Australian Tunnelling Society

ATS WEBINAR - Hydrogeology in Underground Design and Construction
2020-10-14 13:00 - 14:00 (Australia/Sydney)
The importance of the groundwater in underground construction is sometimes underestimated, but is one of the most important aspects to consider in planning, design and construction. Characterising groundwater behaviour in rock is difficult, because of the variability that is often seen in test results. This variability can be described using simple statistical techniques. The presentation describes the issues that arise from groundwater in underground techniques. One technique that is used to control these issues is pre-grouting; the presentation describes a methodology for predicting some of the key parameters.
Harry Asche BE(Civil), PhD, MIEAust, CPEng, MICE, CEng, RPEQ
Design Director, Tunnels, Aurecon
Adjunct Professor, School of Civil Engineering, University of Queensland
President, Australian Tunnelling Society
Harry Asche is Aurecon’s Design Director – Tunnels. He is an Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Queensland and is the President of the Australian Tunnelling Society. Harry has worked on tunnels and caverns in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and the UK. He worked on the South Island Line, Contracts 901 and 904, and carried out the groundwater inflow analysis and the 3D cavern design for both of these projects. More recently, Harry has been the tunnel discipline leader for the 9km WestConnex 2 project in Sydney and the hydrogeology advisor for the 2km Central Kowloon Route in Hong Kong. In 2018, Harry was Queensland’s Engineer of the Year and was awarded the Roads Australia Technical Excellence Award in 2018.

ATS WEBINAR - Use of Fibre Reinforced Concrete (FRC) in Precast Segmental Tunnel Linings in Asia - Focus on QA/QC
2020-10-19 12:00 - 13:00 (Australia/Sydney)
Join the Australian Tunnelling Society as they present the Use of Fibre Reinforced Concrete (FRC) in Precast Segmental Tunnel Linings in Asia – Focus on QA/QC.
FRC has been used in precast segmental tunnel linings in Asia since 2005 beginning with Singapore in temporary segments. In 2012, the first permanent use of FRC in precast segmental tunnel linings finally began with Contract 933 in the Downtown Line Phase 3 in Singapore. Since then, FRC in precast segmental tunnel linings has been used for projects in Malaysia, Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore. The number of projects adopting FRC in precast segmental tunnel linings are growing. This talk will discuss three topics related to the use of FRC in precast segmental tunnel linings with a focus on QA/QC.
The session will include:

Design of FRC
QA/QC of FRC
Durability of FRC.

Speaker: Mr. Gan Cheng Chian

Mr. GAN Cheng Chian graduated from The University of Singapore in 1989 and has worked in the construction industry for 31 years. He is working for Bekaert Singapore as Technical Manager since 1998. He has been involved in many prestigious underground projects and construction projects around Asia: including Qinling Railway & Highway Tunnel Xian, China; Mandai Underground Cavern Singapore, BMW Shenyang, China, Daimler Chrysler Beijing, China, Busan International Exhibition & Convention Center, South Korea and Jurong Rock Cavern Singapore. He has been involved in over 20 projects featuring fibre reinforced sprayed concrete linings and over 15 projects featuring fibre reinforced concrete precast segmental tunnel linings. Since Jan 2019, he was one of the members of the working group drafting the Singapore Standard on Design of Fibre Concrete Structures. In March 2019, he was appointed as the Domain Expert for Sprayed Concrete and in Jan 2020, he was appointed as Domain Expert for Fibre Reinforced Concrete under iNPQS (Intelligent National Productivity and Quality Specifications Singapore).

ATS WEBINAR - Large Diameter EPB Operation to Control Settlement
2020-10-23 13:00 - 14:00 (Australia/Sydney) | Webinar
Explore the scope and risks associated with large diameter EPD machines, including the specific requirements for large diameter TBM’s and the operational requirements to achieve tight settlement control.
The use of mega TBM’s for road tunnels or combined road and rail tunnels with an external diameter of greater than 14m is rapidly increasing. Up to 2019, there have been 39 tunnelling projects worldwide using mega TBMs. There is also a worldwide trend to use EPB machines, including in large diameter tunnels. There are a number of issues in scaling TBM operations from standard metro machines to mega TBM’s of greater than 14m. This presentation will cover specification requirements for the large diameter TBM’s as well as operational requirements to achieve tight settlement control.
Speaker

Tom Ireland | Major Projects Director, Aurecon NZ
Tom has over 28 years’ experience and has worked on projects in the UK, Middle East, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand. He is currently located in Auckland, New Zealand and is the Principal Technical Advisor on the $4.4B, 3.5km underground City Rail Link Project.
Tom has extensive experience in the design and construction supervision of segmentally lined tunnels, including Independent Checking Engineer on several international metro and highway tunnels. His mega TBM experience includes Waterview Connection, Auckland; Liantang/Heung Yuen Wai Lung Shan Tunnel, Hong Kong; and segmental lining design lead for the West Gate Tunnel in Melbourne.

ATS WEBINAR - Tunnelling Webinar
2020-11-19 17:00 (Australia/Melbourne) | Webinar
Please click here for a flyer invitation to the “Tunnelling Webinar” which will be held on the following dates:

Thursday, 19 November at 5:00pm AEDT
Thursday, 26 November at 5:00pm AEDT

The speakers include:

Richard Buckingham – Victorian Chair, Australian Tunnelling Society
Peter Chamley – CEO, Arup Australiasia
Richard Graham – Project Director, SI-NRW JV, Forrestfield Airport Link
Paul Thomas – Deputy Director, Road Projects Victoria, Tunnels and Stations
David Gibson – CEO, DGA Group

ITAym 24-hr Zoom for World Tunnel Day
2020-12-04 11:00 - 2020-12-05 11:00 (Australia/Sydney) | Webinar, Register via the link to join!
Friday the 4th of December is St Barbaras Day and #WorldTunnelDay! The ITAym is hosting a 24-hour virtual hangout to celebrate the day, make connections and showcase the activities from ITA-AITES member nations.
A general introduction and social will kick off from 11AM AEDST with an Australian focus starting from Noon AEDST. This session will include content on the developing #ThinkDeep initiatives in Australia, the 2020 David Sugden Award-winning paper and an overview of the recently released ATS Tunnel Design Guideline.
To join the meeting click through the following link.
Launch Meeting – Zoom (bit.ly)
Happy tunnelling & we hope to see you online!

