• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.225-235
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• 2013

Cutter forces acting on a disc cutter in TBM are the key parameters for TBM design and its performance prediction. This study aimed to experimentally evaluate cutter forces with different ring shapes in a hard rock. The stiffness of a cutter ring was indirectly estimated from a series of full-scale linear cutting tests. From the experiments, it was verified that the rolling stress acting on a V-shape disc cutter was much higher than on a CCS disc cutter even though the penetration depth by a V-shape disc cutter could be increased in the same cutting condition. Finally, it is suggested that a prediction model considering the shape parameters of a disc cutter should be used for its better prediction.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.573-584
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• 2014

In this study, the variations of cutter acting forces depending on cutting conditions were examined to obtain basic data for roadheader cutting head design. The linear cutting tests were performed in the condition of different attack angles, penetration depths, cutter spacings by using a slim conical pick for the light cutting condition. Cutter acting forces were measured by 3-directional load cell under different test conditions, and the analysis for cutting performance were carried out after calculating average values of the measured results. It is confirmed that the optimal cutting condition for the mortar specimen is the 50 degree attack angle, the cutter spacing of 12 mm, the cutting depth of 9 mm which are obtained from the analysis results. In addition, 50 degree attack angle is more effective than 45 degree attack angle to design optimal specifications of cutting head.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.181-191
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• 2014

This study aims to evaluate cutter acting forces as well as axial stresses and torques in the shaft of two kinds of disc cutters including a single disc cutter and a double disc cutter with the same cutter ring geometry in a series of linear cutting tests. From the tests, the mean values of normal forces and rolling forces acting on the double disc cutter were approximately twice as high as those from the single disc cutter. Similarly, the mean values of axial stresses in the shaft of the double disc cutter were also twice as high as those from the single disc cutter even though the comparisons of torques from two kinds of disc cutters were insignificant since they showed very low values. However, it is necessary to take the durability of a tapered roller bearing used for the double disc cutter into high consideration since the average normal force from the double disc cutter exceeds the allowable force for a disc cutter with the diameter of 432 mm (17 inches). Finally, there is no practical problem in terms of axial stresses in the shaft of the double disc cutter since they are much lower than the yielding stress of the cutter shaft material, even though the axial stresses in the shaft of the double disc cutter are approximately twice as high as those from the single disc cutter.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.161-182
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• 2018

We carried out a series of linear cutting machine tests to assess the cutting performance of a pick cutter in sedimentary rock. The specimens were Linyi sandstone from China and Concrete (rock-like material, conglomerate). Using the small scaled LCM system, we estimated the cutter force and specific energy under different cutting conditions. The cutter forces (cutting and normal) increased with penetration depth and cutter spacing in two rock types, and it was affected by the strength of specimens. On the other hand, the ratio of the peak cutter force to the mean cutter force was influenced by cutting characteristic and composition of rock rather than rock strength. The cutting coefficient was affected by the friction characteristic between rock and pick cutter rather than the cutting conditions. Therefore, the optimal cutting angle can be determined by considering of cutting coefficient and resultant force of pick cutter. The optimum cutting condition was determined from the relationship between the specific energy and cutting condition. For two specimens, the optimum s/p ratio was found to be two to four, and the specific energy decreased with the penetration depth. The result from this study can be used as background database to understand the cutting mechanism of a pick cutter, also it can be used to design for the mechanical excavator.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.585-597
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• 2014

In this study, the cutter acting forces were measured by 3-directional load cell at two different skew angles and various S/d ratios during a series of linear cutting tests using a slim conical pick. The analysis for cutting performance were carried out after calculating average values of the measured results. The increase of penetration depth results in the decrease of specific energy. And the variations of the cutter acting forces depending on penetration depth in the case of 6 degree skew angle were smaller than in the case of 0 degree skew angle. From this results, 6 degree skew angle is more effective than 0 degree skew angle in designing optimal specifications of cutting head. In addition, $F_c/F_n$ under the setting of 6 degree skew angle was smaller than under the setting of 0 degree skew angle. However, it should be considered that the increase of cutter acting force in the cutting direction accompanied the increase of driving force in the case of the setting for 6 degree skew angle.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.244-254
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• 2023

