September 2019

The International Journal for the Tunnelling Industry

TUNNELLING JOURNAL SEPTEMBER 2019

www.tunnellingjournal.com

A Greener
Route for SCL?

Page Page Page

08 The future for 24 Hard rock 28 ‘Rock beats
fire protection tunnel paper’
TJ asked a group grouting Introducing the
of industry Normet UK’s new ITA/FIDIC
players what new Lawrence Hall Emerald Book.
challenges they are shares his thoughts
now facing. on the benefits of
MFC.
Tunnelling Journal 1
 DRIVEN TO THE CORE

OVERCOME
THE UNEXPECTED

Galerie des Janots

La Ciotat, France
3.5 m Robbins Main Beam TBM

CONQUERING CAVERNS

Crews triumphed over voids, groundwater, and two

uncharted caverns while boring the 2.8 km long
water tunnel Galerie des Janots in La Ciotat, France.

therobbinscompany.com

2 Tunnelling Journal
Contents
Editor’s comment – page 5
News from the web – page 6

08
The future for fire protection
The world of fire engineering is always changing. TJ
asked a group of industry players what new challenges
they are now facing

14
A review of Tunnel Segment Gaskets Part 1
Over a series of three articles, Steve Casey (Casey
Consulting and formerly Technical Director VIP-
Polymers) and Mike King (MK Tunnelling Limited)
consider the salient points that often dictate the
choice of tunnel segment gasket, or at least should
be taken into consideration

18
A Greener Route for SCL?
Using sprayed concrete with a bonded waterproofing
membrane could bring huge environmental benefits
in hard rock tunnels. So why is no one doing it?
Kristina Smith reports.

15 Minutes with…Jenny Yan, ITA President – page 22

24
Benefits of MFC for Hard Rock Tunnel
Grouting
Lawrence Halls, Head of Global Marketing/Global
Manager Ground Engineering for Normet UK Ltd,
describes and compares the use of OPC and MFC for
grouting

28
“Rock Beats Paper” – The Renaissance of
Fairness in Ground Risk Allocation - the
new ITA/FIDIC Emerald Book
by Arnold Dix

Products News – page 36

Contacts – page 38

www.tunnellingjournal.com
Tunnelling Journal 3
 ALWAYS
ADVANCING www.terratec.co

BREAKING RECORDS
Since 1990, TERRATEC’s machines have been breaking production records all over the world. Most
recently, one of two 6.56m diameter Earth Pressure Balance Tunnel Boring Machines (EPBMs) employed
on the Dudullu-Bostancı Metro Line project, in Istanbul, completed an impressive advance of 19 rings in
a single shift.

Equating to 26.6 meters of excavation in just 12-hours, the TERRATEC TBM worked non-stop –
alternating between 20-minute mining and ring building cycles – to accomplish a new production record
for a TBM of this size and class in Turkey.

TUNNELLING SOLUTIONS METRO

4 Tunnelling Journal
 EDITOR’S COMMENT
Lateral thinking…
In a design and construct environment that
constantly talks about innovation, yet seems
slightly less prepared, or indeed in a position to
support its inception, it may be worth looking at
alternative initiatives in parallel industries that have
been specifically created to boost new ways of
thinking and working.
Google is a good place to start, with its fabled
‘20% time’ standing out as of particular interest,
whereby engineers were allowed to spend 20% of
their time on personal projects. Google ‘20% time’
has been credited as being instrumental in some of
the company’s biggest successes including Gmail
and Google Talk.
Indeed, in a Founders’ IPO letter to prospective
investors in 2004, Google’s Larry Page and Sergey
Brin stressed the importance of this method saying,
“We encourage our employees, in addition to their
regular projects, to spend 20% of their time working
on what they think will most benefit Google.
This empowers them to be more creative and
innovative. Many of our significant advances have
happened in this manner.”
Now there have been recent reports saying
that ‘20% time’ is not quite what it was, and that
Google has streamlined it, by having each idea
need management review to get the go-ahead
for further time investment. Also, there have been
stirrings from inside the Google workforce that
this supposed ‘20% time’ was in fact ‘120% time’, as
some employees felt the need to still focus 100% of
their time on their everyday activities, with the 20%
becoming an additional workload.
Nevertheless, this does seem at its core, to be a
very creative initiative and one worthy of imitation
in one form or another. With tunnel design and
construction you clearly have to minimise any
form of risk. The ramifications of something going
seriously wrong are far too great to be played with.
At best it can lead to significant financial loss, at
worse, any human loss.
So, why not take all of the risk out by having
regular completely theoretical design and
construction workshops based on made-up
projects? Or even take previous projects and
re-design them completely differently, challenge
yourselves to do it better?
Is it really impossible for a company to set-
aside one afternoon every few weeks purely
Without the ping ponging of ideas, and
often-amusing exchanges of opinions,
a presentation will always be just a
presentation!
to encourage group ‘out of the box’ thinking?
It’s all about taking ideas and not being afraid to
completely spin them on their heads. Think laterally,
try the impossible, be bizarre, that’s how to create a
new wheel instead of re-inventing the old one! Even
if little comes of a session, it could be extremely
beneficial purely as a team bonding exercise.
I’ve frequently witnessed presentations, that
although very interesting in themselves, have
been far more valuable and useful following the
discussions afterwards. Without the ping ponging
of ideas, and often-amusing exchanges of opinions,
a presentation will always be just a presentation!
It is only when you add three or four engineers
to the mix with opposing views that entirely new
avenues of thought often open up for exploration.
Occasionally you can almost feel the imminent
possibility of a true ‘Eureka’ moment.
Surely even one experimental afternoon a month
would be worth trying, it doesn’t have to be 20%
time, just a little time. Try something different, no
risk, no stress, just a session to let your engineering
mind wander. There is everything to gain, and so
little to lose in the grand scheme of things.
To once again quote Google, “If it doesn’t work,
move on…”
“If you’re not failing enough, you’re not trying hard
enough…”
Tris Thomas
Tunnelling Journal 5
 BREAKING INDUSTRY NEWS

Review ordered to decide

fate of HS2
21/08/2019
UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, has
ordered a review as to “whether and
how we proceed” with HS2 ahead of the
‘Notice to Proceed’ decision for Phase 1
(London-West Midlands) due by the end
of 2019. The results of the reports will
effectively either green light, or cancel
the entire project by the end of this year.
The review will assemble and test all
the existing evidence in order to allow
the Prime Minister, the Secretary of
State for Transport and the government
to make properly-informed decisions
on the future of Phases 1 and 2 of the
project, including the estimated cost and
schedule position.
The review will report to the Secretary
of State for Transport with oversight from
the Prime Minister and the Chancellor
of the Exchequer. It should produce a
written report suitable for publication.
Longest <2.5m diameter double shield bore
complete
04/09/2019
In August 2019, a 2.46m Robbins
Double Shield TBM completed the
Parmer Lane Wastewater Interceptor
in Austin, Texas, USA. At 3,475m the
tunnel is the longest ever bored by
a Double Shield TBM under 2.5m in
diameter.
The machine reached up to 380m
per month while mining in a single 12-
hour shift per day.
The tunnel was completed
successfully and safely despite
unexpected ground conditions that
required in-tunnel modifications to the
cutterhead. lift stations at Lake Creek and Rattan
Contractor S.J. Louis Construction Creek. The tunnel allows for these lift
also reported rates of up to 5.2m per stations to be decommissioned, and
hour and a best shift of 25m. will provide additional flow capacity by
The Parmer Lane Wastewater gravity, reducing operating costs for the
Interceptor connects to two existing City of Austin.

Melbourne’s North East Sydney Metro Harbour crossing begins

Link Tunnels shortlist 02/08/2019
announced
02/09/2019

Three consortiums have been shortlisted

to build Melbourne’s North East Link’s
twin 6km long road tunnels, which will be
the longest in Victoria. The three bidders
are competing for the $7-9bn major
works contract as part of a Public Private
Partnership to deliver this long-awaited
infrastructure project, and are:
n OneLink – CPB Contractors,
Samsung C&T Corporation, Egis Road
Operations, UGL Engineering, Pacific
Partnership, DIF Management Australia
n Spark – Salini Impregilo, GS
Engineering and Construction, China
Construction Oceania, Broadspectrum
Australia, Capella Capital, John Laing
Investments, and advisors Lend Lease
Engineering
n ViaNova – John Holland Group,
Acciona Construction, Lendlease
Services, Plenary Group, Acciona
Concesiones
This major construction will start in late
2021, with early works to begin in early
2020 following planning approvals. North
East Link is expected to open to traffic in
2027.
The historic first rail crossing deep
under Sydney Harbour is underway after
Herrenknecht Mixshield TBM Kathleen
launched 30m below ground from
Barangaroo.
TBM Kathleen has already tunnelled the
first 100m of its one kilometre journey
underneath the Harbour.
Once the first tunnel is complete,
Kathleen will then build the second
tunnel under Sydney Harbour before
being retrieved at Blues Point and taken
away by barge.
The machine is expected to tunnel
through clay, silt and sediment under the
harbour.
Four other Herrenknecht double-
shield, hard-rock TBMs have already
completed over half of the 31km of
6m i.d. tunnel for Sydney Metro City &
Southwest.
This specialised TBM is named after
Kathleen Butler, who played a vital
role in the construction of the Sydney
Harbour Bridge as the technical advisor to
legendary engineer John JJC Bradfield.
It is expected to take the TBM about
four months to complete the first tunnel.
Together, all five TBMs will deliver twin
15.5km rail tunnels for Australia’s biggest
public transport project.
Tunnelling contractor, John Holland/
CPB/Ghella was awarded the $2.81bn
contract in June 2017. The current
schedule sees the tunnelling contract
conclude in 2021.

6 Tunnelling Journal
Tunnelling Journal 7
 The future for
fire protection
The world of fire engineering is always changing.
TJ asked a group of industry players what new
challenges they are now facing.
In June this year, a hydrogen refuelling station just
outside Oslo in Norway exploded. The cause of the
blast was later identified as a leak due to an incorrectly
mounted plug in a high-pressure hydrogen tank.
Over in Los Gatos, California, in December last
year, a Tesla Model S car caught fire at a tyre repair
garage and was extinguished by fire fighters. Hours
later, while being transported to a tow yard, the car
re-ignited, one of many such incidents reported in the
US.
Though dramatic examples, these incidents
underline the ever-changing landscape faced by
those responsible for fire safety in tunnels. “The
biggest challenges we face as safety engineers are
the increasingly complex interfaces,” says Dr Marco
Bettelini, director for ventilation and safety at Amberg
Engineering. “We have changing technology, users
whose needs evolve over time, costly maintenance
and operation, fire-fighting teams and growing public
concerns over the environment and pollution.”
We asked fire engineers and suppliers of fire
protection and ventilation equipment what emerging
FlaktGroup fan in challenges they were encountering. A growing
the factory emphasis on environmental impacts is already
8 Tunnelling Journal
evident; concerns over new energy carriers (NEC) for
vehicles are looming fast; and, on the flip side, digital
technologies offer opportunities to improve operation
and safety in tunnels.
Environmental demands
“It’s not a step-change, but there is definitely a firm
move towards more efficient solutions in countries
such as Singapore,” says Paul Wenden, director,
tunnel & metro at FläktGroup. “That does require a
lot of work on our part, because there’s a conflict
between efficiency and the other performance
requirements for a fan.”
FläktGroup supplies fans to both road and metro
tunnels around the world. Recent projects include
Riyadh Metro, the Thomson-East Coast Line in
Singapore and Sydney’s North Connex road tunnel.
In metro tunnels, the role of fans is largely
to remove excess heat created by the trains; in
road tunnels, they provide fresh air and smoke
management. But the fans must also be capable of
operating under very high temperatures in the case
of a fire and they must be reversible to cope with
different potential fire locations within a tunnel. These
latter capabilities tend to decrease the fans’ efficiency.
“We have been working on the development of
our impeller geometry to create the best possible
compromise,” says Wenden.
Impeller geometry, with a combination of static
and rotating parts, is also under scrutiny in the bid to
reduce noise levels, which is a growing requirement
for road tunnels. “The traditional approach is to add a
silencer or attenuator to the end of fan,” says Wenden.
“But then they get longer and longer. We are looking
at more integral solutions where you attenuate the
noise at source.”
Such changes produce marginal rather than
dramatic noise reductions, says Wenden, but are
useful never-the-less.
Dr Fathi Tarada, managing director at specialist
consultancy Mosen, also reports an increasing interest
in energy efficiency and sustainability. “It’s a global
trend, although the application is very uneven,” he
says.
Mosen developed its MoJet technology, which
produces more thrust with less power, in response
to this trend, says Tarada. The MoJet combines a
conventional jet fan with shaped silencers which
direct the fan’s flow towards the tunnel centreline,
preventing some of the thrust being lost as the flow
drags along the tunnel wall.
Researchers found that conventional fans fitted
with MoJet silencers installed in the Montgomery

Tunnel in Brussels, which has undergone a repair
and upgrade programme, produced twice the thrust
of fans without them, says Mosen. Université Libre
de Bruxelles carried out the research on the MoJet
silencers which were fitted to fans from FläktGroup.
A focus on lifetime costs and impacts has led
Promat’s development of a new generation of
Calcium Silicate Board, which was launched earlier
this year at the World Tunnelling Congress in Naples.
The PROMATECT® TF-X board, as well as meeting
requirements under international fire curve tests, has
additionally been designed to cope with extreme
climatic conditions.
“We already have products that have high
performance in a fire situation, but we wanted to
address long-term durability too,” says Paul Sparrow,
head of tunnels at Promat. “These boards are
completely inorganic so they won’t degrade. They
can survive water ingress and freeze-thaw cycles.
And, unlike active systems, they do not require power,
water or human intervention to operate.”
Whereas a tunnel may expect to be refurbished
four or five times over a 100 or 125-year lifetime,
PROMATECT® TF-X boards won’t need to be
renewed at all, says Sparrow, as long as they aren’t
disturbed or damaged, significantly reducing whole-
life maintenance costs.
New vehicles, new risks
How do you design a tunnel that will be in use for 100
years, when it’s not clear how the vehicles using it will
be powered? “It is very difficult,” says Armin Feltmann,
business manager – tunnel systems, for Fogtec.
“The number of vehicles with new energy carriers is
increasing and that means that the fire loads and the
fire risks are changing. It will have a big impact on
how we manage fire safety in tunnels.”
As well as the risk of reignition, lithium-ion batteries
can experience thermal runaway where they release
all their energy at once. This can lead to very high
temperatures, up to 400 degrees C. Such fires also
release toxic gases, even before the point of ignition.
For fuel cell electric vehicles, the biggest risk comes
from hydrogen leaking from the highly-pressurised
tank, either through a valve or due to damage.
Hydrogen ignites easily, even at low concentrations,
and burns with a flame that is difficult to see.
Uncontrolled escape of gases is also the biggest
potential hazard for vehicles that run on natural gas
such as CNG (compressed natural gas) or LNG (liquid
natural gas). With the presence of a spark or fire,
experts warn that this could lead to explosions.
Current fire safety regulations and guidelines for
road tunnels were created after a series of terrible fires
in the Mont Blanc, Tauern and Gotthard Tunnels at
the turn of the century. “Those fires changed our way
of thinking in road tunnels,” says Bettelini who worked
on the reconstruction of the Mont Blanc and Gotthard
tunnels. “These tragic incidents urged us to develop
new concepts, systems and scenarios to permanently
improve the safety of tunnels. It was a time of learning
for the whole tunnel safety community.”
However, fire engineers don’t want to wait for
catastrophic fires before they formulate new rules
to cope with NECs. A number of research projects
are underway, including Suveren (Safety of City
THE FUTURE FOR FIRE PROTECTION
Underground Structures). Top: The MoJet
The Suveren research project, led by Bundesanstalt system in side
view
für Materialwirtschaft (BAM), Studiengesellschaft für
Tunnel und Verkehrsanlagen (Stuva) and Fogtec aims Below: Amberg
to assess the risks that NECs create and propose Engineering has
ways of mitigating those risks. As well as carrying worked on specific
out a series of fire tests, researchers will develop software using
digital modelling
models, new standards and regulations and training of infrastructure
programmes for tunnel operators.
Suveren carried out fire tests with lithium ion
batteries and CNG flames earlier this year and looked
at high-pressure water mist for supressing thermal
runaway. An initial release reported that “within the
testing environment, the thermal runaway of the
tested lithium ion batteries could be suppressed by
high-pressure water mist”. More detailed analysis of
the tests is expected later this year.
Other organisations are looking at this issue too.
February this year saw a joint meeting of the ITA
COSUF, which looks at the operational safety of
underground structures, the world road association
PIARC and the Knowledge Platform for Tunnel Safety
(KPT) of the Netherlands to look at the issue of new
energy carrier vehicles.
One of the conclusions of the meeting was that
more data on the thermal loads of fires with NEC
vehicles was required, as well as information on the
NEC vehicles themselves.
Digital opportunities
Though new technology for energy sources is causing
headaches, advances in digital technology offer huge
opportunities for improvements and optimisation,
says Bettelini. Intelligent tunnel control systems will
improve the interaction between different systems
and help cope with human and technical errors.
“Ventilation design has already reached quite a
high level of intelligence, but there is the opportunity
to do much more with self-learning systems,” says
Bettelini. “In the future, control systems will have
Tunnelling Journal 9
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10 Tunnelling Journal
 THE FUTURE FOR FIRE PROTECTION

built-in digital tunnel models and will be able to
control themselves in an optimum manner. There is
huge potential, and the future is not that far away.”
Intelligent components, such as advanced sensors in
jet fans that help monitor how they run, send alarms
or maintenance messages, are also just around the
corner, he adds.
Amberg Engineering is working on specialist
simulation software that speeds up commissioning
of software systems within a tunnel, by using a
digital model of the infrastructure. “This means we
can do the commissioning in less time with reduced
pressure,” says Bettelini.
‘Digital twins’ for new and existing tunnels will play
a key role in the planning of maintenance, upgrades
and optimisation of tunnel systems, says Bettelini. He
would also like to see real-time information on fire
development and smoke propagation in underground
infrastructure, such as tunnels, provided to fire-
fighters and other first responders in the case of an
emergency.
“Advanced real-time simulation models could
also provide forecasts for the most likely evolution
of all the key safety parameters relevant for the
intervention, with appropriate recommendations on
the best possible strategies,” says Bettelini.

Dutch infrastructure authority RWS performs fire tests in

tunnels after laboratory tests produced surprising results.
In 2017, Rijkswaterstaat, the executive
agency of the Dutch Ministry of
Infrastructure and Water Management
(RWS) made some potentially worrying
findings about the concrete being
used to construct its road tunnels.
Although it had been tested back in
2000 and deemed to be ‘non-spalling’,
the concrete did, indeed, spall when
exposed to a fire according to the RWS
fire curve.
In retrospect, performing only one
fire test back in 2000 might have
been too little to form the basis for
new regulations, says Bart Hendrix,
technical adviser, tunnels at RWS. “The
concrete mixture that was used in
the fire test was poorly documented
compared to today’s tests,” explains
Hendrix. He adds that a change in the
constituent parts of concrete could be
one of the reasons why spalling occurs
today.
To find out whether any of its tunnels
had been constructed from concrete
that would show spalling in the event
of a large fire, RWS embarked on a
programme of testing, both in the
laboratory and in existing tunnels. As
a result, some tunnels might have
to be retrofitted with passive fire
protection such as boards or sprayed
fire protection, and specifications for
future tunnels will be revised.
A history of fire protection
Up to 1981, tunnels in the Netherlands
were not equipped with any kind of
fire protection. However, a fire in the
Velsertunnel in 1978 which caused the
loss of five lives, caused RWS to review
its strategy. From 1981, all new tunnels
were fitted with boards or sprayed
fire-proofing and existing tunnels were
retrofitted.
The RWS test panel before testing (left) and after testing (right)
In 2000, RWS commissioned a fire
test to find out how the concrete
being used in tunnels behaved in a
fire. The test showed that there was
no spalling, just surface damage of a
few millimetres, and so RWS deemed it
non-spalling concrete suitable for use
in tunnel construction.
The mix, called ROK, was <C30/37
with no fillers, a water/cement ratio of
0.5, no fly ash and restrictions on the
use of plasticisers. This specification
allowed contractors to choose from
a ‘family’ of mixes that met these
constraints.
In 2015, questions about the fire
performance of the ROK specification
concrete started to arise. “On
some tunnelling projects, both the
contractors and our own project
teams asked questions on the ROK
requirements regarding fire safety,”
says Hendrix. “On top of that, an article
was published in which a research
laboratory showed that concrete
according to ROK requirements did
show spalling. After that, we decided to
start a research program to verify the
fire resistance of our standard concrete
mixture.”
RWS’s testing programme, which
started in 2017, saw test slabs with
three concrete mixtures tested at three
months and 12 months old. One mix
aimed to mimic as closely as possible
the 2000 concrete, one was a present-
day concrete and the third contained
limestone as a coarse aggregate.
Each mix was tested twice under
RWS fire loading conditions with all
six tests showing severe spalling. The
limestone mix, which the researchers
expected to behave better, actually
showed the same severity of spalling as
the others, possibly even worse.
Although it wasn’t part of this test
programme, Hendrix also reports that
around one year later, fire tests on
concrete containing polypropylene
fibres were performed for a new tunnel
and it appeared that this concrete
mixture also exhibited spalling.
This test result came as something of
a surprise: “We realised that the ‘magic’
formula of adding polypropylene
fibres is not always safe,” says Hendrix.
The purpose of adding very small
polypropylene fibres to mixes is to
prevent spalling, since the fibres melt,
creating space for the expanding water
vapour.
Pierre Pimienta, vice head of the Fire
Continued

Tunnelling Journal 11
 This is something that Amberg Engineering and
other leading European institutions worked on as
part of a European research programme called EMILI
(Emergency Management in Large Infrastructure)
which looked at how historic and real-time data could
be used and reported during emergencies involving
airports, rail and metro systems and further complex
underground infrastructures. The programme ran in
2011 and 2013 with Amberg Engineering (through
its subsidiary ASIT) working jointly with Fraunhofer
on the development of iSEM, a simulation tool that
helped work out in real-time the best response to
underground emergencies.
“It was something radically innovative and powerful
that we tried to push from proof of concept to a
commercial implementation, but it was not yet the
right time,” comments Bettelini.
Digital technology, or rather social media, is also
altering the behaviour of drivers and passengers. One
of the speakers at the ITA COSUF, PIARC and KPT
meeting remarked that people seeing a fire in a tunnel
today might stop to take photos and videos, rather
than flee as fast as possible.
These are interesting times for those specifying
fire safety systems for tunnels, for operators and for
first responders. The race is on to find new ways to
deal with these new risks – and the funding to help
develop them – before any major incidents occur.