ATS QLD – National Tunnelling Day Celebratory Dinner 2020
2020-12-04 18:00 (Australia/Sydney) | Waterloo Hotel, Cnr Ann St and Commercial Rd, Fortitude Valley, QLD, 4006, Australia
The Queensland Chapter of the Australian Tunnelling invites members and guest to attend the National Tunnelling Day Celebratory Dinner on Friday 4 December the Feast Day of St. Barbara at the Waterloo Hotel.
This networking-focused event will recognise the achievements of tunnelling projects and their engineers around the country, and will promote the industry
We look forward to welcoming back the Tunnelling community for this celebratory event which will give us the opportunity to celebrate international tunnelling day together.
The celebration will be held in the function rooms of The Waterloo Hotel the ticket price includes a three-course dinner and refreshments.
Please note that this event will be limited to 50 attendees – so book in quickly to ensure you don’t miss out.
Please note:
This event is face-to-face only. Bookings are compulsory and Engineers Australia will not provide entry to anyone who shows up without proof of booking. The health and safety of our members, guests and staff is our highest priority and a range of measures are being implemented in-line with, and in addition to, the QLD Government WHS regulations and COVID-19 policy to ensure everyone’s wellbeing.
Please adhere to the following when visiting the space:

Please use the sanitiser stations provided at reception upon arrival
Please then fill out the guest register using the QR code provided
Please maintain the 1.5 metre physical distancing rule
Stay home if you are sick, have been advised to self-isolate or travelled from overseas in the last 14 days or returned from a Government determined hotspot
Avoid close contact with any with cold of flu-like symptoms.

Sponsors:

Photos from last year’s celebrations:

ATS QLD - Directional Drilling for Tunnel Investigation
2021-03-11 18:00 - 20:00 (Australia/Brisbane) | Engineers Australia QLD, Level 9, 340 Adelaide St, Brisbane, QLD, 4000, Australia
Please join The Australian Tunnelling Society (QLD Chapter) for a presentation on Directional Drilling for Tunnel Investigation, presented by Dr. Ian Gray, Managing Director of Sigra.
In shallow tunnels with predominantly vertical variation in geology, vertical drilling is generally the most effective approach. However, when either the proposed alignment is deep, the surface inaccessible, or where the geology changes rapidly through the tunnel alignment, there are good reasons to consider directional drilling in the alignment of the tunnel.
This presentation will examine the suitable directional drilling options available for tunnel site investigations. It will also examine the different drilling methods, borehole survey systems and testing that may be conducted within the hole for lithology, ground fluid and geomechanical parameters. The use of open hole drilling coupled with suitable borehole geophysics will be compared with core drilling. The issues of drill string mechanics and drilling hydraulics will be considered. The latter is frequently the limitation in shallower boreholes.
Speaker, Ian Gray will comment on the cost and risk of directional drilling vs. traditional boreholes, as this usually governs which investigation techniques should be used.
Speaker

Dr Ian Gray
Managing Director, Sigra Pty Ltd
Ian started work as a civil engineer in New Zealand in 1977 and then came to the UNSW in Australia in 1978 to study for a Master’s in hydrogeology and engineering geology. From 1979 to 1982 he worked for Australian Coal Industry Research Laboratories based on mine sites in Queensland, during which time he worked on outbursts, gas drainage and rock mechanics. He completed his PhD while working in this role. He then worked as a geotechnical engineer for the Hong Kong Government on slope stability, foundations, groundwater and tunnelling until the end of 1988 when he returned to Australia.
His initial job when back in Australia was to supervise the installation of the first gas drainage system at Central Colliery and then went on to work as Senior Geotechnical Engineer with D J Douglas and Partners. In 1990 he became Principal Engineer, Mining Research, with the Safety In Mines Testing and Research Station of the Department of Resource Industries of the Queensland Government. In this role he worked on frictional ignitions, mine explosions, windblasts, gas drainage and directional drilling including the first surface to in-seam operation in the country in 1991.
In 1994 he started Sigra. Since then the company has grown under his guidance to span mining, gas and civil geotechnical work. Sigra provides services, solutions and products. The work it has undertaken includes gas exploration, mine design and hydroelectric power investigation spanning such diverse locations as Arctic Russia to Patagonia.
Sigra’s products include its own instrumentation including stress measurement tools, drill stem test tools and drilling equipment. On the heavier equipment side it manufactures well control systems and packers. It has its own gas and geomechanics laboratories.
Ian has some 86 publications on such diverse topics as reservoir engineering to piling. He also has multiple patents covering such varied items as mining systems to cyclonic separators.
CPD hours: 1
Webinar Start time: 7.00pm AEDT | Brisbane Auditorium start time: 6.00pm AEST (please arrive 15 minutes earlier)

ATS WEBINAR - Australian Tunnelling Society - 2021 Update
2021-04-21 17:00 (Australia/Sydney)
Please join this ATS session where some of the leadership team will take time to describe some current initiatives.
Please join ATS President Harry Asche, Victorian Chair Richard Buckingham and Victorian committee member Nadine Makin for this technical session.
The session will include a presentation from Harry on initiatives underway at executive level that aim to provide improved value to ATS members and improved visibility and quality of the offering that we provide to our valued ATS sponsors. Members are encouraged to participate in the initiatives.
Both Richard and Nadine will give an update on aspects of the ATS2020+1 conference which is due to be held in Melbourne from May 10th to 13th. Richard will give an overview of the conference and describe some key activities in the program. Nadine will introduce the newly establish Women in Tunnelling award.
Harry Asche, BE(Civil), PhD, MIEAust, CPEng, MICE, CEng, RPEQ
President, Australian Tunnelling Society
Design Director, Tunnels, Aurecon
Richard Buckingham
Vice President, Australian Tunnelling Society
Project Development Manager, John Holland Group
Nadine Makin, BE (hons), BSc, MIEAust
Project Development Manager
Technical Director, Ground and Underground Engineering,
Aurecon
Click here to see flyer

ATS WEBINAR - The Kitanomine Tunnel: A SEM Case Study
2021-04-28 17:30 - 18:30 (Australia/Melbourne)
Join the Australian Tunnelling Society Victoria Division for a presentation by Kensuke Date on the challenges faced in using the Water-tight Sequential Excavation Method (SEM) for Tunnel Construction with Difficult Ground Conditions in the construction of the Kitanomine Tunnel.
The Kitanomine Tunnel is a 2928 m long tunnel in Furano City, as part of the Asahikawa-Tokachi Road running N-S in central Hokkaido, Japan. The sequential excavation method (SEM) was used for the watertight tunnel construction. However, the geology of the Kitanomine Tunnel mainly comprised of mudstone, welded tuff and alluvial fan deposits, causing additional challenges for construction. The area was also rich in water resources and the alluvial fan deposits were found to be predominantly throughout the tunnel alignment with an identified active fault crossing the alignment. Effective grouting around the tunnel to mitigate the environmental impact was also a remarkable feature of the project.
The presentation by Kensuke will address the following:

Geological challenges that were faced in implementing the tunnelling plan
Tunnel excavation and support strategies implemented, including the use of tanked sections
Grouting techniques which were developed for water tightness in rock
Implementation of Field Testing to prove the effectiveness of the ground improvement
Groundwater recovery after the tunnel excavation

Keynote Speaker
Kensuke Date
Deputy General Manager,Kajima Technical Research

Kensuke Date has 25+ years of experience in Tunnelling and geotechnical engineering. He graduated from the University of Tokyo and then has worked for Kajima Corporation, one of the largest construction companies in Japan. He has published a lot of peer-reviewed papers on tunnelling in journals and international conferences. He has served as a tunnelling specialist and design manager in challenging projects, including the Kitanomine tunnel passing through an artesian aquifer with watertight tunnel support.
Kensuke is currently working at Kajima Technical Research Institute in Singapore as Deputy General Manager.

