Modern tunneling

Front matter

Class T r ^ ?>o Book 1^5

DAVID W. BRUNTON

ii AND

Introduction To Second Edition, Revised And Enlarged

The authors of the First Edition of Modern Tunnehng specifically limited the scope of their work by special reference to Mine a.nd Water Supply tunnels; that is to say, to those tunnels of small size in which the heading was excavated at a single operation.

The increased use of large sized tunnels for railroad and highway purposes has advanced rapidly with the development of mechanical appliances which aid in the construction of these larger sized structures to furnish improved means for conducting the various classes of transportation. Consequently the authors of the original volume felt it to be desirable to widen the scope of the work by the addition of new matter deahng with the various classes of large sized tunnels, and the present writer was invited to undertake the work of the enlargement of the subject matter. As a result of his great regard for Mr. D. W. Brunton, and the substance contained in the First Edition, the present author agreed to write this further work and presents it herewith as a brief study of enlarged tunnel construction.

It is fully appreciated that book space of ten times the extent of the present volume would hardly cover the full scope, but it is hoped that the suggestions herein given will be helpful to the student of the subject. It will be realized that all matter in the original volume is equally suitable and applicable to the building of the larger sized tunnels up to the point of enlargement of the headings to the full sized section.

The author is indebted to so many Engineers, Corporations, Authors and PubHshers, for matter which has been woven into this revised edition, that it would be impracticable to select individuals to whom to express the sense of that debt; but begs herewith to offer to all those who are referred to or indicated in the text, his acknowledgments and appreciation.

iii

Contents

PAGE

Chapter I. Introduction 1—4

Purpose of book i

Scope of book • 2

Acknowledgments 3

Chapter I!.

The history of tunnehng 5~34

Tunnels driven by hand 'drilHng 12

Mining and water tunnels driven by machine drilling . . 19

Railway tunnels 24

Chapter III. Resume of data 35

Modern tunnels described in engineering magazines ... 49 Chapter IV.

Sources of power 53

Production of power 54

Water powder 54

Steami 58

Internal-combustion 58

Electric motors 64

Transmission of power .64

Duration of plant 65

Accessibility 66

Cost of installation 66

Fuel consumption 74

Thermal efficiency 75

Purchase of current 76

Interest and depreciation 77

Chapter V. Power required 81

Straight line 85

Duplex 88

Turbo-compressors 91

Comparisons 94

V

VI CONTENTS

Chapter V.

Air compressors — {Continued) page

Regulation 97

Steam driven 97

Water driven 98

Electrically driven 99

Heat loi

Heat produced . loi

Dangers of. high temperatures loi

Removal of heat 102

Intercooling 104

Moisture 104

Accessories 106

Precoolers 106

Aftercooling 106

Air receivers 107

Drains 108

Chapter XV. Causes of accidents 290

Falls of roofs 290

Use of explosives 292

Premature explosions 296

Misfires 299

Suffocation by gases from explosives . 303

Suffocation by gases from other sources 305

Electricity 311

Fire 313

Water 315

Intoxication 318

Prevention of accidents 318

Precautions for the manager or superintendent . . .319

Precautions for the foreman . . . 321

Precautions for the miner 324 i

Vlll CONTENTS

Chapter XVI. page

Coronado tunnel 329

Gunnison tunnel 331

Laramie-Poudre tunnel 332

Los Angeles Aqueduct 333

Lucania tunnel 343

Marshall- Russell tunnel 344

Mission tunnel 345

Newhouse tunnel 346

Rawley tunnel 347

Roosevelt tunnel 348

Stihvell tunnel 352

Strawberry tunnel 353

Chapter XVI J. Tunnel descriptions 360

Water power 369

Steam power 371

Internal-combustion power 373

Compressed-air power , . . . . 380

Power transmission 381

Power plant descriptions 382

Compression of air 388

Compressed-air accessories 1 .... 391

Air drills 394

Drilling accessories 397

Methods of tunnel driving 402

Drilling methods 405

Blasting methods 406

Blasting supplies 408

Speed records 4^2

Safety and health 4^4

Costs 418

I

CONTENTS IX

Chapter XVIII. page

Introduction 420-424

Economics 424-426

Geology 426-429

Cross-section 429-431

Alinement . . . . . 432

Backing of lining 447-448

Waterproofing lining 448-451

Drainage and pumping 451-456

Contract Bids 458-460

Chapter XIX.

Foreign systems. . 461-462

Plant Installation and Equipment applicable to all classes of

enlarged tunnels 465-481

DriHs 468

Loading equipment 468-470

Drainage and pumping 475-476

Surface equipment 478-479

Chapter XX.

Hard Rock Tunnels (Self-supporting) 482-509

Excavation methods 482-484

Size of heading 484-486

Comparative cost of tunnel excavation in trap rock,

Drill mounting 490-497

Top or bottom heading 497-499

Center heading 499~505

Overbreakage and packing 505-508

Rotary cutters 508-509

Advanced test drilling 509

Chapter XXI.

Excavation methods 510-517

Needle beams 517-518

Steel sets 518-520

X CONTENTS

Chapter XXI. — {Continued).

