• Geomechanics and Engineering
• /
• v.35 no.6
• /
• pp.647-663
• /
• 2023

The investigation of the disc cutter wear prediction has an important guiding role in TBM equipment selection, project planning, and cost forecasting, especially when tunneling in a long-distance rock formations with high strength and high abrasivity. In this study, a comprehensive database of disc cutter wear data, geological properties, and tunneling parameters is obtained from a 1326 m excavated metro tunnel project in leptynite in Shenzhen, China. The failure forms and wear consumption of disc cutters on site are analyzed with emphasis. The results showed that 81% of disc cutters fail due to uniform wear, and other cutters are replaced owing to abnormal wear, especially flat wear of the cutter rings. In addition, it is found that there is a reasonable direct proportional relationship between the uniform wear rate (WR) and the installation radius (R), and the coefficient depends on geological characteristics and tunneling parameters. Thus, a preliminary prediction formula of the uniform wear rate, based on the installation radius of the cutterhead, was established. The correlation between some important geological properties (K_V and UCS) along with some tunneling parameters (F_n and p) and wear rate was discussed using regression analysis methods, and several prediction models for uniform wear rate were developed. Compared with a single variable, the multivariable model shows better prediction ability, and 89% of WR can be accurately estimated. The prediction model has reliability and provides a practical tool for wear prediction of disc cutter under similar hard rock projects with similar geological conditions.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
• /
• v.29 no.3
• /
• pp.249-258
• /
• 2022

A disc cutter is an excavation tool on a tunnel boring machine (TBM) cutterhead; it crushes and cuts rock mass while the machine excavates using the cutterhead's rotational movement. Disc cutter wear occurs naturally. Thus, along with the management of downtime and excavation efficiency, abrasioned disc cutters need to be replaced at the proper time; otherwise, the construction period could be delayed and the cost could increase. The most common prediction models for TBM performance and for the disc cutter lifetime have been proposed by the Colorado School of Mines and Norwegian University of Science and Technology. However, design parameters of existing models do not well correspond to the field values when a TBM encounters complex and difficult ground conditions in the field. Thus, this study proposes a series of machine learning models to predict the disc cutter lifetime of a shield TBM using the excavation (machine) data during operation which is response to the rock mass. This study utilizes five different machine learning techniques: four types of classification models (i.e., K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN), Support Vector Machine, Decision Tree, and Staking Ensemble Model) and one artificial neural network (ANN) model. The KNN model was found to be the best model among the four classification models, affording the highest recall of 81%. The ANN model also predicted the wear rate of disc cutters reasonably well.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
• /
• v.34 no.2
• /
• pp.154-168
• /
• 2024

The Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) disc cutter is subjected to wear and damage during the rock excavation process, and the worn disc cutter should be replaced on time. The manual inspection by workers is generally required to determine the disc cutter replacement. In this case, the workers are exposed to dangerous environments, and the measurements are sometimes inaccurate. In this study, we developed a technology that measures the disc cutter wear in real time. From a series of laboratory tests, a magnetic sensor was selected as the wear sensor, and the real-time disc cutter measurement system was developed integrating wireless communication modules, power supply and data processing board. In addition, the measurement system was verified in actual TBM excavation circumstances. As a result, it was confirmed that the accuracy and stability of the system.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
• /
• v.34 no.1
• /
• pp.103-113
• /
• 2023

This study focused on understanding the relationship between the design of a tunnel boring machine disc cutter ring and its rock-breaking efficiency, as well as the applicable conditions of different cutter ring types. The discrete element method was used to establish a numerical model of the rock-breaking process using disc cutters with different ring types to reveal the development of rock damage cracks and variation in cutter penetration load. The calculation results indicate that a sharp-edged (V-shaped) disc cutter penetrates a rock mass to a given depth with the lowest load, resulting in more intermediate cracks and few lateral cracks, which leads to difficulty in crack combination. Furthermore, the poor wear resistance of a conventional V-shaped cutter can lead to an exponential increase in the penetration load after cutter ring wear. In contrast, constant-cross-section (CCS) disc cutters have the highest quantity of crack extensions after penetrating rock, but also require the highest penetration loads. An arch-edged (U-shaped) disc cutter is more moderate than the aforementioned types with sufficient intermediate and lateral crack propagation after cutting into rock under a suitable penetration load. Additionally, we found that the cutter ring wedge angle and edge width heavily influence cutter rock-breaking efficiency and that a disc cutter with a 16 to 22 mm edge width and 20° to 30° wedge angle exhibits high performance. Compared to V-shaped and U-shaped cutters, the CCS cutter is more suitable for soft or medium-strength rocks, where the penetration load is relatively small. Additionally, two typical case studies were selected to verify that replacing a CCS cutter with a U-shaped or optimized V-shaped disc cutter can increase cutting efficiency when encountering hard rocks.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
• /
• v.32 no.6
• /
• pp.478-490
• /
• 2022