2020+1 Australasian Tunnelling Conference
2021-05-10 - 2021-05-13 | Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre
ATS2020+1 IN MELBOURNE IS NEARLY HERE!
The Australasian Tunnelling Conference (ATS2020+1), our premier industry event, will be held in Melbourne on the 10th – 13th May 2021 at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre (MCEC).
The organising committee is actively working to make ATS2020+1 a fantastic event and one that the industry can be proud of. The foundation of this success will come from our supporters, sponsors and exhibitors, as well as presenters and delegates.
In addition to the three days of technical presentations and trade exhibition, we will be running two external workshops on Monday 10th during the day. The workshops, at the Victorian Tunnelling Centre (VTC) and the new Victoria University (VU) fire testing facility will be exclusive for conference delegates, and information can be found on the delegate registration page on the conference website.
Don’t miss out of the largest tunnelling conference and exhibition Australia has ever seen.
Head to www.ats2020.com.au for all event, delegate and sponsorship information.

ATS QLD—Tunnelling Heroes
2021-05-20 17:30 - 20:00 (Australia/Sydney) | Milton Common, 35 Railway Terrace, Milton, QLD, 4064, Australia
ATS QLD Chapter Young Members will host a networking event with a Q&A session featuring Matt Lennon (Tunnel Construction Director), Ulrike Pelz (TSD Project Design Director), and Adrian Smith (PSM Design Director)
Throughout this interactive session you’ll find out about their careers, achievements and how they got to where they are professionally.
This will be a forum for you to also meet other incredible engineers from Brisbane and to fully understand who they are and what it is they do that is inspiring.
Ticket purchase includes food and drinks at the event.
Attendance to this event is by registration only.
Event program is as follows:
5.30pm | Arrival and registration
6-7pm | Question and answer session
7-8pm | Networking

Matt Lennon – Tunnel Construction Director, CBGUJV Cross River Rail Tunnels and Stations Development Project
Matt Lennon is a mining engineering graduate from University of Queensland and has significant underground construction experience having worked for 20 years on major tunnelling and mining projects in Australia.
Recent projects that Matt has been involved in include major recent infrastructure projects in Australia such as Lane Cove Tunnel, Gold Coast Desalination Plant, Airport Link Brisbane, and Westonnex M4 East.
Ulrike Pelz MIEAust CPEng NER APEC Engineer IntPE(Aus) | TSD Project Design Director, CBGU JV – Cross River Rail Project
Ulrike brings a wealth of engineering experience, having gained over 25 years of first-hand experience as a civil engineer on major tunnelling and infrastructure projects in Europe, Asia and Australia.
Ulrike’s experience covers all aspects of project delivery, including design, design management, claim and contracts management and construction management.
Ulrike has been involved in some of the major recent infrastructure projects in Australia including Epping to Chatswood Rail Link, Lane Cover Tunnel, Airport Link Brisbane, Northwest Rail Link, WestConnex Stage 2, NorthConnex, and currently Cross River Rail.

Adrian Smith, BE(Civil) MEngsc (Geotechnical) RPEQ (Civil) RPEQ Mining (Geotechnical) | PSM Design Director, Cross River Rail Project
Adrian joined PSM as intern in 2001 and has since worked across civil tunnelling design and construction, underground and open cut mining and civil infrastructure.
He has worked on the CRR project from EOI through tender design development to detailed design and construction.
Other related projects including Airport Link and Clem7, North-west Rail – part of Sydney Metro and various mining projects in Australia, Africa and South-East Asia.

Registration Costs:

Member Rate: $15
Society Member Rate: $15
Student Member Rate: $15
Non-Member Rate: $45

Sponsors:

ATS QLD - Young Members Technical Session
2021-06-10 17:30 - 19:30 (Australia/Sydney) | Engineers Australia QLD, Level 9, 340 Adelaide St, Brisbane, QLD, 4000, Australia
Please join us for a special young members tunnelling event! We have two amazing talks lined up.
The event will be a great networking opportunity and will conclude with a couple of drinks at the pub.
The event will also be streamed live online for young members located outside Queensland.
Presenters:
Alena Conrads
Presentation: Maintenance scheduling of cutting tools in soft ground mechanised tunnelling considering uncertainties in wear prediction
Alena completed her PHD at the Institute for Tunnelling and Construction Management at the Ruhr-University in Bochum, Germany, under the guidance of Prof. Thewes. Her research focused on process simulation of logistic and maintenance processes of mechanised tunnelling projects. She was also a key driver behind the founding of the German ITA young members chapter STUVE-YEP. Alena is now part of the tunnelling division of Wayss & Freytag and in October 2019 began work on the Cross River Rail project in Brisbane as an project engineer for the TBM tunnels.

Jiwoo Ahn
Presentation: Numerical modelling of the Sharaan Desert Resort
Jiwoo is a Geotechnical Engineer at PSM and has been involved in a variety civil engineering and mining projects both locally and internationally. Jiwoo is currently working on the Cross River Rail Project where he is providing construction phase design services. His presentation will focus on the numerical modelling for a luxury hotel in Saudi Arabia – The Sharaan Desert Resort.

Event sponsor:

Challenges of tunnelling in an urban area with shallow cover
2021-06-22 17:00 - 18:00 (Australia/Sydney)
Join 2019 David Sugden award winner Senthilnath GT for an Australian Geomechanics Society webinar on the challenges of tunnelling in an urban area with shallow cover.
With 13 years of international consulting experience across Australia, Singapore, India and the UAE Senthilnath has been involved in many major projects. During this talk he will draw pm examples from these projects including the Brisbane Metro, Victoria’s West Gate Tunnel and Queensland’s Cross River Rail.
He was also a co-author of the Tunnel Design Guideline, recently released by the Australian Tunnelling Society.
The talk will take place on June 22. Find more information on the event on the Australian Geomechanics Society’s website.

