The latest demonstrator from startup hyperTunnel was built at the firm’s R&D facility in the North Hampshire Downs.
The approach is claimed to be friendlier to the environment and will use sustainable materials such as low-carbon concrete. It could also drastically improve safety in the tunnelling sector because no humans need to enter the structure during construction.
A fleet of ‘hyperBot’ robots enters the ground via an arch of high-density plastic pipes and, once inside, can 3D print the tunnel shell by deploying construction material directly into the ground.
The 6m-long, 2m-high and 2m-wide Peak XV ‘pedestrian-scale’ tunnel has been delivered as part of a project for Network Rail.
The Network Rail project has been demonstrating the hyperTunnel process, investigating the technologies that are key to low-disruption tunnel repairs for the UK’s regional railway infrastructure, which includes approximately 650 Victorian-age tunnels.