions and often offering comparably lower costs than other trenchless methods, columnist Keivan Rafie explains considerations for auger boring
A word to the wise
Mark Knight, associate professor at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and executive director of CATT, at at the University of Waterloo, reviews geotechnical considerations for new trenchless construction projects.
Interface
Greg Austin, marketing director, and Xia Cao, principal scientist, of GCP Applied Technologies discuss using waterproofing with shotcrete in underground construction
Concrete evidence
T&T looks at developments in concrete and related materials
Take initiative
Lindsey Gauthier, research assistant, and Lana Gutwin, research coordinator, both of CETT, outline the work and research of the consortium, which is part of the University of Alberta
Getting clearance
Navigating existing infrastructure above and below ground, Dragados/ Tomlinson has completed the first of two drives for a new stormwater storage system in Ottawa. Nicole Robinson reports
October 2018
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Under the dam
Paola De Pascali spoke with Tony Dell, lead geotechnical engineer at SNC-Lavalin to discuss the excavation of the John Hart powerhouse and tunnels, including an unexpected soft ground surprise
TAC Directors’ Annual Reports
Each regional director for the TAC writes a report in October sharing the status of work and forthcoming projects in the five chapters across Canada
Collaboration, communication, competence
Bob Ibell, former chair of London Bridge Associates and the British Tunnelling Society, delivered his Harding Lecture in June of this year. The lecture is given by an eminent speaker in the UK, usually every two years, in honour of Sir Harold Harding, the founding chair of the BTS. Alex Conacher produced this account of the talk, which reflected on 50 years in the industry and makes suggestions about where it should be going
Double up
Paola De Pascali spoke with Gustavo Bomben, Fama’s owner to understand the value of a multi performance gasket in the presence of hydrocarbon contamination
The bypass is back
Paola De Pascali talked with two directors of Autostrade per l’Italia, Roberto Tomasi and Alberto Selleri to explore the Genoa bypass project and its geological challenges amongst a large presence of asbestos
Neelum Jhelum TBM recovery
Gary Peach and Bruce Ashcroft of Multiconsult Norge AS look at works relating to TBM recovery after a severe rockburst event on the Neelum Jhelum project in the Himalayas
TDUK turns one
Think Deep UK celebrated its first anniversary this summer. Paola De Pascali attended
Crushing it
In extremely hard rock, finely-tuned TBM operation is the key, finds Desiree Willis
September 2018
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Metropolitana Di Napoli
Paola De Pascali talked to Giuseppe Molisso, Ansaldo’s project director, about challenges met during construction of Naples Metro Line 6, situated in a dense historical and artistic environment
Tunnellers wanted
Alex Conacher interviews Ivor Thomas, tunnel manager for Bam Nuttall, who has spent the past couple of months transitioning from vice chair to chair of the BTS. He will lead the society until 2020
Steering the ship
Alex Conacher speaks with Mark Leggett of Mott MacDonald as he takes the immediate past chair position at the British Tunnelling Society and looks back on his two years at the helm
Helical lining
Behzad Khorshidi, of McNally Construction presents a lining system comprising a single helical ring installed during TBM advance
Advanced Tunnel modelling
Ioannis Vazaios of Queens University and Nicholas Vlachopoulos of the Royal Military College of Canada discuss the modelling of diverse tunnelling conditions and integration of the appropriate numerical modelling technique into the design process
Risk management in major projects
Four speakers from across the tunnelling industry gave their perspectives on the management of risk in tunnelling and major infrastructure projects at the October 19 British Tunnelling Society meeting. Bill Grose introduced the topic and set the scene with lessons from history, Kevin Province spoke about catastrophic events and some observations on best practice, Nigel Legge discussed causes of tunnelling failures and methods of risk management, and Patrick Barney gave the perspective of the insurance industry. This report was prepared by Martyn Noak of CH2M
