• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.440-449
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• 2009

LCM test is one of the most powerful and reliable methods of experiment for the cutter head design and the performance prediction of TBM. In many cases, however, the predicted design model can be directly applied to the field design, because this test may have an uppermost limit in preparation and/or transportation of the large size rock samples and the test for the jointed rock mass is not easy. When the proper and reasonable numerical modeling is considered to overcome this limit, the most adequate cutter head design for TBM could be presented without any complicate preconsideration in the field. In this study, the crack propagation patterns dependent on the contact point of disc cutter and the angle of rock joint are analyzed for the rock specimen with a single joint using the UDEC. The authors could derive the appropriate contact points of disc cutters and their space with respect to the joint angle in rock mass thru the numerical analysis.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.1-12
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• 2021

In the design of a tunnel boring machine (TBM), the excavation efficiency of the equipment depends on the design of the cutter head, which is directly in contact with the ground. Especially, the allocation of disc cutter is crucial issue. Disc cutters can be divided into center cutter zone, inner cutter zone and transition cutter zone depending on where they are placed. Many studies have been conducted to identify optimal cutting conditions for face cutters. However, research to determine the optimal cutting conditions for the transition cutter has been relatively incomplete. In this study, to identify the optimal cutting conditions for the transition cutter, numerical analysis using discrete element method was performed, and the specific energy curve according to the angle between the transition cutters was drawn to find out the optimum cutting conditions. The results show that the angle between the transition cutters showing minimum specific energy in the transition cutter zone is 9°. Transition cutter zone was divided into three sections according to the slope angle of the transition cutter. It is also found that, the greater the slope angle of the transition cutter. This finding shows good agreement with the present design of transition cutter zone.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.281-302
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• 2021

Railway projects have been consistently increasing in Korea. In relation to this trend, the mechanized tunneling using Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) is preferably applied for mining urban areas and passing under rivers. The TBM tunneling under difficult grounds like mixed faces with high water pressure could require ground improvements for stable TBM advance or safe cutter head intervention (CHI). In this study, pre-grouting works for CHI in Daegok-Sosa railway project are presented in terms of the grouting zone design, the executions and the results, the lessons learned from the experience. It should be mentioned that the grouting from inside TBM was carried out several times and turned out to be inefficient in the project. Therefore, grouting experiences from the surface are highlighted in this study. Jet grouting was implemented on CHI points on land, while permeation grouting off shore in the Han River, which mostly allow to access the cutter head of TBM in free air with stable faces. The results of CHI works have been analyzed and the lesson learned are suggested.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.383-399
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• 2020

Optimizing the spacing of the disc cutter is a key element in the design of the TBM cutter head, which determines the drilling performance of the TBM. The full-scale linear cutting test is known as the most reliable and accurate test for calculating the spacing of the disc cutter, but it has the disadvantage of costly and time-consuming for the full-scale experiment. In this study, through the numerical analysis study based on the discrete element method, the tendency between Specific Energy-S/P ratio according to uniaxial compression strength and penetration depth of rock was analyzed, and the optimum spacing of 17-inch disc cutter was derived. To examine the appropriateness of the numerical analysis model, the rolling force acting on the disc cutter was compared and reviewed with the CSM model. As a result of numerical analysis for the linear cutting test, the rolling force acting on the disc cutter was analyzed to be similar to the rolling force derived from the theoretical formula of the CSM model. From the numerical analysis on 5 UCS cases (50 MPa, 70 MPa, 100 MPa, 150 MPa, 200 MPa), it is found that the range of the optimum spacing of the disc cutter decreases as the rock strength increases. And it can be concluded that 80~100 mm of disc cutter spacing is the optimum range having minimum specific energy regardless of rock strength. This tends to coincide with the optimal spacing of previously reported disk cutters, which underpins the disk cutter spacing calculated through this study.

