Projects
in Northern America and Turkey on the way
Dubai
(UAE)/Toronto (CDN)/Liaoyang (CN), April 2018.- The last weeks
were amazing for LOVSUNS projects in Northern America and in Turkey.
The Alarko job site team celebrated with Lovsuns the breakthrough of
the TBM at the Kabatas to Mahmutbey Metro Line Project in Istanbul,
Turkey. And a team from Super Excavators visited the LNSS factory in
China for final acceptance and tests with „GO“ to send the TBM
direction Northern America for the Blacksnake Creek Stormwater
Separation Improvement project in St. Joseph, Missouri, USA.
Breakthrough
at Metro Line Kabataş to Mahmutbey in Istanbul
The
construction of the Kabataş-Mecidiyeköy-Mahmutbey Metro Line in
Istanbul, Turkey, is for the Turkish contractor Alarko as well as for
LOVSUNS a turn-key project in this amazing European as well Asian
Metropol City. The contract for Alarko consists of the engineering,
procurement, construction, assembly and system integration, testing
and commissioning works of the 22.5 km long mass transit rail system
between Kabataş-Mecidiyeköy-Mahmutbey with 5.5 km TBM and NATM
tunnel construction works and viaducts, the whole construction works
of three stations, finishing and electromechanical works of 15
stations, 1.5 km depot yard connection line and superstructure of the
depot area and maintenance buildings. In the beginning of April 2018
the breakthrough was celebrated.
Underground
Transportation in Istanbul
Only
for job sites in Istanbul more than 20 Tunnel Boring Machines were
ordered in 2017 for the extension of the Metro Tunnel System. For the
Metro M7 extension Lovsuns delivered a CAT 6.12 m EPB-Shield-TBM
which was used in the Toronto Metro Project in 2010, refurbished in
Toronto and skinned up to 6.5 m. The TBM started the 4 km drive end
of 2016 in the high populated Kabatas area on the European side of
Istanbul to bore two sections.
Existing
and planned Metro lines in Istanbul
The
Istanbul Metro system consists nearly 90 stations (more than 65
underground), is actually more than 150 km long and also complemented
by a line of Premetro (Hafif Metro), a suburban train, a tram system,
an urban network of buses and a funicular. Actually four Metro Lines
on the European and since 2016 two on the Asian side of Istanbul are
used by more than 1 million commuters with rising numbers. The Metro
started in 1989 its service to redeploy the commuter traffic from the
streets to urban underground transportation.
Five
more lines operated by Metro Istanbul are planned to build or
construction is underway:
M3:
Kirazli - Bakirköy-IDO (planned to open in 2019)
M4:
from Tavsantepe (formerly known as Kaynarca) to Istanbul-Sabiha
Gökçen International Airport (7.4 km; construction finish is
planned for 2018)
M7:
Mecidiyeköy - Mahmutbey; construction began in Feb 2014 and was
later extended from Mecidiyeköy via Fulya, Yildiz (old: Darphane on
map) and Besiktas to Kabatas, totalling around 24.5 km with 19
stations (due to open in 2018)
M8:
Cross-city Line on the Asian side from Bostanci to Dudullu (14.3 km,
start of operation is planned for 2019)
M9:
Tangential Line through western suburbs from Ikitelli Sanayi to
Ataköy (13 km, planned to be finished in 2019)
Section
for Metro M7 from Fulya to Kabatas
The
Istanbul Metro currently is undergoing a massive extension with more
than 70 stations and over 330 km of route under construction. The
most will be constructed on completely new lines and some will be
added to the existing routes. The Metro M7 is the largest project,
started in 2014 to be executed in two stages and is planned to start
service in 2018. The new route includes 19 stations from Mahmutbey in
the Northwest to Kabatas in the Southeast, an important ferry hub for
commuters between Asia and Europe.
