Rock cutting and drilling in rocks
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Rock cutting and drilling in rocks
Rock drilling and rock removal are among the most important elements on which engineering and
construction projects are based in mountainous regions all over the world.
In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, mountains constitute about 18% of the total area of the Kingdom.
The most influential cities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are located on the slopes of the mountains,
such as Makkah Al-Mukarramah, Neom, Al-Taif and Al-Soudah.
The focus on the new pioneering projects in the Kingdom is on the mountainous environment,
such as the Neom project, the Al-Ula project, and the Al-Soudah project.
The most important construction projects are located on mountain peaks,
and this is an important indicator in the world of engineering projects.
As engineering projects focus on mountain peaks,
rock cutting is very important because the terrain will cause logistical performance delays and the speed of work execution.
Therefore, the consultant must be familiar with the way to deal with the mountainous environment,
because in short, it will be easy to compare mountains to building on water, as they are almost the same degree of complexity.
The method of dealing with mountains must contain fixed engineering elements,
because the method of cadastral calculation of mountainous lands will depend on the method of calculating trigonometry and angles.
According to the distinguished current developments that the technology is going through,
GPS devices are relied on in the calculation and also on satellites to obtain a more stable result for the area,
which depends on taking reference points from the sea surface, measuring the terrain and calculating the contour angles,
and thus will show us the areas of the mountains Very smoothly by means of modeling programs,
satellite programs and simulations, and through it,
it will be easy to calculate the shear and fill for rocks and mountainous areas.
This is very important for engineering projects and architectural design on the mountains,
because it is one of the most important complex challenges in the architectural design of engineering projects.
As for the method of rock cutting, it is different, and according to the methods that are carried out in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,
there are three common methods:
- Mechanical rock cutting: by using Bucklin machines, pounding the rock with machines and breaking up the rocks.
- Rock cutting by blasting: by using dynamite and explosives after making holes in the rocks and placing dynamite.
- Rock cutting with chemicals: by making holes in the rocks and then putting chemicals that expand and then break up the rocks.
These are most of the methods that are used in projects in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
From our point of view as a consulting office, and we have practiced rock cutting activity for more than 12 years previously,
we see that rock cutting methods need to be reviewed and studied adequately for several important reasons that are summarized in the following points:
- The methods of rock cutting used are considered excessive methods of waste and energy,
through the special orientation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,
the current rock cutting projects (if carried out by traditional methods) will produce more carbon emissions than the natural form
because the geographical change that is accompanied by mechanical intervention results in strong energy This energy consumes more fuel and needs a lot of fuel to function. - The new pioneering projects in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are considered within a mountainous environment (Makkah, Neom, Al-Soudah and Al-Ula),
so it is necessary to resort to ways that consume less energy and that depend on environmentally friendly solutions.
This may be a theoretical solution, but it is better in terms of sustainability and green buildings.
I think that many He will be surprised about pairing sustainability with rock cutting,
but it is a really real trend and this should be applied in projects looking for sustainability and certifications for sustainable projects. - Reusing the cut rocks instead of destroying them.
The traditional method will result in many heterogeneous rock shapes that are difficult to use again.
The method we propose, which depends on electrical cutting and presents cubed rocks,
will contribute to the reuse of these rocks in Other uses and this is very important and will be a tributary in the distribution of wealth and energy.
In general, we, as a consulting team, have worked on many important engineering projects in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,
and as we notice the distinctive development of the Kingdom’s vision in the field of environmental protection and distinctive national initiatives in this field,
we suggest the application of the Kingdom’s rocks system,
which we have prepared as a national plan in order to take care of the environment system and sustainability,
which will contribute significantly to sustainability, the architectural environment and nature in the future.
