British Tunnelling Society
Meetings Programme 2010
Print PageThe BTS is one of the most active societies at the ICE. It has a total of approximately 900 individual and corporate members and is also active at national and regional levels.
If you would like to download the forthcoming meeting calendar, please click here.
Latest Meeting Calendar
| Date | Title | Speakers |
|---|---|---|
| 21-Jan-10 | Construction of Deep Shafts The presentation will review the current situation with regard to deep shaft construction in the UK and worldwide. It will cover the geological and hydrogeological data requirements for designing deep shaft linings and the methods for their design will be discussed. Construction aspects such as excavation methods, ground stability control and water control methods and lining installation procedures will be described. To illustrate the presentation examples of actual construction projects will be shown. | Alan Auld Alan Auld Associates |
| 18-Feb-10 | Joint Meeting with MinSouth. Construction of Road Tunels in Iceland Hedinsfjardargong Project The speakers will present the history and highlight the main problems, which were met during the planning and construction of the Hedinsfjardargong Project, which includes two road tunnels, 3.6 km and 6.9 km long. The project is located in the North of Iceland and during the construction of this Drill & Blast job the extreme conditions in respect of water inflows had to be dealt with. Experience with extensive chemical pre-grouting in cold and high pressure water will be described. The Project completion is scheduled for September 2010 | Ermin Stehlik - Metrostav Project Director Hreinn Haraldsson - Director General, Vegagerdin, Iceland (Icelandic Road Administration) |
| 17-March-10(Note this is a Wednesday & starts later at 6:30pm) | Gotthard Base Tunnel Project - Switzerland, Transco Sedrun The Gotthard Base Tunnel is the longest rail tunnel worldwide. The presentation will show its significance for and location within the European rail network as well as its historic roots. The presentation includes information about the technical conditions (geology, programme) of overall project. The central section (C360 Sedrun) of it will be visited in more detail describing the technical challenges of deep mountain tunnelling with up to 2000 meters of overburden through a 800 m deep vertical shaft with regard of geology, logistics, operations, safety and its contractual framework. |
Michael Gutzeit & Hans-Juergen Bartschat - Project Manager - Bilfinger Berger Ingenieurbau GmbH |
| 15-April-10 | Harding Lecture Development and Use of Closed Face Tunnelling Machines The lecture will start with some tunnelling history, commencing with the introduction of tunnel shields leading on from Brunels Thames Tunnel shield. The introduction of circular shields followed by the early tunnelling machines will be covered. The introduction of closed face tunnelling machines will commence from the time of John Bartletts 1964 patent for the original Bentonite Tunnelling Machine and carry on through the rapid development of Slurry Machines in Europe and Japan. This will be followed by the introduction and development of Earth Pressure Balance Machines in Japan. Important details of closed face machines will be discussed, especially requirements for the proper control of ground movement. The lecture will finish with a look at some major projects where closed face TBMs have been used. |
Dr. Alistair Biggart |
| 20-May-10 | 1 BTS Annual General Meeting Followed by West Ham Flood Alleviation Scheme |
Andrew Morgan Costain |
| 17-June-10 | Atlantic Sea Tunnels in Norway Road tunnels and bridges being built along Norways western sea coast. | Prof. Eivind Grov - Vice President ITA President Norwegian Tunnelling Society |
| 13-Sept-10 | BTS Young Members Meeting: Occupational Health in Tunnelling Dr Donald Lamont will present to young engineers on occupational health hazards in tunnelling. The presentation will also identify occurrence, relevant legislation, ideas for risk mitigation measures and a brief history of some tunnelling-specific hazards and related HSE research | Dr Donald Lamont |
