China’s largest self-made mud tunneling machine is 135 meters long, used to build a 3.6km tunnel in Shenzhen.
Newly shipped tunneling machine is the largest in China. (Photo: Xinhua).
China’s largest mud drilling machine (TNM) leaves the production line in Zhengzhou, capital of Henan province on September 29, according to Xinhua. The machine named Chunfeng has a diameter of 15.8 meters, weighs 4,800 tons and is 135 meters long.
The machine was developed by China Railway Engineering Equipment Company (CREG) and will be used to open the tunnel in the southern city of Shenzhen. “The geological conditions inside the tunnel are very complicated and it is expected that the tunneling machine will run through the rock layer 3.6km long,” said Ye Chao, an engineer at CREG’s design institute. “We created the design specifically to handle the problem and reduce the risk.”
Tunneling machines excavate the soil with a circular cross-section drilling through various layers of rock and partially concreted to build tunnels, subway lines or sewer pipes. CREG is the world’s leading supplier of tunneling machines. As of June 2018, the company has signed 788 contracts to manufacture tunneling machines for projects, 656 of which are in other countries.