Estimation Of TBM Cutter's Wear Based On Numerical Simulation

Tunnel boring machine(TBM) has gradually become the most widely used equipment in the engineering of tunneling with the rapid development of China's growing economy and the construction requirements. Cutter s wear is a problem urgently to be solved in tunneling engineering since it directly affects the cost and the efficiency. However, the methods which could quantitatively calculate the wear of the disc cutter are few currently.In this paper, the following work has been done to calculate the wear and lifespan of the disc cutter. By using finite element method, the model to describe the interaction between the disc cutter and the rock was established. The process of rock breaking under the action of a single disc cutter was obtained by numerical simulating. The forces and the slip displacement of the disc cutter were obtained by the analysis of reactive force and movement of the disc cutter. Based on the relation between abrasion loss of volume and friction energy, an estimation method to predict wear content of the cutter was proposed. The effects of different operating parameters and geological parameters on disc cutter were also discussed in this paper.Results show that, it is feasible by using numerical simulation method to obtain the vertical force and slip displacement and then to estimate the cutter s lifespan. For the same geology conditions, the same radius of location, and the same rotation speed, there is an optimal rate of penetration which can make the wear least. For the same geology conditions, the same rate of penetration, and the same rotation speed, the increase in the radius of location will make the wear of the cutter increase. For the same geology conditions, the same rate of penetration and the same radius of location, the increase in the rotation speed will make the wear of the cutter increase. For the same operating parameters, the wear conditions of the cutter by different rock are different.The results of this paper may provide a reference to evaluate the wear, to predict the cutter s lifespan and to determine the period of changing cutters.