A new test device for the study of metal wear in conditioned granular soil used in EPB shield tunneling

The wear phenomenon evaluation in EPB shield tunneling machines is not a simple issue, as a large number of parameters are involved, such as soil and tool material properties, soil conditioning and pressure in the bulk chamber. The evaluation of the influence of these parameters and predicting this influence is a complex task and the research has proposed different test procedures and approaches. In this paper a new procedure for testing wear of tools with an innovative concept and design is presented. The experimental results obtained using conventional steel and hard material tools, tested with natural and conditioned soils, are discussed. The outcomes show the feasibility of the proposed procedure and the quality of the measurements that can be obtained using the proposed wear tool shape.