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Full-scale linear cutting tests to check and modify a widely used semi-theoretical model for disc cutter cutting force prediction

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Abstract

This study is to investigate the change in resultant force, cutting coefficient and normalized resultant force of the TBM (tunnel boring machine) disc cutter when using different cutting conditions and different linear cutting machines. Full-scale linear cutting tests on three rocks of different compressive strengths were conducted. The experimental results, combined with other previously published data, were compared to the prediction results of the semi-theoretical CSM (Colorado School of Mines) prediction model. The influences of rock compressive strength, disc cutter diameter and machine frame stiffness on the comparison results were analysed. From the general view, experimental resultant forces tend to be underestimated while experimental cutting coefficients and normalized resultant forces both tend to be overestimated when using the semi-theoretical CSM prediction model, and the underestimation or overestimation degrees are different when the above three influencing factors are different. The reason responsible for these phenomena can be mainly attributed to the lower actual cutter penetration depth compared to the pre-set one during the rock–machine interaction process. The results of this study can offer more accurate understanding of the full-scale linear cutting tests using different cutting conditions and different linear cutting machines, and thus it can contribute to the more reliable and accurate prediction on disc cutter cutting forces.

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Abbreviations

β :

Acting angle of the disc cutter resultant force referred to the normal direction

θ :

Angle of the studied point referred to the normal direction, 0 < θ < φ

φ :

Contact angle between rock surface and disc cutter

σ c :

Rock uniaxial compressive strength

σ t :

Rock Brazilian tensile strength

ψ :

Contact pressure distribution constant, typically − 0.2 to 0.2

C :

Constant in the semi-theoretical CSM prediction model, usually taken as 2.12

CC:

Disc cutter cutting coefficient obtained in the full-scale linear cutting test

CCRost :

Disc cutter cutting coefficient predicted by the semi-theoretical CSM prediction model

D :

Disc cutter diameter

FT:

Disc cutter resultant force obtained in the full-scale linear cutting test

FN:

Disc cutter normal force obtained in the full-scale linear cutting test

FR:

Disc cutter rolling force obtained in the full-scale linear cutting test

FTRost :

Disc cutter resultant force predicted by the semi-theoretical CSM prediction model

FNRost :

Disc cutter normal force predicted by the semi-theoretical CSM prediction model

FRRost :

Disc cutter rolling force predicted by the semi-theoretical CSM prediction model

FTRost, M :

Disc cutter resultant force predicted by the modified semi-theoretical CSM prediction model

FNRost, M :

Disc cutter normal force predicted by the modified semi-theoretical CSM prediction model

FRRost, M :

Disc cutter rolling force predicted by the modified semi-theoretical CSM prediction model

KC:

Modification factor for disc cutter cutting coefficient

KT:

Modification factor for disc cutter resultant force

NRF:

Normalized resultant force of the disc cutter

NRFavg :

Averaged normalized resultant force obtained in the full-scale linear cutting test

NRFRost :

Normalized resultant force assumed in the semi-theoretical CSM prediction model, set as 0.5000

p :

Cutter penetration depth

P 0 :

Base contact pressure immediately underneath the disc cutter

P θ :

Contact pressure distribution function within the rock-cutter contact area

R :

Disc cutter radius

s :

Disc cutter spacing

T :

Disc cutter tip width

v 0 :

Cutting velocity in the full-scale linear cutting test (20 mm/s in this study)

BJUT-LCM:

Linear cutting machine in Beijing University of Technology

CCS:

Constant cross-section

CSM-LCM:

Linear cutting machine in Colorado School of Mines

ILCM:

Intermediate linear cutting machine in Politecnico di Torino

ITU-LCM:

Linear cutting machine in Istanbul Technical University

KICT-LCM:

Linear cutting machine in Korean Institute of Construction Technology

LCM:

Linear cutting machine

TBM:

Tunnel boring machine

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant Nos. 41807250 and 41602326, National Key Basic Research Program of China under Grant Nos. 2015CB058102 and 2014CB046903, and China Postdoctoral Science Foundation Program under Grant Nos. 2019T120686 and 2017M622515. The authors are grateful for their continuous support, and also very much grateful to the authors’ colleagues for their valuable help in organizing this article. Prof. Qiuming Gong’s postgraduates at Beijing University of Technology are sincerely acknowledged for helping the authors prepare the rock samples and conduct the full-scale linear cutting tests. The anonymous reviewers are also deeply acknowledged for reviewing this article and giving their valuable comments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Safety for Geotechnical and Structural Engineering of Hubei Province, School of Civil Engineering, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, Hubei, People’s Republic of China

    Yucong Pan & Quansheng Liu

  2. Changjiang Institute of Survey, Planning, Design and Research, Wuhan, 430010, Hubei, People’s Republic of China

    Qi Liu

  3. College of Water Conservancy and Hydropower Engineering, Sichuan Agricultural University, Ya’an, 625014, Sichuan, People’s Republic of China

    Jianping Liu

  4. China Railway 11th Bureau Group 4th Engineering Co., Ltd., Wuhan, 430074, Hubei, People’s Republic of China

    Xingxin Peng

  5. State Key Laboratory of Geomechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430071, Hubei, People’s Republic of China

    Xing Huang

  6. Sinohydro Bureau 3th Co., Ltd., Xi’an, 710024, Shaanxi, People’s Republic of China

    Mingbao Wei

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  1. Yucong Pan
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Appendix

Appendix

See Table 6.

Table 6 Summary of the semi-theoretical and experimental results for the full-scale linear cutting tests from the published literatures
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Pan, Y., Liu, Q., Liu, Q. et al. Full-scale linear cutting tests to check and modify a widely used semi-theoretical model for disc cutter cutting force prediction. Acta Geotech. 15, 1481–1500 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11440-019-00852-4

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