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Breaking new ground in tunnelling and infrastructure

The tunnelling sector has been on an upward trajectory over the past few years, with new innovations and falling costs making tunnelled projects both more viable and more effective. Developments in the tunnelling sector have also been driven by the need for significant infrastructural improvements in our cities.

In the United Kingdom, research shows that the population is continuing to move from rural to urban environments*, which increases transport and resource requirements – not to mention the simple need for more space. Tunnelling presents a clear path to addressing some of these challenges, and leveraging new infrastructural opportunities could go a long way to improving the liveability of our cities.

Whether improving existing infrastructure or constructing new tunnels, however, underground environments pose unique safety requirements. In this blog we will consider how Flamgard, as part of Halton Group, can help developers to achieve better results with their tunnelled projects…

Solutions for every application

Tunnels may be ‘out of sight, out of mind’ for some, but there’s truly another world beneath our feet. Urban areas rely on a vast network of tunnels, including but not limited to:

  • Power tunnels
  • Road tunnels
  • Train and subway tunnels
  • Utility tunnels

While the general tenets of underground safety apply across all tunnelled applications, each of these sectors holds its own bespoke requirements. Thankfully, it is now easier than ever for tunnelling stakeholders to identify the ideal solution for their specific project with the new Heavy Industry 3D World from Halton.

The 3D World offers a real-world visualisation of each of these tunnelled applications, showcasing the benefits of products from expert suppliers across Halton Group – including Flamgard Calidair. Putting all the key information together in one place, the 3D World can help tunnelling stakeholders to save time on their projects.

A robust damper solution for underground environments

Flamgard’s dedicated solution for underground environments, the CFD-02TM High Temperature Tunnel Damper, has been successfully tested for operation at 400°C for up to two hours. Further benefits include:

  • Proven to withstand, with blades closed, repetitive loading of 6000 Pascals due to pressure transients, for 7.8 million cycles
  • Fire endurance tested in accordance with UL555 and BS476 PT20 for 2 hours
  • Blade deflection tested at 4000Pa at 400°C for 1 hour
  • Endurance tested for 100,000 cycles of automatic operation
  • UL Damper Hose Stream tested after fire test in accordance with ASTM E2226 15b
  • Independently Low Demand SIL 4 rated

Furthermore, using the Heavy Industry 3D World, stakeholders will be able to quickly and easily identify ancillary and complementary solutions from across the Halton Group range.

Demonstrating success on the Riyadh Metro

Flamgard recently completed an ambitious tunnelling project in the form of the new Riyadh Metro, the centrepiece of a new public transport system for Saudi Arabia’s capital city.

Safety during day to day and emergency operation was imperative, as was the maintenance of ventilation and air quality underground. Over 300 units of the company’s flagship tunnel damper were installed across two lines of the metro – an undertaking which involved approximately 55,000 production hours and saw the products delivered in 78 separate 40-foot containers.

To learn more about how Flamgard supported the construction of the Riyadh Metro, please read our case study.

Alternatively, if you’d like to get in touch directly with a project-based enquiry, please email sales@flamgard.co.uk.

 

*Office for National Statistics, Population dynamics of UK city regions since mid-2011.