• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.599-614
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• 2014

When tunnelling with TBM (Tunnel Boring Machine), accessibility to tunnel face is very limited because tunnel face is mostly occupied by a bunch of machines. Existing techniques that can predict ground condition ahead of TBM tunnel are extremely limited. In this study, the TBM Resistivity Prediction (TRP) system has been developed for predicting anomalous zone ahead of tunnel face utilizing electrical resistivity. The applicability and prediction accuracy of the developed system has been verified by performing field tests at subway tunnel construction site in which an EPB (Earth Pressure Balanced) shield TBM was used for tunnelling work. The TRP system is able to predicts the location, thickness and electrical properties of anomalous zone by performing inverse analysis using measured resistivity of the ground. To make field tests possible, an apparatus was devised to attach electrode to tunnel face through the chamber. The electrode can be advanced from the chamber to the tunnel face to fully touch the ground in front of the tunnel face. In the 1st field test, none of the anomalous zone was predicted, because the rock around the tunnel face has the same resistivity and permittivity with the rock ahead of tunnel face. In the 2nd field test, 5 m thick anomalous zone was predicted with lower permittivity than that of the rock around the tunnel face. The test results match well with the ground condition predicted, respectively, from geophysical exploration, or directly obtained either from drilling boreholes or from daily observed muck condition.

• 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.

• Proceedings of the KSR Conference
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• 2011.10a
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• pp.353-364
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• 2011

This paper presents the ground behaviour of shield TBM lunching area during excavation. In order to perform this study, a scaled model test was carried out in the 1/45 scale for a field tunnel in practice where the tunnel had about 7.8 m diameter at Seoul Metro Line 9 construction site. The test to simulate earth pressure balance (EPB) shield TBM tunnelling at the lunching area was conducted with the developed small scaled shield TBM machine. Measurements were performed during simulation of excavation for total jacking thrust force, ground displacements and pressures. Based on the analysis of simulation results, the stability of ground was verified and evaluated. In particular, the suitable reinforcement range and methods are also suggested. In addition, these results are useful for engineers and technicians to select suitable and serviceable machine operation parameters and reduce environmental influence at all stages of tunnel construction.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.553-581
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• 2022

Shortly after tunnel boring machine (TBM) was introduced in the tunneling industry, the use of TBM has surprisingly increased worldwide due to its performance together with the benefit of being safely and environmentally friendly. One of the main cost items in the TBM tunneling in rock and soil is changing damaged or worn cutters. It is because that the cutter change is a time-consuming and costly activity that can significantly reduce the TBM utilization and advance rate and has a major effect on the total time and cost of TBM tunneling projects. Therefore, the importance of accurately evaluating the cutter life can never be overemphasized. However, the prediction of cutter wear in soil, rock including mixed face is very complex and not yet fully clarified, subsequently keeping engineers busy around the world. Various prediction models for cutter wear have been developed and introduced, but these models almost usually produce highly variable results due to inherent uncertainties in the models. In this study, a case study of design and construction of disc cutter change is introduced and analyzed, rather than proposing a prediction model of cutter wear. As the disc cutter is strongly affected by the geological condition, TBM machine characteristic and operation, authors believe it is very hard to suggest a generalized prediction model given the uncertainties and limitations therefore it would be more practical to analyze a real case and provide a detailed discussion of the difference between prediction and result for the cutter change. By doing so, up-to-date idea about planning and execution of cutter change in practice can be promoted.

