Book Release: Practical Guide to Rock Tunneling

The recently published book “Practical Guide to Rock Tunneling” fills an important void in the literature for a practical guide to the design and construction of tunnels in rock.

“Practical Guide to Rock Tunneling” takes the reader through all the critical steps of the design and construction for rock tunnels starting from geotechnical site investigations through to construction supervision. The guide provides suggestions and recommendations for practitioners on special topics of laboratory testing, durability of rock and acceptance for unlined water conveyance tunnels, overstressing or deep and long tunnels, risk-based evaluation of excavation methods, contract strategies, and post-construction inspections.

The book is written by Dean Brox, who has over 30 years of experience as a tunneling practitioner with more than 1,200 km of major tunneling and infrastructure projects around the world. Brox graduated in 1985 from the Geological Engineering Program of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, in 1985 and obtained his Master in Science in Engineering Rock Mechanics with Distinction from Imperial College, London, in 1990. Brox started his career in underground mining rock mechanics in South Africa before moving into tunneling for civil engineering infrastructure projects around the world including the Lesotho Highlands Water Project, the Hong Kong Airport Core Projects, and the Gotthard Base Rail Tunnel in Switzerland. He has extensive experience with tunnels for hydropower projects and his areas of particular interest include high-speed, drill-and-blast excavation of long tunnels, long and deep TBM excavated tunnels, overstressing of deep or weak rock tunnels, asset performance of hydropower tunnels and TBM applicability assessments for mining projects. Brox practices as an independent consulting engineer and lives in Vancouver, Canada.

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Key considerations and lessons learned in the book are from selected case projects are presented based on the author’s extensive experience. Instead of revisiting all theory and concepts that can be found in other sources, this book contains the hard-learned lessons from the author’s experience in the field of rock tunneling, gathered over 30 years of service.

“This book is a valuable reference for owners/clients, as it includes discussion of subjects such as: project planning, costing, scheduling, and risk assessment, never covered in classic technical books,” noted tunnel consultant Don Deere wrote in the book’s forward. “Excellent photographs and graphics are contained throughout the book, which clearly illustrate the author’s message from practical experience on the multitude of subjects.”

The book is available through CRC Press.
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