Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology 43 (2014) 222–231

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Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology

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

Introduction of an empirical TBM cutter wear prediction model

for pyroclastic and mafic igneous rocks; a case history of Karaj water
conveyance tunnel, Iran
J. Hassanpour a,⇑, J. Rostami b, S. Tarigh Azali c, J. Zhao d,e
a
University of Tehran, College of Science, Tehran, Iran
b
Pennsylvania State University, University Park, USA
c
Ferdowsi University of Mashhad (FUM), Mashhad, Iran
d
Monash University, Civil Engineering Department, Melbourne, Australia
e
Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: One of the main cost items in tunneling projects using tunnel boring machines (TBMs) in rock and soil is
Received 11 December 2013 the cost of changing of damaged or worn cutting tools. Cutter change is a time consuming activity which
Received in revised form 8 April 2014 can have a major impact on the daily advance rate (AR) and therefore, on the time and cost of construct-
Accepted 8 May 2014
ing the tunnel. Accurate estimation of TBM performance and related completion time and cost requires
Available online 17 June 2014
reliable assessment of disc cutter wear by using appropriate methods. This study introduces a new
empirical model for predicting cutter wear in moderate to very strong pyroclastic and mafic igneous
Keywords:
rocks based on data collected from a long tunnel constructed by mechanized method in Iran. This
Intact rock properties
Abrasiveness
includes monitoring and analysis of field data including cutter wear, geological parameters, and opera-
Disc cutter life tional data from Karaj water conveyance tunnel project. The field data compiled in a database was sub-
Tool wear jected to statistical analysis for development of relationships between disc cutter life and geological
parameters. Results of the analyses indicated reasonable correlations between intact rock parameters
and tool wear. Some empirical equations are offered for predicting disc cutter wear in similar geological
conditions. These equations were developed based on data from very blocky to blocky pyroclastic rocks
and blocky to massive mafic igneous rocks with a UCS range of 30 to more than 150 MPa.
Ó 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction determine other wear parameters like total number of required

Despite the importance of cutter wear and its impact on perfor-
mance of mechanized excavators, very limited work has been con-
ducted to develop practical models for predicting tool wear and
related cost. The effects of tool wear and the reduced machine per-
formance with worn cutters has been observed and can be theoret-
ically explained by the increasing cutting forces as the cutter tip
wears and increases in width. The models developed at Colorado
School of Mines or CSM (Rostami, 1997) and Norwegian University
of Science and Technology or NTNU (Bruland, 1998), as well as
Gehring (1995) are the most commonly used models for estimating
wear rate. The CSM model is based on a basic cutter life deter-
mined by using the Cerchar abrasivity Index or CAI (Cerchar,
1986; AFNOR, 1990; ASTM, 2010). Using this laboratory index,
average rolling distance of a cutter can be estimated and used to
⇑ Corresponding author. Tel.: +98 9122279442; fax: +98 21 66491623.
E-mail address: hassanpour@ut.ac.ir (J. Hassanpour).
cutters, cutter cost per unit volume of excavated rock, total cutter
cost, cutter change time, and probable operational delays. The
NTNU model has a more practical background and is based on a
large amount field data from various case histories. The model uses
certain charts and simple equations for predicting cutter life and
cost. The NTNU estimate is based on a special parameter, Cutter
Life Index (CLI), which is used as the main input parameter and
as a measurement of rock abrasiveness. This parameter is evalu-
ated using a series of special tests proposed by NTNU (Bruland,
1998). The cutter cost in NTNU model also accounts for rock mass
parameters and its impact on cutter cost as part of incorporating
these parameters in estimation of rate of penetration. Gehring
(1995) used data from various projects to plot the relationship
between the CAI and the weight loss due to wear on a disc cutter
in mg steel per meter rolled.
The works done by Ewendt (1989), Nelson et al. (1994), Maidl
et al. (2008), Bieniawski et al. (2009) and Frenzel (2011) are other
examples of attempts that have been made in developing wear rate

