Tuen Mun–Chek Lap Kok TBM

The Tuen Mun - Chek Lap Kok TBM otherwise known as Qin Liangyu or more formally, the Mixshield S-880 was the world's largest tunnel boring machine launched in June 2015 by Herrenknecht in Germany.[1][2] The TBM was used to drill a 5 km tunnel connecting Tuen Mun to the Hong Kong International Airport, part of the Tuen Mun–Chek Lap Kok Link project. The cost of the tunneling machine itself was around HK$ 18.2 billion (US$ 2.3 billion)[3]

Tuen Mun–Chek Lap Kok TBM
Class overview
NameTuen Mun–Chek Lap Kok/Qin Liangyu
BuildersHerrenknecht AG
Operators China
CostUS$2.3 billion (2015) or HK$18.2 billion (2015)
In service2015-2020
Completed1
Retired1
History
China
NameTuen Mun–Chek Lap Kok/Qin Liangyu
BuilderHerrenknecht AG
Commissioned2015
FateDisassembled after 2020
NotesThe largest tunnel boring machine ever built
General characteristics
Class and typeMixshield S-880-type Tunnel boring machine
Tonnage4,850 tonnes (4,770 long tons; 5,350 short tons)
Length120 metres (390 ft)
Beam17.6-metre-diameter (57.7 ft)

Specifications

The machine had a diameter of 17.6 metres (57.7 ft),[4] 0.1 metres (0.3 ft) more than Bertha, the previous largest tunnel boring machine.[5][6] Outside of its cutting diameter, it had an overall length of 120 metres (393 ft 8 in) and weighed 4,850 tonnes (5,346 US-tons).[2]

Operations

The machine would excavate a 5 km-long underwater tunnel, working at pressures as high as 5 bars. The drilling had taken place in depths of up to 50 m below sea level.[7]

By 25 March and 3 November 2015, the TBM's shield was converted into one the much smaller 14-m to complete the rest of the tunnel alongside another Herrenknecht TBM.[2] The two 14-m TBMs broke through to complete the tunnels on 27 February 2019.[2]

The tunnel boring project began in October 2018 after the cutterhead conversion and was completed by the end of 2020.[8] Tuen Mun–Chek Lap Kok was disassembled after the completion of the tunnel.[8]

References
  1. "5 Biggest Tunnel Boring Machines in the World". ASME.
  2. "Largest tunnel boring machine". Guinness World Records.
  3. "Start-up for world's largest TBM". Construction Briefing.
  4. "Herrenknecht, Pioneering Underground Technologies. Visit of Herrenknecht AG by KIVI Engineering Society TTOW. Martin Forster, Technical Manager Sales | Traffic Tunnelling. Schwanau, 22.09.2016" (PDF). COB.nl.
  5. "bouygues confirms largest tunnel boring machine launch". geeplus.co.uk. 9 June 2015. Retrieved 2015-12-11.
  6. "Long-Term Relations Between Joint Venture Partners – A Supplier's Perspective" (PDF). eic-federation.eu. Retrieved 2015-12-11.
  7. Wallis, Shani; Kenyon, Peter (25 September 2014). "Hong Kong mega-machine explanations". TunnelTalk. Retrieved 2015-12-11.
  8. "World's Biggest Tunnel Boring Machines". Constructionsht.
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