Tunnel boring machine

Abstract

A control unit is provided in a tunnel boring machine, in which a predetermined and preferably smallest possible output of sealing material (227) out of a shield tail seal (121) into a residual layer (230) usually covered by a grouting material (224) for filling a ring gap (218) can be adjusted with relatively few fluctuations. In this way, in particular, an output that is as small as possible due to cost and environmental considerations, can be precisely and reliably maintained.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a tunnel boring machine with the features of the preamble of claim 1.

[0002] Such a tunnel boring machine is known from WO 2022 / 001621 A1. The previously known tunnel boring machine has a shield tail seal comprising a number of radially inward-facing sealing elements. Filling chambers are formed between the sealing elements. Furthermore, a pipe arrangement is provided, which opens into the filling chambers in a circumferentially distributed manner. A pump arrangement is connected to the pipe arrangement and is configured to pump sealing material into the filling chambers. Additionally, flow measurement devices are provided, which are configured to compare the quantity of sealing material actually pumped with the quantity of sealing material that could theoretically be pumped.

[0003] From CN 213392162 U a system for automated lubricant supply for a tunnel boring machine is known, which has a stroke counter for determining the amount of lubricant supplied and in which the supply of lubricant is time-controlled.

[0004] The invention is based on the objective of providing a tunnel boring machine of the type mentioned above, which is characterized, even under changing operating conditions, by a relatively uniform and quantity-related discharge of sealant per area free from manual control effort.

[0005] This problem is solved according to the invention in a tunnel boring machine of the type mentioned at the outset with the characterizing features of claim 1.

[0006] Because a control unit is present which, taking into account specific input parameters that change at least partially during the drive and also depending on the operating time, introduces a predetermined quantity in the form of a volume or preferably a mass of actually pumped sealing material into the filling chambers, predetermined constant quantities of sealing material can be introduced into the filling chamber or each filling chamber for a uniform quantity-related discharge per area, even under changing operating conditions such as a decreasing pumping efficiency of the pump arrangement or changing drive speeds within the scope of typical, but relatively small fluctuations.

[0007] Further expedient configurations are the subject of the dependent claims.

[0008] Further advantageous features and benefits will become apparent from the following description of an exemplary embodiment of the invention with reference to the figures in the drawing.

[0009] They show: Fig. 1 shows a schematic side view of an embodiment of a tunnel boring machine with a shield tail seal; Fig. 2 shows a side view of the area around the shield tail seal according to the embodiment of a tunnel boring machine according to Fig. 1 , Fig. 3 in a partially opened side view an embodiment of a brush seal for a shield tail seal according to Fig. 2 , Fig. 4 in a schematic front view a number of injection lines of a line arrangement in the embodiment according to Fig. 1 Fig. 5 shows a schematic circuit diagram of a pipe arrangement and an exemplary pump arrangement for supplying the pipe arrangement with sealing material; Fig. 6 shows a schematic side view of the shield tail seal according to Fig. 2 with visualization of preferred and, as far as possible, achievable exemplary filling pressure ratios in the filling chambers, Fig. 7 in a block diagram essential elements of an exemplary control unit for the embodiment according to Fig. 1 and Fig. 8 in a block diagram a further development of the exemplary control unit according to Fig. 7 .

[0010] Fig. 1 Figure 1 shows a schematic side view of an embodiment of a tunnel boring machine 103, which is equipped with a cutting wheel 109 on one side facing the tunnel face 106. The cutting wheel 109 allows the excavation of geology present at the tunnel face 106 in one direction of advance.

[0011] On the rear side facing away from the cutting wheel 109, the tunnel boring machine 103 has a shield tail 112 which, during operation of the tunnel boring machine 103, covers an area of ​​tubbing rings 115 formed from a number of joined tubbings 118.

[0012] A shield tail seal 121 is arranged in the end region of the shield tail 112 facing away from the cutting wheel 109.

[0013] Fig. 2 shows in a side view the area around the shield tail seal 121 according to the embodiment of a tunnel boring machine 103 according to Fig. 1 . Out of Fig. 2 It is evident that the shield tail seal 121 has a number of sealing elements, for example, firstly in the form of a mechanically very stable spring sheet seal 203 arranged at the end of the shield tail 112, and secondly in the form of brush seals 206, which are located on the surface shown in Fig. 2 The cutting wheel 109 facing the side of the spring sheet seal 203 are spaced apart from each other.

[0014] It is understood that other designs of sealing elements such as pure spring sheet seals or pure brush seals 206 may also be provided.

[0015] The spring-loaded seal 203 and the brush seals 206 are in contact with the shield tail 112 at one end and extend obliquely radially inwards away from the cutterhead 109, so that they bear against the radially outwards facing sides of the tunnel segments 118 during operation of the tunnel boring machine 109. A filling chamber 209, 212, 215 is formed between the spring-loaded seal 203 and the adjacent brush seal 206, as well as between the brush seals 206.

