Summary Reader Response Draft #2

 Draft 2

According to Vinci (2022), Innovation at the end of the tunnel talks about how tunnels have become an essential part of urbanizing worldwide. With the pressure for more need of underground infrastructure, innovative tunneling had stayed relevant throughout the years. The tunnel boring machine (TBM) is one of the greatest invention men had ever created. The largest TBM measures up to 100m in length and 19m in diameter. With its powerful tools, it is able to mine through different minerals and rubble that is obstructing the construction. Despite the integration of artificial intelligence and automation, the TBM technology had stayed stagnant for years with minimal upgrades done. As more tunnel projects are introduced, this invites potential investors to venture into the industry. As stated by Vinci (2022), Elon Musk launched its company The Boring Company in 2017 to compete with the competitors. The company promised a more efficient and faster drilling than the current TBM technology. In 2021, the company launched a Competition to attract talent and innovation for his tunneling project. However, manufacturers were not amazed by the company as the company had yet to make a impactful innovation in the industry. 


This shows that manufacturers are not willing to put in risk to further improve the TBM technology as the TBM have not been giving much trouble in drilling although it is very slow in progression. As time passes, the need for a faster and more cost-efficient drill will be required to keep up with the speed of society.

 

One of the drawbacks of the TBM will be the speed. Although the TBM is a great technology for precision and underground works, it takes more than 1 week to be able to dig through a little more than 100m underground. According to Steed (2021), the crossover XRE TBM shown its fastest speed in a project done in Turkey. The TBM managed to achieve 117m in one week and it is one of the fastest records ever made in history. Although it is the fastest TBM in the world, it will still take years for the 508km tunnel to be completed. This showed the amount of time that will be needed for a tunnel to be completed. For Singapore to achieve such a completed tunneling system, it took Singapore more than 2 decades to build up so many different tunnels transport systems that interlink each other. Through out this 2 decades, tunnels were also have to be maintained and changed to fit the newer technologies and TBM used. This shows that with the speed of the current TBMs, the tunnels built will not be able to keep up with the technology updates through the years.

 

Another draw backs of the TBM will be the cost of operating these machines. Although the TBM are essential to constructing certain projects. It is definitely costly to maintain and operate. According to Tunnel Business Magazine (2020), the cost of constructing 1 mile of tunnel will cost $1.5 to $2.5 billion in the USA. Out of the cost spent to construct the tunnel, up to 20 per cent of the budget were spent on operating machinery with the TBM being the most expensive. This shows just how expensive it is to build a tunnel using the TBM machine. With the technology being so costly, many countries around the world explored other alternatives other than tunneling for its transportation.

 

Despite the TBM being slow and expensive to operate, the TBM does not creates lots of technical problems in the industry. Even with its slow-moving pace, countries like Singapore have made incredible underground tunneling system with the TBM and even owning 3 different types of TBM. Another example will be the China railway system project in Guangzhou. According to Anderson (2021), this project covers poor ground conditions such as soft, hard, fractured zones and hard rocks. The tunnel will also be expected to cross under rivers and other bodies of water with a cover of 20m to 31m. This shows that although the technology does not advance much in the present times, it is still able to fulfil many challenges despite being slow.

 

In conclusion, the TBM technology will still need newer upgrades and innovative ideas and technologies to be integrated with the current technology to achieve a better outcome despite being able to achieve many records throughout the years. With its current technology, the tunnels made will require constant upgrades and the machine technology will not be able to be pushed to a new level. As stated by Vinci (Leonard, 2022), the boring company aims to create new boring machine that is much better than a conventional tunnel boring machine and hopes to achieve a way faster boring speed.

Reference

Leonard (25th January, 2022). Innovation at the end of the tunnel Leonard, Foresight and Innovation by VINCI. https://leonard.vinci.com/en/innovation-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel/

Lindsey Anderson (13th July, 2021). The Biggest Tunneling projects around the world in 2021. https://www.international-construction.com/news/the-biggest-tunnelling-projects-around-the-world-in-2021/8013496.article

Leila Steed (4th August, 2021). Tunnel Boring Machine Sets new world Records. https://www.international-construction.com/news/tunnel-boring-machine-sets-new-world-records/8013959.article

Tunnel Business Magazine (18th August, 2020). Why Tunnels in The US Cost Much More Than Anywhere Else In The World. https://tunnelingonline.com/why-tunnels-in-the-us-cost-much-more-than-anywhere-else-in-the-world/


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