MINING & CONSTRUCTION

is published by Atlas Copco.

The magazine focuses on
the company's know-how,
products and methods used
for drilling, boring, rock
reinforcement and loading
worldwide .

PUBLISHED BY Atlas Copco

Rock Drills AB,
SE-701 91 Orebro. Sweden.
WV'oJI.N.atlascopco.com
Tel: +46 (0)19 670 70 00.

THIS WTC EDITION

IS PUBLISHED BY
Patrik Johansson
e-mail: patrik.johansson@
se .atlascopco.com

EDITOR Terry Greenwood,

e-mail: te [email protected]

ADVISORY BOARD
Ulf Linder. Johannes Hansson.

EDITORIAL
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Croatia 2015

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information on the projects
and equipment in this Sl ov&kla
publication, please contact
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MINING & CONSTRUCTION SPECIAL EDITION WTC 2015

re prosperity
INTERNATIONAL TUNNELING EXPERTS gather in THESE TUNNELS INCLUDE Ovciarsko, Zilina, Visnove,
Dubrovnik, Croatia this May for the 41st World Tunnel Sibenik and Cebrat on the D 1 highway, plus Povazsk)r
Congress and General Assembly- and the choice of Chlmec, Svrcinovec and Pol' ana on the D3 highway.
venue is no coincidence. Additionally, there are plans for a further 22 tunnels,
repr::senting a total length of 49 385 m.
CENTRAL AND SOUTH EASTERN EUROPE is expected
to be the EU's most active region over the next two IN SERBIA, NOW AN EU CANDIDATE, the main arteries
decades with the focus on major infrastructure devel- known as Corridor 10 and Corridor 11 have strategic
opment, according to Davorin Kolic, President of the importance for the country and the economy accord-
Croatian Association for Tunnels and Underground ing to Zorana Mihajlovic, Serbian Deputy Prime
Structures. Minister and Minister of Construction, Transport and
Infrastructure.
ALREADY THE REGION IS BUZZING with a number of
significant projects underway including highways, WITHIN THESE CORRIDORS there are also several
bridges and tunnels- and there are many more in the tunneling proj ects currently under development at
pipeline. Manajle, Predejane and Sarani.

SLOVAKIA IS PRESSING AHEAD with numerous invest- IN THIS SPECIAL EDITION of the Atlas Copco maga-
ments in infrastructure. Four new tunnels are now in zine Mining & Construction we invite you to take a
use with a total length of 8 015 m. There are currently look behind the scenes at some of the most important
eight tunnels under construction, with a total length developments designed to improve transport and com-
of 16 727 m. munication, and above all, prosperity for all.

MINING & CONSTRUCTION SPECIAL EDITION WTC 2015 3

 The challenge in the ground

he Ovciarsko tunnel in northern is behind schedule. Geotechnical p~oblems Western Carpathians. In fact, this formation

T Slovakia is located on the D 1 highway

on the southside bypass of Zilina. The
D 1 is part of theE 50 international transport
brought work to a standstill soon after it
began in August 2014, but was reswmed in
March 2015 .
is so common that it is practically impos-
sible to avoid.
Jurik continues: " We have two types of
route that runs from Paris via Nuremberg geology in the tunnel, an older type with
and Prague through Ukraine to Russia. Tackling the 'nightmare' fairly stable rock that is not too bad to work
Ovciarsko is actually one of two tunnels "From the geological poin~ of vi ~w, this in, and a younger type of Flysch, which is a
(the other is at Zilina) that form part of a is one of the most difficult tunnel con- nightmare." Flysch is characterized by low
€427 million contract to develop an 11 km struction projects in Slovakia," scys Igor strength and high porosity. It also disinte-
section of this vital international link and Jurik, Project Geologist at Ovciarsko . grates in contact with water and swells.
also includes 11 bridges and numerous The northern part of the c:mntry is very In addition, the geology frequently var-
access roads. mountainous, he explains, and soft rock, in ies along the entire tunnel alignment. At
The contract for the entire section was particular a type of clay known as F ysch, is the western end, the first 300 m was fairly
awarded to a consortium of four compa- often encountered in the Slcvak pa:-t of the stable, but then began to fluctuate every
nies - Doprastav, Strabag, Vahostav and
Metrostav. Doprastav is responsible for the
tunneling and has subcontracted this work This is one of the most
to Uranpres, suppported by its sister com-
pany EKOFIN. difficult tunnel
With plans to open in January 2018,
Ovciarsko is designed as a twin-tube proj- construction
' ' projects in Slovakia.
ect, 2 367 m in length and is being driven
simultaneously from the east and west.
More than 500 m have been driven from
the west but excavation at the eastern end

