Recently, the automatic cruise system for rock tunnel boring machines (TBM), independently developed by China Railway Construction Heavy Industry Corporation Limited (CRCHI), was successfully applied in the Beishan Laboratory project "Beishan No. 1". In unmanned operation, "Beishan No. 1" achieved downhill excavation on a 10% gradient tunnel, completing automatic excavation in hard rock under uniform geological conditions and a 255-meter radius horizontal curve. Witnessed and reviewed by industry experts, the technology was unanimously deemed to fill the global gap in TBM unmanned driving technology and to be an important milestone toward automation and intelligentization in tunnel construction.

Interface of the TBM automatic cruise system

TBM unmanned excavation in progress

TBM automatic stepping in progress

The TBM automatic cruise system independently developed by CRCHI features one-key startup, surrounding rock prediction, automatic excavation, automatic deviation correction, automatic stepping, parameter self-adjustment, and manual-automatic integration. The system has overcome technical challenges such as TBM automatic deviation correction and steering as well as seamless manual-automatic switching, enabling fully automatic unmanned TBM excavation under uniform geological conditions, reducing the skill requirements and labor intensity of operators, and lowering the risk of damage to the cutterhead and cutters, with TBM attitude deviation controlled within ±50 mm.

It is understood that the Beishan Laboratory project is the world's first spiral ramp construction project, with a tunnel excavation diameter of 7.03 meters, a length of 7.1 kilometers, a gradient of -10%, a horizontal curve radius of 255 meters, and a vertical curve radius of 430 meters. Tunnel construction faces challenges such as long-distance extremely hard rock, steep downhill excavation, and continuous small-radius spiral curves. The adoption of the TBM automatic cruise system has reduced construction risks caused by excessive manual adjustment, and the tunnel walls are smooth and even.

Completed tunnel of the Beishan Laboratory