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As part of the high speed rail link between Scandinavia and
Europe, the Danish Government built two high speed rail tunnels below the
Storebaelt (Great Belt), a stretch of deep water that connects the North Sea to
the Baltic. The tunnels had a bored diameter of 8.72m diameter and a total
length of 7.5 kilometres. A total of four Earth Pressure Balance (EPB) Tunnel
Boring machines were used, which required the dismantling of all the TBMs within
the finished tunnel diameter. The twin tunnels were connected by 30 cross
passages that acted as both equipment rooms and emergency egress routes.
The first involvement of M G Bennett & Associates was a design
audit of the Tunnel Boring Machine and the systems during the design and
manufacturing phase. This involved Finite Element Analysis of the major
structural components of the TBM. Bennett Associates also provided technical
support during the first months of operation of the TBM.
To strengthen the clients team on site, Dr Chris Bird was seconded
full time to the project for a period of 3 years, with the primary function of
overseeing tunnel safety and providing additional technical advice. In the
latter part of the project, additional responsibility was taken on for the
technical management of the TBMs, both in the operational and dismantling phase
of the project and the safety supervision of the contractors boring the tunnel
and installing the fixed equipment simultaneously.
The works supervised with respect to tunnel safety included:
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Chairman of the Safety Coordination Meetings between
Contractors, Emergency Services and the Factory Inspector |
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Chairman of HAZOP work groups following the
fire |
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General Tunnel Conditions |
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Risk Assessment |
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Safety and Emergency Procedures |
The technical aspects included:
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TBM Operation |
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Rolling stock |
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Ground freezing |
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Large scale dewatering |
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TBM dismantling |
For more information, contact us on
01709-373782
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