Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology 85 (2019) 92–99

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Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/tust

A practical TBM cutter wear prediction model for disc cutter life and rock T
wear ability
Zhenchuan Suna,b,1, Hailei Zhaoa,b,1, , Kairong Honga,b, Kui Chena,b, Jianjun Zhoua,b,
⁎

Fengyuan Lia,b, Bing Zhanga,b, Faliang Songa,b, Yandong Yanga,b, Rongyan Hea
a
China Railway Tunnel Group Co., Guangzhou 510000, China
b
State Key Laboratory of Shield Machine and Boring Technology, Zhengzhou, China

ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT

Keywords: Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) is an effective machine for building hard-rock tunnel. However, the interaction
Prediction model between the cutter of TBM and rock is the key factor before engineering construction, which will cause a lot of
Wear experiment unnecessary losses and trouble in the construction process. The reason is that the disc cutter, the core tool of
Small size cutter TBM broken easily during the construction process. Engineering practice shows that TBM cutters’ overhaul
Cutter wear
(including inspection, replacement and repairment) in high abrasive stratum takes almost one-third time of
Life prediction
tunnelling as well as the cost of digging construction. To address the problems mentioned above, it is necessary
Rock wear ability
Engineering application to study the cutter wear prediction of the high abrasive stratum. In this paper, based on the working principle of
TBM, the experimental disc cutters were scaled to 1/10 of the actual cutter, and a composite wear test device
model of the cutter had been manufactured. Furthermore, the engineering data was collected from the Yin Han Ji
Wei project as an example to establish a TBM cutter wear prediction method. The results show that the model
can be used to make wear experiments of small size cutters and the cutter life prediction of TBM.

1. Introduction
Nowadays, we are witnessing to an ever-increasing need for tunnels
in China because of their unique characteristics and potential applica-
tions. Tunnels are artificial underground space with a capacity for
particular goals such as water transfer, road tunnels, and mine.
Therefore, tunnelling techniques play a significant role in varying in-
frastructure projects. Among them, Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) is
one of the most common methods for tunnelling due to its high ex-
cavation rate (Farrokh and Rostami, 2009). Compared with the tradi-
tional drilling and blasting method of tunnel construction, TBM has
many advantages of safety, high speed, high quality, etc., and is con-
ducive to environmental protection, saving labour and improving work
efficiency. However, TBM designs must be changed with different
stratum types, because the interaction mechanism should be studied
between the rock and machine in varying stratum. Otherwise, it will
cause a lot of unnecessary losses and trouble in the construction pro-
cess.
As the core broken rock tool of TBM, disc cutter is a key in the TBM
construction process. Engineering practice shows that replacing and
repairing TBM cutters in a high abrasive stratum costs one-third of the
total time of tunnelling, while the cost of cutting tools is about one-third
of the digging construction cost (Ren, Shen and Arulrajah, 2018). In
addition, the usage amount of TBM cutters before construction is dif-
ficult to anticipate, which will lead to hardly controllable TBM con-
struction schedule, construction cost and construction risk (Zhao and
Song, 2014). Therefore, it is necessary to study the cutter wear pre-
diction of the high abrasive stratum deeply. Parviz (1975) proved that
wear would impair the disc cutters cutting performance by testing. Wijk
(1992) proposed an equation for TBM cutter wear using the rock
strength index, the Cerchar abrasivity index (CAI), disc cutter geometry
parameters, cutterhead thrust, and TBM boring distance. The CSM
model (Rostami, 1997; Yagiz, 2002) developed by the Colorado School
of Mines used the CAI values, calculated TBM advance rate, and TBM
working time or excavation rock volume to predict the CCS disc cutter
change time. A Norwegian Institute of Technology (NTU) model (1998)
used a specialized abrasiveness value (AV) to estimate cutter life. Japan
Komatsu (1998) estimated cutter wear conditions by correlating ex-
perience with an empirical curve of cutter size, cutterhead rotation
speed, and TBM boring speed. Hassanpour et al. (2015) studied TBM
performance and disc cutter wear prediction based on ten years ex-
perience of TBM tunnelling in Iran. Yang et al. (2018) studied the

