May 7th saw TBM “Haojiang Pioneer”, built by China Railway Construction Heavy Industry Corporation Limited (CRCHI), successfully launched in Macao, China on the northern section of the Macao Light Rail Eastern Line. Haojiang Pioneer measures 87m in length, with a total weight of approximately 690 tons, and an excavation diameter of 7.28m.
The Macao Light Rail Eastern Line (northern section) is approximately 2.74km long and starts in Zone A of the Macao Peninsula in the south, terminating at the Portas do Cerco (Guanzha Port) in the north. The shield driven tunnel section of the project is about 2,077m long and constrained by factors such as being under a dense urban area, having a narrow construction site, and complex hydro-geological conditions. The project adopts the shield construction method of “short interval, high frequency”, and requires multiple machine launch and reception operations. This demands precise control of shield machine construction, formation adaptability, and risk management.
In response “Haojiang Pioneer” is equipped with intelligent monitoring and high-precision deviation correction. “It can analyze the changes in the soil layer structure in front of the tunnelling area in real time, adjust the rotation speed and thrust of the cutter head, effectively improve the construction efficiency and reduce the settlement risk.
“At the same time, the shield machine has introduced advanced systems such as the visualization camera in the soil bin and the automatic spraying system, which improves the management efficiency of multi-party linkage during the tunneling process and minimizes the impact on the surrounding environment,” says CRCHI.
When the project is completed and opened to the traffic, key areas such as the Portas do Cerco in Macao, Zone A of the new city, and the Taipa Ferry Terminal will be connected effectively relieving passenger flow pressure at the Portas do Cerco, significantly improving the efficiency of surface traffic, whilst alleviating urban traffic congestion.
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