• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.575-589
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• 2020

In recent years, Shield TBM construction has been continuously increasing in domestic tunnels. The main excavation tool in the shield TBM construction is a disc cutter which naturally wears during the excavation process and significantly degrades the excavation efficiency. Therefore, it is important to know the appropriate time of the disc cutter replacement. In this study, it is proposed a predictive model that can determine yes/no of disc cutter replacement using machine learning algorithm. To do this, the shield TBM machine data which is highly correlated to the disc cutter wears and the disc cutter replacement from the shield TBM field which is already constructed are used as the input data in the model. Also, the algorithms used in the study were the support vector machine, k-nearest neighbor algorithm, and decision tree algorithm are all classification methods used in machine learning. In order to construct an optimal predictive model and to evaluate the performance of the model, the classification performance evaluation index was compared and analyzed.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.154-168
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• 2024

The Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) disc cutter is subjected to wear and damage during the rock excavation process, and the worn disc cutter should be replaced on time. The manual inspection by workers is generally required to determine the disc cutter replacement. In this case, the workers are exposed to dangerous environments, and the measurements are sometimes inaccurate. In this study, we developed a technology that measures the disc cutter wear in real time. From a series of laboratory tests, a magnetic sensor was selected as the wear sensor, and the real-time disc cutter measurement system was developed integrating wireless communication modules, power supply and data processing board. In addition, the measurement system was verified in actual TBM excavation circumstances. As a result, it was confirmed that the accuracy and stability of the system.

• 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.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.345-356
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• 2013

Numerical simulation on rock cutting by a TBM disc cutter was carried out using SPH (Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics) code. AUTODYN3D, a commercial software program based on finite element method, was used in this study. The three-dimensional geometry of a disc cutter and a rock specimen were modeled by Lagrange and SPH code respectively. The numerical simulation was carried out for Hwangdeung granite for 10 different cutting conditions. The results of the numerical simulation, i.e. the relation between cutter force and failure behavior, had a good agreement with those from LCM test. The cutter forces measured in the numerical simulation had 10% deviation from the LCM test results. Moreover, the optimum cutter spacing was almost identical with the experimental results. These results indicate that SPH code can be successfully used had applicability for simulation on rock cutting by a TBM disc cutter. However, further study on Lagrange-SPH coupled modelling would be necessary to reduce the computation time.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.478-490
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• 2022

TBM disc cutter, which is the main cutting tool of tunnel boring machine (TBM), is replaced when it is excessively worn during the boring process. Disc cutters are usually monitored by workers at cutterhead chamber, and they check the status and wear amount of cutters. Because cutterhead chamber is usually in dangerous circumstance due to high pressure and instability of excavation surface, the measurement by manpower occasionally results in inaccuracy of measurement result. In order to overcome the limitations, the real-time disc cutter monitoring techniques have been developed in some foreign countries. This paper collected the current status of disc cutter monitoring system from the literature. Several types of sensors are used to measure the cutter wear, and it is believed that the collected information can be useful reference when similar domestic technologies are developed in the future.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.647-663
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• 2023

The investigation of the disc cutter wear prediction has an important guiding role in TBM equipment selection, project planning, and cost forecasting, especially when tunneling in a long-distance rock formations with high strength and high abrasivity. In this study, a comprehensive database of disc cutter wear data, geological properties, and tunneling parameters is obtained from a 1326 m excavated metro tunnel project in leptynite in Shenzhen, China. The failure forms and wear consumption of disc cutters on site are analyzed with emphasis. The results showed that 81% of disc cutters fail due to uniform wear, and other cutters are replaced owing to abnormal wear, especially flat wear of the cutter rings. In addition, it is found that there is a reasonable direct proportional relationship between the uniform wear rate (WR) and the installation radius (R), and the coefficient depends on geological characteristics and tunneling parameters. Thus, a preliminary prediction formula of the uniform wear rate, based on the installation radius of the cutterhead, was established. The correlation between some important geological properties (K_V and UCS) along with some tunneling parameters (F_n and p) and wear rate was discussed using regression analysis methods, and several prediction models for uniform wear rate were developed. Compared with a single variable, the multivariable model shows better prediction ability, and 89% of WR can be accurately estimated. The prediction model has reliability and provides a practical tool for wear prediction of disc cutter under similar hard rock projects with similar geological conditions.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.197-213
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• 2012

Disc cutter is a key cutting tool for rock excavation by TBMs. This study aimed to characterize the deformation of a cutter ring by strain measurement as well as infrared thermal camera measurement during a series of linear cutting tests for a hard rock. The strain measurement results indicated that the cutter ring clearly showed a linear elastic behavior. The data obtained from the infrared thermal camera measurement demonstrated that the maximum temperature increase in the cutter ring was below $14.4^{\circ}C$. The deformation and temperature increase of the cutter ring during rock cutting were insignificant in a given cutting test condition of this study.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.641-656
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• 2019

In this study, a machine learning method was proposed to use in predicting optimal replacement period of shield TBM (Tunnel Boring Machine) disc cutter. To do this, a large dataset of ground condition, disc cutter replacement records and TBM excavation-related data, collected from a shield TBM tunnel site in Korea, was built and they were used to construct a disc cutter replacement period prediction model using a machine learning algorithm, SVM (Support Vector Machine) and to assess the performance of the model. The results showed that the performance of RBF (Radial Basis Function) SVM is the best among a total of three SVM classification functions (80% accuracy and 10% error rate on average). When compared between ground types, the more disc cutter replacement data existed, the better prediction results were obtained. From this results, it is expected that machine learning methods become very popularly used in practice in near future as more data is accumulated and the machine learning models continue to be fine-tuned.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.473-485
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• 2015

The problems for non-rotating of a disc cutter proceed from the faults in inner parts of the disc cutter such as the leak of hydraulic fluid, the intrusion of tunnel mucks and water, overloading, overheating, poor assembly and substandard material. The rotating of a disc cutter is an indicator to show that the inner parts of disc cutter is operable, although the rotational torque depends on the extent of the damage. Therefore, the key in the problems for non-rotating of disc cutter is to maintain that the tapered roller bearings are working properly. This study aims to investigate the inner parts disassembled from disc cutters applied to the field tests in order to help decision for reuse of the disc cutters. As results, surface finishing to remove the scratch on the load zone of the hubs is needed, with the intent to reuse a hub. And the investigation of lapping surface by optical microscope of floating seals and the contamination test of oil need to be performed for reuse of a disc cutter. Especially, the analysis results show that the floating seals play a key role in the normal operation of bearings. There is nothing significant to report in the rest parts such as bearing, shaft, seal retainers.

• 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.