• Tunnel and Underground Space
• /
• v.28 no.6
• /
• pp.528-546
• /
• 2018

Cases of TBM tunnelling have been consistently increasing worldwide. In many recent subsea and urban tunnelling projects, TBM excavation has been preferably considered due to its advantages over drill and blast tunnelling. Difficult ground conditions are highly probable to appear in subsea and urban tunnels because of the shallow working depth and alluvial characteristics. Under the difficult ground conditions, ground reinforcement measures should be considered including grouting, while it is of great importance to select the optimal grout material and injection method to cope with the ground condition. The benefits from TBM excavation, such as fast excavation, increased safety, and reduced environmental impact, can be achieved by applying appropriate ground reinforcement with the minimum overrun of cost and time. In this report, various grouting methods were reviewed so that they can be applied in difficult ground conditions. In addition, domestic and international cases of successful ground reinforcement for difficult grounds were introduced for future reference.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
• /
• v.19 no.3
• /
• pp.421-435
• /
• 2017

Recently, due to the saturation of ground structures and the overpopulation of pipeline facilities requires to development of underground structures as an alternative to ground structures. Thus, mechanized tunnel construction of the shield TBM method has been increasing in order to prevent vibration and noise problems in construction of the NATM tunnel for the urban infrastructure construction. Tunnel construction plan for the tunnel line should be formed in a sharp curve to avoid building foundation and underground structures and it is inevitable to develop a shield TBM technology that suits the sharp curve tunnel construction. Therefore, this study is about the structural stability technology of the articulation jack, shield jack and skin plate for the shield TBM thrust in case of the mechanized tunnel construction that is a straight and sharp curve line. The construction case study and shield TBM operation principle are examined and analyzed by the theoretical approach. The torque of the cutter head, the thrust of the articulation jack and the shield jack, the amount of over cutting for curve is important respectively in shield TBM construction of straight and sharp curve line. In addition, it is very important to secure the stability of the skin plate structure to ensure the safety of the inside worker. This study examines the general structure and construction of the equipment, experimental simulation was carried out through numerical analysis to examine the main factors and structural stability of the skin plate structure. The structural stability of the skin plate was evaluated and optimizes the shape by comparing the loads of the articulation jack by selecting the virtual soil to be applied in a straight and sharp curve line construction. Since the present structure and operation method of the shield TBM type in domestic constructions are very similar, this study will help to develop the localized shield TBM technology for the new equipment and the vulnerability and stability review.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
• /
• v.26 no.4
• /
• pp.303-314
• /
• 2024

Recently, the consecutive shield tunnel boring machine (TBM) has gained attention for its potential to enhance TBM penetration rates. However, its development requires a thorough risk assessment due to the unconventional nature of its equipment and hydraulic systems, coupled with the absence of design or construction precedents. This study investigated the causal relationships between four accidents and eight relevant sources associated with the consecutive shield TBM. Subsequently, risk levels were determined based on expert surveys and a risk matrix technique. The findings highlighted significant impacts associated with collapses or surface settlements and the likelihood of causal combinations leading to misalignment. Specifically, this study emphasized the importance of proactive mitigation measures to address collapses or surface settlements caused by inadequate continuous tail void backfill or damaged thrust jacks. Furthermore, it is recommended to develop advanced non-destructive testing technology capable of comprehensive range detection across helical segments, to design a sequential thrust jack propulsion system, and to determine an optimal pedestal angle.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
• /
• v.16 no.2
• /
• pp.193-201
• /
• 2014

This paper presents the development of simulation system on EPB shield TBM Hood operation. In recent, EPB shield TBM is widely used in the tunnel construction. Since the hood system of the EPB shield TBM is most important to excavate the tunnel, it is necessary to perform the simulation of hood system to investigate the design and operation parameters prior to tunnel construction. In order to carry out this study, the scaled simulation system was designed and developed. The model tests were performed to verify the developed system. During the simulation, the earth pressures developed in the chamber during tunnelling were measured to evaluate the operation technique. The test results obtained by the developed simulation system show clearly the similar behaviour of TBM hood compared with the field data. It was also found that the ground loss during tunnelling is dependent on the change of earth pressure in chamber. Therefore, the simulation system developed in this study will be very useful to evaluate the operation technique of the TBM hood prior to tunnel construction. In addition, this system will be applied in a various condition of ground to get the operating information.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
• /
• v.15 no.3
• /
• pp.321-331
• /
• 2013

This paper describes the evaluation of shield TBM disc cutter penetration depth in practice. In this study the disc cutter penetration depth used to design the excavation speed of tunnel is reviewed. The characteristics of ground encountered in the investigation site are analysed and evaluated. The shield TBM used in the field is reviewed to verify the applicability of machine in the site. The thrust and torque capacities of each TBM disc cutter are also evaluated. Based on the field data, the excavation volume and speed are re-analysed to evaluate the disc cutter penetration depth used in the design stage. It is clearly found that the design value of disc cutter penetration depth needs to modify when estimation of the TBM capacities in very hard rock formation ($S_c$ >150 MPa).

