Pioneer tunneling at the Westerscheldetunnel construction experiences

F.W.J. van de Linde N.V. Westerscheldetunnel E.J. Sonke N.V. Westerscheldetunnel J.A. Stouten Noordhoek Diving Company B.V. ABSTRACT: The Westerscheldetunnel is a road tunnel under construction in the Netherlands which combines a large TBM diameter, long tunnelling length, large hydrostatic pressures and difficult ground conditions in one project. These conditions make this project one of the greatest challenges in the field of large tunnelling projects in Western Europe. It is self-evident that large depth plays an important role on the ongoing project. Initially the paper gives a general survey of the project and its geological conditions. The focus is then directed onto the construction experiences related to the difficult conditions, which have been encountered. One item is the unexpected large deformation of both TBM shields when they reached the deepest point. A second item is the options for inspection and maintenance operations at the face of the TBM at different entry pressures. 1 INTRODUCTION The Westerscheldetunnel is a road tunnel crossing the Westerschelde river in the Netherlands (Fig. 1). The tunnel will be realised and run by the NV Westerscheldetunnel (a Limited Liability Company), which has two shareholders, The State of the Netherlands, (95 per cent) and the Province of Zeeland (5 per cent). The N.V. Westerscheldetunnel will generate income during a period of 30 years from contributions from the State, Province and tolls . The average amount of toll will be 5,25, which will match the going rate of the ferries at that time. The costs of the construction should be regained at the end of this period with a profit which is agreed upon between the NV Westerscheldetunnel and her shareholders. As early as 1931 the first plans were made for a shore to shore connection crossing the Westerschelde River. In those days people thought of a fully immersed tunnel. In the 70s and 80s plans were made for a bridge-tunnel combination, but both solutions turned out to be unrealistic or not costeffective. Eventually, thanks to the huge developments over the last decade, which were made in tunnelling in soft soil, a tunneldrive was feasible. The tunnel will consist of two parallel tubes with a length of each 6.600 m. The deepest point is situated 60.5 m below sea level. The geological conditions exist of sand and the very firm and impermeable overconsolidated Boom clay. The safety of the future user has been given special attention during the design phase. About 30% off the total project budget of 730 million relates to measures taken to ensure the safety-level. For this, among other things, 26 cross passages will be realised between the two tunnel tubes and a 45 mm thick fire protection will b e sprayed. The fire protection is tested 1:1 during a 120 minutes lasting fire with a maximum temperature of 1350C (RWS fire curve) and protects during this time the concrete against spalling. On 28.06.1996 the N.V. Westerscheldetunnel awarded a Design, Construct and Maintenance contract to joint venture Kombinatie Middelplaat v.o.f. The joint venture includes BAM NV, Franki NV, Heijmans NV, Philipp Holzmann AG, Voormolen NV and Wayss & Freytag AG. The overall completion is scheduled in November 2003.

Figure 1

2 GROUND CONDITIONS The geology is characterised by alternating sand and clay -formations. A substantial part of the tunnelling takes place in the Boom clay layer. A very firm and impermeable overconsolidated clay. Beneath the main channel the Pas van Terneuzen, this layer is approximately 8 metres thick, increasing to almost 40 metres below the Middelplaat sand bank, which is clear of the water at low tide. Beneath the secondary channel, the Everingen, the layer thickness has been reduced as a result of erosion (Fig. 2). This Boom clay is known to be highly adhesive. Projects with similar soil conditions show there is high risk of clogging of clay, which can cause poor advance of the TBM. Therefore during the design phase of the TBM much effort was put into an optimal cutterhead design and an alternative way of bentonite supply. A second characteristic layer is very firm sand, containing glauconite, above the Boom clay at the Everingen. Dutch Cone Penetration tests carried out during the soil research indicate that the glauconite sands have a somewhat different mechanical behaviour. This may cause extra wear to the TBM. The other top layers consist of fairly firm sand and soft clay. Underneath the Boom clay sand containing a small amount of glauconite is found. The deepest point of the tunnel is approximately 60,5 metres below MSL. At this location a maximum hydrostatic pressure of approximately 0,65 MPa (6.5 bar) during construction is taken into account.