Loose Rock and Soft Ground Tunnels — {Continued) page

Pilot tube method 520

Lining methods 520-525

Collapsible forms 525-527

Pneumatic placement of concrete 527-531

Precast block lining 531

Brick lining 531-532

Cement Gun 532-533

Liberty Tunnels 533^542

Cost of soft ground tunnel 542-543

Chapter XXIL

Tunneling shields 545-550

Shield equipment 550-553

Wood lining 553

Roof shields 553-554

Caisson method 554-557

Cofferdam methods 557-558

Construction Plant 558-563

Compressed Air 559-561

Air Locks 562

Electricity 562-563

Hydraulic power 563

Miscellaneous plant 564

Cost of Subaqueous Tunnels 564-567

Shield driven, iron lined 564-566

Trench type 566-567

Bibliography to Chapters, XVIII-XXII ....... 568-576

Appendix (outline of tunnel data) 577-582

I

Chapter I Introduction Purpose Of Book

Up-to-date information concerning tunneling methods is difficult to obtain. There are but few books on the subject, and much of the material they contain, although it is very interesting and valuable historically, is now obsolete. The engineering periodicals, it is true, endeavor to keep abreast of the times and there are several of which scarcely an issue appears without some article bearing upon tunnel work. But the very multiplicity of these magazines prevents one from reading all of them regularly, and the foreman or superintendent in charge of a tunnel, or the mining engineer designing one, and especially the business man financing the project, has no time for a laborious search after scattered articles in order to determine the present status of tunnel work. Then, too, knowledge of new methods travels slowly. Inventions and improvements of definite and practical value in mining as well as all the other industries, and important discoveries in science, frequently remain in the note-book of the investigator, or, as theses, are buried in university libraries or may be published only in the very locally distributed journals of small scientific societies. In biology, the work of Mendel on heredity (whose experiments in his cloister-garden are the foundation of a new conception of the nature of living things on the part of biologists, which bids fair to exert an influence not less than that associated with the name of Darwin), although pubKshed locally by him in 1865, remained unknown to the scientific world until its simultaneous discovery by three independent workers in 1900. In astronomy, the invention of the achromatic lens, without which the modern telescope would not be possible, by John Dolland in 1758, was antedated some twenty-five years by the investigations of Chester Moore Hall. So also in tunneling, up-to-date methods and equipment that ai'e proving safe, efi&cient, and economical may be totally unknown outside the district in which they originate. This book is intended to supply, if possible, such data concerning timnehng methods in the United States, and to make suggestions that, it is hoped, may result in a saving to the mining industry of life, energy, and capital that would otherwise be expended for inefficient or useless work.

In most of the published accounts of tunnel work, the writers usually do not attempt to criticise the methods they are describing. It is customary for such articles to contain accurate descriptions of equipment, various phases of working operations, and occasionally figures showing the cost of the work, but rarely do they include a discussion of the means for preserving the health and life of the employees, or data bearing upon the choice and efficiency of equipment or an analysis of methods and costs. As a result, the reader in drawing conclusions is dependent wholly upon his own resources. In this volume, on the contrary, the making of such analyses will be a primary consideration. It is desirable, nevertheless, in an impartial, disinterested book of this character to use constructive rather than destructive criticism. For that reason emphasis will be placed upon safe, efficient, and economical methods, and upon good points of equipment, while bad practice and obsolete machinery will be ignored except, perhaps, as examples of the inadvisable or as they have some bearing historically. Thus the authors hope to set forth a guide for future work rather than an unillumined record of past or present achievement.

SCOPE OF BOOK

This book will be confined chiefly to tunnels and adits* for mining purposes, such as drainage, transportation, or development, but it will also include those which are used to carry water for power, irrigation, or domestic use, in which the essential

*It has been suggested by prominent authorities that the word " tunnel " be restricted to the • designation of such nearly horizontal passageways as extend completely through a mountain or hill from daylight to daylight, and

INTRODUCTION 3

features are practically identical with mine tunnels. Tunnels of this sort are generally driven through at least fairly hard rocks in contrast to ordinary soil, quicksand, and other heavy material of a treacherous nature, and they are practically never driven through modern river-bed deposits. It will not be necessary, therefore, to consider the special methods and equipment for tunnel work in such materials. A distinction will be made between tunnels or adits for which the excavation is wholly or in a large part in material containing no ore and those which follow the vein through any irregularity in direction. As far as possible, the discussion will be limited to the former, because in the latter instance the methods employed in driving along a vein are usually more akin to the distinctive operations for removing ore, and are, therefore, not so apt to be good examples of tunnel practice.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

In the preparation of this book valuable assistance has been received from numerous sources. The writers are deeply indebted to the officials of the New York Board of Water Supply, of the Los Angeles Aqueduct, of the United States Reclamation Service, and the Bureau of Mines, and to the officers, managers, superintendents, and foremen at the different tunnels, for favors granted, for information suppHed, often at no little inconvenience,' and, above all for that hearty co-operation which has been an unfaiHng source of inspiration. Many thanks, also, are due the

the words "adit" and "drift" be used only for similar galleries which enter from the surface and serve to drain a mine or furnish an exit from the workings, but do not continue entirely through the hill. Such definition is eminently desirable from a strict technical viewpoint and would undoubtedly result in a much to be desired precision of diction, but, although it was proposed over thirty years ago and the suggestion has been repeated several times since, it has been found difficult, if indeed possible, to establish it practically. The American usage of referring to any horizontal gallery as a tunnel, without considering its extent completely through a hill or not, is so firmly fixed in our mining literature (being used by authors and editors alike), and among practical mining men generally in this country, and is even embodied in the United States mining laws, that the proposed restriction has been thought scarcely justifiable in a practical work of this character.

manufacturers of equipment and materials used in tunnel work for their promptness and courtesy in furnishing catalogues, data of tests, and similar material, and in supplying photographs, blue-prints, and cuts, which have been of great assistance in the preparation of many of the illustrations in this volume. Obligation is also acknowledged for many valuable suggestions obtained from articles in engineering periodicals and from books on tunneling and related subjects.