As part of its “Bau Erleben” days, Bauer Maschinen presented in early July an innovation that will open up new opportunities for the future construction of diaphragm walls: the Bauer Cube System.
This innovative cutting system was developed in collaboration with a strategic partner, the Belgian tunnel construction expert Denys. “It is designed as an electrically powered cutting system which builds on a great deal of proven expertise from Bauer but features an entirely new construction,” explains Dr. Ruediger Kaub, Managing Director of Bauer Maschinen. What makes it unique: The entire system was developed precisely in container dimensions. This means it can be used without any problem in microtunnels with small diameters of just 3.8 m, for example.
A range of applications
“Imagine you are planning a new subway line in a densely populated city. Ideally, you want to plan the new line to allow passengers to get on and off exactly where they want to go. This means that the new subway stations need to be located exactly where there are large office complexes, a large shopping center or the city center. But precisely in such locations, it would be very difficult or even impossible to build these subway stations with the technology available to date. It is now possible thanks to our Bauer Cube System, which can be used exactly where the new subway stations need to be constructed: Underground, below the existing buildings! This opens up entirely new opportunities for designers and architects,”
says Ruediger Kaub. Underground expansion of cities, setting up drinking water storage, or transferring cloud servers below ground along with the necessary cooling technology are all conceivable applications. “All these examples demonstrate the enormous potential of our Cube System,” continues Ruediger Kaub.
A thoroughly sustainable system
The advantages of the system are evident: The impact of construction sites on traffic, businesses, and residents (in particular) is minimized.
This is because the minimally invasive Cube System only requires a comparatively small access point to an existing micro tunnel or auxiliary tunnel. The actual work is carried out underground, essentially invisibly. The electric drive system also considerably reduces the ecological disturbance of a cutting site. When it comes to logistics as well, the system’s compact dimensions are a major advantage: Instead of expensive heavy haulage, the individual elements of the Bauer Cube System are easily transported to their place of deployment as conventional containers. As a result, the Bauer Cube System also sets new standards when it comes to sustainability.
Constructive collaboration during the development process
“Last but not least, I would particularly like to emphasize the trusting and highly constructive collaboration with our strategic partner Denys as well as our specialists within the Group,”
says Ruediger Kaub. “During the development phase, this collaboration delivered crucial input that allowed us to examine nearly every aspect of process engineering, mechanical engineering, logistics or external influences on the site in advance. Based on this research, many ideas were incorporated into the system at an early stage of development.”
The first successful tests of the prototype under the most realistic conditions possible have already been carried out on the Bauer plant grounds in Aresing near the company headquarters in Schrobenhausen, Germany. This test phase will continue for the next four to six months, which in principle means that an anticipated practical application will be possible towards the end of 2021. “One thing is already clear: With this development, we are once again demonstrating the innovative power of Bauer,” says Dr. Ruediger Kaub.
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