Automated construction of the Paghuashan tunnel for Taiwan High Speed Rail (THSR)

project

Pao H. Lina, , , H.P. Tserngb, and Ching C. Linc

a
Department of Civil Engineering, Feng Chia University, Taichung 407, Taiwan
b
Department of Civil Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei 106, Taiwan
c
China Engineering Consultants, Inc., Taipei 106, Taiwan
Accepted 30 August 2005. Available online 9 November 2005.

Abstract

The Taiwan High Speed Rail (THSR) project is the most significant infrastructure
development in Taiwan, and the largest Build–Operate–Transfer (BOT) project in the
world. The project is required to be completed and in operation as soon as possible. The
THSR's longest main tunnel, at 7364 m long crossing Paghuashan hills, was considered
as the most critical sub-phase of the project. To ensure effective control of this critical
phase, the joint venture contractor brought highly efficient construction equipment and
fresh planning ideas into Taiwan. The main tunnel’s excavation work was carried out
using a method minimizing harmful loosening of adjacent groundmass. Engineering
records reveal that the Paghuashan project was implemented successfully. The project
was completed two months ahead of schedule, and even recorded the best monthly
excavated length of 250 m, marking a significant milestone in the progress of the THSR
project. This paper introduces the cycle of excavating and lining technique used in
constructing this key tunnel, and an the analysis of work productivity through the
utilization of these automated equipment and facilities. This investigation also provides
detailed insight and experience for future long tunnel construction, particularly in bidding
for Design–Build (DB) contracts.

Keywords: Tunnel; Automation; Taiwan; BOT

Article Outline

1. Introduction
2. Paghuashan tunnel project
3. General geological situation
4. Support classification
5. Tunnel excavation
5.1. Planning and excavation
5.2. Site monitoring
5.3. Analysis of production rate
6. Lining work
6.1. Invert lining
6.2. Vault lining
7. Excavation machines and equipment
8. Conclusions
References

1. Introduction

Taiwan has vast uninhabited mountainous regions. About 95% of the national population
of 24 million live on the narrow strip of coast in the western part of the island.
Conventional intercity transportation options cannot easily manage the increased traffic
loads, resulting in service quality deterioration.

Considering the expected rapid growth in demand for intercity travel, and with
Government officials looking to the example of Japan with its highly advanced system of
dedicated high-speed routes linking major cities, which have famously transformed
medium and long-distance travel between major population centers, the Taiwan High
Speed Rail Project (THSR), emphasizing safety, mass transit, restricted land use, energy
efficiency and minimal pollution, is expected to alleviate the overcrowding traffic, and
improve the regional development balance significantly. The Taiwanese Government
drew up a detailed proposal to construct a new 345-km route, capable of running trains up
to 300 km/h between the island's north and south within a 90-min travel time. The THSR
revolutionizes the concept of space afforded by its fast linking, making one-day
commuting along the extensively developed west corridor a reality [5].

The shortage of public funds to finance new infrastructure projects has led the
government to adopt the BOT infrastructure delivery approach, where the private sector
finances, designs, builds, operates and maintains the facility for a stipulated period of
time, then transfers it to the government. In July 1998 the concessionaire, Taiwan High
Speed Rail Company, and the government, signed a 35-year concession agreement
including a commitment to raise the cash to construct the line from private sources.
Physical work on the project began in early 2000. Over 300 km of the line's total 345 km
length was built either in tunnels or on viaducts, owing to the densely-populated corridor
through which the system passes. The system is scheduled to commence commercial
operation in late 2005. The THSR Project is the largest transportation infrastructure
initiative in Taiwan, and the first major Taiwan national public facility involving private
investment. The US$13 billion makes this project one of the largest construction projects
of the late 20th century. The THSR project undoubtedly bears significant expectations,
not only in terms of the socio-economic development in Taiwan, but also as a milestone
of industrial technology initiatives. Therefore, the concessionaire and all consortia
recognized the requirement to implement the project on time, within budget and to
quality specifications. Delayed delivery of civil work of the THSR project will affect the
progress of succeeding trackwork and core system integration, therefore the severe
penalties are set to discourage time extensions.
In the preplanning phase of the THSR project, tunneling was quickly identified as a key
sub-task. The project includes approximately 47 km of tunneling of which 39 km are
mined and 8 km are Cut and Cover tunnels. Because of the high complexity and
uncertainty in tunnel excavation, the major tunneling work of the 48 tunnels was placed
on the critical path of civil construction scheduling. The longest main tunnel, 7364 m
long, crossing the Paghuashan hills is considered as the most crucial mission in the
critical path of the entire THSR project. To ensure effective management of this vital
tunnel project, the joint venture between Bilfinger Berger AG of Germany and the local
contractor Continental Engineering Corp. introduced many new characteristic and highly
efficient automatic construction equipment and fresh planning ideas. The main tunnel
excavation work was typically carried out using a backhoe tunnel excavator, minimizing
harmful loosening of the adjacent groundmass. Data including engineering records
demonstrate that the Paghuashan project was performed successfully. The upper half of
tunnel section had an average excavation length of 133 m per month, and was completed
two month earlier than scheduled. Further, the Paghuashan tunnel even recorded the best
monthly excavated length of 250 m in the THSR project. This paper investigates and
analyzes automation in excavation and construction of this critical tunnel, including
general geological information, construction techniques, support measures, working
productivity, equipment and facilities, management approach and the overall success, and
helps provide detailed insight and experience for future long tunnel constructions,
particularly for contracts with Design–Build under significant pressure to be completed
on time.