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tust.2014.05.007
0886-7798/Ó 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 J. Hassanpour et al. / Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology 43 (2014) 222–231 223

prediction models. Ewendt (1989) developed a prognosis model
based on the wedge angle theory for the tool wear of disk cutters.
The basis for this model is the cutting force estimation formula
according to Sanio (1985). He related wear rate to some rock
parameters like quartz content, grain size and rock strength.
Nelson et al. (1994) developed an empirical method for predict-
ing cutter life. The model is based on comparing the input data
with that in a TBM field performance database to estimate the
probable rate of wear on the cutters. The input data for this method
includes rock type, joint frequency and some other machine and
operational parameters. Maidl et al. (2008) proposed an empirical
relationship between the mean rolling distance life (in m) of discs
with 17 in. in diameter, the unconfined compressive strength and
the CAI, for different types of intact rock. The corresponding disc
wear is also given in g/km. The representation in general indicates
the rolling distance life of a disc decreases with increasing com-
pressive strength of the intact rock and with the corresponding
higher CAI values. Bieniawski et al. (2009) established a correlation
between the RME (Rock Mass Excavatability) and CAI with the cut-
ter consumption. They presented some empirical equations for
estimating cutter life based on data collected from Guadrama tun-
nel in Spain. In a more recent work, Frenzel (2011) proposed a new
prognosis model based on the analysis of a large range of tunneling
projects (127 km excavated length of 7 tunneling projects). The
equations proposed by Frenzel are based on direct relationship
between CAI and tool wear (wear coefficient). Farrokh et al.
(2012) has also developed a set of charts for estimation of the cut-
ter wear in terms of volume excavated per cutter as a function of
rock type, rock strength, rock mass properties, and abrasivity. He
has also offered an estimated time for cutter change based on
the analysis of data in an extensive database covering over
100 km of tunnels.
Table 1 lists main characteristics of these disc life prediction
models. All these methods compute the total cost of replacing
the cutters, the delays due to replacements and the number of cut-
ters consumed in the course of tunneling that need to be replaced.
These methods have some shortcomings when applied to vari-
ous TBM projects. They usually produce highly variable results as
illustrated by Schneider et al. (2012). The most important problem
in most of these models is consideration of only one abrasiveness
parameter in the model as the input parameter and ignoring the
effect of other important parameters like rock strength and rock
mass fracturing degree and structure.
This study is an attempt to offer more reliable relationships
between ground conditions and tool wear. In this research, data
collected during construction and pre-construction phases (SCE,
2006, 2009) of a main tunneling project in Iran was used for devel-
opment of new formulas. The project comprises a total excavated
length of about 30 km of tunnels in various rock types. The data-
base includes actual tool wear and geological data for various
stretches of this tunnel which was subjected to statistical analysis
to develop relationships between common engineering rock mass
parameters and tool wear. The new tool wear prediction model
can be applied for estimating cutter life in similar hard rock lithol-
ogies with similar intact rock strength and rock mass structure.
Since the input parameters for developing equations can be eas-
ily determined, the proposed models can be easily used for esti-
mating cutter life and cutter change cost in similar geological
units for future tunneling project to be mined by hard rock TBMs.
2. Project description
The Karaj Water Conveyance Tunnel (KWCT) with a total length
of about 30 km and boring diameter of 4.65 m has been designed to
transfer 16 m3/s of water from the Karaj (Amir–Kabir) Dam north-
east of Karaj City to Tehran metropolitan area (Fig. 1). The tunnel
has been divided into two sections: Lot 1 or ET–K0 (15.7 km) at
the southeast end and Lot 2 or K0 –P (14 km) at the northwest
end of the project area.
A double shield type TBM was selected to excavate total length
of tunnel. The site preparation started at eastern (ET) portal in May
2004, and the TBM arrived to the site in March 2006. TBM assem-
bly was accomplished in 15 weeks and mining commenced in
August 2006. The first lot (ET–K0 ) for a total length of about
16 km was completed in 35 months (in June 2009). The average

Table 1
Common tool wear prediction models.

