Tunnellingisanexcitingandrapidlyevolvingtechnology.Pioneeringprocesses
are commonplace and innovative thinking continues to rewrite the rules.
In civil engineering, tunnelling is one of the few areas where new
horizons are constantly being discovered. But for the profession to
reach its full potential, tunnelling needs to be more accessible to
those talented engineers in search of new challenges and keen to make
lasting contributions to society. In the eyes of too many, tunnelling is
still seen as the exclusive domain of too few: a mysterious art form,
accessible only to those who have already spent countless years
perfecting their approach, a skill whose secrets remain suppressed. Over
the following pages I hope to show that tunnelling need not be a closed
book. I have omitted methods and de?nitions that depended more on h-
torical precedent than modern scienti?c evaluation. Instead of confusing
the reader with countless details and de?nitions that are in any case
open to change, I have focused on the underlying concepts that make
tunnelling e- ier to grasp. Sowhilethisbookisdesignedtoprovideaconcise,
up-to-dateandusefulframe of reference to all those newly quali?ed and
engaged in the ?eld, I hope that it will also serve to reveal to those
talented engineers who thought they had found their niche above ground
the very real opportunities and unanswered questions that await them
underground
