TBM Project References for Nick Barton (between 1990 and 2016)

• Reference group member for Kraftbyggarna in Sweden, concerning 9m diameter TBM tunnel for high speed railway through Hallandsås, South Sweden.

• Consultant to NOCON on TBM head race tunnel, Pont Ventoux Hydro Project, Italy concerning problems in faults with water, causing blocked cutter-head.

• Consultant to Statkraft on TBM head race tunnel, Dul Hasti Hydro Project, Kashmir concerning problems in sheared talcy phillites, causing over-excavation voids.

• Consultant to GeoEngineering in Jersey, concerning the ET- Eurotunnel claim involving predictable rock mass conditions in the jointed chalk marl, for early sub-sea km 20-24 of the Channel Tunnel, on the British side of the English Channel.

• TBM Tunnelling in Jointed and Faulted Rock. Book concerning analysis of 145 TBM tunnels case records and development of QTBM prognosis method. Balkema, 172p. (Translated into Chinese: Taiwan 2002 and China 2008).

• Consultant to Skanska International in 1999 for the F1 SSDS Strategic Sewage TBM tunnel in Hong Kong, using the QTBM prognosis model.

• Consultant to Engecorps in 2001 for the planned 16 km long Cuncas Tunnel in the San Francisco water transfer project in Brazil, using the QTBM prognosis model.

• Consultant to Triunfo Contractors in Curitiba, Brazil in 2002 concerning QTBM prognoses for a planned TBM tunnel at the Salto Natal HEP.

• Consultant to Hochtief, Germany in 2003 for QTBM analysis and modelling of a Lesotho TBM tunnel in basalts.

• Expert witness for TBM project in Brisbane, Australia in 2004, where use of some elements of QTBM such as relative block size and inter-block friction were used to demonstrate inferior conditions in the tunnel as compared with core-based predictions.

• Consultant to consortium of contractors concerning TBM or NATM construction of Lot 2 of Line 4 of São Paulo metro, Brazil, in 2004.

• Consultant to Odebrecht contractors (2004) concerning QTBM prognoses, and numerical modelling of stress-fracturing effects, for the 14km, 1 km to 2.3 km deep trans-Andean TBM Olmos Tunnel in Peru, currently suffering predicable and predicted rock burst problems 4 years into this drive.

• Consultant to SRK (2007) on behalf of Anglo American, for TBM performance prediction for the deep, 8 km long Los Bronces mine access tunnel, using core quality logging (Q-histogram method) from numerous deep boreholes, lab tests (NTNU) and the QTBM model. TBM start-up in May 2009.

• Consultant to consortium of contractors concerning TBM or NATM construction of Lot 2 of Line 4 of São Paulo metro, Brazil.

• Consultant to mining consultants SRK and Chilean Mining authority Codelco in 2008, for aspects of design, cost and construction risk for a 20 km long mineral conveyor tunnel, and 30 km of tailings transfer tunnels, some by TBM, for the Nuevo Andina mine expansion in the Andes.

• Expert Panel member in 2009 for 2.5 km deep and 16 km long TBM tunnelling at the Jinping II 4,500 hydroelectric project in China, Ertan Power Company, having high stress and rock-burst problems.

• Study for Norwegian Rail Authority JBV (2009), using extensive rock-exposure statistical Q-logging and use of core and seismic data to enable QTBM prognosis modelling for open-gripper TBM, and for double-shield TBM with push-off-liner where needed, for planned twin high-speed rail tunnels of 7.9 and 9.6 km length, from Oslo to Ski.

• Evaluation for Norsk Hydro of feasibility of planned Santa Maria HEP headrace tunnel in N. Peru, using Q and QTBM, for 28 km tunnel with many kilometres of more than 2 km overburden, maximum 2.4 to 2.6 km. Hybrid drill-and-blast and TBM solution suggested to avoid TBM in weaker rock.

• Analysis of TBM progress in Petrobras’s 5 km long gas pipeline Gastau Tunnel driven in exceptionally massive granites for Shaft Consultoria, and for Ghella, and Qtbm modelling of multiple 500 m blindhole shaft drilling, for Shaft Drillers International and Brasfond, SE Brazil.

• Consultant to Iranian Water Power Company IWPC concerning possible solutions for the Nosoud TBM tunnel, where two TBM have suffered long delays due to huge water ingress in limestones in the Zagros area of S.W. Iran.

• Consultant to Farab Engineering Co. as member of panel of experts in Sri Lanka concerning possible solutions for the excessively leaking Uma Oya TBM-driven headrace tunnel, which has caused widespread drawdown of the water table.

