TBMS

Shield tunnelling in
PURE SANDS
Ulrich Maidl and Marc Comulada of Maidl Tunnelconsultants,
Germany, and Alexandre Mahfuz Monteiro, Carlos Henrique
Turolla Maia, Julio Claudio Di Dio Pierri, all of Constructora
Norberto Odebrecht, Brazil describe current trends in the merging
fields of EPB and slurry shield technologies

PURE SANDS ARE typically the domain of Principles and calculation of face vertical equilibrium is only considered for the
slurry shields due to their high permeability support pressure surcharge on the failure wedge. For the
and their granular nature. However, Earth Figure 1 shows the principles of two complete system that especially needs to be
Pressure Balanced (EPB) shield machine approaches for the determination of required taken into account for the estimation of
technology has advanced in recent years support pressures - kinematic methods and settlement, kinematic methods do not provide
with the advent of improved conditioning numerical methods. sufficient information.
agents and shield machines that are Kinematic methods that are employed for Numerical methods, on the contrary, are
equipped with slurry injection facilities and the assessment of face stability only consider suitable for the determination of
alternative mucking methods. These new the situation in front of the TBM. The required deformations if sufficient information on the
so-called ‘hybrid EPB’ machines have face support force is determined by means of ground behavior is available and the
steadily increased the range of applications an assumed failure wedge that would form in excavation process is properly modelled. For
for EPB technology. the ultimate limit state. Based on the ground analyses of the ultimate limit state, however,
This article discusses the capacities and properties, the vertical surcharge and the self- numerical methods are less suitable since
operational features of hybrid EPB vs. slurry weight is transformed into a horizontal force numerical simulations tend to become
shield technology in pure sands. At the along a virtual sliding surface. This horizontal unstable in the vicinity of the limit state.
Metro Line 4 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, it has force is to be balanced by the face support. Urban shield tunnelling, such as in the case
been shown that hybrid EPB tunnelling in The calculation results are amended by studies presented in this article, require both
pure sands is possible, and is later respective partial safety factors for water and stability as well as deformation analyses, so
compared with a state-of-the-art slurry earth pressure and method-specific support generally both methods are used.
shield employed at the KASIG project in
Karlsruhe (Germany). Furthermore, the
Figure 1: Determination of the required support pressures based on kinematic
control of the support pressures by means
(left) and numerical approaches (right)
of foam conditioning and slurry injection in
conjunction with close, real-time
monitoring of machine parameters is
discussed.
Slurry shield and EPB technologies have
both undergone significant developments
in recent years, leading to the use of parts
of one technology in the other and
ultimately to the creation of completely
hybrid systems. Also the application ranges
(see DAUB 2010)) of both technologies
have shifted far beyond their original limits
and are now largely overlapping.
Nevertheless, the basic principles of face
support remain unchanged. pressure fluctuations are added. Transfer and control in slurry
Exploiting the possibilities of process data However, kinematic methods do not shields (SM-V4)
analysis (Maidl 2014), the interactions consider the ground deformations and, hence, The face support in slurry shields is carried
between the ground and the shield settlement during passage of the TBM. These out by the bentonite slurry suspension that
machine are a matter of research and have are predominantly caused by deformations fills the excavation chamber. The slurry forms
been intensely investigated. directly above and behind the TBM. The a filter cake on the tunnel face that seals the

