Contracting services
Weakness zone
Geofrost provides temporary support for tunnel excavation through weakness zones or zones with potentially large water leakages in rock of otherwise high quality. With ground freezing these zones can be excavated in a predictable way.
Required thickness of the frozen structure is calculated based on load from acting rock and water pressure, cross section geometry and length of excavation section.
Inadequate rock cover
Geofrost provides ground improvement above the rock surface which can be established from the tunnel face or from the ground surface. The soils are frozen to a strong and impermeable temporary supporting structure. By freezing from ground surface the tunnel excavation can continue without stop, either by traditional drilling and blasting or by tunnel bore machine.
Soil tunnel
Geofrost provides temporary support to enable soil tunneling efficiently with full face excavation. Keeping the water away also ensures good quality concreting. Ground freezing provides dry and safe excavation.
Tunnel portal
Geofrost provides stabilization by freezing so tunnel excavation can start directly in the soils outside the rock, minimizing environmental footprint. The freezing pipes are installed from the surface into the rock where normal tunnel excavation can continue.
- Impacting landscape and natural groundwater levels.
- Removal of buildings in affected zone.
- Slope stability problems.
- Excavation of large volumes that need to be transported, deposited and potentially brought back and laid out on top of the cut and cover portal.
- Rerouting of roads and other infrastructure crossing the area.
Cross passage
Geofrost provides waterproof temporary support for construction of cross passages. The whole cross section is frozen and excavation length is adapted to load and capacity in the support.
In urban areas groundwater control may be cruicial. Waterproof support by ground freezing avoids potential problems and provides safe excavation. The freezing pipes can be drilled from one or both tunnels, depending on access. If the geometry allows it, the freezing pipes can be drilled through from one tunnel to the other, but geometric limitations and potential pump sumps in the passages may require several blind holes.
TBM start block
Geofrost provides frozen blocks for launch and reception pits for TBMs. The start block ensures stability and waterproofness toward the pit until the wall is sealed against the closest element ring.
TBM with mixed face
Geofrost provides ground freezing for TBMs to make the ground conditions more uniform for parts of the tunnel with significant deviating properties compared to the rest of the alignment.
It is an advantage that TBMs intended for rock can get resistance across the whole face if parts of it consist of soils. For EPB machines, which are designed to excavate soft soil below ground water level, the ground freezing of loose frictional soils eliminate the risk for sink holes by large variation in layers and permeability.
Shaft
Geofrost provides waterproof temporary support for shafts. Shafts for infrastructure can be several tens of meters deep and have to pass through soil and weathered rock before entering good rock. The ground freezing ensures waterproof support down through all the various ground conditions. With a waterproof support there is no need for water handling, neither inside nor outside the shaft.
Deep shaft
Geofrost provides temporary waterproof support for deep shafts. Mining shafts can be several hundred meters deep and need to cross water-bearing strata and challenging layers. Ground freezing is a highly reliable method to handle these challenges.
The purpose of the freezing might vary from groundwater control alone to temporary support and groundwater control combined. The long holes for the freezing pipes are drilled by directional drilling to ensure sufficient drilling accuracy. Sectionwise ground freezing is an alternative for large depths.
Benefits
Safe and predictable
Ground freezing is a reliable solution, well known for its safety. Both client and contractor can trust in predictable time and cost with low risk for surprises, even when crossing complicated ground conditions.
Ground freezing works in all types of soil and rock, independent of fracture size, permeability, water content, water pressure, degree of rock degradation, block or grain size.
The temporary support gives a robust and reliable stability globally and locally and provides a safe working environment. The frozen structure is monitored and has large inertia in case of power outage. A potential collapse will have a plastic failure mode with a long warning time.
Completely impermeable
The underground is stabilized by ground freezing and becomes completely impermeable, resulting in dry working conditions in the tunnel and no pore pressure drop in the surroundings. There will be no need for water wells and water infiltration to keep up the pore pressure. Grouting by cement or chemicals is avoided. The ground is kept frozen until the permanent structure is brought in place and by eliminating water leakages, there is no need for drains behind the concrete and a good concrete quality is secured.
Ground freezing is installed from a safe area, before any failure or water inrush has occurred. To keep the pore pressure unaffected, drilling from below groundwater level is performed through a blowout preventor (BOP). If the surroundings are highly sensitive, drilling is done with mass control as well.
Environmentally friendly
It is the ground itself that is used as the temporary supporting structure. No cement og chemicals are used in the ground. Coolant and refrigerant are natural media, without any effect on the climate (0 GWP). The CO2 footprint is low compared with other steel and concrete based methods.
Efficient tunneling
Geofrost's ground freezing structure is designed for full face excavation. Typical blast rounds are 2 m full face, which will include less supporting materials and a faster excavation than a solution with more faces in the cross section. Concreting directly against the frozen walls, without any leakages, further contributes to predictable time schedule and quality.
The frozen structure takes the load until a permanent structure is ready to take over. By interaction between frost and sprayed concrete with lattice girders put up as work support after blasting, necessary thickness of the frozen structure can be reduced and thus also initial freezing time and cost. Permanent lining is achieved by additional layers of sprayed concrete, or cast in place concrete, or concrete elements put in place and grouted behind.
When installing ground freezing from surface, the frozen structure is established in advance such that it is ready when tunneling reaches the zone. Drilling may be done vertically or inclined from the best locations. Freezing pipes may be insulated so only the needed volume is frozen. By drilling from above groundwater level, all issues connected with pore pressure reduction and settlements in the surroundings are avoided.
What we deliver
We are a total supplier of temporary support by ground freezing for tunnels and shafts and offer all related services within consulting and contracting.
We provide designed and engineered solutions for tunneling by drill and blast or TBM, whether it is for weakness zones, lack of rock overburden and mixed face situations or pure soil tunnels. We also provide designed and engineered solutions for shafts, either as waterproofing only or combined waterproofing and support.
Consulting services
- Project management
- Sampling
- Lab testing
- Design and engineering
- Numerical analyses
- Design report, drawings and specifications
Contracting services
- Planning and procurement
- Site management
- Drilling and surveying
- Pipe installation
- Plant and equipment for brine freezing and nitrogen freezing
- Instrumentation
- Monitoring
Where we operate
We offer our services worldwide.
Contact
Contact person
Anne-Lise Berggren, Ph.D., M.Sc
Senior specialist geotechnics
(+47) 95 29 29 30
Anne-Lise.Berggren@geofrost.no
Enquiry
If you have questions or would like more information, please contact us. With project info, we quickly provide price estimates.
Ground freezing since 1986.
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