On January 18, the variable-diameter reaming shaft boring machine (SBE) "Zhumeng", jointly developed by PowerChina Huadong Engineering Corporation, Sinohydro Bureau 5 Co., Ltd., and China Railway Engineering Equipment Group (CREG), achieved precise breakthrough at the Yongjia Pumped Storage Project in Zhejiang Province.

The machine successfully completed the construction of a shaft group totaling 1,334 meters, consisting of one exhaust air shaft and two water conveyance upper shafts. This marks a breakthrough in the underground core works of the project.

The reaming shaft boring machine Zhumeng has demonstrated outstanding performance under complex geological conditions with rock strengths reaching up to 223 MPa.

It has set world records for shaft boring: a single-day advance of 23.12 meters and a single-month advance of 331.45 meters. Compared with the drill-and-blast method, its construction efficiency has been improved by 3 to 5 times, significantly shortening the project construction period.

Zhumeng adopts a new equipment and construction system integrating directional drilling, raise boring, and the reaming shaft boring machine. It innovatively applies cutting-edge technologies including excavation-support coordination, efficient rock breaking, variable-diameter cutterhead, IoT sensing, intelligent tunneling, and remote centralized control.

Integrating mechanization, intelligence, and vertical guidance technologies, the machine has pioneered a three-in-one process of excavation, muck discharge and support, embodying the concept of unmanned construction and realizing "shaft construction without workers descending underground".

Since its launch in November 2024, Zhumeng has achieved a safe cumulative tunneling distance of 1,334 meters. Leveraging integrated technologies such as variable-diameter cutterhead, intelligent excavation, real-time monitoring, and efficient support, it has simultaneously carried out cutterhead cutting, cuttings removal and shaft wall support, realizing high-efficiency shaft boring.

Through full-process mechanized and intelligent operation, the project has attained the dual goals of intrinsic safety and green construction.

This marks the successful application of the Zhumeng in China's pumped storage construction sector, providing a solid guarantee for the construction of the Zhejiang Yongjia Pumped Storage Power Station.

It has established a complete technical system for the intelligent construction of deep shafts, and formed replicable and scalable application cases for shaft construction scenarios. These technologies can be widely applied in large-scale deep shaft projects in pumped storage, mining, transportation and other industries.