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Geological Engineering

Lima Metro Line 2

Service Performed
Investigation of unexpected progressing settlement of ground surface and constructed Metro Line 2 tunnel, shaft and station structures in Lima’s Santa Anita district.
Commencement - Services
March 01, 2014
Location
Av. Aviación 2494 – San Borja
Lima
Peru
Geology description

All Metro Line 2 structures in the Santa Anita district were constructed in dense gravels which is underlain by a sequence of clay, sand and gravel layers. The bedrock lies an assumed 30m to 150m below ground surface.

Geology types
Description

Lima's Metro Line 2 project comprises 27 km of all-underground Line 2, plus an 8 km underground spur to the airport which will make up the first section of Line 4. Thirty-five new stations are being constructed, seven of them mined and the rest constructed by cut and cover. The MDL2 consortium is to design, finance and build the new line and to operate and maintain it for the following 30 years.

Activity
Service areas
Construction methods
Overview of Lima's Metro Line 2 project (www.thinglink.com)
Results plot of the 2D finite element consolidation analysis
Project number
473C
Project Type
Final cost
$5.7 billion USD
Completion date
Ongoing

University Link - Execution

Service Performed
Site supervision services, consulting and monitoring.
Commencement - Services
December 01, 2011
Completion - Services
August 01, 2012
Location
401 S. Jackson Street
Seattle, WA 98104
United States
Geology description

The geology along the alignment consists of over-consolidated glacial clay and till with fractured zones, as well as sand and silt layers.

Geology types
Description

University Link is a 5km light rail extension that runs in twin-bored tunnels from Downtown Seattle north to the University of Washington, with stations at Capitol Hill and on the University of Washington campus. The project further includes 20 cross passages located in soft ground and a maximum design water head of 60m. To deal with the prevailing geological conditions, specific ground support categories were developed. Steel fibre reinforced initial lining, sheet membrane waterproofing and CIP final lining were utilised.

Activity
Service areas
Geological Engineering, Site Supervision & CM, QA/QC
Construction methods
Cross passage excavation
Propping of TBM tunnel at cross passage
Probe drilling at cross passage
Finished cross passage
Project number
262E
Final cost
$1.6 billion USD

University Link - Design

Service Performed
Sub-consultant for NATM/SEM design and waterproofing design.
Commencement - Services
July 02, 2007
Completion - Services
January 02, 2009
Location
401 S. Jackson Street
Seattle, WA 98104
United States
Geology description

The geology along the alignment consists of over-consolidated glacial clay and till with fractured zones, as well as sand and silt layers.

Geology types
Description

University Link is a 5km light rail extension that runs in twin-bored tunnels from Downtown Seattle north to the University of Washington, with stations at Capitol Hill and on the University of Washington campus. The twin-bored tunnels are connected with 20 cross passages. Dr. Sauer & Partners performed the temporary and final support design for the cross passages. This included the design of excavation and support measures and the development of specific ground support categories, settlement analyses, and the structural analyses of initial and permanent lining.

Activity
Service areas
Construction methods
T Cross Passage
3D Finite Element Model
Project number
262D
Final cost
$1.6 billion USD

Crossrail C121 SCL Design CAT3 Check

Service Performed
Specialist sub-consultant for the analysis, design check, and design improvement recommendations of SCL structures.
Commencement - Services
January 01, 2011
Completion - Services
December 01, 2013
Location
25 Canada Square
London
E14 5LQ
United Kingdom
Geology description

The SCL tunnels are located in London Clay and Lambeth Group with overlying strata of terrace gravels and made ground.

Geology types
Description

Crossrail is a 118km railway line along an east-west route across London. Its central section runs via 21km twin-bore tunnels connecting eight underground stations and represents one of the world's largest infrastructure projects. Dr. Sauer & Partners was assigned to provide Category III independent design checking services on the Sprayed Concrete Lining works for the complete Whitechapel and Fisher Street SCL structures. Additional 3D non-linear FEA and assessments were carried out for the wraparound and junction structures of the Liverpool St Station and the Bond St Station.

