The Importance Of Automation In The Underground Construction Sectors

By Author: Jim Lee
Total Articles: 332
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There can be no denial to the obvious fact that the technology related to the production of high quality sprayed concrete layers through the process of robotizing a shotcreting machine and combining it with the process of tunneling in the construction industry has come a long way. Civil engineering has various branches and the underground sector occupies a very important part of it. This branch of civil engineering is mainly used in the mining sector, applied heavily in the tunneling methods. It must be mentioned here that one of the major processes known as drill and blasting necessitates the application of procedure like concrete spraying, otherwise known as shotcreting. There are three main stages of this method – drilling and blasting; loading and hauling of blasted rocks; and lastly supporting the newly dug out cavity. The third step is often optional where shortcreting is used as a means for providing temporary support.


In this phase, the process of shotcreting requires concrete mix to be sprayed evenly upon the surface of the newly dug out cavity. This quickly solidifies to provide a supporting structure. ...
... This surface can either be treated as a temporary supporting structure till the time a more solid concrete lining is casted. Or this shotcreting service can also be counted as a final lining on the tunnel surface if additional layers are applied upon it. In recent times the process of shotcreting has been mechanized massively and this has led to the introduction of some heavy weight machines like Sprayed Render and Plaster Pumps, Robotic Shotcreting Machines and Paste Backfill Pumps. These machineries are controlled by highly skilled and qualified technicians and are mainly used for creating shotcrete layers of specific materials which may vary from time to time. Actually the quality of the material is directly dependant on the kind of lining that is required. It is the homogeneity and thickness of the layer that define the quality of the material.


Transferring these materials from one end of the tunnel to another and manoeuvring it across the entire length of the tunnel is often found to be a problematic and difficult task. However, the use of Sprayed Render and Plaster Pumps and Robotic Shotcreting Machines makes the job considerably easier. Then again, use of these machines has been proven to be helpful when judged from the technical and economical aspects too. What else can guarantee a minimum shotcrete thickness while also maintaining the necessary structural strength? Speaking from the economic viewpoint, this process seems to be a viable solution as contractors often refuse to apply an extra layer of shotcrete to the wall for which they rarely get paid. The consecutive technological breakthroughs in the field of automation have actually revolutionized the workings in the sector of underground construction. The robotized machines have been so designed that they are based on manipulators. They use a nozzle to spray the concrete on the tunnel walls. This concrete is transported and fed to the machines through the concrete pump. It must be remembered though that in order to get the best out of these machines the spraying vector must be held perpendicular to the selected surface at a distance that may vary from 1m to 1.5m.