cross passages every 250 metres. These cross passages are intended as escape routes for stranded motorists and to provide access for the emergency services in case of a calamity in one of the tubes. The distance between the two tubes is nearly 12 metres, one time the tunnel diameter (Fig. 3). A drainage system will be provided in the bottom part of the tunnel, also a cable duct will be installed over the entire length. The foundation below the road will in both tunnels consist of a cable duct and a lower part of gravel filled up with a sand-cement mixture, and a slag layer as the last step before the asphalt layer. About every 1,000 in each tube cellars are to be pro-

Figure 3 Cross section vided for the electrical installations. The voltage is of the electrical supply will be converted from the incoming medium voltage of 10 kV to low voltage. Due to the great length of the tunnel it is responsible to lower the lighting level of the central part from the usual 200 Lux to 30 Lux. Counterbeam lighting will be used. This will be especially economic at the south access ramp, because there are no extra structural provisions needed for the customary daylight louvres. 4 TUNNELING PROGRESS The joint venture started the construction works November 1997. The East TBM started tunnelling June 1999 and is expected to arrive in the receiving shaft spring 2002. The West TBM started September 1999 and is expected to end the tunnelling early 2002. Only 16% of the East tunnel and 17% of the West tunnel had been completed after a year of tunnelling. The main factors were difficulties with the tunnelsegments and most of all the unexpected large deformation of both shields. When both TBMs approached the deepest point - 60,5 metre below MSLlarge deformations of both shields occurred. The deformation became critical in such a way that tunnelling had to be stopped. The deformations delayed TBM West two-month and the East TBM three months. More on this can be found in this paper. Since the restart advance rates again improved. The main achievements are listed below (Table 1).

Figure 2

3 DESIGN The Westerscheldetunnel will be construct ed as a complete tunneldrive consisting of two parallel tubes with a diameter of 11,00 metres, an inner diameter of 10,10 metres and a total length of 6,600 metres. A concrete ring is built out of seven segments and a keystone; the wall thickness is 0,45 metres. One tunnelling has a width of 2 metres. The joints are fitted with neoprene-profiles. The 53.000 segments have been produced in a specially constructed plant at the work site in Terneuzen. At this moment the production is completed and the factory can now be dismantled. The two tubes will be connected by

Table 1: Achievements

Achievements Best 24-hour Best 7-day week Best Month Total progress (October 2001)

East Tunnel 22 m 112 m 396 m 5000 m

West Tunnel 24 m 116 m 372 m 5400 m

tion more problems might arise when doing nothing. Therefore it was decided to enlarge the extent of overcut. It was thought that a larger overcut would lower the thrust loads and might lead to a partial relaxation of both shields. At this point a special diving operation was needed to change the overcutters because of the large hydrostatic pressure acting on the face (6,3 Mpa) and because the lack of overburden made it impossible to carry out a compressed air
Deformation TBM West Location R543 Deformation TBM East Location R 512
1 28 27 26 25 2 4 1 2 3 27 4 5 6 24 2 5 2 6 2 8

At the moment both TBMs are crossing the secondary channel of the Westerschelde River, Everingen, and the progress rates have reached a mean of 15 metre a day.
2 3

