TBM man locks and hyperbaric rescue chambers
Tech Plus designs TBM man locks, shuttle locks and material locks in Bandol, France, for the machine they will serve, according to EN 12110. Rescue chambers at the tunnel face and hydraulic hyperbaric sectional doors complete the system.
- Since 1988
- Designed according to EN 12110
- Engineered in Bandol
TBM man lock: pressurised access to the tunnel face
Before a crew can enter the excavation chamber of a tunnel boring machine, the excavated ground in the chamber is replaced with compressed air, which supports the face and holds back groundwater. A TBM man lock mounted on the shield then brings a team of compressed-air workers up to working pressure. Once pressures are equalised, they can inspect the cutterhead, change cutters or carry out repairs.
Throughout the intervention the crew breathe gas under pressure, usually compressed air, so on the way out they decompress in stages, following the decompression tables adopted for the project. A man lock is therefore not a simple doorway: it is occupied pressure equipment on which the safety of every hyperbaric intervention depends.
Since 1988, Tech Plus has engineered, installed and maintained air locks and hyperbaric chambers for tunnel boring machines, on projects in France and abroad. Each system is designed around the space available in the shield, the planned pressure and the way the site is run.
Engineering and design
Layout on the shield, drawings and design calculations by our engineering office in Bandol.
Installation and commissioning
Assembly, testing and adjustment carried out with your teams, in France and abroad.
Maintenance and training
Servicing of the equipment and training of your staff in its use.
Locks built around your project
Each piece of equipment addresses a specific constraint of compressed-air work on a TBM.
Designed for your shield
Dimensions, access, bulkhead penetrations and connections are set for the machine that will carry the lock.
Double-chamber personnel lock
The second compartment lets a worker enter or leave the lock without interrupting the decompression under way in the first.
Materials in, pressure held
Muck locks and equipment locks pass spoil, tools and spare parts without dropping the pressure in the working area.
Rescue at the tunnel face
Hyperbaric rescue chambers placed close to the face allow rapid extraction of personnel and immediate care under pressure.
Hydraulic sectional doors
Vertical or horizontal opening, hydraulic control and an emergency backup system for pressurised tunnel galleries.
From hospital chambers to man locks
Our engineering office also designs multiplace hyperbaric chambers for hospitals and recompression chambers for armed forces, and brings the same rigour to your man locks and rescue chambers.
Personnel locks, material locks and TBM rescue chambers
A TBM equipped for compressed-air interventions combines several enclosures, each with its own job. We engineer them as one system, so that crew changes, material transfers and the rescue of an injured worker stay organised and safe.
Design pressure, number of seats and layout are fixed project by project, based on the working pressure expected at the face and the space left in the shield. Our air locks are designed according to EN 12110, the European standard that sets safety requirements for tunnelling machine air locks, from design and construction to equipment, marking and testing.
For the duration of a project, a rental hyperbaric chamber built into a 20 ft container can complement the TBM's own locks. We also train the operators who will run your locks and rescue chamber.
Personnel locks (double chamber)
Entry and exit of compressed-air workers through the pressure barrier, staged decompression and care of a worker kept under pressure.
Personnel shuttle locks
Transfer of crews between the atmospheric and pressurised zones during shift changes.
Material locks
Muck locks to remove excavated material, equipment locks for tools and spare parts.
TBM rescue chambers
Emergency hyperbaric chambers positioned at the tunnel face for rescue operations and first aid under pressure.
Hyperbaric sectional doors for tunnel galleries
In a tunnel driven by a TBM, some gallery sections must be closed off quickly and hold pressure. Our hyperbaric sectional doors are sized for the pressure in the tunnel and for the safety of the operators who work them.
Depending on the geometry of the gallery and the way the site is organised, the door opens vertically or horizontally. The integrated hydraulic system gives fast, controlled opening and closing, even in harsh conditions, and an emergency backup system is built in.
Key features
- Integrated hydraulic control
- Vertical or horizontal opening
- Emergency backup system
- Configuration matched to each tunnel project
Technical specifications
- Personnel lock
- Double chamber
- Material locks
- Muck locks and equipment locks
- Sectional doors
- Hydraulic, vertical or horizontal opening
- Design pressure
- Set from the working pressure planned at the face
- Design
- Engineering office in Bandol, France
- Experience
- Since 1988, clients in 28+ countries (all sectors)
Standards and regulations
- EN 12110: tunnelling machine air locks (design basis for our air locks)
- Directive 2014/68/EU: pressure equipment
Let's talk about your TBM
Tell us the planned working pressure and send us the shield drawings: our engineering office will get back to you to assess your lock.
Centre d'entreprises du Val d'Aran178 chemin de Roumpinas83150 Bandol, France