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Glossary entry

Spanish term or phrase:

paraguas de micropilotes

English translation:

umbrella arches / umbrella arch method (UAM)

Added to glossary by Taña Dalglish
Jul 17, 2018 17:44
5 yrs ago
5 viewers *
Spanish term

paraguas de micropilotes

Spanish to English Tech/Engineering Construction / Civil Engineering Tunneling
The term is simply listed among one of the services offered by the company without much context.
>>...posee en propiedad un amplio parque de maquinaria que dispone de las últimas tecnologías para la ejecución de los distintos trabajos especializados que requieren las obras subterráneas, como equipos hidráulicos y jumbos electrohidráulicos de perforación, paraguas de micropilotes, compresores, manipuladores telescópicos...
I see that this is translated into German as "Rorschirm," which has been translated here as "roof piping," but I've also found the term "forepoling," which looks similar in videos. What do you all think?
Proposed translations (English)
2 +1 umbrella arch method (UAM)
3 micropiles sheet
3 micropile reinforcement (for tunnelling)
Change log

Jul 27, 2018 10:34: Taña Dalglish Created KOG entry

Discussion

Kaelne Koorn (asker) Jul 19, 2018:
@Charles Davis Thanks! Yeah, I suppose it's really not my place to correct them if they have a preference, but I'll certainly let them know, and attach some resources for them! As more of an art history specialist, I really would prefer "barrel vault," myself :)
Charles Davis Jul 18, 2018:
Or you could go with John's idea of "reinforcement", which is perfectly accurate though too general, in my opinion, because it could cover any use of micropiles and doesn't clearly refer to this particular structure.
Charles Davis Jul 18, 2018:
@kaelne You're welcome!

Your client's reaction is typical of people who don't know how to assess the quality of a translation but work on the assumption that bad translators translate literally and good ones translate non-literally, so the less it looks like the original the better it must be. I've had reactions like that sometimes.

However, if you would particularly like to avoid the word "umbrella", to keep them happy, but would prefer to translate accurately, how about "canopy"? It's not very common, to be honest, but it's not unknown and you could argue that it's more suitable, in a way, since this structure is more like a canopy than an umbrella (it's really like a barrel vault, but I wouldn't suggest that!).

The word "umbrella" is actually very well established. but it's probably not making a big issue of it.
Kaelne Koorn (asker) Jul 18, 2018:
Thanks for your detailed reply, Charles Davis! You make a really great point--construction really SHOULD be developed in an international language, especially with the company I'm translating for, which is very international. However, I received the complaint that their last translator used very literal translations, like "umbrella," specifically, and that's why I was trying to avoid that term. Perhaps they don't understand yet the value of perfect translations when it comes to something as technical as construction, which leads to literal collapse when something is misunderstood.
Manuel Aburto Jul 18, 2018:
A reference related to the question asked:

http://www.site.biz/descargas/Conferencias_pdf/Paraguas.pdf
Charles Davis Jul 17, 2018:
(3) "Also included under this heading is the Italian infilaggi method which involves the installation of overlapping umbrellas of micropiles to support weak rock (the equivalent of forepoling).”
https://books.google.es/books?id=XUVZDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA4

Note that he says "equivalent": it’s not actually forepoling but it serves the same function.

"Micropile umbrella" is used for it by English-speaking authors: here, for example, in a course description on Introduction to Archeology from Susquehanna University in Pennsylvania:

"Workmen using a micropile umbrella in a tunnel."
http://wordpress.susqu.edu/anth110-2016/derinkuyu/excavation...

Then again you can call it a micropile canopy, as in this document on the Hudson River tunnels by one David Chapman:

"Alternative methods to improve soil stiffness
• Battered micropile canopy above tunnel crown"
http://businessdocbox.com/Construction/68502383-Hudson-river...

And Taña's umbrella arch is OK too, because although I'm not 100% sure I believe it always refers to a micropile structure.
Charles Davis Jul 17, 2018:
(2) So forepoling is driving poles of any kind, not necessarily micropiles and not necessarily metal poles, into the ground perpendicular to the tunnel.

