Partial Face Excavation Machines: Flexible design.
Herrenknecht shields with partial face excavation can achieve remarkable advances in the most diverse geological conditions and for a wide range of different tunnel profiles. The same basic equipment can be fitted with both excavators and roadheaders.
S-194
Dublin, Ireland
Two thirds of Irish maritime trade passes through Dublin Port. Thousands of lorries have to wind their way through Dublin's center every day. A tunnel will link the highways and roads outside of Dublin directly with the port. In 2002, the machine with partial face excavation S-194 excavated the first section of the tunnel and - once its job was done - was replaced by the Single Shield TBM S-193. The use of these two different machine types is Herrenknecht's solution for strongly varying geological conditions along the tunnel route. After the last TBM breakthrough in 2004, the tunnel was taken into operation in December 2006.
S-148
Athens, Greece
Greece's largest infrastructure project of recent years was the construction of Eleftherios Venizelos international airport. The Herrenknecht machine with partial face excavation bored a metro tunnel for the Olympic Games 2004, linking the airport with the city center.
S-78
Les Vignes in Murten, Switzerland
The Les Vignes tunnel south of Murten runs underneath 2,230m of two developed hills, a Cantonal road and a railway line. Meeting the geological conditions (loose rock and sandstone), 1.9km for each tunnel was excavated using a machine with partial face excavation. The daily advance was from 7 up to almost 20m, with a maximum monthly advance of 280m. In September 1995, the S-78 machine broke through to the end of the second tunnel.
