Measurement of the earth pressure acting on a shield machine and its application to automatic advancing control of the shield

The earth pressure acting on a shield machine was measured during construction to investigate the relationship between the earth pressure and the movement of the shield machine. From the results of the measurements, a coefficient of the subgrade reaction was defined as an index of the ground properties that are closely related to the shield movement. The idea of an automatic advancing control method for shield machine is discussed by studying the relationship between the movement of a shield machine and the distribution of the earth pressure acting on the shield machine.