Glossary.

Support of the TBM supply and the muck transport system; it also serves as extension of the tunnel lines.

Tool mounting allowing a change of cutting tools (disk cutters, soft ground tools) from a safe position in the rear.

A highly expansive clay excavated from natural deposits. In Mixshield technology, it is mainly used in the form of bentonite suspension; the transport medium for the excavated material in the slurry circuit, as a support medium (thixotropic liquid) for the tunnel face.

The Berlin construction method describes the star-shaped arrangement of house connections around a collector.

A tunnel which ends in the ground as a "blind alley".

Geological obstacles (mostly individual large pieces of rock encountered in sandy or clayey soils).

Compressed air that has been filtered to be suitable for breathing. Required in man locks and for pressurizing maintenance personnel in the excavation chamber for maintenance works.

Excavation tool in the form of a bucket tooth for partial face excavation.

The bypass is a part of the feed and slurry circuit. By switching the bypass, the feed line is connected to the slurry line so that the flow in the slurry circuit can be maintained when the TBM is stopped without flushing the tunnel face. Thus, the number of repeated starting procedures for the slurry pumps is considerably reduced.