4 MINING & CONSTRUCTION SPECIAL EDITION WTC 2015

Shotcreting the tunnel with a Pontenza wet mix
concrete spraying unit from Atlas Copco Meyco.

The co nstruction team has to constantly switch

excavation methods. Right, an Atlas Copco breaker
is checked in the service workshop.

few meters. This has forced the company

to constantly switch methods; drill and blast
in the good formation , hydraulic hammers
and excavators in the poor quality ground.
Having to change equipment and crews
every few meters to deal with these varia-
tions is tough, to say the least. As a result,
the rate of advance can be anything from
0.5 m to 2.5 m in a single production cycle.
"The right technology has to be used
depending on the geology so it's not pos-
sible to use just one method. We have to
adapt to what we find," says Jozef Valko,
Senior Construction Manager, adding that
this situation also places high financial
demands on the project.
"At first, we thought we would only be
able to use drill and blast for about 20 to 25
percent of the tunnel," he says, "but now
we expect this to rise to 50 to 60 percent."
That's good news for the overall advance-
ment of the project. For drill and blast in
competent rock, two Atlas Copco Boomer
E2 drill rigs are used. These are equipped
with COP 2238 rock drills as well as rods, ))

MINING & CONSTRUCTION SPECIAL EDITION WTC 2015 5

 Above, view of the Ovciarsko
twin-tube portals at the eastern end.

Right, view of the portal from the

western end. Ventilation is provided by
Serpent fans and ducting.

Far right, the tunnel uses state-of-the art

concrete spraying technology.

)) shank adapters and bits from Atlas Copco Another key piece of equi;>ment nsed for pressure Atlas Copco Serpent fans together
Secoroc. rock support is the Atlas C.Jpco MEYCO with 2.4 km of high quality PVC-coated
The rigs are also used for portal stabiliza- Potenza unit for wet mix concrete spray- ducting. All of the equipment is supported
tion work to install the Atlas Copco Secoroc ing, and there are two of these in OJ:eration. by a service contract which is managed
Symrnetrix system. This method involves MEYCO was acquired by Atlas Copco by ISOP, Atlas Copco's distributor in
the installation of steel pipes or casings, in April 2013 from chernical gian: BASF Slovakia, headed up by JozefParobok.
set in an umbrella pattern in the crown, Construction Chemical and this represents ISOP has a stipulated response time of
providing extra support ahead of drilling state-of-the-art concrete-spraying technol- two hours and workshops at both western
and blasting. ogy. Coincidentally, BASF also EUpplies and eastern portals. The larger of these at
The crews work seven days a week with ground support at the Ovcia::sko sit:e. the eastern portal can accommodate the
two 12-hour shifts per day. In each shift, When working in the soft rock, be team Boomer E2 drill rig, and there are con-
they try to get through a complete cycle of switches to MB 1700 hydraulic treakers tainers on site for spares and consum-
drilling and blasting the top heading and from Atlas Copco mounted on excEVators. ables. 0
bottom bench of the face, although this is Ventilation is provided by tvo high
not always possible. This does not mean that
the drill rigs have to stand idle, however.
When they are not drilling blastholes they The right technology has
are drilling holes for rock bolts. The bolts
comprise grouted, hydraulic and fibreglass to be used so we have to
variants as well as self-drilling anchors .
When installing the SDAs - a conm1on adapt
' ' to what we find.
solution for unstable ground such as sand,
gravel, silt, and clays - two Atlas Copco
M400NT Mai pumps are used for the injec-
tion grouting. Wire mesh is also used.