No. Method Required Input parameters Output parameters Limitations Ref.

abrasiveness
tests
1 Ewendt Petrographic Quartz content, grain Wear rate It is no longer valid because it is based on the former Ewendt
analysis, point size and point load assumption of the wedge angle theory for the cutting (1989)
load test index process
2 CSM model Cerchar scratch Cerchar Abrasivity Total cost, delays, total Rostami
test Index (CAI) number of changed (1997)
cutters
3 Empirically – Total cost, delays, total Not available to general public Nelson
derived cutter number of changed et al.
life cutters (1994)
4 Gehring Cerchar scratch CAI Gehring
model test (1995)
5 NTNU model Sievers’ J-value Cutter Life Index (CLI) Total cost, delays, total Mainly based on data of igneous and metamorphic Bruland
and the AVS tests number of changed rocks from Norway (1998)
cutters
6 Maidl Cerchar scratch CAI, UCS Average cutter ring life Maidl et al.
test, UCS test (2008)
7 RME Cerchar scratch CAI, UCS Cutter life Limited to data from a single project Bieniawski
test, UCS test et al.
(2009)
8 Frenzel Cerchar scratch CAI Total cost, delays, total Frenzel
test number of changed (2011)
cutters
224 J. Hassanpour et al. / Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology 43 (2014) 222–231
Fig. 1. Detail of Karaj water conveyance tunnel scheme northwest of Tehran.
Fig. 2. Engineering geological cross section along two lots of KWCT project.
advance rate of this segment of tunnel was 450 m/month with a
record monthly advance of 801 m. The machine broke through
and was overhauled at K0 portal and continued to excavate second
lot (K0 –P). The second lot with a length of about 14 km was finished
in 33 months with average advance rate of about 400 m/month.
The tunnel was lined with pre-cast concrete segments with tetrag-
onal arrangement and thickness of 25 cm.
3. Geological setting
The tunnel is located in the southern parts of Alborz structural
zone, which is one of the most important and well known geolog-
ical zones of Iran. This general area mainly comprises of Eocene
submarine volcano-sedimentary rocks intersected by large intru-
sive bodies of Oligocene age. The main geological unit outcropped
in the project area is the Karaj formation, a well-known formation
of the Alborz Mountains. The formation is composed of a variety of
pyroclastic rocks, often interbedded with sedimentary rocks. The
characteristic rock type is a green vitric to crystal lithic tuff, but
other tuffs, such as tuff breccias, and sandy and limy tuffs occur
together with limestones, shales, siltstones and sandstones. In
addition to the pyroclastic and sedimentary rocks, some large igne-
ous intrusive bodies with a mafic composition (monzodirite, mon-
zogabbro and gabbro) have been observed as part of the Karaj
formation (Hassanpour et al., 2010).
Structurally, the area around the tunnel is moderately folded
and intensely faulted in certain areas. As shown in the geological
cross sections of Fig. 2, two lots of the tunnel have passed through
wide synclines and anticlines and some thrust faults with different
lengths of influence zones that are known and well documented in
this region. The most important thrust faults in the area are the
Poorkan and North Tehran faults. Although the alignment has been
chosen to avoid the main Alborz mountain range faults, the first
3 km of tunnel at lot 1 and chainage of 6 + 500 to 6 + 850 of lot 2
have passed through the influence zones of these major faults,
resulting in some delays due to water inflow and instabilities in
the tunnel face and walls. In addition, some minor faults and shear
zones have been identified as crossing the tunnel line.
4. Engineering geological properties of rock units
To characterize the ground along the tunnel, two sets of param-
eters, including intact rock properties and rock mass characteris-
tics have been estimated or measured by engineering geological
investigations of the surface exposures and diamond drilling. The
preconstruction investigations were complemented by geological
mapping of the tunnel face and performing laboratory tests on
samples taken from the boreholes, outcrops and excavated muck
during construction (SCE, 2006, 2009).
 J. Hassanpour et al. / Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology 43 (2014) 222–231 225

Table 2
Summary of the main rock characteristics for the identified lithotypes.

