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Branch: M.tech (Construction Technology & Management)

Reg. No: 20MCT0035, 20MCT0020, 20MCT0011
Course Title: Construction Practice & Equipment
Course Code: CLE5022
Guide Name: Prof. BALA MURUGAN S

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Details of Chenani-Nashri Tunnel

• The Chenani-Nashri tunnel is a single-tube bi-directional tunnel, with a 9.35-metre

carriageway, vertical clearance of 5 meters, and a parallel escape tunnel

• The 9.28 km Chenani-Nashri tunnel, India’s longest and safest tunnel (South Asia’s
Longest Road Tunnel)

• The work was started in 2011 and has been inaugurated on 2 April 2017.

• It is the first tunnel in the country with a fully integrated tunnel control system.

• Built at Rs. 3,720 Crore.

• This tunnel is the fastest project to be completed in India's Himalayan region.

• 1,500 engineers, geologists, skilled workers and labourers worked on the project.

• 118 CCTVs, one every 75 metres.

• 6,000 LED multiple colour lights used to break monotony.

Equipment's Used with their Advantages

• Rather than using a Tunnel Boring Machine, the project used the revolutionary New Austrian
Tunneling Method (NATM) of sequential excavation, which exploits the strength of the
native rock mass.

• WHY?

• Tunnels with variable geometry and tunnels in mixed ground conditions, NATM provides
more cost effective

• Economical – Support provided as required by the encountered ground conditions, in

contrast to TBM segments, which are designed for worst load case – if needed or not,
therefore overdesigned.

• Adaptable – Optimizing equipment and crews, allowing multiple heading operations

concurrent.

Process of NATM:

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A unique feature of the tunnel is that it is completely dry, with not a single drop of water throughout
the entire length of the tunnel.

This has been done by using water proofing membranes behind the concrete walls. A system behind
the membrane collects the water coming down from the mountains and takes it to a central drain.
The collected water is then saved for captive use such as for firefighting and construction activities.

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2. Dump Truck

• (Model MKA35)

• Played a key role in taking out the muck from the Tunnel

• Compact, simple and powerful design

• Hard rock and tunneling applications

• Great power to weight ratio

• Extremely robust GHH frame and system design resulting in lowest operating cost

• Particle filters for tunneling operations available

• With the bi-directional cabin the operator is able to quickly move the truck in both directions,
without the need to turn the vehicle in narrow cross sections or tunnels

3. Drilling Jumbo

The drill rigs with high power ensure fast drilling speed, with the max. drilling speed up to 3-5
m/min.

3. Tunnel Lining Formwork

▪ Concrete distribution for the formwork can be made by only one operator

▪ Concrete pipelines are cleaned by high-pressure blow wash from sponge balls, which is
easy to operate

▪ Lining for each ring can be made by 4 to 6 workers..

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4 Interesting Technologies used in Chenani-Nashri Tunnel

• 1. Transverse ventilation system :

• The Chenani-Nashri road tunnel is the country’s first and globally the sixth road tunnel
which uses a transverse ventilation system.

• It has been enabled by ABB drives and controlled by ABB software.

• ABB’s energy supply portfolio ensures the safe passage of electricity, water and air into the
tunnel, while also catering to the supervision and monitoring of traffic safety

• Such ventilation systems, for such long tunnels, are crucial to maintain clean air, permissible
carbon dioxide levels and expel harmful vehicle emissions.

• The ventilation system in the Chenani-Nashri tunnel, the longest highway tunnel in Asia, will
ensure that passengers have access to fresh air as they drive through it.

2. 29 Cross Passages:

• The tunnel has two tubes running parallel. While the main traffic tunnel is 13 metres in
diameter, a separate safety or escape tunnel of diameter 6 metres alongside.

• These two tubes, each around 9 km in length, are connected by 29 cross passages at
regular intervals along the entire length of the tunnel.

• These passages add up to about 1 km of tunnel length, and the main and escape tubes,
plus the cross passages make up about 19 km of tunnel length, IE reported.

3. Low harmonics variable speed drive (VSD) system:

• For tunnel, ventilation has been designed, engineered and supplied, in a bid to make sure
the travel of commuters will be safe.

• The VSDs and motors are installed at the North (Nashri) and South (Chenani) portals for
air supply and exhaust.

• The VSDs are also equipped with inbuilt redundancy to ensure minimum downtime.

4.Use of Cell-phones while travelling :

• People will be able to use their phones while travelling inside the tunnel. According to an
IE report, network providers have reportedly set up facilities inside the tunnel to carry
signals.

• Also, lighting inside the tunnel has been adjusted at a gradient luminous capacity in order
to prevent diminution of vision because of the sudden change in light that happens while
inside and outside the tunnel.

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JAWAHAR TUNNEL

Opened 22 December 1956

Length 2.85 Km (1.77mi)

Highest elevation 2200 m

Vehicles per day 7000

No. of lanes 2

Location Jammu and Kashmir

Equipment’s Used:
1. Chain-type Diaphragm Wall Equipment

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➢ As the key equipment designed for the trench cutting re-mixing

deep wall method (TRD), chain-type diaphragm wall equipment
is used for building underground continuous walls through the
working procedure of grooving, grouting and mixing.
➢ It can be widely used in building foundation pits for metro
stations, utility tunnels, construction basements, underground
parking lots and underground commercial streets or building
diaphragm walls in projects like dams, river levees, railways,
harbours, mines and wasteyards for sealing, soil blocking and
separation.

