Skip to main content

Take a breather with Herrenknecht’s ventilation shaft boring machine

For fast underground construction of slot holes with small diameters within highway tunnels, Herrenknecht is highlighting its Boxhole Boring Machine. The BBM is for slot holes, or boreholes, such as ventilation shafts, either inclined or vertical, with diameters of up to 1.5m and lengths of up to 60m. The machines are designed for stable rock with compressive strengths of 180 Megapascal or more. Herrenknecht, based in Schwanau, southwest Germany, uses pipe jacking technology for its BBM. A drilling un
February 10, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
For fast underground construction of slot holes with small diameters within highway tunnels, 2592 Herrenknecht is highlighting its Boxhole Boring Machine.

The BBM is for slot holes, or boreholes, such as ventilation shafts, either inclined or vertical, with diameters of up to 1.5m and lengths of up to 60m. The machines are designed for stable rock with compressive strengths of 180 Megapascal or more.

Herrenknecht, based in Schwanau, southwest Germany, uses pipe jacking technology for its BBM. A drilling unit at the head of the pipe string is pressed forward from the launch point. Further jacking pipes are installed one after the other in the pipe string and pushed forward, thus lengthening the jacking route.

A cutterhead excavates the rock at the tunnel face, which then falls through the centre of the rig due to the force of gravity. Removed material exits through a muck chute running inside down the length of the jacking pipes. After each jacking stroke, the drilling process is stopped briefly to secure the pipe string and the drilling unit. Then the next jacking pipe can be installed at the bottom of the pip string in the jacking frame.
 
When the desired drilling length is reached, the drilling unit is retracted and jacking pipes are removed one by one until the complete pipe string is dismantled. The drilling unit is retracted back into the jacking frame and a crawler unit can easily move the unit to the next job.

All videos

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Advancing asphalt plant technology
    June 9, 2016
    Advances in asphalt plant technology were in major evidence at the bauma 2016 exhibition in Munich - Mike Woof writes One of the most apparent developments at bauma 2016 was the strong focus on asphalt plant technology. The massive physical presence of the asphalt plants could be seen from a distance, right across the showground, particularly the 50m-high machine Benninghoven had opted to exhibit. However, other plant systems from rival firms Ammann, Lintec and Marini, as well as Turkish company E-MAK, c
  • Concrete paving a smoother surface using machine control technology
    May 17, 2017
    Innovative technology has been used to deliver a smooth concrete road surface on a busy stretch of highway in Nebraska. Much-needed work on a busy section of Interstate 80 has been carried out in Nebraska to improve the road surface. This is one of the most important highways in the US, providing a link that stretches right across the country between the east and west coasts. This busy highway carries a high percentage of heavy truck traffic as it is a vital transport route. However this constant flow of la
  • Electrical tender launched for Fehmarn tunnel
    February 10, 2021
    The winner must set up a renewable energy centre for its work.
  • Hyundai’s HL940 and 955 Tool Master versions set for work
    March 11, 2016
    Tool Master versions of Hyundai’s new wheel loaders, the HL940 TM and HL955 TM, have parallel kinematics, instead of a conventional Z-bar. The HL940 TM and HL955 TM are fitted with a quick coupler to be used with a multitude of attachments, such as forks and grapples. They two machines share many new features with their quarrying counterparts, the HL970 and HL980. Silent, safe and comfortable is the 10% larger ROPS/FOG/FOPS new cabin whose soundproofing ensures maximum silence (68 dB). The new models