20 0 -20 -40 -60

20 0 -20 -40 -60

2 3 4 5 6

23

-80

-80
8 22

5 TAILSKIN DEFORMATION

22

-100
9

-100
9

2 1

21

2 0 19 18 12 17 13 14 15 11

10

20 1 9 1 8 17 1 6 15 1 4 13 1 2 1 1

10

5.1 Construction experiences When both TBMs approached the deepest point 60,5 metre below MSL large deformations of the tailskin of both shields occurred. The deformation became critical in such a way that tunnelling had to be stopped because the size of the deformations hindered ring erection and steering of the TBM. The first indications showing that a possible large deformation of the tailskin had occurred were the results of the measurements of the clearance. It was decided to stop the tunnelling and survey-engineers were ordered to measure the roundness of the tailskin. At this location the West bound TBM had just reached the deepest point of the tunnel at 60m below MSL (ringnumber 543) and the East bound TBM still 62 m behind (at ringnumber 512). The tailskin deformation for the West bound machine was concentrated in the area around ram group 22 (left hand side on the centre line). The largest measured difference from the circular tailskin was 40 mm inwards. In contrast the East bound machine is showing a much greater number of deformations particularly adjacent to ram groups 4, 8, and 25. The measured differences from the perfect circular tailskin at these locations were 52 mm, 31 mm and 23 mm. See figure 4. The first main concern was the question whether the TBMs would collapse. Quick scans by specialists and extra 3D FEM analysis indicated that the deformations were still elastic and a collapse was not due to happen. Investigations were undertaken to find solutions to prevent further deformation although the cause for the abnormal deformation could not yet be identified clearly. A second concern was the high thrust loads. It was clear that measures to lower the thrust loads needed to be taken before the restart of the tunnelling because even in the case there was no relation between the thrust loads and the d eforma-

Figure 4
16

entry. The operation to change the overcutters has been carried out by the principle of saturation diving in bentonite support fluid at 6.9 bar pressure. This was the first time that a full series of saturation dives had been carried out in any tunnel, and redefined the limits of what can be achieved in the modern tunnelling situation. The operation was prepared and carried out for both TBMs. Various other options for a restart were investigated and some of those were prepared. Investigated measures for a restart were: - The construction of a shieldreformer. A steel ring beam. The reformer should have extendible jacks, which will try to push the tailskin out. This option was not executed because the load to push the tailskin out is much too high. - The construction of a shield stabiliser. A steel ring beam with jacks to support the tailskin. This stab iliser would be positioned between the last built ring and the segment jacks. This 80-ton heavy construction (the Terneuzen Colosos) has been prepared and constructed but luckily has never been used. With this construction daily productions rates of only 2 rings per day can be achieved. A variant of this option are the inflatable jacks placed between the last built ring and the tailskin. This last option has been executed on the East TBM. - Stiffen the tailskin by placing ring beams inside. This option has never been executed because experts advised against welding the ring beams. - Construct tunnel rings with a smaller tunnel diameter. This has been done to lower the probability of damaging the tunnel construction and to lower the risk of getting stuck with large deformations. The reduction was only 20 mm of the diameter. These

rings have never been used at the most critical location because of the situation of the tailskin. The West TBM started first because here the deformation looked less severe compared to the East TBM. Except for the larger overcut no extra measures were taken. Special instructions were given to the TBM operator to lower the probability of new deformations. These instructions included the limitation of the steering corrections and lower face and backfill grouting pressures. An extensive geodetic monitoring of the behaviour of the tailskin was prepared. It was hoped that this information would assist the site-engineers more on the reasons for the deformation and could help find more proper measures for the restart of the East TBM. During the standstill no changes of the tailskin had occurred. After the restart of the West TBM the measured changes in the deformation were in the order of two to three mm and a maximum of 9 mm. These changes and their location were of no concern to the site-engineers and the tunnelling continued to the next rings until just after the new situation of the tailskin at ring 547 was measured. Shortly after ring erection started a small injection pipe in the invert of the shield was torn off by accident by a jack. Groundwater, sand and bentonite started flowing in with a pressure of 6.3 Mpa. This inflow of in total 300-m3 water and 50 m3 caused face instability and the TBM fell down 110 mm because of the loss of ground underneath the TBM. This accident showed clearly the elastic behaviour of the shield because probably due to the loss of ground around the TBM the form of tailskin returned to a more circular form. The largest deformation before the incident was 42 mm and after only 15 mm. See figure 5.
Before incident After incident
1 2 8 2 7 2 6 2 5 1 2 3 2 7 4 5 2 5 2 6 2 8