Studies and Tests Division at French
research organisation CSTB (Scientific
and Technical Center for Building)
sheds some light on the subject of
spalling. He has been studying the
phenomenon for the past 20 years,
recently carrying out fire testing on
the segments for the Ismailia and Port
Said tunnels which run under the Suez
Canal.
“Spalling is a very complex
phenomenon. There are several
mechanisms that are involved and
several parameters to which spalling
is sensitive,” says Pimienta, adding
that some have been quite well
investigated and defined. “Others
are less well understood because
they are difficult to test for and the
experimental research programmes
are expensive.”
Pimienta explains that the higher the
following parameters are, the higher
the likelihood of spalling: concrete
strength, water content, compressive
stress in the concrete and the
temperature curve of the fire itself.
Conversely, adding polypropylene
fibres has been shown to reduce the
risk of spalling.
In tunnels, the heat of a fire rises
quickly due to the confined space.
RWS’ time-temperature curve is based
on the heat that would come from
a petrol tanker fire and shows the
temperature rising steeply to reach
1350 degrees C after 60 minutes,
falling to 1200 degrees at 120 minutes.
In France, the model curve used in
similar, says Pimienta, although the
maximum temperature is 1300 degrees
C. In Germany, the curve is a similar
shape but reaches a plateau with a
lower temperature of 1200 degrees.
Combining such a fire with high-
strength concrete, high water content
and a high compressive load raises
the possibility of spalling, even
with polypropylene fibres, explains
Pimienta. And then there are other
parameters: the cement type, the
aggregate, the variation in mixes. The
shape of the concrete element being
tested - such as beam, column, slab
or segment – also has a significant
impact on spalling.
“With spalling, you must be very
careful not to generalise from one
result,” warns Pimienta. “You need a
lot of data before you can generalise.”
New specification
Having made its discoveries in the lab,
RWS’s next step was to examine its
existing tunnels to find out whether
their concrete was at risk of spalling.
Since there had been a flag raised
in 2008, RWS focused on the four
tunnels built since then, planning a
series of in-situ tests to the RWS fire
curve using a mobile furnace.
“After a study on the different
concrete mixtures used in the
tunnels, the presence or absence of
fireproofing, the compressive stress in
the cross-section, we chose locations
for a fire test,” explains Hendrix.
First the concrete was tested as it
was. If spalling occurred, a further
test was carried out with a dummy
fire protection board, measuring the
temperature of the concrete behind
the board.
“We chose the thickness of the
dummy board so that spalling
would occur within the required fire
resistance time, either 60 or 120
minutes depending on whether a
tunnel is located under open water
or not. The interface temperature
at which spalling occurs is then an
input value for the design of the repair
measure, which is then tested in a
verification test,” says Hendrix.
To date the four tunnels built since
2008 have been tested. “The results
did not make us happy, it became
obvious that repair measures are
required for these tunnels.” says
Hendrix. At this moment repair plans
for these four tunnels are being
developed.
RWS is thinking about formulating
future specifications regarding fire
safety in tunnels and is considering
two options. The first option is to
test concrete mixes for a project
before construction to find when
spalling occurs to inform the fire
safety design. The same mix, with
exactly the same constituents, would
then have to be used for the entire
project.
“That’s quite a hurdle for
contractors,” says Hendrix. “They
have to run the tests and find
a supplier who can commit to
delivering huge amounts of the
same concrete, with the same
sand, gravel and chemical additives,
maybe for a number of years.”
The second option could be to
specify fire protection – boards
or sprayed – which prevents the
surface of the concrete reaching a
temperature where water vapour,
and hence spalling, occurs.
“That means that suppliers only
have to test the performance of
their products once every so many
years to ensure that their products
still meet the thermal insulation
requirements to insulate to a certain
temperature on the non-fire side,”
says Hendrix. Contractors could then
choose a solution which is the most
suitable for the project regarding fire
safety, time and costs.
Part of RWS’s ongoing work will
be to determine the best options
for passive fire protection in new
– and existing – tunnels, a similar
exercise to the one that took place
in the early 1980s. “It’s an insurance
fee,” says Hendrix. “If you need it, it’s
always cheaper to have installed it,
rather than to build a new tunnel.

12 Tunnelling Journal
 VIP | TUNNEL SEGMENT GASKETS

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www.vip-polymers.com

Tunnelling Journal 13
TunnelingJournal_InnoTrans2020_88x280_en.indd 1 02.09.2019 13:50:29
 A review of Tunnel
Segment Gaskets
Part 1
Over a series of three articles, Steve Casey (Casey
Consulting and formerly Technical Director VIP-
Polymers) and Mike King (MK Tunnelling Limited)
consider the salient points that often dictate
the choice of tunnel segment gasket, or at least
should be taken into consideration.
There are many different factors that can affect
and influence the choice of water sealing gaskets
used for segmentally lined tunnels or shafts: the
water pressure to be sealed; the permitted casting
and building tolerances that impact upon the final
condition in the tunnel such as joint gap and offset of
the segments; long-term deformations; design life;
and compression loading limits to name but a few.
To add further complications and considerations,
the choice of waterproofing system also needs to
consider: the material options; whether it will be
glued or cast-in; the profile design of the gasket;
and double or single rows of sealing material, when
developing a solution that will provide best value.
In this first article an overview is given of the
choice of material and what factors often affect
the choice. Subsequent articles will consider the
testing undertaken to verify design and durability, and
recent developments and trends in tunnel gaskets
to examine if they are really the panacea for all our
water leakage ills.
In terms of the available materials themselves, there
are primarily, but not exclusively, two main rubber
compounds used for gaskets in segmentally lined
tunnels to achieve a water proofed tunnel, namely:
1. Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer (EPDM) and
2. Acrylonitrile Butadiene Rubber [Nitrile] (NBR)
We know what you are thinking – “What about
Hydrophilic?” – but more on that later. In the first
place, let us just consider the materials in what are
commonly described as mechanical sealing systems.
The choice of the material should be dictated by
the external exposure conditions – the ground and
ground-water chemistry - and possibly the medium
inside the tunnel for which the material may also
need to be an effective seal, or which may affect the
durability of the material. Generally, for clean and
drainage water applications EPDM would be an ideal
choice of material. For conditions which may, for
example, contain hydrocarbons as may be found on
Brown Field sites, the choice of material might be
Nitrile. But again, this will further be dictated by the
concentration and severity of the contamination and
14 Tunnelling Journal
hydrocarbons present, or other protection that might
be provided internally to protect the gasket from
concentrated spillages.
There are other grades of rubber compounds
such as Neoprene and even Fluoroelastomer (FKM)
for extreme chemical conditions which can also be
considered. However, EPDM and Nitrile will cover
most, if not all, of the applications incurred by a
segmentally lined tunnel.
Synthetic rubber mixtures such as EPDM can be
compared to the term “cake” or “bread” as generic
names which cover a vast range of various finished
product types that are characterised and sold as
“cake” and “bread”.
Rubber compounds, like cakes and breads, are
made up of a range of various ingredients and
depending upon the type and amount of a given
ingredient will result in a given physical and chemical
property for the rubber compound, or in the case of
our analogy a given type of cake or bread.
For rubber compounds for sealing gaskets, typical
ingredients would be:
1. The polymer (the rubber element) such as EPDM
or NBR
2. Reinforcing filler, typically Carbon Black
3. Process aids, generally mineral oils or other
specialist types
4. Activation system –a catalyst to allow certain
chemical reactions to take place during processing
5. Cure system – range of ingredients that turn the
uncured rubber into a cured compound (cross-
linking)
6. Anti-degradant – generally used to protect the
polymer from attack from oxygen or sunlight
etc, although EPDM already has a naturally good
resistance to Ozone attack.
Given the wide range of what the final product may
potentially be, it is therefore imperative that the
material specification or performance requirements
for Tunnel Segment Gaskets (TSG) are clearly stated
and ideally referenced against an internationally
recognised standard. A typical standard for water/
drainage applications would be BS EN 681-1,
Elastomeric seals- Materials requirements for pipe
joint seals used in water and drainage applications.
In the case of “foul” ground conditions a typical
standard would be BS EN 682:2002, Elastomeric seals
– Materials requirements for seals used in pipes and
fittings carrying gas and hydrocarbon fluids.
Within these standards a set of parameters are
stipulated covering a whole range of physical
requirements such as hardness, tensile strength,
volume change in water and elongation to name
but a few. Although each of these properties are
important in their own right, in terms of providing
the necessary performance of the seal when in
application, there are two parameters which are of
significant note and crucial in the tunnel seal’s long-
term ability to maintain its sealing function, which
currently is often stipulated in excess of 100 years.
These are Compression Set and Stress Relaxation.
Compression Set is simply the rubber’s ability
to return to its original shape following a period
under compression. This is easiest explained by
the illustration in figure 1, which shows a rubber

cord, in this example, being compressed and the
cord returning almost to its original shape and size
when the compressive load is removed. A poorly
formulated rubber will not recover after the load has
been removed - a typical example of such a material
would be plasticine.
It will be noted that the word “almost” was used.
Rubber following compression will always “take-on”
some level of “Set” so if it has undergone significant
compressive load it won’t return 100% to its original
shape. However, a correctly formulated rubber
compound would be designed to ensure it returned
to greater than 95% of its original shape and ideally
around 98%.
For a tunnel gasket it is often stated that the rubber
is incompressible when housed or confined in a given
area or volume such as a gasket groove in the case of
a tunnel gasket, and that the ability to compress and
deform the gasket is dictated by the arrangement and
structure of the internal voids. This is “almost” true
and the internal voids and “struts” of material would
be the dominant aspect of the gasket’s deformation
with a high-quality material. However, as can be seen
from the illustration, the compression set in a poorly
formulated material would have a significant impact
upon the over-all performance.
Stress Relaxation is a term that encompasses
the fact that all rubbers following compression or
tension and maintained under load will begin to
relax after a period of time and require less effort
to maintain the same deformation. In the case of
seals, research undertaken on behalf of Victaulic
Industrial Polymers in the mid 1980’s by Professor
Birley at Loughborough University in the UK
determined a correlation between Stress Relaxation
and sealing function. Professor Birley developed an
accelerated stress relaxation test and established
that provided there was a minimum of 30% residual
force remaining there was sufficient force (energy) to
form a seal. Today, in order to incorporate a factor of
safety this value has been doubled and in the British
Tunnelling Society/ICE Specification for Tunnelling
it is stated that the projected residual stress at the
end of its design life should be a minimum of 65%
of the short-term stress. This requirement is also
related to the water-tightness test pressure and
adjustments can be made to a pressure test to
compensate for any differences or variations that can
be demonstrated in the nominal 65% residual stress.
Stress Relaxation is illustrated in figure 2 where, in
this example, the rubber cord exerts a resistance to
the load being applied and continues to do so over
the life expectancy of the seal. Where the rubber cord
has poor Stress Relaxation properties it will continue
to be compressed under a given load. Another way of
looking at this is that where the initial deformation is
fixed as is the case for gaskets spanning across joints
in a tunnel ring, the energy within the rubber (the
load required to maintain compression) will dissipate
and ultimately it will lose its sealing function.
To a non-polymer material specialist it can be
difficult to differentiate between Compression Set
and Stress Relaxation when thinking about the gasket
long-term performance, and in the long-term there
is a relationship between them. Together, for a given
profile they essentially determine the energy that
A REVIEW OF TUNNEL SEGMENT GASKETS – PART 1
is stored within the compressed gasket, and it is the
energy stored in the system that provides the water
sealing capability.
The desired physical property requirements of the
gasket and critical elements such as Compression
Set and Stress Relaxation can only be achieved by
the correct selection and formulation of materials
that go into the final rubber compound mix which,
together with the correct processing and curing of that
compound into its final form, will provide a seal that
will function for the anticipated life of the tunnel and
beyond.
Another major and key element to consider when
specifying a gasket is the material’s resistance to
Microbial attack, which can lead to its ultimate
deterioration.
Although EPDM and Nitrile rubber compounds are
synthetic rubbers this does not mean they are naturally
resistant to microbial attack, and the preparation of the
“cake” is just as important here. Microbes will attack
rubber resulting in its gradual deterioration unless it has
been correctly formulated to resist such attacks. So,
not only should the gasket material meet the design
physical properties, it should also be proven to be
resistant to microbial attack. Without such authenticity
there can be no guarantee on the life expectancy of the
seal. In severe conditions a rubber compound that has
poor to no resistance to microbial attack can degrade
and deteriorate within a relatively short period of time,
tens of years if not mere years.
Many countries have their own specific tests to
determine microbial resistance of rubber, and in
the UK, BS 7874, Method of Test for Microbiological
deterioration of elastomeric seals for joints in pipework
and piplines is a typical standard and specification.
In addition to all the mechanically sealing rubber
gaskets, there is another gasket material which is often
used in sealing segmentally lined tunnels - and so we
finally come to seals that are manufactured from a
Hydrophilic material. That is, material which absorbs
and swells on contact with water.
Similar to all mechanically sealing rubber gaskets,
Hydrophilic gaskets are formulated from a range of
Comprssion Set
For any seal to work and perform, it must be energised i.e. a load is applied
to the seal.
A seal with good compression set will recover to almost its original shape
when the load is removed e.g. if a concrete tunnel segment were to move
due to ground conditions.
4 8
LOAD LOAD LOAD
LOAD
Start Under Load Load Removed Load Removed
GOOD POOR
COMPRESSION COMPRESSION
SET SET
Figure 1 – illustration of compression set
Tunnelling Journal 15
 surface of the gasket.
Stress Relaxation At present, it is not known if there exists a
hydrophilic material that would meet the physical
When under load, the seal must retain the energy that is built up within it. and chemical resistance properties that can be
demonstrated for an all rubber (elastomeric/
Seals with good stress relaxation will retain the energy and resistance built
up with the seal. Seals with poor stress relaxation will lose the energy after mechanical sealing) gasket. In addition, over a
a short period of time and will no longer have a resistance against the load period of time the SAP gradually migrates out
and will ultimately fail. and dissipates from the gasket resulting in a
reduced ability to swell when in contact with
water. Anyone who has repeatedly immersed
and removed a hydrophilic gasket from a glass
LOAD of water will have observed this as the water
turns “cloudy”, along with an embrittlement of
LOAD the material when dry. Furthermore, it is not
LOAD
known if there is any hydrophilic material that
offers satisfactory resistance to microbial attack
and tests undertaken at VIP-Polymers have
actually shown that hydrophilic material has
Start Load against seal POOR STRESS very poor to no resistance to microbial attack.
RELAXATION
Energy dissipates, thus This leaves open a question on rubber gasket’s
no longer resisting long-term performance, where they incorporate
the load
a hydrophilic material, be it as an inserted cord
or integrated on the rubber gaskets top surface.
Figure 2 – ingredient materials to provide it with the properties It is considered that further long term research
illustration of
required to enable processing, with the key ingredient is required in this area concerning the material
stress relaxation
being the Super Absorbent Polymer (SAP). performance and the conditions that promote
Hydrophilic gaskets can be used on their own and microbial attack.
in combination with the mechanical rubber gaskets. In summary, the choice of material for a
This may take the form of a hydrophilic cord inserted gasket in a segmentally lined tunnel is as critical
into the rubber gasket or integrated into the top in providing the long-term sealing function for
the tunnel, as the selection of a suitable size
Figure 3 –
illustration of
1 2 and profile. It is important that the external and
hydrophilic internal exposure conditions are fully understood.
and composite As there are many different types of cakes and
elastomeric/ breads so too are there many different types of
hydrophilic
rubber gasket compounds, all of which come
gaskets
under the general heading EPDM and Nitrile.
Simply asking for EPDM and not getting what the
1. Hydrophilic chord inserted 3 project needs is like asking for a cake and being
into slot in a TSG prior to given a Fruit Cake instead of a Victoria Sponge - it
installation. should not be a surprise. Being clear and precise
2. Hydrophilic strip is integrally on the standards and specifications which the
bonded onto an elastomeric tunnel gasket must meet will ultimately provide
TSG.
the sealing function and life expectancy of the
3. Simple hydrophilic strip. tunnel.

What is EPDM rubber compound?

Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer is a synthetic material and is an M-Class rubber according to the classification in
ASTM standard D-1418. It is the base Polymer which in combination with other key materials makes up the final EPDM
rubber compound, which is a compound including other materials such as ethylidene norbornene, dicyclopentadiene and
vinyl norbornene.
An EPDM rubber can, for example, contain between 45% and 85% of propylene and be cured in different ways, providing
it with a range of properties, and still be technically classified as EPDM. Typical ranges of mechanical properties of EPDM
could be:
Hardness – 30 to 90 International Rubber Hardness Degree (IRHD)
Ultimate tensile failure stress – 5MPa to 25MPa
Density – 0.9 to 2 g/cm3
Synthetic rubbers such as EPDM provide a more stable material when exposed to heat, light, ozone and a variety of
chemicals when compared to natural rubbers. However, all synthetic rubbers exhibit a varying degree of resistance to
different exposure conditions, and although EPDM is extremely hardy with excellent Ozone resistance, its exposure to
relatively high concentrations of some chemicals and conditions such as exposure to hydrocarbons and solvents may be
limited and reference should be made back with the concentration levels to the supplier.