⁎
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: sklzhl@163.com (H. Zhao).
1
The authors contributed equally to this work and should be considered co-first authors.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tust.2018.12.010
Received 22 December 2017; Received in revised form 11 December 2018; Accepted 11 December 2018
0886-7798/ © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Z. Sun et al. Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology 85 (2019) 92–99

fitting to determine overall cutter wear. Alber (2008) focused on the

influence of on-site stress on the CAI index. Zhang and Ji (2009) utilized
an analytic formula for the arc length of the rock breakage point and
the arc length wear-out coefficient to calculate the wear-out of disc
cutters. Alber (2008) studied the stress dependency of the Cerchar
abrasivity index (CAI) and its effects on wear of selected rock cutting
tools. Hassanpour (2018) development of an empirical model to esti-
mate disc cutter wear for sedimentary and low to medium grade me-
tamorphic rocks. Li and Su (2010) predicted that overall cutter wear by
using the Elman neural network model based on the shield excavation
parameters data. Chen et al. (2011) analyzed the form and reason for
disc cutter wear and described a series of measures to reduce disc cutter
wear. Wang et al. (2012) established the energy method to predict the
disc cutter wear extent based on a mechanical analysis of the disc
cutter. Frenzel (2012) established a statistical model for performance
and wear prediction based on a previously developed model.
Hassanpour et al. (2014) made the introduction of an empirical TBM
cutter wear prediction model for pyroclastic and mafic igneous rocks,
which based on a case history of Karaj water conveyance tunnel, Iran.
Wang et al. (2015) propounded a disc cutter wear prediction for a hard
Fig. 1. The whole structure drawing of the composite wear test device model.
rock TBM cutterhead based on energy analysis.
Despite the importance of cutter wear and its high impact on per-
formance of mechanized excavators, it has been rarely reported on
developing practical models for predicting cutter wear and related cost.
Analytical or judgmental methods provided above were cited to char-
acterize cutter wear. These methods can be summarized as analysing
cutter load empirical formulae, engineering data fitting analyses, ex-
perimental parameters derived from the grinding of rock, and qualita-
tive analysis of cutter wear. In this paper, a composite wear test device
model was manufactured to predict the wear of cutter. Furthermore,
engineering data were used from the Yin Han Ji Wei project as an ex-
ample to establish a TBM cutter wear prediction method. Combined the
above two points, the model can be designed to make wear experiments
of small size cutters and the cutter life prediction of TBM.

2. The design of the composite wear test device model

The wear experimental device of small size cutter is mainly com-

posed of three parts: power system, control and testing system, host
Fig. 2. The digital photo of the model.
system. The host system consists of a working device, a horizontal
movement device and a vertical motion device. Fig. 1 shows the whole
Derivation and Validation of TBM Disc Cutter Wear Prediction Model. structure drawing of the composite wear test device model. The digital
Plinninger et al. (2003) analyzed the effects of experimental conditions photo of the model is presented in Fig. 2.
and rock mass properties on the CAI index. Yang and Huang (2005)
predicted cutter life by utilizing the rock mass classification.
3. The operational principle of the composite wear test device
Michalakopoulos et al. (2006) analysed the impact of Steel styli on the
model
CAI index. Ko et al. (2016) researched the effect of geometrical prop-
erties on Cerchar Abrasivity Index (CAI) and its application to TBM
As is shown in Fig. 3, the model based on the operational principle
tunneling. Zhao et al. (2007) correlated the rules between the field
of TBM, and experimental disc cutters are scaled to 1/10 of the actual
penetration index f FPI and the cutting coefficient C by utilizing data
cutter, Fig. 3a shows the TBM disc cutter of 43.2 cm. Fig. 3b shows the

Fig. 3. The TBM disc cutter of 17 in (a); the experimental disc cutter of 1.7 in (b).

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Fig. 4. The working window of host system (a); the rock sample after wear by the cutter (b); the rock slag (c).