ATS QLD – What does NASA know about building a tunnel?
2021-07-29 18:00 - 19:00 (Australia/Sydney) | Engineers Australia QLD, Level 9, 340 Adelaide St, Brisbane, QLD, 4000, Australia
Please join the Australian Tunnelling Society, Queensland Chapter for a presentation titled “What Does NASA Know About Building a Tunnel?”, which aims to describe what systems assurance is and why it matters to tunnelling engineers.
Engineers are natural problem solvers. Have you ever looked at a tunnel or structure in use and thought ‘If only they had known that was how it would be used, they could have…?’
If we consider each element of built infrastructure in the context of its sustained intended purpose, then we have more of a chance of reducing those future challenges in service. We can assure the integration of all parts will create a complete functioning system of civil, structural, mechanical, electrical, electronic, software and human elements that can work together to fulfill a need. We can increase the likelihood that our contributions support achieving the complete benefits hoped for if we start out with the end purpose in mind.
The presentation will introduce the concept of systems engineering as an approach to assuring a system that meets the needs of the end user and is built correctly, taking the audience through a brief history of systems engineering as an approach to assure a mission critical system is designed and built right first time for its intended mission.
There will be consideration of whole of life challenges, with specific examples of where a whole of system approach early in the design could have solved those ‘if only’ moments for engineers who must fix things up after the tunnellers have gone.
The presentation will discuss the opportunities and challenges of being the early contributors to the overall system design, and include thoughts of how tunnelling engineers are already using systems engineering processes and techniques to get their tunnel right, including blast design, pilot tunnels and modelling.
Speaker
Jane Copperthwaite, BEng (Hons), CPEng, FIEAust, MIRSE, RPEQ
Systems Assurance Manager, Cross River Rail

Jane Copperthwaite is a Chartered Professional Engineer and Fellow of the Institute of Engineers Australia. Jane started her career with British Rail in 1991 as a signalling and telecommunications engineer. She gained her ground up rail experience working in rail maintenance and asset management and this gave her a whole-of-life and whole-of-system understanding of the railway. Jane progressed into project engineering management with a rail infrastructure renewal contractor where she was the assurance lead for a number of multi discipline network enhancement projects. In 2007 Jane moved to Australia leaving infrastructure projects to join signalling supplier Ansaldo STS. She was subsequently appointed their Global Head of Systems Engineering. After Ansaldo STS, Jane took up consulting, specialising in systems assurance using systems engineering. Over the past four years she has primarily been involved in assignments relating to the Cross River Rail projects and last year was appointed to her current position as Systems Assurance Manager for the CRR Program with the Cross River Rail Delivery Authority.

Geotechnical Baseline Reports for Risk Management in Australian Tunnelling
2021-08-11 17:30 - 19:00 (Australia/Sydney)
Underground construction must inevitably deal with uncertainty and risks associated with the subsurface conditions. Geotechnical Baseline Reports (GBRs) are commonly used internationally on large tunnelling projects to help manage and contractually allocate geotechnical risks between the parties. While design and build is the most prevalent procurement method in Australia, with most clients contractually shedding all geotechnical risks to the contractors, a positive change towards collaborative contracts are being observed in the industry with the recent inclusion of GBRs to set the geotechnical risk-sharing mechanisms for major infrastructure projects.
Join Alex Gomes and Richard Kelly for an overview of geotechnical risk management and sharing mechanisms in tunnelling and to learn from their experience in the development of GBRs of different types (traditional GBR in accordance with the ASCE and the FIDIC Emerald’s book GBR) for recent major tunnel projects in Australia.

Speakers

Alex Gomes
Chief Technical Principal – Tunnels and Underground, SMEC

Alex Gomes is a civil engineer with 30 years of international experience in the design and construction of tunnel and underground works and applied geotechnical and geo-mechanical engineering. Alex has worked on major infrastructure projects across Europe, Asia, Australasia and the Americas, including projects of subways, railways, roads, mining, utilities, water and hydropower plants, providing expert advice on technical, forensic and contractual aspects for sub-surface works. Alex holds the position of Chief Technical Principal – Tunnels and Underground at SMEC and is the past Vice-President of the International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association (ITA-AITES). During the preparation of the FIDIC Emerald Book, Alex acted on behalf of ITA as a peer-reviewer of the document.

Dr Richard Kelly

Chief Technical Principal and General Manager Technical Excellence, SMEC

Dr Richard Kelly BE PhD FIEAust CPEng NPER is the Chief Technical Principal and General Manager Technical Excellence at SMEC. He is at the forefront of best practice and innovation in geotechnical engineering. He actively provides service on behalf of the wider geotechnical community, helps deliver sustainable infrastructure for the benefit of our communities and is a bridge between academia and industry. Richard has contributed to significant infrastructure projects in Australia, New Zealand and the UK including roads, rail, building infrastructure, power and energy, dams and hydropower, airports, water infrastructure and ports. Richard has led and supported university research over many years. This combination of industry and academic expertise has enabled Richard to transfer research outcomes into practice, creating and enabling significant change in the delivery of infrastructure projects.

Engineers Australia members participating in AGS technical sessions can record attendance on their personal CPD logs. Members should refer to Engineers Australia CPD policy for details on CPD types, requirements and auditing guidelines.

Human Factors in Tunnel Design
2021-08-12 18:00 - 19:00 (Australia/Sydney) | Engineers Australia QLD, Level 9, 340 Adelaide St, Brisbane, QLD, 4000, Australia
In-person and webinar

Join the ATS for this event where Acmena Senior Human Factors Advisor Dr Keryn Pauley will discuss the importance of considering Human Factors, a scientific discipline concerned with optimising environments, systems and technologies to meet the needs of human operators, in tunnel design.
Topics will include the Human Factors process, incorporation of Human Factors into the systems engineering process, the importance of early identification of end user requirements, consideration of how the tunnel will be used and maintained during normal, abnormal, degraded, and emergency scenarios, and some particular Human Factors considerations that are important during tunnel projects.
Guest speaker
Keryn Pauley – Senior Human Factors Advisor, Acmena

Dr Keryn Pauley is a Human Factors professional with more than 13 years of experience in providing system design and evaluation, risk assessment and safety management support in the rail, healthcare and aviation industries.
Previously, the Principal Human Factors Adviser for Queensland Rail, she is now a senior Human Factors Advisor with Acmena. With Acmena, Dr Pauley is consulting to CBGU Joint Venture and Unity and is the Human Factors lead for Cross River Rail Tunnels, Stations, and Development and the Rail Integration and Systems packages. Dr Pauley has a strong background in integrating Human Factors into specification, procurement, design, and implementation of complex engineering projects to ensure that user needs are successfully met.
Event timings
5.30–6.00 pm—registration and networking
6:00PM –7:00PM—presentation and webinar begin

