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Tracking of disc cutter wear in TBM tunneling: a case study of Kerman water conveyance tunnel

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Abstract

Disc cutters are the dominant cutting tools used in tunneling by rock TBMs. During the operation, disc cutters wear out and should be replaced with new ones. The wear rate of the disc cutters can be defined in terms of rolling distance/time and volumetric wear. Furthermore, the wear rate can be attributed to the mass loss. The wear prediction models for disc cutter have been developed on the basis of the intact rock abrasion indices, most commonly Cerchar abrasivity index (CAI). Examination of these models and comparing their results with actual wear observed in the Kerman water conveyance tunnel (KWCT) project show that the available models are conservative. In other words, reliance only on the intact rock abrasion does not offer an accurate prediction of the wear rate of the disc cutter. Therefore, rock mass conditions should also be considered in the calculations. The current study shows that volumetric mass loss is a more appropriate method to predict wear life of disc cutters due to consideration of various geometric parameters such as spacing between disc cutters, penetration rate, installation radius, and bored length. Subsequently, a new empirical prediction model is proposed by nonlinear multivariable regression based on CAI as a rock material parameter and RQD (rock quality designation) as a rock mass parameter to estimate the cumulative volumetric mass loss of disc cutters. For ease of using the model, a chart is introduced that determines the wear on the disc cutters based on the CAI and RQD.

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Abbreviations

A, B :

Correlation coefficient

CAI :

Cerchar abrasivity index

D :

Primary diameter of the disc cutter (before wear process)

D ′ :

Secondary diameter of the disc cutter (after wear process)

F :

Function

f :

Mass loss function

L :

TBM advance length

l :

Length of the rolling path of the disc cutter over the tunnel face per one revolution

MR:

Rolling mass loss due to one rotation over the tunnel face

\( \overline{\mathrm{MR}} \) :

Weighted average of rolling mass loss

MV:

Volumetric mass loss due to boring of a certain volume of rock

\( \overline{\mathrm{MV}} \) :

Weighted average of volumetric mass loss

n :

Number of disc cutters in a disc group

P :

Depth or penetration rate of the disc cutter into the tunnel face per revolution

\( \overline{R} \) :

Mean installation radius in a disc group

R :

Installation radius of the disc cutter on the cutterhead

RQD:

Rock quality designation

S :

Impact width of disc cutter

TL :

Tip loss of disc cutter recorded by a measuring template

V :

Specific cutter ring wear in g per volume of excavated rock

V rock :

Volume of excavated rock

Vs:

Specific cutter ring wear in mg per roll meter

WR:

Rolling wear rate of disc cutter

WV:

Volumetric wear rate of disc cutter

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to express their sincere thanks to the assistance of the project manager and personnel of the Kerman water conveyance tunnel project for sharing the actual data of this project.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Mining, Petroleum and Geophysics Engineering, Shahrood University of Technology, Shahrood, Iran

    Morteza Karami & Shokrollah Zare

  2. Department of Mining Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO, USA

    Jamal Rostami

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  1. Morteza Karami
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  2. Shokrollah Zare
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Correspondence to Shokrollah Zare.

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Karami, M., Zare, S. & Rostami, J. Tracking of disc cutter wear in TBM tunneling: a case study of Kerman water conveyance tunnel. Bull Eng Geol Environ 80, 201–219 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-020-01931-7

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