2. Paghuashan tunnel project

The THSR project contains five major tunnels over 2 km long, of which the longest is the
Paghuashan tunnel with mining over 7.3 km. The Paghuashan tunnel consists of a major
twin-track tunnel with typical horseshoe-shaped cross-sections of 130 m2 excavated faces
and two emergency adit tunnels. The tunnel is aligned approximately north–south, and
ranges in elevation with respect to sea level from 100 to around 154 m. The overburden
varies from a few meters up to a maximum of approximately 90 m. The THSR alignment
normally follows the most populated region along the western coast of the island, and
therefore the tunnels do not cross mountain ranges with high overburden. Fig. 1
illustrates the alignment section layout with the elevation of the Paghuashan tunnel, and
Fig. 2 shows its typical section geometry.

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Fig. 1. Alignment layout of Paghuashan tunnel.

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Fig. 2. Typical cross-section of Paghuashan tunnel.

Most tunnels in Taiwan have been in either rocks or soil. Gravel formation encountered at
the Paghuashan tunnel, which kept properties between rock and soil, is a rare occurrence
in Taiwan [14] and [15]. To avoid the likely effect of groundwater on excavation, the
level of the Paghuashan tunnel inverts were designed to be above the groundwater table
by several meters, as shown in Fig. 1. The next section discusses geological conditions in
detail.

3. General geological situation

The THSR enters the Paghuashan terrace from the north and leaves it in a southerly
direction to enter the alluvial plains west of the Paghuashan Terrace. The Toukoshan
Formation in the northern zone of the Paghuashan anticline, in which the Paghuashan
tunnel was excavated, is of early Pleistocene age (1 million years ago). The sediments of
the lower levels of this formation therefore experienced a compaction under a load of
several hundred meters of overburden. The deposition of this predominantly coarse
sediments with gravel and cobbles occurred in rivers with high flowing velocities and
changing flow directions. In areas of lower velocities lenses of sands or sandy gravel
were deposited and in areas with very low flowing velocities layers and lenses of silt,
sandy silt and clayey silt were deposited. It is very likely that occasionally also thin layers
of gravel or cobbles with no or only little contents of sand were deposited. The
investigations and the tunnel areas excavated has shown that sandy gravel with a differing
content of cobbles are the most frequent type of ground in the area of the tunnel. Further,
evidence during excavation of the tunnel has shown that even with a cover of only 6–7 m,
the sandy gravel, sandy silts and sands are compacted to a high degree [7] and [13].
According to the report of geotechnical assessment and rock classification of this tunnel
by Sinotech Co.[8], soils in the Paghuashan areas can be classified into clast-supported,
matrix-supported, secondary gravel deposit and sand/silt or clay/mudstone. Table 1 lists
the detailed descriptions for every rock type.

Table 1.