Logistical
challenges
Preparations
for the 81 m wide and 105 m long job site in Fulya started in January
2016 by securing the surrounding mountaineous residential zone with
earth piling. Originally the Metro line should end in Mecidiyeköy,
but plans changed and the Metro was extended to Kabatas with finally
four more stations. The original plan was to build only a launch
shaft and a parking house in Fulya, but then changed to a Metro
station due to the high population in this district. The Civil works
were given to two different contractors and Alarko won the contract
for the extension line, the construction of the station and all
electromechanical works.
Two
shafts are situated at the Fulya job site. From one shaft the tunnel
heads in NATM in direction to Mecidiyeköy. The second one is the
launch shaft for the TBM to drive in direction to Kabatas with return
in a second tube back to Fulya. The shaft is 33 m deep with 12 m
diameter. The 4.5 km tunnel will go from Fulya via Yildiz and the
very popular Besiktas area to the final station Kabatas directly at
the ferry port. Underground the two shafts at the Fulya job site will
be connected to the Metro station platform, which will be underground
240 m long and on surface 80 m.
Using
the launch shafts for the TBM and the NATM, first of all the
underground station was built. Then, from the wall of the station in
direction to Kabatas, a 15 m long Pilot Tunnel was drilled and a
thrust frame was built for the TBM. After that, the 110 m long TBM
with back-up was assembled in the station to start drilling in the
Pilot Tunnel for using as soon as possible the EPB mode. At Yildiz
and Besiktas station, first of all, the stations were built and then
the TBM drives through the stations. After the breakthrough with
reaching the final station Kabatas, the Lovsuns TBM will be
disassembled and used for further projects of Alarko.
Rebuilt
EPB-TBM of LOVSUNS
The
TBM is a rebuilt mixed face EPB (Earth Pressure Balance) machine with
a cut diameter of 6.57 m. LOVSUNS built new cuttinghead, forward,
stationary and trailing shields, as well as the main drive system.
The rest of the machine has been refurbished. The maximum pressure is
4 bar. The machine is designed for an advance rate of 6 m/h. The TBM
including back-up is 91 m long with 11 m of TBM and 80 m of back-up.
In addition the TBM with back-up has a weight of 563 t. The
cuttinghead face and rim is made of high resistant chromium carbide
to prevent higher abrasion. The hydraulic main drive contents motors
which delivers a total power of 1,200 kW to the cutting head. Maximum
torque of the cutting head is 6,199 kNm at a speed of 1.8 rpm. The
operator station is specially equipped with programmable logic
controller (PLC) with an integrated logging system which records
information about the performance of Cutting Head, Screw Conveyor,
Main Drive, Grout Injection and much more.
The
TBM has an automatic Tunnel Guidance System and the LNSS Ground
Conditioning System with a foam injection rate of 193 m3/h. The grout
injection system delivers two different components (component A with
24 m3/h and component B with 2.4 m3/h) with 16 bar maximum pressure.
The ventilation system shows a capacity of 450 m3/min.
Eight
more TBMs waiting for start
LOVSUNS
won the order of altogether eight more Earth Pressure Balance (EPB)
TBMs for the Alarko-Cengiz and the Makyol/Ictas/Kalyon/Astor joint
ventures building two more Metro lines in Istanbul.
Kaynarca-Pendik-Tuzla
Metro Line Project
On
the Asian side of Istanbul, 19.78 km double line tunnels are planned
for the extension of the Metro Line M4 with the Kaynarca and Pendik
stations and the connection of the M4 Kaynarca station with the Tuzla
station of the B2 Line. The Alarko-Cengiz joint venture will drive
two TBMs from the C cross section to Kaynarca station (2 x 3.2 km)
and two TBMs from the C cross section to Tuzla station (2 x 3.3 km).
For two further TBM drives from the Pendik to the Hastane station (2
x 3.39 km) there is one LOVSUNS TBM with pending order and an
existing TBM is planned to use. The launch date for the TBMs is
planned for 2018.
For
the ground conditions mixed geology with soft to hard and abrasive to
very abrasive rock formations (quarzite, limestone, sand stone, mud
stone, some abrasive quarzite, dayks and more), also some short
sections with alivium are expected.