16 Tunnelling Journal
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Tunnelling Journal 17
 A Greener Route for SCL?
Using sprayed concrete with a bonded waterproofing membrane could bring
huge environmental benefits in hard rock tunnels. So why is no one doing it?
Kristina Smith reports.
Living proof - Between 2009 and 2014, permanent sprayed
The Gevingås concrete tunnel linings with bonded waterproofing
rail tunnel,
constructed
membranes were installed on two hard rock railroad
2009-2011, with tunnels and several test sections in Norway. Bane
sprayed concrete NOR, the authority responsible for Norway’s railway
and sprayed network, has approved two such systems – from
membrane lining
BASF and MINOVA – with two more from Mapei and
over a portion
of 1.9km of the Normet undergoing approval. Yet the appetite to use
4.1km long tunnel them remains weak.
(photo: Karl Currently permanent sprayed concrete lining
Gunnar Holter) has been planned for only one project, part of the
Vestfold Line modernisation to the Southwest of Oslo.
But it is being used in the safety and escape tunnel,
rather than the main rail tunnel.
For Karl Gunnar Holter, a senior specialist at the
Norwegian Geotechnical Institute and technical
adviser to Bane NOR, who has spent years proving
that permanent sprayed concrete linings are a good
engineering solution, this is a source of concern.
“People prefer to stick to something that’s
apparently safer and easier, even if it’s more
expensive,” he says. “The traffic administrations
and their teams are leading the way, but designers
won’t stick their necks out. They often prefer to do
something that is close to carbon copies of previous
projects and avoid innovative approaches.”
People have not been persuaded by the argument
about capital cost. But perhaps they will listen to the
story about Carbon cost, because permanent sprayed
concrete linings have a far lower carbon footprint
than other solutions.
In a paper published by the Institution of Civil
Engineers (ICE) this year, Alun Thomas, managing
director of All2Plan Consulting, compares the
embodied carbon in different types of linings for hard
rock tunnels. The most carbon hungry is the double-
shell lining consisting of a sprayed primary layer, sheet
waterproofing membrane and cast-in situ secondary
layer, a lining structure that is being floated as a new
18 Tunnelling Journal
solution in Scandinavia.
The standard Scandinavian solution, with rockbolts
and sprayed concrete as a permanent rock support
and then an internal drainage and thermal insulation
shell, has around 40 percent less embodied Carbon
than the double-shell. Permanent linings with sprayed
concrete waterproofed with sprayed membranes
produce 60 percent less Carbon than double-shell,
with macro-synthetic fibre-reinforced sprayed linings
scoring lowest of all.
Using permanent sprayed concrete with a bonded
waterproofing membrane offers an even better
solution environmentally in hard rock than it does
in soft ground, argues Holter: “In very many cases in
hard rock, the rock mass can constitute the structural
part of the tunnel,” he says. “This enables the rock
support with rock bolts and sprayed concrete to be
constructed as a lean structure with local loads, and
without any global loads from the ground.”
What’s the problem?
“There are some limitations or shortcomings that
are slowing the speed of take-up, mainly related to
constructability,” admits Holter. “The things we saw at
Crossrail: applying the required membrane thickness
consistently, quality control, how to handle damps
spots.”
One of the biggest perceived difficulties is how to
deal with water. “You can spray onto a wet surface
but you cannot spray onto a surface with seepages,”
says Holter. “The way round that is to provide a
primer system like a quick mortar or other material to
temporarily stop the water or to drill drainage holes,
drain the water out in a controlled way with pipes and
packers, apply the membrane and then post-grout, if
needed.”
The downside to installing pipes and post-grouting
is that it requires significant amounts of manual
work and tight quality control. New primer systems,
currently under development, could help says Holter:
“Each manufacturer has a different approach. I’m
looking forward to seeing what they can do.” A further
approach is to pre-inject to reduce water inflow, a
technique used successfully in Norway says Holter.
As well as impacting on how efficiently water
seepages are dealt with, the experience and skill
levels of the sprayed concrete nozzlemen can have a
significant impact on the total material consumption.
An experienced sprayer will cause less overspraying
and less rebound than an inexperienced one and the
end product is likely to be of higher quality and hence
more durable.
“With both experienced and inexperienced
nozzlemen, overspraying can be significant,” says
Tomislav Rogan, managing director of ed-tech

company Edvirt which provides simulator-enhanced
training for shotcrete, machine scaling, grouting,
bolting and site inductions. “For tunnels with a
requirement of 75 to 100mm thickness, it’s common
to see overspraying of 90 percent when measuring
the thickness afterwards, if the nozzlemen have not
had proper training.”
On a project such as the E4 Stockholm Bypass –
where Edvirt is providing training and certification
mandated by client Trafikverket – even an overspray
of 10 percent on a sprayed concrete volume of
around 300,000 cubic metres would be extremely
costly.
On top of overspray is wastage due to rebound.
Research carried out for Edvirt by Professor Håkan
Alm, of Luleå University of Technology, Sweden
found that experienced nozzlemen have 25 percent
less concrete rebound than novice ones: 12 percent
rather than 16 percent. After 40 hours of simulator
training, the new sprayers achieved the same rates as
the experienced ones.
On Sydney’s WestConnex Project, Edvirt is certifying
nozzlemen through a five-day course involving a
day of theory, three days of simulator training and a
one-day on-site assessment. The simulator also instils
safe practice – such as where to stand when spraying
- which is an important factor at WestConnex, where
the contractor has set up the training.
“The cost of the training is paid back quite quickly
due to the material savings for the project,” says
Rogan. “Even spraying a few cubic metres on site for
training purposes is expensive. On a simulator, during
just one course, a trainee will spray the equivalent of
100 to 150 cubic metres of concrete.”
New guidance
Another hurdle to wider implementation of
permanent sprayed concrete with spray-applied
waterproofing membranes could be that there isn’t an
established approach to design. The bond between
the primary and secondary layer and the sprayed
waterproofing membrane has been the subject of
various research projects and papers, with different
researchers coming to different conclusions.
Holter’s extensive research looked at moisture
movement through the linings and the moisture
content of the membranes in many samples taken
from the various tunnels in Norway. This is important
because the properties of a membrane vary
depending on moisture content. Holter found that the
sprayed and bonded membranes are waterproof and
vapour permeable, allowing a tiny amount of water
to move through the lining in vapour form – 2 to 3
millilitres per square metre of lining per day.
Help for would-be designers of permanent sprayed
concrete lining, and for clients, is at hand, courtesy
of two different parts of the International Tunnelling
and Underground Space Association (ITA). Working
Group 12 on sprayed concrete and an ITAtech
sub-Activity Group on permanent sprayed linings
have joined forces to produce a guide. ITAtech will
also be updating its 2013 guide on spray-applied
waterproofing membranes.
BASF’s Dr Wolfgang Aldrian, who heads up the
ITAtech group, is leading the creation of the guide on
permanent sprayed linings, working with Holter and
A GREENER ROUTE FOR SCL?
Thomas who are animateur and vice-animateur of
Working Group 12 respectively.
The involvement of the Working Group will add
weight to the guide. ITA Working Groups are a long-
standing part of the association whose remit is to
investigate areas of technical interest or concern and
provide reports which are referred to and used widely.
The guidance they produce is respected for its rigour
and impartiality, although this sometimes means that
documents can take years to produce.
ITAtech was set up more recently to give a voice
to suppliers and to spread information about newer
but proven technology. The goal of ITAtech’s Activity
Groups is to get guidance and case studies out into
the industry quickly in order to increase the speed
at which new materials and practices are taken up.
Aldrian, Holter and Thomas aim to have the first draft
of the permanent sprayed concrete guide ready for
review by the end of the year.
However, there are still elements of permanent
sprayed concrete design which could be better
understood, as Holter’s research itself reveals. One of
his findings is that the water pressure in the rock mass
around the tunnels is lower than expected which
Holter believes is due to the effects of the excavation
damaged zone (EDZ).
EDZs have more jointing and hence increased
hydraulic conductivity. Understanding the EDZ better
will allow designers to better assess the hydrostatic
loading on the tunnel lining.
“If the EDZ has a significant effect, can we assume
the tunnel acts like a globally drained structure
immediately around the contour?” asks Holter. Further
research will look at how geology and rock stress
parameters impact the extent and effect of the EDZ.
Who cares about Carbon?
When will Carbon cost really be as important to
clients as capital cost? Thomas reckons that the signs
are already there, with organisation such as Sweden’s
Trafikverket, Statens Vegvesen in Norway and the UK’s
Highways England already employing carbon costing
tools.
“Society and some of the more forward-thinking
governments have decided something must be
done,” says Thomas. “For example, the Swedes have
committed to being Carbon neutral by 2045. Once
that decision is made, industry has to deliver it.
“Designers need to help clients to write contracts
that encourage and reward sustainable behaviour. We
Tunnelling Journal 19
 have to do basic stuff like doing a carbon footprint
design in the beginning of each project. We should
look at Carbon cost in the same way as capital cost,
identifying big cost items and driving down the cost
as the project is developed.”
In Norway a consortium of research organisations
and industry have joined forces in a bid to produce
an ultra-sustainable, cost effective and durable
permanent sprayed concrete for tunnel linings.
The 17.5m NOK (Euro 1.75m) SUPERCON (Sprayed
sUstainable PErmanent Robotized CONcrete) project
will look at multiple aspects of sprayed concrete
across a programme that will last four years.
“We need to develop competence in more eco-
friendly tunnelling which means more eco-friendly,
tunnel lining designs, concrete mix designs and more
durable and functional SCL, contrary to the current
trend towards the use of cast in-situ and precast

SEM gives quarry tunnel 80-year design life

It took quarry owner Luck Stone Corporation over a
decade to gain planning permission from the local
authority in Loudoun County, Virginia for a tunnel
that would connect the existing East Pit of the stone
quarry to a new West Pit.
The authority’s concern was understandable. The
plan was to drill-and-blast the 1,275-ft (389m) tunnel
underneath the Goose Creek river, with just 50 feet
(15m) between the tunnel crown and the riverbed.
Unusually, this tunnel also has a sprayed concrete
lining on top of standard rock bolt main support. In
addition to its structural purpose, the concrete will
ensure the longevity of the tunnel, says Elmar Feigl,
senior tunnel engineer at Dr Sauer & Partners which
designed the tunnel and supervised its construction.
“Working with the owner, we decided that the
tunnel would have an 80-year design life, which
is why we decided to apply the shotcrete,” says
Feigl. “The concrete protects the bolts and reduces
corrosion over the years.”
The shotcrete is reinforced with synthetic fibres.
The choice of plastic fibres rather than steel ones
meant that the quarry could still process and use the
excavated rock mixed with sprayed concrete; steel
fibres would have interfered with the workings of its
equipment.
Contractor Frontier-Kemper won the $13m
contract to construct the tunnel, with work starting
on site in April 2018. Having constructed the East
portal, the contractor first excavated the top heading,
following on later with the bench.
The 21ft-high (6.4m) top heading was advanced in
6ft (1.8m) lengths, with the ground supported by 10 ft
(3m) and 15 ft (4.6m) rock bolts and 4 inches (100mm)
of fibres shotcrete. Not until the top heading had
passed under Goose Creek was the bench excavated.
However, Frontier-Kemper blasted out 100ft (30m) of
bench, 5ft-high (1.5m), in one go at this point.
The rock through which the tunnel was blasted
is diabase, the product of the quarry, a hard rock
with a strength of 10,000psi (69MPa). Dr Sauer &
Partners prescribed extra precautions under the river,
requesting smaller advance lengths and two probe
holes rather than one for this 200ft (60m) section.
However, the under-river section proved easier
than the geological investigation had suggested. “The
area beneath Goose Creek was expected to be worse,
from a geotechnical perspective requiring more rock
support such as spiling, lattice girder, wire mesh and /
or rock grouting,” explains Feigl. “However, it turned
out to be much better quality, with a support class of
1 rather than 3 as expected.”
There was one surprise: two unexpected fault
zones East of the Creek. Here, there was a moderate
inflow from the faults of around 55gpm (3.5 litres
per second) in average, which was plugged up with
cementitious grout. Additional drainage mats attached
to the rock below the shotcrete lining were installed
to direct any remaining flows to permanent drainage
pipes within the road base to channel down one side
of the tunnel, which has a 2% fall West to East.
The top heading broke through in January 2019,
followed a month later by the bottom bench. In
March 2019 Frontier-Kemper constructed the West
portal and installed the road base, handing the tunnel
over to the owner in April 2019 for mechanical and
electrical equipment installations, including two
ventilation fans, to be installed.
Even with the additional measures needed for the
faults, the project still finished ahead of schedule and
below budget, says Feigl. He attributes this to three
things: the better-than-expected rock quality under
Goose Creek, the fact that there were no outside
stakeholders involved since the land is quarry-owned,
and very good teamwork between Luck Stone
Corporation, Dr Sauer & Partners as the owner’s
supervisor, Frontier-Kemper and its consultant Gall
Zeidler.
“My goal was to create a one-team mentality,
to be open about everything,” says Feigl. “We had
daily meetings, and whenever there was a situation,
nobody hid anything.”

20 Tunnelling Journal
 A GREENER ROUTE FOR SCL?

concrete,” says Professor Eivind Grøv, chief scientist at Competent

SINTEF and former animateur of WG12, who is leading operatives can
hugely reduce the
the programme. envrionmental
Research and academic institutions SINTEF, footprint of
NTNU (the Norwegian University of Science and sprayed concrete.
Technology (NTNU) and the Norwegian Geotechnical Simulator training
is a cost-effective
Institute are all involved in Supercon. Its industrial
and resource-
partners are Andersen Mek Verksted, Veidekke, effective way
BASF, Bever Control, NORCEM, SWECO, ELKEM, of reducing
Entreprenørservice, Wacker Chemicals Norway and overspraying and
Bekaert Maccaferri. “We are also building alliances rebound.
with KTH, the Royal Institute of Technology (Sweden)
and ULaval, Université Laval in Canada,” says Grøv.
Research will look at how pozzolanic materials
could be used in sprayed concrete to replace cement;
how to fully automate spraying to make the process
more efficient; understanding material properties,
design and application in order to increase durability;
and new approaches to structural design to allow
thinner layers of SCL to be used. Expect papers and
articles almost immediately and throughout the
research period, says Grøv.
The ultimate goal, says Grøv, is to make tunnels
more economically viable which in turn will have
a positive impact on the health and prosperity of underground,” says Grøv.
communities. “The knowledge developed in the project will
“In the long run, the project will lead to safer, provide a better use of capital spent on infrastructure
eco-friendlier and shorter travelling times within projects due to more effective tunnelling, reduced
the country. The realization of tunnel projects will materials use and prolonged service life, reducing the
also benefit local communities by transferring traffic environmental footprint.”

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Tunnelling Journal 21
 15 minutes with

Jinxiu, Yan
Prof. Yan has been involved in the
tunnelling industry for more than 30
years and is currently President of ITA,
Vice President of Chinese Tunnelling
and Underground Works Society
(CCES) and Deputy General Manager
of China Railway Academy Co. Ltd.
As the team leader for research,
consulting and design, she has been
involved in the most challenging
railway, highway, metro and water
tunnel projects. She has won many
awards for tunnelling innovations.
Employment:
1984 – 1990: China Railway Southwest Research Institute Co., Ltd.
n Assistant Engineer and then Engineer at different tunnel job sites
1990 – 1998: China Railway Southwest Research Institute Co., Ltd.
n Deputy Director and then Director of Tunnel & Underground Works
Department
n Deputy Director and then Director of Railway Tunnel & Underground Works
Information Center of the Ministry of Railways, P.R.China
1998 – 2000: China Railway Southwest Research Institute Co., Ltd.
n Assistant to General Manager & Senior Engineer
n Director of Research & Development Center
2000 – 2014: China Railway Southwest Research Institute Co., Ltd.
n Deputy General Manager & Professor
2014 – Present: China Railway Academy Co., Ltd.
n Deputy General Manager & Professor

Congratulations on your new role as with a central service tunnel, is

ITA President. What do you hope to the second longest undersea highway
achieve in your time in charge? tunnel of China. The tunnel is designed
In May 2019, I was elected as the new for 80km/hr road speeds and the two
ITA President. For me, it means not only main tubes, at some 55m parallel, are

a great honour, but also responsibilities,
commitments and dedication.
What I hope to achieve are as follows.
Firstly, to increase the contribution
of the tunnelling industry to the
implementation of UN sustainable
development goals for 2030.
Secondly, to improve the
communication and exchanges
between ITA Member Nations and the
industry by encouraging experience
sharing through symposiums, training
courses and other similar events.
Thirdly, to recognize the
achievements of our industry and
promote knowledge sharing and
the application of well-recognised
new technologies among all parties
involved, including decision makers and
investors.
Last but not least, to focus on the
common concerns and challenges of
our industry and endeavor to seek new
solutions through collective efforts by
all ITA members and the industry.
What is the best project you have
worked on and why?
As a research team leader and expert
appointed by the government or project
owners, I have been involved in the
construction of many major railway and
highway tunnels and metros in China.
Among all the projects I have worked
on, I would like to choose the 7.8km
long Qingdao Jiaozhou Bay Undersea
Tunnel as my best project.
This twin-tube six-lane highway,
connected every 750-1,000m with a
vehicle cross passage and every 250-
300m with pedestrian cross passages.
The construction by drill+blast started
in August 2007 and final breakthrough
was achieved in April 2010, even though
there were 18 faults, 13 of them being in
the 4km undersea section of the tunnel.
To deal with this challenging
geological problem, I led a study team
to find a better solution to enhance
the waterproofing and drainage
system. We proposed a series of
innovative principles and designs for the
waterproofing and drainage system, to
improve its performance and quality in
the Qingdao Jiaozhou Bay Undersea
Tunnel. Thanks to the successful
application of those innovations to the
project, the waterproofing and drainage
system has been running very well since
the tunnel was opened to traffic in June
2011.
Toughest project you have worked on
and why?
There are many challenging mega
tunnelling projects in China and among
those I have worked on, I would choose
the tunnels on the Yichang-Wanzhou
Railway Line as the toughest due to the
very complex and adverse geology.
The 377km Yichang-Wanzhou
Railway Line starts from its eastern
station Yichang in Hubei Province to the
western station Wanzhou in southwest
China’s Chongqing. The railway line
encountered very complex topography
32
and adverse geology, such as karst,
caving-in, landslide, talus, gas, and high
ground stress, so it has been recognized
as the most difficult and complex
railway project in China’s railway history.
For the tunnels on this railway line,
the most challenging geological
problem was karst, which caused a
series of high-risk hazards such as water
inrush, mud gushing, and collapse. To
effectively mitigate and control the
high risks, in 2004, I was put in charge
of the “Study on Risk Evaluation and
Control for Yesanguan Tunnel Project”.
This 13.8km long twin tube tunnel is not
only the longest tunnel on this railway
line, but also the one with very complex
geological conditions including 20
major faults, 6 underground rivers and
76 karst channels etc. which have all
been conquered during construction.
My study provided an important basis
for the tunnel construction and risk
control in this project.
What 3 innovations have most
changed the tunnelling industry over
the last 10 years and why?

22 Tunnelling Journal

Over the last 10 years, the tunnelling
industry has witnessed great
improvements and innovations
in technology. For me, the most
important innovations would be
those in TBMs, geological prediction
technology, and instrumentation &
monitoring.
Over the last 10 years, the innovations the smart systems need to include three
in TBMs have improved their capability
in dealing with difficult situations, such
as tunnelling in mixed ground and even
in Karst ground. Besides, the diameter
of TBMs have been increased to as
large as 17.6m and different shapes
of TBMs have been designed and
successfully used in projects, especially
the horseshoe and rectangular TBMs
(as well as TBMs for building car parks).
These innovations have allowed
TBMs to be used more widely
than ever before.
Geological prospecting
can now obtain geological
information ahead of the
face and predict unfavorable
geological conditions, thus
making the tunnel engineers
more prepared in advance to
mitigate risks during tunnelling.
In the past 10 years, advance
geological prospecting systems
have been developed and
applied to TBM projects, which
is very important, as TBMs
are sensitive to wide scale Qingdao Jiaozhou Bay Undersea Highway Tunnel
geological changes.
Thanks to the development of
the Internet and IT technology,
instrumentation & monitoring is now
much more efficient. Currently, a smart
monitoring system can record, store
and automatically analyze various
construction data to ensure a safe and
rapid tunnelling process. The alarms
produced by these systems can be
shown instantly not just on PCs, but
also on mobiles.
Besides the above three innovations,
the innovations in lining materials may
bring great changes to the tunnelling
industry in the near future, such as
increasing the durability of lining and
reducing emissions of CO2 for a better
environment.
What significant technological or
contractual changes do you expect to
see in the next five-to-ten years?
In terms of significant technological
changes in the next five to ten years, I
expect to see the realization of smart
mechanized tunnelling and more
innovative excavation methods.
A tunnel project, especially a long
one, usually means a long construction
duration and a large labour force. So,
it would be better if the development
trends for tunnel construction were
directed to smart mechanized tunnelling
mainly represented by TBMs equipped
with smart systems. Generally speaking,
key components or sub-systems, i.e.
the smart geology prediction system,
the smart TBM tunnelling system and
the smart monitoring system. The
correlation analysis will be made on
these three components, and the
Smart TBM will automatically carry out
tunnelling according to the geology
ahead and the monitoring results
obtained.
What are the most frustrating issue
facing today’s tunnelling industry?
I should say the most frustrating issue
is the overriding concern for the
investment in tunnel projects in some
regions. Yes, tunnel projects usually
need large investment for construction.
However, if we take into consideration
the whole life circle of a tunnel, the
investment would seem to be very
competitive. Moreover, tunnel projects
are more environmentally friendly and
can contribute a lot to sustainability and
resilient infrastructure.
What major challenges does the
tunnelling industry face in the future?
Geological uncertainty is still one of
the main challenges to the industry,
especially for tunnels at great
depth. We need more advanced
technology to improve the accuracy
of investigation. At the same time, a
reasonable and international contract
guideline is very helpful for tunnelling
and underground works. I am very
glad that ITA and FIDIC have jointly
15 MINUTE INTERVIEW
worked out the Emerald book this
year which, I believe, will contribute
to the tunnelling industry based on
reasonable risk allocations. Another
major challenge is to build tunnels
in very complex geology, such as
in extremely high geo-stresses,
high ground water pressures, high
geothermal ground as well as at very
high elevations (sea level).
What gets on your nerves at work?
It really upsets me if the tunnelling
engineers on the job site do not care
about the geology ahead and the
potential related risks.
What would you be if you weren’t a
tunnelling engineer?
I would like to be a doctor
specialized in traditional
Chinese medicine and I
think there are similarities
between the two job roles.
For instance, the traditional
Chinese medicine focuses
on keeping the human body
in a good condition by using
Chinese herbs, massage and
acupuncture etc, to avoid
diseases. For tunnelling, we
also need to keep tunnels in
good conditions by taking
measures to avoid “diseases”
in advance as the traditional
Chinese doctors do.
What is the best advice you have
ever received?
“Success depends on details”. There
are many people who only want to
do big things, but few who want to
do small things carefully. In fact,
as an old Chinese saying goes, “he
who wants to accomplish a big and
difficult undertaking should start
with easier things first and make
sure that all details are attended
to.”
What advice would you give to
someone at the beginning of a
career in tunnelling
Be aware of the importance of the
ground or geology in tunnelling
and get a full understanding of it,
because it is only after this is made
clear can tunnel engineers take
specific countermeasures to avoid
the problems tunnelling through it
might cause. And finally, job-site
experience is extremely important
for working out solutions in
tunnelling.
Tunnelling Journal 23

