The breaking of high-strength
reinforced concrete segments in main tunnel construction presents challenges
such as large disturbance, low efficiency, and high energy consumption. To
address these limitations, a circumferential-cutting
type cutterhead designed for connection tunnel boring machines is introduced.
First, the shortcomings of traditional connection tunnel construction methods
are analyzed, and an innovative method that breaks reinforced concrete segments
through local cutting ring grooves using a circumferential-cutting type cutterhead is proposed. Second, a tunnel boring machine
with a circumferential-cutting cutterhead is developed
based on this concept, along with a full-scale test
platform for in-plant testing. These experiments
specifically assess performance differences between circumferential and full-section cutting methods. Finally, the developed equipment is applied
to the connection tunnel of the Suzhou
rail transit line S1 to verify its field practicability. The results reveal the
following: (1) By cutting only a single ring groove, disturbance to the
reinforced concrete segments and surrounding strata of the main tunnel is
extremely low, thereby ensuring construction safety. (2) The required torque
and thrust are significantly lower than those of the full-section cutterhead, resulting in higher working speed and lower
energy consumption. (3) The equipment successfully facilitates the rapid
removal of the reinforced concrete segment at the receiving end within a short
construction period, verifying its advanced design and engineering
applicability.
ZHANG Ruilin
.
Research on Connection Tunnel Boring Machine With Circumferential-Cutting Type Cutterhead
[J]. Tunnel Construction, 2025
, 45(5)
: 1001
-1008
.
DOI: 10.3973/j.issn.2096-4498.2025.05.015
