Project Spotlight – Tunnels
Project spotlight
Beele Engineering partner of choice for tunnel projects
Overview
Managing the risks of fire and water ingress is high on the agenda of tunnel operators. Disasters caused by fires in road and metro tunnels have caused human tragedy and cost the society billions of euros while water ingress has brought vital parts of the transport network to a standstill. To avoid this fire-resistant and smoke, water and gastight systems are required that not only provide the desired degree of safety but also enables future expansions during the tunnel’s lifespan. Beele Engineering offers extensive knowhow, specialized R&D and test facilities and a wide range of sealing systems for any degree of protection against water or fire.
Best in Class Systems
The systems of Beele Engineering can be deployed for both cable and pipe transit openings and combine a high degree of fire resistance with sealing against gas, water and smoke.
Among these systems are the NOFIRNO sealing system which offers the ultimate flexibility as well as the SLIPSIL and DYNATITE sealing plugs for more standardized transit openings. And for those situations that require a special solution, Beele Engineering develops, tests and offers customized systems.
An example of this was given in the Victoria Park Tunnel in New Zealand where 4,000 metres of a special developed fire-resistant sandwich system was used: ACTIFOAM/ULTRA. The system guarantees that in the case of fire, the escape routes will stay clear of smoke, heat and flames.
Other examples were given in the Austrian Lainzer Tunnel (Vienna) where a combination of the NOFIRNO rubber and AQUASTOP was used in order to guarantee the required water tightness. The Joralemon Tube in New York is another one of the many underground and tunnel projects where NOFIRNO was chosen. In many of these projects the service life tests of the system, in which a service life of 50 years was determined, are a decisive factor.
Also when it comes to watertight sealing solutions Beele Engineering turns out to be the partner of choice. The company’s DYNATITE sealing system was used for the watertight sealing of pipe penetrations of the 3.2 kilometers immersion tunnel near the South-Korean city of Busan. The deepest element of this tunnel was placed recently at a depth of 50 meters. Prior to the field application, tests were carried out to determine the max. pressure load of this advanced sealing plug. The plug was tested under a pressure load of 1400 kg (14 kN). The pressure test was even continued with higher loads to determine the max. compression of the plug. Even at the extremely high pressure load of more than 18 kN (equaling a pressure of 27.5 bar!) the profiling of the DYNATITE plug hadn’t reached bulk modulus and therefore could be compressed even further
Wide variety of projects
Products of Beele Engineering are used in many tunnel projects. Some examples of these projects are:
• Lainzer Tunnel, Vienna, Austria - NOFIRNO, AQUASTOP
• Victoria Park Tunnel, Auckland, New Zealand - ACTIFOAM/ULTRA
• Central Artery Tunnel (Big Dig), Boston, USA - RISE
• Geoje Fixed Link (immersion tunnel), South Korea - DYNATITE
• Joralemon Tube, New York, USA - NOFIRNO
• North/South Tube, Amsterdam, Netherlands - SLIPSIL
• Railway Tunnel, Zürich, Switzerland - NOFIRNO
Engineering the future
Beele Engineering specialises in solutions for the fire-resistant, gas-tight, smoke-proof and waterproof sealing of pipe and cable transits. The company has its own R&D centres, test facilities, one of the most modern and comprehensive production centres in Europe, and high-quality logistics. This means that customers can be served with standard products quickly and smartly, but customised solutions can also be created for every specific wish.
Beele Engineering is currently taking the next step in its 40-year existence with the development and construction of Sealing Valley, the worldwide centre for sealing technology.
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