Shield PDF
Shield PDF
Shield PDF
Toru KONDA
Fellow of JSCE, Dr. of Eng., Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering,
Tokyo Metropolitan University
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excavate soil and for the stabilization of the face.
As this makes clear, the first generation of shield tun-
neling technology was developed about 150 years ago.
Thereafter, no great advances were seen in the technolo-
gy until the 1960s; this plateau lasted for about a century
until a sudden quantum leap, led mainly by Japan.
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Photo 2. Slurry shield (used for the Tokyo Bay Aqualine)
Photo 3. Wire brush tail seal
the problem was to install a bulkhead behind the face
and inject into the resulting space a material that could The technology began with the earth-pressure shield, in
stabilize the cut face. A bentonite slurry, as used for which a screw conveyor discharges the soil excavated
cast-in-situ diaphragm walls and oil wells, offered par- with a cutting head. This is essentially an extension of
ticular advantages in this role. A shift from open shields the mechanized shield, rather than a slurry pressure
to closed designs was the natural result. shield. To make use of the excavated material to stabi-
Once the shield is closed in this way, manual face lize the face, it is necessary to make it plastic so as to
work becomes impossible, so mechanization of excava- exert a controlled pressure on the face, while also ensur-
tion and muck removal became a necessity. Further, the ing that it is suitably superplasticized for ease of dis-
hydraulic pressure of the slurry on the face acts on the charge from the face. Further, it is necessary to
tail void section of the shield. Accordingly, preventing incorporate a mechanism for discharging the soil
the leakage of pressurized soil and water from the clear- through the bulkhead, across which there is a pressure
ance between shield and segment became a driving con- gap. In practice, the slurry is formed by mixing soil with
cern. The device used to prevent such leakage is called additives such as bentonite in an agitator. A screw con-
a tail seal. In addition, earth seals are needed to protect veyor is used to remove slurry from the face. The con-
the rotating parts of machinery from soil intrusion, and veyor is also used to control the pressure at the face. A
these also form an important element in shield technolo- full-scale shield equipped with all of these mechanisms
gy. was used for the construction of 2.44 m sewer main in
As this demonstrates, the most crucial requirements Katsushika Ward, Tokyo, in 1976 (Photo 1). This
in developing the closed shield were suitable materials method of tunneling later grew into one of the mainstays
for stabilizing the face, mechanical excavation methods, of shield tunneling, ranking alongside the conventional
systems for discharging and removing excavated soil, slurry shield (Photo 2). In 1981, a modification involv-
and the tail seal. Face stabilization is possible with slur- ing the use of foam as an additive in the slurry was
ry or excavated soil, and a shield using the former is developed; this is known as the foam shield.
known as a slurry shield. Slurry was an obvious first
choice, as noted above, and its use was pioneered in (2) Tail seal, backfilling, and water cut-off seal
France, the U.K., and Germany. In Japan, full use has Tail sealing is a key part of closed shield technolo-
been made of the slurry shield since 1969, almost in con- gy. The seal slides over the tunnel segments, and so
cert with its use elsewhere. The slurry shields developed must exhibit a high level of durability. First attempts
in Japan are characterized by the use of fine matter in the were urethane lip-type seals, but their performance was
excavated soil, with the addition of auxiliary materials unsatisfactory. A wire brush seal was developed around
such as clay, to obtain a slurry with suitable stabilizing 1973, and this enhanced cut-off performance and dura-
and discharge properties. This achieves very cost-effec- bility at high pressures (Photo 3). Water cut-off and
tive slurry preparation. lubrication are achieved by supplying a special greasy
This idea of using excavated soil to stabilize the face compound mixed with fibers to the seal, which is shaped
is unique to Japan, and is a technology to be proud of. like a brush of steel wires. With later improvements,
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Photo 5. Insert-type master and slave shield
Photo 4. Holding-type master and slave shield
Shield tunneling suffers setbacks even with the best
this type of seal achieved a high level of stable perfor- preparation of machinery and materials. Technology for
mance by the first half of the 1980s. It is the develop- shield advance control is particularly important in mini-
ment of this seal that provided a foundation for the mizing problems. Further, the maintenance of a stable
development of modern shield technology in Japan, and face relies on careful control of slurry or earth pressure
this seal is used for almost all shields today. It has been while adjusting the balance between excavation volume
said that the Japanese thatched roof was the inspiration and discharge to prevent overbreaking. One of the char-
behind this innovation. acteristic features of shields developed in Japan is that
To ensure a good seal at the tail section of a shield, they are fully equipped with sensors, and advance is
the tunnel segments must be accurately fabricated and controlled by computer. An impressive track record tes-
assembled. This requirement has driven up the precision tifies to Japan's highly developed control techniques,
of segment construction in Japan. In recent years, accu- including the fully automated operation of shields.
