The construction of a 9-meter earth pressure shield machine has pioneered Shanghai, and there are two tunnel sections connecting the airport connecting line that run through the shield machine | tunnel | section
Shanghai Shentie is responsible for investment and construction, and the 8th section of the airport connecting line, undertaken by China Communications Tunnel Bureau, has made new progress in construction. After the successful reception of the "Pearl" shield tunneling machine in April this year, the "Dongfang", a super large shield tunneling machine with a diameter of 14 meters, was successfully received at the resort station today. At this point, the two super large shield tunneling machines of Section 8 have all been received, marking the smooth connection of this tunnel section.
The section of the 8th section of the tunnel, from the 5th air shaft to the resort station, has a total length of about 8.16 kilometers and is constructed by two 14 meter diameter super large shield tunneling machines, Mingzhu and Dongfang. Since its departure in December 2021, the "Dongfang" shield tunneling machine has gone through 566 days, crossing numerous rivers, Mingbang, elevated roads, historic streets, etc., and finally successfully arrived at the resort station. The tunnel adopts a fully prefabricated assembly process. In order to meet the construction schedule requirements, the project team has independently developed construction machinery and tools such as curved parts precision adjustment machine, middle partition wall assembly machine, and top grouting operation platform, and has obtained many patents. During the construction period, the shield tunneling machine excavates 9 to 10 rings per day, with precise control of pipe gaps, achieving zero accidents during tunnel construction and zero leakage in the 250000 square meter tunnel section.
Other sections of the airport connecting line are also accelerating rapidly. The section of the 12th section of the tunnel, from the transfer shaft of Lingkong Road to Pudong Airport Station, has recently been fully connected. It uses four 9-meter earth pressure balance shield tunneling machines for excavation construction, which is the first time this type of shield tunneling machine has been put into use in the Shanghai area. There is no precedent reference for relevant construction experience and propulsion parameters. The project team concentrated technical backbone, combined with on-site conditions, timely corrected and adjusted relevant parameters, and finally integrated a set of 9-meter shield tunneling construction parameters, providing construction experience for the subsequent use of this level of shield tunneling machine in the Shanghai area.
During the construction period, builders face various challenges such as limited space and multiple risk points. In the No. 7 air shaft of the 12th section, the available site is only 12000 square meters. It is necessary to complete the departure of four shield tunneling machines in different sections, as well as ensure the daily consumption of 40 segments in the pipe stacking yard and the daily transportation of 500 earthwork trucks. In response to this difficulty, the project team reasonably sets the starting sequence and adjusts the construction site layout in a timely manner based on the daily construction consumption of pipe segments, ensuring a pipe stacking yard that meets the construction volume of 2 to 3 days. And in order to achieve the transportation of nearly 600 earthwork trucks during peak hours, the project team communicated with the earthwork unloading points and earthwork transportation units in advance, and ultimately completed the transportation of 1.3 million cubic meters of earthwork.
It is reported that the airport connecting line has a total length of 68.6 kilometers, passing through three administrative regions: Minhang, Xuhui, and Pudong New Area. The entire line has a total of 9 stations, and the maximum operating speed of trains can reach 160 kilometers per hour. After the completion of the project, the operating time between the two comprehensive transportation hubs of Hongqiao and Pudong can be controlled at around 40 minutes, enabling transfer with multiple existing and under construction rail transit lines, facilitating the travel of citizens and passengers along the line.