Activity
Service areas
Geological Engineering, Tunnel Design & Specialities
Construction methods
Tunneling under
FEM results of binocular structure at Fisher Street Crossover
Fisher Street Crossover under construction
Project number
222C2
Final cost
£16 billion GBP

Los Bronces Mine

Service Performed
Dr. Sauer & Partners provided conceptual design and basic engineering.
Commencement - Services
August 01, 2009
Completion - Services
November 01, 2011
Location
Los Andes
Valparaíso
Chile
Geology description

The geological setting is dominated by the volcanic activities of the region and includes magmatic rocks such as monzonite, andesite, and dacite.

Geology types
Description

Los Bronces copper mine, an open-pit operation at an altitude of 3500m ASL in the Chilean Andes, planned to utilise a tunnel for further deposit exploration and development. The project consisted of an 8.2km tunnel link between Los Bronces and Confluencia, connecting two processing plants. By applying drill and blast methods, a chamber was prepared to launch a 4.5m diameter tunnel boring machine which took over further excavation. A difficult geological and hydrological setting, extreme weather conditions as well as the high altitude and the rough terrain, provided a challenging environment.

Activity
Final cost
$6,000,000
Service areas
Geological Engineering, Tunnel Design & Specialities
Construction methods
TBM Tunel Sur (http://www.construccionminera.cl)
Tunnel excavation with TBM
Project number
432C
Final cost
$6 million USD

Crossrail Farringdon Station - Geotechnical Assessment

Service Performed
Temporary works design included design of tunnels prior to ring closure and 28 day strength as well as depressurisation design.
Commencement - Services
May 01, 2013
Completion - Services
October 01, 2015
Location
Cnr Charterhouse St & Farringdon Rd
London
EC1M3HN
United Kingdom
Geology description

Excavation encountered almost all the London basin units but mainly Lambeth Group, comprising stiff to very stiff overconsolidated clays to water bearing sand units.

Geology types
Description

The station is located in central London between Tottenham Court Road and Liverpool Street Crossrail (CRL) Stations. Constructed in the geologically most complex area in the whole of CRL, an optimised geotechnical and SCL tunnel design was implemented, which resulted in significant time and cost benefits for the project. Using a dynamic 3D geological model in conjunction with SCL tunnelling represented a key element of the geotechnical risk management framework.

Activity
Service areas
Geological Engineering
Construction methods
Special Construction techniques
Tunneling under
Groundwater control
Max Overburden
25 m
Max Excavation Area (m2)
95
Tunnel length
1000 m
Qualitative geotechnical risk mapping
Exerpt of the 3D finite element model
Project number
222D5
Min Overburden
5 m
Final cost
£300 million GBP

Green Park Station Upgrade

Service Performed
Tunnel and shaft design, construction support during excavation and primary lining works.
Commencement - Services
January 01, 2009
Completion - Services
May 01, 2010
Location
Piccadilly
London
W1J 7BX
United Kingdom
Technical data

Provide Step Free Access between street level and Northern, Piccadilly & Jubilee line platforms via a new ticket hall and lift system. The station, with an estimated annual use of 25 million, will thus become accessible for passengers with disabilities and reduced mobility.

Geology description

London Clay formation

Geology types
Description

Green Park tube station is a LU station situated on the north side of Green Park in central London. The station serves as an interchange between the Piccadilly, Victoria and Jubilee lines. As part of Transport for London's (TfL) investment programme, LU is implementing capacity enhancement and step‐free access (SFA) works to various stations. Dr. Sauer & Partners was responsible for the design of the primary support, i.e. sprayed concrete lining (SCL) and for providing construction support services including supervision of the excavation works and installation of the primary lining.

Activity
Final cost
$9,000,000
Service areas
Geological Engineering, Tunnel Design & Specialities
Construction methods
Tunneling under
Max Overburden
10m
Proposed structures
Secondary lining works in the upper shaft
Project number
423
Final cost
£9 million GBP

Tottenham Court Road Station Upgrade Design

Client
Service Performed
Design of numerous temporary sprayed concrete lined shaft and tunnel structures, and the waterproofing system for the upgrade of the existing London Underground Tottenham Court Road Station.
Commencement - Services
August 01, 2007
Completion - Services
January 01, 2010
Location
Oxford Street
London
London
W1D 1AN
United Kingdom
Technical data

Tottenham Court Road Station is a London Underground station situated in central London. The station serves as an interchange between the Central and Northern lines. Over 150,000 passengers use the station daily.