Benefits of MFC for
Hard Rock Tunnel Grouting
By Lawrence Halls, Head of Global Marketing/Global Manager
Ground Engineering for Normet UK Ltd
Hard rock tunnelling is increasingly faced with
requirements of ground water ingress control. Too
much water ingress during excavation has always
caused practical problems in tunnelling and 1000 L/
min at the face would require steps to reduce the
consequences. However, necessary environmental
restrictions for the full length of a tunnel, both
during excavation and after commissioning may be
much more demanding. Typically, the maximum
allowed ingress limits are set to avoid ground water
lowering above the tunnel to prevent settlement
of soil deposits and damage to infrastructure, or
to protect ground water resources and vegetation.
Note that water ingress to the tunnel must always
be less than the specified limits and to wait for the
installation of some type of waterproof final lining
will typically not prevent damage.
Hundreds of kms of tunnels with varying levels
of required ingress control have demonstrated that
pre-excavation grouting (PEG) can be implemented,
either systematic, or decided based on results
from probe drilling ahead of the tunnel face.
Post grouting will typically not work or takes too
much time and effort to be economically feasible.
Occasional supplementary post grouting (after PEG
has been done) may still become locally necessary
24 Tunnelling Journal
PEG using
TamCrete MFC
and will mostly be successful.
Depending on the hydrogeological conditions
along a tunnel, the hydrostatic head and the
specified level of maximum allowed residual ingress,
the ground water ingress control works may cause
very limited additional construction time or may
more than double the required construction time.
If the tunnel encounters very wet conditions at
high water head, combined with extremely strict
maximum ingress limit, the ground water ingress
control works will become a major part of the
tunnelling work and must be planned for and
executed accordingly.
Aspects of time and economy
A lot of tunnels are excavated without a pre-defined
clear requirement regarding ground water ingress
control. For many projects and contractors hitting
a lot of water, grouting is initially disregarded as
a mitigation measure and just seen as hassle that
delays the face advance. Even when maximum
ingress is contractually specified, the dominating
attitude is typically to do as little as possible with
what seems to be the lowest possible cost. In most
cases, this leads to the use of some locally available
ordinary Portland cement (OPC).
 BENEFITS OF MFC FOR HARD ROCK TUNNEL GROUTING

When looking at the economy of using OPC or

MFC, it often becomes a problem that per-kg cost of
MFC could be 3-5 times higher than for OPC. When
larger projects may require several thousand tons
of cement, it is obvious to everybody what the extra
materials cost would be for replacing OPC by MFC.
Often, it is therefore a foregone conclusion that
OPC is selected, or that a combination of the two
alternatives is used.
The reason why simply comparing kg-prices of
cement types will give the wrong indication, has to
do with the high cost of time at the tunnel face and
the fact that MFC will save a lot of construction time.
The cost per hour of face time will show significant
variation, depending on the cross section area of
the tunnel, as well as how the time-related cost is
calculated. A contractor may include only the cost
of the resources directly involved at the tunnel face,
or he may include the contribution from the general
site operation (like site office, main workshop,
accommodations etc.). For a time-critical tunnel
face, there may even be the risk of heavy contractual
penalty for delay, which may dramatically increase
the value of an hour face time. In addition to this,
there are technical and cement consumption
aspects that influence the evaluation, as will be
covered below.
It must be considered that when using OPC for
PEG works, the material cost of cement (based on
experience) will typically be less than 5% of the total
contractor’s cost per meter of tunnel advance. Easily
70% of the contractor’s total cost will be time-
related. That is the basic reason why increasing the
cost of cement (using MFC) by 3-5 times may still be
very advantageous, when construction time can be
saved. For example:
n Often, at least 2 stages of grouting are required
per station with OPC, more than doubling the and simpler operational procedures for execution of Packer installation
waiting time and cost of waiting PEG. PEG reporting procedures are also simplified as for PEG
n Normally, OPC-consumption is higher than benefit of the one-cement case. To “save” money,
consumption of MFC to reach the same result frequently some combination of OPC and MFC is
n More time is therefore needed for pumping grout decided. The disadvantages caused by complications
when using OPC generated by PEG execution combining OPC and
n More holes are needed with OPC due to poorer MFC are typically seriously underestimated or even
distance of grout penetration disregarded entirely.
n More time is therefore needed for drilling when The reasonable conclusion in most cases is to use
using OPC MFC only, because of lower overall cost, shorter
n Results tend to be poorer using OPC construction time and significantly improved results.
n OPC may therefore cause more use of post- In short, the cement must be a pure Portland
grouting (when results are not satisfactory), which cement and not the typical blended cement with
is notoriously time-consuming and costly high content of various pozzolans and fillers. By use
of suitable admixtures, initial set will be short and
The ground improvement from PEG through controlled (around 1 hour) and final set in less than
particularly poor ground will be clearly improved 150 minutes (tested by ASTM C-191: Vicat Needle).
using MFC. One reason is that the early set and The grout must be a non-bleed grout and must
much higher grout strength provides improved still offer less than 35 s Marsh Cone time (viscosity
compressive- and shear resistance to grouted rock measured on 1 L of grout). This set of properties
joints. By improved ground water cut-off from fault is ruling out most of the available MFC types in
zones with high content of clay gouge and fines, the market that are mostly designed for soil and
the risk of hydraulic collapse and erosion/flushing foundation grouting where setting time of even 10
causing collapse is substantially reduced. hours is of no concern.
Using only one type of cement provides benefits To achieve full advantage of a decision to use MFC
of simplified and time saving site operation, which is only, it is important that the mixing and pumping
especially important at sites with complicated access equipment is adequate, that drilling ahead is efficient
and logistics for supply to the tunnel face. One single and that the Method Statement for execution of
cement type means significant supply simplification PEG is one that is tailor made for MFC. In addition,

Tunnelling Journal 25
 3- line grouting there are other considerations of high importance,
system with like choice of packers, how to add accelerator to
computer control
and data-
the grout (at the packer) when needed, and special
recording solutions for tunnel faces located in extremely poor
ground. Well educated and trained operators and
PEG foremen in the tunnel must also be in place.
Important special techniques for efficient PEG
Using OPC grout
A standard cement will typically have maximum
particle size of 3X that of TamCrete MFC, for
example, which will give limitations on grout spread
into small cracks and joints. Depending on ground
conditions and the required ground water ingress
limits, to a varying degree, this will require closer
borehole spacing than with MFC. Drilling of more
holes means more execution time.
In most cases, there will be a huge variation in
water channel conductivity along individual grout
holes of 20-30m length. The effect of this is that
the first stage grouting will consume a lot of grout
and more than 90% of the volume goes into a small
number of large channels. The medium size and
low conductivity channels may get practically no
grout, one reason being that when pump pressure
finally goes up, the contact to the borehole is already
blocked by a dry plug at the borehole wall.
After one round of grouting, several hours of
setting time is required before drilling of control
holes and next step grout holes (or start of
excavation). Because of this and attempting to
reduce the number of stages and save time, too
many first stage holes are often drilled. The problem
is that independent of number of holes in the first
stage, the more conductive channels will alone
take most of the grout, without filling the smaller
channels. Furthermore, large channels filled with
highly bleeding grout will often give residual leakage
due to the partial joint filling, which in turn may
contribute to more grouting stages being necessary.
MFC
0.03 mm
0.1 mm
OPC
0.1 mm
CS
0.016 µm
Typical maximum Using MFC
particle sizes When grouting with TamCrete MFC, one standard
mix design is typically used for almost all grouting.
This will be a non-bleed grout with low viscosity
of < 35 s Marsh Cone time and initial set in about
one hour. Stop criteria will be specified for reaching
maximum pressure at almost no flow, or maximum
quantity per hole, if pressure stop is not reached first.
Especially in first stage grouting conditions
26 Tunnelling Journal
with partly quite open channels, a lot of time and
material is saved by not pumping to refusal, which
is frequently done with OPC grouts. Stopping at
a sensible quantity allows drilling of new holes
(without waiting time for cement to set) and the
new holes of next stage will take less material and
mostly stop on pressure. Holes that do stop on
quantity (and typically limited pressure) will not give
residual leakage caused by grout bleeding and do
not depend on high pressure to squeeze out surplus
bleed water from the grout.
All projects executing PEG will experience
complications because of backflow. When placing
a packer 2-3m in front of the face (also when this is
within the grouting section overlap zone) to force
grout into the surrounding rock, part of or all the
pumped grout may run back to the tunnel through
a leak in the face, or somewhere behind the face.
TamCrete MFC reacts very well with alkali-free
sprayed concrete accelerator and with the right
dosing equipment and setup for adding accelerator
at the packer, such backflow can be shut off very
efficiently without even stopping the grout pumping
process. Using OPC, this will normally not work
and a switch to polyurethane chemical grout may
become necessary. In most cases, a lot of costly face
time and expensive materials can be saved by using
MFC and accelerator dosage.
Some tunnels will encounter wide open channels
(in dm-scale) and intermittent use of accelerator
dosage while grouting a hole can be used to push
forward the spreading grout front. This is followed
by the normal mix design (not accelerated). This will
achieve gradually increasing pumping resistance,
helping to spread normal grout into medium size
and smaller channels closer to the borehole. This
may become a very efficient tool to save materials
and time for achieving the required result by also
reducing the number of necessary grouting stages.
Use of TamCrete MFC will allow drilling of less
than 50% of the number of holes in the first stage,
compared with the normal approach with OPC. This
is possible because of the improved penetration, and
control holes and second stage holes can be drilled
without cement set waiting time. With MFC, two
stages can almost be done within the time it takes to
do stage 1 (+ waiting) using OPC.
The overall time spent to reach the required result
for one grouting station becomes much shorter
compared with OPC usage, and the time reduction
gets substantially multiplied in case of difficult
ground conditions and strict ingress requirements.

Drilling of holes and placing packers
Execution of PEG requires boreholes that typically
reach 20-30m ahead of the face. Mostly, these
holes are drilled by Ø51mm or Ø64mm drill bits.
Obviously, the time it takes to drill the holes is
important for efficiency and thereby cost of ground
water control. In D&B tunnelling, a choice may
be made to use a rod magazine and automatic
rod handling on each of the drill jumbo booms.
Of course, this comes at a cost, but when doing
systematic probe drilling and a substantial part of
the tunnel length ends up being grouted, the time
saving will often more than pay off the investment.
Such equipment on the drill jumbo will about
double the production output for boreholes up to
about 30m length.
Packer Systems
BENEFITS OF MFC FOR HARD ROCK TUNNEL GROUTING
Conclusions
Tunnel excavation without regard to ground water ingress,
other than ensuring acceptable working conditions during
construction, is no longer possible. The determining
factor is typically the effect of ground water drainage on
the surroundings and increasingly, projects are forced to
implement ground water control by grouting ahead of the
tunnel face (PEG).
To satisfy strict requirements on ground water ingress
control, experience shows that PEG is best executed by using
the right type of MFC (fast setting pure Portland cement), since
it will produce the best results and save overall project cost
due to saved construction time.
If ground water ingress restrictions are very strict, ground
water head is high and ground conditions complicated, D&B
is the superior method for successful PEG. However, there
are tunnelling cases where TBM excavation offers specific
advantages important enough to select this method, while
accepting the limitations for PEG execution.
Packers are necessary for pressure grouting and the choice
of packer type may strongly influence time and economy.
Under most conditions, the disposable expanders with non-
return valve, installed and grouted through re-usable grouting
pipes, will typically save time and money for the project.
Tunnelling Journal 27
 “Rock Beats Paper”
The Renaissance of Fairness in Ground Risk Allocation -
the new ITA/FIDIC Emerald Book - by Arnold Dix
Prof. Arnold Dix is a Lawyer, Geologist,
Barrister, Dispute Resolution
Practitioner, Technical Dispute
Avoidance Board Specialist and visiting
Professor of Engineering and ITA
Vice-President & Executive Council
Member. Professor Dix initiated and
championed the FIDIC/ITA Emerald
Book collaboration and was a joint
Tutor and peer reviewer of the Emerald
Book. Special acknowledgement
also to the founders of this project
in 2012 being Arnold Dix ITA WG3
Animateur, Enrico Vink of FIDIC and
Martin Smith ITA WG3 Secretary.
Special acknowledgment is also
made of FIDIC-ITA Task Group 10
under the Chairmanship of Matthias
Neuenschwander whom delivered the
final Emerald Book 2019 Ed along with
peer review and special GBR expertise
of Randall Essex, ITA.
The new FIDIC1/ITA2 underground consideration in an underground
works standard Contract of 2019 works contract.
heralds an international change The ITA conducted a world
in direction of apportioning risk survey of the performance
by rightly recognising the role of of subsurface construction
ground conditions in formulating projects and found that there
the reward for Contractors was a correlation between ‘on
for effort and the demand by time’ and ‘on budget’ projects
Employers for Contractors to and the use of sophisticated risk
perform. apportionment methodologies,
The apportionment of ground technically competent Employers
risk in a technical context within a and Contractors. The most
structured contractual risk sharing pertinent example came from
legal framework is an international Switzerland where the Swiss
step change in ground risk tunnelling Contracts tended
apportionment. This new Contract to result in a greater degree of
is known as the Emerald Book, certainty of quality, cost and
2019 Ed. It is based upon FIDIC’s timeframe outputs.
highly successful Conditions of A detailed analysis of the
Contract for Plant and Design- Swiss suite of contracts also
Build, FIDIC’s Yellow Book. revealed that they were tailored
The ITA, Contractual Practices to a European context and
Group, chaired by the author, therefore, despite being the
produced “The ITA Contractual most sophisticated contracts
Framework Checklist for identified, were not considered
Subsurface Construction readily transferrable to
Contracts” of April 20113. This becoming a default international
document (now in review for 2nd model, although their merit in
Edition), was the first articulation sophisticated and experienced
of the special subjects requiring subsurface construction countries
28 Tunnelling Journal
is undeniable.
The ITA then set about a process
of identifying key global ‘off the
shelf’ standard form Contracts
that might become the base for
a new global underground works
template.
Several international
organisations were approached to
collaborate with ITA to formulate
a bespoke global underground
works contract – FIDIC rose to the
challenge and a joint task force was
established. After more than 5 years
of collaboration between experts
from more than 40 countries the
first edition of the joint FIDIC/
ITA conditions of contract for
underground works was released
in May 2019 as the Emerald Book,
2019 Ed. It is anticipated that the
Emerald Book will be the first of
many underground works specific
forms of contract. ITA’s objective is
to develop a global culture for fair
risk apportionment in underground
works.
Under the new Emerald Book,
FIDIC arrangements, commercial
tension is directed to the price for
construction and associated works
for the execution of the excavation
and lining works including design
and construction methods and
the reaction of the ground to
such methods. The geotechnical
baseline report (GBR) sets out the
allocation of the risk between the
parties for such subsurface physical
conditions.
The Employer has the ability
within the GBR to throttle the
level of ground risk by defining the
ground conditions for the purposes
of obtaining a bid. The Employer
is not required to draft a ‘correct’
GBR – the GBR merely serves as
the measure by which the Works
and their rate of construction by
the Contractor will be linked to the
agreed price. The specific wording
of the GBR is the way in which the
risk of ground conditions variability
is apportioned. The GBR is the
point of reference for adjusting

the Contract remuneration and
timing. It is not, and never was
intended to be, a dissertation
on the underground conditions
in an academic or theoretical
sense. Sometimes boffins get
confused about the GBR – it
is not the trigger for infinite
ground investigation – it is just an
articulation of a base line so that
performance and reward can
be measured.
The GBR formulation
will directly influence the
allocation of risk. An overly
cautious GBR may result in
higher bid prices, whereas
an overly simplified GBR
may excuse a Contractor
from otherwise foreseeable
risks.
Under the provisions
of the Emerald Book
arrangements the
Contractor is expected to
perform in accordance
with its bid and is
rewarded or punished
by referencing the
contracted technical
conditions. For the
Employer this means
that they can rely upon
the Contractor to perform as
warranted under the contract
– demanding the competence,
skill and expertise required to
undertake the anticipated task.
For the Contractor it means
that where the encountered
conditions and reaction of the
ground is not as warranted by the
Employer, there is a mechanism
to adjust the terms of the contract
to compensate them for the
unanticipated conditions.
The attraction of this new
FIDIC - ITA Emerald Book
contract framework is that for
the most part it draws upon
the well-known normal FIDIC
forms of contracting providing
reassurance to Employers,
Contractors and banks that the
allocation of risks, mechanisms for
dispute and conduct of contract
management are sound, reliable
and internationally understood.
Innovative features of the
new Emerald Book include
a contractual mechanism to
extend or shorten the time for
completion, adjustments to
remuneration and a focus on
the expertise of the Contractor.
Importantly these innovations are
linked to the GBR and therefore
the rock. In this way “rock beats
paper” because remuneration
is based upon fact and not
manoeuvring for variations and
other elaborate legal mechanisms.
It is expected that the Emerald
Book will provide thought
leadership to
Employers, lawyers, bankers and
insurers about alternative means
of appropriately apportioning
risk in large underground works
projects. While the Emerald
Book is definitely not applicable
to delivering all projects, it
provides thought leadership
that will contribute to equitable
apportionment of risk between
the State and Contractors and
thereby protect all parties from
windfall losses and gains driven by
unexpected ground conditions.
As Sir Harold Harding has said:5
“The only bore hole that can
be relied upon to describe the
ground conditions precisely
would be one the length of the
tunnel and several feet larger
in diameter.”
Let us hope that the Emerald Book
assists the world to responsibly
deliver the underground
infrastructure it so desperately
needs without destroying the
construction industry upon which
ROCK BEATS PAPER
the projects rely.
The author laments that in
countries such as Australia the
results of unfair risk apportionment
have decreased the number of
local contracting companies,
capable and willing to assume
subsurface risks, despite an
Australian subsurface
construction ‘boom’. The
consequences on cost,
delivery times and quality
of such practices remains
to be seen, but it is almost
certain unfair ground risk
apportionment will adversely
impact the outcomes.
Hopefully the Emerald Book
will encourage parties to
reembrace the concepts of
fairness in contracting.
Key Features of the
Emerald Book
1. Underground Works
As noted in the forward to the
Emerald Book 2019 Ed.6:
“Compared to other works,
underground works are
predominately characterised by
three unique features:
n The method of excavation
and ground support are major
factors for the successful
realization of the project, and
therefore part of the Works;
n Physical access to the Works
is often limited to just a few
locations or even a single
location, which places serious
constraints on construction
logistics and the environment;
and
n The land beneath which the
Works are to be constructed,
typically belongs to a number of
parties.
Further there are two other
important features that are not
unique to underground works, but
which are characteristic of all such
works:
n They require extensive
investment in Contractor’s
equipment; and
n Underground excavation and
lining works are very time-
consuming.”
The Emerald Book notes that
it is essential that the employer
gives careful consideration
to all of these key features of
Tunnelling Journal 29
 underground works projects
during the preparation of tender
documentation because the
successful completion of the
works and the ability of a tenderer
to rightly price the works is a
direct function of these unique
and fundamental features of
underground works projects.
2. The Priority of Contractual
Documents
To understand how the Emerald
Book Contract works, demands
knowledge of what lawyer’s call,
‘priority of documents’. Under
the Contract the documents are
ordered in decreasing ‘priority’.
The Contract agreement itself has
the highest priority and the lowest
priority is accorded to documents
like the Geotechnical Data Report
(GDR), the Risk Register and even
the Contract Risk Management
Plan.
The Contract data, the
Completion Schedule and the
Schedule of Baselines are a higher
priority than the GBR. And the
GBR has a higher priority than
even the Employers Requirements,
General Conditions, Contractors
Proposal and even Joint Venture
undertakings.7
It is this priority of requirements
that drives certainty in an Emerald
Book project. Uncertainty of
requirements is cured by the
priority of the document in which
they appear.
The Completion Schedule and
the Schedule of Baselines provide
the trigger for intervention by
the Employer’s Engineer. This
is how risk is fairly apportioned.
The Contractor is expected to
do the job as they tendered in
accordance with the agreed
schedule – this is the priority
under the Contract. If conditions
are not as expected and loss is
incurred then, and only then, is
the Employer liable. This Contract
focuses on the engineering, the
excavation and the lining. The
Contract is intentionally directed
away from lawyers except for
its proper administration in
accordance with law which
includes the professional conduct
of the major actors under the
Contract – especially the Engineer.
3. The Engineer
As foreshadowed above the
Engineer plays a central role in
30 Tunnelling Journal
administration of the Emerald
Book conditions. The Engineer is
deemed to act for the Employer8.
However, the Engineer must, at
all times, act professionally and
in relation to some special duties
must:
‘… act neutrally between the
Parties and shall not be deemed to
act for the Employer’ 9.
The duty to act fairly10 in relation
to Claims is overarching and
implies a range of administrative
and quasi-judicial characteristics.
This overarching requirement of
fairness underpins the success of
an Emerald Book underground
works project. As would be
expected there is a mechanism
to challenge an Engineer’s
decision11 which results in the
Dispute Avoidance Board (“DAB”)
undertaking a decision review and,
failing compliance with the DAB’s
decision an arbitration mechanism
is provided12. The Engineer is at the
heart of the administration of an
Emerald Book project.
4. The Employers Requirements
The Employers requirements are
included as part of the Contract
and describe the purposes for
which the works are intended
and specifies the Contractors
key personnel and any special
equipment, project scope
preliminary design carried out
by or on behalf of the Employer
(Employer’s Reference Design)
and design or other performance
technical and evaluation criteria
for the Works. It is essential to
recognise that these requirements
are subordinate to the
Geotechnical Baseline Report13.
This means that if the ground
conditions are not as expected
or are as expected but do not
accommodate the Employers
requirements, a Notice must
be issued to the Engineer for
clarification14. This highlights the
priority given to the GBR and how
it drives behaviour of parties under
the Contract.
5. The Geotechnical Baseline
Report
The Geotechnical Baseline Report
(“GBR”) is defined within the
Emerald Book as15:
“The report entitled Geotechnical
Baseline Report as included in
the Contract that describes the
subsurface physical conditions
to serve as the basis for the
execution of the Excavation and
Lining Works, including design
and construction methods, and
the reaction of the ground to
such methods. The GBR sets out
the allocation of the risk between
the parties for such subsurface
physical conditions.”
It is essential to understand that
legally the GBR is not a statement
of truth about the actual rock
conditions. The GBR describes
the basis for the execution of the
excavations and lining works,
but, it does not warrant that it
is correct. The Emerald Book
Contract provides the mechanism
for what occurs commercially,
if it is correct, and also what
occurs and how time and cost are
adjusted if it is not correct. This is
at the heart of the Emerald Book
risk apportionment model.
Of course, it will usually be
better if the GBR closely describes
the basis for the execution of
the excavations and lining works
because in such cases the cost and
schedule bid will more likely match
the project outcome. However,
the fundamental point is, if the
GBR is wrong there is a pre-agreed
mechanism to adjust the price and
schedule.
To balance the GBR a
“Geotechnical Data Report”,
the GDR16, is also included in
the Contract and it contains the
geological geotechnical and
hydrogeological data deemed to
be in the employers’ possession at
the Base Date.
The Base Date17 is a contractually
defined term which means the
date 28 days before the latest date
for submission of the Tender.
When viewed in combination
these provisions allow an
Employer to go to market and
engage bidders with a high
degree of commercial tension and
allow bidders to aggressively bid
based on a common and agreed
base case for the underground
conditions.
Utilising this contractual
framework, the mechanism
for payment and time can be
adjusted if and when unexpected
conditions are encountered. By
entering into a Contract with the
prospect and mechanism for
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Tunnelling Journal 31
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32 Tunnelling Journal

