A simulation study of mirrored designs of carbide inserts of tunnel boring machine (TBM) disc cutters.

摘要

In this thesis, simulations of disc cutters of tunneling and boring machine (TBM) are presented. Two designs of tungsten carbide inserts are analyzed. One design, Design I relies on a mirrored pattern of a slanted, conical-shape model, while Design II relies on an alternation of conventional carbide inserts but adding a mirrored pattern in addition to the standard button cutter. In order to properly test the viability of these designs, three types of simulations were performed: stress simulations; vibration simulations; and depth penetration simulations. The stress and frequency simulations were performed in SolidWorks using eight different types of steel. Depth penetration simulations were performed in ANSYS Workbench. Comparative results are presented to determine the effect of geometrical parameters of disc cutter inserts.