Unit6 隧道.docVIP

Unit6 tunnels 11．One of the first major tunnels built through rock was the Mont Cenis Tunnel in the Alps between France and Italy. It is fourteen kilometers long and was built between 1857 and 1871. When construction began on it, progress was only twenty-two centimeters a day. Fortunately, the pneumatic drill, which uses compressed air to bore holes in rock, was invented a few years after construction began. Thereafter, the tunneling speed was increased to two meters a day. Like most tunnels, the Mont. Cenis was bored from two different headings, one in France and one in Italy, which met in the middle. 12．Another technique that has come into wide use in recent years is the immersed-tube system. In this technique a channel is dredged along the line of the tunnel, in other words, silt is pumped out of the waterbed. Piles are then driven along the channel, and prefabricated sections of the tunnel are lowered into place on to the piles. The tunnel sections are closed by temporary faces that are removed after all the sections have been assembled. The joins between the sections are also made watertight at this stage of construction. Finally, the channel is filled in to give the tunnel greater stability. The Maas River Tunnel at Rotterdam is an immersed tube. Another is the recently opened tube between San Francisco and Oakland, California Before design and construction of a dam can begin, an extensive survey and study of the site must be made, This survey examines not only topographical features of the area, but also soil and rock samples to determine the geological factors that may affect it. The hydraulic features of the stream or river that is being dammed must also be determined ,such as the volume of flow of the river in different season. Engineers use this information to calculate potential water pressure. It is also necessary to study the site to see whether the dam can be constructed with the use of cofferdams or whether the flow of the river must be diverted. C