Earth Pressure Balance tunnel boring machines

Earth pressure balance tunnel boring machines or EPBs are the most common machines for excavating tunnels in confined mode. Progressing under pressure, these tunnel boring machines require the use of products with very specific characteristics for optimum productivity in excavating the tunnel at all levels:

• Technical: working in confined mode, changing geological conditions, special profile, curves, etc...

• Environmental: most products used on the tunnel boring machines are in contact with the ground and the water table. This requirement is taken into account in our laboratories as from the design R&D stage and our products are formulated to be biodegradable, non-toxic, and to allow optimised consumption on site.

• Safety: working in confined spaces increases the fire risk (work under pressure, possible pockets of gas, etc...). CONDAT products therefore have fire-resistant or self-extinguishing properties.

CONDAT tunnel boring solutions are known for their quality and their performance. In particular, they have been implemented on sites in EPB mode working with pressures greater than 7 bar and in a wide variety of geologies.

CONDAT offers a complete range of specific products and lubricants for EPB tunnel boring machines.

Green zone:

• Sealants

Blue zone:

• Ground treatment products

Red Zone:

• Fire-resistant fluids
• Bearing greases
• Bearing sealing paste

Yellow Zone:

• Backfill grouting additives

In addition, CONDAT offers equipment suitable for facilitating implementation of our lubricants:

• foam generator for tunnel boring machines

For more information about the products, their implementation, and a good match between the situation encountered and the solution to be envisaged, contact our technical experts in tunnel boring.