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40 // TECHNOLOGY is above all“ Josef Arnold explains, MD at the ALPINE-group branch Beton- und Monierbau GmbH, specialised in tunnelling. austrians lead the waY in tunnelling In the midst of the 20 th century three Austrians – Ladislaus von Rabcewicz, Leopold Müller and Franz Pacher – caused a revolution in tunnelling: They represent what is called the New Austrian the closely-knit (male) miners’ society long held the belief that women meant bad luck in mining. Tunnel Method in which shotcrete and anchors immediately secure cavities cut into the mountain. The surrounding rock and this artificial construction form a frictional connection. Today, the New Austrian Tunnel Method is a standard procedure and used world-wide. It allows a relatively slim construction. Once the first step is done the excavated tunnel is sealed and finished with interior shells, road and safety technology. In the past wooden constructions secured the excavated tunnel shafts. This was before the advent of shotcrete. Back-filled natural stone vaults were then added in a second step to produce a strong tunnel shell. It was time consuming and expensive to bring all necessary wood inside the mountain and to then dismantle and remove it again. Blasting, drilling, Milling, digging There are several ways of tunnelling, mainly depending on the existing geology. Blasting is used in uniformly hard rock - such as granite. Loose rock is dug out. Other tunnelling methods employed are drilling and milling. Gigantic tunnel boring machines are used at the St.-Gotthard tunnel. The workers christened them ‘Heidi’ and ‘Sissi’. These machines have huge roller bits and press against the rock with incredible force, grinding the hard rock of the Central Alps into platesize pieces. However, a roadway (a route) must be determined even before the tunnel boring machines can start to work. Despite the fact that drivers or train passengers often have the impression that the tunnel is a straight line through the mountain: The route through a mountain circumvents geological danger zones and takes traffic necessities into account. It’s hardly ever a straight line. The St.-Gotthard tunnel for instance follows a long and stretched ‘S’. circuMventing danger Zones Geologists and seismologists take their turn before miners attack the rock. They examine the mountain, search for possible faults and areas with broken rock. The roadway must circumvent large-scale danger zones. “Nobody intentionally drives into a bad rock formation” Arnold points out succinctly. The surface geology tells experts what to expect inside: hard gneiss or almost crumbling Dolomite Alp sugar. Even though seismological measurements, test drilling and observation provide relatively reliable predictions on what to expect beneath the surface: Mountains are not made of glass - and always are ready for a geological surprise. The actual construction can finally begin once the future route has been fixed, proceedings with authorities completed and the area concerned released. The official opening of the tunnelling work is a celebration for the entire crew. In the coming months the crew will work its way through the mountain in shifts. The hard tunnelling work is mostly performed by men. For centuries, women were not allowed inside a mountain. The closely-knit (male) miners’ society long held the belief that women meant bad luck in mining. However, in the mean time there are female engineers, female surveyors and female geologists entering this field - yet only a few men - who therefore are gravely concerned. // we have asked // how do Miners know inside a Mountain which waY to dig? it requires precise measurement procedures and high-tech laser technology as well as experienced tunnelling engineers and surveyors. concrete piers close to the tunnel entrance are fix points used to generate three-dimensional coordinates for the workers below the surface. The tunnel boring machines are guided by red laser beams. The working parties meat exactly in the middle of a mountain that is usually attacked from both sides – provided everything goes according to plan. “This is not a problem at all. We work with a tolerance of a few centimetres only” Josef Arnold dispels the myth that crews occasionally miss each other.
SHORTCUTS CONCRETE MIXING PLANT ON A TRAIN A concrete mixing plant on a train will be used from autumn 2010 to install railway engineering equipment in the 57-km-long st.-Gotthard base tunnel. the train has 24 wagons and two locomotives with 1,500 hP each and a final production capacity of 225 m3 per day. this train has many advantages: no other trade working in the tunnel will be interrupted as only one run into and out of the tunnel is necessary per day. the concrete can be produced just in time and in exactly the needed quality and quantity. in 2008 AlPine (as part of a tender consortium) won the contract to construct the railway engineering equipment of the st.-Gotthard base tunnel. this contract is comprised of the construction and/or installation of tracks, power supply, traffic control system, signalling system, tunnel control system, communication system and safety system. MODERN NOMADS Good miners are in demand. despite modern technology and the extensive use of machinery what counts in particular is experience and excellent training. tunnelling workers must be diligent, motivated, experienced and above all: Mobile. they work at many international projects and move as modern nomads from construction site to construction site. A miner works in shifts of eight hours each. A construction site usually only sleeps on st. Barbara‘s day, at Christmas and at easter. A GODMOTHER FOR THE TUNNEL IS AN OLD TRADITION tradition is important in modern tunnelling too. there is no start of tunnelling without a godmother for the tunnel: the godmother is considered the representative of the miners’ patron saint st. Barbara. the celebrations at st. Barbara‘s day on 4th of december traditionally include a prayer and a festival for the crew. there are festivals that no one can do without: start of tunnelling, breakthrough - when both sides of the tunnel meet and the opening of the tunnel. Ü www.alptraNSIt.ch Ü www.alpENtuNNEl.DE 41
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