The “Technical Standards for Prefabricated Mechanical Sinking Well Engineering” has been approved by the China Engineering Construction Standardization Association for the issuance of the “2023 Second Batch of Association Standard Formulation and Revision Plan” (Jian Biao Xie Zi [2023] No. 30). The main editing units are Guangzhou Municipal Group Co., Ltd. and Guangzhou Municipal Highway Association. It is suitable for the design, construction, and acceptance of prefabricated sinking well engineering using mechanical methods. The main content includes: general principles, terminology and symbols, basic regulations, engineering investigation and survey, engineering design, component production, mechanical equipment, construction, monitoring, engineering acceptance, safety and environmental protection..

Sinking well technology is of great significance for the development and utilization of underground space resources, promoting urban construction and development. The traditional construction method for sunken wells generally uses manual excavation, combined with simple vertical transportation tools to excavate and sink, and then seal the bottom after it is in place. This construction method is more suitable for small caissons with smaller scale and shallower sinking depth. However, for sunken shafts with larger diameters and deeper sinking depths, the efficiency is usually slower and there are also significant safety hazards..

With the increasing emphasis on efficient and safe operations in modern construction, mechanical sinking technology is also constantly developing and has begun to take shape in practical applications. The early mechanized construction of sunken shafts was relatively simple, with the selection of manual or backhoe excavators combined with cranes for soil transportation, or the use of hydraulic flushing and grabbing machines for soil collection; Undrained construction adopts methods such as underwater soil grabbing, hydraulic suction, and air suction for slag removal, and technical sealing is carried out after the sinking well is in place. Compared to manual excavation, the efficiency is significantly improved, but this still requires some operators to carry out operations in the well, which poses certain safety risks, and the depth of the well will limit mechanical construction. With the continuous upgrading of engineering technology, the mechanization level of sinking well technology has also rapidly improved, and wellbore construction is developing towards unmanned, few people, or intelligent directions. More advanced mechanical construction methods are being developed and applied. Mechanization not only ensures the safety and quality of caisson construction, but also improves construction efficiency. In the future, it will gradually replace manual excavation and become the mainstream technology for caisson construction..

In recent years, for the construction of vertical shafts, especially in hard rock formations, guide shaft type bottom slag discharge vertical shaft boring machines, mechanical top slag discharge vertical shaft boring machines, and fluid top slag discharge vertical shaft boring machines have all been successfully applied to multiple major projects and achieved good results. In recent years, the construction scale of sunken shafts (sunken vertical shafts) has been continuously increasing, the degree of mechanization has also rapidly improved, and new technologies and equipment are constantly being developed..

Round Bar Ferrule

Japan was one of the earliest to propose the automated sunken well construction method – SOC method for deep and hard formations, which uses unmanned automatic underwater excavators to excavate around the soil at the edge of the wellbore. At the same time, electric hydraulic grab buckets are used for excavation and soil collection, and hydraulic jacks are operated to press in and sink. The most representative assembly type mechanized sinking well technology currently is represented by the German developed excavation equipment VSM (Vertical Shaft Sinking Machine) and its supporting construction technology, which is also the most advanced sinking well excavation technology in the world. There are engineering applications in the United States, Europe, and the Middle East. Chinese enterprises introduced and applied this technology in 2020, with equipment accounting for.