TBM entered the Boom Clay. The East TBM started tunnelling 1,5 month after the West TBM. Here an extra measure was taken to prevent extra deformations by placing inflatable jacks between the last built ring and the tailskin. After ring erection these jacks were placed between the last built ring and the tailskin and then inflated to a calculated pressure. During the tunnelling of a ring these jacks were kept under pressure until the last 500 mm. Via the conDeformation East TBM at ram position 11 and 25
0 2

0 1

0 512 562 612 662 712 762 812 862

-0 1

-0 2

mm
-0 3 -0 4 -0 5 -0 6

Ram 11

Ram 25

-0 7

Ringnumber

Figure 6 Deformation as a function of ringnumber crete ring these jacks support the most critical locations and can be seen as a extra rigidity of the tailskin plate. Again in spite of these measures extra deformations occurred. At a certain moment the largest deformation reached a record of 60-mm inward (Fig. 6). Again the deformations more or less stabilised when the TBM entered the Boom Clay. 5.2 Analysis The deformations of the TBMs are currently part of a claim discussion between the Employer and the Contractor. For this reason the next analysis will only be in a quantitative manner. Possible reasons for the abnormal deformations are listed below - High (excentric) jack forces caused by friction b etween TBM and ground or friction between TBM and lining - Abrupt alignment correction - Large backfill grouting pressures - Insufficiently rigidity of the tailskin plate - Unexpected ground behaviour with higher loads acting on the TBM as a result The TBMs are fitted with a data acquisition system which electronically records the salient parameters whils t the TBM is excavating. The parameters include thrust ram group pressure, cutterhead torque, slurry pressures, grouting information, steering etc. These data were analysed to find the most likely cause. High thrust forces already had been noticed, even before the deformation occurred. These increases in thrust occurred in the clay and sand transi-

2 0 0 -2 0 -4 0 -6 0

20 0 -20 -40 -60

2 3 4 5

2 4

2 4

2 3

2 3

-8 0
2 2

-80
8 2 2

- 100

-100
9

2 1

2 1

2 0

1 0

2 0

1 0

1 9 1 8 1 7 1 6 1 5 1 4 1 3 1 2

1 1

1 9 1 8 1 7 1 6 1 5 1 4 1 3 1 2

1 1

Figure 5 It took two weeks to stabilize the situation and to restart the tunnelling. In spite the measures taken the tailskin again started to deform. During the tunn elling of the next 250 rings the West TBM developed a more irregular form. The original largest deformation at ram 22 went from 40 mm to 15 after the incident to 34 mm at ringnumber 615 but now near ramgroup 4 and 25 also larger deformations developed. The deformations more or less stabilised when the

tion zone. The next conclusions can be drawn from the obtained data (Fig. 7): 1. The total thrust increases with the depth of the tunnel as would be expected 2. The corrected thrust (i.e. total thrust minus the thrust applied by the slurry pressure on the face) is increasing 3. The total thrust loads required are high compared to the total installed thrust. Extra power had to be installed to control the TBM effectively.
Loads TBM West
120000

grouting pressures can be when acting on the shield but calculations show large local pressures are needed to deform the shield in the way it has deformed. The back fill grouting pressures need to be adjusted to balance the face pressure and therefore the grouting pressure is in the same kind of order as the face pressure plus loss of pressure in the groutpipes. Figure 8 gives an impression of the back fill grouting pressures and volumes.
Back Fill Grouting Pressure West TBM (top side injection point)
0 1