Rock classification for the Paghuashan tunnel

Rock Type Descriptions

S1 Clast-supported Cobble is round or almost round, between high level contents of cobbles are
cobble sand and silt matrix, which are tight, its behavior is cobble clast-supported

S2 Matrix-supported Cobble is round or almost round between lower level contents of cobbles are
cobble sand and silt matrix, which are tight, its behavior is fine matrix-supported

S3 Secondary deposit Collapsed or diluvial cobble deposits between clast or matrix-supported,

cobble usually distributed at the wing of Paghuashan, and its tightness is inferior

S4 Sand/sandstone Fine to coarse silt and sand with few cobbles in between, tightness ranges from
Rock Type Descriptions

loose to quite dense

S5 Clay/mudstone Silty clay or mudstone, over-consolidated

4. Support classification

The mined tunnels were excavated and supported following the principles of the New
Austrian Tunneling Method (NATM). This method considers the behavior and reaction of
the surrounding groundmass, together with the installation of a flexible support system
consisting of elements such as shotcrete, steel ribs, wire mesh and bolts. The appropriate
excavation class was determined by the ground behavior, considering the geological and
hydro-geological, overburden, experience gained under similar conditions and
geotechnical monitoring results. In practice, the Geotechnical Engineer was responsible
for the evaluation of the ground encountered and interpretation of the monitoring results
and would propose the appropriate excavation and support system to be applied. Five
excavation and support classes were developed for the tunnel, namely classes A, B, C, D
and D0 [9]. The difference between each class is the cycling length of the unsupported
cavity, and the amount of the support measures as a criterion for the temporary stability.
Class A signifies very good ground conditions, consisting mainly of gravel and cobbles or
matrix-supported with no or little sand, silty sand, sandy clay or clay layers. The
excavation face is stable without, or with very minimized, afterbreaking, without
requiring pre-supporting measures. Class B signifies good or fair underground conditions,
with sand, silty sand, sandy clay or clay layers generally predominant within the gravel
matrix. Excavation can be performed without pre-supporting measures. In Class C the
underground conditions are to be considered poor and layers of loose sand, silty soil, clay
or sandy clay are predominant in and around the tunnel cross-section. The excavation
face is generally stable, but heavy afterbreaking may require support of the face, pre-
supporting measures may be necessary. Classes D and D0 signify very poor and critical
conditions of loose sand, silty soil or soft clay [9]. The excavation and support classes
associated with rock types can be shown as Table 2. Fortunately, apart from short sections
at portals with very shallow overburden and crossing few fault areas, the tunneling
conditions for classification of all mined tunnel sections were almost identical. Fig. 3
shows the computed percentages of various support classes with their excavation lengths
in the Paghuashan tunnel. Support classes A and B predominate over others as 15.6% and
73.1%, respectively, and the other classes have relatively low percentage weights.
Obviously, the good to very good underground conditions were predominant in and
around the Paghuashan tunnel.

Table 2.

Support classification associated with rock type

Rock type S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 Portal

Overburden height (m) H > 11.5 H > 11.5 – H < 11.5 or 34.5 70 H > 70 H < 11.5

Support class A B B C D D0

Estimated deformation (mm) 100 150 150 150 200 200

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Fig. 3. Percentage of various support types.

In situ monitoring is an integral part of NATM. Monitoring cross-sections for

deformation measurement with three target bolts in the crown and two in the bench were
provided within the tunnel with an average spacing of 10 m [13]. During excavation and
support work for the mined tunnel, frequent measurements allowed a continuous
monitoring of the actual behavior of ground and initial support and to assess the relevant
design assumptions. The original design exhibited many rock bolts set in the supporting
system. The results of the regular deformation measurements and the data from the
measuring sections provided a back analysis and a confirmation of the given geotechnical
parameters. With the homogenous conditions, compactness, low deformability and almost
self-supporting ground, rock bolts were found not to be essential support elements. Thus,
the joint venture contractor redesigned the support system excluding the rock bolts,
which resulted in a shortened time cycling about 160 min and accelerated construction
progress. For comparison, the original planning for a cycle time is about 390 min. The
analysis of production rate will be conducted in details in Section 5.3.

