On Monday, January 14th, 2018 College of Engineering resumed the lecture series with an enlighten lecture presented by Eng. Alessando Roucco from Riyadh Metro Project. The seminar was on the Tunnelling of the underground lines of the Riyadh Metro where one of the most advanced tunnelling machines was used “Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM)”. TBM is a giant round machine used in boring the tunnels and the underground passages in the mines. Eng. Alessandro talked about the geotechnical circumstances and the difficulties faced in the tunneling with the amount of the underground water in Riyadh city that found in a depth less than 35 meters, which was a surprising fact for the audience knowing the dry nature of Riyadh. In addition, Eng. Alessandro talked about the construction of the tunnels and the mechanism and techniques used in constructing the tunnel’s sides with a readymade casts and injection of the concrete. A detailed technical drawings and cross-sections were shared as well about the power systems, emergency and safety exists and the HVAC system.
The lecture was very engaging, and the audience, who was mostly CoE students and Faculty, asked a lot of questions. Dr. Fawaz Bin-Sarra, CoE Associate Dean, Thanked the presenter on the behalf of the college with a token of appreciation. Riyadh Metro will have a coming lecture on Monday, Jan 28th on the Viaducts.