No. Lithotype Main minerals Range of parameters

Lithology Symbol Quartz cont. (%) Density (g/cm3) Porosity (%)
1 Green crystal tuff Gt Feldspars, chlorite, calcite, quartz, rock fragment 5–15 2.3–2.6 1–10
2 Tuffite, lithic tuff Tf Rock fragments, feldspars, chlorite, quartz, calcite 5–15 2.4–2.5 3–6
3 Siliceous tuff St Silica, feldspars, quartz 25–35 2.65 <5
4 Tuff sandstone, micro-conglomerate SC Feldspars, quartz, calcite, clay minerals 20–40 2.5–2.6 <5
5 Tuff siltstone, shale SS Feldspars, calcite, quartz, clay minerals 10–30 2.5–2.6 <5
6 Gabbro, monzo-gabbro Gb Plagioclase, clino-pyroxene, amphibole, biotite 0–5 2.65–2.7 <5
7 Basalt-Andesite BA Plagioclase, clino-pyroxene, amphibole, biotite 0–5 2.6–2.7 <5
8 Limy tuff, limestone Lm Calcite, feldspars, quartz, clay minerals 5–15 2.5–2.65 1–10

4.1. Intact rock properties 6. Actual disc cutter life

In general, the tool wear is mainly controlled by intact rock
properties such as petrography and physical/mechanical proper-
ties. Each of these rock parameters have been evaluated in the lab-
oratory using a variety of testing methods. A great number of
samples were taken from boreholes, muck, and surface exposures
and pertinent rock mechanic tests were performed on each sample.
The summary results for rock mechanic testing are listed in
Table 2.
In Table 2 all rock units are classified into 8 lithotypes with a
wide range of intact rock properties. This classification is based
on microscopic characteristics (mineralogy and texture) of the
different rock units. In fact, the lithotypes are summaries of
lithologies described by geologists in the field for the stratigraphic
units.
4.2. Rock mass characteristics
According to field geological studies (SCE, 2006, 2009), the tun-
nel length was subdivided into some engineering geological units
with uniform characteristics related to the tunnel stability, tool
wear, TBM performance and groundwater inflow. The positions
of these units as well as their typical characteristics are shown in
the geological cross sections of Fig. 2.
As shown in Fig. 2, the rock quality in these units is highly var-
iable. Some engineering geological units were recorded to have
RQD of 100% over long stretches of core, whereas elsewhere,
crushed tuff was encountered with a low RQD of less than 25%.
The quality of rock in the fault zones is very poor with typical
RQD of less than 25%.
5. Machine specifications
A double shield machine, manufactured by Herrenknecht, was
selected to excavate both sections of KWCT tunnel in this project.
The main specifications of the selected machine are listed in
Table 3. As can be seen in Table 3, the cutterhead is laced with
31, each 17 in. (432 mm) diameter cutters with a load capacity of
250 kN.
During overhaul of the machine at K0 portal, due to some dam-
ages (microcracks) on cutterhead structure it was decided to
replace the cutterhead with a new one. Disc cutter arrangement
and position and size of other tools on the new cutterhead were
completely similar to original cutterhead design. Fig. 3(a) and (b)
shows views of cutterhead for this machine at two portals of ET
(original cutterhead) and K0 (replaced cutterhead). Fig. 3(c) shows
disc cutter arrangement on the cutterhead with cutter numbers.
Disc cutter life is expressed in different ways. This can be length
of rock excavated per cutter or Hm (Bruland, 1998):
L ðmÞ
Hm ðm=cutterÞ ¼ ð1Þ
NTBM
where NTBM is total number of exchanged disk cutters and L is tun-
nel length excavated per full dressing of the head.
Wear of disc cutters can also be defined by the number of cut-
ters replaced per length of rock excavated (Wm at Eq. (2)):
NTBM
W m ðcutter=mÞ ¼ ð2Þ
L ðmÞ
Another frequently used unit is the rolling distance before a disc
has to be replaced. In this concept the penetration rate and the
position of each cutter should be known.
By increasing TBM diameter, rolling distance of disc cutters on
rock face and also excavated volume increase in a non-linear form.
For example, by doubling TBM diameter of a 4 m diameter tunnel,
rolling distance and excavated volume of material rise by up to 4.5
times, while the number of disc cutters in cutterhead increase only
around two times. Consequently, it is expected that by increasing
tunnel diameter in a given rock, average disc cutter life per 1 m
excavated length of tunnel reduces. To ignore the influence of tun-
nel diameter on disc cutter life and make possible comparison of
cutter life in different projects, parameter Hf (average cutter ring
life solid cubic meters) was introduced as indicated in the follow-
ing equation (Bruland, 1998):
2
Hm  p  dTBM
Hf ðm3 =cutterÞ ¼ ð3Þ
4
Table 4 lists average of total life and wear along the two lots of
KWCT project separately. Comparison of average values of cutter
life parameters in the two lots reveals that cutter life in the second
lot was much less than the first lot. This conclusion is expected,
because the machine excavated very different lithotypes in the
two tunnel lots. As shown in the geological cross sections of
Fig. 2, a long stretch of the second lot of tunnel comprises very
strong, abrasive, intrusive rocks with high potential for wearing
disc cutters.
Plots of total number of disc cutter changes for each disc posi-
tion on the cutterhead are shown in Fig. 4. As expected, the number
of disc cutter changes increase from center to outer edge of the cut-
terhead. As shown in two graphs, disc cutter no. 29 has had the
maximum number of cutter changes with 13 and 26 cutter changes
in lots 1 and 2, respectively.
226 J. Hassanpour et al. / Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology 43 (2014) 222–231