TBM publications:

1. Barton, N. & Warren, C. 1996. Rock mass classification of chalk marl in the UK Channel Tunnels. Channel Tunnel Engineering Geology Symposium, Brighton, September 1995.

2. Barton, N. 1996. Rock mass characterization and seismic measurements to assist in the design and execution of TBM projects. Proc. of 1996 Taiwan Rock Engineering Symposium, Keynote Lecture, pp. 1-16.

3. Barton, N. 1999. TBM performance estimation in rock using Qtbm. Tunnels and Tunnelling International, Sept. 1999, pp. 30-34.

4. Barton, N. 2000. TBM Tunnelling in Jointed and Faulted Rock. 173p. Balkema, Rotterdam.

5. Barton, N. 2000. Rock mass classification for choosing between TBM and drill-and-blast or a hybrid solution. Keynote lecture, Proc. Int. Conf. on Tunnels and Underground Structures, ICTUS 2000, Singapore. Balkema, Rotterdam.

6. Barton, N. 2001. Are long tunnels faster by TBM? Proc. Rapid Excavation and Tunnelling Conf. RETC, San Diego, USA. Soc. Min. Eng., 819-828.

7. Barton, N. 2001. To blast or not to blast - The choice of tunnelling method in the Korean Peninsula. Proc. Int. Symp. Civil Engineering for the Unification Era of the Korean Peninsula in the 21st Century. Korean Society of Civil Engineers, Ed. Chun-Su Chon. 249-259.

8. Barton, N. 2003. TBM or drill and blast. Tunnels and Tunnelling International, 20-23, June.

9. Barton, N. and Abrahao, R. 2003. Employing the QTBM prognosis model. Tunnels and Tunnelling International, 20-23, December.

10. Barton, N. 2004. Risk and risk reduction in TBM rock tunnelling. Keynote lecture, ARMS 2004 : 3rd Asian Rock Mechanics Symposium, Kyoto.

11. Barton, N. 2005. Comments on 'A critique of QTBM'. Tunnels & Tunnelling International, July, pp. 16-19.

12. Barton, N. 2006. TBM tunnelling in sheared and fractured rock and the application of
Q TBM model concepts. VIth South American Rock Mech. Cong., Cartegena, Colombia, 77-112, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, eds. J. Montero & J.E. Colmenares.

13. Barton, N. & Skjeggedal, T. 2006. Drill-and-blast or TBM for long, difficult tunnels? Letter to the Editor, Tunnels & Tunneling International, Sept. 2006, p. 31.

14. Barton, N. 2006. Fault zones and TBM. Geotechnical Risks in Rock Tunnels, Campos e Matos, Ribeiro e Sousa, Kleberger & Lopes Pinto (eds), Taylor & Francis, 75-117.

15. Barton, N. 2008. TBM tunnel construction in difficult ground. Proc. VI th South American Congress on Rock Mechanics, Bogota, Colombia.

16. Barton. N. 2009. TBM prognoses in hard rock with faults using QTBM methods. Keynote lecture, Inst. of Min. Metall. International Tunnelling Conf., Hong Kong.

17. Barton. N. 2010. TBM prognoses for hard rock with weakness zones, using open-gripper or double-shield solutions. Keynote paper. Int. Conf. on Underground Constructions, Transport and City Tunnels, Prague.

18. Barton, N. & B. Gammelsæter, 2010. Application of the Q-system and QTBM prognosis to predict TBM tunnelling potential for the planned Oslo-Ski rail tunnels. Nordic Rock Mechanics Conf., Kongsberg, Norway.

19. Barton, N. 2012. Reducing risk in long deep tunnels by using TBM and drill-and-blast methods in the same project – the hybrid solution. Keynote lecture. J. Rock Mech. and Geotech. Eng., 4(2): 115-126, CSRME, Wuhan. Chinese Academy of.

20. Barton, N. 2013. TBM  prognoses  for  open-gripper  and  double-shield machines: challenges  and  solutions  for  weakness  zones  and  water. FJELLSPRENGNINGSTEKNIKK – BERGMEKANIKK – GEOTEKNIKK, Oslo, 21.1-21.17, Nov. 2013.

21. Barton, N. 2015. TBM performance, prognosis and risk caused by faulting. Plenary lecture, VIIIth S. American Rock Mech. Cong, Buenos Aires, 40p.

22. Barton, N. and Bilgin, N. 2016. Fast or slow progress with TBM in ideal or faulted conditions. Proc. of Eurock 2016, Cappadocia, Turkey, 6p.

QTBM Figures. Click to enlarge:

Stage-by-stage 'excavation' of the TBM tunnel with appropriate properties for each domain, as based on Q-histogram logging of deep core, and special lab abrasion tests.