Force Transmission Characteristics for Thrust System in Rectangular Shield Machine

Abstract

This work aims to investigate the force transmission characteristics of a thrust system in a rectangular shield machine under the influence of various factors. These factors main include the external partial loads produced by the heterogeneity of rock and soil on the excavation face, the uneven distribution of friction acted on the shield body of the shield tunneling machine, the uneven distributed mass of the main machine, or attitude correction in the tunneling construction progress. First, the force uniformity mechanical model for the rectangular shield machine has been set up on the basis of the external loads. The force transmission characteristics of the model for the thrust system have been discussed in detail. Then, the method of reconfiguring the hydraulic cylinders in the thrust system to improve the force transmission performance has been proposed. Finally, virtual prototype simulation has been conducted to verify the effectiveness of presented method. Results show that the coefficient variation (CV) value of the reconfigured thrust system is much smaller than that of the unadjusted one, indicating that the force uniformity of the reconfigured thrust system is better. Such results would provide foundation and support for the design of a rectangular shield machine that can avoid partial loads.

Keywords

• Rectangular shield machine
• partial load
• force uniformity model
• force transmission performance
• reconfigurable thrust system