T

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n
n
e
l
l
i
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g
Tunnel portal
The i ni t i al engi neer i ng wor ks f or t he
const r uct i on of a t unnel t r ansf or m a mount ai n
sl ope i nt o a ver t i cal wal l , t her eby f or mi ng
t he t unnel por t al . These wor ks ar e wi de
r angi ng and may be subdi vi ded bet ween
st r uct ur al wor ks, consol i dat i on wor ks and
f i ni shi ng and pr ot ect i on wor ks; t hese st ages
empl oy mat er i al s of di f f er ent t ypes and
char act er i st i cs.
Rei nf orced soi l
These ar e st r uct ur es
f or t he cont ai nment ,
st abi l i sat i on and
r enat ural i sat i on
of sl opes and
embankment s
at t unnel por t al s.
Soi l nai l i ng
and surf ace
rei nf orcement
Tunnel s excavated wi th tradi ti onal methods
The st abi l i t y of t he sl ope i s
cont r ol l ed dur i ng const r uct i on of
t he i nl et by means of sur f ace
r ei nf or cement consi st i ng mai nl y of
st eel mesh and anchor s ( hi gh
st r engt h st eel bar s, sel f - dr i l l i ng
bol t s, f i br el ass nai l s) , somet i mes
coat ed wi t h shot cr et e.
Drai nage
I n order to avoi d i nstabi l i ty probl ems
caused by i nf l owi ng wat er, drai nage
pi pes made of synt het i c mat er i al s
ar e used t o col l ect gr oundwat er
f r om t he deepest l ayer s and car r y i t
out si de.
Mi cro- pi l es
Mi cr o- pi l es ar e f i xed i nt o t he
gr ound by dr i l l i ng of hol es.
They f or m a ver t i cal wal l f r om
whi ch t he excavat i on of t he
t unnel wi l l be st ar t ed.
Fi bregl ass rei nf orcement
f or f oundati on pi l es
I f f oundat i on pi l es ar e used i nst ead
of mi cr opi l es, t he t radi t i onal st eel
concr et e r ei nf or cement i s r epl aced by
f i ber gl ass el ement s whi ch garant ee
t he same mechani cal st r engt h,
enabl i ng f ast pr ogr ess i n t he
excavat i on of t he f r ont t unnel .
Rockfal l barri ers
The pr ot ect i on wor ks agai nst f al l i ng
r ocks r epr esent a f undament al
aspect i n t he desi gn of t unnel i nl et
wor ks, havi ng a di r ect ef f ect on t he
saf et y of t he overal l wor ks.
4
Polypropyl ene f i bres f or
passi ve f i re protecti on
The use of Fi br omac

pol ypr opyl ene f i br es

per mi t s t he const r uct i on of a homogeneous
mat er i al whi ch f or ms an ef f ect i ve passi ve
pr ot ect i ve el ement agai nst f i r e, t her eby
r educi ng spal l i ng phenomena.
Fi nal l i ni ng
The f i nal l i ni ng i s the most i mportant stage i n the constructi on
of a t unnel . I t r epr esent s t he f i nal r ei nf or cement whi ch
det er mi nes t he dur abi l i t y and st r uct ur al st r engt h of t he
under gr ound wor ks, as wel l as bei ng t he suppor t f or t he
ser vi ce i nst al l at i ons such as f i nal vent i l at i on, aer at i on and
l i ght i ng. Ther e ar e a ser i es of t echni cal sol ut i ons f or t hi s
st age, wi t h speci al at t ent i on poi d t o an i ncr ease of t he f i nal
qual i t y, dur abi l i t y, saf et y and appear ance; al so f r om an
ar chi t ect ur al poi nt of vi ew.
Cerami c l i ni ngs
Hi gh qual i ty and l arge-si zed cerami c l i ni ngs
ar e f i xed by adhesi ve t o t he i nner f ace of
t he concr et e by means of mechani sed
i nstal l ati on methods. Thi s sol uti on provi des
gr eat er durabi l i t y of t he si de wal l s, bet t er
l umi nosi t y and saf et y, and f ast and cost -
ef f ect i ve mai nt enance. Var i ous t ypes of
f i ni sh may be pl anned, dependi ng on t he
ar chi t ect ural r equi r ement s.
Concrete rei nf orcement
usi ng Wi rand

steel fi bres
The f i nal f i br e- r ei nf or ced concr et e
l i ni ng uses Wi rand

