EXTRUDED CONCRETE LINING

1. EXTRUSION SYSTEM We extrude the tunnel lining directly behind the tunnelling machine. Concrete is pumped through an advancing stop end slip form into an already filled ring shaped form. This form is defined by the surrounding soil on the outside, a fixed steel shutter on the inside and at the front, the advancing stop end which is elastically supported. When a tunnel is driven through cohesionless water bearing gravel, as with the Lyon metro, the water and soil pressures must be reliably balanced by the extruded concrete even in its fluid state. One must therefore ensure that the concrete can transfer, without any losses, a predetermined pressure over the whole lining circumference.

Picture 1: Extrusion 1.1 Concrete 1.11 State of aggregation The transfer of a predetermined pressure is only possible with the concrete in a fluid state. This state, however, is limited by the onset of the chemical curing process. Thus the change of state during the extrusion process has a considerable significance. The fluid state alone allows a reliable extrusion process. In the semi-solid state, due to increased shear resistance, the pumping forces are not enough to transfer the pressure to the whole tunnel circumference.

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Picture 2: State of aggregation 1.12 Flow properties Thus all efforts are directed to holding the concrete fluid for as long as possible, thus increasing its flow properties. All the findings of concrete technology are required for this: No broken Aggregate is used. The sand cement content is relatively high. Electro-filter ash increases the fine particle content. Chemical additives, which increase the flow tendencies and delay setting, are added. Vibratory compaction however, is useless for this fluid and thus dense concrete. This indicates the very different nature of extruded concrete in comparison with normal concrete. The flow characteristic of concrete is not only reduced by the increasing shear resistance during setting, but also by water loss. When an extruded concrete for example, flows along a very permeable granular soil, then the concrete looses water through filtration. This loss of only small amounts of water considerably reduces the flow properties of the concrete in a few minutes.

Picture 3: Loss of water by filtration behind the stop end

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Picture 4: Consolidation by loss of filtrated water 2. EXTRU-CONCRETE From the findings stated above, Hochtief has developed in the course of many field tests, a process for the construction of reliable and economic tunnel linings with significant technical advantage in all ground conditions: Extru-Concrete. Extru-Concrete is a tunnel lining, extruded behind a tunnelling machine. The process and equipment ensure that the concrete is placed under constant pressure and thus supports the surrounding soil even during the fluid state. For Extru-Concrete, the concrete is pumped in constant small amounts, rapidly alternating between several fill points equally spaced around the stop end. This ensures short flow paths due to the equal volume distribution and avoids the so-called lump formation behind the stop end.

Picture 5: State of equilibrium

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2.1 Stable pressure of fluid concrete Extru-Concrete ensures too, that the concrete is placed under a stable pressure. The fluid concrete can only maintain a constant predetermined pressure during extrusion when the volume created by the advancing stop end is simultaneously pumped full with an equal volume of concrete. This is not easy to achieve, as only a small drop in volume causes an immediate pressure drop. The most reliable method of extruding concrete under constant pressure is to push the stop end forwards with the pressure of the extruded concrete itself.

Picture 6: Concrete feed 2.2 Stop end slip form The stop end is therefore a ring shaped steel construction, sliding within the shield tail with a sprung restraint. It was a slide range of about 30 cm, linked by limit switches to the control of the shield advance rams and the concrete pump. Rubber seals seal the gap between the stop end and the shield tail and between the stop end and the inner shutter, also preventing here a loss of filtrate water. The stop end is elastically restrained by hydraulic jacks which are linked together to a gas pressure vessel. The spring constant, the gas pressure, can be accurately regulated. Thus the required concrete pressure behind the stop end can be maintained, and thanks to the sprung restraint it remains stable, independent of the movement cycles of shield and stop end. An ingenious hydraulic synchronous system ensures that the very thin stop end only moves parallel, although the hydrostatic pressure at the base is greater than at the top.