6 MINING & CONSTRUCTION SPECIAL EDITION WTC 2015

)) Excavation at Pol'ana started in July rock, we use hydraulic hammers on excava- the material we will be drilling in varies so
2014 and the tunnel is to be completed in tors." he says. "But there's oo cons stency. quickly and so dramatically," says Bi'ichiiac.
August 2015 . Every step is different and takes a long He adds that when drilling holes for
The tunnel will have a cross section of time. We have prepared for every e\.entual- installation of the anchors, the drill rigs
approximately 105 m2 and it will have a ity with explosives for the bard ra;k and sometimes work non-stop for II hours.
single tube with one lane going in each direc- self-drilling anchors for the soft ma:erial." When working in the soft rock,
tion. There will be two one-side emergency In the sections with mare competent Atlas Copco 's MB 1700 hydaulic breaker
bays, an escape gallery (or support gallery, rock, an Atlas Copco Boomer E2 drill rig mounted on an excavator is used. A smaller,
which in future may become a second tube), is used to drill the blast holes. "We try to single boom Boomer 281 drill rig is used
plus three access passages connecting the go through two blasting cycles per dc.y but it in in the adjacent support gallery and
support gallery with the main tunnel. depends on the rock and is n.ot always pos- Atlas Copco Secoroc supplies all of the
Excavation started at the western portal sible," Bi'ichiiac continues, explaining that rock drilling tools . "We have a high con-
from where about 350 m of top heading the work is carried out seve::1 days a week sumption of drilling tools, especially the
have been driven so far, including the with two, 11-hour shifts per day. drill bits, as the rock is very abrasive,"
excavation of 250 m of bench and 155 m The drill rigs are also used to drill holes says Bi'ichiiac.
of invert. "Still, advance has been slow due for the 9 m long, 51 mm diameter self- For concrete spraying work, two Potenza
to the highly complicated geological condi- drilling anchors that are installec in an concrete spraying units from Atlas Copco
tions," says Jii'i Bi'ichiiac ofMetrostav, Site umbrella pattern to support toe tunrel face. MEYCO are used in addition to wire mesh,
Manager at Pol'ana. "We only use self-drilling anc~1ors llecause steel arches and the self-drilling anchors.
The geology in this part of the country
also includes the Carpathian Flysch, char-
acterized by alternating layers of claystones
and sandstones in different stages of weath- The 03 highway and the
ering and tectonic damage. This means that
even though the tunnelers use the New Pol' ana tunnel will greatly
Austrian Tunneling Method (NATM), they
are also obliged to frequently change exca- contribute
' ' to the tr3nsport network.
vation method.
"In some sections of the tunnel, where we
have more competent rock, we use drill and
blast and in the sections where we have soft

8 MINING & CONSTRUCTION SPECIAL EDITION WTC 2015

 Excavation of the eastern portal is due to Repub!ic, help to keep the equipment up on the type of equipment and we carrry
start in May 2015. "The idea is to eventually and ru..llling. out the larger repairs and more complex
have the same setup for drilling, shotcret- "Daily service of the machines is done servicing."
ing, excavating and loading in both tunnel by Me:rostav but we have a contract to ser- Bfichi\ac concludes: "This is a very com-
headings," says Bfichi\ac. vice tJ-·e equipment after they've worked a plex project, but I believe both the D3 high-
The larger rigs were supplied by ISOP, certain agreed number of hours," says Pavel way and the Pol' ana tunnel itself, will make
Atlas Copco's distributor in Slovakia and, Jindracek, Product Manager for Atlas Copco a great contribution to this country's trans-
together with Atlas Copco in the Czech Centra. Europe.'' The hours differ depending port network." 0

While the Pol'ana tunnel is under construction work goes 011 up afxJve to extend the 03 highway involving a total of 17 bridges.

IVIINING & CONSTRUCTION SPECIAL EDITION WTC 2015 9

 SLOVAKIA
Speeding up
the traffic flow
ocated north of the city of Zi lina on "This means that drivers wi ll travel contribute to the development of the region.

