Date: Thursday, April 23, 2026
Presenter: Bernard Catalano
Location: Lone Star Texas Grill (930 Dixon Rd, Toronto, Ontario)
Time: 5:30 p.m. (Registration) 6:00 p.m. (Presentation)
Registration Cost:
- $10 - TAC Members
- $20 - Non-members
Presentation Overview:
Abstract: Tunnel projects in soft ground have become increasingly common in Canada. Securing face stability during soft ground excavation means pressurized face tunnelling. Longer and larger tunnels require more maintenance for the cutting tools. Accessing those cutters can require entering the cutter head chamber under hyperbaric conditions. This presentation will review four types of TBM face confinement and then address the measures required to be implemented on a soft ground TBM project to secure the tunnel face for maintenance operations. The presentation will close with an uncommon type of TBM tunnelling: The compressed air digger shield.
About the Presenter: From 3 m ID to 15 m ID, from Variable Density to EPB TBM, from award to completion, from clay to rock, from TBM Operator to Construction Manager, Bernard Catalano has 30 years experience as a mole under Hong Kong, Miami, San Francisco, South Africa, Holland, France and China.
