Abstract Performance prediction of TBMs is an essential part of project scheduling and cost estimation. This process involves a good understanding of the complexities in the site geology, machine specification, and site management. Various approaches have been used over the years to estimate TBM performance in a given ground condition, many of them were successful and within an acceptable range, while some missing the actual machine performance by a notable margin. Experience shows that the best approach for TBM performance prediction is to use various models to examine the range of estimated machine penetration and advance rates and choose a rate that best represents the working conditions that is closest to the setting of the model used for the estimation. This allows the engineers to avoid surprises and to identify the parameters that could dominate machine performance in each case. This paper reviews the existing models for performance prediction of TBMs and some of the ongoing research on developing better models for improved accuracy of performance estimate and increasing TBM utilization.
The existing methods for estimating the advance rate of hard rock Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) often involves estimation of the machine utilization in a direct or an indirect manner. These methods are based on empirical systems and are limited in their capacity for incorporating new machine capabilities or including many of the geological features along the tunnel. As such, these models are not used as often due to their shortcomings. The objective of this study is to offer some improvements by u...
Nowsood water conveyance tunnel is 49 km long and has been designed for transferring 70 m3/s water from Sirvan river southward to Dashte Zahab plain in the west of Iran. This long tunnel has been divided into three sections, namely 1A, 1B and 2. By April 2008, about 5.3 km of the lot 2 of this project, with a total length of 26 km, were excavated by a double-shield TBM. The bored section of tunnel passed through different geological units of three main formations of the Zagross mountain ranges w...
#1Qiuming Gong(Beijing University of Technology)H-Index: 22
#2Jian Zhao(EPFL: École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne)H-Index: 63
Abstract The TBM tunneling process in hard rock is actually a rock or rock mass breakage process, which determines the efficiency of tunnel boring machine (TBM). On the basis of the rock breakage process, a rock mass conceptual model that identifies the effect of rock mass properties on TBM penetration rate is proposed. During the construction of T05 and T06 tunnels of DTSS project in Singapore, a comprehensive program was performed to obtain the relevant rock mass properties and TBM performance...
Abstract This paper presents the results of a study into the application of neuro-fuzzy methods to model the performance of tunnel boring machines. A database consisting of over 640 TBM projects in rock has been used. It is shown that neuro-fuzzy methods give better results than other, more conventional, modeling approaches. Fuzzy set theory, fuzzy logic and neural networks techniques seem very well suited for typical geological engineering applications. In conjunction with statistics and conven...
Last. Chengliang Liu(SJTU: Shanghai Jiao Tong University)H-Index: 26
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Abstract null null Accurately acquiring the geological information of the tunnel face will help to set the optimal operational parameters, so that the shield machine can achieve better tunneling performance. The design of the shield machine prevents the operator from observing the surrounding environment directly, and the soft methods which can utilize machine parameters to recognize geological conditions indirectly are becoming a research hotspot. However, current soft methods are all supervise...
Last. Wenyuan Gao(Northeastern University (China))
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Abstract null null Microwave energy has been demonstrated to be able to assist mechanical rock breaking in geotechnical and mining engineering. The aim of this research is to study the influences of the interaction between microwave energy and rocks on the performance of disc cutters on a TBM (tunnel boring machine). By applying an open-type microwave-induced fracturing apparatus of hard rocks, cuboidal basalt samples were subjected to microwave irradiation for different times. Full-scale linear...
Abstract null null null Prediction of the null tunnel boring machine null null (TBM) performance is critically important for project scheduling and cost estimation. Various models have been proposed to estimate the TBM performance. However, most of these models used the parameters of rock specimens acquired from the laboratory tests, which differed from the in-situ conditions. It is difficult to apply these models to the engineering practice. In the present study, to overcome these limitations, ...
The rock masses that occur in nature are damaged and unstable due to the impact of rock burst, coal and gas outbursts, and other human mining activities, posing a major threat to human life and safety. In the light of the early warning of the danger of the loaded rock mass, this paper adopts acoustic emission (AE) device to analyze the AE signal characteristics and damage laws of the loaded rock under different stress levels. Then, based on the AE signal characteristics of the loaded rock, data ...
Abstract null null Establishing a suitable TBM performance prediction model is benefit to the machine type selection, project scheduling and budgeting. Some regression equations using rock mass classification parameters had already been set up based on TBM tunneling database, some of which were small. Besides, most of existing equations involved field penetration index (FPI) or the cutter force. Once apply these equations, how to determine the cutter load is a problem. The cutter thrust force is...
The adaptability of an earth pressure balance (EPB) tunnel boring machine (TBM) to complex geological strata needs to be evaluated when a tunnel project is set up. It is helpful for better design and more suitable technical parameters of the machine. Because the factors that influence adaptability are numerous and interrelated, their effects also differ; hence, a quantitative assessment of adaptability is generally difficult. In the present study, a method for quantitatively evaluating the excav...
Abstract Slurry shield TBMs with full-face mechanized excavation and active face support using slurry suspension are increasingly being employed for the construction of underwater tunnels. When tunneling in permeable sandy ground, the choice of suitable excavation management system and volume calculation method is extremely important to prevent security emergencies such as face collapse, water inflow and ground deformation. However, this subject has not attracted adequate attention in previous s...
Underground construction has become a necessity considering social, technological, economical, and sustainable advancements in society. Tunnel boring machines (TBMs) can be considered as an efficient method of tunneling because of its high productivity and applicability in a variety of subsurface conditions. The performance of a rock TBM is assessed by its advance rate that is a function of penetration rate and utilization factor. While there are various existing models that can reasonably predi...
