Pål Drevland Jakobsen

Influence of Corrosion on the Abrasion of Cutter Steels Used in TBM Tunnelling

Abrasion on tunnel boring machine (TBM) cutters may be critical in terms of project duration and costs. Several researchers are currently studying the degradation of TBM cutter tools used for excavating hard rock, soft ground and loose soil. So far, the primary focus of this research has been directed towards abrasive wear. Abrasive wear is a very common process in TBM excavation, but with a view to the environment in which the tools are working, corrosion may also exert an influence. This paper presents a selection of techniques that can be used to evaluate the influence of corrosion on abrasion on TBM excavation tools. It also presents the influence of corrosion on abrasive wear for some initial tests, with constant steel and geomaterial and varying properties of the excavation fluids (soil conditioners, anti-abrasion additives and water). The results indicate that the chloride content in the water media greatly influences the amount of wear, providing evidence of the influence of corrosion on the abrasion of the cutting tools. The presence of conditioning additives tailored to specific rock or soil conditions reduces wear. However, when chloride is present in the water, the additives minimise wear rates but fail to suppress corrosion of the cutting tools.

Influence of Subjectivity in Geological Mapping on the Net Penetration Rate Prediction for a Hard Rock TBM

The net penetration rate of hard rock tunnel boring machines (TBM) is influenced by rock mass degree of fracturing. This influence is taken into account in the NTNU prediction model by the rock mass fracturing factor (ks). ks is evaluated by geological mapping, the measurement of the orientation of fractures and the spacing of fractures and fracture type. Geological mapping is a subjective procedure. Mapping results can therefore contain considerable uncertainty. The mapping data of a tunnel mapped by three researchers were compared, and the influence of the variation in geological mapping was estimated to assess the influence of subjectivity in geological mapping. This study compares predicted net penetration rates and actual net penetration rates for TBM tunneling (from field data) and suggests mapping methods that can reduce the error related to subjectivity. The main findings of this paper are as follows: (1) variation of mapping data between individuals; (2) effect of observed variation on uncertainty in predicted net penetration rates; (3) influence of mapping methods on the difference between predicted and actual net penetration rate.