Shield Machine
EPB TBM
The earth-pressure-balance (EPB) TBM uses the excavated material itself as the support medium against the tunnel face, which makes it the preferred option for soft soils and cohesive soils with low water permeability. CRCHI builds EPB machines across small, normal and large diameter classes, with a wide application range covering soft soils, gravel and cobble strata, weathered rock, hard rock and other complicated geologies.
Working principle
The defining feature of an EPB TBM is the use of the excavated material itself as the support medium, which avoids ground settlement above the tunnel. This method is the preferred option for soft soils and cohesive soils with low water permeability. During a drive, the cutterhead and its cutting tools rotate to cut soil at the tunnel face.
The excavated material enters the excavation chamber through openings in the cutterhead, where it is mixed with conditioning additives and stirred by mixing arms on the back of the cutterhead until it reaches the texture required for face support. When the pressure of the conditioned muck inside the excavation chamber matches the pressure of the surrounding ground and groundwater, earth-pressure balance is achieved. This balance prevents soil from entering the back-up systems and supports a fast and safe drive.
A screw conveyor regulates the discharge of conditioned muck from the excavation chamber onto a belt conveyor, which delivers it to muck cars and out of the tunnel. Cutterhead opening ratio, conditioning package and screw-conveyor configuration are matched to the ground type so that pressure can be held in balance through changing geology along the drive.
Features
Configurable across small, normal and large diameter classes for utility, rail, highway and metro tunnel work.
Soil-conditioning system suits clay, sandy soil, composite heterogeneous ground and other unstable geological conditions.
Cutterhead and conditioning package matched to ground type, with mixing arms working the muck behind the cutterhead to the texture required to maintain face balance.
Long-life main bearing, main-drive seals and main-drive gearbox engineered for service life and safety.
PLC control with real-time online monitoring and data acquisition.
Wide application envelope: soft soils, gravel and cobble strata, weathered rock, hard rock and other complicated geologies.
Reference projects
Instructional TBM
- Location
- China
- Diameter
- 3,180 mm
- Machines
- 1
- Configuration
- instructional unit
Instructional TBM
- Location
- China
- Diameter
- 3,600 mm
- Machines
- 3
- Configuration
- instructional unit
Sewage tunnels and cable tunnels
- Location
- Middle East, Sri Lanka, Wuhan and Urumqi (China)
- Diameter
- 3,730 mm
- Machines
- 5
South-North Water Transfer Project
- Location
- Beijing, China
- Diameter
- 4,030 mm
- Machines
- 1
EH tunnel project
- Location
- Xinjiang, China
- Diameter
- 5,450 mm
- Machines
- 3
Metro tunnels across Chinese and foreign cities
- Location
- Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Xi'an, Hefei, Qingdao, Nanchang, Suzhou, Harbin, Changchun, Zhengzhou, Changsha, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Taipei, and Moscow (Russia)
- Diameter
- 6,250 mm
- Machines
- 150
- Configuration
- 150+ machines
Metro tunnels across multiple Chinese cities
- Location
- Shenzhen, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Xuzhou, Taiyuan, Kunming, Urumqi, Luoyang, Wuhan, Nantong, Lanzhou, Tianjin, Hohhot, Fuzhou (China)
- Diameter
- 6,410 mm
- Machines
- 110
- Configuration
- 110+ machines
Izmir metro tunnel
- Location
- Turkey
- Diameter
- 6,550 mm
- Machines
- 1
Beijing metro tunnel
- Location
- Beijing, China
- Diameter
- 6,610 mm
- Machines
- 12
Shanghai metro tunnel
- Location
- Shanghai, China
- Diameter
- 6,760 mm
- Machines
- 10
- Configuration
- 10+ machines
Shenzhen metro, Hangzhou metro line, Jinhua rail transit
- Location
- Shenzhen, Hangzhou and Jinhua, China
- Diameter
- 6,950 mm
- Machines
- 10
- Configuration
- 10+ machines
Hangzhou airport line tunnel
- Location
- Hangzhou, China
- Diameter
- 7,150 mm
- Machines
- 10
- Configuration
- 10+ machines
Chengdu metro tunnel
- Location
- Chengdu, China
- Diameter
- 8,600 mm
- Machines
- 6
Guangzhou metro and Zhuhai interurban railway tunnel
- Location
- Guangzhou and Zhuhai, China
- Diameter
- 8,800 mm
- Machines
- 48
Beijing New Airport Line
- Location
- Beijing, China
- Diameter
- 9,100 mm
- Machines
- 4
Moscow metro tunnel
- Location
- Russia
- Diameter