st eel f i br es f or t he
const r uct i on of t he st r uct ural par t s
( i nver t and upper f i nal l i ni ng) of
t unnel s excavat ed wi t h t radi t i onal
met hods.
6
Drai nage
The dur abi l i t y of t he f i nal l i ni ng depends
on t he dr ai nage wor ks whi ch enabl e any
wat er t abl es t o be col l ect ed and dr ai ned
t hr ough channel s and pi pes. Thi s avoi ds
i nf i l t r at i on of wat er i nt o t he concr et e and,
t her ef or e, l i mi t s pr obl ems l i nked t o f r eezi ng
and t hawi ng cycl es.
Dr ai nage
Drai nage pi pes ar e used,
somet i mes i n combi nat i on wi t h
f l at drai nage composi t es, i n or der
t o qui ckl y l ower t he gr oundwat er
l evel i n t he deep r ock masses.
Geotexti l es
The MacTex

f ami l y of
geot ext i l es r epr esent s an
excel l ent sol ut i on t o
protect the waterproof i ng
of t he t unnel f or med by
HDPE or PVC sheet i ng.
Dr ai nage geocomposi tes
The MacDrai n

drai nage geocomposi t es

r educes por e wat er pr essur es and
t her eby r educe t he t hr eat of sat urat ed
gr ound condi t i ons.
8
Fi rst l i ni ng
The f i r st l i ni ng i s appl i ed i mmedi at el y af t er excavat i on of t he headi ng f ace. Thi s
t empor ar y suppor t l i ni ng i s commonl y made of st eel f i br e r ei nf or ced shot cr et e. I f
st r uct ur al l y r equi r ed, t hi s phase al so compr i ses t he i nst al l at i on of r ei nf or cement
el ement s consi st i ng of st eel sect i ons t hat ar e def or med t o t he cont our of t he
tunnel . For exampl e steel anchors or l atti ce gi rders that are l ongi tudi nal l y connected
t oget her t o f or m t he suppor t r ei nf or cement . These ar e qui ckl y i ncor por at ed i nt o
t he spr ayed st eel f i br e r ei nf or ced concr et e t o f or m a t ough st r uct ur e enabl i ng
absor bt i on of t he f i r st def or mat i on f or ces of t he t unnel . Wher e necessar y, addi t i onal
r adi al r ei nf or cement i n t he f or m of var i ous t ypes of st eel anchor s i s i nst al l ed.
Sel f - dri l l i ng bolts
and steel anchors
These sol ut i ons ar e used t o cont r ol
and/ or r educe conver gence
of t he excavat ed t unnel sect i on.
The r ei nf or cement range compr i ses
st eel anchor s, sel f - dr i l l i ng r ock
bol t s and hi gh- st r engt h st eel bar s
Pl asti ci si ng and accel erati ng
admi xtures
The superpl asti ci sers mai ntai n the workabi l i ty
of shot cr et e, pr eser vi ng t he qual i t y and
charact er i st i cs dur i ng t ranspor t and pumpi ng.
Rocksi l

( si l i cat es) and Apral

( al kal i f r ee)
admi xt ur es accel erat e t he set t i ng t i me by
r educi ng t he consi st ency dur i ng sprayi ng and
hence, i mpr ovi ng gr i p t o t he subst rat e or
pr evi ous l ayer s.
Wi rand