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face and allows the transfer of the existing on the reading of the topmost (crown ) control is achieved by balancing the
pressure in the chamber onto the soils, sensor. excavation rate and the extraction rate of
namely onto the sand skeleton. Therefore the Rheological properties of the support material through the screw conveyor such
slurry must comply with particular medium are well-described and can be that the material in the excavation chamber
characteristics to be suitable as a supporting precisely controlled. For this reason, the remains at the specified pressure. Pressure
medium. The parameters of slurry can be controllability of the support pressure is control is also governed by the conditioning.
adjusted with the slurry mix and tested in usually regarded as superior in slurry shields However, in contrast to slurry technology the
laboratory. compared to EPB technology. Hence, slurry exact properties of both the excavated soil
The main parameters to be adjusted and shields are ascribed a high level of safety in and the material in the excavation chamber
controlled in order to assure a safe face keeping the support pressure on target and are neither homogeneous nor precisely
support pressure transfer are: therefore controlling settlement and predictable. Furthermore, the extraction rate
• Density: It can be adjusted according to the preventing failure of the tunnel face. through the screw conveyor is quite sensitive
sand permeability In the stationary case, the support pressure to fluctuations in viscosity, pressure and
• Yield stress: Shear stress at which the acting on the tunnel face can be determined density. Hence, EPB technology is usually
bentonite suspension yields precisely from the sensor values. During ascribed a lower level of safety and given
• Filtrate baroid: Measure of water loss from excavation, however, flow-related higher safety margins in the support pressure
the pressurised slurry fluctuations occur in the complete excavation specifications (ZTV-ING 2007).
• Sedimentation: Required when using chamber and particularly around the feedline Sandy soils are very sensitive to soil
slurries with filler in order to assure that the and slurryline intakes. These fluctuations conditioning measures. In a density range
solid particles of the mix do not sediment increase with higher viscosity and density of between 15kN/m³ to 16kN/m³ the support
in too early the support medium. Here, the recent pressure control can be precisely carried out
The actual mechanism of the transfer of the tendency towards higher densities (recently via the foam conditioning system. Here, the
support pressure from the support medium increasing from around 12kN/m³ towards range of application of EPB shields has been
to the soil skeleton is not taken into account 14kN/m³) to deal with more permeable face significantly increased in recent years (Maidl
by proof of global stability in slurry shields conditions (rock fractures, karst…) has a 1995).
(Pulsfort 2013). If no or only an insufficient significant impact. Excessive soil conditioning, however, is
filter cake forms at the tunnel face, it needs Considering the achievable accuracy of the risky. In the case of too low densities, the
to be proven that the dragging forces support pressure in slurry shields, it must be support medium may segregate and
generated by support fluid penetrating the considered that measurements at the diving sediment. As a consequence, a foam bubble
soil are sufficient to balance the acting forces wall during excavation do not necessarily forms in the upper part of the excavation
(DIN 4126 2013). An additional mechanical mirror the actual pressure gradient at the chamber. In turn, following the pressure
support - as naturally given in EPB shields - is tunnel face. The support pressure may gradient, the earth muck in the bottom part
not provided by slurry shields. fluctuate heavily, especially around the of the excavation chamber is unintentionally
Slurry shield technology employs a fluid intakes of the feedline and slurryline. compacted. This sedimentation process is
support medium that is pressurised by means Furthermore, flow-related fluctuations are reflected in the face pressure distribution (see
of a compressed air cushion in the working more effective at higher densities. Fig. 2c).
chamber (Fig. 2a). Air pressure is transferred During standstills sedimentation of the
to the support fluid. Depending on the Transfer and control in EPB shields granular soil can occur resulting in a
bentonite suspension level in the working (SM-V5) redistribution of densities in the chamber and
chamber, the air pressure and the density of EPB technology uses the (conditioned) a face support pressure decrease at the
the support medium, the pressure gradient excavated material as the support medium. crown that must be compensated by
along the tunnel face arises. The pressure of The material is conditioned with polymers injecting slurry in the excavation chamber or
the support medium is thereby measured at and foams to transform the excavated muck at the cutterhead.
the diving wall and typically adjusted based in an optimum support material. Pressure
Transfer and control in hybrid shields
(SM-V4-V5)
Figure 2: Gradients of support pressure over the tunnel face in different operation Hybrid TBM in pumping mode - Hybrid
modes: a) slurry shield; b) EPB closed mode with polymer/foam conditioning; c) EPB TBMs that employ a mixture of EPB and slurry
closed mode with excessive conditioning and sedimentation in the excavation shield technology are increasingly used in
chamber; d) EPB closed mode with polymer/foam and slurry conditioning; e) hybrid order to enhance the range of application of
TBM (Rio de Janeiro type) with polymer/foam and slurry conditioning ; f) hybrid the respective technology.
TBM (Kuala Lumpur Variable Density type) with slurryfier box For excavation in loose soils with high
pressures, the pumping mode of a hybrid
TBM can be used (see Fig. 2e). In this mode,
the density of the muck is reduced by
conditioning with bentonite suspension and
foam. To keep the pressure up, a pump is
installed at the end of the screw conveyor. If
the material is subsequently treated by a
built-in separation plant, even belt
conveyance can be used.
Using this technique, the low density and
the buffer effect of the foam allow for a very
high accuracy in support pressure control
(Maidl 2015). During standstills sedimentation
can still occur as in EPB shield technology and
it must also be compensated for by injecting

