The interaction between tunnels and underground water is a complex topic and it is of great relevance taking into account the environment, the protection of drinkable water and the interference with tunnel construction method. Due to the great importance of the topic, in the following are presented and discussed the most relevant technologies for water management in tunnelling with a specific attention...

The rapid development of the mechanized tunneling in current decades has raised serious concerns about the environmental impact of large quantities of the muck. EPB-TBMs require the use of foaming agents for optimizing the soil conditioning. These agents could contain some chemicals (e.g., sodium lauryl ether sulfate – SLES) that are not included in the current legislation at the Italian or EU level....

The paper presents the results of an experimental campaign carried out at the Sasso Poiano mine, close to Varese, northern Italy. The area is near a historic site, inhabited villages and a well-known lake, so that the use of explosive is subject to severe restrictions imposed by Italian standards. The exploitation is therefore carried out by blasting with low specific charge (PF=50 g/m3) in order to obtain...

The two-component backfilling system is the most frequently used method to fill the annular gap created during the shield machine advancement. This gap, due to the head overcut, the shield thickness and conicity and the tail brushes size should be filled continuously in order to avoid mainly surface displacement and linings movements. Nowadays this technology is the most chosen due to operative (both...