Forrestfield Airport Link—Dundas Road tunnel incident and reconstruction using SGI segmental lining
2021-09-01 18:00 - 19:00 (Australia/Perth)
In person (Western Australia) and webinar
Speaker:
Alvin Francis has 11 years of tunnelling experience working on a wide range of tunnel projects in challenging geology, from Berapit Twin Tunnels- Electrified Double Track Project (Malaysia), Klang Valley MRT (Malaysia)- where the world’s first Variable Density TBMs specifically designed to handle the complex limestone karst zones were deployed, North-South Transmission Cable Tunnel- 60m in depth in extremely hard Bukit Timah Granite (GI- GIII) (Singapore) and the Thomson Line tunnels T207 (Singapore).
Alvin has been engaged as the Project Engineer for Tunnels, on the Forrestfield Airport Link since 2017 and has completed the twin 6.7m diameter 7.5 Km Tunnel excavation works across 5 different geological strata with difficult & variable properties – alluvial sands to soft rock (2-4 MPa Sandy Siltstone/Claystone) using the Variable Density TBMs while tunnelling under the fully operational Perth Airport runways, taxiways and aprons, roads & local Railway Lines. Following the completion of Tunnelling and an unexpected incident at the Dundas Road Cross Passage, he then worked on the Dundas Road tunnel reinstatement.
Talk Outline:
On 22 September 2018 a leak developed during construction of the first tunnel cross passage, Cross Passage Dundas, into Tunnel One, approximately 200m north of the Forrestfield Station site and the launching point for the TBMs. As a result, water and silt entered rapidly into the tunnel at up to 60L/sec resulting in loss of ground around the tunnel and subsequently leading to the formation of a sinkhole at the surface alongside and partly beneath Dundas Road. The groundwater pressure, and the associated lack of support to the tunnel lining, caused permanent localised distortion to the tunnel shape and movement of the segments which make up the tunnel lining, ultimately damaging a 26m-long section of Tunnel One (16 rings). This talk will briefly describe the setting, the incident and then outline the technical solutions developed to enable reinstatement of the tunnel lining to achieve operational clearance and a 120-year design life using spheroidal graphite iron segmental lining (SGI).
Teams link: Register for the Dundas Road tunnel incident webinar
At 5:30 pm, finger food, beer, wine and soft drinks will be provided, for an informal pre-talk get together at the venue. Come and meet your fellow professionals who are interested in tunnelling. The technical session will commence at 6 pm and run until approximately 7.00 pm. Dinner afterwards will be coordinated with the speaker at a nearby restaurant (pay your own way).

Advances in soil conditioning technology used on Earth Pressure Balance Tunnel Boring Machines
2021-09-15 18:00 - 19:30 (Australia/Sydney)
During tunnelling with Earth Pressure Balance Tunnel Boring Machines (EPB-TBMs) huge amounts of soil are removed for the tunnel construction with foams and polymers mixed in during excavation to modify its characteristics. This process, which is directly linked to TBM performance, is called soil conditioning and is an important factor in achieving a project’s target advance rate.
The potential environmental impacts of the soil conditioning regime also require close consideration, as the conditioning agents can encounter underground water and remain in the excavation spoil for a period, so repurposing of tunnel spoil depends upon the material being non-toxic, a major commercial consideration. Soil conditioning products should therefore be selected for performance with minimal potential for environmental impact—considering their toxicity and biodegradability.
Join Richard Schulkins and Luke Foyster for an overview of soil conditioning fundamentals, new environmentally friendly technology, and learn from the shared experience of MAPEIs Underground Technology Team (UTT) on EPB projects worldwide, including Europe’s largest EPB project—Santa Lucia in Northern Italy.
Speakers
Richard Shulkins

Richard has worked in the tunnelling industry since graduating from Camborne School of Mines in 1989. He has worked for Mapei since 2005 in sales and whilst he enjoyed working as a contractor, he has come to realise that working in sales, his knowledge base has risen as exponentially as his air miles. This is due to being called to projects worldwide in a problem-solving capacity. He is firmly of the belief that tunnelling is the most interesting and satisfying career choice he could have made. He is also leading a working group within ITA to provide guidelines on responsible disposal of tunnelling waste.
Luke Foyster

Luke Foyster is a third generation civil and mining engineer with seven years’ experience in underground works. Starting his career as an undergraduate on the Amaroo Main Sewer developed his keen interest in mechanised tunnelling. In his current position as Technical Engineer with Mapei’s Underground Technology Team, Luke has been privileged to have an opportunity to expand his knowledge of construction products and materials while being trained at the Group’s headquarters in Milan, Italy. By working with clients in Australia and New Zealand he has developed specialist knowledge in annulus grouting, ground conditioning and TBM slurry additives, while continuing to expand his knowledge in technologies for waterproofing, ground consolidation and shotcrete.

Building the Central Interceptor, Auckland—Microtunnelling of the Link Sewers'
2021-09-23 13:00 - 14:00 (Australia/Sydney)
The Australasian Society for Trenchless Technology is holding a webinar on the Central Interceptor project in Auckland, and they have very kindly extended the webinar invitation to the ATS.
The ASTT is thrilled to be able to continue on with its webinars in 2021 and once again provide this free webinar in lieu of our popular trenchless forums which are presently suspended due to the Coronavirus restrictions.
The webinar will be a joint presentation by Stephen Grace and Chris McCarthny both from Watercare Services, New Zealand.
Abstract of presentation
Stephen and Chris will describe the project design and delivery of this major infrastructure, and a progress report on the construction of the 2.1 to 2.4 metre link sewers by micro-tunnelling methods.
The Central Interceptor is a new deep tunnel sewer that will provide additional capacity in the network to meet planned population growth and development in Auckland, provide a more resilient wastewater system, and mitigate wet weather overflows in central Auckland. The project is an integral part of Watercare’s long-term strategy to effectively manage wastewater within the Auckland region, to protect public health and the environment, and to provide for growth.
The Central Interceptor tunnel is to be built between Grey Lynn and the Mangere Wastewater Treatment Plant over the next five years. The main tunnel will be approximately 14.6 kilometres long and up to 110 metres below the ground surface. It will cross under the Manukau Harbour approximately 15 metres below the seabed. The main tunnel will be excavated by tunnel boring machine and will have an internal diameter of 4.5 metres. In addition, two separate link sewer tunnels ranging from 2.0 to 2.5 metres internal diameter and 1.1 to 3.2 kilometres in length respectively will be constructed by pipe jacking. Additionally, there are 16 shafts and connecting sewers up to 78m deep that will divert flow into the tunnel.
Date: Thursday 23 September
Time: 1–2 pm EST
Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82913617021?pwd=[REDACTED]
If you experience difficulties in joining this free event, then please email Jeff Pace, ASTT Secretary on secretary@astt.com.au for assistance.
As an online attendee, you will be able to attend the webinar from anywhere and will be able to submit questions that will be answered at the end of the presentation.

