• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.281-301
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• 2024

The power cable tunnels which are part of the underground transmission line project, are constructed using the shield TBM method. The disc cutter among the shield TBM components plays an important role in breaking rock mass. Efficient tunnel construction is possible only when appropriate replacement occurs as the wear limit is reached or damage such as uneven wear occurs. A study was conducted to determine the wear conditions of disc cutter using a deep learning algorithm based on real-time measurement data of wear and rotation speed. Based on the results of full-scaled tunnelling tests, it was confirmed that measurement data was obtained differently depending on the wear conditions of disc cutter. Using real-time measurement data, an algorithm was developed to determine disc cutter wear characteristics based on a convolutional neural network model. Distributional patterns of data can be learned through CNN filters, and the performance of the model that can classify uniform wear and uneven wear through these pattern features.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.347-370
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• 2011

Slurry type shield would be very effective for the tunnelling in a sandy ground, when the slurry pressure would be properly adjusted. Low slurry pressure could cause a tunnel face failure or a ground settlement in front of the tunnel face. Thus, the stability of tunnel face could be maintained by applying an excess slurry pressure that is larger than the active earth pressure. However, the slurry pressure should increase properly because an excessively high slurry pressure could cause the slurry flow out or the passive failure of the frontal ground. It is possible to apply the high slurry pressure without passive failure if a horizontal impermeable layer is located in the ground in front of the tunnel face, but its location, size, and effects are not clearly known yet. In this research, two-dimensional model tests were carried out in order to find out the effect of a horizontal impermeable layer for the slurry shield tunnelling in a saturated sandy ground. In tests slurry pressure was increased until the slurry flowed out of the ground surface or the ground fails. Location and dimension of the impermeable layer were varied. As results, the maximum and the excess slurry pressure in sandy ground were linearly proportional to the cover depth. Larger slurry pressure could be applied to increase the stability of the tunnel face when the impermeable layer was located in the ground above the crown in front of the tunnel face. The most effective length of the impermeable grouting layer was 1.0 ~ 1.5D, and the location was 1.0D above the crown level. The safety factor could be suggested as the ratio of the maximum slurry pressure to the active earth pressure at the tunnel face. It could also be suggested that the slurry pressure in the magnitude of 3.5 ~4.0 times larger than the active earth pressure at the initial tunnel face could be applied if the impermeable layer was constructed at the optimal location.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.433-452
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• 2018

The shield tunneling method can minimize surface settlements by preventing the deformation of tunnel face and tunnel intrados due to tunnel excavation. For this purpose, it is very important to control the operating conditions of shield TBM. The face pressure and backfill pressure for tail void grouting should be the most important and immediate measure not only to restrain surface settlement, but also to influence the effective stress and pore water pressure around the circumstance of tunnel during excavation. The reaction of the ground to the application of face pressure and backfill pressure relies on the stiffness and permeability of ground. Especially, the reaction of saturated clayey ground formations, which shows the time-dependent deformation, is different from the permeable ground. Hence, in this paper it was investigated how the TBM operating conditions, ground stiffness, and permeability impact on the surface settlement of saturated clayey ground. For this purpose, a series of parametric studies were carried out by means of the stress-pore water pressure coupled FE analysis. The results show that the settlement of soft clayey ground is divided into the immediate settlement and consolidation settlement. Especially, the consolidation settlement depends on the ground stiffness and permeability. In addition, the existence of critical face pressure and backfill pressure was identified. The face pressure and backfill pressure above the critical value may cause an unexpected increase in the ground settlement.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.543-552
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• 2014

This research covers correlation analysis between the machine data measured from EPB Shield TBM construction site and the ground condition during excavation, and figures out how the machine data are affected by the change of ground conditions through single and mixed parameter analysis. It was found that when the ground is changed from hard rock to soft rock, the ratio of the cutter torque to thrust force increases. The relationship between the ratio of the cutter torque to thrust force and the penetration rate shows that the ratio has a certain range of values for hard rock; on the other hand, it increases for soft rock. It means that we can recognize a sign of appearance of weak zone by assessing the ratio of the cutter touque to thrust force according to each penetration rate. Multiple regression analysis of the machine data showed that the cutter torque increases with the increases of the total thrust force, and it decreases with the increase of the uniaxial compressive strength of the ground.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.1029-1044
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• 2017

The Discrete Element Method (DEM) is one of the useful numerical methods to analyze the behavior of the ground formation by computing the motion and interaction using particles. The DEM has not been applied in civil engineering but also a wide range of industrial fields, such as chemical engineering, pharmacy, material science, food engineering, etc. In this study, to review a performance of the spoke-type earth pressure balance (EPB) shield TBM (Tunnel Boring Machine), the commercial software based on the DEM technology was used. An analysis of the TBM during excavation was conducted according to two pre-defined excavation conditions with the different rotation speed of a cutterhead. During the analysis, the resistant torque at the face of the cutterhead, the compressive force at the cutterhead and shield surface, the muck discharge at the screw auger were measured and compared. Upon the two kinds of excavation conditions, the applicability of the DEM analysis was reviewed as a modelling method for the TBM.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.265-281
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• 2017