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pumped to the tunnel portal via the waste

Figure 3: Particle size distribution curves for Rio Line 4 with the applicability ranges water pipeline (Maidl 2014), (Maidl 2015).
for EPB shields according to Maidl 1995. Along the whole alignment in sands the
acting groundwater pressures reached 1.4 bar
at the tunnel crown. In order to stabilize the
face and minimize settlement face support
pressures at the crown range from 1.0 bar to
2.0 bar depending on the overburden and
groundwater pressure.
To date it has being possible to excavate the
Rio sands in modes 1 and 2. In the finer sands
it is possible to work in mode 1 using polymer
reinforced foam conditioning. Due to
sedimentation in the excavation chamber and
the subsequent pressure drop during
standstills, it is sometimes necessary to inject
bentonite during standstill to keep pressures
stable above the target value.
However, excavation in the coarser sands is
proving to be closer to the applicability limit of
conventional EPB technology. When entering
the coarser sands the following phenomena
slurry into the excavation chamber. were experienced:
Variable Density shield machines - The particle size distribution curves lie a) Cutterhead torque increase and
Developed especially for use in extremely outside the typical or even the extended considerable increase of the muck
heterogeneous ground or karst conditions, application range for EPB shields. For that temperature caused by the higher friction
this machine type allows switching directly reason a hybrid EPB shield was developed for of the coarse sands in combination with
between EPB and slurry shield mode (Burger this project that allows operation in the the lack of fine particles.
2015). This technology has been used in the following main modes in sands: b) Difficulties in controlling the face pressure
MRT excavation in Kuala Lumpur in the karstic 1. EPB mode with foam/polymer conditioning via the screw conveyor since the muck is
limestone stretches. In both modes, the and belt conveyance: conventional EPB more permeable (lack of fines) so there is
material is extracted from the excavation operation in closed mode with a full no effective plug acting on the face or in
chamber by means of a screw conveyor. At chamber. This is the operation mode that the chamber or in the screw in order to
the rear end of the screw conveyor, a slurryfier will be attempted as long as the sands control groundwater flows. The support
box is installed where the earth muck is made allow for it. pressure control is partly dissipating as pore
pumpable by adding bentonite suspension 2. EPB mode with foam/polymer and slurry pressure overpressure, and not as an
(Fig. 2f). In cases where belt conveyance is conditioning and belt conveyance. effective stress into the sand skeleton.
applicable, the slurryfier box can be detached 3. EPB mode with foam/polymer and slurry In particular, the temperature increase has had
and a belt conveyor can be installed. conditioning and pumping conveyance. a real impact on the shield operation and on
This machine type combines the The hybrid EPB is equipped with a pump the overall shield performance since
advantages of both EPB and slurry shields and conveyance system and pipelines at the temperatures reached levels that enforced the
fully covers the combined ranges of rear part of the screw conveyor (Fig 4 left). reduction of penetration rate in order to not
application. A small separation plant (Fig 4 right) is exceed temperature values that could damage
installed on the back-up gantries that can the main bearing seals. For this reason the
Capacities of a hybrid EPB shield in pure separate the sand for belt conveyance operation was changed to mode type 2. The
sands: Rio de Janeiro Line 4 South whilst part of the remaining slurry can be injection of slurry in combination with foam at
Rio de Janeiro Metro Line 4 South is being reinjected into the chamber. The rest is the cutterhead, provides an addition of fine
excavated using a Herrenknecht hybrid and
convertible EPB shield with a diameter of
11.51m. It was designed as a convertible EPB Figure 4: Left - back view of the screw conveyor, pumping pipelines and belt
shield because some 50% of the alignment conveyor for open mode. Right - Separation treatment plant on the gantry.
runs in hard rock gneiss. The rest of the
stretch runs in sands.
Figure 3 illustrates the particle size
distribution curves that characterize this
project. The curves have been separated into
two groups of sands that are clearly
differentiated along the alignments. From
approximately km x to 10+120 the sands
consist in an approximately 5%-45%-50%-
0% ratio of fine particles, fine sand, medium
sands and coarse sands (green curves). In the
stretch between km 10+120 to 9+400, the
particle size distribution changes with a 0%-
20%-75%-5% ratio of fine particles, fine
sand, medium sands and coarse sands
(orange curves).

