Tunneling Simulation and Strength Analysis of Cutterhead System of TBM

Cutterhead, cutterhead support and main beam are three main stressed components of TBM in tunneling process. To obtain the loadings on these components, a three-dimensional finite element model was established to simulate the excavating process, in which the progressive damage and failure model was introduced to simulate the formation and separation of cutting scraps. Then the stress and deformation distribution on these three components were analyzed based on the established model. Results reveal that the dangerous point appears in the intersection of corbel and cutterhead panel, with the max stress 237.7MPa which is less than the material yield limit 345MPa. The maximum deformation of the system is 1.96mm, which is a minute quantity comparing to structure size. So both the strength and stiffness of the components meet the requirements. This method can be utilized to get more useful information in complex conditions for the optimization of topological structure of the key components of TBM.