International Symposium on Underground Excavation and Tunnelling 2-4 February 2006, Bangkok, Thailand

Construction of MRT Chaloem Ratchamongkhon Line Underground Structures North and Japanese Shield Tunnel Technology
Toshio Tokuda1, Kinsaku Kinoshita2, Keizo Miki3
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Obayashi Corporation Thai Office, Thailand NEON Consortium for Construction of 230kv Underground Transmission Line Project, Thailand 3 Obayashi Corporation, Japan

ABSTRACT The development of an integrated Mass Rapid Transit Network covering 238 km long is in progress in Bangkok in order to alleviate traffic congestion in the capital of the Kingdom of Thailand. As the first stage the MRT Chaloem Ratchamongkhon Line has already been open, in which one of the main civil work contracts the Underground Structures North Contract had been awarded to the ION Joint Venture (Italian-Thai Development, Obayashi Corporation and Nishimatsu Construction). The contract included 10 km twin bored tunnels together with 9 underground stations and implemented from 1997 to 2002. This paper describes the features of the bored tunneling by tunnel boring machines (TBMs) with special focuses on tunnel driving through partially excavated cut & cover stations and underpinning of existing bridges. In addition, some state-of-the-art Japanese shield tunneling technologies are also touched upon.

1. INTRODUCTION The Bangkok Mass Rapid Transit Authority (MRTA) Project aims to construct a subway of a total length of 238 km, which will be another rapid mass transportation system equivalent to the elevated railway BTS, which is already in service, and is expected to mitigate road traffic congestion in the city. The Chaloem Ratchamongkhon Line Project is the first stage project of the MRTA Project, and involved construction of the first subway line in Thailand, including two shield tunnels of a total length of about 20 km from Figure 1. General plan Hualamphong Station to Bang Sue Station and 18 other stations, which were built using the diaphragm wall and inverted construction methods. Of this, the 11.8 km-long northern section was designed and constructed by the Joint Venture of Italian-Thai Development, Obayashi Corporation and Nishimatsu Construction. In the large-scale project of constructing two parallel single track tunnels of about 10 km in total length and 9 subway stations, station tunnels were excavated using shield machines first and

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then they were expanded to construct the stations aiming to reduce the costs and work period for excavating such long tunnels. This report describes overviews of the design and construction of LAT Phrao Station and the underpinning method, in which no supporting beams were used to support superstructures above tunnels but the superstructures were directly supported by jack piles. The report also describes several state-of-the-art technologies in Japan: the use of Double O Tube (DOT) for Nagoya Subway, the use of a detachable expanding shield and jointing of a station and shield tunnel in Rinkai Oimachi Line, and the quick underpass construction method URUP developed by Obayashi Corporation.

