Two Wirth EPB Shields for Shiraz Metro - ir/19The Wirth Group's sister company NFM Technologies will deliver two Earth Pressure Balance TBMs to the Shiraz Urban Railway Organization for the Shiraz metro project in Iran. The shield machines will excavate a 2 x 15 km tunnel. The cutterhead is 6.88 m in diameter. The length of the TBM without backup is 10 m and 101 m with the back-up. Each EPB machine weighs 600 tonnes featuring an installed power of 1,600 kVA, a cutterhead power of 900 kW, a nominal torque of 7,000 kNm, a maximum rotating speed of 3 rpm and a nominal thrust of 44,000 kN. The tunnel will be lined with 1.4 m-long concrete segments. The excavated material will be removed by means of muck cars. The geology will consist of clay (70%) and sand (30%). The delivery of the machines is planned for the fourth quarter of this year. Visit www.wirth-europe.de/NFM/NFM.htm 26/03.