5. Tunnel excavation

5.1. Planning and excavation

As well as the north and south portals, the excavated faces of the tunnel still include the
other four faces from the two adits bound to the north and south directions, respectively.
The mined tunnels were constructed with the Sequential Excavation and Support(SES)
NATM method, which was most appropriate for the tunnel size and geometry, and which
was identified as the most advantageous in terms of schedule at the gravel formation. The
tunnel cross-section was excavated in stages, reducing the open surface of each face,
which typically consisted of a top heading, bench and invert, thereby decreasing the
potential for collapse. The tunnel was driven with top heading-bench-invert sequencing.
The distances between top heading, bench and invert excavation were restricted only by
logistics. That is, sufficient space was required to provide for machinery and equipment
such as the backhoe excavator, shotcrete rig, drilling jumbo, lifting platforms and bulk
materials adjacent to the face. A length of at least 50 m was physical for regular advances.
Fig. 4 depicts the separation of excavated stages of this tunnel. The finished tunnel cross-
section area must be at least 90 m2 to accommodate the aerodynamic requirements of
high-speed train travel at 300 km/hr [13].

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Fig. 4. Profile of excavated stages for Paghuashan tunnel.

The excavation was typically executed by minimizing harmful loosening of the adjacent
groundmass. A specially designed backhoe tunnel excavator was employed to loosen the
ground (see Fig. 5). The joint at the backhoe’s mechanical arm can freely adapt to in situ
circumstances to motion within 180°. Excavation with a backhoe Liebherr 932 was
shown to yield a regular excavation line without disturbing the ground behind the
excavation surface. Due to the tunnel's limited working space, the loader and dumper for
mucking were equipped with large wheels that narrow down their turning radius, as
shown in Fig. 6. During excavation, the tunnel face and exposed side-walls exhibited
mostly good stability without significant overbreak. If required, temporary support was
usually attained with an array of rock bolts from the spring line to the crown, lattice
girders spaced at 1–1.5 m, and shotcrete ranging in thickness from 175 to 350 mm. The
automated shotcrete equipment is shown as Fig. 7. The machine had a human oriented
control system, which could operate the robot with 8° of freedom. The remote control
enabled the operator to manipulate the spraying jet not only in automatic, but also in
semi-automatic and if needed in manual mode. It helped maintain the distance and the
angle to the surface, and the thickness within the design tolerances. The equipment help
reduce rebound material to a minimum of about 11%. This automated shotcrete
equipment debunks the conventional wisdom that the success of a shotcrete operation is
dependent entirely upon the skill of the operator [1], [2] and [4]. This automated shotcrete
system results in machine spraying with high speed, quality and efficiency, instead of a
mostly manual, time consuming process.

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Fig. 5. Special excavator with backhoe in tunneling.

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Fig. 6. Loader and dumper equipped with giant wheels.

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Fig. 7. Automated shotcrete equipment. (a) Wet spraying system. (b) Practical shotcrete
spraying in Paghuashan tunnel. (c) Radio remote controller [6].

5.2. Site monitoring

Field monitoring and frequent measurements allowed a continuous provision of the actual
behavior of ground and initial support. In this way, it could be assessed whether the
actual monitoring results were within the acceptable limits. Evaluation of all monitoring
results had to be performed on a daily basis and irrespective of reaching any threshold
values [10].

The tunnel monitoring sections consisted of five to seven optical monitoring points for
the three-dimensional (3D) monitoring of tunnel lining deformation, and pressure cells at
selected sections. Fig. 8 illustrates the seven monitoring points at a tunnel section. The
sections were generally installed at regular intervals of about 10 m along the tunnel. Its
main purpose was the appraisal of deformation of the outer lining, the verification of the
stabilization with time, the appraisal of stress intensities in the lining and the general
lining behavior. During the excavation stages of top heading, bench and invert, the
readings were taken daily on a length starting about 30 m ahead of the face and ending 50
m behind the face (readings every day). Then, weekly readings were executed for one
month. 3D precision displacement monitoring is an optical measurement method used for
determining 3D displacements of the linings in underground excavations. It is a modern
alternative to the classical convergence and roof settlement measurements. Underground
displacement measurements can be linked to above-surface monitoring, with all
deformation data compiled in one common database. This provides a complete picture
about the history and development of deformations [10].

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Fig. 8. Expression for monitoring points at selected tunnel section.

The field measurements in settlements and convergences at the tunnel monitoring

sections can be shown in Fig. 9 and Fig. 10. The deformation almost ranges from 0 to 60
mm, and few points reach to a maximum of approximately 100 mm. The results show
that all deformation was controlled under safety and expected estimates.

