The slurry shield tunnel boring machine
consists of four main parts.
The first is the Rotary Cutter Head with tungsten
pick bits used for excavation of soil and disc cutters
used for the excavation of rock.
The second part of the machine is the Bulkhead located
immediately behind the Rotary Cutter Head. This is
where the pressured bentonite slurry shield is formed
to provide stability during the tunnel excavation.
The third part of this machine consists of hydraulic
rams, which are used to propel the machine forward
and to keep the tunnel in its right alignment.
The fourth and the last main part of the machine
is the tunnel lining erector used to install the pre-cast
concrete lining of the tunnel.
Other parts complementing the main Special Features
are two boogies on rails that house electrical, slurry
pumping, ventilation equipment and cable and pipes.
The pre-cast concrete linings for the tunnel are
transported continuously to the erector by boogies
on rails. These linings are then hoisted and placed
in the correct position in the tunnel with the help
of vacuum pads attached to hydraulics arms. The arms
are ex tended to keep the linings in place while the
linings are bolted together.
The void between the excavated ground surface and
the linings is immediately filled with cement mortar
grout under pressurized conditions to ensure all the
voids are fully filled.
For SMART, two Slurry Shield machines are used, both
starting from the JKR field area in Jalan Chan Sow
Lin. The first machine will head North under Jalan
Tun Razak and Jalan Desa Pandan before terminating
at the pond at Ampang behind
Gleneagles Hospital.
The second machine will head south under the Jalan
Chan Sow Lin and the KL-Seremban Highway next to the
Sg Besi airfield before terminating at the existing
pond in Taman Desa.