Table 3 (1) Collection of appropriate data from the completed tunneling

Main specifications of TBM. projects and establishment of a comprehensive database.
Parameter Value (2) Preliminary analysis of collected data and initial screening of
Machine diameter 4.65 m the data.
Disc cutters diameter 432 mm (3) Analysis of recorded data using suitable statistical methods
Number of disc cutters 31 and developing empirical relationships between the geolog-
Disc nominal spacing 90 mm ical parameters and disc cutter life.
Max. operating cutterhead thrust 16,913 kN
Cutterhead power 5  250 = 1250 kW
Cutterhead speed 0–11 rpm
Cutterhead torque (nominal) 1723 kNm (6.58 rpm)
Thrust cylinder stroke 1300 mm 7.1. Data collection
Conveyor capacity (approx.) 200 m3/h
TBM weight (approx.) 170 tons
In this study, field data from KWCT project was used to perform
required analysis. Field data was collected from cutter change
reports, geological as-built maps of construction phase (SCE,
2006-2009; SCE, 2009-2012), and engineering geological and geo-
7. Developing new empirical equations technical reports prepared during pre-construction phase (SCE,
2006, 2009). Tunnel face mapping, study of core samples, and sim-
The main objective of this research is to develop prediction ple laboratory tests (i.e. point load tests and petrographic analyses)
equations to improve the accuracy of estimating cutter wear for on samples taken from the boreholes, outcrops, and the muck dur-
boring a tunnel by TBMs in similar geological conditions. To ing construction were the sources of geotechnical information for
achieve this goal, the following steps were taken: the database.

Fig. 3. Views of machine cutterheads and disk cutter arrangement on the cutterheads: (a) at ET portal, (b) at K0 start chamber after overhauling and displacing cutterhead; (c)
cutterhead with the cutter numbers.

Table 4
Summary results of calculated cutter life and cutter wear in two lots of project.

Project Total No. of changed disc cutters Average disk cutter wear and life parameters
Hm (m/cutter) Hf (m3/cutter) Wm (cutter/m)
Karaj tunnel, lot 1 185 81.08 1381.66 0.012
Karaj tunnel, lot 2 374 36.63 622.87 0.027
 J. Hassanpour et al. / Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology 43 (2014) 222–231 227

Fig. 4. Frequency histogram of disc cutter changes in: (a) lot 1 and (b) lot 2 of KWCT project.

Fig. 5. Variations of calculated instantaneous disc cutter life (m3/cutter) and adjusted average wear in each zone for two lots of KWCT project.

