Zurich’s 3D printed tunnel machine won the runner-up in the tunnel engineering competition held by Musk

Introduction: On September 15, 2021, a team of students from ETH Zurich and other universities won the second place in the tunnel engineering competition hosted by billionaire business magnate and entrepreneur Elon Musk.The team is called Swissloop Tunneling. Their 2.5-ton tunnel boring machine also won the competition’s innovation and design award. The machine uses3D printingThe machine was completed, and a supporting tunnel lining was made while the tunnel was being excavated.

△Designed by the Zurich team3D printingMachine tunnel machine and crushing process

Musk’s “Not-A-Boring” competition

Musk has long been3D printingInterested, this technology is at the core of his space program, which is to send more than 1 million people to Mars in the next few decades. Musk founded his private space exploration project SpaceX in 2002. Since then, the company has set up a 3DbiologyThe manufacturing facility flew to the International Space Station and a3D printingOf high-throughput satellites launched into orbit.In the summer of 2020, Musk’s Boring company announced a tunnel engineering competition, focusing on the construction of a small tunnel machine capable of digging a 30-meter-long, 50-centimeter-diameter stable tunnel. More than 400 teams applied to participate in the competition, and 12 finalists including Swissloop Tunneling were invited to Las Vegas to test their inventions.

△SwissloopTunneling’s Marmot Alpha Roadheader. Photo courtesy of Swissloop Tunneling

use3D printingTechnology to strengthen the tunnel

The game was played in the desert of Nevada. Twelve teams started to dig their tunnels and were interrupted by a heavy thunderstorm and sandstorm. After working all night, Swissloop Tunneling was one of only two teams allowed to continue digging in the finals.The team used its 7-meter 2.5-ton groundhog Alpha tunnel boring machine to excavate and successfully excavated a tunnel over 18 meters long. The team was only defeated by the rival Technical University of Munich, although neither team failed to dig a full-length tunnel in the competition.Groundhog Alpha is also the only machine that can manufacture supportive tunnel linings in situ, thanks to its3D printingmechanism. Using this mechanism, the machine applies a specially designed polymer mixture to the tunnel wall and immediately hardens. At the same time, the two hydraulic grippers work alternately to press the newly created tunnel tube to push the machine forward.

The support material is composed of tough glass fiber material and a two-component polymer mixture.3D printingCreate a 15mm thick tunnel wall. This material ensures the structural integrity of the entire length of the tunnel, and has won the competition’s innovation and design award for its performance.
Looking to the future, the Swissloop tunnel engineering team hopes to further develop this technology so that Marmot Alpha can dig a four-meter-diameter tunnel. This is the tunnel width required by Musk’s SpaceX Hyperloop competition, which is trying to build a high-speed space capsule to achieve vacuum pipeline travel.

△More than 40 students helped develop Marmot Alpha.Photo courtesy of Swissloop Engineering Company

ETH Zurich in
architecture
3D printingInnovation

In addition to preparing for the tunnel competition, researchers at ETH Zurich also used3D printingTechnology has carried out multiple construction projects.

△ Groundhog Alpha Utilization3D printingMechanism to make the supporting wall of the tunnel in situ. Photo courtesy of Swissloop Tunneling

In July 2020, they developed a novel “egg shell” concrete3D printingCraftsmanship, the robot will be large
FDM
3D printingIntegrate with casting method. This technology can construct complex concrete structures in a more material-saving way.
Prior to this, ETH Zurich also used3D printingTechnology created a 5 ton3D printingCurved shell concrete pavilion, and combined3D printingThe machine and the robotic arm have digitally manufactured a three-story building
House
.
In the past few months alone, the organization has announced plans to build a3D printingThe 23-meter-high tower made up of pillars, and Zaha Hadid Architects, concrete3D printingExpert Incremental3D and building materials company Holcim successfully created the first3D printingSelf-supporting concrete flyover.

(Editor in charge: admin)

Zurich’s 3D printed tunnel machine won the runner-up in the tunnel engineering competition held by Musk

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