• 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.