[0016] An annular gap 218 is formed between the radially inward-facing side of the shield tail 112 and the radially outward-facing side of the tubbings 118 enclosed by the shield tail 112. This gap is typically at atmospheric pressure. Radially outside the shield tail 112, the traversed geology 221 abuts the shield tail 112. To fill the volume left open by the annular gap 218 and by the shield tail 112 at its end, this volume is filled by a Fig. 2 The mortar feed device (not shown) can be filled with mortar 224 up to the level of the existing geology 221. The mortar 224 exerts a mortar pressure on the end-side spring-loaded sheet seal 203.

[0017] Since the mortar pressure is significantly higher than the pressure prevailing in the annular gap 218, and the end-side spring plate seal 203 is therefore subjected to a mechanical risk that, in the event of a failure of the spring plate seal 203, mortar 224 may penetrate into the filling chambers 209, 212, 215 or, in the worst case, even into the annular gap 218, the filling chambers 209, 212, 215 are filled with a sealing material 227 of relatively high viscosity in order to reduce the mortar pressure acting on the spring plate seal 203 up to the end-side brush seal 206 facing the cutting wheel 109 and to reliably maintain the functionality of the shield tail seal 121. In this process, a certain quantity, preferably in the form of a certain mass, of sealing material 227 supplied to a filling chamber 209, 212, 215 leads to a certain filling pressure in the respective filling chamber 209, 212, 215.

[0018] However, it is understood that, in the context of the invention, quantities can also be represented as volumes.

[0019] In the direction of advance, behind the spring sheet seal 203, a residual layer 230 of sealing material 227 remains on the radially outward-facing side of the respective tunnel segments 118, the area-specific mass of which depends on various parameters such as, in particular, the differential pressure between the outer filling chamber 209 on the front side in the direction of advance and the mortar pressure, the stiffness of the spring sheet seal 203, the surface condition of the tunnel segments 118 and the dimensions of joints formed between tunnel segments 118.

[0020] Fig. 3 Figure 1 shows a partially cut-open side view of an embodiment of a brush seal 206 for a shield tail seal 121 according to Figure 1. Fig. 2 The brush seal 206 in the Fig. 3 The illustrated embodiment has an outer plate assembly 303 arranged at the rear of the tunnel boring machine 103 in the direction of advance, and an inner plate assembly 306 opposite the outer plate assembly 303, each comprising a number of individual plates. The outer plate assembly 303 is longer than the inner plate assembly 306. A wire layer 309 is arranged between the outer plate assembly 303 and the inner plate assembly 306, comprising a plurality of relatively fine, corrugated, or spirally wound individual wires. In this embodiment, the outer plate assembly 303, the inner plate assembly 306, and the interposed wire layer 309 are connected to a support plate 318, which can be connected to the shield tail 112, by means of a fastening clamp 312 and a screw connection 315.

[0021] Out of Fig. 3 With the accompanying explanations, it is evident that the brush seals 206 as such are located on one in Fig. 3 The side of the tunnel segment 118 not shown does not form a pressure-tight seal, but this will only be achieved to a certain extent after filling the wire layer 309 with in Fig. 3 sealing material 227, not shown.

[0022] Fig. 4 Figure 1 shows a schematic end view of a pipe assembly 403, which is configured for supplying sealing material 227 to the filling chambers 209, 212, and 215. The pipe assembly 403 has a number of first injection lines 406, second injection lines 409, and third injection lines 412, which are configured for feeding sealing material 227 into the first filling chamber 209, the second filling chamber 212, and the third filling chamber 215, respectively. The injection lines 406, 409, and 412 are preferably arranged at uniform intervals around the circumference to ensure a uniformly distributed supply of sealing material 227 to the respective filling chambers 409, 412, and 415.

[0023] Fig. 5 shows in a schematic circuit diagram an area of ​​the line arrangement 403 according to Fig. 4 and a pump arrangement 503 for supplying the pipe arrangement 403 with sealing material 227. From Fig. 5 It is evident that the pipe arrangement 403 has a ring main 506, which is connected to the pump arrangement 503 via a supply line 509 for the supply of sealing material 227. The ring main 506 can be emptied as needed via a ring drain line 512 with an integrated ring drain valve 515. Connections to the ring main 506 are in Fig. 5 The injection lines 406, 409, 412, only partially shown, are connected, each incorporating an electrically controlled control valve 518, a pressure sensor 521 for verification purposes (in this embodiment), and a manually operated injection drain valve 524 (in this embodiment). Thus, as explained in more detail below, sealing material 227 can be fed into the respective filling chambers 209, 212, 215 via the injection lines 406, 409, 412, whereby the different masses of sealing material 227 supplied advantageously result in at least pairwise different filling pressures in the filling chambers 209, 212, 215.