- 10,840 mm
- Machines
- 1
- Configuration
- large-diameter metro
Chengdu expressway tunnel
- Location
- Chengdu, China
- Diameter
- 12,740 mm
- Machines
- 1
- Configuration
- large-diameter highway
Sibiu-Pitesti Highway, Lot 3 (Poiana Tunnel)
- Location
- Cornetu to Tigveni, Romania
- Diameter
- 12,490 mm
- Machines
- 1
- Configuration
- largest-diameter TBM exported to Europe; CE-certified
Belgrade Metro Line 1
- Location
- Belgrade, Serbia
- Diameter
- 9,650 mm
- Machines
- 2
- Configuration
- Serbia's first underground railway
Poland 1042 Railway Project
- Location
- Poland
- Machines
- 2
- Configuration
- EU ATEX-certified for methane environment; lead machine DZ1547 broke through first 3.75 km a month early
Ankara Metro Line A1
- Location
- Ankara, Turkey
- Diameter
- 6,550 mm
- Machines
- 1
- Configuration
- ZTE6550; CRCHI full coverage of Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir
| Project | Location | Diameter | Machines | Configuration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Instructional TBM | China | 3,180 mm | 1 | instructional unit |
| Instructional TBM | China | 3,600 mm | 3 | instructional unit |
| Sewage tunnels and cable tunnels | Middle East, Sri Lanka, Wuhan and Urumqi (China) | 3,730 mm | 5 | |
| South-North Water Transfer Project | Beijing, China | 4,030 mm | 1 | |
| EH tunnel project | Xinjiang, China | 5,450 mm | 3 | |
| Metro tunnels across Chinese and foreign cities | Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Xi'an, Hefei, Qingdao, Nanchang, Suzhou, Harbin, Changchun, Zhengzhou, Changsha, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Taipei, and Moscow (Russia) | 6,250 mm | 150 | 150+ machines |
| Metro tunnels across multiple Chinese cities | Shenzhen, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Xuzhou, Taiyuan, Kunming, Urumqi, Luoyang, Wuhan, Nantong, Lanzhou, Tianjin, Hohhot, Fuzhou (China) | 6,410 mm | 110 | 110+ machines |
| Izmir metro tunnel | Turkey | 6,550 mm | 1 | |
| Beijing metro tunnel | Beijing, China | 6,610 mm | 12 | |
| Shanghai metro tunnel | Shanghai, China | 6,760 mm | 10 | 10+ machines |
| Shenzhen metro, Hangzhou metro line, Jinhua rail transit | Shenzhen, Hangzhou and Jinhua, China | 6,950 mm | 10 | 10+ machines |
| Hangzhou airport line tunnel | Hangzhou, China | 7,150 mm | 10 | 10+ machines |
| Chengdu metro tunnel | Chengdu, China | 8,600 mm | 6 | |
| Guangzhou metro and Zhuhai interurban railway tunnel | Guangzhou and Zhuhai, China | 8,800 mm | 48 | |
| Beijing New Airport Line | Beijing, China | 9,100 mm | 4 | |
| Moscow metro tunnel | Russia | 10,840 mm | 1 | large-diameter metro |
| Chengdu expressway tunnel | Chengdu, China | 12,740 mm | 1 | large-diameter highway |
| Sibiu-Pitesti Highway, Lot 3 (Poiana Tunnel) | Cornetu to Tigveni, Romania | 12,490 mm | 1 | largest-diameter TBM exported to Europe; CE-certified |
| Belgrade Metro Line 1 | Belgrade, Serbia | 9,650 mm | 2 | Serbia's first underground railway |
| Poland 1042 Railway Project | Poland | 2 | EU ATEX-certified for methane environment; lead machine DZ1547 broke through first 3.75 km a month early | |
| Ankara Metro Line A1 | Ankara, Turkey | 6,550 mm | 1 | ZTE6550; CRCHI full coverage of Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir |
Applications
EPB TBMs are specified where the excavated material itself can be conditioned to act as the face-support medium, which makes them the preferred option for soft soils and cohesive soils with low water permeability. CRCHI has supplied EPB machines for utility tunnels, rail tunnels, highway tunnels and metropolitan metro systems, ranging from instructional units through to large-diameter road tunnels. International references that demonstrate export-grade scale to AU procurement readers include the Izmir metro tunnel in Turkey, the Moscow metro tunnel in Russia, the South-North Water Transfer Project in Beijing, and sewage tunnels in the Middle East and Sri Lanka.
Configuration and engineering
Every CRCHI TBM is engineered to project. Shield diameter, cutterhead geometry, drive power, segmental ring design and back-up arrangement are configured to the alignment, ground conditions and water pressure of the drive. Project-specific scope beyond the standard envelope is engineered to brief, and where a drive calls for it, a machine is developed from the ground up. CRCHI Australia is the engineering, commercial, commissioning and aftermarket point of contact for Australian projects.
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