Features Archive

Archive of features from the global tunnels industry

Features By Date

September 2023

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Rental Solution in Stockholm
26 September 2023 Working on two short-term subway tunnel and station projects in Stockholm, Sweden, the Italian construction company Itinera had the challenge of acquiring expensive mining equipment or find another solution. It did so through a rental deal with Sandvik that includes equipment, parts and a full-time service agreement, says Mikael Vallgren

Breakthroughs on Turkey Rail Project
26 September 2023 A Robbins single shield machine recently successfully completed its second tunnel in challenging hard rock on the Bahçe-Nurdagi rail project, in Turkey

Updated Code on Risk Management
26 September 2023 Earlier this year, the ITA and IMIA published the updated, 3rd edition of their Code of Practice for Risk Management in Tunnel Works

Stronger for the Next 50 Years
26 September 2023 To help deliver on the ambitious agenda that got him elected barely 12 months ago, ITA President Arnold Dix has had a whirlwind year of near non-stop global travel. As promised to the organisation’s gathering on the occasion of the World Tunnel Congress (WTC), in September 2022, in Copenhagen, Dix planned to act fast and relentlessly in pursuit of the mission that got him elected, unopposed. Since then, he has built momentum for speedy delivery, barely stopping on the way. Here, he outlines for T&T readers what has been achieved so far and what is coming next

Helping to See the Way Ahead
26 September 2023 Lighting technology has advanced in recent years to bring sufficient cost-effective, environmentally well-performing illumination to underground settings in support of health & safety as well as construction efficiency on projects. Darren Woodhouse, Lighting Director of LMXLED, discusses with T&T the developments and options of using LED systems in tunnel projects

AFTES 2023: Gather in Paris
26 September 2023 Michel Deffayet, President of the French Tunnel and Underground Space Association (AFTES), outlines the key aspects and packed programme of the major tunnelling conference to be held in Paris, in early October

Extending Access Possibilities
26 September 2023 Preassembled, needing only a small footprint and able to self-extend during shaft sinking as well as remain for permanent use afterward, XL Industries’ XE5 mechanised access lift system has worked on some major tunnel projects

Hydro Caverns
26 September 2023 A review of the world’s hydropower caverns by Dr Klaus Hönisch of Fichtner GmbH’s Renewable Energies & Environment, Hydropower Department

From Gold Mine to Hydroelectricity – Kidston Pumped Storage Project
26 September 2023 At the annual joint BTS and MinSouth meeting, held on 9 February at the Institution of Civil Engineers, in London, Clare Önal – a Principal Engineer with the tunnels team of Mott MacDonald – gave a presentation on the conversion of an abandoned gold mine at Kidston in Queensland, Australia, to a pumped storage hydroelectric (PSH) scheme. Andrew Hindmarch, Senior Principal Tunnel Engineer of Mott MacDonald was the rapporteur

August 2023

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Forecasting tunnelling progress using AI
25 August 2023 The Harding Prize Competition is named after the founder of the British Tunnelling Society, Sir Harold Harding, and is for entrants under the age of 33. Shortlisted papers were presented to the BTS evening meeting on 13 April, at the Institution of Civil Engineers, in London. Jake Rankin, data scientist with J Murphy & Sons Ltd for this project, was voted winner of the 2023 Competition with a paper entitled ‘Artificial Intelligence for Forecasting Tunnelling Progress’. It is published here with the author’s permission

Boring for Silvertown
25 August 2023 Silvertown road tunnel project features a huge, single TBM – and a U-turn for the machine – to complete the twin tube under the Thames, in London

Spalling Risk Reduction
25 August 2023 Narrower diameter PP fibres where shown earlier this year in fire test to reduce concrete spalling risk, and for lower dosages of the new Ignis product. Adfil’s Jeroen Smet, Technical Director, discusses the R&D results

Fibre Optics for Measuring Temperature
25 August 2023 Fibre optic cables plus powerful heat detection and evaluation systems can enable more rapid and focused response to fire incidents in tunnels. Report by Thomas Schmidt

Water-mist for fire suppression
25 August 2023 Mario Flores, Manager of Mining & Tunnelling Segment at Fogmaker, discusses design approaches for water-mist fire suppression systems for rapid and reliable intervention on underground equipment

Designing in Fire Safety Through Simulation
25 August 2023 Florian Michelin, Ventsim Manager, Howden, discusses approaches to simulating the complex variables at play in fire incidents in tunnels, and so help to design effective ventilation systems as part of fire safety measures

Grouting Focus in Stockholm
25 August 2023 The second half of the year’s tunnelling industry events commence with the latest Nordic Grouting Symposium to be held in Stockholm, over two days and packing in a course plus site visits

BTS James Clark Medal Award: Andy Alder
21 August 2023 Andy Alder has been awarded the James Clark Medal by the British Tunnelling Society for his service and leadership in the industry.

Smoke control in road tunnels
21 August 2023 To minimise smoke propagation in tunnels, ventilation design has seen the distributed extraction approach give way to local extraction systems for new tunnels. Ingo Riess, of Riess Ingenieur-GmbH, in Zurich, Switzerland, discusses the change, its effectiveness, but also the challenges that come in the complexity of the new approach.

Drives in tunnels
21 August 2023 Variable speed drives (VSDs) offer benefits to control ventilation fans and drainage pumps in tunnels, explains Josh Paikada, Strategic Business Development Manager, ABB.

July 2023

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Grey cast iron linings – new structural insights
24 July 2023 The Harding Prize Competition is named after the founder of the British Tunnelling Society, Sir Harold Harding, and is for entrants under the age of 33. Shortlisted papers were presented to the BTS evening meeting on 13 April, at the Institution of Civil Engineers, in London. Agustín Ruiz López, postdoctoral researcher with the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Imperial College, London, was a runner-up in this year’s Competition with a paper entitled ‘New insights into the structural behaviour of grey cast iron tunnel linings’. It is published here with the author’s permission