en.Wedoany.com Reported - Led by China Railway Construction Heavy Industry Co., Ltd. (CRCHI), in collaboration with ten institutions including the University of Science and Technology Beijing, China University of Mining and Technology (Beijing), Hefei Design and Research Institute of Coal Industry, China Coal No.3 Construction (Group) Co., Ltd., and Anshan Iron and Steel Group Mining Co., Ltd., the National Key R&D Program project "Key Technologies and Equipment for Kilometer-Deep Shaft Hard Rock Full-Face Tunnel Boring Machine Key Technologies and Equipment" recently passed comprehensive performance evaluation acceptance in Beijing. The project successfully developed the world's first kilometer-scale shaft hard rock tunnel boring machine, the "Steel Spine," pioneering a construction method for full-face tunnel boring in kilometer-deep shafts, marking a major breakthrough in China's deep shaft hard rock tunneling technology.
Founded in 2007 and headquartered in Changsha, Hunan Province, CRCHI is a core equipment manufacturing enterprise under China Railway Construction Corporation Limited, specializing in the R&D and manufacturing of tunnel construction equipment, track systems, and mining machinery. It was listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in 2019 (stock code: 688425). The acceptance was organized by the High Technology Department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, in conjunction with the High Technology Research and Development Center of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, with industry-renowned experts participating.
According to project data, the "Steel Spine" has a total machine height of 100 meters, a total weight of 1,000 tons, and a maximum boring depth of up to 1,004 meters, making it the world's first engineering application demonstration equipment for kilometer-scale shaft hard rock full-face boring. Its core breakthrough lies in pioneering an integrated collaborative operation mode of "boring—supporting—mucking," overcoming challenges in surrounding rock stability control for ultra-deep shafts under high stress and strong disturbance environments. The equipment integrates an intelligent sensing and digital twin system, enabling remote visualization and precise control of all processes. Following a comprehensive review, the expert panel concluded that the project overcame key technologies for efficient boring and collaborative support, developed a complete set of hard rock full-face boring machine equipment, built a kilometer-deep shaft application demonstration project, and fulfilled the research content and technical indicators specified in the task book, approving the performance evaluation.
Kilometer-scale shaft hard rock full-face boring technology is a core equipment technology in the field of deep earth resource development. Traditional shaft construction mainly uses the drill-and-blast method, which suffers from bottlenecks such as low construction efficiency, high safety risks, and harsh working environments. The successful development of the "Steel Spine" provides a new technological equipment solution for deep mineral resource development, hydropower projects, and underground space construction. The successful acceptance of this project marks China's technological leap from following to leading in the field of kilometer-deep shaft hard rock full-face boring equipment.
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