China News Service, Chengdu, September 24 (Reporter Wang Peng) On the 24th, the world's largest double-shielded TBM "Yuexihao" with the largest diameter of its kind officially completed assembly and commissioning at the China Railway High-tech Intelligent Equipment Manufacturing Base in Xinjin District, Chengdu. This equipment will be used in the construction of the Yuexi Tunnel of the Jinkouhe-Xichang Expressway (hereinafter referred to as the "Jinxi Expressway"), the longest expressway tunnel under construction in China.
The "Yuexi Hao" was jointly developed by Shudao Group and China Railway Equipment. It is a "mountain-penetrating weapon" tailor-made for the complex geology of the Yuexi Tunnel. The size of this "steel dragon" is astonishing: the excavation diameter is 13.01 meters, equivalent to the height of a 4-story residential building; the total length of the machine is 220 meters, almost the length of a standard high-speed rail EMU; and the total weight reaches 3,500 tons.
According to reports, unlike the traditional drill-and-blast method of construction, TBM can simultaneously complete tunnel excavation, rock wall support, muck transportation and other processes, increasing construction efficiency by 3-5 times. At the same time, it greatly reduces the number of personnel staying on high-risk working surfaces, making construction safer and causing less disturbance to the surrounding ecological environment.
The Yuexi Tunnel is located at the junction of Yuexi County and Xide County, Liangshan Prefecture. It adopts a separate double-hole design, with a total length of approximately 18.4 kilometers and a maximum burial depth of 1,011 meters. It is the core control project of the Jinxi Expressway. Faced with multiple constraints, the construction team came up with an innovative plan of "long tunnel and short tunnel": the main left tunnel was quickly excavated using the "Yuexihao" TBM, the right tunnel and the exit section of the left tunnel were constructed using the full-process mechanized drill and blast method, and a working surface was added through the cross passage in the middle of the tunnel. The two construction methods have complementary advantages. They not only give full play to the advantages of fast tunneling of TBM, but also can flexibly respond to different geological conditions. This combined construction method of "TBM + fully mechanized drilling and blasting" is very representative in the field of highway construction across the country.
Lan Fu'an, member of the party committee and deputy general manager of Sichuan Gao Company of Shudao Group, said that the Jinxi Expressway is the main interconnection project between Panxi and the Chengdu-Chongqing region. After the project is completed and opened to traffic, it will effectively solve the problem of winter ice and snow traffic control, provide strong support for promoting the region's "industrial circle construction", boosting the overall revitalization of rural areas, and achieving high-quality economic development in the province.
Why was a double-shield TBM with the largest diameter of its kind in the world born in Chengdu? The reporter learned that this is a vivid practice of the "central-local coordination" development model. In September 2023, China Railway High-tech Intelligent Equipment Co., Ltd., led by China Railway High-tech Industrial Co., Ltd. and jointly established by Sichuan Water Conservancy Development Group and China Railway Sixth Survey and Design Institute, settled in Xinjin Economic Development Zone. The first phase of the total investment is 1 billion yuan to build the first full-section tunnel boring machine intelligent assembly line in Southwest China, and build a full-chain localization system covering control systems, monitoring and early warning, and construction equipment.
Since the China Railway High-tech Intelligent Equipment Manufacturing Base was settled in Xinjin, from "Chuanshan Jia No. 1" to "Yue Xi Hao", it has effectively promoted the gathering of industrial clusters such as intelligent manufacturing and rail transit, and is becoming an important engine for Xinjin's industrial transformation and upgrading. During this period, Xinjin organized a number of supply and demand matchmaking meetings to promote China Railway High-tech Intelligent Equipment to cooperate with local enterprises in Xinjin as a "chain leader"; to connect with external suppliers for raw materials, equipment and other needs, and continue to increase the proportion of local supporting equipment.
Nowadays, the industrial agglomeration effect around the base has initially emerged. A number of supporting companies such as hydraulic systems, electrical control, and tool manufacturing have signed contracts to settle in Xinjin, and the supporting network is taking shape. According to reports, after the base is fully completed, it will have an annual output of 14 shield machines and 50 sets of special equipment for tunnel construction. The annual output value is expected to reach 1.8 billion yuan, creating employment for more than 1,000 people.
Xu Hao, chairman of China Railway High-tech Intelligent Equipment Co., Ltd., said that this powerful and important equipment will solve the winter ice and snow control problem on the Yaxi Expressway. At the same time, we hope to carry out technological docking with more enterprises in Sichuan to further deepen cooperation between the central and local governments and make the collaborative effects more significant.