2. OVERVIEW OF THE NORTHERN SECTION OF THE CHALOEM RATCHAMONGKHON LINE Title of the project: Chaloem Ratchamongkhon Line Project of the Bangkok Mass Rapid Transit Authority Owner: Mass Rapid Transit Authority Place: Bangkok, Thailand Work period: August 11, 1977 to August 4, 2002 Contents of the project: 1) 9 stations:Use of the diaphragm walls, single walls (1 m thick), inverted construction method 2) Parallel single track shield tunnels extending north to south of a total length of 16.7 km 4 Earth Pressure Balanced shield machines (outer diameter: 6.43 m) RC segments of 5.7 m in inner diameter, 0.3 m thick, and 1.2 in standard length, each ring divided into 7, no secondary lining 3) Open cut tunnel: 1.1 km long 4) Supporting with jack piles Superstructures to be supported: 2 piers of highway viaduct (dimensions of footings: 7.2 m # 9.6 m and 7.6 m # 6.1 m) 1 pier of pedestrian bridge (dimensions of the footing: 2.5 m # 2.5 m) Jack piles installed: For the highway viaduct piers: 52 piles of pile diameter of 324 mm # t9.5 mm # L20 to 25 m For the pedestrian bridge pier: 5 piles of pile diameter of 218 mm # t8.2 mm # L22 to 25 m New construction of the western pier of the pedestrian bridge and an approach and rotating the girder of the pedestrian bridge 5) 5 middle shafts for ventilation and evacuation, construction of a parking building, finishing works, and installation of facilities for ventilation, fire extinction, air conditioning, lighting, drainage, etc. 3. SOIL CONDITION The geology of Bangkok is uniform throughout a large area and consists of dark-grayish soft clay of N value of 0 to 1 from the ground surface to about 15 m deep underground, underlain by a 5 to 10 mthick layer of fist stiff clay, a relatively dense sand layer called the Bangkok aquifer, and sand deposit of over 500 m in thickness. Fist stiff clay is also found in the Bangkok aquifer in some places. The groundwater level is about GL-1 m from the ground surface, but the water head is zero at about GL-23 m due to pumping of underground water that has continued over a long period of time. A Figure 2. Overview of the structure and soil geological profile is shown in Figure 2.
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4. PARALLEL CONSTRUCTION OF TUNNELS AND STATIONS 4.1 Overview of construction Since the tunnels and stations were to be constructed in parallel, the shield machines continued excavation assembling temporary segments without stopping at stations nor waiting for the completion of excavation after the installation of diaphragm walls. After the tunnel excavation was completed, the tunnels were spread at stations and the temporary segments were removed. The auger walls of the starting and arriving shafts were constructed using glass fiber reinforcement polymer (GFRP) at the tunnel sections so as to be directly cut by the cutters of the shield machines in order to reduce the volume of the soil to be improved and the work period. The segments were 300 mm thick and 1,200 m long, and a ring was divided into 7, including piece K. The segment pieces were joint with bent bolts. 4.2 Diaphragm walls for the station Of the 3-storied underground structure of LAT Phrao Station, the spaces surrounded by 1.0 m-thick diaphragm walls were constructed using the inverted construction method except for the entrance spaces. For the majority of the sections, the diaphragm walls reached the Bangkok aquifer 30 to 40 m underground although it varied among stations depending on the loads to support and required stability. Use of diaphragm walls, which are rigid, minimized the influence to the periphery and damaged no buildings and no buried structures. Figure 3.Temporary segments inside the station 4.3 Shield excavation of the underground station of the diaphragm wall method The speed of diaphragm cutting was 0.5 to 1.0 mm/min in LAT Phrao Station, and the cutting was completed in about 2 days.The 260 m-long station was excavated surrounded by diaphragm walls, but both the face pressure and grouting pressure were similar to those while excavating through the non-station sections of the tunnels with about 130 kPa (about 70% of the sum of earth pressure at rest and water pressure) and 150 kPa, respectively. The excavation speed was 12 to 15 m/day, and the excavation was Figure 4. Schematic diagram of completed in about 20 days. temporary segment removal In the station, the segments were to be used only temporarily and needed not to have the qualities and water cutting performances required for permanent structures. Thus, the segments were selected assuming they would be discarded after use. 4.4 Excavation of the station and removing temporary segments To create working space for bedding, the center of the station or the space between the north-bound and south-bound tunnels was excavated before removing the temporary segments, and parts of the segments were broken using a giant breaker. Then the segment were removed according to the following basic procedure (Figure 4): 1) Ring joints in the upper half were removed, 2) Tow hooks and ropes were attached to the lowest ring joints of Figure 5.Removal of temporary the upper ring, segments

