Abstract:  Damaged shield tail seals often cause safety and progress problems. As a result, the failure modes of shield tail seals are outlined by summarizing shield tail seal usage and replacement cases in various shield tunnel projects. Thereafter, the causes for shield tail seal failure are analyzed, including design defects, poor manufacturing and installation quality, poor grease filling quality, loose control of the construction process, and insufficient emergency plan preparation. Thus, a shield tail seal management method based on the concept of entire process management is proposed, and the key points and countermeasures of entire process management of shield tail seals are systematically studied from the aspects of the design of shield tail seal, manufacturing and installation of shield tail brush, initial filling of grease, construction management, and emergency management. Furthermore, this method was successfully applied in the Yangtze rivercrossing shield tunnel of the SinoRussia eastern natural gas pipeline project, which ensures the safety of the shield tail seal in shield tunneling and provides new ideas and measures for scientific management of shield tail seals.

Key words: shield tail seal, shield tail brush, entire process management, design and manufacture, construction management, emergency management