Dynamic tunneling in Bodø

Bodø is growing and today’s infrastructure is not sufficient. To ease the congestion the infrastructure development project “Bypakke Bodø” has been initiated by the city of Bodø, Nordland County Council and the Norwegian Public Roads Administration. The project, which is the largest infrastructure project ever conducted in northern Norway, with more than one hundred subprojects. The new State highway 80 is a key part of the infrastructure project and Veidekke has been assigned to develop a 3.5 km long 4 lane motorway, of which 2.8 km is a double tunnel. 500 000 cubic meters of rock will be excavated. 

Throughout the project Veidekke has used a new feature from Atlas Copco, Dynamic tunneling package (DTP). DTP is a software feature that is used to let the drill rig create custom made drill plans directly at the face of the tunnel. The operator simply downloads the tunnel contour to the drill rig together with a drill rule file, and the drill rig generates its own drill plans. There is no more need for going back and forth with drill plans between the office and the drill rig. And since the drill plan is created for the specific tunnel segment, the precision in the tunnel development is increased.

- Today, in tunneling projects, especially large ones in urban areas, there are differences in the cross section. You go up and down with your drill plans. The Dynamic tunneling package helps you so you don't have to go up and down anymore. The drill plan is made on the drill rig and at the face, said Johan Jonsson, Product Manager Boomer, Atlas Copco. Atlas Copco’s customer Veidekke and their RV80 project in Bodø, Norway was one of the pilot projects for Dynamic tunneling package.

- The collaboration with Atlas Copco to develop the Dynamic tunneling package went well. Atlas Copco were responsive to our feedback and made adjustments to the program, concluded Jon-André Nilsen, Manager Surveying Technic Underground, Veidekke and continues:

- Today, the drill rig operators make niches manually. They can turn out way too big or way too small. Dynamic tunneling package makes our drilling more precise. We can make changes to drill plans directly on the rig. We can move cuts or drill-holes. We are more flexible at the tunnel face compared to making all changes at the office.

Today all tunneling models exist in a 3D model. Previously you imported the model into Underground manager (an Atlas Copco software used for planning and reporting of drill rig data and information) and then do all the drill plans manually in Underground manager. With Dynamic tunneling package you still import the 3D model but you only need to set up a set of rules (a rules file) in Underground manager. The set of rules and the 3D model is then brought to the drill rig by USB or WiFi-connection. The drill rig will then make its own drill plans based on where in the tunnel it is navigated and according to the tunnel model. Due to this, the drill plans will always be precisely made for the section and size that should be excavated.

Kent Simensen, operator at Veidekke, has tested Dynamic tunneling package and says:
- The Dynamic tunneling package is very easy to use. It is two keystrokes and you are started. The contour turns out very accurate. The end result is identical to the drawing. Dynamic tunneling package has made my work in the tunnel a lot easier.

The tunnels and the new State highway 80 is planned to be ready 2019. The complete infrastructure development project “Bypakke Bodø” will be completed in 2022.

Epiroc operated under the trademark “Atlas Copco” prior to January 1, 2018.