• 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.20 no.6
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• pp.1091-1104
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• 2018

Wear prediction of TBM disc cutters is a very important issue during design as well as construction stages for hard rock TBMs as the cutter head intervention is directly related to the time and cost of tunneling. For that, some methods such as NTNU, CSM and Gehring models were used to predict disc cutter wear and intervention interval. There are however some problems to be addressed in these models in terms of accuracy and time for testing, so that a NAT (New Abrasion Tester) model has been developed in order to achieve simplicity and reliability together at the same time (Farrokh and Kim, 2018). On the basis, the proposed NAT model has been applied to ${\bigcirc}{\bigcirc}$ project in Korea. A comparative study was performed to compare with the conventional methods and as a result the NAT model showed a very good agreement with actual cutter life. The NAT model will be further applied to other projects to establish credibility.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.49-59
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• 2019

In this study, the durability of conical pick cutter was compared and analyzed by pre- and post-test visual inspection, measurement of weight loss and wear volume through field test on two types of conical pick cutters applied to rotary drum cutter. In the visual inspection, it was found that only 9 inserts were lost in the slim type conical pick cutter. This result show that the thickness of the head cover surrounding a insert was important to maintain the insert during excavation. The weight loss and wear volume of the heavy type conical pick cutter were less than half that of the slim type. From these results, it can be confirmed that heavy type is more useful than slim type in hard rock. It should be noted that, when determining the wear loss of the conical pick cutter, the mutual comparison of the weight measurement and the wear volume measurement results may be different due to the unit weight of the material and the spalling caused by excavation.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.57-78
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• 2022

The disc cutter and cutterbit, which are the most important factors to increase the excavation efficiency of TBM, are key factors in the design and construction of the cutter head. The arrangement, spacing, number, size, and material of disc cutters suitable for the ground conditions determine the success or failure of TBM construction. The disc cutter, which is a representative consumable part in TBM construction, can cause enormous disruption to the construction cost as well as the construction cost unless accurate prediction of wear and replacement cycle is accompanied. Therefore, in this study, the method of calculating the replacement cycle of the disc cutter calculated at the time of design for the slurry shield TBM field, and the depth of wear and replacement location of the disc cutter that occurred during actual construction were compared by analyzing the field data. For a quantitative comparison, weathered soil/weathered rock, soft rock, and hard rock were classified according to the ground in the section showing constant excavation data, and the trajectory of circle was different depending on the location of the disc cutter, so it was compared and analyzed.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.475-488
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• 2017

Wear prediction of TBM disc cutters is a very important issue for hard rock TBMs as number of cutter head intervention. In this regard, some model such as NTNU, Gehring model, CSM models have been used to predict disc cutter wear and intervention interval. There are some deficiencies in these models. This paper developed a new test method for wear prediction for TBM disc cutter and proposed a new abrasion index. In this regard, different abrasivity indices along with their testing methods are explained. A comparative study is performed to develop the predictability of different cutter life evaluation methods and index. The evaluation of the new methods proposed in this paper shows a very good agreement with the actual cutter life and intervention interval length. The proposed tester and index can be easily used to predict the intervention interval length and cutter wear evaluation in both planning and construction stages of a TBM tunneling project.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.26 no.6D
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• pp.985-993
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• 2006

The use of prefabricated concrete piles have been gradually increased in many construction sites. One of main works for building a concrete pile foundation is to crush a part of pile head which is compressed with more than $800kg/cm^2$. A pile cutting work is usually performed by a crusher and three to four skilled workers. Recent reports on the pile cutting work reveal that a lot of cracks which significantly reduce the strength of the pile and are frequently made during pile cutting operations and it is very repetitive and labor intensive work. To improve productivity, safety, and quality of the conventional concrete pile cutting work, the research on developing an automated concrete pile cutter has been performed. In this paper, sensing methods for detecting a pile cutting line are suggested with operation process algorithms. The suggested methods are very important to develop the automated pile cutter. A pilot-type of the automated pile cutter that adopt one of the suggested sensing methods, is developed and tested in a construction site.