Pivotable Door Arrangement for Tunneling Machine Soil Creep Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Tunneling machines face inefficiencies and maintenance challenges due to soil creep and moisture in unstable soil conditions, which can reduce digging efficiency and interfere with operations, especially when the machine is left at the tunnel face overnight or requires maintenance.
Innovation Solution
A door arrangement for tunneling machines with semi-circular, pivotable door sections that can be hinged to the machine's casing, allowing for sealing and opening to control access to the tunnel face, reducing soil creep and enabling maintenance by sealing off the interior from the tunnel face.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If the tunneling machine is left at the tunnel face overnight, then the machine is ready for immediate operation, but soil creep occurs which reduces digging efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The door arrangement extracts the tunnel face environment from the machine interior by providing a sealable barrier. This allows the machine interior to be isolated from soil creep at the tunnel face, enabling maintenance or overnight停留 without contamination, thus eliminating time loss for creep removal while maintaining productivity.
2Productivity
If the machine operates continuously in unstable soil conditions, then productivity is maintained, but soil creep and moisture interfere with maintenance operations
Solution Approach 1:
The door arrangement segments the machine into two distinct zones: a sealed interior maintenance zone and an exposed exterior working zone. This segmentation allows the interior to be sealed off during maintenance operations, protecting against soil creep and moisture, while the exterior continues to operate at the tunnel face, thus maintaining productivity while enabling easy maintenance.
3Productivity
If the door arrangement is opened for access to the tunnel face, then digging operations can proceed, but the interior is exposed to soil creep and moisture
Solution Approach 1:
The door arrangement provides dynamic control over the boundary between the protected interior and the exposed tunnel face environment. The doors can be opened or closed based on operational needs, allowing the system to adapt between protected maintenance mode and exposed digging mode, thus enabling productivity while minimizing exposure to harmful factors like soil creep and moisture.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention provides a door arrangement for a tunneling machine. The door arrangement is for location at the front of the tunneling machine adjacent to the digging end of the machine. The door arrangement allows for the interior of the machine to be sealed off from the tunnel face, while also allowing for the door arrangement to be opened and allow complete access to the tunnel face. The door arrangement comprises door sections for hinged connection to a tunneling machine, the door sections being pivotable about the hinged connection between a closed position sealing the tunneling machine and an open position allowing the tunneling machine access to a tunnel face.