The disc cutter mounted on the Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) is subjected to cutting forces in three dimensions during rock excavation process. It is widely known that the cutting forces increased with the strength of the rock mass, while the rolling force can be significantly increased when the disc cutter encounters abnormal rotation. Therefore, the cutting force acts on the disc cutter provides important information because it represents the conditions of the rock mass and the disc cutter. For these reasons, several studies have been conducted to measure the cutter forces in real-time. This paper introduces the current status of research on the cutter force measurement of TBM disc cutters, which has been reported in the literature. It is judged that this paper can be a useful reference material when similar technologies are developed in Korea in the future.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.519-533
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• 2023

In this study, the linear cutting tests of pick cutters were carried out on a granitic rock with the average compressive strength over 100 MPa. From the tests, the correlation between the cutter acting force and the temperature measured by infrared thermal imaging camera during rock cutting was analyzed. In every experimental condition, the maximum temperature was measured at the rock surface where the chipping occurred, and the temperature generated in the rock was closely correlated with the cutter acting force. On the other hand, the temperature of a pick cutter increased up to only 36℃ above the ambient temperature, and the correlation with the cutter force was not obvious. This can be attributed to the short cutting distance under laboratory conditions and the high thermal conductivity of the tungsten carbide inserts. However, the relatively high temperature of the tungsten carbide inserts was found to be maintained. Therefore, it is recommended that a reinforcement between the insert and the head of a pick cutter or the quality improvement of silvering brazing in the production of a cutter is necessary to maintain the high cutting performance of a pick cutter.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.221-233
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• 2016

In order to estimate the performance of a conical cutter depending on the insert size, this study measured forces acting on conical cutters with different cutter spacings, penetration depths and skew angles using slim and heavy conical cutters. When cutter spacings ranged from 12 to 27 mm, the deviations of mean cutter forces with cutter depths appeared smaller compared to other cutter spacings. When skew angle is $0^{\circ}$, the optimal S/d ratio was obtained in the range of 4 to 4.5 for which specific energy of cutting was minimized. It were usually found in the range of 1 to 5. However, when skew angle is $6^{\circ}$, the optimal S/d ratio was obtained in the range of 1 to 3. The simple comparison results shows that the performance of slim cutter was superior to that of heavy cutter, but the use of heavy cutter can be effective, considering the cutter consumption and cutter damage when the strength of the ground is high enough.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.161-172
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• 2014

An earth pressure balanced shield TBM with the diameter of 4.4 m was designed and manufactured for a subsea discharge tunnel excavation. Its cutterhead was designed to be optimized for the strongest rock mass condition in the tunnel alignment, and then the applicability of the refurbished shield TBM was validated for its maximum capacity. Especially, the maximum cutter penetration depth for the strongest rock mass condition should be kept to be below 7 mm/rev in order to satisfy the allowable capacities of the shield TBM. From the analysis of TBM advance data, approximately 95% of field data showed the cutter penetration depth below 7 mm/rev. In addition, it was certified that the acting forces of every disc cutter, TBM thrust and torque during TBM driving were within the allowable capacities of the shield TBM and its disc cutters. When real acting forces of the disc cutters in the field were compared with those predicted by the CSM model, they showed the close relationships with each other even though the predictions by the CSM model were approximately 22~25% higher than field data.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.403-413
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• 2015

This paper presents the cutter bit damage due to the rotation speed of shield TBM cutter head in the mixed ground. The efficient of cutter bits and disk cutter are very important for tunnelling in mixed ground. In particular, this research is focused on the performance of cutter bits during excavation in mixed ground which is consist of the weathered soil and rock formation. In order to carry out this research, the experimental works are prepared performed by using the scaled shield TBM cutter bits evaluation machine developed. The mixed ground is prepared considering with a scale effect of tunnel size. Three different rotation speeds of shield TBM cutter head (i.e. 2, 3, 4 rpm) are applied in the experimental work. The drag forces acting on the cutter bits are measured at each cutter bit during rotation of cutter head. It is also analysed the variation of drag forces due to the rotation speed of shield TBM cutter head. The results of this research are clearly shown that the drag forces acting on the cutter bits are jumped up at the boundary between weathered soil and rock. It is also indicated that the jamping drag forces are increased with increasing the rotation speed of the cutter head. It is found from the research that the higher rotation speed of shield TBM cutter head will be high risk in the mixed ground. It is, therefore, suggested that the use of lower rotation speed of shield TBM cutter head is recommended for reducing the cutter bit damage in practice.