Cross River Rail Young Members Site Visit
2021-09-25 13:00 - 15:00 (Australia/Sydney) | 867 Main Street, Woolloongabba Tunnel Site
The ATS QLD chapter would like to invite students and young engineers for a site visit at the Cross River Rail Project Woolloongabba tunnels. The site visit will involve an introduction to the project, induction, and tour of either the cavern works, road header operations or TBM tunnels.
The groups will be divided up on the day based on the activities happening on site at the time. We are limited to a maximum of 30 people and registrants will need to be under the age of 35 to attend. Following the site visit the young members invite everyone for some casual networking at a nearby location.
Requirements: All registrants need to be under the age of 35. On the day of the event, registrants must bring their white card and be wearing safety boots, long pants, a long sleeve shirt, a hi-vi vest and hard hat with cap lamp (can be provided on request). Safety glasses, mandatory gloves and ear plugs can be provided by the project.
Maximum numbers: 30 participants (first in, best dressed basis).
Timings: 1pm-4pm site visit
4-6pm networking at a nearby location

Crushed waste glass re-use in tunnel shotcrete production
2021-10-14 17:00 (Australia/Sydney)
To attend in-person register via the Engineers Australia registration link, or join the webinar here.
Join the Queensland Branch of the Australian Tunnelling Society for a presentation by Dr Mehdi Serati. He will provide an update on the latest results from his industry-sponsored project using crushed waste glass (CWG) to replace sand in shotcrete used to support tunnels and underground spaces.
Abstract: According to the International Tunnelling Society, the global demand for underground constructions will boom in the coming years, with around $42 billion of investment in the tunnelling sector in Australia alone. This trend can be seen already by nine out of 12 current state and federal government infrastructures related to underground road and rail tunnelling projects in Australia. With such an increased demand for tunnelling, shotcrete has also received increased attention for ground support in tunnels and mines. For example, in 2018 800,000 m3 of shotcrete was used in Australia with 500,000 m3 used in underground constructions, and 300,000 m3 in civil basements, swimming pools and embankments.
Shotcrete (or sprayed concrete) is concrete in nature that needs to be pneumatically projected onto the target surface from a nozzle at a high (typically 20-30 m/s of impact) velocity to generate a dense homogeneous mass. But, unlike conventional concrete, shotcrete mixes are rich in sand and require an increased binder content to coat the surface. Shotcrete industries have therefore suffered from a significant rise in the overall cost in recent years, mainly due to steep hikes in the price of sand. This can be attributed to the widespread use of sand in today’s industries that has made it the second-most consumed resource on earth after fresh water. Recycling local wastes to replace the rapidly reducing natural and quarried sand is therefore becoming of urgent interest in Australia and worldwide in the construction and tunnelling sectors.
This presentation will summarise the results of a recent trial project at UQ Civil, supported by GCP Applied Technologies and Aurecon, on the applicability assessment of crushed waste glass re-use in shotcrete production.
Guest speaker
Dr Mehdi SeratiBSc MSc PhD (Geotechnical Engineering) MAusIMM
Assistant Professor (Lecturer)
Deputy Manager, Large Open Pit Project
Dr Mehdi Serati completed his PhD at The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) through The University of Queensland (UQ) in Brisbane, Australia in Rock Mechanics and Rock Fracture Mechanics. His main research interests include the design and setup of advanced experiments with diverse engineering materials including pavements, brittle composites, ceramics, hard rocks, and superbly hard diamond composites. Dr Mehdi is a Lecturer at UQ Civil and Deputy Manage of the Large Open Pit Project (LOP). His areas of work are analytical methods and computational modelling of geotechnical problems, materials testing, rock mechanics and rock fracture mechanics.

BHP South Flank project presentation
2021-10-21 17:30 (Australia/Sydney) | 999 Hay Street, Perth
The Institution of Civil Engineers has invited ATS members to an evening of knowledge sharing, Q&A and networking.
Overview
Join Project Engineering Lead Andrew McMillan for a presentation on the recently completed South Flank Project.
In May 2021, BHP achieved first ore targets on the US$3.6 billion South Flank project in the central Pilbara region of Western Australia.
South Flank is an 80 Mtpa sustaining mine and will be the most technically advanced high-quality iron ore mine in Western Australia. Together with the existing Mining Area C, it will form the largest operating iron ore hub in the world, producing 145 million tonnes of iron ore each year.
The South Flank project expands the existing infrastructure at Mining Area C, and involved construction of an 80 Mtpa crushing and screening plant, an overland conveyor system, stockyard and train loading facilities, procurement of a new mining fleet, substantial mine development and pre-strip work.
Event Timeline
5.30pm – 6.00pm: networking and refreshments
6.00pm – 7.00pm: presentation
7.00pm – 8.00pm: networking and refreshments
Speaker
Andrew McMillan BEng Sc (Civil), BSc (Hon)
Project Engineering Lead, Western Australia Major Projects, BHP.
Andrew has 13 years’ experience in the execution of major mining resource projects in the Pilbara Region of Western Australia, including BHP’s Rapid Growth Project 5 (RGP5 – Port and Rail), BHP Tug Harbour Expansion and more recently the BHP South Flank Project.
He was engaged as a lead project engineer, during the early design phase study of the South Flank Project, to positively influence the infrastructure design to facilitate optimised construction outcomes.
During the execution phase of the South Flank Project, he was engaged as an area project manager for the delivery of the bulk earthworks, concrete and underground services scope of work.
Previously he was involved in the execution of the RTIO expansion projects, including the RTIO Rail Capacity Enhancement Project to 353 Mtpa and the RTIO Cape Lambert Quarry and Tug Harbour upgrade.

Trenchless renewal of Unitywater's water main at Narangba
2021-10-28 13:00 - 14:00 (Australia/Sydney)
The Australasian Society for Trenchless Technology is holding a webinar on Unitywater’s Water Main—Narangba, Queensland and have kindly extended the invite to the ATS.
The ASTT is thrilled to provided this free webinar which will be a joint presentation by Will Zillmann from Interflow, and Andrew Lindsay and CJ Mitchell from Unitywater.
Overview
Ageing pressure water main infrastructure represents a significant risk to water authorities throughout Australia and New Zealand (A/NZ). Asbestos cement (AC) pipe makes up around 40,000 to 50,000km of these assets across the A/NZ region. Most of these AC assets are reticulation sizes (DN100/150) and, with an average life expectancy of around 60 years, represent a major financial, environmental and social risk as they come to the end of their service life.
Unitywater has a significant cohort of these AC water main assets and have been actively searching for a sustainable renewal solution to replace traditional methods such as lift and relay. Traditional methods can be slow, expensive and risky, with no known safe exposure level for asbestos.
The RediFlow® technology bundle by Interflow is one such solution to address the desires of Water Authorities, such as Unitywater, for safe and sustainable methods to renew these essential assets. The RediFlow® technology bundle is the amalgamation of Interflow’s innovative die-reduction slip lining technology (TiteFlow® H112) and their patented in-line water stop technology (Infrastop®). Together, this pairing offers a sustainable, trenchless renewal option for existing AC watermains.
Recently, Unitywater partnered with Interflow to trial RediFlow® on 481m of DN100 AC reticulation pipe in the suburb of Narangba. This paper will walk through the trial from inception to delivery and share the results of this innovative process, which delivered a cost-effective solution with low environmental and community impacts as well as minimal asbestos exposure risk.

