By Ashley Karen
Lately, China’s first large-slope TBM, “Beishan No 1”, was officially put into use in the Beishan underground laboratory project in Gansu Province.
After considering the difficulty that the project must be built on a spiral curve slope, China Railway Construction Corporation developed this boring machine independently. It also offered technical equipment solutions for rapid construction.
The “Beishan No 1” tunnel boring machine is approximately 100 meters long and 7.03 meters in diameter. It is three times more efficient than the standard plane cutter head in breaking rocks, featuring a hard rock cutter head, and can deal with extremely hard rock formations.
Once completed thoroughly, Beishan Laboratory is said to be the world’s most extensive underground laboratory, filling the gap in China’s underground on-site R&D platform and equipment for high-discharge waste disposal technology. Furthermore, the lab will even provide essential support in the safe geological disposal of high-level waste.