2. Drilling and Splitting Jumbo

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➢ CRCHI’s drilling and splitting jumbo is built for static excavation

in tunnelling and mining applications. Splitting doesn’t produce
vibration, percussion, noise, dust and poisonous gas, being safe
and eco-friendly.
➢ Its drilling rig provides high- efficiency drilling and geology
forecast for a safe and efficient construction even in super
harsh geologies. It can be widely used in tunnels, drifts and
underground plants in fields like railway, highway, water
conservancy, hydropower and mine.
3. Lining Formwork

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➢ CRCHI’s computerized tunnel lining formwork is built for

secondary lining in tunnelling applications.
➢ The formwork is equipped with a unique dual casting system
(one is layered concrete casting into the mould window by
window, the other one is vault casting under pressure), a high-
frequency pneumatic vibrating system, a filling-up feedback
system, an automatic data collecting system and other system,
achieving high-efficiency and top quality lining without any
uncompacted areas or cavities.
➢ It can be widely used in different kinds of tunnels, drifts or
culverts in field like railway, highway, underground
construction and water conservancy for secondary lining.

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ATAL TUNNEL ROHTANG

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Features
• • The 9.02 Km long tunnel connects Manali to Lahaul-Spiti
valley throughout the year. Earlier the valley was cut off for
about 6 months each year owing to heavy snowfall.
• • The Tunnel is built with ultra-modern specifications in the
Pir Panjal range of Himalayas at an altitude of 3000 Mtrs
(10,000 Feet) from the Mean Sea Level (MSL).
• • The tunnel reduces the road distance by 46 Kms between
Manali and Leh and the time by about 4 to 5 hours.
• • Atal Tunnel is going to be a lifeline for a large part of
Himachal Pradesh as well as the new Union Territory of Leh-
Ladakh and would reduce the distance between Manali and
Keylong by 3-4 hours.
• • Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee laid the
foundation of the approach road for this tunnel in 2002.
• The tunnel will provide all-weather connectivity to remote
border areas of Himachal Pradesh and Ladakh which
otherwise remain cut-off from the rest of the country for
about six months during winters
Challenges Faced
• The most challenging task was to continue the excavation
during heavy snowfall in winter.
• Excavation for tunneling was done from both ends.
• Rohtang pass closes during the winter, the north portal was
not accessible during winter and the excavation was being
done only from the south portal in winters.
• Only about one-fourth of the entire tunnel was excavated
from the north end and three-fourths was excavated from the
south end.

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• There were more than 46 avalanche sites on approaches to

the tunnel.
• The progress of excavation from 5-metre per day to just half a
meter a day and unstable rocks that slowed blasting and
digging.
Construction Method Adopted
• The tunnel was constructed using the New Austrian Tunneling
Method (NATM)
• flexibility—drilling and designing depending were the results
of the ongoing monitoring. The operation occured
sequentially to take most advantage of the ground conditions.
Additionally, NATM installed ground support on the go and on
an as-needed basis, adding reinforcement to the shotcrete
where necessary. The permanent support was a cast-in-place
concrete lining placed over a waterproofing membrane.
• The principal support system for the tunnel is a combination
of fibre reinforced concrete and rock bolt. Yieldable steel ribs
are used as additional support in poor rock areas.
• The tunnel have semi-transverse ventilation with fans to
circulate air. The long distance of the tunnel and the high
altitude have necessitated the special ventilation system.
• The tunnel has consumed 14,508 metric tonnes of steel and
2,37,596 metric tonnes of cement, and excavated out 14 lakh
cubic metres soil and rocks, using the drill and blast technique
for excavation
Monitoring Equipment’s
• Multi point extensometer: 3 & 4 points MPBX were installed
at north portal site at different chainage of tunnel for

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monitoring of rock settlement. The readings of extensometers

were very helpful for monitoring the rock behavior.
• Load cell: Installed at few locations near 3-point extensometer
for correlating the data.
• Bi-reflective target: Through-out the tunnel at different arrays
to measure convergence.
• Tunnel Seismic Prediction System (TSP): TSP measurements
were applied in regular intervals of ~ 80-100 m at both South
and North portals.

Construction Equipment’s
• Tunnel boring machine: used to excavate tunnels with a circular cross-section through a
variety of soil and rock strata. They may also be used for micro tunneling.

• Horizontal Directional Drilling Machines: They are commonly used for installations below
waterways and roadways to avoid disturbing the ground above. HDDM are typically heavy-
duty vehicles fitted with track drives, operator controls, and drilling machinery. Materials
used for pipes include PVC, polyethylene, polypropylene, ductile iron, and steel.

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• Immersed tube: An immersed tube is a kind of undersea tunnel composed of segments,

constructed elsewhere and floated to the tunnel site to be sunk into place and then linked
together.

• Crawler loaders

• Wheel loaders

• Crawler Excavators

Safety measures
• It has been equipped with a semi-transverse ventilation
system, where large fans separately circulate air throughout
the tunnel. A 2.25 m tall and 3.6 m wide emergency tunnel
has been integrated into the tunnel cross-section beneath the
main carriageway for evacuation during emergencies.
• Fires inside the tunnel will be controlled within an area of 200
meters and fire hydrants are provided at specific locations
throughout the tunnel. The tunnel also has a public

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announcement system to make important announcement in

emergency situations for which loudspeakers are installed at
regular intervals.
• To prevent any damage from heavy snowfall to the roads and
to ensure the safety of the roads and tunnel users alike,
avalanche control structures have been constructed.

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