dealing with differing conditions
agreed in advance the risks are
more fairly allocated.
If the Contractor fails to deal
with the anticipated ground
conditions appropriately, they
will be punished commercially.
If the ground conditions are
not as expected the time and
remuneration can be adjusted
using mechanisms and even
rates agreed in advance. To
some considerable extent this
removes the gambling component
of pricing the ground risk and
encourages Contractors to focus
on substantive issues such as
expertise, excavation, mining
and support works, design and
construction methods.
Of course, there is still a
place for the legal team – but
the focus shifts from exploring
exotic means of extracting
money from an Employer (or
defending such actions) to
examining and evidencing actual
conditions encountered and how
the project responds to them
within the context of a highly
regulated Emerald Book disputes
mechanism.
Importantly the Emerald Book
also deals with lengthening and
shortening the project duration as
a function of ground conditions.
This is a very powerful mechanism
from within the Contract –
especially so because these
projects can span many years,
even decades.
6. Time for Completion of
Underground Works
The Emerald Book specifies
the Time for Completion and
contemplates the Time for
Completion concept being
divisible into sections of a project
or even milestones and as part of
the Contractor’s proposal. The
“Completion Schedule” takes on a
special meaning18. The Completion
Schedule is included in the
Contract and states the Time for
Completion for permanent and
temporary Works, any part of the
works defined in the Contract,
any milestones (completion of
excavation and completion of
lining are deemed milestones19)
and setting out the logical
sequential links between each
Time for Completion20 are not
negotiable Contract deliverables.
What is different is that the Time
for Completion is specified as a
number of days to which is added
any extensions of time that the
Contractor is entitled to. Grounds
for extensions of time include:
n A change in the Employer’s
requirements (a variation)
n Exceptionally adverse climatic
conditions (unforeseeable
having regards to the climatic
data made available by the
employer and/or climatic data
published in the country for that
geographic location)
n Unforeseeable shortages in
personnel or goods caused by
epidemic or government action
n Any delay impediment or
prevention caused by or
attributable to the employer, the
employer’s personnel, or the
employer’s other Contractors on
the site21
n The results of measurement of
the excavation and lining works22
If the Contractor has diligently
followed the procedures laid
down by the relevant legally
constituted public authorities or
private utility entities in the country
and those authorities or entities
delay or disrupt the Contractor’s
work and the delay or disruption
was foreseeable then this delay
or disruption is considered
grounds for extension of Time for
Completion23.
On the other hand if actual
progress is too slow to complete
the Works, a section, to meet
a Milestone or if progress has
fallen behind the program then
the Engineer may instruct the
Contractor to submit a revised
program describing revised
methods the Contractor proposes
to expediate progress and
complete the Works Section or
meet any Milestones within the
Time for Completion. These
proposals are entirely at the
Contractors expense and may
even be the subject of a claim by
the Employer for additional costs
incurred24.
In this way the Contractor is at
risk for failing to meet the agreed
contractual timelines for project
delivery due to its failure to meet
its promises under the Contract
but the Employer is responsible
for consequences arising from
ground conditions outside the
GBR or other circumstances in the
Employer’s control or departing
ROCK BEATS PAPER
unforeseeably from the site data
provided under the Contract.
7. Use of the Geotechnical
Baseline Report
Under the Contract the Contractor
is deemed to have based their
Tender and their proposal for
excavation and lining works on
the subsurface physical conditions
and ground reactions described
in the GBR. Even if there are other
documents and the data made
available to the Contractor during
Tender that suggest otherwise
– the GBR is paramount25. The
Contractor is also deemed as far
as ‘practicable’ to have obtained
all necessary information as to
risks, contingencies and other
circumstances which may
influence or affect the Tender
or Works and to have as far as
‘practicable’ examined the site, its
surroundings and other available
information on:
n Form and nature of site and
adjacent structures
n Hydrological and climatic
conditions
n Extent and nature of the work
and goods necessary for the
execution of the works
n The laws, procedures and labour
practices of the country
n The Contractor’s requirements
for access, accommodation,
facilities, personnel, power,
transport, water and any other
utilities and services26
8. Price
Under the Emerald Book there is
an Accepted Contract Amount for
the Works. That amount is deemed
to cover all of the Contractors
obligations under the Contract and
all things necessary for the proper
execution of Works in accordance
with the Contract27.
Project delays and additional
costs actually incurred are
recoverable as a result of
subsurface physical conditions
actually encountered that are
outside the limits described in the
GBR28.
There is a strict mechanism
for giving the Engineer notice of
such unforeseeable conditions
which have or are likely to have an
adverse effect on progress or cost.
Notice must:
n Be given as soon as practicable
and in good time to allow the
Engineer opportunity to inspect
Tunnelling Journal 33
 and investigate the physical
conditions properly and before
they are disturbed
n Describe the physical conditions,
so that they can be inspected
and/or investigated promptly by
the Engineer
n Set out the reasons why the
Contractor considers the
physical conditions to be
Unforeseeable
n Describe how the physical
conditions will adversely affect
progress and/or increase the
cost of the execution of the
Works
Ideally the Notice should include
proposals for measures to be
taken to further investigate
or mitigate such physical
conditions29.
9. Engineers Duties
The Emerald Book imposes strict
requirements mandating the
Engineer:
‘inspect and investigate
the physical conditions …
immediately …’ 30
all within a period of days as
agreed with the Contractor. At the
same time and during this period
the Contractor is required to
continue execution of the Works
using such proper and reasonable
measures as are appropriate for
the physical conditions while also
enabling the Engineer to inspect
and investigate them.
10. Unforeseen Physical
Conditions Not Described in GBR
At the heart of the Emerald Book
risk apportionment is the delay
and cost provision which clearly
states that if the Contractor
encounters physical conditions
that will have an adverse effect on
the progress or increase the cost
of the execution of the Works and
they are not described in the GBR
then:31
‘If and to the extent that the
Contractor suffers delay and/
or incurs Cost due to these
physical conditions [those having
an adverse effect on progress
and/or increased the cost of the
execution of the Works] … the
Contractor shall be entitled … [to]
payment of such Cost.’ 32
11. Time Related Charges
Underground works projects
have especially high costs of
34 Tunnelling Journal
investment in areas such as
equipment and large depreciation
costs, interest and overheads.
This means, that an atypically
high proportion of the cost to
the Contractor is time related
while the remainder of the cost
depends on the volume or
quantity of the performed works.
As a result, the Emerald Book
specifically provides adjustment
of Time for Completion due
to the difference between
the contractually agreed and
the encountered subsurface
physical conditions. This means
a departure to the conditions
encountered in the GBR may
also lead to an adjustment of
the Contractors renumeration
for time related charges. The Bill
of Quantities for Excavation and
Lining Works33 should distinguish
between time related rate items,
quantity related items and fixed
rate items for the performance
of the Works34. The Time for
Completion can be shortened
or extended and the financial
consequences of such changes
will depend upon the reason
for the change. In all cases the
variation in Contract Price is
adjusted by having regard to
measurements, appropriate rates
and prices for items in the Bill of
Quantities35.
12. Payment for Excavation and
Lining Works
Normally only the excavation
and lining works are subject to
measurement and the accepted
Contract amount is deemed to
cover all other underground
works and all things necessary
for the proper execution and
completion of the Contract.
Furthermore, if, and only to
the extent that the Contractor
suffers delay, and/or incurs
costs as a result of subsurface
physical conditions actually
encountered that are outside
the limits described in the GBR
those costs and delay are also
dealt with under the Contracts
unforeseeable physical conditions
provisions. Practically this
means that once such physical
conditions are encountered the
Contractor must give notice
to the Engineer, and a timely
investigation be conducted and
if factually proven an award for
payment to the Contractor made.
13. Process for Award Payment
Either party can claim under
the Emerald Book. Importantly
there are strict timelines for
making claims.This means that
the common practice of ‘keeping
your powder dry’ by not making
claims as they arise has no place
under the Emerald Book. For
example, the claiming party must
make their claim to the Engineer
as soon as practicable, but in
any case, not later than 28 days
after becoming aware (or should
have been aware) of the event or
circumstances causing the claim
.36 If they fail to make the claim
within time they are deemed to
be not entitled to any additional
payment. However, if the
Engineer does not take objection
to an out of time claim within 14
days after receiving the Notice,
then the Notice is considered
valid even though it is out of
time. In this way the dynamics of
Notice and Claims is maintained
while keeping the focus on the
engineering events which underly
the Claims37.
There is also a mechanism with
strict time limits for providing
the full details of the Claim.
In the case of excavation and
lining Works it must be to the
rates and prices in the Bill of
Quantities. Contemporary records
are an essential component in
substantiating a Claim and have
special weight in determining the
Claim38.
Conclusions
The Emerald Book marks a critical
step change in global recognition
of the importance of ground
conditions when apportioning
risk in subsurface construction
projects. The collaborative
multinational effort of FIDIC/ITA
provides a transparent example
of how ground risks can be fairly
and responsibly managed. This
mechanism provides a framework
in which Contractors are
rewarded for effort and punished
for incompetence and Employers
gain the benefit of transparent risk
sharing including reduced cost.
The global construction industry
is highly stressed, in part due to
the adoption of ill-informed and
unfair practices in the allocation
of ground risk. Countries such
as Australia are testament to
the consequences of unfair risk
 ROCK BEATS PAPER

allocation contributing to local
contracting capacity having been
severely impacted in the face
of lawful but unfair ground risk
allocation in contractual practices
by Clients.
In projects such as Snowy 2.0
in Australia there is evidence
that more appropriate risk
sharing is finding its way into
large underground infrastructure
projects even before the release
of the Emerald book in May 2019.
The world is likely in the process
of rediscovering the value of fair
contracting practices and the
Emerald Book is likely part of that
renaissance process.
ITA’s continued objective is to
cultivate a global appetite and
culture for fair risk apportionment
in underground works.
A recalibration of focus on
the substantive engineering
and technical resolution of
disputes is a healthy sign that
the resources of a project will be
directed to achieving the desired
infrastructure outcome. The
big winners of fairer Contracts
will be our societies because
it will be easier to maintain
competition in a market
focused on engineering and not
gamesmanship and gambling
about ground conditions. The
use of global Contracts may
also provide some comfort to
foreign lenders and Contractors
considering doing business in
foreign countries. It is expected
that ITA will collaborate with
other global Contract providers
to provide new examples of
fair risk allocation for other
procurement strategies serving
the global underground
construction demand.

What is EPDM rubber compound?

1. FIDIC, the International Federation of Consulting Engineers, (the Fédération Internationale des Ingénieurs-Conseils) is the
global representative body for national associations of consulting engineers.
2. Founded in 1974, the International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association (ITA) aims to encourage the use of the
subsurface for the benefit of public, environment and sustainable development and to promote advances in planning,
design, construction, maintenance and safety of tunnels and underground space. ITA is supported by 75 Member Nations
and 310 Affiliate Members.
3. “The ITA Contractual Framework Checklist for Subsurface Construction Contracts”, April 2011, ISBN 978-2-9700634-7-9.
4. The Yellow Book in turn was published by FIDIC as an update of the FIDIC 1999 Conditions of Contract for Plant and
Design-Build (Yellow Book), First Edition.
5. Sir Harold Harding DSc, BSc (Eng), FEng, Presidential Address, Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers, November
1963.
6. Opening Notes - Emerald Book.
7. Emerald Book 2019 Ed., Clause 1.5
8. Emerald Book 2019 Ed., Clause 3.2.1
9. Emerald Book 2019 Ed., Clause 3.7
10. Emerald Book 2019 Ed., Clause 3.7.2
11. Emerald Book 2019 Ed., Notice of Dissatisfaction of the Engineers Determination, Clause 21.4
12. Emerald Book 2019 Ed., Clause 21.6
13. Emerald Book 2019 Ed., Clause 1.1.39
14. Emerald Book 2019 Ed., Clause 1.5
15. Emerald Book 2019 Ed., Clause 1.1.51
16. Emerald Book 2019 Ed., Clause 1.1.52
17. Emerald Book 2019 Ed., Clause 1.1.4
18. Emerald Book 2019 Ed., Clause 1.1.8
19. Emerald Book 2019 Ed., Clause 1.1.63
20. Emerald Book 2019 Ed., Clause 1.1.8
21. Emerald Book 2019 Ed., Clause 8.5
22. Emerald Book 2019 Ed., Clause 13.8
23. Emerald Book 2019 Ed., Clause 8.6
24. Emerald Book 2019 Ed., Clause 8.7
25. Emerald Book 2019 Ed., Clause 4.10.2
26. Emerald Book 2019 Ed., Clause 4.10.1
27. Emerald Book 2019 Ed., Clause 4.11
28. Emerald Book 2019 Ed., Clause 13.8
29. Emerald Book 2019 Ed., Clause 4.12.1
30. Emerald Book 2019 Ed., Clause 4.12.2
31. Emerald Book 2019 Ed., Clause 4.12
32. Emerald Book 2019 Ed., Clause 4.12.4
33. Emerald Book 2019 Ed., Clause 13.8.2
34. Emerald Book 2019 Ed., Clause 13.8.3
35. Emerald Book 2019 Ed., Clause 13.8.4
36. Emerald Book 2019, Ed., Clause 20.2.1
37. Emerald Book 2019, Ed., Clause 20.2.2
38. Emerald Book 2019 Ed., Clause 20.2.3

Tunnelling Journal 35
 PRODUCT NEWS

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Work is forging ahead
intensively on all contract
sections – both on the
Italian as well as the Austrian
side - and in the €380M
Tulfes-Pfons construction lot
near Innsbruck (Austria) the
exploratory tunnel has already
been driven 14km. Sebastian
Grüllich, TBM construction
manager in Tulfes-Pfons
(technical management,
Salini-Impregilo) describes
the progress of the work:
“Our contract section with
STRABAG as technical
manager embraces the
production of around 40km
of tunnel, with some 25km
with a dry mortar pre-mixed
at the factory. Once the
backfill concept had been
given the go-ahead by the
STRABAG/Salini-Impregilo
consortium, the MAI®440GE
mixing pump from the
Austrian manufacturer MAI®
International was an obvious
choice. “The unique design
of the mortar mixing pump
sets new standards regarding
process safety, and constant
quality and consistency
of the backfill mortar are
assured thanks to the dual
mixing system. In addition, FIG 1. Overview of the entire system of the Brenner Base Tunnel between
a complete documentation Austria in the north (on the left) and Italy in the south (on the right)
has been agreed on with the
client for the pump’s most
important operating data
such as pressure, grouting
quantity, injected volume
and water flow. Therefore,
for reasons governing quality
assurance the water-cement
value of the installed cement
can be verified retroactively.
This is accomplished with
the MAI®LOG data logging
unit, which records the
corresponding data every 10
seconds”, explains Grüllich. Above: Invert segment with the
“Operation of the mortar mixing pump MAI®440GE (on
equipment is self-explanatory the left) for backfilling between the
so that anyone can operate invert segment and rock
it following a short period Left: The MAI®440GE’s dual mixing
of instruction. As a result, a system caters for constant quality and
single person is capable of consistency of the backfill mortar

being tackled by drill and blast placing and backfilling the

or NATM and approx 15km
with an open gripper TBM.
The excavated cubic volume
amounts to around 2.3 million
m3. Furthermore, 430,000m3
of structural concrete is being
processed for the inner lining.
An 8m diameter Gripper TBM
from Herrenknecht is boring
the exploratory tunnel, which
is driven from the Ahrental
access tunnel towards the
south”.
In the exploratory tunnel,
invert segments are installed
some 30m behind the TBM
cutterhead according to
progress. They are backfilled
invert segments. Furthermore,
the need for maintenance
is reduced to a minimum
thanks to the robust design.
We place great importance
on ensuring that all wear parts
can be replaced in a speedy
and straightforward manner.
For us that represents an
important design feature”,
explains Hannes Papousek,
MAI® International’s
managing director. The
compact mixing pump and
the data logging equipment
were assembled directly
below the dry mortar
container in October 2015
and since then roughly 7,000
t of mortar grouted.
Grüllich described why it is
so essential that the control
and mixing process must
be absolutely in harmony
when the invert segments
are backfilled: “Roughly 8m
behind the segment placing
and backfilling area, the two
lateral drive units of the TBM
support run on the backfilled
invert segments. The weight
introduced by each drive
unit amounts to some 75 t.
Consequently, complete
and secure backfilling of the
annular gap is imperative
in order to safeguard the
load capacity or immediate
resilience of the backfilled
invert segments. It is made
sure by separating the mixer
and pump and the automatic
process cycle that the
selected consistency of the
backfill mortar is guaranteed
during the backfill phase
without visual monitoring on
the part of the operator”.

36 Tunnelling Journal
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 Contact us
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38 Tunnelling Journal
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Tunnelling Journal 39
 September 2019

www.tunnelingjournal.com

Looking back
at Akron
North American Tunneling Journal 1
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Together let’s aim for the best.
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2 North American Tunneling Journal

Comment
The complete toolbox
Contents
News from the web - page 4
In ITA President, Jenny Yan’s ‘15 minutes with…’ The Insider - page 6
interview in Tunnelling Journal this issue,

08
she remarks how irritating she finds it when Looking back at Akron
engineers on a project have no respect for the With tunneling well and truly behind them, the
ground ahead, or even consider the inherent contractor and designer on Akron City’s Ohio Canal
risks associated with not having a decent Interceptor Tunnel look back over the challenges of
understanding of it! a drive that encompassed soft ground, hard ground
As a Mine Geologist in what feels like a and, in places, very little cover. By Kristina Smith.
completely previous life, I wholeheartedly agree
with her, as I’m sure will the authors of the
very interesting paper, ‘Engineering geology
as applied to tunneling projects’ on p14 of this
issue of NATJ!
It seems inexplicable to me that anybody
who works underground would not want to
be as completely aware of the composition
of their surrounding environment as possible.
Your local geology and hydrology will dictate
the success of your chosen machinery and
methodology. It’s pretty much that simple. The
finest of TBM will struggle in ground it is not
best prepared for.

