Numerical Investigation of Rock-Breaking Force Analysis of TBM Disk-Cutters

The rock-breaking force of the disk cutter is affected by many factors. The greater the rock-breaking force applied to the disk cutter, the higher the breakage efficiency and removal in the rock masses, thereby speeding up the excavation speed and improving construction efficiency. The elastic-plasticity of rock materials will greatly affect the disk cutter rock-breaking force, thereby affecting the efficiency and speed of the TBM excavation process. The commercial finite element software LS-DYNA was performed to simulate the rock breakage mechanism by disk cutter, and the influence of three rock behavior models of elastic-plastic, plastic, and elastic models on the rock-breaking force by disk cutter was studied. Finally, the elastic model with the least influencing parameters was selected to study the effects of rock elastic modulus and disk-cutting depth on rock-breaking force.