[0024] The in Fig. 5 The pump arrangement 503, shown schematically and purely as an example, can be pressurized from a sealant reservoir 525 containing sealant material 227. The mass of sealant material 227 present in the sealant reservoir 525 can be detected by an electrically operated level sensor 527 as a component of quantity measurement devices. For example, the pump arrangement 503 can be pressurized using a two-column ram press 530, and a follower plate 533 connected to the sealant reservoir 525 can be pressed onto the sealant material 227.

[0025] The pump assembly 503 also includes a solenoid valve 536, which controls the direction of movement of a piston based on a predetermined cycle time, which is explained in more detail below. A stroke counter 539 of the pump assembly 503, as a further component of the quantity measurement device, is configured to detect the piston in an end position and output this position as a count value.

[0026] Fig. 6 shown in a schematic side view accordingly Fig. 2 The area around the shield tail seal 121 is shown with a pressure diagram 603 to visualize, in particular, preferred and, as far as possible, achievable exemplary pressure conditions in the filling chambers 209, 212, 215. In the pressure diagram 603, the location Z in the longitudinal extent of the tubbing 118 is plotted on the abscissa 606 and the pressure P on the ordinate 609.

[0027] From the representation according to Fig. 6 It is evident that an external pressure P0, typically atmospheric pressure, prevails in the region of the annular gap 218, while a mortar pressure PM, higher than pressure P0, is present in the region of the mortar 224. A filling pressure P1 prevails in the first filling chamber 209, a filling pressure P2 in the second filling chamber 212, and a filling pressure P3 in the third filling chamber 215. The pressure diagram 603 shows that, for a relatively high level of protection against the ingress of mortar 224 of the shield tail seal 121, the filling pressure P3 should be at least equal to, but preferably, as shown in Fig. 6 The fill pressure P3 is shown to be higher than the mortar pressure PM. The fill pressure P3 is successively reduced in the second fill chamber 212 and first fill chamber 209, located in the direction of advance in front of the third fill chamber 215, via decreasing fill pressures P2 and P1 respectively, in order to subject the brush seals 206 to only a relatively low overall load.

[0028] Fig. 7 Figure 1 shows a block diagram of essential elements of an exemplary control unit 703, which is typically implemented in a programmable logic controller (PLC). The stroke counter 539 provides the pump strokes of the pump assembly 503 during a control interval as input parameters for quantity measurement devices, while the level sensor 527 provides the mass of sealing material 227 actually consumed. A desired mass-related sealing material consumption per area can be specified via an operator input 712, particularly regarding the remaining sealing material 227 of a predetermined density in the residual layer 230 and joints between tunnel segments 118.

[0029] From the value entered via the operating input 712, the mass of required sealing material 227 can be determined via a sealing material calculation module 715, taking into account geometric parameters of the tunnel segment rings 115, in particular their outer circumference and the specific density of the sealing material 227, and fed into a stroke counter 718.

[0030] The output value of the stroke counter 539 can be fed into a target sealing material consumption module 721, with which a theoretical consumption of sealing material 227 can be calculated on the basis of the number of pump strokes and known ideal pumping properties of the pump arrangement 503, as specified by the maximum usable pumping volume considered purely on the basis of the dimensions.

[0031] The actual mass of sealing material 227 consumed, as measured by the level sensor 527, can be fed into an actual sealing material consumption module 724, with which the actual mass consumption of sealing material 227 can be calculated.

[0032] The output values ​​of the sealing material consumption modules 721 and 724 can be fed into a fill level determination module 727, which determines the fill level as the ratio between the actual and the theoretical consumption of mass of sealing material 227. The fill level can be fed into the stroke counter 718 as a further input parameter.

[0033] Conveniently, a sealant application control display 730 is provided, which is connected to the actual sealant consumption module 724 and visually displays the actual consumption of mass of sealant 227 per area.

[0034] Furthermore, a forward speed module 733 is provided, which allows the current forward speed of the tunnel boring machine 103 to be fed into a cycle timer 736 of the control unit 703 as an additional input parameter. The cycle timer 736 is also connected to the stroke counter 718 in order to use the absolute stroke count determined by the stroke counter 718 to control the solenoid valve 536, which adjusts the pumping capacity of the pump arrangement 503 for a predetermined total mass of sealing material 227 to be pumped, taking into account the current forward speed.