14
As we all know, much depends on how well Engineering geology as applied to
prepared and thorough a project’s GBR is, and tunneling projects
we also all know that it is not unheard of for
Alan L. Howard, PG, CEG; Brierley Associates, J.
these to be somewhat lacking in quality! So to Ike Isaacson, PG, CEG, PE, GE; Brierley Associates,
have an expert at hand to guide you through and Dr. Gary S. Brierley, PE; Dr. Mole Incorporated
the potential pit falls associated with the GBR discuss the importance of Engineering Geology in
would be worth their weight in gold. Tunnel Design
I know us geologists can sometimes be a
little over-sensitive, especially when you tease
us about our coloured pencils, but to not take
full advantage of often decades of experience
learning about the very ground conditions you
are diving head long into seems like potential
professional negligence!
So, give your Geo a hug, lay off on his
colouring in skills, and give yourself the
best possible chance right from the get-go,
of getting through with the minimum of
geological surprises.
In an industry as challenging as tunneling, it
would seem crazy not to!

Tris Thomas

20
Waterproofing solutions
NATJ queried several companies that offer varied
waterproofing solutions to learn what is new – and,
in some cases, to see what has proven successful in
tunneling applications around the world.

North American Tunneling Journal 3


Delaware Aqueduct Bypass Tunnel Breakthrough
The New York City Department of
Environmental Protection (NYC DEP)
has completed excavation of the 2.5-
mile (4km) long Delaware Aqueduct
Bypass Tunnel, a significant milestone
in the $1bn effort to repair leaks in the
longest tunnel in the world. Completion
was marked when the Kiewit-Shea JV’s
21.6ft (6.58m) diameter Robbins TBM
broke through a wall of shale bedrock
nearly 700ft (213m) beneath the Town
of Wappinger, in Dutchess County,
on August 15, 2019. Excavation of the
tunnel was completed on budget and
ahead of schedule.
“I want to congratulate the engineers,
project managers and local laborers
who steered us toward this milestone
with considerable skill and precision,”
DEP Commissioner Vincent Sapienza
said. “Holing through is a major
achievement for any tunneling project,
especially one as large and complex as
our repair of the Delaware Aqueduct.”
The $30M TBM arrived at the worksite
in Newburgh in 2017 and took four
months to assemble. It was built to
withstand more than 30 bar of pressure
– believed to be the most of any
TBM ever manufactured – as workers
encountered huge inflows of water
under immense pressure when the
aqueduct was first built more than 70
years ago. The TBM was equipped with
pumps to remove up to 2,500 gallons
of water per minute away from the
tunnel as the machine pushed forward.
The Robbins TBM began excavation
Bessac awarded Annacis Island Outfall
Bessac and its joint venture partner
Pomerleau Inc, has been awarded a
CA$184 million contract by Metro-
Vancouver to construct a new outfall
pipeline from the Annacis Island
Wastewater Treatment Plant (WTP)
to the Fraser River, in Vancouver,
Canada.
The scope of works for the project
consists of the construction of two
40m deep shafts, one at 15m and one
at 10m diameter, inside the WTP; two
4.20m internal diameter segmentally
lined tunnels (200m and 580m long);
a river riser in the Fraser River; a 280m
long, 2.5m diameter, diffuser buried
4 North American Tunneling Journal
NORTH AMERICAN NEWS
Delaware TBM Breakthrough
of the tunnel on January 8, 2018. The
machine mined 12,448 feet during
the 582 days that it pushed eastward
from its starting point nearly 900ft
(275m) below the surface in the Town
of Newburgh in Orange County.
According to data tracked by DEP, the
machine excavated 89.8 linear feet
on its most productive day, 354.8 feet
during its best week, and 945 feet
during its most productive month.
The TBM excavated through three
bedrock formations, starting with the
Normanskill shale formation on the
west side of the Hudson River, the
Wappinger Group limestone formation,
and finishing in the Mt. Merino shale
formation on the east side of the river.
During the excavation, the TBM was
driven, maintained and supported
in the Fraser River bottom; and a new
water control structure.
The Annacis Island Wastewater
Treatment Plant is one of the region’s
largest wastewater treatment facilities.
Metro Vancouver is increasing the
capacity of the current facility to meet
the needs of the region’s growing
population.
The new outfall location and design
will ensure that treated effluent is spread
out over a broad area underwater to
maximize dilution and minimize the
impact on the environment. Once the
new pipe is complete it is expected to
meet the regional growth needs for the
24-hours/day, six days a week. The
TBM lined the shale and limestone
bedrock with a total of 2,488 precast
concrete rings. Now that mining is
finished, DEP will begin to install 16ft
(4.8m) diameter steel liners inside the
first layer of concrete. After the 230
steel liners are installed and welded
together, they will be coated with a
second layer of concrete. This “triple-
pass” design will provide the bypass
tunnel with structural stability and
prevent leaks from occurring again in
the future.
The Delaware Aqueduct Bypass
Tunnel is the largest repair project in
the 177-year history of New York City’s
water supply system. When the project
is finished in 2023, the bypass tunnel
will be connected to structurally sound
portions of the existing Delaware
Aqueduct on either side of the Hudson
River to convey water around a leaking
section of the tunnel. The 85-mile-
long Delaware Aqueduct, the longest
tunnel in the world, typically conveys
about half of New York City’s drinking
water from reservoirs in the Catskills.
The project will mark the first time
that the Delaware Aqueduct will be
drained since 1958. In 2013, DEP
installed new pumps inside a shaft
at the lowest point of the Delaware
Aqueduct to dewater the existing
tunnel before it is connected to the
new bypass tunnel. Those pumps will
be tested several times before the
tunnel is drained in 2022.
next 100 years while ensuring greater
seismic resilience and continuous,
reliable and safe management of
liquid waste.

Lane to be awarded Seattle Ship Canal Tunnel
On August 9, 2019, Seattle Public
Utilities (SPU) reached an important
milestone when the City of Seattle
issued a “Notice of Intent to Award”
the Ship Canal Tunnel project to Lane
Construction having verified bid and
bidder contract requirements.
Lane, a subsidiary of Salini Impregilo,
was the lowest of seven bidders for the
project, with a bid of $254.9 million.
Other bids included Kiewit-McNally
JV ($297.2 million), Traylor-Shea JV
($320.7 million), Tunnel Storage JV
($335.9 million), Barnard Walsh ($336.3
million), Michels ($344 million), and
Kenny Construction ($356.9 million).
The engineer’s estimate was $218
million.
As one of the two largest
components of the Ship Canal Water
Quality (SCWQ) program, the tunnel
project includes a 14,000ft (4.26km)
long storage tunnel with an internal
diameter of 18.83ft (5.74m) and
a storage capacity of 29.2 million
gallons.
“We expect to execute the contract
with Lane Construction in mid-
September and are very excited about
working with them on the largest
construction package in our program,”
SCWQ Project Executive, Keith
Ward, told NATJ. “In addition to Lane
Construction’s contract, the program
also includes an early works project,
which will be completed in October,
a deep Tunnel Effluent Pump Station
(TEPS), and two conveyance projects.”
Combined sewage overflows (CSOs)
will be intercepted and sent to the
tunnel via a series of new diversion
structures, which route them to one of
five new drop structures. Connecting
the drop structures to the new 80ft to
110ft deep (24.4m-33.5m) tunnel will
require five shafts ranging in diameter
from 11ft to 86ft (3.4m-26.2m), and
depths up to 110ft; an approximately
650ft long (198m), 94in. i.d. (2.39m)
curved microtunnel beneath the Lake
Washington Ship Canal; and two short
conventionally mined adits, each
having a finished internal diameter of
8ft (2.4m).
“Our program, once completed,
means cleaner water and less pollution
in Seattle’s waterways,” says Ward.
“In 2018, 84% of the City of Seattle’s
combined sewer overflow volume
NORTH AMERICAN NEWS
was from outfalls that this program
will address. Procurement milestones
are proof that this important work is
moving forward well.”
SCWQP is being delivered in
response to an EPA Consent Decree,
and under a Joint Project Agreement
between SPU and King County, with
the goal of limiting CSOs in the Seattle
neighborhoods of Ballard, Fremont,
Queen Anne, and Wallingford to no
more than one overflow per year on
average for each of the seven affected
outfalls. Achieving this goal will keep
Design-build procurement begins for
third phase of Narragansett Bay CSO
Program
Narragansett Bay Commission
(NBC), Stantec, and Pare Corporation
have kicked off the procurement
process for the third and final phase
of NBC’s Combined Sewer Overflow
(CSO) Program, a project 20 years
in the making. NBC, which operates
wastewater collection and treatment
facilities for 10 member communities
in Rhode Island, has led the three-
phase program designed to reduce
overflow volumes by 98% and treat
stormwater before it flows into the
Narragansett Bay.
The project team recently hosted
an industry outreach event to
provide a program update and
share details regarding the Phase III
procurement process. This phase
has been subdivided into four
sub-phases. The first and largest
sub-phase includes construction of
the Pawtucket Tunnel, which will
be procured by NBC as a Fixed-
Price Design-Build contract. The
Pawtucket Tunnel Design-Build
Request for Qualifications (RFQ)
were issued in August 2019, with
notice to proceed to be issued
in December 2020. The tunnel is
expected to be operational in 2026
at an anticipated construction cost
of $245 million.
As the lead designer and program
manager for Phase III, Stantec, with
NORTH AMERICAN NEWS
nearly 80 million gallons of polluted
water out of Seattle waterways
each year, as these affected outfalls
currently average more than 130
overflows per year.
teaming partner Pare Corporation,
utilized proprietary WARi™
(Weighted Average Residential
index) methodology to analyze
affordability scenarios and develop
a four-phase implementation
plan that would maintain NBC’s
affordability goals—and save
approximately $60 million in capital
costs. The first sub-phase addresses
the most environmentally beneficial
projects, and the remaining sub-
phases will be completed in stages
to help reduce the cost to NBC’s
rate payers.
The three-phase CSO program
kicked off in 2001 with construction
of a three-mile long, 26-foot wide
deep-rock tunnel under Providence
to store stormwater runoff. Phase
II, completed in 2015, added CSO
interceptors to the Providence
Tunnel, several sewer separation
projects, and a wetlands storage
facility. The final phase is focused
on the construction of the 2.2-
mile (3.5km) long, 30ft (9.1m) wide
Pawtucket Tunnel underneath
the communities of Pawtucket
and Central Falls. The tunnel,
which will be located at a depth of
140ft to 180ft (42m-54m) below
grade, is designed to store 58.5
million gallons of combined sewer
overflows.
North American Tunneling Journal 5

Bob Goodfellow, PE, PEng, President, Aldea Services Inc.
Building your teams
A few years ago, I found the perfect
Summer book. Through the dog days of
Summer when all is hot and humid, the
book Endurance and its amazing story
of survival actually made me feel cold.
The book is about Sir Ernest Shackleton
and his third Antarctic expedition. He led
the fabulously named Imperial Trans-
Antarctic Expedition for Britain into
catastrophe but somehow managed to
escape with himself and all of his crew
surviving against seemingly impossible
odds. The British like nothing more
than a disaster with a happy ending,
so naturally this story quickly became
legendary.
I’ve talked in these pages previously
about the need for our industry to
identify and attract new talent –
but putting a team together is so
fundamentally important for each
project and consequently for companies,
that looking at how teams are selected
is worthy of further study. Shackleton
showed great leadership during the
southern voyage and especially during
the return from shipwreck and ice floes
to safety. His greatest achievement,
however, may have occurred before he
set off with the selection of his crew.
Picking the right team certainly played
a massive part in Shackleton’s crew
returning safely to Europe.
Shackleton set about picking his team
with great care, knowing this was the
moment that could define the success
or failure of his mission. He handpicked
some members, including two who had
served him faithfully and performed
exceptionally on a previous expedition.
To recruit the rest, it is said that he
posted the following notice in the Times:
Men wanted for hazardous journey.
Small wages. Bitter cold. Long months
of complete darkness. Constant
danger. Safe return doubtful. Honor
and recognition in case of success.
Shackleton described the task of putting
together an ideal team in this way:
The men selected must be qualified
for the work, and they must also have
the special qualifications required to
meet polar conditions. They must
6 North American Tunneling Journal
THE INSIDER
be able to live together in harmony
for a long period of time without
outside communication, and it must
be remembered that the men whose
desire lead them to the untrodden
paths of the world have generally
marked individuality. It was no easy
matter for me to select the staff.
Nowadays we have a massive advantage
over Shackleton, in that we have a
whole other half of the population to
select our teams from! I don’t think it
would have crossed Shackleton’s mind
in 1914 to pick any women for his team.
Shackleton’s recruitment notice was,
however, brutally honest about the
discomforts and dangers to be faced.
There is a lesson for all of us here;
and it is to be honest about the job on
offer to potential candidates. Tunnel
construction has come a long way
to becoming a cleaner and safer
profession in recent decades; but tunnel
construction is a dirty job, hard work,
and it is certainly not for everybody.
Shackleton’s penultimate point about
the singular nature of people suitable
for his expedition is also relevant to our
industry. We need to be just as brutally
honest with our prospective team
members. It does neither the employee
nor the team any good for people to
walk away after only a few weeks or
months saying the job is not for them.
We owe it to everybody to do a better
job of determining the best fit for our
team during the interview process.
So, what are we looking for in those
all-important interviews? Bland pro-
forma questions? Should we see if the
candidate can tell a good joke? One
colleague of mine thought that we
should simply sit the candidate in front
of the movie “Life of Brian” and leave
them alone. If we came back after 30
minutes and they were not laughing, that
candidate was clearly not a good fit for
our group.
Combinations of technical interviews,
computer testing (for Microsoft office
and CAD skills), and group interviews
with all staff levels being involved in the
interview process has worked well for
me in getting a good feel for the person
and the skills that will be added to the
team. Shackleton made a big deal of a
good personality fit for his team and,
indeed, the ability to “live together in
harmony” is critically important on
tunnel projects that can last years and
involve periods of great difficulty. It is
important to know that the person next
to you has your back, will perform at a
high level, but still knows how to have
fun at work.
Other team selections provide us
with lessons we can learn. For example,
many people pick a fantasy sports team
for a competitive league. When my son
was unable to attend his fantasy football
league draft, he had the computer auto-
select his entire team. I was therefore
surprised that he finished third. After
finding out that the two teams that
finished above him were also selected
remotely by the computer, I had an
epiphany. All the “knowledgeable”
football brains in his 8th grade class
picked the players they knew and
liked but, clearly, they had a bias that
negatively affected their team. That isn’t
going to work in the real world.
Orchestras have auditions to select
their musicians but they have adjusted
their methods to try and remove biases.
Almost all orchestras now use blind
auditions with a screen to conceal
the identity of the candidate from the
selection panel. One effect of picking
people purely on sound without a visual
bias is that female musicians in the top
five symphony orchestras in the United
States has jumped from less than 5% in
1970 to over 25% today.
Ultimately the skill of building teams
brings me back to the thoughts of Sir
Ernest Shackleton. Whatever team you
put together, what matters ultimately is
their performance. Whether that team
be an Antarctic expedition, an orchestra,
a fantasy sports team, or your tunneling
project team. It is the 21st Century
management vogue that team play and
effort is applauded loudest over results,
and there is great merit to that approach
to managing people. However, whether
good or bad, it is a hard, commercial
reality that, as Shackleton once said:
“Superhuman effort isn’t worth a damn
unless it achieves results.”
North American Tunneling Journal 7
 Looking Back at Akron
With tunneling well and truly behind them, the contractor and
designer on Akron City’s Ohio Canal Interceptor Tunnel look back
over the challenges of a drive that encompassed soft ground, hard
ground and, in places, very little cover. By Kristina Smith.
It is just over a year since Robbins TBM Rosie
finished mining the 6,200ft- long (1,890m) Ohio
Canal Interceptor Tunnel (OCIT) in Akron. Long
enough for David Chastka, project manager for
contractor Kenny/Obayashi and Elisa Comis,
associate for tunnel designer Jacobs McMillen - and
previously project engineer for Robbins - to be able
to look back with some perspective on the difficult
start to the drive.
The multi-mode TBM had to launch immediately
into soft ground with low cover, operated by a crew
that was largely new to tunneling. Only six skilled
workers came with Kenny to the site and, for some
of the workers, this was their first time underground.
It was also the first time a Robbins ‘Crossover’
machine, designed for both soft ground and rock,
was used in the US. “That’s a lot of firsts,” says
Chastka. It was his first job as project manager for
Kenny, too, although he has worked in that role for
other contractors on smaller jobs.
A drive at shallow depth, through a variety of
ground conditions and with sections of low cover
was always going to be challenging. But what the
completion of OCIT has demonstrated is that such
projects are possible. And that’s interesting for
owners and tunnel designers alike because it offers
the possibility of lower capital and operational costs
for water authorities – and their customers, who
must pay for them.
“If we can build tunnels at a shallower depth, then
8 North American Tunneling Journal
we can avoid pumping stations and save on cost,”
explains Chastka.
This project also underlines how hard it can be
to get the balance between hard and soft ground
capabilities right. And it shows that soil conditioning
strategies in such situations require just as much
attention as the workings of the TBM.
A landmark project
For the City of Akron, this is a landmark infrastructure
project, the largest it has ever seen. Aimed to prevent
combined sewer overflows (CSOs) into the City’s
waterways, the $185m tunnel contract is the biggest
element of a larger city-wide CSO program.
Currently combined sewers convey wastewater
and stormwater into large-diameter interceptors
and then through structures called racks into smaller
diameter underflow sewers which take the flows to
the water treatment plant. In dry weather, the system
works fine but with the addition of rainwater, the
smaller diameter underflow sewers are overwhelmed
and excess water, a mixture of raw sewage and
rainwater, discharge into the waterways.
The 27-ft (8.23m) finished ID OCIT will take flows
from the area’s sewers which currently run into
nine racks. As well as the tunnel itself, the contract
includes the construction five drop shafts and
multiple near-surface diversion structures.
The City of Akron put the OCIT design-bid-build
contract out to tender in May 2015 and received bids
The hole-through – though
later than planned – showed that a
TBM can mine tunnels at shallow
depths through mixed ground, avoiding the
capital and operational cost of a pumping station.