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Picture 7: Stop end slip form elastically restrained 2.3 Technical advantages The pressure stability during extrusion inherent in Extru-Concrete provides several significant technical advantages: Firstly Secondly not settlement occurs due to construction of the tunnel lining and the bending loading on the tunnel lining is considerably lower than that on tubbing lining.

2.31 Settlements Because the concrete is extruded with a higher pressure than that resulting from the water and soil pressures, the surrounding can not loosen. Thus no settlement can occur at the surface due to construction of the tunnel lining. The total settlement due to a shield drive is caused by the settlement due to relaxation at the face, overcut to permit steering and settlement during lining erection. Because the concrete behind the stop end behaves as a fluid, the whole system can be used as a hydraulic press: That is to say, with the choice of the concrete extrusion pressure we can counter the relaxation and loosening of the soil in the vicinity of the face and shield, and compensate for them while the tunnel lining is formed. When we use a shield with a stable pressure face, that is to say supported by a fluid, as in Lyon; then settlements can virtually be completely avoided. In Lyon there are 1-3 cm and so of the order of he surveying accuracy.

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Picture 8: settlement progression during shield drives

Picture 9: Metro Lyon Section of measurements Clocher de la Charit 2.32 Bending moments The bending moment on the lining is lower when the concrete shell is formed under constant pressure against the surrounding soil. This result in an optimal bedding. We can also apply a crown bedding in our analysis model. In addition, we are able to adjust the horizontal loading PH of the surrounding soil to that of the vertical loading PV with the concrete pressure. Both assumptions result in a considerable reduction of the calculated bending moments in the tunnel shell. This has practical consequences. No steel reinforcement is necessary. The resulting compressive stresses prevent cracks and they seal the tunnel lining.

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Picture 10: Small bending moments 3. APPLICATIONS 3.1 Projects 3.11 Hamburg Sewer The first time was 1978/79 in Hamburg-Harburg to drive a 1,300 m long collector sewer with an outer diameter of 3,60 m through water bearing sand. 3.12 Metro Frankfurt Then, in 1980/81, we extruded the 25 cm steel fibre concrete primary lining for a total of 1,600 m of running tunnels, outside diameter 6,86 m, in Lot 36 of the Frankfurt metro, in clay with layers of limestone. 3.13 Tunnel Freudenstein At the moment we are using the process for the Freudenstein tunnel on the New Construction Line (NBS) of the German Federal Railway. We extrude the 20 cm thick lining of the pilot drive, outer diameter 5,20 m, behind an expandable blade shield. The rock is anhydride and marl. 3.14 Metro Lyon And in Lyon we are extruding the 30 cm thick primary lining, outer diameter 6,50 m for the 2,500 m of running tunnels in a metro section, behind a hydroshield. We have to pass water bearing gravel with big stones under a pressure of up to 2,4 bars.

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Picture 11: Extruded steel fibre concrete lining behind Hydro-Shield

Picture 12: Pressure distribution during working 3.2 Steel fiber concrete In most of the tunnels we have extruded steel fiber concrete as tunnel lining. The compressive strength required of an extruded concrete can easily be achieved with a normal concrete. It is however rather different as regards the tensile strength in bending. The extrusion process is a continuous working method which cannot be interrupted to install normal reinforcement to take the tensile bending stresses. Alone 50 kg/m 3 of steel fibers, 0,6-0,8 mm thick and 40 mm long, mixed with the extruded concrete B 35 raise the tensile strength in bending to over 8 N/mm2. But this high tensile stresses are avoided by the optimal bedding and the adjustment of the loads of an extruded lining.

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Picture 13: Extruded lining 4. FINAL REMARKS All finalized applications have demonstrated the technical advantages of the method: the low bending moments in the lining and the negligible or completely missing settlements of the ground. Recently the economical advantage have proven again as Hochtief was awarded the contract of 3;2 km long Metro Line in Essen, Germany.

BABENDERERDE INGENIEURE GmbH Babendererde, S. (1986) Extruded concrete lining, Congresso internazionale su grandi opere sotterane, Florenz, Italien, 06.1986

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