Chapter 35

THE ECONOMICS OF USED TUNNEL BORING MACHINES

By Victor J. Scaravilli, P.E.

President
S & M Constructors,
Solon, Ohio

Inc.

This report is based on experience developed on the construction of

one contract for the Buffalo, New York subway. The Buffalo subway is
under construction for the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority
and is called the LRRT-Light Rail Rapid Transit or more commonly the
Metro. The Initial Route of the Buffalo subway construction started
early in 1979 and is scheduled for completion in May, 1984. The initial system includes 5.2 miles of underground construction, 1.3 miles
at grade for a total of 6.5 miles of subway system. A total of fourteen stations, eight underground and six at grade are included on the
system. The Initial Route has a planned expansion to 17.3 miles in
tilefuture.
On January 15, 1979, a Joint Venture of S & M Constructors, Inc.,
Solon, Ohio, James McHugh Construction Co., Chicago, Illinois, and
Kenny Construction Company, Wheeling, Illinois, was awarded contract
1CO031, the Line Tunnels from Amherst Street to South Campus in northcentral Buffalo between Delaware Park and the State University, (see
Fig. 1, Location Plan) This $35,000,000.00 contract was designed by
Hatch Associates Consultants, Inc., Buffalo, N.Y. The Notice to Proceed was issued January 15, 1979 and the scheduled completion date is
August 18, 1981.
The project consists of two parallel rock tunnels with a minimum
excavated diam of 18 ft O in. and a final concrete lining of 16 ft
O in. diam. The tunnels total 14,630 linear ft. In addition to the
tunnels, contract C-31 includes four shafts, an underground pump station, three cross passage connections, and other minor work items.
(see Fig. 2, C-31 Project Plan and Profile)
The tunnels were constructed primarily within the Bertie Formation,
an approximately 50 foot thick moderately fractured to massive, dolo547

1981RETC PROCEEDINGS VOLUME 1

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ECONOMICS

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1981 RETC PROCEEDINGSVOLUME 1

mitic limestone with some thin interbedded shale layers. No appreciable gas was encountered. The original water table,which was at or
above the crown of the tunnels,was lowered below the invert by an extensive deep well dewatering system. The tunnels start at the northeast end of the project and were both driven concurrently toward the
southwest. The tunnels go downgrade (up to 2%) to the mid-point of the
project at the pump station and then upgrade (up to 0.5%) to the termination. Temporary support requirements included three percent (460
linear ft) of structural steel rib-supported and ninety-seven percent
(14,170 linearft) of rock bolted tunnel. (see Fig. 3, Typical Cross
Sections)
S & M as Project Sponsor was delegated complete managerial responsibility for this project by the Joint Venture partners. The company,
which is today called S & M Constructors, Inc. had its start in the
construction business in the late 20s and has completed hundreds of
miles of tunnels. As a company with a major commitment to tunnel work,
we perceived a need for an efficient and reliable mechanized rock tunneling machine. Consequently, in the fall of 1953, we initiated the
design of a T.B.M. and place our first machine in operation in October,
1965. Since that date the T.B.M. manufacturing company - Jarva Inc. has manufactured 29 T.B.M.s ranging in size from 6 ft O in. diam to
32 ft 3 in. diam utilizing cutter head drive from 200 hp to 2,400 hp.
After firmly establishing Jarva as the second most successful T.B.M.
manufacturing company,we decided to turn the full focus of our attention to contracting and sold Jarva to Atlas Copco A. B. headquartered
in Stockholm, Sweden in August, 1979.
With this background, after the award of the C-31 contract, S & M
decided to employ two existing T.B.M.s for the boring of these tunnels. The first machine we committed was manufactured by The Robbins
Company in 1976 and currently owned by James McHugh Construction Co.
The machine, Robbins Model 185-178, was 18 ft 2 in. diam, had a cutter
head drive of 900 hp and was completely suitable for this project.
The machine was located in Chicago and had been stored in an as is
condition after completing 11,000 linear feet of tunnel, logging
approximately 1,500 hrs of operations at this time. The second machine
was manufactured by The Robbins Company for White Pine Copper Company
in 1967. (see Fig. 4, Robbins 185-178, White Pine Copper Co.) This
machine, Robbins Model 181-122 , was 18 ft O in. diam and had 1,200 hp
at the cutter head. After boring 8,500 linear feet at the mine, this
machine was purchased by S & M, rebuilt to 18 ft 6 in. diam and drove
an additional 8,000 linear feet of tunnel in Rochester, New York.
This machine suffered major structural failures and after ten years in
the field was technologically obsolete.
The rebuild of 181-122 consisted of a major redesign of the cutter
head, modification of the front support, modification of the rear supports, redesign of the operators area, redesign of roof drills, and
the rebuilding and replacement of existing machine components. (see
Fig. 5, Original White Pine TBM and Fig. 6, Modifications to White