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Figure 5: Plan view, longitudinal section and bandwidth of support pressures in the reference projects Rio de Janeiro (hybrid EPB,
left) and Karlsruhe (slurry shield, right).

particles that reduces the high friction the densely packed. Cover to the crown in Rio is settlement when in the challenging situation
exists in the coarser sands. This has effectively between 0.8 to 1.2 x Diameter and in of a large diameter - 11.51m - under shallow
helped to keep the muck temperature Karlsruhe it is around 1 x Diameter. overburden (approx. one diameter) in sands.
continuously under the maximum admissible The support pressures could generally be kept
values. Face support pressure fluctuations and within a bandwidth of +0.2/-0.1 bar in all
Furthermore, the addition of slurry at the control phases of the excavation using conditioning
tunnel face helps to reduce the permeability Based on our two reference projects, that are measures (see Fig. 5).
of the face and of the overall muck in the both characterised by comparable boundary
chamber and the screw conveyor. This helps conditions, it can be shown that slurry shields Excavation specific energy and
to more effectively transfer the face and foam/polymer-conditioned EPBs can be advance speed
pressure to the soil skeleton and successfully employed on shallow urban The concept ‘specific energy’ represents the
consequently improves the face support tunnels in loose soils with low settlement. energy required during excavation in MJ per
pressure control. Figure 5 shows the plan view with m3 of excavated ground. Specific energy can
The conditioning system also allows settlement indicators, the geotechnical be calculated as shown with units MJ/m3:
separate polymer injection so as to adsorb longitudinal section, and the range of support
water and to help create a water tight plug pressures over an approx. 400m stretch of
in the chamber and the screw (Maidl 2015). densely built-up streets on each project. The


green colour for settlement indicates figures
Operational comparison Hybrid EPB – below the alert thresholds of 10mm for Rio de T: torque in MNm
Slurry shield: Karlsruhe Tunnel Janeiro and 8mm for Karlsruhe. P: penetration m/rev
As said earlier, the selected reference projects The Karlsruhe project can be regarded as an D: excavation diameter in m
here are a light rail tunnel in Karlsruhe, example of state of the art slurry shield
Germany, as an example of a slurry shield - tunnelling. Over the entire stretch of 2km, the Aiming to equitably compare specific energy
with a diameter of 9.3m - and the Metro L4 in very shallow tunnel was excavated with in the Rio and Karlsruhe projects, the
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil representing the EPB extremely low settlement measured. The following adjustment factor to normalise the
technology - with a diameter of 11.51m. The fluctuation of measured support pressures influence of the diameter difference is made
ground conditions in Karlsruhe consist of was significantly below ±0.1 bar. to the specific energy: The cutterhead torque
sands and gravels, medium to densely packed The Rio de Janeiro project shows that in Rio is multiplied by the cubic diameters ratio
and much coarser and more permeable than modern hybrid EPB shield technology is (DKarlsruhe3 / DRio3).
the Rio sands. Rio sands are dense to very capable of excavating with comparably low Figure 6 illustrates the average specific