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
• /
• v.26 no.2
• /
• pp.91-111
• /
• 2024

Most of utility cable tunnels are constructed utilizing shield TBM as part of the underground transmission line project. The TBM chamber is the only space inside the tunnel that encounters rock and soil, and is the place with the highest frequency of accident exposure, such as collapse and collision accidents. Since there is currently no way to measure the disc cutter wear from outside the chamber, frequent inspection by workers is essential. Accordingly, in this study, in order to prevent safety accidents inside the TBM chamber and expect the effect of shortening the construction period by reducing the number of chamber openings, the concept of disk cutter wear measurement technology was established and a prototype was produced. By considering prior technology and determining that magnetic sensors are most suitable for the excavation environment, wear measurement sensor package were developed integrating magnetic sensors, wireless communication modules, power supply, external casing, and monitoring systems. To verify the performance of the prototype in an actual excavation environment, a full-scale tunnelling test was performed using a 3.6 m EPB shield TBM. Based on the full-scale tests, five prototypes were operated normally among eight prototypes. It was analyzed that sensor measurement, wireless communication, and durability performance were secured within a maximum thrust of 3,000 kN and a rotation speed of 1.5 RPM.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
• /
• v.14 no.6
• /
• pp.667-681
• /
• 2012

In general, risk management consists of a series of processes or steps including risk identification, risk analysis, risk evaluation, risk mitigation measures, and risk re-evaluation. In this paper, potential risk factors that occur in shield TBM tunnels were investigated based on many previous case studies and questionaries to tunnel experts. The risk factors were classified as geological, design or construction management features. Fault Tree was set up by dividing all feasible risks into four groups that associated with: cutter; machine confinement; mucking (driving) and segments. From the Fault Tree Analysis (FTA), 12 risk items were identified and the probability of failure of each chosen risk item was obtained.

• Journal of the Korean Geosynthetics Society
• /
• v.17 no.4
• /
• pp.129-139
• /
• 2018

The Discrete Element Method (DEM) has been widely used in granular material researches. Especially, if material has a large deformation, such as ground, it can be a useful method to analyze. In this study, to simulate ground formations, DEM was used. The main purpose of DEM analysis was to investigate the numerical model which can predict the TBM performance by simulating excavating procedure. The selected EPB TBM has a 7.73 m of diameter and six spokes. And two pre-defined excavation conditions with the different rotation speeds per minute (RPM) of the cutterhead was applied. In the modeled cutterhead, the open ratio of cutterhead was 21.31% and number of cutters (including disc cutter and cutter bit) was 219. From the results, reaction forces and resistant torques at the cutterhead face and cutting tools, were measured and compared. Additionally the muck discharge rate and accumulated muck discharge by the screw auger were evaluated.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
• /
• v.33 no.5
• /
• pp.299-311
• /
• 2023

Continuous excavation technologies are developed to improve the excavation rate of shield TBM. Continuous excavation is a technology that provides thrust to segments, excluding being installed one, to reduce tunneling downtime. This paper investigated the prior technology related to continuous excavation segments. The main technology was classified into helical segment, honeycomb segment, and conventional segment methods. The helical segment method has not been applied in actual construction yet, and the honeycomb segment method has not succeeded in commercialization. The continuous excavation method using conventional segments has been successfully demonstrated. The thrust force and operation method of the thrust jacks for the semi-continuous technology were analyzed. Continuous excavation TBM research is also progressing in Korea, and through the analysis of successful cases, the need to develop independent continuous excavation methods has been identified.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
• /
• v.20 no.2
• /
• pp.453-467
• /
• 2018

The excavation performance and the cutting tool wear prediction of shield TBM are very important issues for design and construction in TBM tunneling. For hard-rock TBMs, CSM and NTNU model have been widely used for prediction of disc cutter wear and penetration rate. But in case of soft-ground TBMs, the wear evaluation and the excavation performance have not been studied in details due to the complexity of the ground behavior and therefore few testing methods have been proposed. In this study, a new soil abrasion and penetration tester (SAPT) that simulates EPB TBM excavation process is introduced which overcomes the drawbacks of the previously developed soil abrasivity testers. Parametric tests for penetration rate, foam mixing ratio, foam concentration were conducted to evaluate influential parameters affecting TBM excavation and also ripper wear was measured in laboratory. The results of artificial soil specimen composed of 70% illite and 30% silica sand showed TBM additives such as foam play a key role in terms of excavation and tool wear.