The Martina tunnel boring machine is a hard rock
tunnel boring machine
A tunnel boring machine (TBM), also known as a "mole", is a machine used to excavate tunnels with a circular cross section through a variety of soil and rock strata. They may also be used for microtunneling. They can be designed to bore throu ...
built by
Herrenknecht AG
Herrenknecht AG is a German company that manufactures tunnel boring machines, headquartered in Allmannsweier, Schwanau, Baden-Württemberg. It is the worldwide market leader for heavy tunnel boring machines. Roughly two-thirds of its 5,000 employ ...
. It is the largest hard rock tunnel boring machine in the world and has been used for drilling the Sparvo Tunnel, a part of the larger
Variante di Valico
Variante di Valico (number A1 var) is a deviation of the Italian A1 motorway opened to traffic on 23 December 2015, between La Quercia and Aglio in central Italy. The entire project covers a length of 62.5 km, of which 37 km involved add ...
project in
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
.
Specifications and operations
The Martina has a shield diameter of 15.55
metres
The metre (British spelling) or meter (American spelling; see spelling differences) (from the French unit , from the Greek noun , "measure"), symbol m, is the primary unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), though its prefi ...
, an excavation diameter of 15.62 metres, a length of 130 metres, a total weight of 4500
tonnes
The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the short ton ( United States ...
and an annual operating consumption of 62 million
kWh. The machine started work on the Sparvo tunnel in 2011, with drilling of the 2430-metre north tube completed in 2012. The drilling of the 2600-metre south tube was finished in 2013, bringing the 5-kilometre tunneling project to an end.
See also
*
List of longest tunnels
This list of longest tunnels ranks tunnels that are at least long. Only continuous tunnels are included. Pipelines, even those that are buried, are excluded. The longest tunnels have been constructed for water distribution, followed by tunnels ...
*
List of long tunnels by type
This page presents the same tunnels as in list of tunnels by length in separate lists according to the different tunnel types.
Rail
Note: ''This list only contains tunnels that are longer than .''
Under construction
Note: ''This list only con ...
*
List of mining companies
This is an incomplete alphabetical list of mining companies.
A
* Adex Mining
* Aditya Birla Group
* African Rainbow Minerals
* Agnico Eagle
* Aiteo
* Alumina
* Anaconda Copper
* Anglo American (mining)
* Anglo Platinum
* AngloGold Ashanti
* ...
References
{{reflist
External links
tunneltalk websitetunnelbuilder website
Heavy equipment
Tunnel boring machines