Simulation analysis of the mechanical mechanism of shield cutter cutting reinforced concrete based on the coupling of discrete element and continuum method
LI Ting1, LIU Bo2,3, HU Wei1, SUN Peng2, HUANG Xiaocheng1
1. School of Civil Engineering, Hunan University of Science and Technology, Xiangtan 411201, Hunan, China; 2. School of Mechanics and Civil Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology, Beijing 100083, China; 3. National Key Laboratory of Disaster Prevention and Control and Intelligent Construction and Maintenance of Tunnel Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology, Beijing 100083, China
Abstract: During the launching and receiving phases of shield tunneling, as well as during the traversal of building pile foundations, the shield cutter is required to cut through heterogeneous composite materials like reinforced concrete. This process often leads to technical challenges including cutterhead chipping, accelerated wear, and steel bar-induced clogging of the screw conveyor, which ultimately compromises tunneling efficiency. To explore the influence of internal steel bars on the dynamic failure process of concrete structures and the cutting force of the cutterhead during the cutting process, a coupling method combining the discrete element-based particle flow program and continuum mechanics was adopted to study the dynamic failure process of the cutterhead cutting reinforced concrete. Firstly, the contact parameters for the simulated steel bars and concrete materials were calibrated, and a coupling simulation analysis model of the cutterhead cutting reinforced concrete was established. The variation laws of the cutting force of the C-type(single-sided blade)and the F-type(double-sided blade)were studied under different cutting depths and cutter spacings when cutting concrete and reinforced concrete respectively. The results showed that when the F-type tool cuts concrete, the relationship between the cutting depth and the cutting force could be fitted using the arctangent function, and the cutting force was less affected by the tool spacing; when cutting reinforced concrete, the average cutting force was approximately 5 to 7 times higher than that for plain concrete. The F-type tool exhibited a stronger pulling effect on the reinforcing bars, but the average cutting force of the C-type tool was approximately 21% to 39% higher than that of the F-type tool.
李烃,刘波,胡伟,孙鹏,黄小城. 基于离散元-连续介质法耦合的盾构刀具切削钢筋混凝土力学机理仿真分析[J]. 隧道与地下工程灾害防治, 2026, 8(1): 32-42.
LI Ting, LIU Bo, HU Wei, SUN Peng, HUANG Xiaocheng. Simulation analysis of the mechanical mechanism of shield cutter cutting reinforced concrete based on the coupling of discrete element and continuum method. Hazard Control in Tunnelling and Underground Engineering, 2026, 8(1): 32-42.
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2026, Vol. 8 