Kirazli-Halkali
Metro Line Project
On
the European side of Istanbul, 13.20 km double line tunnels are
planned for the connection of the Metro Line M3(M1A) with Halkali
station and M1B with Kirazli Bagcilar station, crossing the M9 Metro
Line at Mimar Sinan station. The Makyol/Ictas/Kalyon/Astor joint
venture will drive two TBMs from the Mimar Sinan to Kirazli Bagcilar
station (2 x 2.7 km) and two TBMs from the planned Fatih to the
Yarimburgaz station (2 x 3.9 km). The launch date for the TBMs is
also planned for 2018.
For
the ground conditions mixed geology with generally soft rock, mud
stone, sand stone, marn, alivium and filled material are expected.
TBM
specifications
Both
joint ventures ordered four TBMs each with mixed face cutterhead,
1,200 KW main drive power, high power, torque and advance rates,
unique wear protection on cuttinghead and screw conveyor as well as
high screw conveyor output.
First
Chinese-Built LOVSUNS TBM for USA accepted in Chinese LNSS Factory
A
team from Super Excavators visited the LNSS factory in China for
final acceptance and tests in the beginning of April 2018. They gave
the „GO“ to send the TBM to Northern America for the Blacksnake
Creek Stormwater Separation Improvement project in St. Joseph,
Missouri, USA.
The
3.3 m double shield rock TBM was sold to Super Excavators Inc. for
the $27 million Blacksnake Creek Stormwater Separation Improvement
project in St. Joseph, Missouri, USA. The machine was designed and
engineered from the LOVSUNS Canadian team and built by its parent
company Liaoning Censcience Industry Co. Ltd. (LNSS) at its Liaoyang
facilities, China. “This is a big step - or breakthrough - for LNSS
and LOVSUNS in achieving our goal of delivering high-quality tunnel
boring machines to the North American market,” said Hongyu Xue,
general manager of Lovsuns.
The
Blacksnake Creek project will intercept and convey flows from the
creek away from the combined sewer systems via a new tunnel system.
The project comprises more than 2 km (6,650 ft) of 2.3 m (7.5-ft)
inner diameter tunnel lined with precast, gasketed concrete segmental
lining, and one 38 m (125 ft), 2.3 m (7.5 ft) inner diameter crossing
of the BNSF Railroad via auger boring. Five total shafts are included
in the project. The tunnel will transition from soft ground to hard
rock along each end of the tunnel alignment along with some mixed
face conditions. The project is expected to last into the fall of
2019.
LOVSUNS
Tunneling Canada Ltd.
LOVSUNS,
former Lovat which was sold to Caterpillar, carried on the Tunnel
Boring Business as the wholly owned subsidiary of Liaoning Censcience
Industry Co. Ltd. – LNSS only one month after the Caterpillar
Tunneling assets were sold to the Chinese LNSS in November 2014 with
the order of the 3.9 m diameter EPB TBM to bore two wastewater
tunnels in Istanbul, Turkey. Further TBM orders for several drives of
the new Metro Line extensions followed. "We designed and
engineered tailormade TBMs for Istanbul and now for the US-market in
Toronto and completely produced the TBMs in the facility in Liaoyang
China. That means that we very successfully united the best practice,
knowledge and technology of both companies for the highest advantage
of our customers", explains Hongyu Xue, General Manager of
LOVSUNS Tunneling Canada Ltd.
Further
information you may find on
Alarko
job site and LOVSUNS teams celebrated the breakthrough of the TBM at
the Kabatas to Mahmutbey Metro Line Project in Istanbul, Turkey
The
6.5 m diameter EPB TBM after final acceptance at LOVSUNS in Toronto,
Canada
The
launch shaft for the TBM with crane for muck transport at the Fulya
job site which is situated in a highly populated area
A
team from Super Excavators visited the LNSS factory in China for
final acceptance and tests with „GO“ to send the TBM to the
project, the Blacksnake Creek Stormwater Separation Improvement in
St. Joseph, Missouri, USA