Join the webinar on 28 October at 1 pm AEDT using this Zoom link.
If you experience difficulties in joining this free event, then please email Jeff Pace, ASTT Secretary on secretary@astt.com.au for assistance.

ATS Tunnel Design Guideline Presentation Series - Part 1
2021-11-03 18:00 - 19:00 (Australia/Sydney)
ATS Tunnel Design Guideline Presentation Series – Part 1: Introduction and General Approach, Design Methods in Tunnelling (Chapters 1 & 2)
The ATS Tunnel Design Guideline Presentation Series will bring together the authors of the guideline to discuss in detail the chapter contents. The ATS Tunnel Design Guideline was released in September 2020 and this webinar series has been established to provide readers with further context to the material included.
The first in a series of five presentations from authors of the ATS Tunnel Design Guideline will focus on chapters one and two which covers the introduction, general approach and design methods in tunnelling.
ATS National President, Dr Harry Asche will provide an introduction covering the genesis of the design guide including a background to the working group and their goals. Simon Brinkmann and Brodie Aitchison will then cover chapter two of the guideline on design methods in tunnelling.
This event is suitable for students, graduates and anyone working or interested in the design of tunnels.
The presentation will be recorded and uploaded to the ATS website to provide additional context and content for the ATS Tunnel Design Guideline.
Sessions will run for approximately 40 minutes with 20 minutes of Q&A. You will have direct access to the authors of the relevant chapters and the opportunity to ask questions at the end of the presentation.
This guide has been produced by a team of skilled and enthusiastic practitioners from the Young Members of the Australian Tunnelling Society. We hope that this guide will help with your journey in the exciting world of tunnel design.
The guideline is available for download via the members section of the ATS website under ‘technical papers.’ This document has been developed and funded by the ATS and its members.

Construction of the Forrestfield-Airport Link trackslab
2021-11-10 18:00 - 19:00 (Australia/Perth) | Public Transport Centre, 116 West Parade, East Perth, Australia
Overview
The $1.86 billion Forrestfield-Airport Link project jointly funded by the Australian and WA governments comprises twin bored tunnels adding 8.5km to the rail network with three new stations—Redcliffe, Airport Central and High Wycombe, two of them underground. In April 2016 the PTA awarded the design, construct and maintenance contract to Salini Impregilo – NRW Joint Venture.
The design of the tunnel track slab evolved from a conventionally reinforced concrete design to a macro synthetic fiber reinforced concrete track slab, enabling significant construction efficiencies and program savings. Further efficiencies were observed in the method of placement, which eliminated a significant amount of in-tunnel truck movements by pumping the track slab concrete from the top of each station box along the tunnel alignment. This meant that in some sections of the tunnel, concrete was being pumped almost two kilometers.
The talk will start with a discussion on trackslabs in general as well as some background on concrete pumping considerations to lay the foundation for an in-depth look at the construction of the Forrestfield-Airport Link trackslab concentrating on aspects such as the pumping the concrete mix design, and the field trials leading up to the final record-breaking pump of almost 2000 meters.

Speaker
Des Vlietstra
Des has a MSc Eng in Advanced Concrete Technology and a Graduate Diploma in Mining Engineering. He started his career in underground mining and rock mechanics which somehow evolved into concrete. He has a special interest in concrete pumping and sprayed concrete which is essentially pumped concrete applied pneumatically. He is an EFNARC nozzleman examiner for robotically applied sprayed concrete and a certified ACI-ICT EN Standards Concrete Field-Testing Technician. Des is a member of the Institute of Concrete Technology and sits on the executive committee of the Australian Shotcrete Society as well as the WA committees of the Concrete Institute of Australia and the Australian Tunnelling Society. Apart from being passionate about concrete and underground space he also enjoys photography.

Technology advancement of tunnel boring machines in Europe
2021-11-11 17:30 - 19:30 (Australia/Sydney) | Engineers Australia QLD, Level 9, 340 Adelaide St, Brisbane, QLD, 4000, Australia
In-person (Brisbane) and webinar—this session will be livestreamed at the Engineers Australia Brisbane office with drinks and light refreshments. Those from around the country can join the webinar.
In this presentation, Dr Remo Grandori will present a series of innovative technologies developed in recent years to make the execution of large underground tunnel projects faster and safer. He will illustrate these technologies from his extensive experience, bringing practical examples of completed works, including long railway tunnels in the presence of asbestos, under high cover in squeezing ground and high water pressures.
Outline
In this presentation, Dr Remo Grandori will present a series of innovative technologies developed in recent years to make the execution of large underground tunnel projects faster and safer. He will illustrate these technologies from his extensive experience, bringing practical examples of completed works, including long railway tunnels in the presence of asbestos, under high cover in squeezing ground and high water pressures
The QLD Chapter will hold the annual meeting from 5.45 pm prior to the presentation – arrival from 5.30pm. We’ll be recapping the year and some changes in the committee, and provide the opportunity for feedback and nominations. This is your opportunity to have your say in how your local chapter is run.
Speaker
Dr Remo Grandori
WeBuild
Dr Remo Grandori gained a PhD in Industrial Mechanical Engineering from the University La Sapienza of Rome in 1984. With a thesis on TBM excavation and rock cutting technology, he worked in mechanized tunnelling and was the Technical Director for several tunnel projects executed worldwide. From 1996 to 2007, he taught a course at the University La Sapienza as a contract professor on mechanised tunnel excavations.
Dr Grandori has been involved in the execution of more than 130 TBM tunnel projects for approximately 1100 km of tunnels bored in a wide variety of geologies and conditions. He has participated in the development of several innovations in tunnel and TBMs design, acting as a consultant to clients, contractors and TBM manufacturers. His cooperation with the Webuild group goes back to the late eighties and continues until today, having been involved in the study and execution of several major TBM projects in North and South America, China, Europe, Africa and lately in Australia.
Event program
Online
7.00–8.00 pm AEDT (Sydney time)
In-person (Brisbane)
5.30 pm—Arrival and registration
6.00–7.00 pm—Presentation
7.00–7.30 pm—Networking

