Projects
Shaft with great freezing depth, Rheinberg Shaft
Planning and construction of a shaft with a great freezing depth, having a peripheral freezing diameter of 22 m and a freezing depth of 526 m.
The Rheinberg freeze shaft was designed as a material, men-material and ventilation shaft. With a refrigeration pipe depth of 526 m, it is one of the deepest freeze shafts in the world. The shaft is characterised by the innovative, combined composite shaft lining system consisting of a final static bearing outer lining and a static bearing reinforced concrete steel compound lining with asphalt backfilling.
The caisson technique was used to sink the first 20 m of the shaft. As far as the inner lining in the freeze shaft part is concerned, there is a 20 cm thick asphalt layer, an 18 mm thick water-tight welded steel sheet, reinforced concrete lining and an inner steel sheet 15 - 82 mm thick. In the solid non water-bearing rocks underneath the freeze shaft part and down to the final depth of 1.300 m, an open ring joint concrete lining was installed.