Fig. 5. The location and TBM of Yin Han Ji Wei project.

experimental disc cutter of 4.32 cm. The small size cutter and rock
samples are assembled in a fixed position on the host system of the
model (Fig. 4a). Then, through synergy work among the host system,
control system and power system, cutter began to erosion on the rock in
the vertical direction, and the rock slag, showed in Fig. 4c was collected
at the same time. The rock sample after wear by the cutter is showed in
Fig. 4b. After the wear process, the small size cutter and the rock slag
were weighed to determine the rock breaking efficiency and the cutter
wear degree. At last, according to the different rock samples from the
construction site, the engineer of cutter can predict the cutting-tool
wear of TBM, to make accurate cost analysis for engineering con-
struction.
4. Project description of Yin Han Ji Wei
The project of Yin Han Ji Wei is a cross basin water transfer project
and is composed of three parts: the golden gorge water control project,
the Yin Han Ji Wei water-conveyance tunnel (Huang San tunnel and
Qinling Mountains tunnel), and the three estuary water control project.
As shown in Fig. 5, the tunnels are located at Qinling Mountains in the
central and southerly Shaanxi province, which crosses two major river
systems, the Yangtze River and the Yellow River, and also located at
two nature reserve, southerly Shaanxi and Guanzhong. The tunnel
construction uses TBM with 8.05 m in diameter. The excavation of the
project through the quartz, granite and diorite accounted for about 75%
of all rocks. The largest rock strength is up to 242 MPa, which resulted
that cutter wear is serious further influencing the project tremendously.

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Fig. 6. Digital photographs of the different cutters.

Fig. 7. The experimental system installation of different diameter disc cutter.

5. The application of the composite wear test device model
5.1. Install different cutters
The composite wear test device model has the function of installing
different types of cutters. Firstly, the model can install with different
diameter cutters. As showed in Fig. 6(a), the diameter of left cutter is
4.32 cm when the right cutter is 3.81 cm. Secondly, the model can install
with different width and shape of the cutter edge. Fig. 6(b) shows two
different cutter edges with the width of 3 mm and 5 mm, respectively. On
the other hand, according to the requirements, the model can be used to
manufacture additional cutters with different width and shape of the
cutter edge. Thirdly, the model can install with different number cutting
edges of the cutter, one or double cutting edge (Fig. 6c). In addition to the
above functions, the model can install with different cutter spacing of
cutters. As showed in the Fig. 6d, the left one is 11 mm and the right one is
9 mm. In addition, the experimental system installation of different dia-
meter disc cutter and assembly process just as Fig. 7 shown.