L the D3 highway between Stnizov and

Brodno, the Povazsky Chlmec tunnel
is one of the most interesting projects cur-
through approximately 4.25 km of"Jridge-
tunnel-bridge structures wiLhout 1ouch-
ing normal roads," says AntoJn Pe-tko of
Financed by the Slovakian state, the
entire project wi ll cost approximately
€284 million and has been undertaken by
rently underway in Slovakia. HOCHTIEF CZ, Production Site WJ.anager a consortium made up of EUROVIA SK,
It includes two bridges, one of which at the Povazsky Chlmec tmmel. HOCHTIEF CZ and Stavby Mostov
will pass over the Hricovska Priehrada dam The project aims to divert traffu from Slovakia. HOCHTIEF CZ is responsible
and stretch for about 1.4 km, making it one Zilina in order to increase the speed for the tunnel construction.
of the longest bridges in the country. This and flow of traffic from north to south. The Povazsky Chlmec tunnel will fea-
bridge will connect directly with the 2.2 km The Slovak government estimates that ture two tubes with a dual carriageway in
long Povazsk:Y Chlmec tunnel and from here 8 800 cars per day will be tr:lvellin~ along each tube . The total length will be 2.2 km
motorists will drive onto another bridge, this this stretch by 204 1. Moreower, the new (north tube: 2 252 m, south tube: 2 189m).
time taking them over the Kysuca River. highway will reduce noise and emissi·Jns and There will be seven cross passages

10 MINING & CONSTRUCTION SPECIAL EDITION WTC 2015

 Unlike most tunnels, this
one is being developed
from' the inside out.

including emergency passages and two lay- alignoent. Added to this is the extent of the only but eventually we'll have several faces
bys. Excavation of the tunnel started at the cross :;ectic·n up to 97 m2 and a maximum open, each going through these three steps.
beginning of 2015 and the construction is overbuden of 124 m which requires a huge And of course, the length of each step wi ll
scheduled for completion by summer 2016. earth removal operation. depend on the geology," says Petko.
The tunnel is being excavated using the Povazsky Chlmec also employs two
Drilling from the center New ,(ustrian Tunnelling Method (NATM), Potenza concrete sprayers from Atlas Copco
Excavation has started from the mid-section combining drill and blast with hydraulic MEYCO which are used for spraying con-
going in opposite directions towards the hamme rs mounted on excavators. " We crete as primary lining support after blast-
western and eastern portals. "Unlike most expecr 80 percent of the development to be ing and mucking out. The reinforcement
tunnels, this one is being developed from done ~asi n g dri ll and blast and 20 percent work also includes wire mesh, steel arches
inside out, rather than the other way round," using lhe hydraulic hammers and excava- and radial rockbolts.
says Petko. The construction will eventually tors," ::ays Petko. The equipment on site is supported by
be carried out simultaneously from six loca- Dri ling and blasting is being done ISOP, Atlas Copco's distributor in Slovakia,
tions with four faces in the center. with two Afas Copco Boomer E2 drill with additional support from Atlas Copco
Excavation of the western face started rigs, including a new model featuring the Czech Republic if required. The service
in February this year and preparation work latest RCS 5 rig control system. "This is contract includes spare parts and consum-
at the eastern portal is currently underway. the fir=t Atlas Copco Boomer with the lat- ables on site and a response time of up to
HOCHTIEF CZ expects about 250 tun- est RCS version in Slovakia," says Pavel two hours for a service technician.
nelers to be working two 12-hour shifts, Jindrit ~ek, Pr·)duct Manager Underground "I have worked with Atlas Copco equip-
24 hours a day, seven days a week. Rock 3 xcavation for Atlas Copco Central ment for many years, I know the machines
Simi lar to other tunnel projects in north- Europ ~. are good, but one of the main reasons we
ern Slovakia, PovazsicY Chlmec also has the The operators received training on this decided to go with them is the fact that
challenge of being developed in complex systerr:. at the beginning of this year and they're established in this market and are
and difficult geology. Again, the geology eventc.a lly there wil l be three Boomer well placed to offer us the best technical
is mainly composed of Flysch, featuring E2 rig:; on the site. Two of these will be support and service," says Petko.
alternating layers of claystone, sandstone used br drilling blastholes and one for "The schedule is a major challenge," says
and conglomerates. anchoring. Petko. "We have to excavate more faces and
"The most competent rock here is still Drilll ing, blasting and anchoring is with 97 m2 of cross section, that's a chal-
quite poor," says Petko, explaining that the carriec out in two 12-hour shifts per day. lenge in itself as it amounts to lots of muck-
quality varies widely throughout the tunnel "At the moment, we're working on one face ing. But we 're on track! " 0

Th e Atlas Copco Boomer E2C drill rig going into action. Constructing the roof of the "turtle" entrance to the Povaisky Chlmec portal.