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Fig. 9. 3-D optical monitoring measurements for tunnel settlements.

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Fig. 10. 3-D optical monitoring measurements for tunnel convergences.

5.3. Analysis of production rate

Typically, the excavation process included ten working crew members, two shifts in a day
with 24 h of working. The geological survey and construction planning were exhaustive,
and the required exploratory measures and the encountered ground conditions at the
tunnel faces were continuously monitored and provided on a daily basis. The contractor
could know well the geological conditions within the entire length of the track and made
appropriate decisions on the ground classification, excavation sequences and support
systems to be applied. The Paghuashan tunneling predominantly had a short cycle length
of 80 cm to shorten the excavated face exposure time. Fig. 11 plots the detailed cycle
length distribution with corresponding total numbers of excavated cycle. The average
cycle time for top heading excavation was about 160 min for a cycle length of 80 cm.
Fig. 12 illustrates the average time for each task in a cycle. For comparison, the original
planning with rockbolt setting task for a cycle time is about 390 min. Thus, the
elimination of rockbolt task indeed resulted in an accelerated construction progress.

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Fig. 11. Distribution of cycle length.

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Fig. 12. Analysis of average time for each task in top heading excavation.
The multi-skilled crew with experiences in multi-tasks operation, led by an experienced
foreman and directed by a geological engineer, managed the in situ geological conditions
well, completing the top heading excavation two months ahead of schedule. An average
production rate of 130 m per month was achieved, with a peak monthly rate of 250 m per
working face. It made a significantly advanced progress record compared with the
average tunnel excavation performance in Taiwan. Table 3 shows the average excavation
progress for rock tunnel construction in Taiwan for reference [3]. It shows that the
average monthly progress varies from 30 to 70 m. Due to the complex geological
conditions, it is still difficult to compare the tunneling progress on a completely similar
basis. However, there was a road tunnel initiated by the National Road Bureau (NRB) in
the Paghuashan area with a very similar soil formation. This NRB tunnel is known as the
second longest road tunnel with over 4900 m in Taiwan. In contrast, the NRB tunnel was
carried out in suffering from serious ground water problems, resulting in an average
excavation progress of 39 m per month.

Table 3.

Average monthly excavation progress in Taiwan

Year Total length of Numbers of Average length Average cross- Average excavation
tunnels (m) tunnels of tunnels (m) sectional area progress (m/month)
(m2)

1972– 29,198 33 912 29.8 68.3

1981

1982– 38,798 79 485 23.7 50.3

1986

1987– 39,999 50 800 39.7 32.5

1991

1992– 129,443 116 2353 63.4 58.0

Fig. 13 illustrates the detailed average monthly progress for each excavated face in the
top heading and bench tunneling in the Paghuashan tunnel. The invert excavation was
generally proceeded as the top heading and bench excavation were entirely finished. The
invert closure helped stabilize the tunnel.

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Fig. 13. The average monthly progress in top heading and bench excavation.

6. Lining work
The inner lining of the tunnel were begun when the excavation was completed, and can
be categorized into invert and vault lining. Automated construction equipment specific to
the lining work of the Paghuashan tunnel was introduced by the joint venture contractor.
The average production rates were based on a learning period and a routine period with a
regular production to the actual capacities of the equipment in use, and were based on a
shift system similar to the excavation phase, with approximately 24 working days per
month. Both the invert and vault lining work, especially concreting, were continuously
working cycles, where each crew member would take over a particular task. The average
advance rates were attainable, considering the lengths of the three lining sections (north,
south, and center parts) which were running concurrently. The three sections were
equipped with regard to formwork shutters and labors, that the work could proceed
without affecting each other.