For shallow tunnel constructions, settlement of the ground surface is a main issue. Recent technical developments in shield TBM tunneling technique have enabled a decrease in such settlements based on tunneling with ground deformation controls. For this objective, the tail void grouting is a common practice. Generally surface settlements in a soil of low permeability occur during a tunnel construction but also during a long period after completion of the tunnel. The long-term settlements occur mainly due to consolidation around the tunnel. The consolidation process is caused and determined by the tail void grouting which leads to an excess pore water pressure in the vicinity of the tunnel. Because of this, the grouting pressure has a strong effect on the long-term settlements in the shield tunneling. In order to investigate this effect, a series of coupled hydro-mechanical 3D finite element simulations have been performed. The results show that an increase in grouting pressure reduces the short-term settlements, but in many cases, it doesn't lead to a reduction of the final settlements after the completion of consolidation. Thereby, the existence of a critical grouting pressure is identified, at which the minimal settlements are expected.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.637-658
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• 2022

TBM tunnel is simple with the iterative process of excavating the ground, building a segment ring-build, and backfilling. Drill & Blast, a conventional tunnel construction method, is more complicated than the TBM tunnel and has some restrictions because it repeats the inspection, drilling, charging, blasting, ventilation, muck treatment, and installation of support materials. However, the preparation work for excavation requires time and cost based on a very detailed plan compared to Drill & Blasting, which reinforces the ground and forms a tunnel after the formation of tunnel portal. This is because the TBM equipment for excavating the target ground determines the success or failure of the construction. If the TBM, an expensive order-made equipment, is incorrectly configured at the assembly stage, it becomes difficult to excavate from the initial stage as well as the main excavation stage. When the assembled shield TBM equipment is dismantled again, and a situation of re-assembly occurs, it is difficult throughout the construction period due to economic loss as well as time. Therefore, in this study, the layout and plan of the site and the assembly process for each major part of the TBM equipment were reviewed for the assembly of slurry shield TBM to construct the largest diameter road tunnel in domestic passing through the Han River and minimized interference with other processes and the efficiency of cutter head assembly and transport were analyzed and improved to suit the site conditions.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.675-687
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• 2019

In recent years, the needs for double deck-tunnels have increased in large cities due to the increase in traffic volume and high land compensation costs. In Korea, a network type tunnel which is smaller than general road tunnels and crosses another tunnel underground is planned. In the shield tunnel joints between the existing shield tunnel and the box-type enlargement section, a partial steel-concrete joint is proposed where the bending moment is large instead of the existing full-section steel joint. In order to analysis the enlargement section of the shield tunnel diverged section to reflect the three-dimensional effect, the two-dimensional analysis model is considered to consider the column effect and the stiffness effect of the longitudinal member. A two-dimensional analysis method is proposed to reflect the stiffness of the longitudinal member and the column effect of the longitudinal point by considering the rigidity of the longitudinal member as the elastic spring point of the connecting part in the lateral model. As a result of the analysis of the model using the longitudinal member, it was considered that the structural safety of the partial steel-concrete joint can be secured by reducing the bending moment of the joint and the box member by introducing the longitudinal member having the stiffness equal to or greater than a certain value.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.183-198
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• 2021

The EPB (Earth Pressure Balanced) shield TBM method restrains the ground deformation through continuous excavation and support. Still, the significant surface settlement occurs due to the ground conditions, tunnel dimensions, and construction conditions. Therefore, it is necessary to clarify the settlement behavior with its influence factors and evaluate the possible settlement during construction. In this study, the analytical model of surface settlement based on the influence factors and their mechanisms were proposed. Then, the parametric study for controllable factors during excavation was conducted by numerical method. Through the numerical analysis, the settlement behavior according to the construction conditions was quantitatively derived. Then, the qualitative trend according to the ground conditions was visualized by coupling the numerical results with the analytical model of settlement. Based on the results of this study, it is expected to contribute to the derivation of the settlement prediction algorithm for EPB shield TBM excavation.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.375-393
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• 2022

This study was deal with blow-out and buoyancy stability evaluation method for slurry shield TBM. When applying a slurry shield TBM for the construction of a shallow tunnel under river or sea, the stability of slurry blow-out and segment lining buoyancy should be evaluated. However, there is a problem in that the currently applied theoretical formula is somewhat complicated, making it inconvenient to calculate in practice. In this study, some simple charts were proposed to easily evaluate the stability of slurry blow-out and segment lining buoyancy. In addition, the buoyancy safety factor of segment lining using the strength reduction method was evaluated and compared with the buoyancy safety factor based on the theoretical formula. The buoyancy safety factor by the theoretical formula was evaluated to be rather small, and it was confirmed that it was on the safe side. The simplified charts for the evaluation of slurry blow-out and buoyancy stability presented in this study are expected to be usefully utilized in the planning and design of undersea tunnels.