Demonstrating its expertise as a "drilling" master and helping to "bridge" the future. Recently, at the Shiziyang Channel project at the Pearl River Estuary in Guangdong, Zoomlion's large rotary drilling rig ZR550G stood on the shore, working at full capacity and earning praise for its exceptionally high pile-forming efficiency and quality, speeding up and safeguarding the construction of this "super project" in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

▲Zoomlion rotary drilling rig assists in the construction of the Shiziyang Channel

It is understood that once completed, the Shiziyang Channel will become the double-deck suspension bridge with the world's largest span and tallest main tower. It is currently one of the bridges with the greatest technical difficulty and the most complex construction techniques in the world. Upon completion, it will set five world records for a double-deck suspension bridge: "main span, number of lanes, main tower height, anchorage foundation, and main cable scale."

The double-deck steel truss suspension bridge of the Shiziyang Channel has a main span of 2,180 meters, and it must have a matching powerful anchorage and pile foundation to steadily support the entire bridge. Considering the construction requirements, the contractor introduced Zoomlion's large rotary drilling rig ZR550G to participate in the pile foundation construction of the bridge's east cable tower.

The efficiency of pile foundation construction directly affects the bridge construction schedule, while the verticality of the pile hole affects the bearing capacity of the pile and is related to the construction quality and safety of the entire bridge. The ZR550G operating on land on the Dongguan side performed particularly well in these two aspects. "The main pier has a total of 36 piles, with a pile diameter of 3 meters and a pile depth of 59 to 62 meters. There is a lot of inclined rock in the geology here, and the project department requires very high verticality; the deviation of the 62-meter hole formation is required to be controlled within 30 centimeters. The ZR550G's first pile took six and a half days to form the hole, with a deviation within 25 centimeters. After inspection, the technician said it was the most vertical pile on the entire site," introduced Master Wang, the on-site operator assigned by Zoomlion.‍

▲Zoomlion rotary drilling rig under construction at the east cable tower of the Shiziyang Bridge

"The customer's operator also commented that the equipment's power head is more powerful than other similar models, the main winch has a large lifting force, and under the same working conditions it saves more fuel than models of the same class. The first hole took 172 hours and consumed 5,600 liters of fuel, averaging 33 liters per hour. At present, the equipment has been working continuously for 25 days and 530 hours, and is drilling the third pile. The operator reported that the overall machine performance and stability are good and that it is satisfactory to operate," said Master Wang. As a "key player" in Zoomlion's G-series rotary drilling rigs, the ZR550G has once again proven its advantages of strong and stable performance, high construction efficiency, and fuel savings.

The Shiziyang Channel will be another leap forward in the span and scale of China's bridge construction. As an important part of the east-west trunk corridor that horizontally connects the three major metropolitan areas of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and radiates to the east and west wings, as well as a national coastal major corridor, the Shiziyang Channel is expected to be completed in 2027. Upon completion, it will achieve integrated connectivity between cities on both sides and form a one-hour transportation circle among the major cities of the Greater Bay Area, which is of great significance for promoting the high-quality development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.‍