6.1. Invert lining

Invert lining work was undertaken by an invert shutter, with a length of approximately 40
m. The invert shutter system comprised a formwork frame, face shutter including support
device, moving frame, crane beam including trolley, concrete distribution system,
hydraulic system and working platforms. Fig. 14 illustrates the side and front views of
this system. The wagons and shutters in the rear of the invert shutter were rail-bound, that
is, they used the same rail (lane width = 8.9 m), which was fixed on top of the finished
invert banquette (underside of cable trough position). This approach guaranteed a
uniform base level for all wagons, and eased the survey control. Only the last wagon in
the line, the platform wagon for void grouting and surface finishing, moved on tires. All
wagons had a central clearance of 3.5/4.5 m (width/height) for throughway. The wagons
were self-mobile [12]. The invert concrete cycle consisted of the following phases: move
frame to next block; remove side/face shutters; install gap reinforcement; install face
shutter and side shutters, and pour concrete. During regular production, one invert cycle
lasted 8 to 9 h, leaving about 3 to 4 h for hardening, before removing the face shutter. The
frame posters were positioned on blocks aged at least 12 h (central) or 24 h (rear) [12].
High quality and fast progress could be achieved by the invert shutter system with
average monthly progress 550 m. Fig. 15 plots the average cycle time for each invert
lining task. The Twin Invert Shutter was found to be able to cast 2 blocks (each block
12.5 m) in 24 h.

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Fig. 14. The invert shutter system.

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Fig. 15. Analysis of cycle time for invert lining.

6.2. Vault lining

Shotcrete was applied for sealing, and as initial lining. The wet shotcrete technique was
employed, i.e., cement and aggregate were batched by weight and mixed with water and
admixtures when brought to site. One or two layers of wire mesh fabric were positioned
within the shotcrete lining as reinforcement. The lattice girder was placed inside the
shotcrete lining and wholly embedded in the shotcrete. To counter uncohesive loose sand
or fine gravel layers in the crest of the top heading, steel lagging sheets could be used for
pre-supporting to minimize possible break. Typically, the shotcrete lining's tolerance was
constrained to 5 cm over the theoretical borderline between shotcrete lining and inner
lining. The required clearance for the waterproofing system (fine graded shotcrete layer,
geotextile and membrane) had to be incorporated into the designed inner lining thickness.
All support measures exceeding this tolerance had to be reprofiled. Thailand labor crews
performed the profiling, concreting and excavation work. The crews were guided as far as
possible by the same supervisors at site, easing the transition into the lining work.

The vault was lined with reinforced cast-in-place concrete, using mechanized formwork
systems, while the vault shutter was applied to carry out all casting work. The wagon
length was approximately 16 m. The vault shutter comprised the carrier frame, formwork,
working platform, concrete distribution system, vibrating system and hydraulic system.
The vault reinforcement was separated into “wall” and “arch” reinforcements. The vault
reinforcing system consisted of lifting, reinforcing and crane wagons, to lift, assemble
and move the vault reinforcement, respectively. Fig. 16 illustrates the vault shutter and
crane wagon of the vault reinforcing system. The nominal thickness of the vault concrete
was 40 cm in the normal underground sections, rising by 10 cm close to the portals and at
shallow overburden zones. The regular block length was 12.5 m. A vault concrete cycle
consisted of the following working phases: remove face shutter, open spindles, lower and
clean formwork, take over crown reinforcement and move to block, splice wall/crown
reinforcement and close gap, position formwork and close spindles, install face shutter,
and pour concrete, start during installation of face shutter. Approximately 6 h after the
concrete pouring finished, the pipes, installed in the crown for void grouting, were pulled
back. The holes were then inspected. The water proofing membrane could be visible. At
regular production, a vault cycle lasted 12–14 h, leaving about 10–12 h for hardening,
before the face was removed [11]. Fig. 17 plots the average cycle time of each task in the
vault lining. Fig. 18 and Fig. 19 display the practical construction system for vault lining,
demonstrating the working shutter system in site. The entire process in the above
description for inner lining working can be depicted by the seven steps presented in Fig.
20.
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Fig. 16. The vault shutter system.

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Fig. 17. Analysis of average cycle time of vault lining.

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Fig. 18. Installation of reinforcement for vault lining.

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Fig. 19. Concrete distribution system of vault lining.

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Fig. 20. Illustration of process sequence for inner lining working.

7. Excavation machines and equipment

Heavy equipment, such as tunnel excavators, shotcrete machines and drilling jumbos,
was imported to ensure the attainable construction speed. The major equipment was
transported in coordination with construction to the assigned working areas. Table 4
summarizes the key equipment. The equipment operator would perform a visual check on
the equipment twice a day before and after the working shift, and reported the results to
the mechanical supervisor. Once a week, the mechanical department inspected the
equipment on site, and once a month, the equipment was maintained and checked in the
machine yard on site. Defective or worn-out parts were replaced immediately with
original spare parts only.