[0035] The output value of the stroke counter 718 can be fed to a position sensor 739 of the control unit 703, with which, taking into account the distance to be traveled by the tunnel boring machine 103, the control valves 518 can be controlled to feed a predetermined mass of sealing material 227 to be pumped into the respective filling chambers 209, 212, 215 by specifying a mass value.

[0036] The control unit 703 is therefore designed to compensate for typical operational fluctuations in the uniform discharge of sealing material 227 in the remaining layer 230 by adjusting the actual pumping capacity of the pump arrangement 503 to changing environmental conditions such as varying temperatures and / or typical operational wear by taking into account the fill level and varying advance rates. Only the density of the sealing material 227 used needs to be specified as an input parameter for particularly high accuracy. By specifying the area-specific consumption of mass of sealing material 227, the specified value, and in particular a value that is as low as possible from a cost and environmental perspective, can be maintained relatively accurately with only comparatively small fluctuations.

[0037] Fig. 8 shows in a block diagram a further development of the exemplary control unit 703 according to Fig. 7 with further elements, whereby the block diagrams are as follows Fig. 7 and Fig. 8 Corresponding elements are marked with the same reference symbols and, to avoid repetition, are not explained in detail below. This is the continuing education unit 703 according to... Fig. 8 It has an overwritable fill level memory 803, in which the fill level originating from the fill level determination module 727 from the previous, completed ring construction is stored and whose stored value can be made available to the stroke counter 718 during the current ring construction.

[0038] Furthermore, according to the block diagram Fig. 8 A tunnel boring machine 103 is shown with a drive distance sensor 806, which is connected on the one hand to the control valve 518 and on the other hand to the sealing material application control indicator 730, in order to reference the output of the sealing material application control indicator 730 to the actual drive distance traveled and on the other hand to control the control valve 518 depending on the drive distance.

[0039] Furthermore, according to the diagram Fig. 8It can be seen that the training includes a deviation control module 809, which is connected to both the operator input 712 and the sealant application control display 730. The deviation control module 809 determines the deviation between the mass-related sealant consumption per area specified by the operator input 712 and the actual mass-related sealant consumption per area from the sealant application control display 730. The output value from the deviation control module 809 can be fed into a deviation threshold control module 812. If a predetermined threshold is exceeded, the tunnel boring machine 103 can be stopped via a stop unit 815; otherwise, further operation of the tunnel boring machine 103 can be authorized via a release unit 818.

Claims

1. Tunnel boring machine, having a shield tail seal (121) comprising a number of radially inwardly facing sealing elements (203, 206) between which filling chambers (209, 212, 215) are formed, having a line arrangement (403) connected to the filling chambers (209, 212, 215) and distributed circumferentially in the line arrangement (403), having a pump arrangement (503) connected to the line arrangement (403), which is designed to pump sealing material (227) into the filling chambers (209, 212, 215), wherein quantity checking means (527, 539) are provided which are designed to compare a quantity of sealing material (227) actually pumped and a quantity of sealing material (227) theoretically pumpable, characterized in that the pump arrangement (503) has a control unit (703) which is designed to receive as input parameters a quantity-related sealing material application per area, geometry parameters for an installed segment ring (115), a fill ratio as the ratio of the amount of sealing material actually pumped to the amount of sealing material theoretically pumpable, and an advance speed, and to determine, from the input parameters, operating parameters in the form of an output cycle specified by a cycle timer (736) and a quantity value specified by a displacement sensor (739) for a predetermined amount of sealing material (227) actually pumped.

2. Tunnel boring machine according to claim 1, characterized in that the pump arrangement (503) is connected to a ring line (506) of the line arrangement (403) and in that a number of injection lines (406, 409, 412) are connected to the ring line (506), wherein each filling chamber (209, 212, 215) can be supplied with sealing material (227) via the injection lines (406, 409, 412) at a plurality of injection points distributed in the circumferential direction.

3. Tunnel boring machine according to claim 2, characterized in that injection lines (406, 409, 412) each have a controllable stopcock (518).

4. Tunnel boring machine according to claim 3, characterized in that the line arrangement (403) is designed to supply filling chambers (209, 212, 215) with sealing material (227) in different predetermined quantities in order to set different predetermined filling pressures (P1, P2, P3).

5. Tunnel boring machine according to claim 4, characterized in that the filling pressure (P3) in the outer filling chamber (215) at the rear in the direction of advance is higher than a mortar pressure (PM) present when filling a ring gap (218).

6. Tunnel boring machine according to claim 5, characterized in that the respective filling pressures (P1, P2, P3) increase in the filling chambers (212) which adjoin in the direction of advance the outer filling chamber (215) located at the rear in the direction of advance and decrease in the direction of advance from a filling chamber (212) located between the outer filling chamber (215) located at the rear in the direction of advance (215) and the outer filling chamber (209) located at the front in the direction of advance.

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