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3) The piece joints connecting the upper and lower rings were removed, 4) The upper ring was detached from the lower ring and towed, or the upper wing was fractured, and 5) The upper and lower rings were dissembled into pieces. Removal of temporary segments is shown in Photographs 2 and 3. 5. UNDERPINNING METHOD USING JACK PILES UNDER EXISTING FOOTINGS 5.1 Investigating the underpinning method As shown in Figure 6, the foundations of highway viaduct and pedestrian bridge had to be supported near Phahon Yothin Station since the shield machines were to pass directly under the footings. Initially, the footings were planned to be supported by installing cast-in-place reinforced concrete piles at points where the machines were not to pass. However, the plan was revised since 1) it was difficult to occupy the road over a long period of time, 2) the existing batter piles and other underground and ground structures were entangled, 3) a space to which the pedestrian bridge was to move was difficult to find, and 4) the overhead clearances under the viaduct and pedestrian bridge were limited. These were likely to 1) restrict the size and kinds of machines that could be used and points where piles could be installed, 2) increase the scale of supporting beams, and 3) complicate the works. Moreover, the passage of the shield machines was moved up 4 months from the initial schedule due to changes in excavation orders, and the design had to be simple and fast to work. Based on these conditions, the supports were planned and designed based on the following policies: 1) A pier of the pedestrian bridge (Pier 11, on the western side) was to be not supported but moved to the south by constructing a new pier. The bridge girder was to be rotated before the shield machines passed. The old abutment was to be demolished, and the piles (#350 # 350 PC piles) were to be removed after the machines passed. (Reducing points of underpinning installation) 2) The piers of the highway viaduct and the eastern abutment of the pedestrian bridge were to be supported by substituting piles that were to be cut by the shield machines by jack piles, which were to be installed at points where the shield machines were not to pass using the existing footings as the reaction force. The heads of the piles were to be fixed and protected by placing concrete under the footings. (Partial substitution to reduce the amount of work) 3) The jack piles were to be steel pipes (decided based on implementation records in Thailand and the available working spaces between existing piles), each of which was to be divided into 1.5 to 2.0 m-long pieces. The pieces were to be connected so as to use the existing footings as the direct reaction force for applying pressure to the hydraulic jack and to drive the pile to the design level. (Simplified work)

Figure 6.Plan of the entire site

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5.2 Procedure of the underpinning work The procedure of the work before and after the passage of the shield machines until the completion of the underpinning work is: 1) Excavating under the existing footings, 2) Drilling a test pile and a loading test of the existing OC piles (#650 # 650), 3) Installing jack piles, 4) Preloading (first time, including welding the joints at the head of the piles), 5) Cutting the edges of PC piles that were on the course of the shield machines under the footings, 6) Cutting the existing PC piles by the shield machines (passage of the machines), 7) Removing the remaining underground parts of the PC piles and grouting the spaces, 8) Preloading (second time, including welding of the joints at the head of the piles and fixing the files to the footings. The preload to be applied was the same as in the first preloading.) 9) Placing concrete to the footing to protect the heads of the jack piles (under the footings), and 10) Backfilling. 5.3 Installation of jack piles Jack piles were installed by consecutively applying pressure into 1.5-m long steel pile pieces using the pressure application tools shown in Figure 7, a hydraulic jack system, and the existing footings as the direct reaction forces. The jack piles were ensured to reach the predetermined depth by checking the bottom of the piles and that the subsidence did not exceed 0.25 mm when the final pressure load was continuously applied for 1 hour. During the installation of the jacks, the deformation of the structures was monitored everyday by establishing measuring points on the structures, and were found to be 6 mm the Figure 7.Toll for installing jack piles maximum. When the installation started, defects of joint welds were found and machine troubles occurred, leading to a concern for resulting in the work being behind the schedule. However, the troubles were solved one after another, and the work itself was repetition of simple works and could be conducted by several groups at a time, and the necessary number of piles were installed before the shield machines passed. 5.4 Preloading After the installation of the jack piles, the jack piles were preloaded in order to transmit the dead and live loads of the structures to the jack piles and control the initial displacement of the structures when the existing piles were to be cut. Preloading was performed twice: before and after the passage of the shield machines (the cutting of existing piles). At each stage, the applied load was retained by joint welding the parts on the head of the jack piles. 5.5 Placing concrete under the existing footings Figure 8. Installation of jack piles After the second preloading, reinforced concrete footings were cast in place under the existing footings to protect the heads of the jack piles (from loads acting along lateral directions).