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Fig. 8. The rock samples with different CAI: (a) diorite; (b) limestone; (c)
griotte; (d) granite; (e) sandstone; (f) rock of Yin Han Ji Wei project.
Fig. 9. The ATA-IGG I type rock abrasion servo experimental instrument of
State Key Laboratory of Shield Machine and Boring Technology.
Table 1
The CAI data of different rock samples.
Rock name griotte diorite limestone sandstone granite sample f
CAI 1.48 1.58 1.67 2.51 4.31 3.87
5.2. Wear ability prediction of different rocks
In order to verify the abrasiveness of rocks with different CAI va-
lues, Using the experimental model, had done the wear tests of granite,
sandstone, diorite, limestone, griotte and rocks of Yin Han Ji Wei
project, in this paper, rock of Yin Han Ji Wei project can replace by
“sample f”(Fig. 8). The CAI values of different rocks were measured by
ATA-IGG I type rock abrasion servo experimental instrument of State
Key Laboratory of Shield Machine and Boring Technology. As showed
in Fig. 9, the rock abrasion servo experimental instrument experimental
process can be controlled by servo, and analysis of the interaction be-
tween rock and machine in the whole abrasion process. The test method
is easy and non-destructive, and the experimental results can wonder
reflect the wear ability of the rock to cutter. The CAI data was shown in
Table 1.
The method for obtaining the data of Table 1 as follows: First of all,
put the rock sample in the fixture and makes the tip of a steel tool (45-
50HRC) close to it, just as the Fig. 10a shown. The tip of steel moves at
the surface of the rock sample at a displacement rate of 10 mm/min, the
total displacement is 10 mm, taking into account the anisotropy of rock,
two scratch tests were made on the surface of the sample, and the angle
between the two scratches was 90 degrees (Fig. 10b). The wear
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Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology 85 (2019) 92–99
diameter N of sliding steel needle was measured under high definition
digital microscope, the abrasiveness index CAI is obtained by the fol-
lowing formula:
N * 2000
CAI =
80.591 * 100 (1)
Fig. 10c is the tip of a steel tool under high definition digital mi-
croscope before the test, Fig. 10d is the tip of a steel tool under high
definition digital microscope after the test.
The parameters of small size cutter: Diameter 4.32 cm; cutter edge
width 1.9 mm; flat cutter edge; hardness: the surface hardness of cutter
is 56-60HRC, when the hardness of the heart of the cutter is 50-56HRC.
The experimental scheme is to set the penetration of each stroke of the
cutter is 0.05 mm, each stroke is 250 mm, the wear weight of cutter is
measured once every 400 S (namely the total stroke is 100 m, the final
penetration is 5 mm), after weighted three times and got the average
value of wear weight. The obtained data were shown in Table 2.
By the above rock abrasion servo experimental instrument experi-
mental (CAI test) and the cutter wear experiment (One hundred meters
wear testing), the CAI values of different rock samples and the wear
weight per 100 m of cutter (replace with W) were obtained. Through
calculation and linear fitting, the relationship between W and CAI is
obtained:
W= 0.7845 × CAI2 (2)
Namely, the wear weight per 100 m of cutter is proportional to the
square of CAI value. The formula is based on Table 2 data obtained by
linear fitting and the linear fitting curve as showed in Fig. 11.
However, it is inaccurate to predict the wear degree of the cutter
only by CAI for the rock faced in practical engineering. The effects of
uniaxial compressive strength (UCS), tensile strength (TS) and equiva-
lent quartz content (EQC) should be considered simultaneously. In view
of this, we have considered the effect of UCS and EQC at the same time.
According to reference (Prieto, 2012), the product of EQC and UCS
of rock is Rock Abrasivity Index (RAI), namely
RAI = UCS × EQC
The mineral composition of rock can be obtained through rock slice
identification experiment or material composition diffraction experi-
ment. EQC of rocks are calculated by the method of reference (Yang
et al., 2012). The UCS of rocks were obtained by uniaxial compression
experiment with MTS experimental machine. The CAI of rocks were
tested by ATA-IGG I type rock abrasion servo experimental instrument.
27 groups of rock samples were taken from the construction site of a
diversion tunnel in Qinling Mountains, a railway tunnel in Guangzhou
and a diversion tunnel in Northeast China. The results of the tests are
shown in Table 3, and the relationship curve between CAI and RAI is
fitted as shown in Fig. 12.
As can be seen from Fig. 12, the rock abrasion index CAI has a
positive logarithmic relationship with RAI, and the two indexes are
highly correlated, the correlation coefficient is 0.956. That is to say, the
prediction model seems to only consider the impact of CAI, but actually
consider the comprehensive impact of CAI, UCS, EQC, TS and so on.
5.3. The prediction methods of cutter wear
5.3.1. The prediction methods based on W
Depending on the results of laboratory experiments, in the case of
no abnormal wear, the mass loss is proportional to the cutter's rolling
distance. Using this principle, through collecting rock samples from the
proposed projects and projects have been built to carry out the small
size cutter wear experiments, then measured their W respectively. Then
through the actual use of the cutter in the construction site, the cutter
consumption of the proposed project is predicted by analogy, just as the
following Eq. (3).
Z. Sun et al. Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology 85 (2019) 92–99

Fig. 10. The core test device of ATA-IGG I type rock abrasion servo experimental instrument (a); the rock sample after the test (b); the tip of steel tool under high
definition digital microscope before the test (c); the tip of steel tool under high definition digital microscope after the test (d).

