TUNNELING SHIELD USES FOAM TO SHAVE TUNNELING PROBLEMS

Japanese engineers say they have developed a chemical foam that works somewhat like shaving cream on a grand scale, smoothing the earth-cutting progress of a shield tunneling machine as it moves through soft ground. Developers say the new method could eventually replace the conventional shield method that relies on soil or bentonite slurry to support the face of a tunnel excavation. While this new method has improved cutter speed and the torque required to rotate the cutter has been slashed compared with normal slurry-shield tunneling, many of the costs involved are equal to those for conventional slurry-shield methods and capital costs for the new method are higher. A detailed description of this new method along with computer applications is included in this article.

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    McGraw-Hill, Incorporated

    330 West 42nd Street
    New York, NY  United States  10036
  • Publication Date: 1986-8-14

Media Info

  • Pagination: p. 12-13
  • Serial:

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Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 00459703
  • Record Type: Publication
  • Files: TRIS
  • Created Date: Aug 28 2004 4:46AM