Design Theory of Full Face Rock Tunnel Boring Machine Transition Cutter Edge Angle and Its Application

At present, the inner cutters of a full face rock tunnel boring machine (TBM) and transition cutter edge angles are designed on the basis of indentation test or linear grooving test. The inner and outer edge angles of disc cutters are characterized as symmetric to each other with respect to the cutter edge plane. This design has some practical defects, such as severe eccentric wear and tipping, etc. In this paper, the current design theory of disc cutter edge angle is analyzed, and the characteristics of the rock-breaking movement of disc cutters are studied. The researching results show that the rotational motion of disc cutters with the cutterhead gives rise to the difference between the interactions of inner rock and outer rock with the contact area of disc cutters, with shearing and extrusion on the inner rock and attrition on the outer rock. The wear of disc cutters at the contact area is unbalanced, among which the wear in the largest normal stress area is most apparent. Therefore, a three-dimensional model theory of rock breaking and an edge angle design theory of transition disc cutter are proposed to overcome the flaws of the currently used TBM cutter heads, such as short life span, camber wearing, tipping. And a corresponding equation is established. With reference to a specific construction case, the edge angle of the transition disc cutter has been designed based on the theory. The application of TBM in some practical project proves that the theory has obvious advantages in enhancing disc cutter life, decreasing replacement frequency, and making economic benefits. The proposed research provides a theoretical basis for the design of TBM three-dimensional disc cutters whose rock-breaking operation time can be effectively increased.

Wear Analysis of Disc Cutters of Full Face Rock Tunnel Boring Machine

Wear is a major factor of disc cutters’ failure. No current theory offers a standard for the prediction of disc cutter wear yet. In the field the wear prediction method commonly used is based on the excavation length of tunnel boring machine（TBM） to predict the disc cutter wear and its wear law, considering the location number of each disc cutter on the cutterhead（radius for installation）; in theory, there is a prediction method of using arc wear coefficient. However, the preceding two methods have their own errors, with their accuracy being 40% or so and largely relying on the technicians’ experience. Therefore, radial wear coefficient, axial wear coefficient and trajectory wear coefficient are defined on the basis of the operating characteristics of TBM. With reference to the installation and characteristics of disc cutters, those coefficients are modified according to penetration, which gives rise to the presentation of comprehensive axial wear coefficient, comprehensive radial wear coefficient and comprehensive trajectory wear coefficient. Calculation and determination of wear coefficients are made with consideration of data from a segment of TBM project（excavation length 173 m）. The resulting wear coefficient values, after modification, are adopted to predict the disc cutter wear in the follow-up segment of the TBM project（excavation length of 5621 m）. The prediction results show that the disc cutter wear predicted with comprehensive radial wear coefficient and comprehensive trajectory wear coefficient are not only accurate（accuracy 16.12%） but also highly congruous, whereas there is a larger deviation in the prediction with comprehensive axial wear coefficient（accuracy 41%, which is in agreement with the prediction of disc cutters’ life in the field）. This paper puts forth a new method concerning prediction of life span and wear of TBM disc cutters as well as timing for replacing disc cutters.

The three-dimension model for the rock-breaking mechanism of disc cutter andanalysis of rock-breaking forces

To study the rock deformation with three- dimensional model under rolling forces of disc cutter, by car- rying out the circular-grooving test with disc cutter rolling around on the rock, the rock mechanical behavior under rolling disc cutter is studied, the mechanical model of disc cutter rolling around the groove is established, and the the- ory of single-point and double-angle variables is proposed. Based on this theory, the physics equations and geometric equations of rock mechanical behavior under disc cutters of tunnel boring machine （TBM） are studied, and then the bal- ance equations of interactive forces between disc cutter and rock are established. Accordingly, formulas about normal force, rolling force and side force of a disc cutter are de- rived, and their validity is studied by tests. Therefore, a new method and theory is proposed to study rock- breaking mech- anism of disc cutters.

Thrust and Torque Characteristics Based on a New cutter-head Load Model

Full face rock tunnel boring machine（TBM） has been widely used in hard rock tunnels, however, there are few published theory about cutter-head design, and the design criteria of cutter-head under complex geological is not clear yet. To deal with the complex relationship among geological parameters, cutter parameters, and operating parameters during tunneling processes, a cutter-head load model is established by using CSM（Colorado school of mines） prediction model. Force distribution on cutter-head under a certain geology is calculated with the new established load model, and result shows that inner cutters bear more force than outer cutters, combining with disc cutters abrasion; a general principle of disc cutters＇ layout design is proposed. Within the model, the relationship among rock uniaxial compressive strength（UCS）, penetration and thrust on cutter-head are analyzed, and the results shows that with increasing penetration, cutter thrust increases, but the growth rate slows and higher penetration makes lower special energy（SE）. Finally, a fitting mathematical model of ZT（ratio of cutter-head torque and thrust） and penetration is established, and verified by TB880 E, which can be used to direct how to set thrust and torque on cutter-head. When penetration is small, the cutter-head thrust is the main limiting factor in tunneling; when the penetration is large, cutter-head torque is the major limiting factor in tunneling. Based on the new cutter-head load model, thrust and torque characteristics of TBM further are researched and a new way for cutter-head layout design and TBM tunneling operations is proposed.