100000

80000

kN

60000

B a r

40000
3

20000
2

0 0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800

Ringnumber
Thrust Load Face Pressure Load 120000 Corrected Thrust

0 0 20 0 400 600 800 0 1 0 1200 1400 1600

Loads TBM East

Ringnumber

Volume Back Fill Grouting West TBM

0 3

100000

80000

5 2

kN

60000
0 2

40000

m 3
5 1

20000

0 0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800

0 1

Ringnumber
5

Figure 7 (corrected) thrust forces The reasons for the higher thrust loads are up till now unknown although it should be recognised that the thrust loads are closely related to the steering and the alignment of the excavated tunnel. The West bound shield has been moving through the ground with both look up i.e. to prevent the TBM diving and with the right lead as the TBM has been going off line to the right hand side of the alignment. Loads imposed on a shield by abrupt alignment corrections can be a reason for the deformations. During the design of both TBMs no investigations were undertaken to model the relation between steering and possible loads acting on the TBM. In the calculations of such loads are presumed to be taken into account by multiplying the static loads by a safety factor. Although one would expect that a larger overcut as executed after the stand still will cause smaller loads acting on the shield by steering corrections this is not observable from the deformation data. Large back fill grouting pressures can act on the tailskin and cause deformations. Especially when a TBM has a tendency to drift it is possible that grout flows in the tunnelling direction and imposes a load onto the tailskin. It is unknown how large these

0 0 20 0 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600

Ringnumber Back Fill Grouting Pressure East TBM (side injection point)

1 0

Bar

0 0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600

Ringnumber

Volume Back Fill Grouting East TBM

30,00

25,00

20,00

m3

15,00

10,00

5,00

0,00 0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600

Ringnumber

Figure 8 Grouting pressures and volumes The next issues were investigated regarding the design and the deformation behaviour of the TBM - The general design of the shield construction - Modelling of the loads acting on the TBM - The effect of buckling on the deformation behaviour - Importance of modelling the grout pipes - Influence of initial deformations caused on site when constructing the TBM on the job-site before the tunnelling starts. The main conclusions of these investigations were: - Under the given conditions buckling does not lead to a collapse but the TBM already starts to deform. Figure 9 shows the result of a 3D FEM calculation and the first buckling form when assuming that the TBM is floating in bentonite or fluid grout. - Deformations can be larger when a second order effect is introduced because of large initial deformations
FEMGV 6.1-02 : RWS BOUWDIENST Model: VOL Def = .13E4 MO1: Mode 1 Step: 0 FREQUENCY: 1.85 Nodal DTX....G RESDTX Max/Min on model set: Max = 1 Min = 0 17-JUL-2000 17:52 resvol.cgm

pressed air workers have to go in front of the cutting head for inspection and repairs, which mostly concerns very heavy work. The space between the cutting head and the soil in front is normally kept free of bentonite and water by compressed air during the inspection works. The two tunnel-boring machines started in July 1999 their work with a two-month difference. The greatest pressure encountered was estimated at max. 7,5 bar (Gauge). Therefore special diving techniques, which are normally only used in the offshore industry, where developed for this project. The first range of compressed air work activities where single interventions with compressed air till a depth of maximum 4,5 bar (G). For single interventions with a higher pressure, trimix was used with a special helmet with an oronasal mask. For deep and long interventions a saturation system was developed for trimix excursions. 6.2 Project start up Before the diving and compressed air work started, extensive risk analyses were carried out with all parties involved, including expert diving doctors. For this specific type of work, at such a great depths, there were no worldwide standard decompression tables and working methods available. In the Netherlands it is a requirement to prepare a risk analyses and a workplan before the diving can commence, which should be approved by a specialised occupational health service. The labour inspection must be informed well in advance and require a copy of the approved workplan including the risk analyses. As this work was so new and innovative, the support from the occupational health service was required during the whole project. The occupational health service can supply the medical support and it was decided to keep a doctor on site during most of the diving works. Further there is always a MAD-B diver (Medical Aid Diver) in the team for first aid. All divers involved where undergoing extra medical checks such as; whole body scintigraphy and a NES test (NES = Neurobehavioral Evaluation System). At the end of the project and after a couple of years, these tests will be repeated to find out if there are long term effects of the work on the body. 6.3 Compressed air works The type of work the compressed air workers have to carry out are; regular inspections of the bits and overcutters, changing the bits and overcutters when worn out, inspecting of the bearings of the cutterhead etc. The excavation chamber, which can be entered through a lock in the machine, consists of compressed air, so the divers are able to work without breathing apparatus. For the decompression we used the 1993 Dutch DCD Air Caisson Decompression