steel f i bres
The Wi rand

st eel f i br es gi ve t o t he shot cr et e a combi ned

compr essi ve and bendi ng st r engt h, t her eby i mpr ovi ng t he
r ei nf or cement and saf et y. Speci al i sed Maccaf er r i dosage
equi pment i s pr ovi ded t o add t he exact i ng quant i t y of st eel
f i br es dur i ng t he bat chi ng operat i on i n t he mi xi ng pl ant .
Steel arches
These consi st of pr e- shaped st eel sect i ons,
t o pr ovi de f i r st st age suppor t . Var i at i ons
have al so been i mpl ement ed i n or der t o
i mpr ove t he i nst al l at i on, wi t h t he use of
parts of the arches that are extendabl e PMET,
t her eby maki ng t he i nst al l ed r i b i mmedi at el y
act i ve. Text i l e sacks, known as BI M BAGS,
ar e al so pl aced behi nd t he ar ches and when
t hey ar e i nf l at ed, usi ng t he same mor t ar as
t he shot cr et e, t hey f i l l per f ect l y t he spaces
behi nd t he ar ches.
10
Consol i dati on of excavati on face
The adopt i on of t hi s met hod i s i ncr easi ng wor l dwi de
and i s used mai nl y t o r ei nf or ce and consol i dat e t he
soi l mass i n f r ont of t he excavat i on f ace, t her eby
enabl i ng f ast pr ogr ess wi t h l ar ge- si zed excavat i ons.
I t t ends t o be used i n par t i cul ar geol ogi cal condi t i ons
and i n soi l s consi der ed t o be di f f i cul t t o excavat e. The
met hod consi st s i n r ei nf or ci ng t he excavat i on f ace by
i nst al l i ng f i br egl ass el ement s i n sub- hor i zont al hol es,
whi ch are then grouted to f orm a set of mi cro-pi l es around
t he ent i r e sect i on. Thi s cont ai ns t he st r esses i nduced by
t he excavat i on and st abi l i ses any t hr ust s. Appr oaches
such as ADECORS ( Anal ysi s of Cont r ol l ed Def or mat i on
i n Rocks and Soi l s) ar e used t o pr epar e t he f i nal desi gns
f or such t echni ques.
Dr ai nage
Drai nage pi pes are used i n order
t o qui ckl y l ower t he
gr oundwat er l evel i n t he deep
r ock masses.
Speci al expansi ve mortars
These are dry ready-mi xed products that
are added to water and i nj ected i n hol es
at t he excavat i on f ace. Due t o t hei r
expansi ve charact er i st i cs t hey compr ess
t he soi l ar ound t he dr i l l ed hol e, t her eby
guarant eei ng a bet t er adher ence
bet ween t he r ei nf or cement el ement and
t he soi l i t sel f.
Polyurethane resi n
These ar e chemi cal pr oduct s t hat
ar e mi xed bef or e t he gr out i ng
st age t o cr eat e a l i ght wei ght and
expansi ve cl osed cel l f oam. When
i t comes i nt o cont act wi t h wat er
i t f or ms a f oam t hat bl ocks any
acci dent al i nf l ow of wat er. I t i s
al so wi del y used t o f i l l t he
cavi t i es t hat somet i mes f or m or
whi ch ar e encount er ed dur i ng
t unnel excavat i on wor k.
Fi bregl ass rei nf orcement el ements
These ar e ext r uded el ement s f or med by gl ass f i l ament s and
pol yest er r esi n t hat ar e manuf act ur ed wi t h var i ous cr oss-
sect i ons, f r om hol l ow t o sol i d; t he l at t er havi ng a hi gh
mechani cal st r engt h, whi ch may be compar ed wi t h st eel ,
whi l st mai nt ai ni ng i t s l i ght ness and ver sat i l i t y. Requi r ed
charact er i st i cs t o make t he excavat i on.
11
A3 Motorway
Sal erno- Reggi o Cal abri a
Moderni sati on and upgradi ng of
the secti on between Sal erno and
Reggi o Cal abri a ( I tal y)
Proj ects and works
A1 Motorway
Mi l an- Napl es
New Vari ante di Val i co motorway
secti on. Upgradi ng of the
Apenni ne secti on between
Bol ogna and Fl orence ( I tal y)
High-Speed Railway Line
Mi l an- Napl es
Constructi on of the secti on between
Bol ogna and Fl orence ( I tal y)
12
Tunnel s excavat ed wi t h TBM
Access shafts -
Stati ons
TBM dr i ven t unnel s of t en r equi r e t he const r uct i on
of access shaf t s or t r enches t hr ough whi c
t he TBM i s l ower ed down t o t he l evel at whi ch t he
excavat i on st ar t s.
The shaf t s ar e f or med by const r uct i ng r ei nf or ced
concrete wal l s down to the ground l evel , someti mes
t o consi der abl e dept hs and wi t h l ar ge di mensi ons.
Wat er t abl es may be encount er ed dur i ng t he
const r uct i on of t hese shaf t s or t r enches.
The appr opr i at e means t o keep t he wor k
envi r onment dr y ar e consol i dat i on and
wat er pr oof i ng gr out i ng. The var i ous wor k st ages
i ncl ude: st eel or f i br egl ass r ei nf or cement of t he
concr et e, pi pes f i t t ed wi t h val ves f or consol i dat i on
gr out i ng, chemi cal consol i dat i on mi xes.
Chemi cal
Consol i dati on Mi xes
Groutmaster
These ar e r eady made pr oduct s wi t h
Gr out mast er gr anul es t hat cont ai n bot h t he
acti ve part and i ts reagents. Si mpl y by addi ng
wat er and mi xi ng, i t t r ansf or ms i nt o a l ow
vi scosi t y sol ut i on, t hat enabl es i t t o
per meat e i nt o soi l s even wi t h a l ow
permeabi l i ty. Soi l s grouted wi th thi s chemi cal
mi x acqui r e i mper meabi l i t y char act er i st i cs
and t he compr essi ve st r engt h of t he soi l s
ar e i ncr eased.
13
Precast
segments
The f i nal l i ni ng consi st s of
pr ecast concr et e segment s.
These segment s can be
r ei nf or ced sol el y wi t h Wi r and

