CRCHI Channel Express TBM's Subsea Tunnel Breakthrough in Singapore

November 22, 2023, saw the TWRP Pipeline-C1 Tunnel breakthrough in Singapore. The CRCHI (China Railway Construction Heavy Industry Corporation Limited) self-innovated "Channel Express" slurry TBM (Tunnel Boring Machine) assisted the breakthrough, which marks the successful completion of 1.6km, 6m inner diameter subsea water transmission tunnel and adds another important water transmission trunk line in Singapore. The TBM was launched on February 1st. The highest daily footage of the slurry TBM was 17.6 meters, and the highest monthly footage was 289.6 meters in rock condition.

The subsea tunnel connects Singapore Tuas Water Reclamation Plant (TWRP) to the existing network on the Jurong Island core industrial area. It is one of the key infrastructure projects of Singapore's National Water Agency. The tunnel crossed the seabed for a long distance with high water pressure. It passes through mudstone, siltstone, and sandstone for a long distance with high rock strength. There are some fractured zones in the tunnel section, making the excavation difficult.

According to the project features and construction requirements, CRCHI R&D team designed the slurry TBM in a targeted manner and configured a number of intelligent management and monitoring systems to ensure safe, reliable and efficient tunnel excavation. The TBM is equipped with advanced technologies such as high-pressure main drive seal, jaw+roller two stage stone crushing, synchronous bi-component grouting, and slurry circulation anti-blocking system. The telescopic camera device, which was first used in the Singapore tunnel project, can monitor the inside of the main bearing and the excavation chamber by video. The intelligent excavation management system can monitor the excavation volume in real time.

CRCHI provides customers compete guarantee services from equipment installation, commissioning to break- through. The excellent reliability of the equipment has been highly recognized by clients and owners.

Published on 10 January 2024

Published in NBM&CW - January 2024