Adjustable Trench Cutter Tool Layout for Lower Wear Plate Load
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing diaphragm wall cutters face inefficiencies in removing soil material below and to the side of the bearing plate due to the increased load and width necessitated by thick wear plates and adjustable cutting tools, which are required to clear this area, leading to higher wear and reduced effectiveness.
Innovation Solution
A trench cutter design with adjustable cutting tools that automatically move between folded and extended positions using a control bar, combined with a thin wear plate featuring local reinforcements and recesses for fasteners, reducing the overall width and load on the cutting tools, allowing for narrower clearance and improved kinematics.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a thick wear plate is used to protect the bearing shield, then the bearing shield is adequately protected, but the overall width of the bearing shield increases, requiring larger swivel angles and longer adjustable cutting tools, which leads to higher load on the cutting tools
Solution Approach 1:
The wear plate transitions from a uniformly thick design to one with variable thickness, featuring localized thickened regions (reinforcements) positioned strategically at the fastening points where the bearing shield attaches. This allows the wear plate to provide adequate protection at critical locations while maintaining minimal thickness in non-critical areas, thereby reducing the overall width and the load on adjustable cutting tools without compromising the protection of the bearing shield
2Force
If the wear plate thickness is reduced to decrease the overall width of the bearing shield, then the load on adjustable cutting tools is reduced, but the wear plate may become insufficiently protective or structurally weak
Solution Approach 1:
The wear plate employs localized thickness variations with reinforcements positioned at critical fastening points, providing enhanced strength and protective capability precisely where structural integrity is most needed, while maintaining reduced overall thickness in non-critical areas to minimize load on cutting tools
Solution Approach 2:
The wear plate design incorporates pre-positioned reinforcements at the fastening locations before the bearing shield is assembled, ensuring that the structural strength is built into the wear plate in advance at the exact locations where it is most needed, rather than requiring uniform thickness throughout
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a trench cutter with at least one bearing plate and at least one milling wheel rotatably mounted on the bearing plate, the milling wheel having at least one adjustable cutting tool for crushing soil material, wherein the adjustable cutting tool is designed to move between a folded-in position and an extended position when the milling wheel rotates, wherein a wear plate is mounted on an outer side of the bearing plate, against which the adjustable cutting tool moves in the folded-in position. According to the invention, the wear plate comprises at least one first opening for receiving a connecting element, wherein the wear plate has a local reinforcement at the first opening and at least one recess is formed on the outer side of the bearing plate in which the local reinforcement is received.The invention further relates to a carrier device, in particular a cable excavator or a special foundation engineering device, with a diaphragm wall cutter according to the invention.