Micropiles or mini-piles are a specific kind of steel support member defined by their diameter, generally 300 mm (30 cm) or less. In some definitions micropiles are up to 150 mm and mini-piles are 150-300. Thicker ones are called piles. They can be pretty long; the ones used for these “umbrellas” are generally 12 m long.

The other thing is that in these “umbrellas” the micropiles are not driven into the ground perpendicular to the tunnel, they are arranged parallel to the tunnel. There’s an illustration on this page that shows you what they’re like; a key feature is that the micropiles overlap:
https://www.interempresas.net/ObrasPublicas/Articulos/25409-...

They’re called umbrellas by Spanish writers, but also Germans and others. It’s a well established international term. It’s used here by one of the leading British experts, Prof. Peter Attewell, retired Professor of Geology at the University of Durham, discussing tunnelling shields, which can be of various kinds:

(Continued in next post)
Charles Davis Jul 17, 2018:
Hi kaelne I used to do a lot of tunnelling translations a few years ago but they eventually dried up and I haven't done any for a while. I used to use "micropile umbrella" for this.

As translators we are always suspicious of the literal translation; we tend to think it's too easy and can't be right, especially when we find it used by writers who are clearly not native speakers of English. But tunnelling is an international business and English is the lingua franca, and a lot of technical developments do not originate from the English-speaking world.

In my view we need above all to be accurate and precise. There are lots of ways of reinforcing unstable ground when tunnelling and new methods are developed from time to time. "Forepoling" is quite a general term with a long history. It means:

"A method of advancing a mine working or tunnel in loose, caving, or watery ground, such as quicksand, by driving sharp-pointed poles, timbers, sections of steel, or slabs into the ground ahead of, or simultaneously with, the excavating; a method of supporting a very weak roof."
https://www.mindat.org/glossary/forepoling

(Continued in next post)

Proposed translations

+1
31 mins
Selected

umbrella arch method (UAM)

umbrella arch method (UAM)

Paraguas de micropilotes > Micropile umbrella /umbrella arch
https://edoc.site/vocabulario-de-ingenieria-civil-espaol-e-i...

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/298806646_The_Types...
1. Introduction Umbrella Arch Method (UAM) or Forepole is a conventional and economical method in tunnel excavation, and is in use to increase the excavation front sustainability, minimize the land subsidence, and prevent debris rocks f

alling, tunnel faces’ breaking and landslides. In this strategy at first some holes will be drilled in a semi-circular pattern at a high point of the tunnel and around the tunnel crown. Putting some steel tubes into each of these holes and grouting them would form a strong umbrella arch tube above the tunnel crown. Pipes which are in-stalled in two consecutive steps, have overlapping length and for implementation of this overlapping, a certain angle relative to the longitudinal axis of the tunnel pipe will be taken in account. The main advantages of this method can be: stress reduction in drilling front, safety increase during drilling operations, simplicity of drilling operations and as a result increase in the drilling progress speed.

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Note added at 34 mins (2018-07-17 18:18:54 GMT)
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https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Structural-layout-of-the...

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Note added at 9 days (2018-07-27 10:33:47 GMT) Post-grading
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Thank you.
Note from asker:
Thanks a ton! This is such a wonderful resource!
Peer comment(s):
agree Charles Davis : "Umbrella arches" would be OK here, I think.
3 hrs
Thank you.
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
18 mins

micropiles sheet

:-)
Something went wrong...
34 mins

micropile reinforcement (for tunnelling)

The literal translation is "micropile umbrellas" or a "micropile umbrella arch", but I can't find any native English sources which use that term. Others just seem to generally talk about "micropiles".

http://bestsupportunderground.com/tunnel/?lang=en
https://ascelibrary.org/doi/10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.00005...
http://www.dfi.org/ISM/Proceedings/1999/V - Session 2A - 3 -...

Since this seems to be one item in a list, I would suggest thinking laterally and going with a more general term of micropile reinforcement, which is what the example application of the equipment seems to be referring to.
Note from asker:
Thank you! I think I'll take your advice, and go with something more inclusive.
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