erektorkruis

k =1.85

Y X

.91 .819 .728 .637 .546 .455 .364 .273 .182 .91E-1

Figure 9 3D-FEM buckling calculation result Regarding ground behaviour the next items were investigated: - Overconsolidated sand layers with a larger K 0 as taken into account - Shield body tightening-up At this moment both TBMs have crossed the secondary channel of the Westerschelde River at a level of 50 m below MSL and no critical deformation has occurred.

6 DIVING TECHNIQUES 6.1 Introduction The tunnels are constructed as a complete tunneldrive with a hydroshield TBM technique. It is the first time that this technique is used in such a depth in a soft soil river area. Regularly divers or com-

tables that were extended (computed by Prof. Dr. W. Sterk) from 3,5 bar to 4,5-bar (G). Decompression is done on air, with oxygen from 1.5 bar on, in steps of 0.3 bar to the surface and interrupted by regular air breaks. The maximum allowed UPTD (= Unit Pulmonary Toxic Dose) is 400 per day or 2000 per week. After the job in the boring chamber is finished, the workers change their clothes and put on dry clothing. During decompressing they got water to drink. The decompression time was set at maximum 2 hours due to the uncomfortable position of the divers in the decompression chamber. At the end of the deco mpression they had a four-hour bend watch under medical supervision.

away in seconds. In the offshore industry the oxygen level is reduced when welding in a dry habitat underwater, which is normally a saturation job. It was not feasible to reduce the oxygen level in the boring chamber so special measurements were taken to prevent the risk of fire. The welder was wearing special inflammable clothing and a breathing mask while another person was guarding him with a special fire extinguisher. Extra smoke extraction funnels were installed around the workplace. The door from the decompression chamber was nearly closed and an overpressure was created to prevent the smoke coming in the deco chamber.

Figure 10 Dive team in lock

Figure 11 View on lock with flange connection for shuttle 6.3 Trimix works At depths greater than 3.6 bar the effects of nitrogen narcosis became obvious. Therefore, it was decided to use trimix breathing gases for single exposures for the greater pressures. A special helmet (Fig.) with an oronasal mask was designed to breathe trimix, delivered through an umbilical. The helmet itself was cooled with compressed air, to prevent fogging of the visor.

Symptoms of nitrogen narcosis were experienced at pressures over 3.6 bar, divers worked slower and made more mistakes. After 672 compressed air exposures we had three cases of decompression sickness type I (bends), in the exposure range from 3.9 to 4.2 bar. At that time the overcutters were changed, which was very heavy work. The workers had single exposures for five days long and fatigue may have played a role. Also the high temperature in the excavation chamber and the cooling down during decompression may also had its effect. The bends incident rate (BIR) was 0.4. All cases of decompression sickness were cured after treatment. A special activity was the welding of water jetting nozzles on the cutting head. These had to be installed in order to tunnel through the very stiff type of clay (Boomse clay) underneath the WesternScheldt. There is not much worldwide experience with welding in air at a pressure of 3.6 bar, at such a pressure everything is burning at an explosive speed. From experiences in the Elb tunnel in Germany, we learned that for example a rubber shoe sole burns

Figure 12 Helmet with build in mask and Helmet open position For the range up to 5.1 bar we used a mixture with 25% O2, 50% N2 and 25% He. Decompression tables, on air and oxygen, were computed based on the