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6. DOT SHIELD TUNNELING BENEATH RESIDENTIAL DISTRICTS IN NAGOYA CITYS SUBWAY CONSTRUCTION 6.1 Reasons for adopting the DOT method General patterns of constructing double track tunnels by the Table 1. Comparison of tunnel cross shield tunneling method include two single-truck o-shape sections Two single Double track DOT tunnel tunnels and a double-track o-shape tunnel (see Table 1). In track tunnels single-o tunnel Width of the urban planning zone : 15m the former approach, the width of the entire tunnel structure 15m 15m 15m exceeds 15 m because the outer diameter of each tunnel is 6.3 m and a certain distance is required between the two Shape parallel tunnels. In the latter approach, the width of the tunnel structure is less than 15 m but unnecessary space Largest (large Smallest Excabecomes large and overburden becomes small when the vation Relatively unnecessary Small (minimal space) unnecessary area same rail level is assumed. When the DOT method is space) Smallest Relatively large Large adopted, two tunnels can be excavated at the same time, the (less than the (less than the (with separate Occuwidth of the width of the upbound and width of the tunnel structure becomes less than 15 m, urban planning urban planning downbound pied zone) zone) land unnecessary space is reduced, and overburden becomes width lines, thethe width of urban planning large. The DOT method zone is
exceeded)

6.2 DOT shield tunneling in the Motoyama-kita section A double-track tunnel of 1238.4-m long is constructed by the DOT method in the Motoyama-kita section, which is the section between Chikusadai Station Secondary lining concrete Centerline Segment (tentative name) and Motoyama Station of the subway Line No. 4. This is the first among the seven sections to be constructed by the DOT method and is the longest section ever constructed by this method. While the first 150-m part of the section stretches beneath public lands such as parks, the later part of the section stretches beneath densely populated residential districts with a wide range of overburden (9.4 to Concrete floor Invert 32.3 m) . concrete Under these difficult circumstances, surface settlement Figure 9. Standard tunnel cross was suppressed to within 2 mm through elaborate section management of excavation, and primary lining was completed without posing adverse effects on surface structures and underground pipes. While adequate measures have been taken to address the above issues in the construction of the Motoyama-kita section, special emphasis is placed in this report on the description of an extendable continuous belt conveyer. As a first case in Japan, this conveyer was used as a device to discharge excavated soil out of the tunnel in the shield tunneling method. 6.3 System to discharge excavated soil out of the tunnel In the earth pressure shield tunneling method, carriages hauled by a battery locomotive are often used for discharging excavated soil out of the tunnel. In the Motoyama-kita section, about 80 m3 of excavated soil per one ring had to discharge out of the tunnel with a maximum upgrade of 27. This would require a large locomotive to haul a large number of muck cars, raising a possibility of disaster caused by uncontrolled operation of heavy vehicles. Also, propagation of noise and vibration caused by vehicles had to be prevented because the tunnel stretches right Figure 10. Shield machine

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beneath residential houses. Against this backdrop, an extendable continuous belt conveyer was adopted in the Motoyama-kita section as a means of discharging excavated soil out of the tunnel. A 300-m-long belt is stored in a storage cassette placed in Chikusadai Station, which is the starting base of tunneling. The belt is automatically pulled out of the cassette as excavation proceeds. On each 150m advancement of the shield machine, an additional belt is supplied to the storage cassette. Mucking was carried out over a length of 1238.4 m by placing a belt driving unit in Chikusadai Station without placing auxiliary units in the tunnel. Assuming a shield machine advancement speed of 60 mm/min, an extendable continuous belt conveyer with a volume discharge rate of 111 m3/h, a belt speed of 168 m/min, and a belt width of 610 mm was placed in each of the two adjacent tunnels (see Figure 11). The soil discharged out of the tunnel by using the extendable continuous belt conveyers is received and transferred by vertical belt conveyers set in Chikusadai Station and stored in soil hoppers placed on the surface. The combination of the extendable continuous belt conveyers and the vertical belt conveyers has been developed as an integrated mucking system. The two types of belt conveyers can be controlled simultaneously by using common operation buttons.

