Top 10 Biggest Tunnel Boring Machines in the World
Here is the list of Top 10 Biggest Tunnel Boring Machines in the World, Massive next-generation tunnel boring machines that can dig rock walls, remove the material, and place concrete components, leaving the tunnels suitable for road or railway development. The following are the top ten largest tunnel boring machines in the world.
List of Top 10 Biggest Tunnel Boring Machines in the World
10. Dame Whina Cooper ( Biggest Tunnel Boring Machines )
It is a closed shield tunnel boring machine that measures 7.1 meters in diameter, measures 130 meters in length, and weighs a total of 910 tons. Its cutting head breaks up the material, removes it, and installs concrete segments, forming a tunnel. The tunnel walls force themselves forward from newly installed segments using hydraulic cylinders and may move up to 32 meters each day. This tunnel boring machine will be used until 2022 to construct a 1.6-kilometer-long tunnel beneath the city center of Auckland, New Zealand, to improve public transportation.
9. Florence ( Biggest Tunnel Boring Machines )
It is a closed shield tunnel boring machine with a diameter of 9.1 meters, a length of 170 meters, and a total weight of 2,000 tons that was produced in Germany. It has an installed power of 3,500 kilowatts and a torque of 16,300-kilonewton meters. works with a team of 17 and the assistance of another 100 on the surface, operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and may move 15 meters each day. This tunnel boring machine will be used to construct a 16-kilometer-long rail tunnel in the southeast of England beginning in 2021.
8. La Tapatía ( Biggest Tunnel Boring Machines )
It is a closed shield tunnel boring machine that is 11.5 meters in diameter and was built in Germany by the company Herrenknecht. It is 105 meters long and weighs more than 2,000 tons. It has an installed power of 6,300 kilowatts and a torque of 44,000-kilonewton meters. was employed from 2016 to 2018 for the building of a 5.4-kilometer-long tunnel in Mexico. This subterranean portion is part of a train line that links numerous communities in the state of Jalisco. A total of 15,000 concrete voussoirs were fitted to form the tunnel’s more than 2,000 rings.
7. TBM S-947 ( Biggest Tunnel Boring Machines )
It is a basic shield tunnel boring machine with a diameter of 13.9 meters, a length of 75 meters, and a total weight of 2,000 tons. It has an installed power of 3,500 kilowatts and a torque of 6,300-kilonewton meters. was built specifically for the reconstruction of the Belchen tunnel, which is located in the Swiss mountains. The tunnel boring machine began to be used in 2016 and was capable of drilling and securing up to 90 meters of tunnel per week. It took 16 months to complete the work, allowing the 3.2-kilometer-long tunnel to be rebuilt and used safely.
6. the Caucasus ( Biggest Tunnel Boring Machines )
It is a basic shield tunnel boring machine with a diameter of 15.08 meters that was produced in China by the China Railway Tunnel Group firm. It has a total length of 182 meters and weighs 3,900 tons. It has a total power of 9,900 kilowatts and a maximum thrust of 22,000 tons. In 2019, a 9-kilometer-long tunnel in Georgia’s highlands began to be built. This tunnel penetrates the Caucasus mountains and connects to an important roadway linking multiple nations. This project is part of a larger network of marine and rail linkages between China and Europe.
5. TBM S-317 ( Biggest Tunnel Boring Machines )
It is a mixed shield tunnel boring machine with a diameter of 15.4 meters, a length of 135 meters, and a total weight of 2,300 tons. It has an installed power of 3,500 kilowatts and a torque of 34,000-kilonewton meters. The tunnel boring machine is built to endure high water pressures and extract a combination of sand, clay, rocks, and groundwater. This machine was employed in 2006 in China to construct a 7.4-kilometer-long tunnel beneath the Yangtze River in Shanghai, which is 65 meters below the river bed.
4. Martina ( Biggest Tunnel Boring Machines )
It is a closed shield tunnel boring machine with a diameter of 15.6 meters, a length of 130 meters, and a total weight of 4,500 tons. It has a 192-square-meter excavation area, and its cutting components are composed of tungsten. It has an installed power of 12,000 kilowatts and a torque of 94,000-kilonewton meters. It can progress up to 24 meters per day and cost $60 million. This tunnel boring equipment was utilized in 2013 to construct the Sparvo tunnel in Italy, which is 2.4 kilometers long.
3. Santa Lucia ( Biggest Tunnel Boring Machines )
It is a closed shield tunnel boring machine with a diameter of 15.8 meters, a length of 130 meters, and a total weight of 5,000 tons. It has an installed power of 17,600 kilowatts and a maximum thrust of 314,000 kilonewtons. It has a capacity of 2,100 tons per hour and is designed to safeguard employees from any methane gas leaks during material extraction. It was utilized in 2017 by the Pavimental firm to construct a 7.7-kilometer-long tunnel in Italy to increase connectivity between the towns of Bologna and Florence.
2. Bertha ( Biggest Tunnel Boring Machines )
It is a closed shield tunnel boring machine that measures 17.5 meters in diameter and was built in Japan by Hitachi Zosen Sakai Works. It has a total length of 99 meters and a weight of 6,700 tons. It has an installed power of 22,000 kilowatts and a maximum thrust of 392,000 kilonewtons. It can rotate at up to 1.8 revolutions per minute and has a torque of 147,000 Kilonewton meters. This tunnel boring machine was used in 2017 to construct a 3.2-kilometer-long tunnel beneath Seattle, Washington, which cost $80 million.
1. Tuen Mun ( Biggest Tunnel Boring Machines )
It is a mixed shield tunnel boring machine with a diameter of 17.6 meters, a length of 120 meters, and a total weight of 4,800 tons. It has a power output of 5,600 kilowatts and a torque of 27,000-kilonewton meters. This tunnel boring machine was used to construct two 5-kilometer-long underwater tunnels in the Hong Kong region. Construction began in 2015, and the tunnel boring machine had a performance of more than 30 meters per day. The tunnels are 60 meters below sea level, and they will be open to vehicle traffic in 2020.
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