Case story | VACON® NXP

Excavating tunnels through the Alps

Reliable and effective ventilation is hundred metres below the level of the the south of Europe for the Gotthard of the essence when excavating the current tunnels, the new Gotthard rail Base Tunnel − the world’s longest world’s longest railway tunnels through link means a continuous flat rail link railway tunnel with a length of 57 the Alps in . In the Ceneri through the Alps with a maximum kilometres (35.4 miles). The (CBT), which is a logical elevation of just 550 metres above sea Base Tunnel will also shorten travel continuation of the Gotthard Base level. This brings significant benefits in times, for example between the Tunnel, ventilation of the explosion terms of logistics and economy, since cities of and in the areas is handled by a system designed it allows longer trains with double the canton of , Switzerland, from the by Systemair* and controlled by the weight to travel at twice the current current 50 minutes to 22 minutes. The VACON® NXP range of AC drives. speed. construction contract for the Ceneri Base Tunnel was awarded in 2009 to The Gotthard rail link, which is one Unique, redundant ventilation Consorzio Condotte-Cossi, with whom of the two major sections in the system at CBT Systemair is collaborating to design massive AlpTransit project**, consists With excavation scheduled for the ventilation used during excavation. of the Zimmerberg Base Tunnel, the completion in 2016, and opening In planning the ventilation system, and the Ceneri at the end of 2019, the Ceneri Base Systemair has focused on safety, Base Tunnel. Constructed several Tunnel will be an important feeder in control and energy savings.

drives.danfoss.com The Ceneri Base Tunnel, consisting The exhaust air from the excavation Safety, control and energy of two single- bores each with a area is conveyed by another group of savings important in designed length of 15.4 kilometres (9.6 fans into the East Tube, and then to the ventilation miles), has an installation cavern in the access tunnel. To prevent the exhaust The ventilation system in the Ceneri centre of the excavation area in the air from returning into the installation Base Tunnel is equipped with air- heart of . The installation cavern, the pressure in the cavern is cooled VACON® NXP AC drives in the cavern plays an extremely important kept at a comparatively high level at all range 55 kW - 250 kW (400 V), with role in the base tunnel construction times. This is achieved by controlling a total installed power of some 2.5 logistics, since the excavation work and the speed of the fans with the help of MW in a stand-alone enclosure (IP54). the four rail tracks advance from here the VACON® AC drives. This solution gives significant energy to the north and the south. The cavern savings but also offers many other is accessed through two previously One of the most important features benefits as well. constructed tunnels: the exploratory of the system is its redundancy: all the tunnel (CPS1) and the access tunnel fan installations are equipped with a The control system, which is based on (FIS2). These two tunnels form the combination of a redundant motor and the Profinet communications protocol, core of Systemair’s unique solution for a Vacon drive controlling it to ensure allows centralized control, monitoring providing fresh air for the four lines. the ventilation system continues and adjustment of the functions of to function even in the case of a each individual AC drive. The control Fresh air is taken in through the breakdown. A redundant ventilation logic enables the optimization of all exploratory tunnel into the installation system is also a must for securing the AC drives, so the air flow in and cavern and then into the West Tube the safety of the excavation workers out of the underground space can with the help of primary fans. In the underground. Since conventional be balanced. It is possible, when West Tube, which is kept pressurized, blasting methods that generate smoke, necessary, to by-pass the centralized secondary fans blow fresh air into gases and dust are used in excavating control system and to control locally the excavation areas, and these fans the Ceneri Base Tunnel, reliable, the VACON® AC drive parameters of are constantly being moved forward effective ventilation is essential at each fan. as the work of excavating the tunnel all times. advances.

1 CPS, Cunicolo di prospezione Sigirino 2 FIS, Finestra intermedia di Sigirino

2 Danfoss Drives · DKDD.PC.907.A1.02 Effective ventilation of the explosion After 64 per cent of Swiss voters Today, the Systemair Group area is essential for removing the blast accepted the AlpTransit project in a includes about 60 companies with dust and gases as quickly as possible. 1992 referendum, construction of the 2 300 employees in 39 countries in Groups of fans fitted with VACON® Gotthard Base Tunnel began in 1996 Europe, North America, Middle AC drives enable fast ventilation and it is expected to come into use East, Asia, Africa and Australia. The with maximum power and make the in 2016. With a route length of 57 km company had sales of more than explosion area accessible again in (35.4 mi) and a total of 151.84 km SEK 3.47 billion in the 2010/2011 only 15 minutes. This reduces the idle (94.3 mi) of tunnels, shafts and financial year. The MRT (Metro time on the site, which is an important passages, the Gotthard Base Tunnel Road and Train) is Systemair’s factor in the overall economy of the is the world’s longest rail tunnel, division focussing on delivering tunnel excavation. surpassing the undersea Seikan Tunnel ventilation systems for under- in Japan and the 50 km Channel ground, road and rail tunnels. Their Maximum energy efficiency is ensured Tunnel linking England and France. The Italian-based personnel have a by controlling the speed of the fans Gotthard axis will provide a high speed very broad knowhow in this with the help of the AC drives to match link through the Alps with a top speed specific field. Their goal is to be the the required air flow. estimated at 250 km/h, reducing travel sole reference for the companies time between and from that work in underground projects. A further benefit is that controlled the present 4 hours and 10 minutes to acceleration and deceleration of all the 2 hours and 40 minutes. fans means the tunnel is filled gently with air, thus avoiding abrupt changes in the quality of the air.

“The reliability and robust structure of the AC drive, coupled with the technical assistance provided by Vacon throughout the project, ensure that the customer does not need to worry,” states Roberto Redondi, tunnel construction ventilation manager Roberto Redondi, Tunnel Construction Ventilation Manager at Systemair, with a 250 kW fan used for at Systemair Italy, MRT division. fresh air in the exploratory tunnel.

AlpTransit, also known as New Railway Link through the Alps (NRLA), is a Swiss federal project aimed to build faster north-south rail links across the by constructing base tunnels several hundred metres below the level of the current tunnels. The AlpTransit project comprises two major sections, the Gotthard axis and the Lötschberg axis. The third largest project is the Ceneri Base Tunnel, which is under construction in the canton of Ticino. It will pass under Monte Ceneri between in the Flat and near Lugano.

Cover photo: Systemair’s fans equipped with Vacon AC drives in the Ceneri Base Tunnel. Photos courtesy of Systemair

Danfoss Drives · DKDD.PC.907.A1.02 3 Danfoss Drives

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