7.2. TBM tool wear database
Data collected in the construction phase was subjected to a pre-
liminary screening and organized in a special database. As a first
step, tunnel length was divided into different sections with the
same engineering geological properties including abrasivity of
intact rock, strength, and degree of fracturing in the rock mass.
These sections more or less coincide with engineering geological
units identified and mapped during the construction phase. This
was followed by estimating the average values of required geolog-
ical parameters and cutter wear for each tunnel section. Petro-
graphic properties (mineral contents and textural properties) of
the various rock types were determined by microscopic analyses
of more than 250 thin sections in different geological units.
To estimate tool wear and cutter life parameters along the
tunnel, a procedure explained by Bruland (1998) was used. In this
procedure, three parameters of interest including instantaneous
wear (Wmi) and instantaneous cutter life parameters (Hmi and Hfi)
are calculated for sections along the tunnel by summation of cutter
wear and life at each cutter change position. These calculations are
somewhat complicated and needs application of special software
as prepared by NTNU (Bruland, 1998). In this research, using meth-
ods explained by Bruland (1998) a spreadsheet was developed in
excel spreadsheet environment to perform the required
228 J. Hassanpour et al. / Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology 43 (2014) 222–231

Table 5
Engineering geological properties and measured cutter life parameters (average values) in different zones along two lots of KWCT project.

Project Zone Lithotype (Table 2) VHNR UCS (MPa) ABI Jv GSI Basic RMR Hf (m3/c) Hm (m/c)
KWCT (Lot 1) 1 Gt–SC 400 40 160 30.0 20 35 2100 123
2 Gt–SC–St 530 60 318 25.0 30 45 1750 103
3 Tf–SC–Gt 640 70 448 16.7 45 53 1500 88
4 St–SC 690 80 552 12.3 55 58 1000 59
5 Gt–Lm 540 90 486 7.3 75 70 1500 88
6 St–SS–SC 520 80 416 11.7 50 55 1750 103
7 SS–SC 350 40 140 20.0 45 40 2000 117
8 St–SS–SC 460 90 414 10.8 60 65 1600 94
9 Gt–Lm 540 90 486 7.3 70 70 1500 88
10 St–SC 630 120 756 6.2 75 75 1250 73
11 Tf–SC–Gt 650 90 585 5.0 75 73 1100 65
12 St–SC 580 90 522 6.2 75 67 700 41
13 St–SS–SC 590 100 590 12.3 55 55 600 35
14 St–SS–SC 770 70 539 13.3 50 55 700 41
15 Gb 740 120 888 5.3 80 75 500 29
KWCT (Lot 2) 1 Gb 730 120 876 5.3 80 78 750 44
2 SC–Tf 730 70 511 15.0 50 55 1000 59
3 Gb 730 120 876 5.0 80 75 700 41
4 BA 740 80 592 13.3 45 55 1300 76
5 SC 730 80 584 20.0 40 50 900 53
6 Gb 730 120 876 5.0 80 75 500 29
7 Tf–SC 670 100 670 14.0 55 59 400 23
8 Gb 760 120 912 8.3 70 70 300 18
9 Tf–SC 610 100 610 11.7 55 61 600 35
10 Tf 700 100 700 10.7 55 62 400 23
11 Gt–SC–Tf 650 80 520 11.7 50 57 600 35
12 Gt–Tf–SC 770 150 1155 10.8 65 65 350 21

Fig. 6. Relationship between recorded disc cutter life (Hf) and different intact rock parameters; (a) VHNR; (b) UCS (MPa); (c) quartz content (%) and (d) ABI.

calculations. Variations of disc cutters life along the two lots of After checking all tunnel sections, some zones were excluded
KWCT project were analyzed using this spreadsheet and the results after the screening process which included; (1) sections with inad-
are shown in Fig. 5(a). equate geological data, (2) sections with special geological prob-
 J. Hassanpour et al. / Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology 43 (2014) 222–231 229

lems that cause unusual wear (Mixed faces that induce impact
destructive wear and some grounds with face collapse where rock
blocks were released in front of cutterhead), and (3) sections where
low quality disc cutters were used (in some sections due to some
limitations for providing standard high quality disc cutters, con-
tractor was forced to use low quality cutters made by third party
manufacturers).
A total of 27 zones in two lots of KWCT project were identified
and related cutter wear and rock characterizations were compiled
in the database. Table 5 lists average engineering geological prop-
erties (intact rock properties and rock mass parameters) and actual
wear rates in these tunnel sections. To estimate average values of
cutter life for each zone, some issues such as frequency of abnor-
mal wear of the cutters (e.g. blocked cutters) in each zone, and also
effect of overlapping cutter life at adjacent zones, have been taken
into consideration. Results of adjusted average values of cutter life
for each zone are used to plot related graphs in Fig. 5(b).
ABI or Abrasiveness Index in Table 5, is a new index for assess-
ing rock abrasiveness. This index is derived by combination of two
important parameters of VHNR (Vicker’s hardness number of rock)
and UCS (uniaxial compressive strength) as follow:
 