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ECONOMICS

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1981 RETC PROCEEDINGS VOLUME 1

ECONOMICS

OF USED TUNNEL BORING MACHINES

555

Pine TBM)
The cutter head was redesigned from the domed style to the flat
style. The cutter head was redesigned around the existing bearing a
though the bearing cavity seal was changed from a grease seal to an
air oil mist seal.
To provide for a flat cutter mounting surface from the cutter head
to the bore, the eight existing muck buckets were modified and four
new cutter mounting platforms were made-- for a total of twelve spokes,
or mounting platforms. The muck paddles were also changed to conform
with the new face profile.
To complete the redesign of the front of the machine, the front supports were reworked. A new stationary lower front support was made to
replace the existing movable lower front support. The side supports
were extended above springline and the side support cylinders were replaced with new shorter stroke larger bore cylinders.
The existing 4,160 v 200 hp motors were replaced with new460
hp motors.

v 200

The existing thrust cylinders were replaced with larger bore cylinders to give the machine greater thrust potential. The thrust cylinder rod diam and rod clevis thread diam were also increased for a
greater safety factor.
The main beam was lengthened by four feet between the gripper housingand the cutter head support to give the operator better control of
the machine for both line and grade.
New wear plates were installed in the gripper housing guide shoes.
New Torque cylinders were also installed in the gripper housing.
At the back of the machine the single rear support leg was replaced
by two legs. This was done to give better control and stability when
resetting the machine.
Also, at the rear of the machine, the operators area was redesigned
A new platform was fabricated to accommodate the operators hydraulic
control station, all the electrical controls, and the hydraulic pumping station. The new platform was mounted to existing mounting pads
on the rear support housing.
Above the operators platform the main beam was extended with a
bolt-on section. This section helps support the operators platform,
provides a mounting for a new 320 gal hydraulic resevoir, and encloses
the conveyor.
The conveyor was lengthened to accommodate the lengthened main beam
and new operators platform. The conveyor was refitted with all new
components, including head and foot rollers, return and troughing

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1981 RETC PROCEEDINGSVOLUME 1

idlers, oarlocks, and drive motor.

Both the electrical and hydraulic circuits were redesigned and all
new components were used throughout.
A new roof drill platform was designed and fabricated using some of
the existing drill components.
The existing drive gear reducers were rebuilt. The flexible connection, between the drive motor and reducer, was modified to eliminate a problem with reducers.
A new exhaust vent line was fabricated and installed along the top
of the main beam.
As the new and rebuilt parts and assemblies were received in the
shop, the machine was reassembled and tested to assure the proper operation of all the machines components. (see Fig. 7, Modified White
Pine TBM, Robbins 181-122)
The overhaul of the 185-178 T.B.M. for the C-31 project included a
change in diam from 18 ft 2 in. to 18 ft 7 in. by the extension of all
ten muck buckets and the addition of one gauge cutter. All the electrical motors were removed, overhauled and reinstalled on the machine.
All the gear reducers were removed, new clutch assemblies, bearings
and gears were provided. The main bearing seals were removed and replaced. A new conveyor belt including the tension mechanism and idlers were installed on the machine. The tail pulley was overhauled
and new seals and bearings were installed. A new inching motor was
installed on the machine. The complete hydraulic system was rebuilt
including new fittings, valves and the rebuilding of pumps as required.
The electrical system was completely reviewed and modifications and
repairs to meters, switches and consoles was accomplished as necessary.
The gripper ways were shimmed for the new clearance and new wipers
were installed. The machine was equipped with a new 1500 KVA transformer. A new trunnion block and pin was installed for the gripper
system and all cylinders and ball bushings were reworked and tested.
The roof support cylinders were rebuilt and the side support cylinders
were rebored and bushed. New pins were installed for all the cylinders. All structural fasteners were replaced.
Both machines, 185-178 and 181-122 were used on the C-31 project
and performed satisfactorily.

