Third victory for tunnel boring team
TUM Boring wins tunnel boring competition and sets new record
Great challenges awaited the student team at the "Not-A-Boring Competition 2025" in Bastrop, Texas. Seven international competitors and TUM Boring competed against each other to break the organizers' 30-meter mark in seven days. First, the team had to choose a suitable location for the borehole and dig the starting shaft themselves. The construction and anchoring of the installation was completed by day 3. They then had to pass the critical inspections by the organizer, the Boring Company. After successful acceptance, the final optimization of all systems followed on day 5 and the first drilling test on day 6.
Interruption with a loud bang
The final day initially went according to plan and the first 12 meters were reached quickly. However, a burst compressed air hose with a loud bang suddenly threw a spanner in the team's plans. Due to changed conditions in Texas, hot compressed air had flowed up to the drill head. This caused a hose to burst. After replacing the hose and installing a heat exchanger, the drilling could continue.
Hard ground slows down drilling
The machine worked perfectly again after the repair, but a harder layer of soil ultimately caused it to only be able to continue drilling at a tenth of its original speed. But the TUM team could no longer be denied victory. At the award ceremony in the afternoon, the self-constructed tunnel boring machine reached a boring length of 17 meters. A remarkable success, as none of the competitors had gone further than 2 meters at this point.
Drilling continues nevertheless
Victory was not enough for TUM Boring. The students were determined to crack the organizer's symbolic 30-meter mark. So even after the award ceremony, they continued drilling well into the night. After heavy wear on the drill head and progress only in the millimeter range, the team finished the drilling at 22.5 meters, setting a new length record.
"The students have achieved a magnificent victory for the third time. They have impressively demonstrated how great goals can be achieved with ingenuity, technical expertise and a strong will. These are all qualities that we live by every day at TUM," says TUM President Prof. Thomas F. Hofmann, who is the patron of TUM Boring.
Technical University of Munich
Corporate Communications Center
- Moritz Müller
- presse@tum.de
- Teamwebsite
