The "Lawrence" Mole - Equipment Reliability -The Key To Successful Rock Tunneling By Machine

Tunnel-driving capabilities in terms of feet per hour have advanced several hundred percent in the last century. Indications are that this capacity will double each decade for the next three decades. These future improvements will be made possible by a greatly increased need for underground excavation and the awareness of industry of its own latent capabilities. The factors of most interest to any potential user of a tunneling machine are those making possible an increase in production. The first and most obvious factor, and probably the one that has created the excitement and interest of most people, is the increase in boring rate through faster rock fracture and improved support systems. Boring rate can be increased by more horsepower in the form of increased thrust, torque, and cutterhead speed, and by better cutters and cutting methods, better material-handling systems, and better ground-control systems. All of these items are extremely important and are the basis of much discussion and effort by everyone concerned with the excavation of tunnels by machine. The second factor, just as obvious and equally important as an increase in boring rates, is "increase in production through better utilization of the tunneling machine and related equipment," which means a reduction in downtime through greater reliability of equipment. Mechanical rock attack is presently capable of cutting hard rock at 5 fph and soft rock at more than 20 fph. In current practice, however, this advance rate is maintained for less than 50% of the shift time. I predict that tunnel-driving contractors and their supporting manufacturers of tunnel-boring equipment will provide machinery that will maintain these advance rates for more than 90% of the shift time. This increase in effective production will be due to the increase in reliability of the tunneling machine and tunneling system components. Such a percentage increase in utilization of the tunneling equipment is just