Climate Smart Engineering Conference
2021-11-16 - 2021-11-17
Climate Smart Engineering (CSE) is an immersive two-day engineering conference curated to delivering a line-up of powerful speakers and insightful discussions on climate smart engineering.
Held on November 16-17, CSE will demonstrate the pivotal role of engineering in providing sustainable solutions, systems and efficiencies, which in turn provides the pathway by which business and government may avoid serious climate consequences.
This conference will enable engineers to explore the relevant risks and opportunities, to network and to hear first-hand from business, finance, government and engineering leaders.
Engineers will be pivotal in both mitigating and adapting to the challenges posed by climate change, and the associated expectations of investors, voters, employees and the wider community.
CSE is being held the week after the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference – a globally recognised event which is being described by US Climate Envoy John Kerry as ‘the last best chance the world has’ to act. We will use the international climate agenda as a springboard for our discussion.
Engineers across all disciplines need to understand both the ‘why’ and the ‘how’ of mitigating and adapting to climate change, as well as how to meaningfully measure, and report on, progress. This conference will provide a platform for learning, making new connections across disciplines and sectors, and for discussing ideas. There will be opportunities to share and explore case studies and practical examples of best practice.
Plenary speakers include former US Vice-President Al Gore, ARUP Director Fiona Cousins and Steam Plains Capital Managing Director Brett Mitsch.
Find out more information on the CSE website.

ATS Tunnel Design Guideline Presentation Series - Part 2
2021-11-17 13:00 - 14:00 (Australia/Sydney)
ATS Tunnel Design Guideline Presentation Series – Part 1: Introduction and General Approach, Design Methods in Tunnelling (Chapters 3 & 4)
This session will run from 12-1 pm AEST (1-2 pm AEDT).
The ATS Tunnel Design Guideline Presentation Series will bring together the authors of the guideline to discuss in detail the chapter contents. The ATS Tunnel Design Guideline was released in September 2020 and this webinar series has been established to provide readers with further context to the material included.
This is the second in a series of five presentations from authors of the ATS Tunnel Design Guideline will focus on chapters 3 and 4 which covers the Rock Classifications, Empirical Methods and the Beam-Spring Method. The presentation will be delivered by the authors of chapters 3 and 4, Renee Shi and Chris Rees.
This event is suitable for students, graduates and anyone working or interested in the design of tunnels.
The presentation will be recorded and uploaded to the ATS website to provide additional context and content for the ATS Tunnel Design Guideline.
Sessions will run for approximately 40 minutes with 20 minutes of Q&A. You will have direct access to the authors of the relevant chapters and the opportunity to ask questions at the end of the presentation.
This guide has been produced by a team of skilled and enthusiastic practitioners from the Young Members of the Australian Tunnelling Society. We hope that this guide will help with your journey in the exciting world of tunnel design.
The guideline is available for download via the members section of the ATS website under ‘technical papers.’ This document has been developed and funded by the ATS and its members.

ATS VIC - Rock mass parameters estimation for numerical modelling of tunnels
2021-11-18 17:30 - 18:30 (Australia/Sydney) | Webinar
Presentation Summary
In order to conduct rigorous geotechnical design of underground space, it is recognized that the impact of scale on the response of the excavated system needs to be well understood. In this regard, one of the major challenges is to translate the small measured (laboratory) geomechanical properties and those of the joints observed at a larger scale to a scale and stress-dependant strength value for design. . Dr Keneti’s presentation presents a comprehensive review of existing geomechanical data for the Hawkesbury Sandstone and demonstrates an analysis of strength-scale dependency. Large-scale, Synthetic Rock Mass (SRM) tests have been completed to establish a strength-scale relationship that considers defect spacing. Validation of the SRM sample responses has been completed for both the strength and deformation modulus based on reported and/or commonly accepted characteristics of a tunnel-scale rock mass. The presentation highlights the importance of inputs as well as the process involved in the estimation of rock mass parameters for FEM/DEM numerical modelling of underground structures.

Speaker bio
Ali Keneti (PhD, PEng) is a senior engineer at McMillen Jacobs (Melbourne) conducting ground-structures interaction studies in Itasca Flac3D and 3DEC for tunnelling projects in AU/NZ regions. Dr. Keneti has 15 years of professional and research experience in geomechanical aspects of Civil and Resources Engineering in North America and Austrasia, including Tunnelling, Hydro-Electric, Mining, and Pipeline projects. He is co-author of several scientific articles and an invited reviewer for renowned international journals in Geomechanics.

Note: The VIC chapter will hold the annual meeting from 5:00 PM prior to the presentation. Due to the COVID restrictions on Engineers Australia VIC venues, the annual meeting and presentation both run on the online meeting which can be accessed by clicking the registration link. No fees will be incurred.

The Gold Coast Seaway Project—ASTT Webinar
2021-11-25 13:00 - 14:00 (Australia/Sydney)
The Australasian Society for Trenchless Technology is holding its final webinar of the year on 25 November, on the subject of The Gold Coast Seaway Project – Works Design Challenges and has again kindly extended the invitation of the free webinar to ATS members.
The webinar will be a joint presentation by Barnabas Ilko, Principal Structural Engineer and Trevor O’Shannessey, Principal Geotechnical Engineer from Golder Associates. It will be held on Thursday 25 November from 1-2 pm AEDT.
Presentation overview
The City of Gold Coast required an upgrade of the existing recycled water release system at the Southport Seaway, to accommodate continuing population growth. The project solution included a pipe capable of transferring 6,300 l/s of recycled water from the mainland across the Broadwater seaway via a marine pipeline to an outfall located off South Stradbroke Island.
In order to protect the waterways from environmental impacts, an alternative construction method to the original dredged pipeline plan was proposed by the builder John Holland and their specialist subcontractor Bothar Boring and Tunnelling Australia (Bothar). This alternative adopted trenchless construction using micro tunnelling methods.
The project involved the tunnelling of two separate drives, the first being a 1385m length of bored tunnel beneath the Broadwater Seaway between Quota Park on the mainland and South Stradbroke Island. It included the construction of two deep shafts and a 2.5m (OD) reinforced concrete carrier pipe that was installed with pipe jacking techniques.
The second drive involved a trenchless 617m crossing between Quota Park and O’Connell Park, including a section beneath Biggera Creek that was constructed using pipe jacking and micro tunnelling using a 1.94m (OD) glass-reinforced plastic pipe.
Golder was engaged by Bothar to join the project team and provide temporary works design support, design services for the tunneling works, construction support that included site attendance across both drives. This presentation will discuss some of the challenges from the designer’s perspective.
As an online attendee, you will be able to attend the webinar from anywhere and will be able to submit questions that will be answered at the end of the presentation.
View the webinar using this link.
If you experience difficulties in joining this free event, then please email Jeff Pace, ASTT Secretary on secretary@astt.com.au for assistance.
