Tunnel Drainage Management

Critical groundwaters & scale deposits

Expertise on tunnel waters, sinter formation, building material contact & alteration

Scale deposits (sinter crusts, ochre, biofilms) from critical groundwaters and waters interacting with the tunnel infrastructure (concrete/construction material contact) constitute a challenge regarding an undisturbed operation and maintenance of railway and road tunnels. The mineral and organic deposits (calcium carbonates, iron oxides, bacteria) block various and partially inaccessible components of the tunnel drainage system and hence of groundwater influx and outflow. Construction materials can be altered from localized and unfavorable chemical processes. The expertise concerns the planning and operation stages of tunnel infrastructure equally.

Custom-made problem solutions

Tunnel Drainage Management (TDM) targets a tunnel-specific process understanding and effective strategic solutions. Every tunnel hosts individual and interacting natural and technical environmental conditions. This involves geology and hydrology, hydrochemistry and air exchange, construction options, materials and flow geometries, and the local microbiology and scale (sinter) formation potentials. The variable conditions affect and alter the building materials and determine the evolving scale deposits.

TDM concerns constructive as well as operative measures and consists of different modules (see below) which can be activated as required and to a variable extent. The approach can be integrated into geotechnical planning and implementation, into geological tunnel documentation or maintenance procedures of tunnel infrastructure.

TDM is conducted in cooperation with the Institute of Applied Geosciences at Graz University of Technology and with the geotechnical (tunnel planning) division of GC and is based on the interdisciplinary range of services and broad expertise available within GC GROUP.

Fester Sinter

Fester Sinter

Services in a nutshell

Assessment of current state & layout of drainage system (inventory or new construction)
Mapping & sampling strategies of scale (sinter) deposits, analyses of fluids & solids
Computer-based modeling of hydrochemical conditions, gradients & processes
Assessment of tunnel waters, scale/sinter potentials, concrete/construction material contact & alteration, key sections
Active measures: optimized drainage implementation (components, materials, geometries) & water hardness stabilization (agents/additives, products, dosage)
Monitoring using modern sensors & dataloggers (in-situ, online)
Advice & recommendations: operation, inspection, maintenance & cost optimization
Training/Workshops on TDM

Projects

The Karawanken motorway tunnel along the A11 connects Austria and Slovenia. It is the last single-tube tunnel in Austria, and a second tube is now being added. Karawanken motorway tunnel

In 2016, the city of Sucre, Bolivia, suffered one of its greatest potable water supply crisis due to the lack of seasonal rain and water transportation channel blockage. These facts, in addition with the increasing city population growth put the lack of drinking water infrastructure on the spot. Potable Water Provision

The 8 km long tunnel is part of the major project Stuttgart 21 of Deutsche Bahn between Stuttgart and Ulm Albvorland tunnel

The new railway “Unterinntalbahn” is part of the TEN priority project for the creation of a high-speed railway line between Berlin and Palermo. The supply line of the Brenner was extended with four lines using mining & open cut construction. The complex geological and hydrological conditions required a special building method. New Railway “Unterinntalbahn” Lower Inn Valley

As part of the Buenos Aires Metro H-Line Extension, four new stations, two depots and two workshops were built. GC GROUP was commissioned in a joint venture for the detailed design and construction supervision. Metro Buenos Aires

Almost 40 years after the opening of the Arlberg road tunnel in 1978, a partial renovation was carried out and at the same time escape routes were built over the supply air duct. Renovation

Planning for the longest underground railway connection in the world with a distance of 55 km The Brenner Base Tunnel is the core element of the Brenner railway axis from Munich to Verona. The tunnel system consists of two single-track driving tubes, has an exploration and drainage tunnel and three emergency stops. Brenner Base Tunnel

The Sarmiento Railway Line, a 150 years old metropolitan Line serving Buenos Aires City, was part of one of the most ambitious infrastructure projects in Argentina’s recent times. The growth of the city and the changed necessities required the tunnelling of this line. Sarmiento Railway Tunneling

Arroyo Vega Flood Relief Tunnel

One of the strongest hydropower plant groups in Europe The Malta-Reisseck power plant complex is one of the largest and most efficient in Europe. The hydropower plants are being expanded to increase efficiency even more. Reisseck II+

A new route between Argentina and Chile should be built in order to boost the commercial transit Agua Negra Crossing

The new 2nd core line Munich has been necessary for a long time, because of the populaiton growth in the city. Munich’s second core S-Bahn route

As part of Buenos Aires City Metro master plan, the B Line Extension was executed, to the north of Villa Urquiza Terminal station. This extension project comprised a depot cavern, long enough to shelter four train formations, and a workshop tunnel, able to hold two formations for repairing. Metro Buenos Aires

The road network between southern America’s East and West coasts is of great importancy for the urban agglomerations around Rio de la Plata, expecially because of growing export-oriented policies of Argentina. The highly mountainous terrain between Argentina and Chile makes it difficult to expand this network. Transandino Railway

The “Alter Kaiser Wilhelm Tunnel” is in operation since 1897. This two-lane vault tunnel had to be renovated in order to fulfill the current safety requirements. GC GROUP made a significant contribution in the redevelopment. The “Alter Kaiser Wilhelm Tunnel”

The Klaus tunnel chain along the A9 Phyrn motorway was built in 1996 in the first construction phase. In the second construction phase, the 4 tunnels were extended by a second tube and the 6 bridge structures were renovated. Full extension Klaus tunnel chain

A new tram line for Jerusalem Blue Line Jerusalem

Radioactive contaminated sites in combination with massive landslides harbor enormous risks for large regions of Kyrgyzstan and their residents. A scale-based monitoring and early warning system for landslides in the area of radioactive contaminated sites should minimize these risks.

Monitoring and early warning System of Landslides

More is more The power plant in Forbach, which is more than 100 years old, is being renewed and expanded, thus gaining more storage volume. Pump storage power station Forbach

CERN is the largest research center for particle physics in the world and serves more than 10.000 scientists as a center for basic research. The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) newly installed in this project is even more powerful and can generate particle beams at an unprecedented energetic level. CERN

In 1983 the first tube of the Bosruck Tunnel was opened to traffic. This was completely refurbished in the course of the full expansion with the addition of a second tunnel tube. Bosrucktunnel full extension and general renovation of the eastern tunnel tube

Design and Site Support Services for underground caverns, India In India, GC GROUP created the detailed design and provided site services for the construction of two underground unlined rock caverns for the storage of crude oil: One cavern with a capacity of 1.33 MMT crude oil at Vishakhapatnam and another one with 1.25 MMT crude oil at Padur. Storages for Crude Oil

Lowering of an existing tram in the centre of Karlsruhe (Germany) City rail tunnel Karlsruhe

PD Dr. Ronny Boch

Senior Expert

ronny.boch@geoconsult.com Tel.:+43 1 786 3020 0 Mob.:+43 664 80965 219