MINING & CONSTRUCTION SPECIAL EDITION WTC 2015 11

 Improving Slovakia's road network:
complex geology is a challenge at
the Cebrat' tunnel worksite.

The region's most

demanding task
he new Hubova- Ivachnova section foot of the Cebraf hill, as well as reduce Vahostav-SK. The contract was awarded in

T of the Dl hig~way in Slovakia, which

includes the Cebraf tunnel , is one of
the region's most demanding projects in
traveling time through the reg:.on.
Currently, the time reqt:.ired tCI reach
the existing section of the D 1 alcmg the
December 2013 and the project is expected
to be completed by June 2017.
OHL ZS is responsible for the excavation
terms of engineering, design and cost. original road and through local ~ illages of the Cebraf tunnel and has subcontracted
The 15.3 km section passes through dif- and Ruzomberok is 18 min.ures. The new Slovenske Tunely to help it carry out the
ficult terrain with undulating topography highway will cut this to just seven minutes work. "We've divided it up with OHL
and complex geology. The terrain includes and simultaneously increase safety, inprove excavating the southern tube and Slovenske
part of a national nature reserve, the Tatra traffic conditions and contribute to .:1 better Tunely excavating the northern tube,"
National Park, and the Liskova Landslide, environment. says Tomas Just of OHL, Site Manager at
one of the most famous active landslides With an estimated cost of€465.7llillion, Cebrat'.
in Slovakia. financed by the Slovak gavernment and Cebrat' will be a twin-tube project featur-
At various points, the highway crosses the European Union, the section s being ing a 2 026 m southern tube and a 2 011 m
the Yah River and a railway line or runs built by a consortium comprised o': Czech northern tube. Each tube will have dual car-
parallel with the railway line along the company OHL ZS and S!ova.b an W:J.tractor riageways in each direction. The tubes will
riverbank. In total, the section includes
21 bridges and one tunnel, Cebraf , which
runs under the Cebraf hill.
"The whole section is very challeng- The geolo;~y in the western
ing as there is not one kilometer of it that
runs continuously over flat topography," portals is a real challenge.
says Pavel Jindracek, Product Manager
Underground Rock Excavation for We '
' have to consider alternatives.
Atlas Copco Central Europe.
By building this section, the government
expects to considerably relieve the traffic
in the city of Ruzomberok, located at the

