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Delhi Metro installs cooling plants

NEW DELHI: In an effort to provide more comfortable working conditions to its work force, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation has installed high-tech cooling plants on its tunnels under construction on the Central Secretariat-Badarpur stretch.

These plants would keep the underground temperature in control and provide air-conditioned comfort to workers and engineers operating the Tunnel Boring Machines and working about 40 feet below the surface.

These plants would also ensure smooth functioning of the TBMs, keeping the shafts and the cutter head cool.

According to DMRC, generally the underground temperature shoots up to more than 40 degrees Celsius even in winters making it difficult for the workers to work.

The TBMs usually shut down operations when the temperature crosses the 65 degrees Celsius mark. However, with the help of these plants the temperature would be maintained at about 25 degrees.

Each cooling plant will have a capacity of 150 tons of refrigeration and consist of two units which would cater to the four TBMs scheduled to work on this corridor.

Each unit of the cooling plant has a pump and fan consisting of six blades each. These plants have been imported from Singapore and the pumps have been made in Germany.

There are two tanks and a reservoir tank attached to these pumps from which water is pumped to the fans. The cool air is then taken below with the help of flexible ducts which keep moving ahead with the movement of the TBM.

Such a cooling plant has already been installed at Jangpura while another one would soon coming up at Udyog Bhawan. Chiller plants used for the cooling of the TBMs are operational on the underground stretch of the Central Secretariat-Gurgaon corridor also.

Earlier ventilation shafts were used to provide fresh air to underground workers during construction of the first phase of the Delhi metro.

The first TBM was made operational at Jangpura on September 9 and another TBM would soon start work at the same site. In addition, two more TBMs would be deployed on the Udyog Bhawan-Khan Market stretch by November this year.

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