Key Findings
Kajima Corporation has developed a foundation treatment automation technology that automates boring and grouting operations for dam foundations. When applied to the Naruse Dam embankment construction in Akita Prefecture, the system increased daily construction volume by 50% and reduced the number of skilled workers required per cycle by up to 70% compared to conventional methods.
Technical Details
The system consists of two primary components developed through industry collaborations:
- Automated Boring Machine: Developed by Kajima Corporation, Chemical Grout, Nitto Construction, and Toa Ritone Boring. It automates the entire drilling process, including the attachment and detachment of boring rods, maintaining drilling speeds equivalent to or exceeding those of skilled technicians.
- Automated Grouting System: Developed by Kajima Corporation, Chemical Grout, and Nitto Construction. This system automates water pressure testing, cement milk mixture determination, production, injection instructions, operational management during injection, and the subsequent cleaning of plants and piping. It utilizes a management room, a central plant, a raw liquid dilution device for concentration adjustment, and a packer device.
Both components include safety features that trigger automatic equipment stops and alerts to site personnel upon detecting anomalies.
Background and Context
The development addresses labor constraints following the April 2024 overtime limit regulations, which reduced maximum shift hours in two-shift systems from 22 to 16 hours. Dam foundation work is difficult to interrupt; stopping boring risks hole wall collapse, while interrupting grouting can lead to quality issues due to cement milk solidification. Previously, the need to manually adjust cement milk concentrations and coordinate shifts around breaks limited continuous construction time and increased the burden on workers in confined spaces like inspection galleries.
Significance and Outlook
In the Naruse Dam project, the technology was applied to curtain grouting and auxiliary curtain grouting, covering over 5,500 meters of rock mass improvement with more than 1,000 automated injections. Because the system can operate without personnel during breaks and shift changes, it enables 24-hour continuous construction and allows for simultaneous operations across multiple locations.
Source: https://built.itmedia.co.jp/bt/articles/2610/28/news072.html
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