AU2011325847B2

AU2011325847B2 - Tunneling machine

Info

Publication number: AU2011325847B2
Application number: AU2011325847A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Bernhard Ebner; Ralf Grief; Hubert Kargl; Karl Lerchbaum; Manfred Meier; Uwe Restner; Franz Wels
Original assignee: Sandvik Mining and Construction GmbH
Current assignee: Sandvik Mining and Construction GmbH
Priority date: 2010-11-05
Filing date: 2011-11-03
Publication date: 2016-12-08
Anticipated expiration: 2031-11-03
Also published as: AU2011325847A1; WO2012058705A2; PL404916A1; CN103299033A; AT510657B1; WO2012058705A3; AT510657A1; PL226380B1; DE112011103661A5; ZA201303815B; RU2013125768A; RU2571471C2; CN103299033B

Abstract

The invention relates to a tunneling machine comprising a base frame (2) having a chassis, and a bracket (4) which can be horizontally and vertically swiveled and is provided with a cutting device (8) that has at least one tool support (10, 11). Said tool support is rotatably mounted on the bracket (4) and can be driven so as to rotate and carries a plurality of cutting tools (12) on its circumference. The cutting device (8) comprises at least two parallel disk-shaped tool supports (10, 11) which are rotatably mounted on an end section (13) of the bracket (4) that is located between the tool supports (10, 11) and is at least partially disk-shaped.

Description

2011325847 08 Nov 2016

Tunnelling Machine

The invention relates to a tunnelling machine comprising a base frame having a chassis, and a cantilever arm that is pivotable 5 in the horizontal and vertical directions and provided with a cutting device comprising at least one tool carrier rotatably mounted on the cantilever arm and drivable for rotation and carrying a plurality of cutting tools on its circumference. 0 The invention further relates to a method for driving an underground road (ie forming an underground tunnel) using a tunnelling machine.

Tunnelling machines of the initially defined kind are known as 5 partial-cut cutting machines and used in at least two different designs, wherein in both cases a cantilever arm is fixed to a machine frame so as to be universally pivotable. In a first design, cutting drums or cutting heads are rotatably mounted on a cantilever arm transversely to the longitudinal axis of the 0 cantilever arm, which are guided over the working face in the vertical direction transversely to their axes of rotation and in this manner are employed for mining or winning materials. Such transverse cutting heads, like cutting drums, are essentially characterized in that the wear of the cutters can be optimized 25 by appropriately positioning and adjusting the angles relative to the rotational direction, wherein, when working with such partial-cut cutting machines, a break-in cutting operation is initially required, by which the cutting heads have to be penetrated into the working face in the direction of the axis of 30 the cantilever arm in order to cut out a break-in, departing from which the working face can subsequently be swept.

In a second design, so-called longitudinal cutting heads are employed, which have an axis of rotation extending substantially 2 2011325847 08 Nov 2016 in parallel with the axis of the cantilever arm or in alignment with the axis of the cantilever arm. Even with such longitudinal cutting heads, a break-in has to be cut prior to the beginning of the actual mining operation, wherein in that case the 5 longitudinal cutting heads must work into the working face in the direction of their axis of rotation in order to ensure an appropriate break-in, departing from which the pivoting movement of the cantilever arm along with the rotating longitudinal cutting head over the working face will then be effected, and 0 mining will be performed.

The described designs involve the drawback of being unsuitable for use in low road heights because of their relatively large structural heights. Without special adaptations, the described 5 designs cannot be used for working very hard rock, either.

For use in particularly hard rock, special designs comprising, for instance, disc tools operating according to the undercutting principle have become known. A machine of this type can, for 0 instance, be taken from AT 506502 A2. That machine comprises a cutting wheel rotatably mounted on a cantilever arm which is pivotable in the vertical direction, wherein the axis of rotation of the cutting wheel extends transversely to the longitudinal axis and the pivot axis of the cantilever arm. The 25 cutting wheel comprises a disc-shaped tool carrier carrying a plurality of disc tools, the majority of which are oriented towards the floor. During the cutting procedure, a break-in is, at first, made on the roof, whereupon the cantilever arm cuts downwardly to the floor by the cutting wheel according to the 30 undercutting principle. WO 2010/050872 A1 likewise describes a tunnelling machine comprising a cutting wheel carrying disc tools on its circumference. The cutting wheel is rotatably mounted on a 3 2011325847 08 Nov 2016 cantilever arm, which is pivotable both in the vertical and in the horizontal directions. In a first configuration, the axis of rotation of the cutting wheel extends in the horizontal direction, and in a second configuration in a substantially 5 perpendicular direction.

It is desirable that the invention provide a tunnelling machine for use in hard rock, which is suitable for low road profiles and which enables the cutting of differently formed profiles, in 0 particular differently wide and differently high profiles, without requiring the adaptation of the machine. Further, it is desirable that the invention increases the cutting performance in hard rock. 5 Accordingly, in a first aspect, there is provided a tunnelling machine comprising a base frame having a chassis, a cantilever arm, and a longitudinal direction, and wherein the cantilever arm is pivotable in horizontal and vertical directions and provided with a cutting device comprising at least two 0 parallelly arranged disc-shaped tool carriers which are rotatably mounted on an at least a partially disc-shaped end portion of the cantilever arm located between the tool carriers, each tool carrier being rotatably drivable and having a circumference carrying a plurality of cutting tools thereon, 25 wherein the cutting tools comprise disc packs or drums which are each rotatably mounted in a bearing rigidly fastened to a respective tool carrier, wherein the disk packs or drums have a circumference and carry a plurality of cutting inserts on the circumference thereof. 30

