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SUMMARY:Tunnelling under London - Keeping Big Ben Upright - Professor Robe
 rt Mair
DTSTART:20140212T210000Z
DTEND:20140212T220000Z
UID:TALK49952@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Graham Edgecombe
DESCRIPTION:Urban congestion is a serious problem in many cities\, so the 
 creation of underground space and in particular the development of undergr
 ound transport is environmentally essential for our future megacities. How
  can tunnels be built in ground sometimes as soft as toothpaste? What can 
 go wrong? Will buildings above be affected by subsidence? What else is und
 erground already that might get in the way or be adversely affected? Geote
 chnical engineering - the application of the science of soil mechanics and
  engineering geology - plays a key role in answering these questions. \n\n
 The talk will describe the critical importance of geology and the developm
 ent and application of the latest underground construction techniques. Exa
 mples of current and future projects from around the world will demonstrat
 e the size\, technical challenges and complexity of modern underground con
 struction.  Protection from subsidence is critical and new ways to evaluat
 e how buildings may be affected by tunnelling and deep excavations will be
  explained. Innovative protective techniques will also be described\, incl
 uding the control of the tilt of Big Ben during tunnelling for London Unde
 rground.  Novel techniques for monitoring construction using fibre optic t
 echnology and wireless sensor networks will be described\, illustrated by 
 some recent case histories.
LOCATION:Nihon Room\, Pembroke College
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