• Geotechnical Engineering
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• v.31 no.7
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• pp.13-19
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• 2015

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.1-12
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• 2016

When utilizing a Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) for tunnelling work, unexpected ground conditions can be encountered that are not predicted in the design stage. These include fractured zones or mixed ground conditions that are likely to reduce the stability of TBM excavation, and result in considerable economic losses such as construction delays or increases in costs. Minimizing these potential risks during tunnel construction is therefore a crucial issue in any mechanized tunneling project. This paper proposed the potential risk events that may occur due to risky ground conditions. A resistivity survey is utilized to predict the risky ground conditions ahead of the tunnel face during construction. The potential risk events are then evaluated based on their occurrence probability and impact. A TBM risk management system that can suggest proper solution methods (measures) for potential risk events is also developed. Multi-Criterion Decision Making (MCDM) is utilized to determine the optimal solution method (optimal measure) to handle risk events. Lastly, an actual construction site, at which there was a risk event during Earth Pressure-Balance (EPB) Shield TBM construction, is analyzed to verify the efficacy of the proposed system.

• 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.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.197-211
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• 2024

This research studies the effect of geotechnical factors on EPB-TBM performance parameters. The modeling was performed using simple and multivariate linear regression methods, artificial neural networks (ANNs), and Sugeno fuzzy logic (SFL) algorithm. In ANN, 80% of the data were randomly allocated to training and 20% to network testing. Meanwhile, in the SFL algorithm, 75% of the data were used for training and 25% for testing. The coefficient of determination (R²) obtained between the observed and estimated values in this model for the thrust force and cutterhead torque was 0.19 and 0.52, respectively. The results showed that the SFL outperformed the other models in predicting the target parameters. In this method, the R² obtained between observed and predicted values for thrust force and cutterhead torque is 0.73 and 0.63, respectively. The sensitivity analysis results show that the internal friction angle (φ) and standard penetration number (SPT) have the greatest impact on thrust force. Also, earth pressure and overburden thickness have the highest effect on cutterhead torque.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.1049-1060
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• 2018

Soil conditioning is one of the key factors for successfull tunnel excavations utilizing the earth pressure-balanced (EPB) shield tunnel boring machine (TBM) by increasing the tunnel face stability and extraction efficiency of excavated soils. In this study, conditioning agents are mixed with the weathered granite soils which are abundant in the Korean peninsula and the workability of the resulting mixture is evaluated through the slump tests to derive and propose the most suitable conditioning agent as well as the most appropriate agent mix ratios. However, since it is cumbersome to perform the slump tests all the time either in the laboratory or in-situ, a simpler test may be needed instead of the slump test; the fall cone test was proposed as a substitute. In this paper, the correlation between the slump value obtained from the slump test and the cone penetration depth obtained from the proposed fall cone test was obtained. Test results showed that a very good correlation between two was observed; it means that the simpler fall cone test can be used to assess the suitability of the conditioned soils instead of the more cumbersome slump test.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.153-165
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• 2019

A case study of monitoring and analysis of surface settlement induced by tunneling of Tabriz metro line 2 (TML2) is presented in this paper. The TML2 single tunnel has been excavated using earth pressure balanced TBM with a cutting-wheel diameter of 9.49 m since 2015. Presented measurements of surface settlements, were collected during the construction of western part of the project (between west depot and S02 station) where the tunnel was being excavated in sand and silt, below the water table and at an average axis depth of about 16 m. Settlement readings were back-analyzed using Gaussian formula, both in longitudinal and transversal directions, in order to estimate volume loss and settlement trough width factor. In addition to settlements, face support and tail grouting pressures were monitored, providing a comprehensive description of the EPB performance. Using the gap model, volume loss prediction was carried out. Also, COB empirical method for determination of the face pressure was employed in order to compare with field monitored data. Likewise, FE simulation was used in various sections employing the code Simulia ABAQUS, to investigate the efficiency of numerical modelling for the estimating of the tunneling induced-surface settlements under such a geotechnical condition. In this regard, the main aspects of a mechanized excavation were simulated. For the studied sections, numerical simulation is not capable of reproducing the high values of in-situ-measured surface settlements, applying Mohr-Coulomb constitutive law for soil. Based on results, for the mentioned case study, the range of estimated volume loss mostly varies from 0.2% to 0.7%, having an average value of 0.45%.