Taisei Corporation / Remotely controlled underwater work machine compatible with hard rock excavation, 2 new attachments added
Demonstration of drilling and rock splitting attachment
Remote control room
Taisei Corporation has added a new attachment dedicated to hard rock excavation to the remote-controlled underwater work machine (T-iROBO UW) developed for underwater excavation work such as dam renewal work. There are two types: a model that creates a continuous hole at the excavation boundary prior to rock excavation, and a model that performs rock drilling and rock splitting afterward. By combining existing attachments, underwater excavation according to geological conditions from soft sedimentary soil to hard rock is possible.
"T-iROBO UW" was jointly developed in 2014 by the company, Actio, and Kyokuto Construction. A shaft is lowered from the barge on the water to the bottom of the lake, and various attachments are installed on the work equipment that moves up and down along the shaft. Machine guidance enables remote control of a series of underwater operations such as rock crushing, excavation, shear processing, precision sounding, and photography. Improves safety by eliminating the need for divers. A large-scale temporary pier can also be eliminated, shortening the construction period.
So far, we have developed 7 models of attachments for sedimentation, sediment, and soft rock. A new type of attachment dedicated to hard rock uses a “continuous hole slot drilling attachment” to continuously drill holes at the rock excavation boundary.
After that, it will be switched to a "hole and rock splitting integrated attachment" equipped with a down-the-hole hammer for rock drilling and a hydraulic packer for splitting rock. First, a hydraulic packer insertion hole is made in the excavated bedrock, and after inserting the hydraulic packer, a wedge is pressed in to push the bedrock and create cracks to split the rock. Finally, the hydraulic breaker performs secondary crushing.
With the introduction of the new model, the machine guidance mechanism has been improved to increase the positional accuracy of the tip of the attachment. The hydraulic system of the work equipment has also been improved. Added a fine operation mode that allows constant operation at a low initial speed of 1/10 of the normal speed.
The company will propose and use it for various underwater excavation work, including dam renewal, to reduce construction periods and costs, and ensure work safety. On the 25th, a demo of the actual machine was opened to the press at the company's Tokyo branch PC factory (Narita City, Chiba Prefecture).
