• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.203-211
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• 2014

This paper presents the screw conveyor operation efficiency of shield TBM in soft ground. In order to study the screw conveyor operation efficiency, the experimental and theoretical studies were carried out. In experimental study, the operating amounts of muck were examined and compared due to the screw conveyor operating parameters including types (Shaft and Ribbon screw), angles of screw and conveyor. The results obtained from the laboratory model tests were analysed and evaluated to suggest the most suitable muck operating parameters during the shield TBM tunnelling in soft ground. In conclusion, it is found the operation parameters to increase the screw conveyor efficiency. In addition, the information presented in this paper may be useful for developing the design technology of shield TBM in the future.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.519-530
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• 2011

The screw conveyor system installed in EPB Shield TBM chamber was manufactured in small scale for pilot test to investigate the tunnel muck hauling system that could control the earth pressure and support face thrust force. In this experimental study, there were three different test conditions that include screw angles, screw pitch, and screw RPM. Through analysis on test results based on the muck hauling amount per unit time from screw conveyor, the optimum conditions of screw conveyor were proposed to be efficiently performed by the muck processing system. Finally, this study provided the meaningful results such as optimum screw angle, screw RPM, and screw pitch for anti-reverse flow of muck hauling.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.571-580
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• 2023

During EPB shield tunnelling, construction speed and safety are severely affected by spewing. In this study, a theoretical seepage model is established to capture of the effects of screw conveyor geometry and turbulent flow on spewing. Experimental test results are used to verify the proposed theoretical seepage model. It is found that the seepage is greatly affected by the length of screw conveyor and soil permeability. The proposed model can increase the screw conveyor length and reduce soil discharge sections simultaneously, the permeability of treated muck thus decreases by one order of magnitude. By using the proposed theoretical seepage model, the criterion of critical soil permeability used to identify spewing is proposed. When the water head applied at tunnel face reaches 40 m and 50 m, the critical permeability coefficients of treated muck should be less than 10^-5 m/s and 10^-6 m/s to avoid spewing. For a given permeability coefficient of soil, the water flow rate is overestimated if structural characteristics of screw conveyor is not considered. Consequently, the occurrence of spewing is greatly overestimated, which increases construction cost substantially.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.127-136
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• 2019

Tunnel construction by TBMs should be supported by the performance of a screw conveyor in order to obtain the optimum penetration rate, so studies related to the screw conveyor performance have been being conducted. Compared to the study on the performance of the screw conveyor for the soil, however, the research on the performance of the screw conveyor for the rock is insufficient. Considering the domestic tunnel sites with more rock layers than soil layers, simulation of discharge of 6 types of rock chips by the screw conveyor was conducted using DEM. Regardless of the shape and volume of the rock chips, the discharge rates of the rock chips by the parallel placed screw conveyor at a speed of 10 RPM in the same rock mass were about 20% (standard deviation: 1.3%) of the maximum volume of discharge rate by the screw conveyor. It is expected that this study can be used as a reference material for screw conveyor design and operation in TBM excavations in rock masses.

• Journal of Drive and Control
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.46-52
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• 2014

This study suggests a small-sized screw decanter specialized for dredging sites. Generally, conventional screw decanters are composed of a cylinder and a cone. However, the suggested screw decanter simply has a cone based on a cone-type bowl structure. In this research, a commercial analysis tool is used to establish an optimal design for the bowl and the screw conveyor. Moreover, the base frame, where the main bearings that support the spindle of the bowl and the screw conveyor are installed, is optimally designed considering the weight of the rotating body and the deflection caused by the high centrifugal force. Furthermore, the natural frequency range of the spinning body, the bowl and the screw conveyor, is applied to this base frame; it is designed not to correspond to the resonance frequency range and achieves stability as a result. This study suggests an optimal design for the rotating body and the base frame of a screw decanter considering its vibration characteristics. Such a design will prevent overuse of materials and help to reduce the weight and volume-and the price-of a screw decanter.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.533-549
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• 2024

