The Role of Mechanized Shaft Sinking with Vsm in Inner-City Applications

Due to the worldwide population growth, the development of sustainable infrastructure and the exploration of renewable energies plays a key role. In order to develop and expand traffic, supply and disposal networks, tunnels and foundation structures are required, with a trend towards greater depths to avoid already existing underground infrastructure. The increasing need for complex building structures involve the development of innovative deep foundation technologies. Conventional methods like bore piles reach their technical and economic limits under certain conditions. As an alternative, new mechanized technologies, primary derived from the tunnelling industry, have been developed to overcome challenging mixed ground conditions, high groundwater tables and economic constraints at greater depths. For over twenty years, mechanized shaft sinking technology (VSM) has been utilized worldwide to construct foundations and shaft structures for tunnel projects and other underground structures, such as automated parking systems. The VSM technology offers significant advantages, particularly in urban areas. There is no need to lower the groundwater level, and the construction setup can be flexibly adapted to the specific conditions of inner-city environments. This mechanized method results in a substantially reduced CO2 footprint, minimizes noise emissions, and provides a high level of occupational safety for the personnel on site. Furthermore, the shaft sinking process with VSM reduces the risk of settlement and the impact for surrounding structures and the environment. To date, a total of 111 circular shafts with reinforced concrete linings have been sunk mainly through difficult, groundwater bearing soil, in depths of up to 115 meters. The VSM range covers a diameter range from 2.5 to 18 meters and can be designed for up to 250 meters of depth. This presentation will explain the VSM technology with its application fields and benefits for the construction industry in sustainable urban infrastructure development.