Fields of application

ROCK Foam 100 is a biodegradable foaming admixture especially designed for soil conditioning in shielded tunnel boring machines. Effective ground treatment significantly improves the machine performance and enhances control of the soil flow through the screw conveyor. ROCK Foam 100 is able to contribute to better advance rates, even in heterogeneous grounds containing gravel, sand and water, or under other critical geological conditions. The carefully developed admixture allows the production of robust, reliable and steady foam which is generally able to provide the following benefits:
>  Increased productivity of TBM
>  Optimised advance rates
>  Reduced abrasiveness at the cutter head, screw conveyor and conveyor which can lead to
>  Decreased wear costs and
>  Lower replacement frequencies
>  Facilitated soil extraction and conveyance
>  Effective pressure control
>  Reduced permeability
>  Easier ‘mucking’.
>  Reduces stickiness which could lead to constraints for tunnel boring machine like clogging 
>  Environmentally-friendly admixture
>  Biodegradable

Working principle

ROCK Foam 100 consists of carefully selected components which enable the production of high-quality foam. The produced foam shows a soft and steady consistency which allows an increased soil behaviour. This provides several technical, economic and ecological advantages.