Multifunctional Machine for Tunnel Redevelopment Works in Confined Spaces

GTA had been searching for a carrier unit to accommodate various attachments for a long time. It had to be sufficiently compact to remove material under constricted conditions when redeveloping tunnels. The machines available on the market were only suitable to a certain extent for working overhead in particular. As a result, GTA got in touch with TML Technik, for their telescopic boom of the Unidachs 220 ripper, which TML originally devised for the metallurgical industry, can rotate by 360°. The machine, which GTA supplies under the name Multiripper 220, is suitable in mining and tunnelling, among other things for producing cross-passages, profiling tunnel cross-sections, scaling with a hydraulic hammer or a cutter as well as clearing, using different types of shovels. Furthermore, it can accommodate shotcrete nozzles as well as drill booms and tools for placing arches and anchors. The operator is able to work at a safe distance thanks to the remote-control system.

The redevelopment of the Maroggia Tunnel on the Lake of Lugano provided an excellent opportunity to try out the capabilities of the MultiRipper. The SBB had decided to enlarge the tunnel cross-section within the scope of the Four-Metre Corridor Basle–Chiasso/Ranzo” project.

During the project, the old masonry had to be removed and recesses created in the roof to install a crossbeam there. As a result, a great deal of work had to be tackled overhead, for which purpose articulated excavators are only suited to a certain extent. Some 200 trains travelling at roughly 80 km/h used the neighbouring track every day as work forged ahead. In this case too, the telescopic boom turned out to be the perfect choice since thanks to its design, no parts ever protruded into the other track’s clearance profile.

The Marti Company, the general contractor for the project, recognised the potential of the MultiRipper 220’s telescopic boom capable of rotating 360° and leased the machine for the duration of the construction period. For working in the tunnel, the machine was fitted with a hydraulic hammer weighing some 350 kg and set up on a platform carriage. In this way, the construction train could be driven out of the tunnel whenever space was needed to place concrete.

In spite of its compact size, the machine with its boom was able to reach the complete cross-section without having to be relocated, accomplishing the work in the roof with high precision. As a result, Marti decided to purchase the MultiRipper 220 after construction had been completed so that it could be deployed for other projects.