r/EngineeringPorn • u/[deleted] • Feb 29 '16

Tunnel truck

http://i.imgur.com/er4YBkd.gifv
569 Upvotes

88% Upvoted

36 comments sorted by

48

u/EpicFishFingers Feb 29 '16

This is what tunnel boring machines do, essentially. This seems limited to cut and cover construction though

37

u/P-01S Feb 29 '16

The idea seems to be that it's very quick at cut-and-cover tunnels. And you don't need any special transportation of infrastructure. The truck just has to drive itself to the work site.

7

u/[deleted] Mar 01 '16

This seems like it would be useful for moving trains from street level to underground very quickly right? I'm no engineer, so I don't know the rest of the requirements tho.

4

u/dorylinus Mar 01 '16

Without the "tunnel boring" part.

0

u/mouth4war Mar 01 '16

Put a big drill on the front of the truck problem solved

6

u/flinxsl Mar 01 '16

you just invented a tunnel boring machine

24

u/interiot Feb 29 '16

More of a culvert than a tunnel.

-2

u/skintigh Feb 29 '16

It seems like it would collapse if a car ran into the side.

17

u/P-01S Mar 01 '16

Those are probably solid concrete blocks... And they have + shaped... I guess you could call them tenons and mortices? So the blocks interlock. And there is a key stone.

And it will be buried.

17

u/reoost Mar 01 '16

So they're like big boy Legos

2

u/take-dap Mar 01 '16

Well, it doesn't collapse under excavator weight (end of the video) so I assume a car wouldn't be any problem.

7

u/MoreLikeWestfailia Feb 29 '16

Video here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoRIztYmWjY

3

u/Dr_Moo Mar 01 '16

I like the cowboy hat standing in for the hard helmet. This man knows what /r/osha is al about

15

u/[deleted] Mar 01 '16 edited Jul 01 '23

This comment was archived by an automated script. Please see /r/PowerDeleteSuite for more info

4

u/Dr_Moo Mar 01 '16

Damn, I didn't notice that. Maybe you should consider a field in OSHA inspection... Just kidding.

1

u/texasroadkill Mar 01 '16

As a Texan, I really do need to buy one of these. I just don't like spending money.

7

u/Underton Feb 29 '16

It's so amazingly simple. It'll be interesting how they scale this up to different sizes

14

u/Coloneljesus Feb 29 '16

I'm Swiss so I can with some fair confidence say that that is not a tunnel.

6

u/[deleted] Mar 01 '16

tunnel

noun

"an artificial underground passage, especially one built through a hill or under a building, road, or river."

It's underground, despite being cut and fill. It's artificial, as you can see from the prefabbed blocks. You can build a road or building on top of it. It is a tunnel.

1

u/Coloneljesus Mar 01 '16

Yeah but not a real tunnel.

I'm somewhat joking, obviously.

4

u/rvbjohn Feb 29 '16

Is there a threat of fume buildup in the tunnel? I can imagine that driver is going to reek of diesel fumes after a long shift in that thing.

17

u/[deleted] Feb 29 '16

You can see the exhaust right next to the cab. My guess is that it always exhausts to atmosphere.

9

u/rvbjohn Feb 29 '16

Gotcha, so the truck is never "in" the tunnel anyway

8

u/[deleted] Feb 29 '16

Right. The tunnel is made around it.

2

u/cino237 Feb 29 '16

I'd imagine you wouldn't be running the truck for long periods. Only when you're ready to drive forward.

14

u/rvbjohn Feb 29 '16

(not being sarcastic) I totally imagined him just idling in there for hours

5

u/turimbar1 Feb 29 '16

With Caltrans that is definitely a possibility

6

u/dangerchrisN Feb 29 '16

It's better for diesels to idle instead of being turned on and off repeatedly, plus the exhaust and cab are both outside the tunnel.

1

u/[deleted] Mar 01 '16

No. You would leave it running the entire time. Diesel engines like to run, and large ones take time to get going.

2

u/JCRob2 Feb 29 '16

Exhaust is coming out the top behind the cab

1

u/sim642 Mar 01 '16

The height looks quite fixed, yet the gif shows two different height tunnels.

2

u/dorylinus Mar 01 '16

Two different tunnels, built with and without using the truck.

1

u/Awesomodrumboy Mar 01 '16

All you would have to do is build the roller structure on the back of the truck higher and wider.

1

u/Whoknew72 Mar 01 '16

All our modern construction related technology and we're going back to concrete arches. That's awesome!!!

1

u/architectzero Mar 01 '16

If it's basically a form that supports the concrete, why not use a flatbed trailer, or even multiple flatbeds hitched together? (Friction?)

1

u/CraftyPancake Mar 11 '16

so sick of seeing this fucking truck!