Soil conditioning is a critical process when tunneling with an earth pressure balance (EPB) shield tunnel boring machine (TBM) to enhance performance. To determine the optimal additive injection conditions, it is important to understand the rheological properties of conditioned soil, which is typically assessed using a rheometer. However, a rheometer cannot simulate the actual process of muck discharge in a TBM. Therefore, in this study, a scaled-down model of an 8-meter-class EPB shield TBM chamber and screw conveyor, reduced by a factor of 1:20, was fabricated and its applicability was evaluated through laboratory experiments. A lab-scale model experiment was conducted on artificial sandy soil using foam and polymer as additives. The experimental results confirmed that screw torque was consistent with trends observed in previous laboratory pressurized vane shear test data, establishing a positive proportional relationship between screw torque and yield stress. The muck discharge efficiency according to foam injection ratio (FIR) showed similar values overall, but decreased slightly at 60% of FIR and when the polymer was added. In addition, the pressure distribution generated along the chamber and screw conveyor was assessed in a manner similar to the actual EPB TBM. This study demonstrates that the lab-scale screw conveyor model can be used to evaluate the shear properties and muck discharge efficiency.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.361-374
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• 2022

On the premise of ensuring that the automatic and quantitative discharging function of concrete conveyors is met, the accuracy of the weight forecast by the mathematical model of the screw conveying volume is improved, and the error of the weight of the concrete parts and the accumulation thickness is reduced. In this paper, the discrete element method (DEM) is used to simulate the macroscopic flow of concrete. Using the concrete discrete element model, the size of the screw conveyor is set, and establish the response model between the influencing factors (process and structure) and the concrete mass flow rate according to the design points of the screw discharging experiment. The nonlinear data fitting method is used to obtain the volumetric efficiency function under the influence of process and structural factors, and the traditional screw conveying volume model is improved. The mass flow rate of concrete predicted by the improved mathematical model of screw conveying volume is consistent with the test results. The model can accurately describe the conveying process of concrete and achieve the purpose of improving the accuracy of forecasting the weight of discharged concrete.

• 레미콘
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• no.9 s.5
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• pp.70-73
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• 1985

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.379-393
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• 2019

For the economical construction of a tunnel by TBM, the selection of TBM optimized with the various project conditions is important, and also necessary to predict the performances of selected TBM in advance. This study was conducted to comprehensively evaluate the performance of the EPB shield TBM screw conveyor by the discrete element method. The sticky particles were used for the excavated material models, and screw conveyor with 11 different inclined angles were simulated to evaluate the performance depending on the different inclined angles. The four different rotational speed conditions of the screw were used, and torque, required power, extra energy for muck discharge, and the muck discharge rate were selected as four performance indicators. As a result, the optimized inclined angle was selected, and selected angle accords with the fact that EPB shield TBM screw conveyor is generally installed and adjusted at the inclined angle between 20.0° and 30.0° in the field.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.232-241
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• 2017

This paper presents an automated cow-feeding system based on an AGV and screw conveyor for domestic livestock farms, which are becoming larger and more commercialized. The system includes a hopper module for loading pellet-type mixed feed at the top of the system, a transfer module mounted with a screw conveyor to transfer feed from the hopper module to the outlet module, an outlet module composed of belt conveyors, and an electromagnetic guided driving-type AGV. The weight of the loaded feed is measured by a load cell located under the transfer module. The system reads the feed discharge information stored in RFID tags installed in each cowshed cell, and a predetermined amount of feed is discharged while the AGV is moving. A cow-feed test system was constructed to determine the design parameters of the screw conveyor in the transfer module that determine the feeding capacity. These parameters include the screw's outer diameter, the screw shaft outer diameter, and screw pitch. The parameters were applied to the finalized cow-feed system construction. A DSP-based main controller and cow-feeding algorithm for different scenarios were also developed to control the system. Experimental results confirmed that the system could supply a total of 21 kg of feed uniformly at 420 g/s for a cowshed cell which has 7 cows. The driving distance was 5 m and the speed was 0.1 m/s. Thus, the proposed system could be applied to standardized domestic livestock farms.