racy has been increased still further by the use of robots The shield tunnel part of the Tokyo Bay Aqualine
in the assembly process, and by carefully considering the highway, which commenced in 1989 and was completed
joints between segments. One development made in in 1997, is the culmination of Japanese shield develop-
Japan is to apply a sealing material to the four joint faces ment since the 1960s. To ensure the success of this
of segments so as to cut off water at the primary lining. enormous project, a complete system was established,
A suitable water-swelling sealant was developed in encompassing not only the shield tunneling machine
1980. In combination with accurately fabricated seg- itself, but also the rear-mounted equipment for processes
ments and increased assembly accuracy, this has helped such as the automated assembly and delivery of seg-
maintain a high level of water cut-off performance. ments. Indeed, the best of all available technology was
Backfilling of the tail void is an important require- brought together to complete this project.
ment to prevent ground subsidence and ensure stable There are many examples of Japanese shield tunnel-
shield advancement. The invention of a system by ing technology being employed in Asia, such as for sew-
which backfilling takes place as the shield is advanced, erage work in Bangkok in the latter 1970s, and it later
along with a new thixotropic backfilling material (a found application in the U.S., Europe, the Middle East,
material that softens once but recovers its strength with and Near East in the 1980s. When a Japanese earth
time), has made shield tunneling work more reliable. pressure shield machine was used to successfully com-
For reasons of space restriction, tunnels in Japan are plete a tunnel in San Francisco, the U.S. tunnel construc-
often required to make a sharp turns. To meet this tion industry was astonished at its performance. Four
demand, shields equipped with a articulation have been Japanese shields were used for construction of the
developed. Channel Tunnel between the U.K. and France. Thus,
Japanese shield tunneling technology gained an excel-
(3) Total control technology and return of the shield lent reputation during the 1980s. The overseas use of
to its birthplace Japanese tunneling technology is perhaps best exempli-
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the 1980s has been carefully examined and a wide vari-
ety of derivatives have come into use. Chief among
these are the following: overlapped-double-circular
cross-section shields, called MF or DOT; oval and rec-
tangular cross-section shields; master and slave shields
(Photos 4 and 5); outer hull advance shields, such as
MMST (Photo 6); and even a spherical shield capable of
boring both vertical and horizontal shafts. As yet, these
shields have yet to be used overseas, indicating that
Japan's tunneling technology is particularly advanced.
To increase cost efficiency, it is not only face tech-
nology that is important, but also that of the rear sections
of the tunneling equipment. Consequently, recent
emphasis has been on developing the rear section, such
as techniques for the assembly of segments and effective
use of excavated soil. Segment assembly is a large pro-
portion of the work involved in shield tunneling,
accounting for about 40% of the total effort. To ratio-
nalize the assembly of segments, special segment
geometries and joints have been developed. The use of
Photo 6. Typical rectangular shield used for the MMST in-situ concrete instead of segments, in a method known
method as ECL, has also been pioneered.
Further, the ability to drive extremely long tunnels
fied by work for the Docklands Light Railway in and speeding up the advance of shields are considered
London, when a Japanese contractor carried out shield important challenges. Shield tunneling work has been
tunneling work underneath the River Thames. Thus, carried out over distances of a few kilometers or more,
technology that evolved in Japan was returned right to and a shield capable of advancing while segment assem-
its birthplace under the Thames in London. bly takes place has become available.
The combined efforts of many people and the great
Further advances demand for tunnels in Japan have driven Japanese tun-
neling technology into the leading position in the world.
Almost all problems related to the "face" end of But with urban facilities in our major cities still needing
closed shield tunneling had been overcome by the time considerable improvement, there will be future demand
the Aqualine tunnel was constructed. As a result, the for tunnel excavation under harsh conditions. Now that
shield method is now able to operate under a wide range the Law Concerning Special Measures for Public Use of
of soil conditions. Still, there remains room for Spaces Deep Under Ground is in place, we have a regu-
improvement, such as in the ability to drive a tunnel lated system for using our underground space. This will
through gravel layers. The next challenge is to increase surely lead to further improvements and refinements to
cost efficiency and adapt the method to suit difficult shield tunneling, including technology for ultra-deep
construction conditions beneath urban areas. subterranean tunneling.
In recent years, the basic technology developed by
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