Features Archive
Archive of features from the global tunnels industryFeatures By Date
January 2024
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China at successes and WTC 2024 preparations
The latest ITA Awards held many plaudits for tunnel projects in China, which is shortly to host the next World Tunnel Congress (WTC 2024), in Shenzhen, in mid-April, and will feature many large projects from across the country in addition to presentations by international tunnellers
December 2023
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Crossrail learning legacy – ongoing impact
The knowledge pool from Crossrail will live on for education on project development and execution, including tunnel excavation and underground station construction works, after Transport for London this year decided to keep the online library of the project (now the Elizabeth line) free and available
Segment accessories and you
For use of accessories with segment lining, Christoph Eberle, Technical Director, Mott MacDonald, discusses assurance in the context of Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD)
Is benchmarking the answer?
Martin Paver is immersed in project data and its challenges. He heads Projecting Success, a training and advocacy body, focused on ‘Transforming Project Delivery’ through accelerating the construction industry’s engagement with data analytics. A core issue, he contends in the growing era of digital construction, is the debate needed over data gathering, ownership and governance. For T&T, he discusses the approach for data to be an accessible, shared and powerful resource to leverage benefits in project by considering the merits of data trusts
Roger Remington
Roger Remington made his mark on and was honoured by the UK tunnelling industry for the wide range of projects he steered as client and also procurement changes introduced. This is a celebration of how his contribution was recognised and appreciated, and the legacy that continues to be recalled after Roger died, earlier this year
Inside the convergence of BIM and digital twins
Tor Erik Djupos, application engineer with Trimble, discusses the influence and convergence of BIM and Digital Twins for infrastructure assets
Design automation of Kalvebod tunnel settlement assessment
Design automation is evolving to include the integration of discipline specific software and the use of scripting tools to create workflows that allow the design to start earlier when input parameters are less refined. This means design changes can be easily accommodated, which gives increased value to the client, output quality, consistency, time, and cost savings
Tunnelling progress over the last three decades in China
While international tunnellers are aware of China’s many tunnel projects there is so much more to know. China can point to numerous project developments both built and under construction as well as technological innovations.
Untangled and Out
With so many trenchless projects underway across North America, many challenges are faced – and overcome. T&TNA catches up with one such, but unusual, challenge in Toronto.
No-Dig Show 2024
Get ready for Rhode Island where Providence is to host NASTT’s No-Dig Show over April 14-18, 2024
BTSYM workshop – waterproofing in tunnels
Earlier this year, BTSYM held a workshop where young members heard from Sika UK’s Head of Infrastructure, Sarah Langley, on the basics of waterproofing for tunnels. After attended the highly informative event, Avantika Raj, Tunnel Engineer with Dr Sauer & Partners, prepared this report for T&T
Information modelling in tunnelling
The matrix of procedures, processes and responsibilities in how to manage information in tunnelling projects in the era of BIM was the focus of guidance published last year by ITA’s Working Group 22. T&T looks at key points and recommendations
November 2023
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Geotechnics, tunnels in HS2 book spotlight
The latest book on development of the UK’s high-speed rail project, HS2, was published earlier this year by ICE Publishing, constituting Volume 3 in a series and having significant focus on geotechnics and tunnels in its coverage of ‘Infrastructure Design and Engineering’
North Bristol relief sewer
Tunnelling challenges on the North Bristol Relief Sewer (NBRS) Project were presented and discussed at the BTS Meeting in May by Dominic Barlow, Senior Project Manager, and Adam Evenden, Project Engineer, of J Murphy and Sons Ltd. This report on the meeting was prepared by Dominic Barlow and Adam Evenden
Ground conditioning over the decades
Lars Langmaack, Technical Director (TBM) of MC-Bauchemie Müller GmbH’s tunnelling business unit, gives a personal review of EPB tunnelling development, including the development of soil conditioning additives in recent decades, and ways ahead
Inspired outreach to youth
BTSYM’s collaboration with two training bodies recently gave school students some insight into working in the underground space sector. Report by Sandeep Singh Nirmal
Giving slurry treatment plants a new life cycle
To support improving economic and sustainability outcomes on slurry shield tunnelling projects, the benefits to be gained from refurbishment of slurry treatment plant are discussed by Gino Vogt, Head of Herrenknecht Separations
Bob Ibell – Interview
Bob Ibell is a known and respected name is tunnelling. He has had major roles on the Tyne and Wear Metro, Piccadilly Line Extension to Heathrow T4, the Channel Tunnel, the Jubilee Line Extension and the Channel Tunnel Rail Link’s (CTRL, or High Speed 1 (HS1)) London Tunnels. He is a Past Chair of the BTS, winner of the James Clark Medal, delivered the Sir Harold Harding Memorial lecture, taught construction management on the MSc course at the University of Warwick, and a founder member of the tunnelling consultancy London Bridge Associates (LBA). He spoke to Julian Champkin
October 2023
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Tarcisio B. Celestino – Interview
Professor Tarcisio B. Celestino is a tunneller of international renown. A past President of the ITA, he combines university professorship in his native Brazil with lecturing and Ph.D. jury work abroad. He has written academic papers on sprayed concrete and on complex loading conditions in asymmetric geologies among many other topics; and, he remains a working engineer, leading Geotechnical Engineering for Themag Engenharia Ltda on projects in South America and around the world. He spoke to Julian Champkin
Counting geoscience measures
Bentley’s subsurface specialist company, Seequent, recently published its latest report on data management trends, challenges and opportunities in geoscience
