Operatives pouring concrete onto steel reinforcement to create boring machine launch chamber on the Channel Tunnel Rail Link
Concrete is a construction material composed of cement, coarse and fine aggregate and chemical additives. Mixed with water, the mix quickly forms an exceptionally hard stone-like material that forms the basis of modern construction - concrete is the most used man-made material in the world. Concrete that is similar to today’s material was extensively used by the Romans and many of their concrete-based structures survive virtually intact to the present day. Concrete is strong in compression but weak in tension as the cement holding the aggregate in place can crack, allowing the structure to fail. Reinforced concrete solves these problems by adding metal reinforcing bars (or glass or plastic fibres) to carry tensile loads. Steel reinforced concrete is the most used type of modern concrete. Care must be exercised and protective equipment worn when pouring concrete, the wet material can cause severe skin burns due to causticity of the mix. The £ billion Channel Tunnel Rail Link (now High Speed One) was built between 1998-2007 and partly funded by the European Union, it forms a section of the Trans European Rail Network. It is basically a French-style high-speed rail line linking London with the Channel Tunnel, the Eurostar trains were developed on proven technology from the French TGV high-speed system. Stations on the CTRL are the existing Ashford International and new stations at Ebbsfleet and Stratford. The line ends at the rebuilt St. Pancras. Fourteen new tunnels were constructed, the longest being the London Tunnel which is long from Ripple Lane to Stratford, after which the line briefly comes to the surface at Stratford Station. Five huge shafts of diameter ventilate the twin bore, single-track tunnels and provide emergency access and evacuation points. . For the Thames crossing (a 3km twin-bore tunnel), the line drops 1 in 40 down under the river and then climbs 1 in 40 up, curving at the same time.
Size: 2430px × 2430px
Location: Swanscombe, Kent, UK.
Photo credit: © qaphotos.com / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: -vi, 320, a2, additive, aggregate, boring, bridge, brussels, build, builder, building, burn, business, caustic, cement, chamber, channel, chemical, civil, collapse, commuter, concession, concessionaire, concrete, connection, construction, consultant, continental, contract, contractor, corridor, crossing, ctrl, downs, du, durability, east, ebbsfleet, eec, employee, engineer, engineering, equipment, europe, european, eurostar, eurotunnel, finance, gare, gateway, groundwater, grout, hard, hat, helmet, high, hs1, industrial, industry, infrastructure, integration, international, kent, launch, line, lining, link, london, long-lasting, m20, machine, manager, medway, network, nord, north, pancras, paris, partnership, passenger, pfi, pour, ppe, ppp, pressure, private, privatisation, protective, public, pump, rail, railroad, railtrack, railway, railways, rebar, reinforced, reinforcement, ring, road, rolling, route, safety, segment, site, speed, st, staff, station, steel, stock, strength, support, surveyor, technology, ten, tgv, thames, tourist, track, trackwork, train, trans, transport, transportation, tube, tunnel, tunneller, tunnelling, uk, union, urban, valley, viaduct, visibility, water, waterloo, waterproof, worker, workforce