UCS
ABI ¼ VHNR  ð4Þ
100
ABI can be calculated by simply measuring or estimating two
common and easily-available intact rock properties including min-
eral content and unconfined compressive strength. VHNR for a
given rock can be calculated by weighted averaging of Vicker’s
hardness number (VHN) of individual minerals in mineralogical
composition of the rock, as explained by Bruland (1998).
7.3. Statistical analyses and development of new equations
In rock engineering practice, statistically based empirical equa-
tions have been extensively used to predict target performance
parameters based on other operational or geological parameters.
Empirical equations have higher importance during the early
stages of design since they are more practical and based on actual

Fig. 7. Relationship between recorded disc cutter life (Hf) and different rock mass parameters; (a) Jv; (b) RQD; (c) GSI and (d) basic RMR.

Table 6
Summary results of determination of regression coefficients of correlation between different engineering geological parameters and cutter life.

Eng. geological parameter Regression coef. (R2) Regression type Relationship Eq. No.
Intact rock VHNR 0.631 Logarithmic Hf ¼ 2106 LnðVHNRÞ þ 14567 (5)
UCS (MPa) 0.548 Logarithmic Hf ¼ 1281 LnðUCSÞ þ 6744:9 (6)
Quartz content (%) 0.047 Linear Hf ¼ 10:57 LnðQCÞ þ 1189:2 (7)
Abrasivity Index (ABI) 0.683 Logarithmic Hf ¼ 940:1 LnðABIÞ þ 6939:4 (8)

Rock mass Joint count number (Jv) 0.283 Linear Hf ¼ 45:597Jv þ 472:28 (9)
RQD (%) 0.315 Logarithmic Hf ¼ 766:8 LnðRQDÞ þ 4288:9 (10)
Geol. Strength Ind. (GSI) 0.284 Logarithmic Hf ¼ 885:8 LnðGSIÞ þ 4580:9 (11)
Basic RMR 0.310 Logarithmic Hf ¼ 1512 LnðBRMRÞ þ 7203:7 (12)
230 J. Hassanpour et al. / Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology 43 (2014) 222–231

projects, compared to extensive theoretical analyses. In this study,

regression analysis was used to derive relationship between disc
cutter life and engineering geological parameters of the rock. Both
simple regression and multi-variable regression analyses were
used to develop the empirical equations.

7.3.1. Simple regression analysis

To develop simple empirical equations for cutter life prediction
in similar geological conditions, the relationships between actual
cutter life (m3/cutter) and different engineering geological param-
eters including intact rock properties (UCS, quartz content, VHNR
and ABI) and fracturing degree or rock structural properties (joint
count number or Jv, rock quality designation or RQD, Basic rock
mass rating or BRMR and geological strength index or GSI) were
evaluated using simple bivariate regression analyses. Graphs of
Figs. 6 and 7 show these correlations. Table 6 lists the summary Fig. 8. Comparison of actual and predicted values of cutter life.
results of correlations and related equations (Eqs. (5)–(12)).
As shown in Table 6, intact rock properties show better correla-
tions with cutter life than rock mass parameters. Although, as
expected, quartz content alone does not show a good correlation
with cutter life, the other intact parameters like VHNR (as an index
of mineral content) and UCS (as an index of rock strength) show
reasonable correlations even as a single input variable (R2 = 0.55–
0.63).
The results also indicated that the ABI or abrasivity index (as a
combination of two later parameters) shows a better correlation
with Hf (r2 = 0.68). Therefore, the following equation which is
developed on the basis of ABI, is introduced as an empirical equa-
tion for relating disc cutter life to engineering geological parame-
ters for the pyroclastic and mafic igneous rocks in this project:
Hf ¼ 940:1 LnðABIÞ þ 6939:4 ð8Þ