12 MINING & CONSTRUCTION SPECIAL EDITION WTC 2015

be interconnected by seven cross passages, "Tl::e geology in the western portals is heading and bench with the top heading
which are being excavated at intervals of a real challenge so work has been tempo- 5.4 m high. In terms of support Cebrat' uses a
up to 280m. rarily :stoppe:i while we look at different mix of primary and secondary lining with the
Two of these will be located at emergency altern:~tives, including driving the tunnel first layer of concrete 100-250 mm thick and
laybys in each tube to be used by emergency all the way from the eastern portal or even a secondary lining of reinforced concrete in
vehicles. The other five passages will be extencing it,'" says Just. Work is expected the portals and in sections with poor geology.
available for pedestrians. The tunnel will to renme in the fourth quarter of 2015, In addition, welded mesh of one or two
have a clearance height of 4.8 m and will but th~y are pressing ahead with the rest layers is used along with lattice girders and
be equipped with a modern communication of the :unne]. Work at Cebrat' is carried out grouted self-drilling anchors 3-6m long as
and monitoring system. seven days c. week, 24 hours a day with two, well as Atlas Copco Swell ex bolts.
The Cebrat' hill is 1 054 m above sea 12-hou shifts per day. For the concrete spraying, Cebrat' uses
level and the geology is complex, compris- MoJe than 2 km of the Cebrat' tunnel have two Meyco concrete sprayers - a new
ing limestone, dolomite, clays, sandstone been c:xcav:tted using the New Austrian MEYCO Potenza, currently being used in
and madstone, among others. Apart from TwmeJing M::thod (NATM). Advance rates the north tube and a second-hand MEYCO
short sections at the portals, the tunnel is depentil on tLe quality of the rock. "The Spritzmobil, currently being used in the
being driven through variable quality rock. qualit) varies so much that we could easily south tube.
"Some sections are not too bad but, have a meter ·)f poor quality rock followed The tunnel ventilation is ultimately
they're not great either," exclaims Just. by 2.5 m of good quality rock," says Just. designed as a longitudinal system with six
The strength of the rock also varies, with As a r::sult, the rock is sometimes broken pairs ofjet fans . During excavation, ventila-
an average of25 MPa, including areas with using .]rill c..n.d blast and sometimes using tion is provided by one fan in each tube.
poor rock quality, and there are also occa- an Atl<cs Copco MB 1700 hydraulic breaker For the project, Slovenske Tunely acquired
sional occurrences of grow1d water influx on an excavat:)f. 500 m of new Atlas Copco 1.8 m diameter
to deal with. For drill and blast, two Atlas Copco flexible ducting to use with the fans they
Excavation work started in September Boomer E2 drill rigs are used. Jan Klein, already own.
2014 at the eastern portal of the southern of Slooenske Tunely's Maintenance and Slovenske Tunely has a service contract
tube. Excavation at the eastern portal of the Equipment :.v£anager at Cebrat' , explains with ISOP, the Atlas Copco distributor in
northern tube started three months later, in that t~ rigs are also used for drilling the Slovakia, which includes a response time
December. Just explains that the original holes br rock bolts. of 6 hours for any major service issue as
plan was to start excavation from the eastern In o•e 12-h::Jur shift the rigs are normally well as spare parts and also includes
portals and then eventually from the western at the :unnel face for two hours and then training for the operators, on both the
portals so that the tunnel would be driven drilling for bolting for one hour. Boomer E2 and Meyco concrete spraying
from both ends simultaneously. The excavation face is divided into top equipment. 0

Below, second from left: Jan Klein, Slovenske Tunely, Tomas Just OHL
with Atlas Copco representatives and a MEYCO Potenza urit.
Inset: The Boomer drill rig and drilling crew.

MINING & CONSTRUCTION SPECIAl EDITION WTC 2015 13

View of the eastern portal
of the Predejane tunnel.

Preparing for
EU membership

n seeking to become a full member of The entire project, which is estimated bridges, for the state-owned company

I the European Union, Serbia is improv-

ing the quality of its transport and
infrastructure . A number of substantia l
to cost more than €50 million, is being
develo?ed by Euro Alliance, a consortium
of two Bulgarian companies with Euro
Koridori Srbij e.

Longest in Serbia
projects are currently underway, one of All iance Tunnels as the main partner and At 1.8 km, Manaj le will be the longest
which is the construction of the Manajle Roads & Bridges Ltd responsible for road tunnel in Serbia. It will be a twin
and Predej ane tunnels on Corridor 10 buildic g the corresponding roads and tube project (one for each direction of
between the southern Serbian city ofNish
and the Macedonian border.
At present, this section of Corridor I 0 We have been delayed by
only has two lanes and is often overloaded
with trucks heading south to Macedonia the geology which is more
and Greece. Accidents are frequent, espe-
cially in summer when the road is januned complex
' than we anticipated.
with European holidaymakers but the tun-
nels will ease the congestion and also bring
environmental and safety standards into line
with EU regulations. ))
MINING & CONSTRUCTION SPECIAL EOITION WTC 2015 15
))
traffic). Ten kilometres to the north is been delayed by the geological corditions of course, but because of the geological con-
the Predejane tunnel which has the same which are more complex than V"e first ditions, we've been forced to work this way,
design and construction team. One of the anticipated," says Petrovski. making progress slower," says Petrovski .
Predejane tubes wi ll be 870 m long and As in Slovakia, the geology eatures Advance rates depend entirely on the
the other 1 050 m. pockets of good, competent rock as well as geology. In good ground, it can be about
The operation at both sites is continu- poor ground. " It's not even p::-oper rmck; it's three meters per shift. "We don't neces-
ous and based on two 12-how- shifts with a pure clay," says Petrovski. This variability sarily see this as a huge problem though,"
combined workforce of 170. According to means that the proj ect requires frequent Petrovski says. "This is the situation and
Stojan Petrovski, General Project Manager changes of tunneling techno logy; d:"ill and we just have to deal with it." Helping them
for both tunnels, most of the engineers are blast in competent rock and hydraul c ham- deal with it is the equipment employed in
from Bulgaria and about 90% of them are mers and excavators in the poorer sections. each tunnel. Blasthole drilling in the good
ski lled. "It's difficult to find skilled work- The company uses the New Austrian rock sections at both sites is carried out by
ers here so we brought our own," he says. Tunnelling Method (NATM: that r.c-ovides Atlas Copco Boomer E2 and Boomer L2
"They have a lot of experience of working optimized tunnel suppori behind the: face. drill rigs. "We have two units, one of each
on other simi lar projects." model at each tunne l. The Boomer E2
Site preparations began in September Unpredictable advance rates rigs are from Atlas Copco Rental and the
20 13 and both projects are due for comple- According to the original project st.Jdy for L2 units are our own machines that we
tion in March 2016. Manajle and Predejane, the comp<Ily was brought over from Bulgaria," explains
Petrovski says: "So far we've developed expecting to use drill and blast for :nost of Velin Mahov, Construction Manager for
about 40 percent of the tunnels but we have the drive. "That would have bee:~ much faster both projects.