TBM disc cutter, which is the main cutting tool of tunnel boring machine (TBM), is replaced when it is excessively worn during the boring process. Disc cutters are usually monitored by workers at cutterhead chamber, and they check the status and wear amount of cutters. Because cutterhead chamber is usually in dangerous circumstance due to high pressure and instability of excavation surface, the measurement by manpower occasionally results in inaccuracy of measurement result. In order to overcome the limitations, the real-time disc cutter monitoring techniques have been developed in some foreign countries. This paper collected the current status of disc cutter monitoring system from the literature. Several types of sensors are used to measure the cutter wear, and it is believed that the collected information can be useful reference when similar domestic technologies are developed in the future.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
• /
• v.16 no.6
• /
• pp.533-542
• /
• 2014

In this study TBM disc cutter prediction models including Gehring, CSM and NTNU models were investigated and the characteristics of the models were examined. The influence of penetration, uniaxial compressive strength and abrasiveness index on the models was analyzed. The life of disc cutter linearly increases with penetration per revolution and decreases with increasing uniaxial compressive strength of rocks. As the abrasiveness index, CAI, increases, the life of disc cutter in Gehring and CSM model decreases. On the contrary, the life of disc cutter life in NTNU model decreases with increasing CLI. Also, comparisons of predicted disc life were made between models using actual job site data.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
• /
• v.33 no.6
• /
• pp.534-546
• /
• 2023

If the disc cutter is excessively worn or damaged, it becomes incapable of rotating and efficiently cutting rockmass. Therefore, it is important to appropriately manage the replacement cycle of the disc cutter based on its degree of wear. In general, the replacement cycle is determined based on the results of manual inspection. However, the manual measurements has issues related to worker safety and may lead to inaccurate measurement results. For these reasons, some foreign countries are developing the real-time measurement system of disc cutter wear by using different sensors. The ultrasonic sensors, eddy current sensors, magnetic sensors, and others are utilized for measuring the wear amount of disc cutters. In this study, the applicability of eddy current sensors for real-time measurement of wear amount in TBM disc cutters was evaluated. The distance measurement accuracy of the eddy current sensor was assessed through laboratory tests. In particular, the accuracy of eddy-current sensor was evaluated in various environmental conditions within the cutterhead chamber. In addition, the measurement accuracy of the eddy current sensor was validated using a 17-inch disc cutter.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
• /
• v.24 no.1
• /
• pp.57-78
• /
• 2022

The disc cutter and cutterbit, which are the most important factors to increase the excavation efficiency of TBM, are key factors in the design and construction of the cutter head. The arrangement, spacing, number, size, and material of disc cutters suitable for the ground conditions determine the success or failure of TBM construction. The disc cutter, which is a representative consumable part in TBM construction, can cause enormous disruption to the construction cost as well as the construction cost unless accurate prediction of wear and replacement cycle is accompanied. Therefore, in this study, the method of calculating the replacement cycle of the disc cutter calculated at the time of design for the slurry shield TBM field, and the depth of wear and replacement location of the disc cutter that occurred during actual construction were compared by analyzing the field data. For a quantitative comparison, weathered soil/weathered rock, soft rock, and hard rock were classified according to the ground in the section showing constant excavation data, and the trajectory of circle was different depending on the location of the disc cutter, so it was compared and analyzed.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
• /
• v.34 no.2
• /
• pp.143-153
• /
• 2024

Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) method is a tunnel excavation method that produces lower levels of noise and vibration during excavation compared to drilling and blasting methods, and it offers higher stability. It is increasingly being applied to tunnel projects worldwide. The disc cutter is an excavation tool mounted on the cutterhead of a TBM, which constantly interacts with the ground at the tunnel face, inevitably leading to wear. In this study quantitatively predicted disc cutter wear using geological conditions, TBM operational parameters, and machine learning algorithms. Among the input variables for predicting disc cutter wear, the Uniaxial Compressive Strength (UCS) is considerably limited compared to machine and wear data, so the UCS estimation for the entire section was first conducted using TBM machine data, and then the prediction of the Coefficient of Wearing rate(CW) was performed with the completed data. Comparing the performance of CW prediction models, the XGBoost model showed the highest performance, and SHapley Additive exPlanation (SHAP) analysis was conducted to interpret the complex prediction model.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
• /
• v.19 no.3
• /
• pp.475-488
• /
• 2017

Wear prediction of TBM disc cutters is a very important issue for hard rock TBMs as number of cutter head intervention. In this regard, some model such as NTNU, Gehring model, CSM models have been used to predict disc cutter wear and intervention interval. There are some deficiencies in these models. This paper developed a new test method for wear prediction for TBM disc cutter and proposed a new abrasion index. In this regard, different abrasivity indices along with their testing methods are explained. A comparative study is performed to develop the predictability of different cutter life evaluation methods and index. The evaluation of the new methods proposed in this paper shows a very good agreement with the actual cutter life and intervention interval length. The proposed tester and index can be easily used to predict the intervention interval length and cutter wear evaluation in both planning and construction stages of a TBM tunneling project.