ECONOMICS

OF USED TUNNEL BORING MACHINES

557

1981RETC PROCEEDINGSVOLUME 1

T.B.M. COMPARISON - Design

Itern

McHugh
Overhauled
185-178

White Pine
Modified
181-122

New Quotation
Typical

Excavation Diam

18 ft 7 in.

18 ft 6 in.

18 ft 6 in.

Gross Wt

235 tons

350 tons

280 tons

Cutter Head Drive

900 hp

1,200 hp

1,000 hp

Cutter Head rpm

5.1

7.5

7.8

Total Cutter Head

Thrust

1,911,000 lbs

2,155,000 lbs

2,000,000 lbs

Total Cutter Head

Torque

924,286
ft-1bs

1,720,000
ft-1bs

1,000,000 ft-lbs

Cutter Size

15% in.

15% in.

15% in.

No. of Cutters

43

43

42

Total hp

1,025 hp

1,375 hp

1,100 hp

Estimated Maximum
Penetration Rate

10 fph

12 fph

10 fph

ECONOMICS

OF USED TUNNEL BORING MACHINES

T.B.M. COMPARISON - Cost & Production

(Based on Estimates & Records)

Itern

McHugh
Overhauled
185-178

White Pine
Modified
181-122

New Quotation
Typical

Estimated
Delivery Tiem

3 mons

6 mons

12 mons

Actual
Delivery Time

4 mons

9 mons

First Cost

$1,500,000

Modifications
Including Operating Expense

$1,090,000

$2,115,000

$1,790,000

$3,200,000

$1,000,000

Total

Job Cost

Estimated Salvage
Estimated

Job

615,000

750,000

700,000

500,000

$2,900,000
300,000

$2,200,000

$1,365,000

$1,290,000

Linear Feet
Bored

7,003

7,000

Operating hrs

1,750

1,750

Penetration
Linear fph

4.0

4.0

Cutter Cost

Total Cost

$1,525,000

$1,450,000

$2,400,000

Cost per Linear

Foot Bored

$217.86

$207.14

$342.86

cost

160,000

4.5

160,000

200,000

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1981 RETC PROCEEDINGS VOLUME 1

The tabulations presented are based upon actual records and the estimates for new equipment. Due to the vagaries of field cost reporting and the limited data from this project, a recapitulation tempered
by experience and logic leads me to the following conclusions:

1. A properly overhauled, relatively new machine may or may not be

the most economical for a given project.
2.

A minor modification of a relatively new machine is more economical than a new machine.

3.

A major modification of an existing machine is more economical

than a new machine.

4.

A new machine is the most expensive for a given project.

5.

A major modification of an existing machine including an update

incorporating the latest technological advances can be accomplished with a reasonable cost outlay and can be completed in less
time than the current delivery for a new tunnel boring machine.
If this work is properly executed, the resultant T.B.M. will be
equal to or better than a new machine.

6.

The use of rebuilt or overhauled T.B.M.s can be a major advantage

in the construction schedule.

7.

Due to the lower initial cost, a used T.B.M. will generally prove
to be more economical than a new machine.

8.

A used T.B.M. with minor modifications and overhaul will require

less time to erect and debug for a given project.

9.

As the use of T.B.M.s increases, a major market will develop for

used machines.

10. The operating characteristics of overhauled and updated, rebuilt

and new T.B.M.s are not distinguishable.

11. The operating costs of overhauled, rebuilt and new T.B.M.s are
not distinguishable.
12. The cutter costs of new, overhauled or rebuilt T.B.M.s are not
distinguishable. The economic life of T.B.M.s is certainly
greater than 10,000 hrs as has been proven in the field.
13. The ownership of a used T.B.M. can be a major asset for underground construction contractors, limited only by the versatility
of its diam and the inevitable structural deterioration.

ECONOMICS

OF USED TUNNEL BORING MACHINES

REFERENCES
Jarva,

Inc.- 1980 - Personal communication.

James McHugh Construction Co. - 1980 - Personal Communication

The Robbins Co. - 1980 - Personal Communication
S & M Constructors,

Inc.- 1980 - Personal Communication

White Pine Copper Co. - 1980 - Personal Communication

561