st eel f i br es or i n combi nat i on

wi t h convent i onal st eel
r ei nf or cement . I n or der t o
r educe concr et e spal l i ng
Fi bromac

pol ypropyl ene f i bres

can be added t o achi eve an
ef f i ci ent passi ve f i r e
pr ot ect i on.
Barcel ona
Li ne 9
Li ne 9 i s 43 km l ong and runs from
t he El Pr at ai r por t i n t wo di f f er ent
di r ect i ons, wi t h 43 st at i ons.
The f i nal l i ni ng f or t he t unnel i s
made of pr ecast concr et e, wi t h a
combi nat i on of convent i onal st eel
r ei nf or cement and Wi r and

st eel
f i br es ( FF1 and FF3) .
The t ot al pr oduct i on quant i t y
amount s t o 450, 000 m
3
of f i br e
r ei nf or ced concr et e.
Maccaf er r i dosi ng syst ems have
been especi al l y desi gned and
i nst al l ed i n or der t o ensur e pr eci se
f i br e quant i t i es and qui ck bat chi ng.
14
Research and Devel opment
The ent i r e r ange of pr oduct s compl i es
wi t h t he hi ghest st andar ds of qual i t y at
bot h a nat i onal and i nt er nat i onal l evel
and they constantl y undergo tests to prove
t hei r per f or mance. Al l new pr oduct s ar e
pat ent ed i n t he mai n count r i es.
Our techni cal staf f has prepared numerous
t echni cal paper s over t he year s and i s
of t en cal l ed upon t o j oi n wi t h gr oups of
exper t s f or pr oj ect s and t echni cal
commi t t ees.
Maccaf er r i and El as pr omot e and car r y out
cont i nuous r esear ch wi t hi n t he t unnel l i ng
sect or i n col l abor at i on wi t h uni ver si t i es,
gover nment bodi es and r esear ch i nst i t ut es.
Thi s apt i t ude f or t echni cal i nnovat i on i s t he
r esul t of cont i nuous dedi cat i on, whi ch,
al ongsi de exper i ence and t echni cal know-
how, has enabl ed us t o r each hi gh l evel s of
ef f i ci ency. Concept s ar e devel opped i nt o
ver sat i l e sol ut i ons t o meet mar ket speci f i c
r equi r ement s.
Fi bers as onl y
rei nforcement
Laborat or y t est s f or charact er i zat i on
of t he f l exo-t ract i on r esi st ance of t he
f i br e r ei nf or ced concr et e t o pr ove
act ual mat er i al r esi st ance.
Fi re resi stance
tests
Pl ai n concr et e
PP f i br e
r ei nf or ced
concr et e
Reduced
spal l i ng
dept h
CE Marki ng
Si nce 2008 Wi rand