by July that year. In November 2015 it gave a Notice
to Proceed to Kenny/Obayashi and in December that
year the contractor began works at the portal from
which the TBM would launch.
Kenny/Obayashi constructed two smaller, 20ft
(6m) diameter shafts by driving piles and installing
steel sheets in the overburden followed by shotcrete
and rock bolts in the rock. Schnabel Foundation
Company constructed secant piles for two larger-
diameter shafts of 45ft (13.7m) ID and 48 ft (14.6m)
ID, which were 140ft (42.7m) deep and 180ft (55m)
deep respectively, again with shotcrete and rockbolts
within the rock.
To keep the system operational while it
constructed the diversion structures, Kenny/
Obayashi installed bypasses and flume pipes which
will carry the flow until the new infrastructure is
ready. “This has all run smoothly so far,” says David
Chastka, “But ask me again when we release the
flumes. It’s never fun connecting to a large sewer!”
Challenging alignment
The variable geology was identified as the biggest
risk factor before mining began. And both contractor
and designer agree that it proved to be the most
challenging element once tunneling was underway.
However, late delivery of the TBM put the schedule
under pressure before a foot of tunnel had been
mined. Tunneling should have started in March 2017
but did not get underway until October that year.
According to Comis who, as Robbins’ project
engineer oversaw the design and delivery of the TBM
before she switched to work for McMillen Jacobs,
one of the problems the manufacturer faced was
working with local companies. Though the mandate
to have 35 percent of labour coming from the City
of Akron did not apply to the TBM, Robbins elected
to work with Ohio firms for the manufacture of the
shield and a Canadian supplier for the cutterhead.
“They took longer than expected and we had to
bear with them while they figured it out,” says Comis.
Once Rosie - named after Rosie the Riveter, an
inspirational Second World War character – did
start tunneling, her new crew were faced with very
difficult ground conditions: 250 ft (76m) of soft
ground of silty sand interbedded with silt and low
cover followed by a 600ft (183m) transition zone
where the Shale and Siltstone bedrock began to
appear in the invert of the tunnel, before the final
longer section of bedrock.
With just 11 feet (3.4m) of cover initially, Rosie
launched in EPB mode into a 50ft (15.2m) long
jet grout plug. Beyond 50 feet, access to perform
grouting was not possible. At around 200ft (61) in,
the tunnel runs under Hickory Street with the first
of two railroads, which carries the Cuyahoga Valley
Scenic Railway at 400ft (122m) in.
As soon as the TBM moved through the grout
plug it became evident that the cutter head was
not performing as expected. The problem, it turned
out, was that the housings for the disc cutters were
clogging with dry soil, preventing them from turning
so that they were wearing flat. “When those cutters
got clogged, we were taking three to four hours for
a five-foot push compared with 20 to 25 minutes
normally,” says Chastka.
LOOKING BACK AT AKRON
Plan map of the
project
De-watering for the portal construction had
perhaps made the soil drier than expected, suggests
Comis, but the clogging cutters, required higher
torque and thrust from the TBM to advance and
were creating heat which was also drying out the
ground. “The muck was literally steaming coming
out of the mixing chamber at some points,”
remembers Comis.
One of the challenges in designing a machine to
mine through both soft ground and rock is how to
optimise the cutterhead, with respect to the types
of tools and the proportion of openings. Typically,
a mixed ground EPB machine would have discs for
rock and scrapers or knives for soil, with an opening
ratio of between 25% and 35%.
Kenny/Obayashi and Robbins elected to go for
predominantly discs and an opening ratio of 27%,
with the opening reduced somewhat by grizzly bars
to prevent rocks which would be too large for the
screw conveyor to handle getting in. “That was high
for a rock machine, which is usually between 12
and 15 percent. We were taking a risk, keeping the
opening ratio closer to the EPB range,” says Comis.
Initially, the cutterhead was dressed entirely with disc
cutters, mostly standard ones, with carbide tip disc
cutters at the gauge.
“We reached out to a lot of different people in
deciding on the design of the cutterhead,” says
Chastka. “Do we go with a bigger opening, rippers
and try to get material flow? Do we go with more
of a closed head with cutters? We decided to go
somewhere in between, in the middle ground for
opening sizes with grizzly bars.”
“We were basically thinking we could get through
1,000 feet of soft ground and mixed face.”
That didn’t turn out to be the case. One
intervention, in the rock had been planned but there
were five interventions before the TBM even reached
North American Tunneling Journal 9
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that. Water jets were used to clean out the disc cutter
housings, and the standard disc cutters were initially
replaced with traction cutters to see if they would
perform better.
Between the end of the jet grout plug and Hickory
Street, a sinkhole occurred which Kenny/Obayashi
quickly remediated with grout. After that, the
contractor decided to push on through continuously,
despite the low advance rate to make it under the
road.
At 300 feet (91m), before Rosie would mine under
the railroad, Kenny/Obayashi called in Ballard Marine
to carry out a hyperbaric cutter change at between
1.5 and 2 bar. “We had a contract with them and
we had the gear here but we never intended to use
them,” explains Chastka, adding that the intervention
ran smoothly. “A full cutter dress under pressure in
little over a week is pretty good.”
At this point the first 10 cutters from the gauge
through the transition were swapped for carbide-
tipped ones which were able to rotate even after
their housings became clogged and four rippers were
added. Even so, progress remained slow.
During another intervention towards the end of
the transition zone, and at atmospheric pressure,
some of the grizzly bars were removed to provide
a greater opening. “After we cut them, it was taking
a little longer to clog, but they were still clogging
regardless,” says Comis.
Alongside the cutterhead tools, the soil
conditioning process came under scrutiny. Initially,
the foam produced was a liquid consistency with no
stand time. “Changing the foam generators created a
better consistency of foam but did not help with the
clogging”, says Comis.
Eventually, the team changed the parameters
of the foam. The initial foam expansion rate (FER)
was 15 with a concentration of surfactant (Cr) of
between 3% and 5%. Even when the foam injection
ratio was increased to 200-300%, clogging still
occurred. When the FER was reduced to 2 and the
FIR set between 60% and 80%, right at the end of
the transition section, the penetration rate began to
increase.
It was only when the TBM entered the shale that
it, and the crew, began to hit their stride. In this
section, advance rates surpassed those forecasted,
says Chastka. Having lost schedule in the soft and
transition ground, Kenny/Obayashi clawed some time
back in the rock, although the drive still took nearly
four months longer than scheduled.
No physical adaptations were required on site to
switch between closed and open mode. Robbins’
Crossover machine was created by modifying an EPB
which has been used to mine in Mexico. In some
situations – for long tunnels – it might be best to set
up the machine so that the screw conveyor could
be swapped for a belt one to cope with the rock,
explains Comis. However, for Akron, adaptions were
made to the machine in the factory so that the screw
conveyor could cope with rock.
The loading capacity of the screw conveyor
reduces by around 30% from soft to hard ground, so
the hydraulic power pack on the screw was increased
to spin it faster in the shale. That meant that the
screw needed special measures to cope with wear.
LOOKING BACK AT AKRON
“When it’s spinning faster and handling rock you Kenny/Obayashi’s
have to address wear in the screw,” explains Comis. installs rockbolts
and concrete at
“We had chromium carbide inserts covering the
the bottom of one
auger and casing in the screw conveyor.” of two large-
There were suggestions that a whole back-up diameter shafts,
screw should be provided on site, but Robbins with secant piles
instead proposed a monitoring plan where the forming the upper
section.
thickness of the chromium carbide on the auger and
the casing were checked at intervals. Had wear on
the coating reached a certain level, it would have
triggered the manufacture of a replacement screw.
The upgrade from EPB to Crossover also involved
beefing up the main drive and main electrical motor
to provide higher RPMs for the rock section.
In the last 2,000 ft (610m) of the drive, the design
had called for the TBM to go back into closed mode
due to the low cover at this point. The depth of shale
was only 5 to 10 ft (1.5 to 3m) above the crown.
Kenny/Obayashi was able to carry out more site
investigation, taking cores that showed there was
only a small area of low cover. Their approach was
to mine in open mode with a program to check
cover and face stability after each advance, prepared
to go into closed if required. It wasn’t needed which
meant that progress rates remained good.
“The machine was more capable of running in
rock then EPB, maybe that’s the machine, maybe
that’s the contractor’s capability,” says Chastka. “You
cannot overlook the fact that, for the soft ground,
it was a new machine, and an inexperienced crew,
starting at the toughest part of the job.”
Learning lessons
While accepting that there are many aspects of this
project that just couldn’t have been changed, both
contractor and designer have some suggestions for
what they would do differently, now that they have
the gift of hindsight. Chastka’s revisions centre on
the design of the cutterhead, whereas Comis thinks
a different soil conditioning regime is the key.
“The biggest thing would be to revisit the design
of the cutterhead, to utilize a more open style of
North American Tunneling Journal 11
 From left to right: cutterhead to allow material to flow,” says Chastka.
Robbins supplied “Given the soft shale that we encountered, I would
the ‘Crossover’
TBM to cope with
have started the run with rippers instead of cutters,
both soft and hard which would have been able to cut the rock
ground, opting effectively without encountering the clogging that
for a cutter head we had in the housings of the disc cutters.” As for
of predominantly
soil conditioning, he would pay more initial attention
discs.
to the foam generator system to make sure it was
The TBM launched performing as required.
from a portal To help address issues with ground displacement,
straight into soft, Chastka would install more instrumentation, adding
variable ground
with just 11 feet
to that specified by the owner. “The issue we had
(3.4m) of cover. was that most of the instrumentation was shallow
surface points. By the time you see settlement at
Elisa Comis, shallow points, you are already in trouble,” he says.
initially project
For the sections where cover was less than a
engineer for
Robbins and now diameter, tattletails – long rods that extend to within
associate with a few feet of the crown of the tunnel – provide
Jacobs McMillen earlier warnings. “Subsidence starts at the crown
inspects a disc. of the tunnel and takes time to reach the surface.
After standard
discs got clogged,
Sometimes it can be months,” says Chastka. “If you
the team tried put a rod in and see movement at tunnel level, you
traction discs can do grouting from the surface and adjust your
and then carbide ground pressures.”
tip ones – which
Comis’ only suggested alterations to the TBM
proved to be the
best solution. are more spray nozzles to the cutterhead. “The
real challenge was conditioning the soil at the face
properly in order to avoid the tools clogging. As
soon as we hit the shale at the invert of the bore,
the clogging started and the dry conditions made it
more severe.”
Hand-in-hand with the increased nozzles would
be a more detailed soil conditioning plan. “The
conditioning was tailored for a typical EPB, with the
analysis done only for soil. As soon as we hit rock,
the conditioners did not work at all,” she says.
Since there are no standard tests for soil
conditioning in mixed ground, Comis was curious
to find out how the team could have predicted that
a FER of 2 would work better than 15. To that end,
after mining was finished, she carried out some tests,
working with supplier BASF, where the proportion
of soil and rock was mixed according to the face at
different points of the transition. Eventually, these
tests highlighted how FER 2 would work better
in such conditions, however test parameters and
execution still have to be standardized for repeatable
results.
In her role as tunnel designer, Comis says that
12 North American Tunneling Journal
experiences at OCIT will make her think very
carefully about the implications of the design for the
contractor. “If you can avoid the most challenging
geological conditions at the beginning of a drive,
where conicides with the natural learning curve
of a TBM crew, do so, although I understand that
sometimes it’s not possible.”
It’s not possible to measure the impact of working
with inexperienced labour either. Chastka says that
he thinks it is a good idea to employ as many local
workers as possible but admits that this does make
life more difficult. “It’s a good thing, but you have to
be realistic. The machine is a very technical piece of
gear, even for experienced guys. Working with new
workers puts a lot more strain on your experienced
guys and your salaried staff who have to spend more
time on site.”
Running late
Akron’s Consent Decree, agreed with the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), promised
to have the new OCIT and associated structures
in operation by the end of 2018. But construction
of the surface structures only began in December
2018 and it now looks like the operation date could
be more like the first or second quarter of 2020. In
addition to the delay due to TBM manufacture and
the tricky soft ground, starting work on the surface
structures in the dead of winter has put the schedule
under more pressure, says Chastka.
No fines from the EPA have been announced yet
and it’s hoped that Akron will be able to negotiate an
extension to the start date. The City has worked hard
to create goodwill among the local population for a
project that – ultimately – they will pay for through
their water bills.
An open day, held as the TBM was ready to begin
its drive, attracted over 1,000 people rather than the
few hundred expected. And the breakthrough was
televised on a huge TV screen in one of the City’s
park
“Everybody here understands it’s a federal
requirement so, once we got started, our interaction
with the public has been pretty positive,” says
Chastka. “We have not had any issues with the
neighbours.” With continuing good communications,
let’s hope that the neighbours can understand
something of the hurdles this team has faced and
overcome.
 Tunnel  Trenchless  Geotechnical  Geostructural Construction  Engineering & Design  BIM
AJ McGinn: 315.434.8885  Ike Isaacson: 414.797.0786  Rory Ball: 216.282.8300  Alan Howard: 303.703.1405  Nancy Nuttbrock: 281.994.7993
www.brierleyassociates.com

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North American Tunneling Journal 13

 Engineering Geology as
Applied to Tunneling Projects
Alan L. Howard, PG, CEG; Brierley Associates, J. Ike Isaacson,
PG, CEG, PE, GE; Brierley Associates, and Dr. Gary S. Brierley,
PE; Dr. Mole Incorporated here discuss the importance of
Engineering Geology in Tunnel Design
Engineering Geologists who
are asked to assist with tunnel
project design would normally be
working in one way or another
for the project Owner and
are asked to provide input on
project planning, the subsurface
investigation, preparation of the
Contract Document, and the
provision of field observations
Top heading during construction. For design-
mapping in
build and other alternative
good ground –
Caldecott Fourth procurement methods, they may
Bore Tunnel. also provide similar input to a
All article Contractor. Interestingly, there
photographs by are two basic types of individuals
Sue Bednarz
who are qualified to participate
in this endeavor: geologists who
know a lot about tunnel design
and construction, and tunnel
designers who know a lot about
geology; especially the type
and/or specific host geology
anticipated for a particular project.
14 North American Tunneling Journal
In general, and for the remainder
of this paper, both of these types
of individuals will be referred
to as “Engineering Geologists,”
although the term “Geological
Engineer” would also be
appropriate. In either case, these
individuals are expected to help
provide answers to the following
four major questions:
n What types of geology
(ground) and hydrogeology
(groundwater) will be
encountered by the tunnel
and associated shafts along a
proposed alignment?
n How will the ground and
groundwater behave and/or
react to the tunnel excavation
and support means and
methods being proposed for
use during construction?
n What are the “design criteria”
for the various structures that
are needed both to excavate
and support the ground during
construction and for inclusion
in the finished facility?
n How should all of the above
information be incorporated
into the Contract Document
appropriate for bidding and for
construction in order to provide
the best chance for project
success?
In order to provide answers
to these four questions, the
remainder of this section is
divided into the following four
subsections:
1. The Subsurface Investigation
2. Geological/Geotechnical
Interpretation
3. The Contract Document
4. Field Observations and
Monitoring
1. The Subsurface Investigation
The subsurface investigation for
a tunneling project is commonly
divided into three phases; the
planning effort, project design,
and project construction. With
respect to the planning effort,
the design team will endeavor
to collect as much available
information as possible including
existing test borings in the vicinity
of the project, geologic maps,
aerial photographs, and nearby
and/or relevant case history
studies. Having accumulated
all of that information, a Phase
I subsurface investigation is
planned and executed with
widely spaced test borings, other
intensive field investigations, and a
comprehensive laboratory testing
program. The primary objective
of the Phase I subsurface
investigation is to establish
a reliable understanding of a
subsurface geologic model that
establishes the characteristics
present in the ground along the
overall alignment through which
the tunnel and associated shafts
will be constructed.
It is during the Phase I
subsurface investigation that the

services of skilled and experienced
Engineering Geologists become
important. Geologic specialties,
such as geomorphology,
structural geology, hydrogeology,
and seismic characterization
are indispensable in properly
assessing the characteristics
of large volumes of ground
and for providing the geologic
model about what to expect
during tunneling. For instance,
certain tunneling hazards, such
as shear zones in metamorphic
rock, reef or solution/karst
features in limestone, swelling
shales, regional faults, and highly
stressed ground can be identified
and anticipated for projects as
a result of geologic studies. In
addition, Engineering Geologists
can use the results of test pits,
geophysical investigations, and
geologic mapping (sometimes at
great distances from the actual
project site) in order to form a
reliable opinion about what types
of ground conditions to expect,
as well as how best to investigate
those ground conditions in
subsequent phases of the
investigation. Upon completion
of the Phase I investigation, the
project planners and designers
should be able to establish an
informed project layout for the
finished facility.
The Phase II investigation
provides additional information
about all aspects of the ground
with particular emphasis on
areas of continuing geologic
uncertainty and on detailed
design of both the temporary and
finished structures. This phase
of investigation also provides
an opportunity to confirm the
geological assumptions made as a
result of the Phase I investigation,
and to provide a detailed geologic
model and subsurface profile
along the proposed tunnel
alignment.
For larger tunneling projects, it
may be necessary to perform a
Phase III investigation specifically
to provide additional information
to help prospective Contractors
bid the project. For instance,
a Phase III investigation might
include test borings down the
center of each shaft once their
locations have been finalized,
borings to investigate major
geologic features such as
fault zones, and/or to provide
ENGINEERING GEOLOGY AS APPLIED TO TUNNELING PROJECTS
additional detail about the soil/
rock interface. In the final analysis,
the Owner and its Designers need
to provide the Contractor with
sufficient information to help
select the correct means and
methods for constructing the
project and to provide a realistic
and reliable bid for the work. The
Contractor might also hire their
own Engineering Geologist(s)
and Designers to assist with
independent verification of the
geologic model and to design the
temporary facilities required for
the work.
2. Geological/Geotechnical
Interpretation
During the past 20 years or so, it
has become accepted practice
for the Owner and its Designers
to provide their interpretation of
anticipated ground conditions and
how ground and groundwater
are expected to behave and/
or to react to the process of
tunneling. In the “old days”
(i.e., 30 years ago) the Owner
provided the results of the
subsurface investigation to
prospective Contractors, and
the Contractors were then
expected to make “reasonable
and prudent” assumptions about
both the anticipated ground
and groundwater behaviors
and the best methods for
controlling those behaviors
during construction. Experience,
however, demonstrated quite
clearly that this approach to
tunnel procurement was not
viable because of intense
competition in the low-bidder
environment, and because
tunnel Contractors did not
always consider the possibility
of negative impacts to adjacent
third-party structures. As a
result, the responsibility for
making “reasonable and prudent”
decisions about anticipated
ground conditions and behaviors
shifted from the Contractor to
the Owner and its Designers,
including their Engineering
Geologists.
All of the underground
openings created for a tunneling
project must be both safe for the
workers and stable with respect
to the adjacent third parties. In
order to achieve that objective,
tunnel Designers and Contractors
can choose from a variety of
tunneling methods and ground
improvement technologies that
can be used for that purpose.
Hence, the primary objective
of the interpretive effort is to
aid in the selection of those
tunneling methods and ground
improvement technologies that
are best suited to the anticipated
ground conditions for each
particular tunnel project, with the
goal of providing the best chance
for successful project completion
“for no more time and no more
money than is required.”
3. Contract Document
Having completed the subsurface
investigation and the geological/
geotechnical interpretative
effort, project engineers and
Engineering Geologists then turn
their attention to the Contract
Document. Based on a strong
consensus that has developed
over the past 20 years, the
primary goal of this effort is to
produce two reports entitled the
Geotechnical Data Report and Tunnel mapping
around miners
the Geotechnical Baseline Report;
setting initial
both reports that are included in support – New
the Contract Document. Irvington Tunnel
The Geotechnical Data Report
(GDR) is exactly what the name
implies; a collection of all of the
facts that were accumulated
about subsurface soil, rock and
groundwater conditions during
the subsurface investigation. In
general, this report consists of
a brief text that establishes the
geologic setting and explains all
North American Tunneling Journal 15
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16 North American Tunneling Journal

of the methodologies used to
observe and accumulate field and
laboratory test results, followed
by voluminous appendices that
contain the data resulting from
those tests and observations. For
instance, all of the test boring logs
with core photos, field test results,
laboratory test results for both soil
and rock deposits, the results of
geophysical tests, pumping tests,
and other investigations that were
performed for the subsurface
investigation would be included
in the appendices of the GDR. In
addition, there are three important
guiding principles associated with
the GDR:
1. That the data provide the basis
for a comprehensive description
of the ground in which the
tunnel will be constructed,
2. That all of the laboratory and
field tests were performed
exactly as described by
applicable ASTM or other
applicable standards, and
3. That the document not provide
any interpretation of the results
or geologic profiles with strata
or other features depicted.
With regard specifically to the
third guiding principle, the
authors have encountered some
GDRs that included a subsurface
profile. Such a subsurface profile
represents an interpretation
of anticipated ground and
groundwater conditions, and
they should only be included in
the Geotechnical Baseline Report
(GBR). The principle of “keep it
simple” applies to the GDR, which
should provide a thorough and
accurate factual description of
the data collected concerning
the ground and groundwater
properties.
In contrast, the primary
objective of the Geotechnical
Baseline Report (GBR) should be
to inform the Contractor about
what they need to know in order
to bid and then successfully
construct the project in a proper
manner. As stated in the 2007
edition of the ASCE book entitled
Geotechnical Baseline Reports
for Construction, Suggested
Guidelines (referred to as “The
Gold Book”), the primary purpose
of the GBR is as follows:
“The principal purpose of the GBR
is to set clear realistic baselines
for conditions anticipated to be
ENGINEERING GEOLOGY AS APPLIED TO TUNNELING PROJECTS
encountered during subsurface
construction, and thereby
provide all bidders with a single
contractual interpretation that
can be relied upon in preparing
their bids. Other key objectives of
the GBR include:
n Presentation of the
geotechnical and construction
considerations that formed the
basis of design.
n Enhancement of the
contractor’s understanding of
the key project constraints.
n Assistance to the contractor
in evaluating the requirements
for excavating and supporting
the ground; and
n Guidance to the owner in
administering the contract
and monitoring performance
during construction.”
Although the concept and
purpose of a GBR presented
above are valid, it is not
easy to write a “good” GBR.
Preparation of a “good” GBR
requires persons with extensive
knowledge about geologic and
hydrogeologic conditions, ground
and groundwater behavior,
tunneling, ground improvement
technologies groundwater
(and groundwater control), and
tunneling contracting practices.
Geotechnical Baseline Report
preparation is not appropriate for
persons who do not possess these
requisite backgrounds, training
and experience. The 2007 ASCE
document referenced above is
an excellent resource and should
serve as a basic guideline for GBR
preparation.
It is also important that the GBR
establish “measurable” baselines
that are clearly established
and understandable within the
document and are not vague
or ambiguous. The inclusion of
“measurable”, well defined and
established baselines values within
the GBR serves several crucial
functions for the project:
1. They set forth what conditions
that the bidding Contractors
are to assume to help
them establish their bid for
construction of the project
2. Bidding Contractors are
responsible for conditions up
to and including the baseline
values established in the GBR
document
3. Adverse conditions beyond the
established GBR’s measurable
baseline values are the
responsibility of the Owner
and should not be included in
Contractor’s bids
4. The GBR is often the primary
Contract Document used in
the evaluation of Differing Site
Conditions (DSC) claims during
and after construction by
Dispute Review Boards (DRB)
or other mediators
Because of the importance
placed upon the GBR document
during bidding, determining
appropriate means and methods,
and in evaluating DSC claims,
the importance of a “good” GBR
cannot be understated.
4. Field Observations and
Monitoring
The last, but by far not the
least important responsibility
provided by an Engineering
Geologist for tunneling projects,
is the provision of trained field
observation and the monitoring Difficult tunnel
mapping
of ground response during
conditions in bad
construction. During tunneling, ground – New
it is important to observe ground Irvington Tunnel
and groundwater conditions
exposed by the underground
openings, and then compare
those observed conditions and
behaviors both with the factual
information provided in the
GDR and the interpretations and
baselines provided in the GBR.
It is particularly important to
document how the ground and
North American Tunneling Journal 17
 groundwater are behaving and/
or reacting to the specified or
selected tunneling methods for
comparison with the interpretive
information provided in the GBR.
This comparison should include
both the impacts on actual
tunneling operations as well as
the impacts on adjacent, existing
third-party structures and utilities.
As most persons associated with
tunneling projects are well aware,
it is not uncommon for allegations
of damage, delay, and additional
cost to be lodged as the result
of a tunneling project, most
commonly as a result of alleged
DSCs. Complete documentation
of the daily activities associated
with the project is essential for
the evaluation and adjudication of
those types of allegations.
Engineering geology in tunnel
construction
Engineering Geologists are also
Probe drilling frequently called upon to assist
ahead from Contractors during the bidding
stabilized face –
Caldecott Fourth
and construction phases of a
Bore Tunnel tunnel project, and, in some
ways, that process can be even
more intensive and consequential
as compared to working for
the Owner. No one who has
experience in underground
construction can deny that a
certain degree of “tension” exists
between the Owner and the
Contractor during the bidding
and construction phases of a
tunneling project, or that the
eventual outcome of a tunneling
18 North American Tunneling Journal
project will be determined by
how that tension is managed
throughout the process of
construction. For instance, the
tunneling industry has been
quite successful in using Dispute
Review Boards (DRB) to help
manage various types of claims,
especially DSC claims, during
construction with the intention
of keeping the project moving
forward as its primary goal.
Most of the cost of a tunnel
claim has to do with project
delay. Therefore, maintaining
production during tunnel
construction is one of the key
goals of dispute resolution.
Needless to say, almost every
claim resolution has to do with
an accurate assessment of what
happened in the tunnel during
construction and Engineering
Geologists play a leading role
in documenting construction
activities and observed ground
and groundwater behaviors
for both the Owner and the
Contractor. Hence, the remainder
of this section is divided into the
following three subsections:
1. The Pre-bid Investigation
2. Tunnel Construction
3. Claim Resolution
1. The Pre-bid Investigation
The pre-bid period of a
construction project is without
a doubt one of the most
important parts of project
success. It is during this period
that the Contractor and its team
of experts performs a totally
independent and crucial review
of all of the information provided
in the Contract Document. Many
Owners and Designers sometimes
do not fully appreciate how
difficult it is to provide a reliable
cost estimate for a project taking
place underground, especially
projects in urban areas, and that
will take several years and possibly
many hundreds of millions
of dollars to construct. When
Engineering Geologists become
involved in a pre-bid investigation
for a tunneling project, they
will usually be asked to provide
answers to the following three
questions:
n Based on an intensive analysis
of the GDR, what types of
geologic and hydrogeologic
conditions will be encountered
by the tunnel and shafts along
the proposed alignment and
how will the ground and
groundwater behave and/or
react to the tunneling means
and methods described in the
Contract Document?
n What types of temporary
structures, ground
improvement, and groundwater
management technologies will
be required to construct the
proposed shafts and tunnels
compared to what is specified
in the Contract Document?
n Does the Contract Document
provide a truly consistent
picture of what needs to be
accomplished during tunnel
construction, and does the GBR
provide “reasonable and prudent”
recommendations and baselines
for accomplishing that work?
It is difficult to explain exactly
how this process unfolds for
each project, but in general the
Engineering Geologist begins
with the actual project data
and assists the Contractor in
deciding how long it will take
and how much it will cost to
actually construct the project.
Once that number is estimated,
then the Contractor must also
assign various contingencies and
allowances, many of which have
to do with anticipated ground and
groundwater behavior, in order to
come up with a final bid for the
work.
Pre-bid studies for tunneling
projects are intense, challenging,

