Analysis of Disc Cutter Wear Based on the Theory of Energy

A disc cutter is the main breaking rock tool on the cutterhead of the full face hard rock boring machine. It directly contacts the rock and undergoes significant wear and tear. The disc cutter loses the capacity to break rock when it reaches its wear limit, so its construction efficiency can be improved if its degree of wear and tear can be predicted. In this paper, friction work is computed based on the principle of conservation of energy, and the effects of friction on the abrasive volume of the disc cutter are studied. A predictive model of friction work and the abrasive volume of the disc cutter is established, and the influence of the excavation parameters, geometric parameters, and geological parameters on the disc cutter's wear and tear is analyzed. Several TB880E disc cutters were tested, and the results show that the incremental friction work and the incremental abrasive volume of the disc cutter are proportional when the friction work reaches a certain value. The error of the predictive model of the disc cutter's wear loss is less than 9%, which proves that the prediction model is reliable and can guide tunnel construction.