Table 2 represents the wear weight per 100 m of small size cutter for the pro-
The wear weight per 100 m of cutter for different rock samples. posed projects.
Rock name Griotte Diorite Limestone Sandstone Granite Sample f

Wear times The wear weight per 100 m of cutter(mg)

5.3.2. The auxiliary prediction methods based on CAI
first time 1 2 3 3 9 8 According to the experimental results of rock abrasion servo ex-
second time 1 1 2 3 9 8 perimental and small size cutter wear test, W is proportional to the
third time 2 1 2 4 10 8 square of CAI. By using this rule, first we can test the CAI values of rock
average value 1.3 1.7 2.3 3.4 9.3 8.0

Table 3
Test results of geological sensitive indexes.
Number Rock properties UCS/MPa EQC/% CAI/(×10−1 mm)

A1 granite 103 44.2 3.35

A2 diorite 180 51.9 3.68
A3 granite 210 45.0 3.87
A4 granite 123 44.2 3.51
A5 granite 125 48.4 3.53
A6 granite 140 45.0 3.59
A7 granite 193 46.5 3.54
A8 granite 185 45.0 3.73
A9 granite 160 49.2 3.42
A10 schist 192 36.9 3.63
A11 granite 173 50.0 3.76
B1 pelitic siltstone 16 49.0 1.00
B2 pelitic siltstone 23 48.9 1.40
B3 pelitic siltstone 24 33.9 1.11
B4 pelitic siltstone 26 41.8 1.32
B5 sandstone 34 63.0 2.82
B6 sandstone 45 66.0 3.04
B7 sandstone 40 89.6 3.08
B8 sandstone 44 58.0 2.98
Fig. 11. The fitting curve of W and CAI2. B9 sandy mudstone 8 24.1 0.34
B10 sandy mudstone 11 29.9 0.59
B11 sandy mudstone 13 32.1 0.78
W1 2 C1 diorite 59 30.2 2.39
= C2 granite 37 40.3 2.11
W2 2 (3)
C3 limestone 69 26.1 2.10
C4 limestone 52 28.0 1.81
In the above equation, W1 represents the service life of a single
C5 limestone 89 15.8 1.77
cutter for the projects which have been built, can be measured by rock-
broken volume of per cutter. W2 represents the service life of a single Notes: A1-A11 from a diversion tunnel in Qinling Mountains; B1-B11 from a
cutter for the proposed projects; ω1 represents the wear weight per railway tunnel in Guangzhou; C1-C5 from a diversion tunnel in Northeast
100 m of small size cutter for the projects which have been built, ω2 China.

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each cutter is 124 m3.

