Origin and evolution of tunnel boring machine technology

  I. Origin of technology and early exploration (19th century-mid-20th century)

   1. International technology germination

   ① In 1825, British engineer Mark Isambard Brunel designed the first shield machine for the Thames River Tunnel Project, which achieved tunnel construction through manual excavation and rectangular frame support.

   ② In the early 20th century, European and American countries gradually developed mechanized shield technology, but early equipment relied on manual operation and had low efficiency, mainly used in soft soil.

   2. Early attempts in China

   In the early days of the founding of New China (1950s), tunnel construction was still mainly based on drilling and blasting, which was inefficient and risky. For example, the construction of the Chengdu-Chongqing Railway used manual excavation combined with small machines.

   II. Mechanization and introduction and digestion stage (second half of the 20th century)

   1. International technology iteration

   ① After the 1950s, hydraulically driven and electric shield machines appeared, promoting the improvement of tunneling efficiency; in the 1970s, companies such as Germany's Wirth and the United States' Robbins monopolized 90% of the global market share.

   ② Technological breakthroughs include full-section tunnel boring machines (TBMs) and composite stratum adaptation technologies, which are suitable for hard rock and complex geological conditions.

   2. China's technology introduction and absorption

   ① In 1997, the Qinling Tunnel of the Xikang Railway introduced foreign TBM equipment for the first time, pushing China into the mechanized construction stage, but the high cost of import dependence (the price of a single device exceeded 600 million yuan).

   ② In 2002, the shield method was tried in the construction of the Beijing Metro, opening up the exploration of mechanized tunneling in urban underground space.

  III. Independent innovation and technological breakthroughs (from the beginning of the 21st century to the present)

   1. Breakthrough in localization

   ① In 2008, China Railway Equipment developed the first domestic composite shield machine "China Railway No. 1", overcoming the difficulties of rock breaking, slag removal, and support system integration, breaking the foreign monopoly.

   ② Key technological breakthroughs:

   ③ Main bearing: Luoyang LYC developed domestic main bearings with a lifespan of 24,000 hours, shortening the gap with international standards;

   ④ Tool material: Tungsten-cobalt-titanium alloy tools achieved a single-day excavation record of 45.5 meters (Tianshan Shengli Tunnel);

   ⑤ Intelligent control system: Huawei Hongmeng Industrial OS and 5G edge computing platform improve guidance accuracy to 0.1mm.

   2. Super engineering practice

   ① Plateau and high cold challenges: In 2025, the "Plateau Pioneer" TBM will support the construction of the Sichuan-Tibet Railway, adapting to -40℃ low temperature and 5,000 meters above sea level;

   ② Underwater tunnel innovation: The Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Shiziyang Tunnel (2011) first applied large-diameter shield technology to break through the construction difficulties of composite strata.

  IV. Intelligent and green development stage (2020s to present)

   1. Intelligent upgrade

   ① Introduce AI geological prediction system (accuracy rate 76%), digital twin platform (Tianlong Railway Project) and remote operation and maintenance center (equipment attendance rate 92%);

   ② Huawei, Sany Heavy Industry and other companies develop autonomous decision-making models, such as the Guangzhou Metro "tunneling brain" system integrating 1,325 decision-making models.

   2. Sustainable development transformation

   ① Energy consumption optimization: Domestic equipment consumes 38kWh of energy per meter of tunnel, which is still 18% lower than the EU standard, but the pilot hydrogen fuel system of the Guanghua Intercity Project has reduced emissions by 41%;

   ② Circular model: China Railway Construction Heavy Industry launched equipment leasing services to lower the threshold for use by small and medium-sized enterprises.