Sponsored byGeotechnical Engineering of “111” Intelligence Base for Intelligent Construction and Safety of Geotechnical and Underground Engineering in Southwest Jiaotong University (SWJTU),College of Civil Engineering and Key Laboratory of Transportation Tunnel Engineering invited Professor Adam Bezuijen, former director of the geotechnical laboratory of the University of Gent, Belgium, to carry out an academic report entitled “TBM tunneling history and slurry shield” on November 22, 2021. Before the lecture, Professor Fang Yong welcomed and thanked Professor Adam Bezuijen, on behalf of the “111” Intelligence Base and the Department of Tunnel Engineering, for his invitation to carry out the academic report and gave a detailed account of his contributions and achievements in the field of geotechnical and tunnel engineering.

Professor Adam Bezuijen first introduced the common different tunnel forms and corresponding construction methods, expounded the history and characteristics of the shield method (TBM), and pointed out that the shield method can well deal with a variety of complex tunnel construction problems (such as soft soil layer). Then the structure, working principle and adaptation range of earth pressure balance shield and slurry balance shield were introduced.

Subsequently, Professor Adam Bezuijen presented the construction of urban shield tunnels in Amsterdam and Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The Heinenoord tunnel constructed by TBM technology and Green Hart tunnel constructed by earth pressure balance shield (15.2 m in diameter) are included, and the relevant measurement techniques and experimental phenomena in the construction process are shared.

Then, he expounded two research topics for slurry balance shield. Firstly, considering the flow of groundwater, the influence of excess pore water pressure on the equilibrium stability of slurry is revealed. The second is the slurry infiltration experiment, which found that the permeability of bentonite mortar is stronger than that of pure slurry, and explained from the microscopic molecular level.

This academic lecture, Professor Adam Bezuijen combined with a number of case studies, from shallow to deep, step by step to lead everyone to understand the actual engineering application and theoretical research status of shield tunnel construction, greatly expanded the knowledge of teachers and students on shield construction, especially slurry balance shield construction, and inspired everyone to carry out more and more in-depth shield tunnel research. At the end of the lecture, a heated discussion was held with Professor Adam Bezuijen on shield tunnel research from different perspectives.

This lecture is a series of lectures on tunnel engineering subject of “111 Intelligent Construction and Safety Base of Geotechnical and underground Engineering”, which attracted nearly 100 people including experts, scholars and graduate students from our university and other domestic brother universities and research institutes. The exchange with overseas experts greatly improved the students' professional knowledge and accomplishment, greatly stimulated their enthusiasm for scientific research and learning, and benefited the teachers and students a lot.