NDC (Netherlands Diving Centre) tables (Sterk, 1991). To guard the reliability of the tables, Doppler ultrasonic bubble detection were performed on the divers. We did measurements at approximately one and two hours after decompression. Although bubbles were detected, after evaluation the conclusion was that the tables were very safe, also no DCI (Diving Compression Illness) has been recorded. 6.4 Saturation works For depths between 4.2 bar up to approx. 7.5 bar and the longer inspections, a trimix saturation system has been developed. A mixture of 12% O2, 45% N2 and 43 % He was used. At the entrance of the tunnel a saturation living unit is placed. The unit consists of 2 chambers of 2.4-m diameter connected to each other. One of 4.7 m and one of 7-m length, which is suitable to accommodate in total 6 9 divers. The divers can live there for 28 days at a pressure of 4 bar (G). The divers bodies are then saturated with the gases (Nitrogen) as they live in that mixture. From the living chambers the divers can be transported under pressure to and from the work area in front of the TBM.

mets also wet dives in the bentonite can be done. Depending on the type of work they can remain in front of the machine up to 4 hours before they return to the living chamber. They can make a break in

Figure 14 Transport shuttle docking on living unit

Figure 15 Transport shuttle

Figure 16 Crane transport from lorry to TBM lock Figure 13 Saturation living unit at the entrance of the tunnel Two hyperbaric transport shuttles for maximum each 3 divers have been developed. This shuttle is connected to the living chamber (Fig. 14) and divers are transported by a train and lorry to the TBM (Fig. 15 and 16). As the tunnel will be 6.6 kilometres long, the travelling time can become at the end of the project approx. 1 hour. At the Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) the shuttle is lifted from the lorry and transported by a crane to the lock in the TBM. In the lock the pressure can be increased to the pressure in front of the machine. With the helmet on and the trimix coming via the umbilical, the divers can make excursions to the front and carry out the inspections and works. With modified Kirby Morgan S27 helmets also wet TBM lock and take the helmet of for drinking and eating. After completing the work the decompression is done in the lock from for example 7 bar to 4 bar and than they are transported back to the living chamber at the entrance of the tunnel. Changing the working cloths and cleaning is done in the TBM before entering the lock. In saturation hygiene is very important as in such a small living area bacteria (such as pseudomonas aeroginosa) will grow easily which can lead to infections at the divers. After returning in the living chamber the second team can be transported to the TBM. The second shuttle is available as a back up and for safety reasons. After a working period of 2 or 3 weeks the final saturation decompression takes approx. 3 days, according to the tailor made decompression tables by Prof. Sterk.

7 CONCLUSIONS The experience in the Westerscheldetunnel shows that tunnelling in soft soil at great depths is very well possible. When designing TBM loads imposed by alignment corrections and grouting pressures need to be investigated and eventually need be taken into account. Momentary it is not clear how large these effects can be. For this research has to be carried out to model the TBM-ground interface during operation. The experiences show that it is essential to plan well in advance the required techniques and solutions for inspections and repairs with the support of divers as Murphys law will always hit a perfect engineered and constructed system or machine. Changing overcutters and bits when diving in bentonite has shown to be effective. Therefore co mpressed air entries are not always needed. Because of this bits can be changed at various difficult locations. This can have a positive effect on the design of a tunnel alignment.

8. REFERENCES Linde, F.W.J. van de &. Sonke, E.J (2000): Mastering design and construction challenges, ITA 2000 Linde, F.W.J. van de (2001): Tunneling under the Wes terschelde, BauMa Sager, H.J. & Maidl, U. (2001): Sticking Point, T&T International januari 2001 Sterk, W. & Rees Vellinga, T.P. van (2000) Decompression tables for the western scheldt tunnelling project. Undersea Hyper Med 2000; 27 (suppl): 20-21. Sterk, W.&. Sterk, E.J (2000) Trimix in the Western Scheldt deep tunnelling Project. EUBS 2000 Proceedings : 98-102.