Shield Machine
Slurry TBM
The slurry TBM uses pressurised slurry inside the excavation chamber to balance the pressure of the surrounding soils and groundwater. CRCHI builds slurry machines across small, normal, large and mega diameter classes, suited to heterogeneous ground with high water permeability and high groundwater pressure.
Working principle
The defining feature of a slurry TBM is the use of pressurised slurry as the support medium that balances the pressure of the surrounding soils and groundwater at the face. During tunnelling, the cutterhead and its cutting tools rotate against the tunnel face. Excavated material enters the excavation chamber through the cutterhead openings, where it is mixed with water and additives and stirred by mixing arms behind the cutterhead to form slurry of the required consistency.
The slurry is moved through a slurry pipe from the excavation chamber to a separation plant on the surface, where solids are removed and the carrier fluid is reconditioned. The reconditioned slurry is then circulated back to the tunnel face for reuse. This closed circuit lets the operator hold a precise face pressure even where groundwater pressures are high or ground conditions are heterogeneous.
Face pressure can be regulated through two architectures. In the direct-control method, slurry pressure is set by modulating the rotation speed of the slurry feed and discharge pumps. In the indirect-control method, the support pressure inside the excavation chamber is regulated by an air-filled chamber behind the bulkhead, which decouples pressure control from the slurry circuit and gives finer response under variable conditions.
Features
Configurable across small, normal, large and mega diameter classes.
Two pressure-control architectures: direct control via the slurry feed and discharge pumps, and indirect control via an air-filled chamber behind the bulkhead.
Cutterhead design and slurry circulation system matched to face geology, water pressure and tunnel diameter.
Long-life main bearing, main-drive seals and main-drive gearbox engineered for service life and safety.
Solves the major slurry-TBM problem set: cutter change in free air, real-time cutter wear monitoring, automatic deviation correction and high-pressure-bearing main-drive seals.
Built for heterogeneous ground with high water permeability and high groundwater pressure where direct face support is mandatory.
Reference projects
Gwangyang-Yeosu Cable Tunnel Project
- Location
- South Korea
- Diameter
- 3,570 mm
- Machines
- 1
Natural Gas Pipeline Crossing River Tunnel Project
- Location
- Yueyang, China
- Diameter
- 3,770 mm
- Machines
- 1
Metro projects and Pearl River Delta Water Resources Allocation Project
- Location
- Shenyang, Beijing, Guangzhou, China
- Diameter
- 6,250 mm
- Machines
- 6
Metro tunnels and Hangzhou Second Water Resources Transmission Tunnel
- Location
- Lanzhou, Changsha, Kunming, Hangzhou, Harbin, China
- Diameter
- 6,450 mm
- Machines
- 14
Bangalore Metro Project
- Location
- India
- Diameter
- 6,650 mm
- Machines
- 4
Guangzhou Metro Project
- Location
- Guangzhou, China
- Diameter
- 8,800 mm
- Machines
- 6
Yinchuan Heat Supply Yellow Project
- Location
- Yinchuan, China
- Diameter
- 9,000 mm
- Machines
- 1
Beijing-Shenzhen High-speed Railway Wangjing Tunnel
- Location
- China
- Diameter
- 10,820 mm
- Machines
- 2
Shanghai Jiangpu Road Crossing River Tunnel
- Location
- Shanghai, China
- Diameter
- 11,600 mm
- Machines
- 1
Hangzhou Metro Project
- Location
- Hangzhou, China
- Diameter
- 11,670 mm
- Machines
- 1
Changde River Crossing Tunnel
- Location
- Changde, China
- Diameter
- 11,710 mm
- Machines
- 1
- Configuration
- mega-class river crossing
Mumbai Coastal Highway Tunnel
- Location
- India
- Diameter
- 12,140 mm
- Machines
- 1
- Configuration
- mega-class highway crossing
Zhengzhou South Railway Station to Xinzheng Airport Intercity Railway
- Location
- Zhengzhou, China
- Diameter
- 12,770 mm
- Machines
- 1
Suzhou Highway Tunnel
- Location
- Suzhou, China
- Diameter
- 13,620 mm
- Machines
- 1
Shanghai Airport Connecting Line Tunnel
- Location
- Shanghai, China
- Diameter
- 13,990 mm
- Machines
- 3
