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  Cross-Border Innovations: Technologies Successfully Transferred from Shipbuilding to Tunnelling Industry

  Royal IHC is the global market leader in the construction of technologically advanced dredging and wet mining vessels. Less known may be the company’s track record in custom-built and standardized tunnelling solutions. At first sight, a tunnel boring machine may seem unrelated to shipbuilding and dredging. But there is actually a significant overlap in terms of knowledge and expertise. This includes i.e. modelling and designing the right excavation system, soil handling and hydraulic transport, instrumentation and automation and dealing with the integration of complex systems, which are core competences of Royal IHC. Several aspects have to be included into the design and construction of this equipment. Obviously, this also envelopes the related cross-border innovations. The development and transfer of innovative technologies will be beneficial for both disciplines. Exemplarily, Royal IHC has adopted from shipbuilding a frequency controlled synchronous motor drive concept for its tunnel boring machines. This drive system has a higher efficiency compared to traditional cutter head drives. Besides that, Royal IHC has developed a non-radioactive density meter, which is successfully implemented in the dredging world. In tunnelling, this measurement system is used for the quality monitoring of the bentonite slurry suspension. This publication will present general design, benefits and the results of a first field test for the non-radioactive density meter technology in tunnelling environment.

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