Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel Expansion
Slurry Wall Cutter
Project Location
Chesapeake Bay, Virginia
Project Overview
Hampton Roads Connector Partners asked KEE to design and build an excavator attachment that could remove 54”x66”x48” sections from a 6,000 PSI concrete shaft wall.
High-Force Excavator Attachment for Precision Concrete Removal
Our team developed an attachment that operates six 8-inch bore cylinders at 5,000 PSI to drive specially hardened splitters into the concrete, fracturing off blocks for removal. Each cylinder can exert over 250,000 pounds of force, combining for a total of 1.5 million pounds of pressure on the concrete. The attachment weighs 13,000 pounds and can be suspended from any excavator boom with sufficient capacity. Each of the three arm frames can pivot around a central structure, optimizing load transfer into the concrete and preventing excessive twisting forces on the splitter frame, allowing for a lighter design.