• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.183-198
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• 2021

The EPB (Earth Pressure Balanced) shield TBM method restrains the ground deformation through continuous excavation and support. Still, the significant surface settlement occurs due to the ground conditions, tunnel dimensions, and construction conditions. Therefore, it is necessary to clarify the settlement behavior with its influence factors and evaluate the possible settlement during construction. In this study, the analytical model of surface settlement based on the influence factors and their mechanisms were proposed. Then, the parametric study for controllable factors during excavation was conducted by numerical method. Through the numerical analysis, the settlement behavior according to the construction conditions was quantitatively derived. Then, the qualitative trend according to the ground conditions was visualized by coupling the numerical results with the analytical model of settlement. Based on the results of this study, it is expected to contribute to the derivation of the settlement prediction algorithm for EPB shield TBM excavation.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.355-374
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• 2022

Soil conditioning improves the performance of EPB (earth pressure balance) shield TBMs (tunnel boring machines) by reducing shear strength, enhancing workability of the excavated soil, and supporting the tunnel face during EPB tunnelling. The mechanical and rheological behavior of the excavated muck mixed with additives should be properly evaluated to determine the optimal additive injection condition corresponding to each ground type. In this study, the laboratory pressurized vane test apparatus equipped with a vane-shaped rheometer was developed to reproduce the pressurized condition in the TBM chamber and quantitively evaluate rheological properties of the soil specimens. A series of the pressurized vane tests were performed for an artificial sand soil by changing foam injection ratio (FIR) and polymer injection ratio (PIR), which are the injection parameters of the foam and the polymer, respectively. In addition, the workability of the conditioned soil was evaluated through the slump test. The peak and yield stresses of the conditioned soil with respect to the injection parameters were evaluated through the rheogram, which was derived from the measured torque data in the pressurized vane test. As FIR increased or PIR decreased, the workability of the conditioned soil increased, and the maximum torque, peak stress, and yield stress decreased. The peak stress and yield stress of the specimen from the laboratory pressurized vane test correspond to the workability evaluated by the slump tests, which implies the applicability of the proposed test for evaluating the rheological properties of excavated soil.

• Geotechnical Engineering
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.21-27
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• 2013

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.1029-1044
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• 2017

The Discrete Element Method (DEM) is one of the useful numerical methods to analyze the behavior of the ground formation by computing the motion and interaction using particles. The DEM has not been applied in civil engineering but also a wide range of industrial fields, such as chemical engineering, pharmacy, material science, food engineering, etc. In this study, to review a performance of the spoke-type earth pressure balance (EPB) shield TBM (Tunnel Boring Machine), the commercial software based on the DEM technology was used. An analysis of the TBM during excavation was conducted according to two pre-defined excavation conditions with the different rotation speed of a cutterhead. During the analysis, the resistant torque at the face of the cutterhead, the compressive force at the cutterhead and shield surface, the muck discharge at the screw auger were measured and compared. Upon the two kinds of excavation conditions, the applicability of the DEM analysis was reviewed as a modelling method for the TBM.

• Journal of the Korean Geosynthetics Society
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.129-139
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• 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
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.397-407
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• 2015

Estimation of shield TBM tunnelling-induced volume loss is of great importance for ground settlement control. This study proposed a simple method for evaluation of volume loss during TBM tunnlling, which is able to take into account of shield machine configurations and main driving data in calculation. The method was applied to analyze the tunnelling cases with earth pressure balanced and slurry pressure balanced shiled TBM, and mostly, reasonable agreements with monitoring results were found. Additional discussions were made for some disagreements.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.496-507
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• 2020

A prediction of the performance of EPB TBM is significant for improving the constructability of tunnels. Thus, various attempts to simulate TBM excavation by the numerical method have been made until these days. In this paper, to evaluate the performance of TBM with different operating conditions, a parametric study was carried out using coupled discrete element method (DEM) and finite difference method (FDM) EPB TBM driving model. The analysis was conducted by changing the penetration rate (0.5 and 1.0 mm/sec) and the rotational speed of screw conveyor (5, 15, and 25 rpm) while the rotation velocity of the cutter head kept constant at 2 rpm. The torque, thrust force, chamber pressure, and discharging with different TBM operating conditions were compared. The result of parametric study shows that the optimum driving condition can be determined by the coupled DEM-FDM numerical model.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.484-495
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• 2020

To numerically simulate the advance of EPB TBM, various type of numerical analysis methods have been adopted including discrete element method (DEM), finite element method (FEM), and finite difference method (FDM). In this paper, an EPB TBM driving model was proposed by using coupled DEM-FDM. In the numerical model, DEM was applied in the TBM excavation area, and contact properties of particles were calibrated by a series of triaxial tests. Since the ground around the excavation area was coupled with FDM, the horizontal stress considering the coefficient of earth pressure at rest could be applied. Also, the number of required particles was reduced and the efficiency of the analysis was increased. The proposed model can control the advance rate and rotational speed of the cutter head and screw conveyor, and derive the torque, thrust force, chamber pressure, and discharging during TBM tunnelling.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.543-552
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• 2014

This research covers correlation analysis between the machine data measured from EPB Shield TBM construction site and the ground condition during excavation, and figures out how the machine data are affected by the change of ground conditions through single and mixed parameter analysis. It was found that when the ground is changed from hard rock to soft rock, the ratio of the cutter torque to thrust force increases. The relationship between the ratio of the cutter torque to thrust force and the penetration rate shows that the ratio has a certain range of values for hard rock; on the other hand, it increases for soft rock. It means that we can recognize a sign of appearance of weak zone by assessing the ratio of the cutter touque to thrust force according to each penetration rate. Multiple regression analysis of the machine data showed that the cutter torque increases with the increases of the total thrust force, and it decreases with the increase of the uniaxial compressive strength of the ground.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.277-291
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• 2020

Shield TBM is a tunnelling method that has a wider range of applications in the poor ground condition compared to conventional tunnels (Drill and Blast). Currently, a 13.3 m large-diameter slurry shield TBM is preparing for construction to pass under the Han River. Shield TBM is divided into slurry and EPB shield TBM, and management items during construction are different depending on each characteristic. In this paper, the equipment type, origin, application case and trouble case were analyzed for slurry shield TBM, which is mainly constructed in soft ground. In addition, 2D and 3D model tests were conducted on the condition of soil depth for the possibility of slurry leakage into front of the equipment, with appropriate chamber pressure. Based on this paper, it proposed to provide basic and reference data for proper excavation surface pressure and chamber pressure during construction of slurry shield TBM under soft ground conditions, and proposed measures to minimize stability and environmental decline due to slurry ejection.