New Features for Tunnel Rigs Add Accuracy, Analysis and Safety


Using Tunnel Manager MWD to map two parallel tracks.
Atlas Copco has added a number of options to the list of features available on the Rocket Boomer E-series, the company’s series of face drilling rigs for medium to large tunnels. Rigs now can be delivered with upgraded Tunnel Manager software, a new rod handling system specially designed for the rig series, and Atlas Copco’s Tunnel Profiler scanning system.

Atlas Copco offers three upgraded packages of its Tunnel Manager software, designed to provide informative and intelligent data support for drifting and tunneling. Advanced computer technology makes these new programs easier to use when compared with previous versions, according to the company. The most advanced package, called Tunnel Manager MWD, offers completely new functionality based on years of research at Luleå University of Technology in Sweden.

Windows-based Tunnel Manager is suitable for Atlas Copco Boomer rigs equipped with the Rig Control System (RCS) and Advanced Boom Control (ABC Regular or ABC Total). The upgraded software is available in three different packages: Tunnel Manager, Tunnel Manager Pro and Tunnel Manager MWD.

The base package, Tunnel Manager, offers basic functions such as generating drill plans and following up the result. Tunnel Manager Pro contains the “Measure While Drilling” (MWD) function, and Tunnel Manager MWD, adds the capability to collect and analyze data. This means that the user can swiftly translate rock drilling data into relevant rock mass characteristics such as rock hardness and fracturing.

The MWD application, says the company, is a proven and useful method for collecting drilling data such as penetration rate, feed force, rotation and rotation speed, water pressure and water flow while drilling a hole. Previously, data had to be sent to consultants or transferred to a separate tool for analysis, but now Tunnel Manager MWD offers the user the capability to directly analyze and translate collected data.

The calculated figures are presented in accordance customer requirements, which can be selected from a range of available graphical tools. When compared with other methods of characterizing rock properties, Atlas Copco says Tunnel Manager MWD provides—without delay—high data resolution at low cost, since data are extracted automatically at regular intervals. Based on this information, excavation and rock reinforcement plans can be modified to achieve optimum safety, speed and economy. Information regarding fracture zones, water flow and rock discontinuities can also prove valuable for the long term maintenance of the tunnel.

The new RHS E rod handling system was developed solely for the E-series rigs and can accommodate eight 10-ft (3.05- m) extension rods. RHS E enables the drilling of longer holes, for grouting, probing or drainage, without manual rod extension.

Another available feature, recently introduced at bauma 2007, is the Tunnel Profiler, a fully integrated 3D-scanning system that informs the operator—after just a few minutes of scanning—how the excavation conforms to the pre-planned design. By using this system, under- and overbreak and shotcrete thickness can be assessed and corrected at an early stage of the tunneling cycle.