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Figure 6: Left) Specific energy and speed hybrid EPB

shield Rio. Below Left) Corrected specific energy and
speed hybrid EPB shield Rio. Below Right) Specific
energy and speed slurry shield Karlsruhe. Bottom
Left) Thrust force and cutterhead torque hybrid EPB
Rio. Bottom Right) Thrust force and cutterhead
torque slurry shield Karlsruhe

energy per ring for the Rio and the Karlsruhe torque per ring for each project. sands with around 5% fine contents.
drives respectively for a stretch of 90 rings. The The following conclusions can be derived: Adjustments to the conditioning are
top diagram shows the Rio data, whilst the • Specific energy with EPB technology in therefore required in order to reduce specific
bottom diagram for Rio illustrates the adjusted coarser sands with no fine particle content energy in coarser sand.
specific energy. Figure 6 also shows the (the stretch from approx. ring 1200 • Specific energy in gravel excavated with
average total TBM thrust and the cutterhead onwards), doubles the specific energy in finer slurry technology is 5 times smaller than with

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slurry shield in Karlsruhe pressure fluctuations in the excavation

Figure 7: Reduction of specific energy and speed working in gravel, indicating the chamber have comparatively less effect on the
in Rio Line 4 whilst crossing a silt lens specific energy is the least when actual face support pressure.
each technology works in its Finally, in the case of the support pressure
predestined geology. falling below the acting water pressure, slurry
shields face an acute risk of face collapse. In
Cutterhead hyperbaric hybrid EPB shields, this risk is lower since the
interventions chamber will still be filled with muck that
Critical during shield tunnelling provides a residual mechanical support for the
are the hyperbaric interventions tunnel face even if ground water flows in.
needed for tool inspection and Regarding settlement control, the
changes. Generally, hyperbaric comparable reference projects presented in
interventions with slurry shield this paper prove that both shield technologies
technology are regarded as safer are suitable for settlement control in granular
than with EPB technology due soils in shallow tunnelling.
to the possibility of using the In future both technologies will likely be
slurry circuit for the muck-slurry further merged. The successful application of
exchange which considerably hybrid shields in Rio de Janeiro (Hybrid EPB
reduces the risk of pressure shield) and Kuala Lumpur (Variable Density
dropdowns and material loss, shields), confirms the assumption that hybrid
EPB technology in fine-medium sands and whilst also assuring a better quality filter cake. shields have enormous potential. In this
10 times smaller than EPB technology in However, hybrid EPB technology equipped context, the advantages of hybrid machines in
coarse sands. with a pumping conveyance system has terms of muck transportation, separation and
• The difference in specific energy between proven in Rio to be a safe method of recycling of the excavated material should also
EPB and slurry shield technology lies in the preparing and carrying out interventions in be noted.
fact that material in the excavation chamber sands without ground improvement
has a liquid-viscous consistency in contrast treatments. REFERENCES
to the plastic consistency of EPB muck.
Besides, the slurry that fills the chamber in Settlement control Bundesanstalt für Straßenwesen (BASt) 2007.
slurry shields provides a constant lubrication In both projects the maximum settlement Zusätzliche Technische Vertragsbedingungen und
to the shield reducing its friction while criteria was respected. The settlement Richtlinien für Ingenieurbauten (ZTV-ING), Teil 5
turning. This reduces the cutterhead torque criterium in Karsruhe was very strict as the Tunnelbau – Abschnitt 3 Maschinelle
as well as the total thrust considerably tunnel runs directly beneath operational urban Schildvortriebsverfahren. Berlin