Table 4.

List of major excavating equipment for Paghuashan tunnel

Equipment Specification Brand Quantity Manufacturer

Excavator Litronic 932T Liebherr 5 Germany

Excavator Litronic 912T Liebherr 2 Germany

Wheel loader CAT966G Caterpillar 6 U.S.A.

Shotcrete mobile Meyco Suprema MBT 6 Switzerland

Drill jumbo Tamrock Paramatic 206 Tamrock 5 Finland

Dumper Kaelble/KV25N Kaelble 6 Germany

Dumper Bell/B25 C6*6 Bell 6 South Africa

Dumper CAT D25 Caterpillar 4 U.S.A.

Twin invert shutter L = 40 M Bernold 2 Switzerland

Profile wagon L = 13 M Bernold 2 Switzerland

Water membrane wagon L=6M Bernold 2 Switzerland

Side wall reinforcing wagon L = 13 M Bernold 2 Switzerland

Vault reinforcing system–lifting

wagon

L = 10 M Bernold 2 Switzerland

Vault reinforcing system–crane wagon

L = 30 M Bernold 2 Switzerland

Vault shutter L = 12.5M Bernold 5 Switzerland

In the other side, breakdown of key equipment (excavator, shotcrete unit, loader, dumper
and drilling jumbo) could lead to work interruption. The excavator, owing to its long
working duration, and the shotcrete unit, since it provided immediate tunnel support once
the round was open, were treated as critical equipment items. A qualified and mobile
maintenance team in the workshop would do the best to keep that the equipment was
always in good order and that immediate action could be undertaken if a breakdown
occurred. The workshop operated a Planned Preventive Maintenance (PPM) system,
inspecting all key equipment daily and either repairing any defects or logging them for
the next routine service [9]. To guarantee the continuation of tunnel work in case of a
serious breakdown, sufficient spare equipment valued at more than US$1 million was
always made available at short notice. In case of a major breakdown that the repair failed
to be implemented in an accepted term, the required equipment was immediately ordered
from neighboring work sites (bench drive or next nearby tunnel drive).

Moreover, for each excavated face, the construction equipment with highest utilized rate
was the shotcrete unit with 61% usage, but also had the highest breakdown rate with
6.2%. By comparison, the excavator had the lowest usage rate, with 44% of idle time.
Therefore, in the excavation cycling process, the shotcrete task occupied the longest
cycling time, while the excavator task occupied the shortest time. Thus, an unnecessarily
over excavated cross-section could be avoided and the shotcrete time for compensating
tolerances could be eliminated to benefit the entire tunneling progress.

8. Conclusions

The construction of the Paghuashan tunnel, the longest in the Taiwan High Speed Rail
Project, significantly influenced the construction schedule of the whole project, and has
been the focus of attention from the project participants since its construction in early
2001. This paper analyzes the automated excavation and construction of this critical
gravel tunnel, including the general information of geological condition, construction
method, support measures, working productivity, equipment, facilities, management
approach and the overall performance. The practical working data and experiences were
gathered and recorded for advanced analysis. The productivity analysis and comparison
of this study also provide a detailed insight and valuable experience in cycling for future
long gravel tunnel construction, particularly for Design and Build bidding contracts. The
key factors to successful performance of this tunnel construction can be summarized as
follows:

(1) Design–Build (DB): The contract was awarded based on the Design–Build tender,
which gave the joint venture contractor full flexibility in meeting the ongoing-design of
the New Austrian Tunneling Method according to the practical conditions encountered in
complex excavation. Thus, construction hazards can be avoided or mitigated. Design–
Build contracts have dominated changeable tunneling construction, and significantly
benefit overall performance.

(2) Well-planned construction management: Aside from the existing better geological
conditions encountered in tunneling, well-organized international joint venture
contractors are very important to achieve good average advance rates. Experienced
foremen and multi-skilled crews can be teamed together to achieve good construction
progress, maintain equipment and facilities to decrease the breakdown and idle time.
Daily inspection and observation for overall control in working environment can in most
cases help construction safety and productivity.
(3) Automated tunneling construction: The application of automated equipment and
facilities can advance tunneling techniques and improve construction productivity.
Although the automated equipment and additional facilities may raise construction cost,
the advantages of assuring progress within schedules justify the cost, premium, especially
when contracts include large liquidated damage.

