Simulation Study on Disc Cutter of Full Face Rock Tunnel Boring Machine

Disc cutters are key parts in a full face rock tunnel boring machine(TBM).Most of the failures of TBM have a direct or indirect relationship with the failures of disc cutters.Simulating the disc cutter and rock in the process of breaking rock can optimize design of cutter rings,reduce failure of disc cutters,and improve life-time of disc cutters.In this paper,according to Drucker-Prager plasticity criterion of rocks and mechanical properties of rocks,we used the ABAQUS finite element software to simulate the force and deformation of disc cutters and rocks in the process of breaking rock,and analyzed the impacts of different indentation depths on force and deformation.The results show that fragmentation of rock occurs at the contact zone of rock with disc cutters when the indentation depth obtains 0.76mm,and,the corresponding areas of rock crushing stress zone and deformation zone enlarge with the increases of indentation depth,and the increase in the area of stress zone is more pronounced than that of deformation zone.The results are definitely valuable for understanding the mechanism and structural optimization of disc cutters,and for using finite element software to simulate the disc cutter and rock in the process of breaking rock.