16 MINING & CONSTRUCTION SPECIAL EOITION WTC 2015

Above, the portal of the Manalje
tunnel w hich at 1.8 km will be the
longest in Serbia.

Right, Velin Mahov Construction

Manager, Euro Alliance.

Far right, an Atlas Copco drill rig

in the Predejane tunnel between
shifts.

One of the rented rigs is a new unit fea- for cro?n sup}:ort. This gives less overbreak fans, one of which is a new Atlas Copco
turing the RCS 5 computerized rig control and em.ures safety for the workers . Here, Serpent AVH 125 which has a flow rate
system for positioning and high precision the Boomer :frill rigs come in handy once of 14-42 m 3/second and 37-110 kW of
drilling. When it arrived, Atlas Copco spe- again tc· drill the holes and install the pipes nominal power.
cialists were on hand to train the operators in an unbrella pattern. In addition, two All of the equipment is covered by a ser-
on how to use it with maximum efficiency. Atlas Copco Unigrout grouting units, one vice agreement which stipulates the pres-
When working in the poorer rock for eacJ.- ofthr.: tunnels, are used for grouting ence of an Atlas Copco service technician
Atlas Copco MB 1700 hydraulic break- the pipccs. on site from Mondays to Fridays to monitor
ers mounted on excavators are used. The In 011e shift, seven pipes, each 15 m the machines, conduct preventive mainte-
company has three of these which were also long, a~e installed . "This is normal," says nance and replace parts. Atlas Copco has
brought from Bulgaria: "They've served us Mahov. "We just need two days to finish a to respond to any issues within 24 hours .
well in other projects so now we're using whole ppe umbrella." Once the pipes have Besides Serbia, Euro Alliance is active in
them here," says Mahov. been in::talled, the company uses four Atlas tunnel construction projects in several
Copco IA400Tpumps for injection grouting countries at the same time including four
Pipe-roofing in weak zones of se l f- ~i llin g anchors . in Germany, two in Spain and two in
In the weaker zones, pipe roofing is used Ventilation is provided by five different Bulgaria. 0

MINING & CONSTRUCTION SPECIAL EDITION WTC 2015 17

On budget and on schedule

s one of the five tunnels currently Energoprojekt Niskograndna r:1c has · adding that the quality of the rock is not