(Figure 6.d)) rail tracks. In Rio excavation took place under
Burger, W. and Strässer, M. 2015. Multi-Mode-
• In particular for the compared projects, the the streets with higher tolerances in the
TBM – Stand der Technik und neue
relative density of the gravels in Karlsruhe is settlement criteria. Therefore in Rio face
Entwicklungen. Aachen: bbb-Kongress
lower than the relative density of the Rio support and grouting pressures were defined
sands, which also explains part of the large to be as small as possible whilst targeting a Deutscher Ausschuss für unterirdisches Bauern
difference in specific energy between the maximum surface settlement of 10mm. In e.V. (DAUB) 2010.Empfehlungen zur Auswahl von
two projects. Karlsruhe settlements were generally zero and Tunnelvortriebsmaschinen. Köln
While in specific energy terms, the excavation otherwise always below 2mm. DIN 4126. 2013. Nachweis der Standsicherheit
with slurry shield technology is considerably von Schlitzwänden
more efficient, the present specific energy Concluding remarks Maidl, B., Herrenknecht, M., Maidl, U.,
analysis does not take into consideration the The accuracy of support pressure control Wehrmeyer, G.: Mechanised shield tunneling. 2nd
other processes and the actual consumables principally differs from slurry to EPB shields Edition. Berlin: Ernst & Sohn Verlag, 2012.
involved in the excavation process, such as: since the latter does not provide a well-
Maidl, U. 1995. Erweiterung der Einsatzbereiche
• Energy required to convey the muck out controllable compressed air cushion (Maidl
der Erddruckschilde durch Boden-konditionierung
with a belt in the case of an EPB shield, and 2012). However, recent developments towards
mit Schaum. Dissertation. Institut für
a pump in the case of a slurry shield hybrid EPB shields allow this technology to
konstruktiven Ingenieurbau. Ruhr-Universität
• Energy required for the separation and operate with similar accuracies in support
Bochum: Technisch-wissenschaftliche
reutilisation of slurry in slurry shield pressure control. This is possible by the
Mitteilungen Nr. 95-4
technology reduction of muck density, friction and
• Energy required to transport the muck to permeability by means of a combination of Maidl, U. and Stascheit, J. 2014. Real-time process
the dumpsite. Conditioned muck in the viscous foam, polymer and slurry conditioning. controlling of EPB shields. In Geomechanics and
case of an EPB shield, separated muck in This is being achieved even in soil types that Tunneling. 7 (1):64-71.
the case of a slurry shield typically call for the application of slurry Maidl, U. and Pierri, J. 2014. Innovative Hybrid
• The total amount of consumables required shields. EPB Tunneling in rio de Janeiro. In Tunnels for a
for conditioning. Foam, polymer and slurry The fact that the excavation chamber is filled better life, WTC 2014. 186.Brazil
in an EPB shield and total slurry with muck of a higher density in hybrid EPB Maidl, U. et al. 2015.First experiences gained with
consumption for a slurry shield shields, compared to slurry shields, provides a the hybrid EPB technology in Rio de Janeiro sands.
Illustrating the impact of geology on EPB higher level of safety such that in the case of a Dubrovnik, Croatia: ITA WTC 2015
shield technology, Figure 7 plots specific short-term TBM misoperation the risk of a
energy and advance speed when the EPB sinkhole appearing as a consequence of a face Pulsfort, M. and Thienert, Ch.2013. Neue
shield in Rio crossed a 50m long silt lens. collapse is reduced, as less material can enter Erkenntnisse zur Stützdruckübertragung beim
Specific energy reduces to 6MJ/m3 and the excavation chamber. Furthermore, due to Tunnelvortrieb mit flüssigkeitsgestützter Ortsbrust.
average advance speed increased to over the better compressibility of (conditioned) Forschung + Praxis, Band 45, STUVA. Köln
50mm/min. These are similar values as the muck compared to bentonite suspension,

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