| 16-Sept-10 | Tunnelling in Seattle - Past, Present and FutureHow tunnels have been used in Seattle and why they are now starting to push the envelope in American tunnelling. The talk will look in detail at recent projects, particularly Brightwater, and at the planned 58ft diameter bore for the Alaskan Way viaduct replacement tunnel. Brightwater is a $2 billion new wastewater treatment system, which includes 14 miles of soft-ground bored tunnel. Currently under construction, the tunnels are being bored using 2 EPB and 2 slurry TBMs, and are notable for their long drives and high mining pressures. | Anthony Pooly Jacobs, PM for Brightwater project |
| 21-Oct-10 (All day event) | Sir Alan Muir Wood Symposium - replacing the BTS meeting that day. Sir Alan Muir Wood, who died in 2009, was one of the most eminent Civil Engineers in recent times. He was a Fellow of the Royal Society, a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering and a Past President of the Institution of Civil Engineers. He was a founder member of the British Tunnelling Society and the International Tunnelling Association. The British Tunnelling Society is holding a Symposium in his memory. The themes under discussion will be centred on Tunnelling, Coastal and Geotechnical Engineering with contributions on recent case histories of tunnelling and geotechnical interest, tunnel design, research advances in geotechnical engineering and the modelling of catastrophic coastal flooding. |
Prof Robert Mair Prof John Burland Prof David Muir Wood Robert Muir Wood Andy Alder Rodney Craig Prof Paul Jowitt Martin Knights John Sharp |
| 18-Nov-10 | Pittsburgh Northshore Connector The tunnelling works for the North Shore Connector Project in Pittsburgh, USA, involved several engineering challenges. The construction included twin 6.5m ID bored tunnels, 660m long, passing under the Allegheny River to connect downtown Pittsburgh to the PNC Baseball Stadium and the Heinz Field American Football Stadium. This presentation will describe the engineering challenges associated with the tunnelling works and the geotechnical ground improvements implemented to minimise settlement and provide additional structural support. Challenges included a complex alignment, with vertical gradients up to 7.7% and horizontal curves of less than 200m radius, a shallow river crossing with cover of less than 10m through mixed fluvioglacial soils and weak bedrock, obstructions in the form of existing piles for river walls and highway structures, and a sensitive piled building under construction as the tunnel design passed beneath. The tunnel alignment included a soil wall between the tunnels of less than 1m, and a minimum cover of one tunnel diameter. Other issues included strict requirements for waterproofing and cast-in-place inner lining, special measures for protection to historical protected buildings, and close location of a high capacity cooling water well. This required specialised geotechnical ground improvement measures to minimise settlement and provide additional structural support. Compensation grouting was used close to a nearby well and beneath existing spread footings of an adjacent historic building. |
Stephen Woodrow + Andy Miller Faber Maunsell (AECOM) |
| 16-Dec-10 | Baggage Tunnel Design and Construction at Heathrow Airport BAA, Mott MacDonald and Ferrovial Agroman have completed a vital link in Heathrow Airport?s underground integrated transfer baggage system ? a 2.1km tunnel running between Terminals 5, 3 and 1. The scale of the transfer baggage system is unique ? when completed it will be the world?s largest. The talk will describe the meticulous project management and innovative design and construction which were essential to ensure that none of the 268 structures and services at risk from the tunnel were adversely affected. In spite of being deemed 2009?s number one risk to Heathrow?s operations, the tunnel had zero impact on the airport. The talk will also cover processes that have led to the achievement of an exceptional safety record for tunnelling with 1.7 million man hours worked without a reportable accident. | Andrew Stephenson BAA Enrique Blanco Ferrovial Arthur Darby Mott MacDonald |
- Tea and biscuits will be available at 5.30 PM
- Meetings will be held at the ICE unless otherwise stated
- Meetings will start at 6.00 PM & finish at 7.30 PM unless otherwise stated
- A licensed bar will be open after the meeting at the ICE
- A variety of foods will be served in the ICE Brasserie after each meeting.
- Advance booking not required.
This list may be subject to changes. Details of each meeting will be sent to members with their monthly copies of T&TI. Should you have any query please contact the BTS Administrator at the contact page.
