By rosebell
As a machine for construction of the vertical shafts for the Yongjia Pumped Storage Power Station in Zhejiang province, CREG 1430, which was manufactured by China Railway Engineering Equipment Group Co and is China’s first variable-diameter shaft reaming machine, has passed its Factory Acceptance Test.
Excavation of a 358m-deep exhaust shaft and two 488m-deep diversion shafts will be up to this machine with an excavation diameter of 7.23m, wheras the total tunneling distance is 1334m. While the rock, partial fault zones and a sediment-tuff interlayer are the contents of the geology, the lithology is crystal welded tuff and spherical bubble rhyolite, with an average compressive strength of 119-190MPa, and locally up to 223MPa.
In order to advancing this project, CREG customised the shaft reaming machine, adopting a variable-angle conical cutterhead to facilitate rock breaking and discharging and the design also allows for assembly and disassembly in the narrow chamber.
With a highly automated tunneling process, the operator will control and monitor all operations from the control cabin.
By decreasing reliance on coal-powered electricity generation, the Yongjia Pumped Storage Power Station will provide energy storage and emergency back-up for the Zhejiang electricity grid once completed.