Geology description

London Clay Formation (over-consolidated, very stiff to hard clay)

Geology types
Description

Currently over 150,000 passengers use the station daily and with the completion of Crossrail in 2017, passenger numbers are expected to increase to over 200,000. The tunnels are of diameters between 4.0m and 11.0m and typically consist of a temporary sprayed concrete primary lining, a spray applied waterproofing membrane and a cast-in-place concrete secondary lining. Multiple transitions and interfaces to existing LU structures make for a challenging design and construction project under the busy streets of central London.

Activity
Final cost
$480,000,000
Service areas
Construction methods
Special Construction techniques
Tunneling under
Max Excavation Area (m2)
23-104m2
Tunnel length
13-104m
Overview of new tunnel works
General arrangement of sprayed concrete overbridge
Northern line concourse tunnel with cross passages
Installation of steel transfer beam
Excavation and support of Northern line concourse tunnel
Removal of existing backfilled structure
Project number
411D
Final cost
£480 million GBP

Crossrail Eastern Running Tunnels

Service Performed
Shaft and tunnel design, engineering support, geotechnical engineering and site supervision services.
Commencement - Services
February 01, 2011
Completion - Services
December 01, 2012
Location
London
London
EC1M 6BY
United Kingdom
Geology description

Geological locations of the cross passages vary from London Clay to Lambeth Group and Thanet Sands.

Geology types
Description

Contract C305 is the biggest design-bid-build construction contract of the Crossrail (CRL) project and includes the eastern running tunnels of CRL's central section with launch shafts and SCL launch adits for TBMs at Limmo Peninsula, SCL caverns and launch adits for TBMs at Stepney Green and 10 SCL cross passages between the running tunnels with lengths up to 30m. At the Limmo Peninsula site a 40m deep and 30m diameter SCL shaft was built. At the shaft bottom in Stepney Green, two 30m long and up to 10m wide SCL launch adits were constructed followed by two 14m high and up to 18m wide, SCL caverns with single sidedrift and double sidedrift cross sections.

Activity
Service areas
Construction methods
Max Excavation Area (m2)
50-130m2
Tunnel length
15m
Limmo Main Shaft
Limmo Auxiliary Shaft bottom
Platform Tunnel West - Excavation - TBM Tunnel Enlargement
3D Model Limmo Auxiliary Shaft
Limmo Shafts and Tunnel layout - left Auxiliary Shaft - right Main Shaft
Project number
222E3
Final cost
£500 million GBP

Chinatown Station

Service Performed
Conceptual, preliminary, detailed design of underground caverns, egress tunnels and mined shafts; scheduling and cost estimating; risk management; specifications and tender. Onsite support during construction.
Estimated cost
$1,600,000,000
Commencement - Services
March 01, 2016
Completion - Services
March 31, 2018
Location
425 Market Street Suite 1700
San Francisco, CA 94105
United States
Geology description

The geology ranges from soft clay (Bay Clay) to stiff sands (Colma Sands) and competent to highly fractured rock (Franciscan Formation). The groundwater table is generally above the cavern springline.

Geology types
Description

Chinatown Station is the Northern Terminus of the Third Street Light Rail Project, which is located in a dense urban neighbourhood, underneath a busy street and directly adjacent to numerous old buildings, as well as one high-rise building. The station encompasses a Cut-and-Cover headhouse for passenger entry, three large station caverns and an emergency egress shaft. In order to minimise excavation volume and optimise cost and schedule, the ventilation ducts are located below the platform level, and routed into the headhouse.

Activity
Construction methods
Special Construction techniques
Tunneling under
Groundwater control
Tunnel length
2.7km
Excavation and support sequence of large urban cavern
Large urban cavern under construction
Excavation and support sequence - longitudinal section
Chinatown, San Francisco Dense Urban Neighborhood
Overall Station Layout, Headhouse and Caverns (Rendering by JV)
Station Cavern with Center Platform, Mezzanine and Ventilation Ducts
Proposed Mitigation Measures for adjacent Buildings
Complex 3D Finite Element Analyses
Project number
358E
Final cost
$1.6 billion USD
Completion date
Ongoing

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