Figure 11. Storage cassette

Figure 12. Schematic diagram of the extendable continuous belt conveyer

7. CONSTRUCTION OF A SUBWAY STATION UNDER A NARROW AND CONGESTED ROAD EXPANDING THE DIAMETER OF SHIELD TUNNEL AND UNDERGROUND JOINTING OF SHIELD MACHINES OF DIFFERENT DIAMETERS 7.1 Overview The Rinkai Fukutoshin Line is a 12-km long railway connecting Shinkiba Station (connected to the JR Keiyo Line and Yurakucho Subway Line), Metropolitan Waterfront Subcenter, and Osaki Station (where the line will be directly connected to the JR Saikyo Line). The project was to construct a length of 452 m, including Oimachi Station, which will be a junction station to the JR Keihintohoku Line and Tokyu Oimachi Line. 7.2 Characteristics of the project (1) Excavating shield tunnels of an outer diameter of 10.3 m vertically separated by 0.8 m Oimachi Station was to be located under a narrow highway of a width of 15 m. Thus, the station was difficult to construct using the ordinary open-cut method. Instead, two shield tunnels of a segment outer diameter of 10.3 m were decided to be excavated one on top of the other to accommodate the rails and platforms, and ticket gates and other facilities of the station were to be Figure 13. Profile of Oimachi Station (the constructed at an adjacent wide road section using the central open-cut section) open-cut method. The segments were to be separated

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from each other by 1 m, and the after-going shield machine excavated a tunnel directly above the tunnel excavated by the foregoing shield machine with a net separation of 0.8 m (Figure 13). (2) Inserting-type shield cutter to expand diameter The Rinkai Line is parallel single track tunnels, and the diameter of the shield tunnel is about 7 m. However, the diameter of the tunnels at stations needed to be 10m, which is equivalent to that of a double track tunnel, since platforms needed to be constructed. Since the excavation distance was as short as 250 m for 7 m tunnels and 450 m for 10 m tunnels, production of shield machines of each diameter would have required much expenses. Thus, the diameter was decided to be expanded to 10 m by attaching ring-shaped cutters to the shield machines of a diameter of 7 m, which saved much money from producing separate machines of different diameters.

Figure 14. Expansion of cutter diameter

Figure 15. Inserting shield machine of small diameter

(3) Jointing shield machines of different diameters underground Points where the shield tunnels were to be connected to the adjacent tunnel sections were under a congested and narrow highway, disabling arrival shafts to be constructed and grouting and other auxiliary works to be conducted from the ground surface. Thus, works to protect the arrival of the machines needed to be executed within the shield tunnels, but not much time could be spent on the auxiliary works due to Figure 16. Underground jointing of shield machines of the tight schedule. Therefore, the MSD different diameters method of the ring penetration type was decided to be used since it requires no auxiliary works for jointing. (4) Connecting the shield tunnels and the underground building of Rinkai Oimachi Station The project was to construct Oimachi Station of the Rinkai Fukutoshin Line. In an ordinary case, the station was to be constructed by opencutting a box-shaped tunnel of 20 m wide and 200 m long to accommodate platforms, a station hall and other facilities. However, the subway line was to pass under a narrow and very congested municipal highway of only 15 m in width, which lays between large Figure 17. Connecting the station and shield tunnel

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commercial facilities and the Tokyu Oimachi Line and could not be expanded. Thus, the ordinary open-cut method was decided to not be used, but the station hall and other station facilities were constructed by open-cutting the existing station square and connecting the spaces to the shield tunnels (Figure 17).