Hangzhou and Wuhu river-crossing tunnels
- Location
- Hangzhou and Wuhu, China
- Diameter
- 15,020 mm
- Machines
- 2
- Configuration
- mega-class river crossing
Hangzhou and Changsha river-crossing tunnels
- Location
- Hangzhou and Changsha, China
- Diameter
- 14,960 mm
- Machines
- 2
- Configuration
- mega-class river crossing
Shenzhen Highway Tunnel
- Location
- Shenzhen, China
- Diameter
- 15,720 mm
- Machines
- 2
- Configuration
- mega-class highway
Beijing Highway Tunnel
- Location
- Beijing, China
- Diameter
- 15,920 mm
- Machines
- 1
- Configuration
- mega-class highway
Pearl River Estuary Tunnel, Shenzhen-Jiangmen Railway
- Location
- Pearl River Estuary, China
- Diameter
- 13,420 mm
- Machines
- 1
- Configuration
- world-record deepest underwater high-speed railway shield tunnel (113 m)
Haitai Yangtze River Tunnel
- Location
- Nantong, Jiangsu, China
- Diameter
- 16,640 mm
- Machines
- 1
- Configuration
- ultra-large diameter highway subsea shield tunnel (Jianghai)
Greater Seoul power-cable tunnel project
- Location
- Gyeonggi Province, South Korea
- Machines
- 2
- Configuration
- FAT November 2024; first delivery against six-unit award
| Project | Location | Diameter | Machines | Configuration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gwangyang-Yeosu Cable Tunnel Project | South Korea | 3,570 mm | 1 | |
| Natural Gas Pipeline Crossing River Tunnel Project | Yueyang, China | 3,770 mm | 1 | |
| Metro projects and Pearl River Delta Water Resources Allocation Project | Shenyang, Beijing, Guangzhou, China | 6,250 mm | 6 | |
| Metro tunnels and Hangzhou Second Water Resources Transmission Tunnel | Lanzhou, Changsha, Kunming, Hangzhou, Harbin, China | 6,450 mm | 14 | |
| Bangalore Metro Project | India | 6,650 mm | 4 | |
| Guangzhou Metro Project | Guangzhou, China | 8,800 mm | 6 | |
| Yinchuan Heat Supply Yellow Project | Yinchuan, China | 9,000 mm | 1 | |
| Beijing-Shenzhen High-speed Railway Wangjing Tunnel | China | 10,820 mm | 2 | |
| Shanghai Jiangpu Road Crossing River Tunnel | Shanghai, China | 11,600 mm | 1 | |
| Hangzhou Metro Project | Hangzhou, China | 11,670 mm | 1 | |
| Changde River Crossing Tunnel | Changde, China | 11,710 mm | 1 | mega-class river crossing |
| Mumbai Coastal Highway Tunnel | India | 12,140 mm | 1 | mega-class highway crossing |
| Zhengzhou South Railway Station to Xinzheng Airport Intercity Railway | Zhengzhou, China | 12,770 mm | 1 | |
| Suzhou Highway Tunnel | Suzhou, China | 13,620 mm | 1 | |
| Shanghai Airport Connecting Line Tunnel | Shanghai, China | 13,990 mm | 3 | |
| Hangzhou and Wuhu river-crossing tunnels | Hangzhou and Wuhu, China | 15,020 mm | 2 | mega-class river crossing |
| Hangzhou and Changsha river-crossing tunnels | Hangzhou and Changsha, China | 14,960 mm | 2 | mega-class river crossing |
| Shenzhen Highway Tunnel | Shenzhen, China | 15,720 mm | 2 | mega-class highway |
| Beijing Highway Tunnel | Beijing, China | 15,920 mm | 1 | mega-class highway |
| Pearl River Estuary Tunnel, Shenzhen-Jiangmen Railway | Pearl River Estuary, China | 13,420 mm | 1 | world-record deepest underwater high-speed railway shield tunnel (113 m) |
| Haitai Yangtze River Tunnel | Nantong, Jiangsu, China | 16,640 mm | 1 | ultra-large diameter highway subsea shield tunnel (Jianghai) |
| Greater Seoul power-cable tunnel project | Gyeonggi Province, South Korea | 2 | FAT November 2024; first delivery against six-unit award |
Applications
Slurry TBMs are specified for heterogeneous ground with high water permeability and high groundwater pressure, where pressurised slurry holds back water and supports the face directly. CRCHI has supplied slurry machines for metropolitan metro systems, highway tunnels, water diversion tunnels and river or sea crossings, ranging from cable-tunnel diameters through to mega-class machines for road and river-crossing work. International references that demonstrate export-grade scale to AU procurement readers include the Gwangyang-Yeosu cable tunnel in South Korea, Bangalore Metro in India and the Mumbai Coastal Highway Tunnel in India.
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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