time-sensitive, and crucial to the
successful outcome of a project,
and Engineering Geologists
who become involved in this
process must have the requisite
background, knowledge, and
experience, as explained herein, to
provide meaningful contributions
to this activity. What is extremely
important, and hopefully equally
rewarding, is the fact that if your
client (Contractor) becomes the
low bidder, then many of your
comments and suggestions will
actually be put to the test during
construction. In many ways,
helping Contractors with pre-
bid studies is both one of the
most challenging and rewarding
activities for Engineering
Geologists who become involved
with tunneling.
2. Tunnel Construction
During tunnel construction,
Engineering Geologists are often
called upon to provide field
observation and documentation
of ground and groundwater
conditions that are encountered
and, more importantly, to observe
and document how the ground is
reacting to tunnel construction.
The cost and time for sinking
shafts and building tunnels is
largely dependent on how the
ground is behaving in comparison
to what was anticipated in the
Contract Document.
Both the Contractor and the
Owner need thorough and
accurate records of what is
happening in the field on a day
to day basis. This is especially
true if the Contractor believes
that the work is not proceeding
as anticipated and files a DSC
claim. Many Owners view DSC
claims with great trepidation and
become extremely defensive in
the face of such a claim, but both
the Contract itself and many years
of legal precedents are available
to help with the resolution of DSC
claims. Astute Owners understand
the inherent uncertainty involved
with subsurface interpretations
based on sampling and testing
only a very small percentage
of the volume of the ground
that will be encountered during
tunnel and shaft construction. In
addition, these Owners should
carry appropriate contingencies
to cover some degree of variation
that could be encountered during
ENGINEERING GEOLOGY AS APPLIED TO TUNNELING PROJECTS
underground construction. Fortunately for the tunneling
Most importantly, and as industry, the use of DRBs has
pointed out within this paper, become common practice
is the fact that Engineering for tunneling contracts. In
Geologists working for both the general, DRBs are formed at
Contractor and the Owner will the beginning of construction,
be front-and-center in dealing and the DRB members are, as a
with DSC claims, as all of the consequence, able to observe
observations and project records and to evaluate the procedures
produced by on-site Engineering used during all phases of the
Geologists become an integral construction process. Hence,
part of the dispute resolution when a claim is made, the DRB
procedures. This fact alone members are familiar with the
establishes the critical importance project conditions and are able
of Engineering Geology to to respond quickly to all of the
the successful outcome of an information collected by both
underground project. parties during construction.
Although DRB opinions are
3. Claim Resolution normally not binding on the
As stated previously, it is rather parties, experience has shown
common for allegations of DSC that, more often than not, the
occurrences and also defective DRB opinion forms the basis
specifications to be lodged by the upon which a resolution of
Contractor during underground the dispute is possible. Having
construction, and it is imperative participated in this process on
for the Contract Document to many occasions, it is possible
provide a method for evaluating for the authors of this paper
and resolving those claims as to affirm the important role
expeditiously as possible. The that Engineering Geologists
input of Engineering Geologists play in assisting the DRBs
is an integral part of that process. in fully understanding both
For most of these claims, the the types of ground and
eventual resolution revolves groundwater conditions that
around answers to the following were encountered and how
two basic questions: that ground reacted to the
1. What was indicated about construction procedures in use
ground and groundwater on the project. If the DRB process
conditions and behaviors in the is not successful, then the level
Contract Document? of effort that will be required by
2. What ground and groundwater tunnel engineers and Engineering
conditions were actually Geologists participating in ligation
encountered during will be exceedingly more difficult
construction, compared with and more expensive relative to
those Contract indications? dispute resolution by a DRB.
Summary and Conclusions
The four most important functions associated with the successful design and
construction of tunneling projects are the subsurface investigation, an evaluation
of anticipated ground and groundwater behaviors, the preparation of a useful and
beneficial Contract Document, and the observation, monitoring, and documentation
of construction activities and conditions by geotechnical professionals, including
Engineering Geologists. The majority of the cost and risks for a tunneling project
are associated with the excavation and initial support of the underground openings,
inside of which a finished facility will be built. It is also important to note that 100
percent of that design and construction takes place within the ground and is
dependent upon a knowledge of existing ground and groundwater conditions and
behaviors. Tunnels are long, linear structures, the construction of which is wholly
dependent upon successfully anticipating ground and groundwater behavior in
order to keep moving forward and making the anticipated progress required to
successfully complete a job on time and within the budget. There is no substitute for
the successful application of geological and geotechnical knowledge and experience
when it comes to achieving successful tunneling projects, and Engineering Geologists
are key players in such success.
North American Tunneling Journal 19
 Waterproofing
solutions
NATJ queried several companies that offer
varied waterproofing solutions to learn what
is new – and, in some cases, to see what has
proven successful in tunneling applications
around the world.
Xypex Chemical Corporation
Xypex Chemical Corporation manufactures a
range of concrete waterproofing and protection
products used in the construction or restoration of
building foundations, water and sewage treatment
infrastructure, tunnels, manholes, and marine
structures. Its unique crystallizing technology has
been tested and proven worldwide in all climates
and in widely varying construction situations. Sold
through an international network of distributors and
licensees in over 70 countries, Xypex is specified and
used on countless projects around the world.
Available as a coating or admixture, Xypex
Crystalline Waterproofing reacts with the by-
products of cement hydration and other mineral
constituents of the concrete, precipitating a
chemical reaction that produces a non-soluble
crystalline formation that fills and permanently
plugs the pores, capillaries and hairline cracks that
naturally occur in the structure. In this way, Xypex
becomes a permanent, integral part of the structure.
Unlike surface barriers or membranes, Xypex
Xypex Admix cannot puncture, tear or come apart at the seams;
C-1000 NF it does not require protection during backfilling or
played critical during placement of steel or wire mesh; and it is not
role in shotcrete
affected by exposure to the elements and will not
waterproofing of
Vuosaari Harbor degrade over time.
tunnels. Xypex Admix has been used in multiple jobsites
20 North American Tunneling Journal
around the world. One such tunneling project, in
Finland’s Port of Helsinki, proves the staying power
of the Xypex Admix. The product was installed a
decade ago, and a recent examination shows it is
still going strong – and tunnels associated with the
project remain dry.
When city planners and engineers began drawing
up designs for a new harbor that could relieve the
pressure on the Port of Helsinki, the need for easy
access via roads and rails was a critical requirement
at that time.
A four-lane highway and rail lines were built to
help move people and cargo in and out of the new
port. The highway passes through two new road
tunnels that were built near the outskirts of the
harbor to enable vehicles to travel unimpeded under
1 mile (1.6 km) of solid rock.
The exposed rock interiors of the road and rail
tunnels were reinforced with deep anchor bolts
and coated with a base layer of standard shotcrete
to a thickness of 2.4-3.2 in. (60-80 mm). On top
of this base layer, a 1.6-2.4 in. (40-60 mm) layer
of shotcrete mixed with Xypex Admix C-1000 NF
crystalline waterproofing was applied to provide a
permanent seal against moisture intrusion.
Finally, a 1 in. (25 mm) layer of standard shotcrete
was applied to the innermost surface. More than
61,700 lbs. (28,000 kg) of Xypex Admix was needed
to treat the waterproofing shotcrete layer. The Xypex
Admix was added to the concrete at the ready-
mix plant using water-soluble bags for accuracy,
convenience and the improved safety of the workers.
The tunnel designers considered other, more
conventional waterproofing approaches – such as
heavy membranes – but the time and cost of these
options led other alternatives to be explored. The
thought was that membranes installed over exposed
rock would always be at risk for future damage and
leakage.
“The application of shotcrete treated with Xypex
Admix in the Vuosaari highway tunnels (in 2009) is
believed to be the first time crystalline waterproofing
has been used for this purpose in Finland,” said
Ronald Sulin, Xypex sales manager for Finland. “The
two tubes of the road tunnel actually dip below sea
level, so the need for protection from the ingress of
saltwater is a real concern. Within a few months, any
seepage that was seen initially dried up as the Xypex
Admix did its job, filling in micro cracks and voids
with non-soluble crystals. It’ll continue working for
the life of the tunnels.”
Now, more than 10 years after the opening of
the harbor and the road and rail tunnels that help
keep it moving, the Xypex Admix treated shotcrete
continues to prove its effectiveness.
“The use of Xypex crystalline waterproofing
Admix in this shotcrete application has truly been a
revelation in this market,” Sulin said. “Experts have
had a long time to study the product in action and I
think it is safe to say we have impressed the skeptics.
Not only in Europe, but around the world, designers,
engineers and contractors are increasingly specifying
Xypex Admix for spray-applied concrete. It saves
time, saves money, ensures two-way moisture
protection and lasts the life of the structure. It makes
sense.”

Alchemy-Spetec
Alchemy-Spetec has been in the concrete repair
industry for nearly 30 years, since the company’s
president, Stephen C. Barton, first developed a
polyurethane technology while working on a leak-
seal crew in his teens.
Among the items that Alchemy-Spetec offers is
a flexible hydrophobic urethane grout, Spetec PUR
HighFoamer, for gushing leaks. Another popular
product is Spetec PUR F400, which is ideal for
sealing cracks – and in areas that endure wet/dry
cycles. In other situations, a hydrophilic flexible grout
like Spetec PUR GT350 is often the choice when
drying is not a concern.
All three are cured polyurethane products, which
exhibit high strength and good chemical resistance.
In addition, cured polyurethane is harmless to the
environment and resistant to biological attacks.
Spetec PUR GT350 was recently used to patch
tunnel walls as links to new stations were being
developed in the Seattle underground transit system.
It was also employed during patching of cross-
hatches.
Spetec PUR GT350 is an MDI-based hydrophilic,
one-component flexible polyurethane injection
resin, ideal for waterproofing and shutting off water
leaks permanently. It is often used when drying is not
a concern. Its flexibility is key as it allows the joints or
cracks to move while maintaining a watertight seal.
Spetec PUR GT350 offers a fast reaction time
and an immediate increase in viscosity. While it’s
often injected as one component, it can be injected
in combination with water when circumstances
require.
Spetec PUR HighFoamer, a flexible hydrophobic
urethane grout, is the choice for gushing leaks. It
quickly fills the voids behind concrete structures
and is most commonly selected to stabilize and
cut off larger water leaks. Its success results from
combining a high rate of expansion with maximum
flexibility.
Applications include eliminating large flow and
high-pressure water leaks, including those in
foundations such as diaphragm walls, piling sheets
and secant piles. It also is used in pre- and post-
injections in mines, tunnels, pipe jacking, drill and
blast and TBM applications.
Spetec PUR HighFoamer is a one-component
product. Varied reaction times are made possible by
adjusting the percentage of GEN ACC Accelerator.
The closed-cell structure of cured polyurethane
ensures permanent sealing of cracks and joints.
Spetec PUR F400 is utilized to seal cracks when
the area is likely to undergo wet/dry cycles. It is a
one-component polyurethane injection resin; is
solvent- and phthalate-free; and is water reactive.
It, too, is adept at shutting off water leaks in
concrete, brickwork and sewers where movement
and settlement may occur. It also seals water-
carrying cracks and joints in tunnel segments and
curtains grouting behind tunnel, concrete, brickwork
and sewer walls.
Sika Corp
A new macro fiber product from Sika Corp. has
achieved a significant approval and successfully
WATERPROOFING SOLUTIONS
completed a series of
independent tests.
SikaFiber® Enduro®
Prime was developed to
reinforce concrete slabs, on
grade, with extremely high
performance characteristics.
The product, manufactured
in Chattanooga, Tenn., went
through a battery of stringent,
third-party testing to achieve
the designations.
SikaFiber Enduro Prime is
one of the first macro fibers
to obtain an International
Code Council (ICC) Evaluation
Services (ES) Report for
AC383. The ICC technical
staff develops acceptance
criteria for new products,
which are approved by the
Evaluation Committee during open public hearings. Alchemey Spetec
The evaluation report included testing SikaFiber PUR F400
Enduro Prime for freeze-thaw, plastic shrinkage
cracking resistance, ring shrinkage and flexural
performance of fiber-reinforced concrete.
SikaFiber Enduro Prime also successfully
completed testing for an ICC evaluation report,
which verifies that new and innovative building
products comply with code requirements and
recommendations for use.
Sika says its macro fiber products offer the
performance of steel fibers at a lower dosage rate.
“The unique anchorage system of each macro
synthetic fiber and the higher aspect ratio (length/
diameter) allows for higher performance in the
concrete matrix,” the company stated. “The
macro synthetic fibers infuse the concrete with
added levels of toughness, energy absorption and
durability. In addition, macro synthetic fibers provide
an added measure of crack control without the risk
of corrosion associated with steel.”
Sika products reflect that concrete is the most
commonly chosen material when durability is the
key factor. The reinforcement of concrete is equally
as important.
“About 40 years ago, an old technology of using
discontinuous reinforcement started to reemerge,”
the company said. “We know this material today
as concrete fibers, representing one of the fastest
growing segments in the construction industry in
recent years.”
Sika is a specialty chemicals company that
develops and produces systems and products
for bonding, sealing, damping, reinforcing and
protecting in the building sector and motor vehicle
industry.
AGRU America
A key waterproofing product from AGRU America is
playing an essential role in the expansion of a new,
state-of-the-art wastewater treatment system in
Canada.
The Annacis Island wastewater treatment plant
in Vancouver processes about 46 billion gallons
(175 billion liters) of wastewater each year. It
North American Tunneling Journal 21

AGRU services more than 1 million residents, about half
waterproofing the population of the Vancouver, British Columbia,
in action
metropolitan area.
Metro Vancouver is expected to grow to a total
population of 3.4 million by 2041 – an increase of
about 1 million residents. The rising population will
weigh heavily on the existing infrastructure, requiring
upgrades or new developments to fill the gap.
A key initiative to help meet the region’s
wastewater treatment needs is the expansion of the
Annacis Island facility.
The expansion will take place over several years
and comprise over 20 projects that will ultimately
improve the facility’s capacity. These expansion
projects, which are being conducted in phases, will
increase the volume of treated wastewater, improve
the generation of on-site green energy and manage
odor. Eventually, the facility will be able to quickly
recover after a major earthquake.
Concrete protection is an essential element in
extending the lifespan of many critical concrete
structures that make up wastewater treatment
facilities. Concrete protection liners (CPL) help
prevent corrosive compounds and gases from
damaging the structures.
Since the early 1990s, Metro Vancouver has
utilized AGRU’s Sure-Grip®, a high-density
polyethylene (HDPE) CPL, on at-risk concrete
structures exposed to and in contact with
wastewater. As part of the effort at Annacis, the
primary influent channel, pre-aeration tanks and
primary effluent channels are being expanded, and
another AGRU product – Ultra-Grip® – will be used
to line the walls and ceilings.
Ultra-Grip is a concrete protection liner made of
chemically resistant plastics that prevents concrete
corrosion and therefore significantly extends the life
of structures. It is a new version of Sure-Grip that
utilizes an enhanced anchoring system design. Ultra-
Grip is ideal for construction with high groundwater
pressure, harsh environments or strict environmental
requirements.
Ultra-Grip is available in a variety of colors and
configurations for both rolls and sheets and, at 10
22 North American Tunneling Journal
ft. (3 m), is among the widest CPLs produced in the
United States.
“Backpressure resistance is what sets it apart from
its competitors,” the company stated. “If a corrosion
protection system cannot sustain the required
backpressure long-term, then its failure is imminent.
Failure leads to concrete corrosion with high
costs associated with replacement, traffic control
measures and bypass pumping systems.”
Groundwater backpressure also presents a
significant concern for wastewater professionals.
Allowing other fluids like groundwater to enter a
wastewater treatment system is an unnecessary and
costly expense. Therefore, wastewater professionals
are compelled to design systems that are limited to
only treating wastewater. Ultra-Grip’s tensile strength
and high elongation allow it to bridge cracks in
concrete structures and prevent groundwater from
entering the wastewater system.
In one of the many ongoing Annacis projects,
Metro Vancouver worked with the design consultant
to develop plans for the new grit removal facilities.
AGRU’s customer and fabricator, PREDL Systems
North America, Inc., then coordinated with the
designers and engineers to provide support for the
structures to be lined with Ultra-Grip, fabricating
the product into panels sized to match the exact
dimensions of each concrete pouring sequence.
Completion of the first expansion phase is
expected by August 2021. The entire project should
be finished by the end of 2026.
Avanti International
For decades, Avanti International products have been
used to stabilize soil and control groundwater in
geotechnical applications. The company produces
injection grouts, which are essential to tunnel
waterproofing. The products can be used:
Before tunnel break-ins and break-outs to stabilize
surrounding soil and rock, control groundwater
inflow, and improve project productivity
During tunnel construction to stabilize weak soil
and rock, control groundwater ahead of and behind
TBMs to ensure efficient mining, and create a safer
work environment
After project completion to create an impermeable
water barrier that permanently stops inflow and
infiltration, and extend the structure’s life cycle.
With these products, a multicomponent injection
grout or an expansive hydrophobic foam grout is
injected into various rock strata, soil and voids. This
process creates a grout curtain to stabilize the soil,
stop the infiltration and provide structural support.
The injection grout is pumped under pressure
from a delivery system that is either above ground
or located near the grouting area. This liquid mixture
is pressurized through the rock, soil or structural
wall – filling voids and creating a watertight grout/
soil matrix that prevents groundwater infiltration/
exfiltration and potential soil erosion.
The grout seals off infiltration within 30-60
seconds and is controllable from the delivery system.
Grouting pressures measured at the injection point
are monitored. This ensures that the materials are
pumped at higher pressures than the groundwater
pressures.
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North American Tunneling Journal 23