8. QUICK UNDERPASS CONSTRUCTION THE URUP METHOD 8.1 Overview of the URUP method The URUP method is a shield tunneling method that requires no starting and no arrival shaft but starts tunneling machines from the ground surface, which excavate shallow underground and reappear to the ground surface, and thus can smoothly construct multi-level crossings of roads and railways with little environmental loads and short work period. Since the entire underpass including approaches are continuously constructed by a single machine, the method can Figure 18. Ultra Rapid Underpass Method sharply reduce the necessary work period. Since no open-cut method is used at the crossings, the construction causes no or little secondary traffic congestion since it does not occupy road spaces. The method uses no pile drivers, which produce noise and vibration, and the amount of soil removed is smaller than that in the open-cut method and thus is more environment friendly. (1) Device for starting from and arriving to the ground surface -Side cutters -In the URUP method, underpasses are constructed while ordinary vehicles pass nearby the shield machine. Thus, the machines are installed with side cutters on both sides of matrix shield cutters, and the foregoing side cutters retain earth and mitigate effects on the side ground (Figure 19). (2) Device for excavating shallow shield tunnels -- Individual head Figure 19. Schematic view of excavation -approach excavation The cutting mechanism is matrix shield cutters, which consist of a plural number of rectangular heads on independent chambers that are separately controlled. Each head can excavate independently from the others. Dividing the work face reduces the range in which the stress is released and mitigates effects on the ground surface (Figure 20). 9.2 Verification test project The feasibility of the URUP method was verified by actually Figure 20. Schematic view of constructing a shield tunnel by starting the machine from the ground tunnel excavation surface, excavating a shallow shield tunnel, and arriving the machine to the ground surface, which was the first attempt in the world. The test also aimed to examine the execution technologies more deeply than desk checking. (1) Overview of the verification test project The shield machine was a high density slurry shield, has a height of 2.15 m, a width of 4.8 m, and two heads arranged side by side, each of which was equipped with a head jack, agent feeding equipment,

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and a screw conveyor and can excavate independently. To prevent the surface ground layer from being dragged in during excavation of shallow tunnel sections, lubricant was decided to be released from the top of the shield, for which 4 release holes were established. The alignment was designed to have a maximum earth cover of 2.2 m at the assumed intersection, which was the same as the height of the shield machine. To check the directional control of the shield, a horizontal curve of a radius of 300 m and a vertical curve of a radius of 100 m were assumed. Figure 21. Shield machine used for the test (2) Test results As in the conventional shield machines, the traveling direction of the URUP machine could be controlled in both the approach and tunnel sections. The horizontal and longitudinal alignments were constructed within +50 mm accuracy, which is the primary control value. When the earth cover was over 55 to 65 cm, the machine excavated the tunnel by supporting the entire overburden pressure, which was another goal. The final displacement of the ground at the assumed intersection was within +10 mm. The use of lubricant and face and grouting pressures effectively controlled the displacement of the ground. 9. SUMMARY This report described the First-stage MRTA Project in Bangkok and state-of-the-art shield technologies of Japan. The authors hope that it would provide useful information for future subway projects in Bangkok. The URUP method described in Chapter 8 is a technology developed by Obayashi Corporation to quickly construct underpasses for mitigating traffic congestions at intersections. This world-first concept of starting from and arriving at the ground surface was verified by an experiment. This method is described in this report for it should be useful in Bangkok. The authors sincerely hope that the shield technologies of Japan would help construct city infrastructures in Bangkok.

REFERENCES M.R.Rimal and Tanin N., 2001. Design and Construction of Phaholyothin Station Symposium on Underground Construction of MRT Chalerm Ratchamongkol Line, Bangkok, Thailand, pp.69-82. Kawamura, T., Miki, K., Takeda, A., and Miki, T.,2003. DOT shield tunneling beneath residential districts in Nagoya Citys subway construction. (Re)Claiming the Underground Space, pp.707713. Takahashi, K. and Fukazawa, N.,2001 Challenge to cylindrical enlargement of shield machines and underground docking, IS-Kyoto2001 Modern tunneling science and technology, pp56-61.

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