China's First Large-diameter TBM for High Plateaus Rolls off Production Line in Zhengzhou

China's First Large-diameter TBM for High Plateaus Rolls off Production Line in Zhengzhou

国产首台高原高寒大直径硬岩掘进机在郑州下线

On June 17, China's first hard rock TBM with a super-large diameter for extremely high latitude and cold regions, named as "雪域先锋" ("Xueyu Xianfeng" or "Pioneer on Snow-covered Plateau"), rolled off the production line at the National TBM Production Center of China Railway Engineering Equipment Group in Zhengzhou, capital of Central China's Henan province, which will be used for road network construction on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

6月17日，国产首台高原高寒大直径硬岩掘进机“雪域先锋号”在中铁装备国家TBM（硬岩掘进机）产业化中心郑州园区下线。该设备将用于青藏高原路网建设。

China's first large-diameter TBM for high plateaus rolls off production line in Zhengzhou. [Photo provided to Henan Daily]

Due to the lack of oxygen on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau with widely-distributed frozen ground, the construction is difficult there. Facing this issue, China Railway Engineering Equipment Group and China Railway Tunnel Group creatively developed such a TBM especially for extremely high latitude and cold regions, with the support of the National High-tech R&D Program ("863" Program) and the National Key Basic R&D Program ("973" Program), both belonging to the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology, as well as the Program of Key Technology Research and Application of TBMs with Super-large Diameter, which belongs to Henan's first batch of special innovation-driven programs. With a diameter of 10.33 meters, length of 245 meters and weight of 2,500 tons, it is not only an open-type TBM with the largest diameter currently known in China, but also the world's first dual-structure TBM.

青藏高原以高寒缺氧、冻土广布著称。在高原上修建工程向来艰难，为此，在科技部“863”“973”计划项目以及河南省首批创新引领专项《超大直径岩石隧道掘进机关键技术研究及应用》项目支持下，中铁装备、中铁隧道局创造性研制出国内首台高原高寒大直径硬岩掘进机“雪域先锋号”，“雪域先锋号”刀盘直径10.33米，整机总长245米，总重量约2500吨，是目前国产最大直径的敞开式掘进机，也是世界首台双结构掘进机。

According to China Railway Engineering Equipment Group, there are a large number of tunnel projects in railway, water conservancy and highway constructions in West China, "Xueyu Xianfeng" is of pioneering significance to such projects.

中铁装备相关负责人表示，我国西部地区在铁路、水利、公路等建设中有大量的隧道施工工程，“雪域先锋号”的研制成功，对高原高寒地区隧道施工具有开创意义。

In recent years, sticking to the "Belt and Road" Initiative, China Railway Engineering Equipment Group has accelerated its technological innovation and expanded the global market. So far, its TBMs have been used in more than 50 Chinese cities and over 20 countries (regions) around the world with almost 1,300 orders placed. Besides, its domestic market share has maintained the 1st place for 9 consecutive years with a production and sales volume ranking 1st in the world for 4 consecutive years and a safe tunneling distance exceeding 2,600 kilometers.

近年来，中铁装备紧跟“一带一路”倡议，加快推进技术创新，布局全球市场。截至目前，掘进机订单累计近1300台套，应用于国内50多个城市以及20多个国家和地区，国内市场占有率连续9年居第一位，产销量连续4年世界第一，安全掘进里程超过2600公里。（中文来源/河南日报 翻译/赵汉青 审校/陈行洁）