A being built on the 40.3 km section

of the Ljig-Preljina road in Serbia,
the Sarani tunnel is extraordinary. This
been subcontracted to excavate the Sa rani
drive and is one of five Serbian compa-
nies working in a consortium alcngside
sufficient for the drill and blast technique all
the time which would have made excavation
much faster.
section of Corridor 11 connects Serbia's AzVirt, the Azerbaijan constructio1 com- The fluctuation within the rock forma-
northeastern border with Romania and its pany, which is the main contractor for the tion is naturally challenging. "From one
southwestern border with Montenegro on civil works. The client is the state-owned area with relatively good rock where we
the Adriatic Sea. Koridori Srbije (or Corridors of Senbia). use drill and blast, to an area with very
In addition to the tunnels, it also involves The project is financed by a €370 million soft rock where we have to employ other
the construction of78 bridges. The five tun- loan from the government of Azerbaijan, of methods, it can easily change within 20,
nels are Brdjani (length 455 m), Savnica which €41 million has beer. alloccted for 50 or 100 meters," says Kovacevc. "We sim-
(270 m) Veliki Kik (200 m), Ljig-Golubac the construction of the Sarar.i tunnel ply don't know, so we have to continuously
(25 m) and Sarani, which at approximately Sarani will be a twir.-rube tunnel monitor the conditions to decide on the most
900 m is the longest. (883 m and 887 m) . Constru:tion b::gan in practical and safe method of advancing the
"Two of the tunnels are being excavated March 2013 and is expected to b:: com- tunnel." For this reason, geodetic surveys
using the cut-and-cover method while pleted before year-end 20 15. and geological mapping are performed on
the other three, including Sarani, " We are currently on budget 3.nd on a daily basis.
are classic tunnels," says Zoran schedule and expect to re:nain s:J until
Kovaeevc, Energoprojekt's the end of the project, despite tle fact Drilling and blasting
Chief Engineer ofTech- that advance has been difficult due to the When drilling and blasting permits,
nical Operations & geological conditions,'' says Ko..racevc. Atlas Copco Boomer L2 rigs are used, while
Construction. Excavation of the second tube is exp~cted to in the poorer formations, hydraulic hanuners
be completed by June after wl::.ich tbey will HB 2500 and HB 7000 mounted on excava-
start to prepare the tunnel foc use, vorking tors are used. Pipe roofing is carried out using
on the concrete lining, roaC. constuction, the Atlas Copco Symetrix system, radial MAl
electricity installations and more. SDA self-drilling anchors and MAl M400NT
Kovacevc explains that the geolOSY here pumps are used in rock reinforcement work.
is difficult for any form of ·.mdeeground "We also use steel arches and pre-cast
work as the ground is composed of 3erbian concrete and two layers of wire mesh,"
Serpentine, a. changeable type of n •ck that adds Kovacevc, noting that in good rock,
becomes soft on contact w.th wc.ter. "In only one layer is requited or no wire
practice it turns into mJd,'' te says, mesh is used at all. "If we're lucky, our
 We have to monitor
conditions continuously
for safe
' and practical methods.

shotcrete only needs to be about 20 em Due tc this tmpredictability, pipe roofing IS the first time I have encountered
thick but often it can be over 30 em," he has ha:d to be used for about 70 percent this type of rock and if I hadn't seen
says, adding that this is proof of the poor of the tunnel The method reinforces the it, I wouldn 't have believed it. It's
quality of the ground. grounc ahe:~d of a tunnel face. A steel an interesting challenge but
Sarani also employs three Atlas Copco casing is in st:~lled in an umbrella pattern we are rising above
Unigrout grouting platforms, two of which around the runnel profile, forming a pro- it!" 0
are Unigrout Flex M E22 . Ventilation in tective arch under which the tunnel can be
the tunnels is provided by a fan fitted with advanced safely. The pattern consists of
I 400 m of Atlas Copco flexible ducting. 144 rra1 diam.::ter, 3 m long pipes for a wall
The work is non-stop, seven days a week thicknt ss of 6.3 mm.
and with two 12-hour shifts per day. "We "Ait1ough we can 't always use the
have about 150 workers here with most of rigs fo r drill and blast when the rock
them divided into three crews, so we can is ba.i!, the machines are
have two crews working and one resting," still h..ghly utilized and
explains Dusan Dovatov, Chief Engineer their productivity
of Technical Operations Maintenance, at is goc·d," says
Energoprojekt. KovaC:evc.
"For example, we could be drilling and "This
blasting for several shifts and then the qual-
ity of the rock changes and we could be
using the rigs for pipe roofing with the
Symmetrix system. If it changes
again, we could be drilling
to install the Atlas Copco
R32N and R32S
self-drilling
anchors."