3年研发首秀，中国“海底空间站”成功应用

Core Insights - The construction of the world's longest underwater high-speed rail tunnel, the Yongzhou Railway, faces significant challenges, particularly with the "Yongzhou" shield machine encountering extreme geological conditions and high water pressure [1][3][5]. Group 1: Technical Challenges - The Yongzhou shield machine must navigate through 24 instances of soft and hard geological layers, with nearly 70% of the tunnel comprising unfavorable strata [3]. - The maximum rock strength encountered is 191 MPa, over six times that of ordinary concrete, and the tunnel's maximum depth reaches 78 meters, with a water-soil pressure of up to 8.5 bar [3][5]. - Frequent wear on the cutting tools necessitates manual intervention for tool replacement, with over 2,900 tools replaced to date [5][8]. Group 2: Innovative Solutions - To address the challenges, the "Deep Sea Space Station," a domestically developed shield saturation pressure entry technology, was created, allowing for safe operations at depths exceeding traditional limits [9][11]. - This technology integrates mature saturation diving techniques with shield tunneling, enabling workers to breathe a specific gas mixture and remain at depth without increasing gas absorption, thus stabilizing decompression times [11][16]. - The "Deep Sea Space Station" consists of multiple modules, allowing workers to live under equal pressure to the seabed and perform maintenance tasks efficiently [14][16]. Group 3: Project Progress - The "Deep Sea Space Station" successfully completed its first operation at a depth of 75 meters, conducting continuous work for 22 days and replacing 46 tools, which is crucial for the ongoing tunneling efforts [14][18]. - The Yongzhou shield machine has now advanced over 3,000 meters, completing more than 60% of its tunneling tasks, with expectations to achieve precise underwater alignment by the end of the year [18].