References

[1] Min-Yuan Cheng, Yueh Liang, Ching-Ming Wey and Jiann-Chyun Chen,
Technological enhancement and creation of a computer-aided construction system for the
shotcreting robot, Automation in Construction 10 (2001) (4), pp. 517–526. SummaryPlus
| Full Text + Links | PDF (523 K) | View Record in Scopus | Cited By in Scopus (4)

[2] R. Greer, C. Haas, G. Gibson, A. Traver and R.L. Tucker, Advances in control systems
for construction manipulators, Automation in Construction 6 (1997) (3), pp. 193–203.
SummaryPlus | Full Text + Links | PDF (1024 K) | View Record in Scopus | Cited By in
Scopus (3)

[3] Sy-Jye Guo, Analysis of cycle excavation and productivity of large-scale rock tunnel
projects-lesson learned in Taiwan, Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering 28 (2001), pp.
26–34. Full Text via CrossRef | View Record in Scopus | Cited By in Scopus (1)

[4] E. Hoek and E.T. Brown, Underground Excavations in Rock, The Institute of Mining
and Metallurgy, London (1980).

[5] http://thsrc.com.tw.

[6] http://www.meyco-equipment.ch/e/default_MS.htm.

[7] Sinotech Engineering Consultants, Inc., Detailed design of guideway for high speed
rail in west Taiwan corridor, Lot 5 Section Chang-Hua to Yun-Lin, Supplemental
Geological Investigation Report 1 (1994).

[8] Sinotech Engineering Consultants, Inc., The Report of Geotechnical Assessment and
Rock Mass Classification for Tunnels (1996 (Dec.)).

[9] Taiwan High Speed Rail Company, Construction Method Statement THSR-C260:
Tunnel (2001 (Oct.)).

[10] Taiwan High Speed Rail Company, Construction Method Statement THSR-C260:
Tunnel Site Monitoring (2001 (Oct.)).

[11] Taiwan High Speed Rail Company, Construction Method Statement THSR-C260:
Shutter Assemblage (2002 (Sep.)).
[12] Taiwan High Speed Rail Company, Construction Method Statement THSR-C260:
Inner Lining of Mined Tunnels (2002 (Aug.)).

[13] Taiwan High Speed Rail Company, THSRP Geotechnical Interpretative Report
(GIR) (2001 (July)).

[14] T.T. Wang and T.H. Huang, An experience of tunneling in mudstone area in
southwestern Taiwan, Tunneling and Underground Space Technology 17 (2002), pp. 425–
436. SummaryPlus | Full Text + Links | PDF (1961 K) | View Record in Scopus | Cited
By in Scopus (3)

[15] S.M. Woo, W.S. Guo and Z.C. Moh, Engineering problems of gravel deposits in
Taiwan, Proceedings of ASCE Specialty Conference on Engineering and Construction in
Tropical and Residual Soils, Hawaii (1982), pp. 500–518.

Corresponding author. Tel.: +886 4 2451 7250x3147; fax: +886 4 2451 6982.

Fig. 1. Alignment layout of Paghuashan tunnel.

Fig. 2. Typical cross-section of Paghuashan tunnel.

Fig. 3. Percentage of various support types.

Fig. 4. Profile of excavated stages for Paghuashan tunnel.

Fig. 5. Special excavator with backhoe in tunneling.

Fig. 6. Loader and dumper equipped with giant wheels.
Fig. 7. Automated shotcrete equipment. (a) Wet spraying system. (b) Practical shotcrete
spraying in Paghuashan tunnel. (c) Radio remote controller [6].
Fig. 8. Expression for monitoring points at selected tunnel section.

Fig. 9. 3-D optical monitoring measurements for tunnel settlements.

Fig. 10. 3-D optical monitoring measurements for tunnel convergences.

Fig. 11. Distribution of cycle length.

Fig. 12. Analysis of average time for each task in top heading excavation.

Fig. 13. The average monthly progress in top heading and bench excavation.
Fig. 14. The invert shutter system.
Fig. 17. Analysis of average cycle time of vault lining.

Fig. 18. Installation of reinforcement for vault lining.

Fig. 19. Concrete distribution system of vault lining.
Fig. 20. Illustration of process sequence for inner lining working.