7.3.2. Multiple regression analysis

In addition to simple regression analyses of different rock mass
properties vs. disc cutter life, the multiple regression method was
also used to find an empirical equation with the best fit to existing
data. In this study, three engineering geological parameters includ-
Fig. 9. Cutter life prediction chart for pyroclastic and mafic igneous rocks of Karaj
ing UCS, VHNR and Jv were used as independent variables and the formation.
cutter life (Hf) was chosen as a dependent variable. Influence of
each variable on the Hf was evaluated using forward stepwise
regression analyses by the SPSS software. After checking different
Hf ¼ 2:669VHNR  7:891UCS þ 3430:955 ð13Þ
combinations of parameters, the variant of excluding the Jv exhibits
2
the best fit between the parameters Hf as response parameter and The regression coefficient (R ) of this equation is 0.693 (Table 7).
UCS and VHNR as predictors, in a linear combination with a 95% As shown in Table 7, a simple t-test and F-test analysis of the
confidence level. As a result, a new cutter life predictive equation results indicate that the correlations are real and the coefficients
was empirically obtained as follows: are true.

Table 7
(a) Variables and summary of the generated model for forward stepwise regression analysis; (b) significance of r-value and coefficients for generated model; (c) analysis of
variance for the significance of regression for generated model.

Model R R2 Adjusted R2 Std. error of the estimate

(a) Model summary
1 0.847 0.717 0.693 298.61
Model Unstandardized coefficients Standardized coefficients t Sig.
B Std. error Beta
(b) Coefficients
1 (Constant) 3430.955 330.712 10.374 0.000
VHNR 2.669 0.643 0.566 4.147 0.000
UCS 7.891 2.885 0.374 2.736 0.012
Model Sum of squares df Mean square F Sig.
(c) Anova
1 Regression 5417866.571 2 2708933.286 30.379 0.000
Residual 2140096.392 24 89170.683
Total 7557962.963 26
 J. Hassanpour et al. / Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology 43 (2014) 222–231
To evaluate accuracy of the model, the measured and calculated
values of Hf are compared in Fig. 8. As shown, most of the predicted
values of Hf are close to actual values recorded in the field.
To facilitate practical application of Eq. (13), a cutter life predic-
tion chart is also developed and presented as Fig. 9. This chart can
be used for quick estimation of range of values for Hf in grounds
with different rock strength and mineral content. Expansion of
the existing database by additional data is underway to allow for
development of formulas that could be more general and applica-
ble to other rock types and machine sizes and configurations. This
also includes incorporation of rock structure and rock mass param-
eters into the models.
8. Conclusion
Data obtained from a 30 km long tunnel project in Iran, recently
excavated in pyroclastic and mafic igneous rocks was used to
develop a relationship between engineering geological parameters
and cutter wear on hard rock TBM. Results of analyses indicates
that there are strong and reasonable relationships between cutter
life and two main rock parameters including average mineral hard-
ness (which is quantified by VHNR) and intact rock uniaxial com-
pressive strength.
An advantage of the equations developed in this research is that
the applied parameters (UCS and VHNR) are commonly measured
parameters that can easily be obtained in the preliminary stages of
tunneling projects.
Since the proposed equations are based on information of a sin-
gle tunnel, it is strongly recommended that they are applied with
caution and only in similar geological situations, and on TBMs of
same size. These equations were developed based on data from
blocky to very blocky or highly jointed pyroclastic rocks and mas-
sive to blocky mafic igneous rocks with a UCS range of 30 to more
than 150 MPa. The proposed equations in this study show a rea-
sonable correlation between intact rock characteristics and cutter
wear with the correlation coefficient R2 of nearly 70%. However,
the impacts of the rock mass structure (or fracturing degree) have
not been fully reflected in these equations and needs to be
addressed in follow up studies. It is not recommended to use this
model for crushed rocks or fault zones as well as zones with special
231
geological conditions (mixed faces and zones with unconfined free
blocks). Clearly, development of a universal model covering differ-
ent geologies and TBM types requires the expansion of the initial
database and additional screening of data and statistical analysis.
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