Dillinger connects continents

One hundred meters below the Bosporus, 100,000 cars will begin traveling each day between Europe and Asia in late 2016. This will dramatically cut the drive time between the two sides of Istanbul from the current 100 minutes to just a few. The traffic load – and carbon emissions – will be reduced significantly. A tunnel boring machine, made primarily from Dillinger heavy plate steel, is providing the underground connection between Europe and Asia.

After 16 months under the strait, the appearance of the tunnel-boring giant with a diameter of 13.7 meters signifies a new standard in tunnel construction. At the deepest point, 106 meters below the Bosporus, the tunnel boring machine must withstand water pressure of up to 11 bar. In addition, the ground is problematic and very quickly wears down the boring tools. Various safety systems have been developed for this: thanks to a cutting wheel that is accessible from the back, the tools can be safely replaced under atmospheric pressure using special air lock systems.

AG der Dillinger Hüttenwerke (Dillinger) delivered more than 1,000 tons of heavy plate steel in a range of construction steel grades for the project. The purity of the steel meanwhile ensures safe and reliable fabrication of the welded structure of the machine. The heavy plate steel was delivered in 2012 and 2013 with very short delivery times that had to be timed precisely with the fabrication schedule. This was Dillinger’s contribution to the on-time breakthrough on 22 August 2015.

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