Fig. 12. The fitting relationship between CAI and RAI.
samples, which be collected from the projects have been built and the
proposed projects. Then through the actual use of the cutter in the
construction site, the cutter consumption of the proposed project is
predicted by analogy, just as the following Eq. (4).
W1 CAI22
=
W2 CAI12
In the above equation, W1 represents the service life of a single
cutter for the projects which have been built, can be measured by rock-
broken volume of per cutter. W2 represents the service life of a single
cutter for the proposed projects; CAI1 represents the index of rock
abrasiveness for the projects which have been built; CAI2 represents the
index of rock abrasiveness for the proposed projects.
5.3.3. The application of cutter wear prediction method
The actual use situation of cutters in the front 2000 m test section of
Yin Han Ji Wei TBM project just as showed in the Table 4. Through the
analysis on Table 4, the actual consumption of cutter in front 2000 m of
Yin Han Ji Wei TBM project is 2.46 m/handful. The excavation dia-
meter of TBM is 8.03 m. The calculation results show that the life of
Based on Table 5, the results of wear test of small size cutter for
different projects rock, when the penetration of each stroke of the small
size cutter is 0.05 mm, the average W of Beijing nuclear industry rock
samples is 9.0 mg, the average W of Gao Li Gong Shan tunnel is 3.3 mg,
when the average W of Yin Han Ji Wei is 18.8 mg. Assume that for the
same rock sample, the W is proportional to the rock-broken volume, the
following result can be obtained:
By predicting the weight of cutter wear, it is preliminarily proved
that the service life of a cutter in the nuclear engineering proposed
project will be x1 (259 m3). Excavation diameter of the proposed project
is 7.6 m. The prediction consumption of cutter in the nuclear en-
gineering proposed project will be 5.7 m/handful by calculating. The
average service life of a cutter in the Gao Li Gong Shan tunnel project
will be x2 (706 m3) rock-broken. This prediction result is very consistent
with the service life of the cutter at the site, and the error is only 3.9%.
As shown in Fig. 13. Fig. 13 (a) is the “Caiyun TBM” with diameter
9.03 m in the tunnel of Gao Li Gong Shan. Fig. 13 (b) for statistical
cutter cumulative wear of TBM digging 1500 m, by calculating the ac-
tual rock-broken volume of the single cutter is 735 m3. Therefore, by
comparing the predicted results with the actual working conditions, it is
proved that the model has high accuracy and strong operability.
6. Conclusions
(4)
The composite wear test device model was successfully designed
and manufactured in this paper; The operational principle of the
composite wear test device model was analyzed; At the same time, the
support project of Yin Han Ji Wei was introduced. In addition, the wear
tests of small size cutters of different sizes and different types rock
samples were carried out. The quantitative relationship between the
wear rate of the cutter and the CAI, UCS and EQC value of rock abra-
siveness was established. Based on the wear weight of small size cutter
and the index of abrasiveness of rock, two prediction methods of cutter
life were established, and which were applied by a commissioned ex-
periment of the proposed project of Beijing nuclear industry and Gao Li
Gong Shan tunnel project. Finally, by comparing the predicted results
with the actual working conditions, it is proved that the model has high
accuracy and strong operability.

Table 4
The use situation of cutters in the front 2000 m test section about Yin Han Ji Wei project.
Boring stage Boring distance Number of cutter Use amount of new Replacement rate of new Abnormal ware Abnormal ware Boring distance of each
(m) change cutter (handful) cutter (%) (time) rate cutter (m/handful)

Stage 1 500 401 208 51.9 92 22.9% 2.40

Stage 2 500 463 196 42.3 46 9.9% 2.55
Stage 3 500 363 185 50.1 16 4.4% 2.70
Stage 4 500 466 225 48.2 56 12% 2.22
Total value 2000 1693 814 48.1 210 12.4% 2.46

Table 5
The results of wear test of small size cutter for different projects.
Projects

Yin Han Ji Wei Proposed project of Beijing nuclear industry Proposed project of Gao Li Gong Shan tunnel

W (the first time) 20 mg 10 mg 4 mg

W (the second time) 16 mg 9 mg 3 mg
W (the third time) 18 mg 10 mg 3 mg
W (the fourth time) 21 mg 10 mg 4 mg
W (the fifth time) 25 mg 7 mg 3 mg
W (the sixth time) 13 mg 8 mg 3 mg
average value 18.8 mg 9.0 mg 3.3 mg

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Z. Sun et al.
Fig. 13. The “Caiyun TBM” with diameter 9.03 m(a); Statistical cutter cumulative wear of TBM digging 1500 m.
Acknowledgements
We gratefully acknowledge the financial support by the Science and
Technology Research and Development plan of China Railway
Corporation (2016G004-A); Science and Technology Innovation Plan of
China Railway Tunnel Group (2015-18; 2016-03; 2018-06); Integrated
geological survey instrument for quantitative prediction of unfavorable
geology in tunnel construction (51327802); Research on Shield
Tunnelling Attitude Control Model under Complex Tunnel Linear
Condition (51478146); Science and Technology Innovation Plan of
China Railway Construction Investment Co., Ltd. (2016) 01-3; Research
topics of Shenzhen Metro Group (ZHDT-KY035/2017); The Opening
Subject of State Key Laboratory of Shield Machine and Boring
Technology (SKLST-2018-k03); Henan Province Natural Science
Foundation (182300410197).
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