pr oduct s have
t he EC- Decl arat i on of Conf or mi t y,
i ssued by a not i f i ed body:
- Charact er i st i cs of f i br es
- Ef f ect of f i br es on Ref er ence
Concr et e
- I nspect i on of f act or y and
cont i nuous sur vei l l ance.
Panel tests
Test i ng of har dened shot cr et e:
- Mat er i al s pr oper t i es
- Cr oss sect i onal pr oper t i es
- St r uct ural pr oper t i es
15
Techni cal Support
We r ecogni ze t he i mpor t ance of wor l d- cl ass
techni cal support. Our goal i s that every support
i nt er act i on st r engt hens our cl i ent s over al l
sati sf acti on and rei nf orces our rel ati onshi p wi th
t hem. We ar e abl e t o pr ovi de a f ul l t echni cal
ser vi ce t o our cust omer s. Not mer el y a si mpl e
col l aborati on but a true partnershi p f rom desi gn
st age over j ob st ar t unt i l t he end of t he pr oj ect ,
pr ovi di ng consul t anci es, t r ai ni ng, and al l owi ng
al l our cust omer s t o benef i t f r om our wor l dwi de
exper i ence.
Our t echni cal ser vi ce pr ovi des:
- Pr oduct sel ect i on accor di ng wi t h t he speci f i c
r equi r ement s
- Pr oj ect consul t ancy and anal ysi s
- On si t e t est s and assi st ance
- Resear ch and devel opment wi t h uni ver si t i es
and r esear ch i nst i t ut es
- Wor l dwi de pr esence wi t h mor e t han 40
subsi di ar i es
- Fi br e dosage equi pment s
Bi g bags batchi ng systems Carton boxes
batchi ng system
2 0 0 9 Of f i c i n e Ma c c a f e r r i S . p . A. - B o l o g n a - I t a l i a - S t a mp a : L i t o g r a f i a Z u c c h i n i - P r o g e t t o : g r a f i c amo n t i . c o m - F o t o : Ar c h i v i o Of f i c i n e Ma c c a f e r r i
ELAS Geotecnica srl
Centro Comm. lotto 3/21
20090 S. Felice - Segrate (Mi) - Italia
Tel. +39 02 7533252
Fax +39 02 7532991
info@elasgeotecnica.it
www.elasgeotecnica.it
Officine Maccaferri S.p.A.
Via Agresti, 6 - P.O. Box 396
40123 Bologna - Italia
Tel. +39 051 6436000
Fax +39 051 236507
e-mail: comes@maccaferri.com
www.maccaferri.com
Founded i n 1879, Of f i ci ne Maccaf er r i was
soon t o become a r ef er ence wor l dwi de i n
t he desi gn and devel opment of advanced
sol ut i ons f or er osi on cont r ol and
r ei nf or cement st r uct ur es. Over t i me,
however , t he company has i nnovat ed and
evol ved so t hat t oday i t i s al so a r el i abl e
par t ner f or compl ex ci vi l and
envi r onment al engi neer i ng appl i cat i ons,
wi t h speci f i c f ocus on t he under gr ound
wor ks.
Maccaf er r i s pr esence t hr oughout t he
wor l d al l ows t he company t o deal wi t h
pr obl ems whi ch r esul t s i n new know- how
that, i n turn, f eeds i nto f urther i nnovati on
f or ot her sol ut i ons of f er ed on t he mar ket .
As wel l as t he par ent company i n I t al y
and subsi di ari es i n France, Bri tai n, Russi a,
Spai n and Por t ugal , t he company i s al so
act i ve i n al l f i ve cont i nent s, wi t h 46
oper at i ng compani es such as Lat i n
Amer i ca, New Zeal and, USA. Wher e t her e
i s no i nt er nal sal es f or ce, t her e ar e
di st r i but or s i n al l t he cont i nent s.
El as, f or mor e t han t en year s now, has
been suppl yi ng t he const r uct i on mar ket
wi t h excl usi ve, hi ghl y i nnovat i ve and
di st i nct i ve pr oduct s f or under gr ound
bui l di ng pr oj ect s, whi ch ar e cust omi sed
and appl i ed i n accor dance wi t h t he
speci f i c t echni cal r equi r ement s. Our
ski l l ed, exper i enced t eam pr ovi des t he
cust omer wi t h speci al i st t echni cal
consul t ancy, r angi ng f r om an anal ysi s of
t he pr oj ect , t he i dent i f i cat i on of t he
pr oduct and t hei r i nst al l at i on, payi ng
par t i cul ar at t ent i on t o t he speci f i c
appl i cat i on pr ocesses.
Resear ch and devel opment occupancy a
posi t i on of pr i mar y i mpor t ance, wi t h a
vi ew t o ensur i ng t he cont i nuous
i mpr ovement and devel opment of t he
pr oduct s and t hei r per f or mance f eat ur es.
These oper at i ons t ake pl ace on si t e and
by means of uni ver si t y l abor at or i es, and
ar e t ai l or - made t o guar ant ee maxi mum
oper at i ng ef f i ci ency and compl et e
cust omer sat i sf act i on.