Since the tool carriers are disc-shaped, the requirement of a low structural height of the tunnelling machine can be met in a simple manner. By providing at least two parallelly arranged disc-shaped tool carriers, the cutting performance will be 4 2011325847 08 Nov 2016 improved while, at the same time, ensuring in a simple manner the joint mounting of the two tool carriers on an at least partially disc-shaped end portion located between the tool carriers, of the cantilever arm. The tool carriers in this case 5 are, in particular, rotatably mounted exclusively on said cantilever arm end region located between the tool carriers, thus constituting what is called a cantilevered mounting. A cantilevered mounting is referred to if the tool carrier is only mounted on one side, i.e. no opposite, second bearing is 0 provided. This results in a particularly flat structure. In addition, a mounting of the tool carrier on the respective outer sides is avoided such that, for instance, a tool carrier-encompassing frame or the like, which would be required for such mounting, can be obviated with such a solution. This not only 5 leads to the saving of space but, in particular, enables the cutting tools to act as far as to the edge of the cutting device if appropriately positioned.

By the cantilever arm being pivotably arranged both in the 0 horizontal and in the vertical directions, the tunnelling machine according to the invention can be used for differently wide and differently high road profiles without requiring structural adaptations of the machine. 25 The cantilever arm is preferably mounted on a carriage that is displaceably guided relative to the base frame in the longitudinal direction of the machine so as to enable in a simple manner the cutting of a break-in into the working face and, subsequently, the removal of a rock layer corresponding to 30 the depth of the break-in by pivoting the cantilever arm.

If, as in correspondence with a preferred further development, the tool carriers are mounted on the cantilever arm so as to be rotatable about an axis of rotation extending perpendicularly to 5 2011325847 08 Nov 2016 the horizontal pivot axis of the cantilever arm and transversely to the longitudinal direction of the machine, the break-in will be cut on the lateral face of the road profile, followed by a lateral pivoting movement of the cantilever arm according to the 5 width of the road profile. This arrangement of the tool carriers results in an extremely low machine height such that the machine can also be used for low road profiles.

The cutting tools are arranged on the two tool carriers in such 0 a manner as to cut two grooves into the working face, which are mutually separated by a rock rib, wherein the penetration depth is a function of the diameter to which the mounting of the two tool carriers is set back relative to the cutting circle diameter. In order to be able to safely remove the rock rib left 5 after a cutting operation by which two grooves corresponding to the cutting thickness of the individual tool carriers are cut, a preferred further development contemplates that the cutting thickness of the individual disc-shaped tool carriers, which is defined by the cutting tools and, in particular, equally large 0 with the two tool carriers, is larger than the rock rib remaining between the two tool carriers. Cutting-off of the remaining rock rib in this case is performed in that the cutting device is used in a recutting operation in a vertically offset manner . 25

Although the use of discs as cutting tools in the context of the invention is basically conceivable, it has been observed that the cutting performance will always be limited when using discs operating according to the undercutting principle. In order to 30 increase the cutting performance, in particular in hard rock, a preferred further development, therefore, provides that the cutting tools comprise disc packs or drums which are each rotatably mounted in a bearing rigidly fastened to the tool carrier, said disk packs or drums, on their circumferences, 6 2011325847 08 Nov 2016 carrying a plurality of cutting inserts preferably arranged in rows extending in the circumferential direction. Due to the fact that the drums or disc packs comprise a plurality of rows of cutting inserts on their circumferences, it is no longer 5 operated according to the undercutting principle, but the cutting inserts, which are particularly comprised of hard metal inserts, will break the rock due to the cutting forces introduced substantially perpendicularly to the working face. The disc packs or drums preferably provided, which carry a 0 plurality of cutting inserts on their circumferences, are, for instance, also used in so-called raise drills, wherein the cutting inserts, or rows of cutting inserts, in such cutting tools can be arranged in such a closely adjacent relationship that extremely small cutting line distances between the 5 individual cutting rings will result, and hence a higher cutting performance even in hard rock will be achieved.

For rotationally mounting the disc packs or drums on the tool carrier, a bearing needing accordingly more space, particularly 0 in the axial direction of the tool carriers, is required such that the cutting inserts of the disc packs or drums, respectively, will not be able to act as far as to the edges of the tool carriers, in particular if the axes of rotation of the disc packs or drums extend in parallel with the axis of rotation 25 of the tool carriers. In order to remedy this fact, a preferred further development provides that a plurality of disc packs or drums having an axis of rotation extending in parallel with the axis of rotation of the tool carrier, and a plurality of disc packs or drums having an axis of rotation extending in a manner 30 inclined relative to the axis of rotation of the tool carrier, are each provided on the tool carriers. The drums or disc tools formed with inclined axes of rotation can, therefore, be outwardly or inwardly adjusted in order to ensure the required free cut with the individual tool carriers. The optimized 7 2011325847 08 Nov 2016 geometry in this respect will be achieved in that the disc packs or drums having inclined axes of rotation have frustoconical peripheral or enveloping surfaces. 5 In order to be able to safely take up the high cutting forces, a further preferred configuration provides that the base frame comprises props that can be extended against the roof and the floor in order to brace the tunnelling machine within the road. 0 According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a method for forming an underground tunnel using the tunnelling machine of the first aspect, the method comprising the steps of placing the cutting device against a working face, preferably on the lateral face, to cut a break-in by advancing the cantilever 5 arm in the longitudinal direction of the tunnelling machine, subsequently laterally pivoting the cantilever arm to cut two parallel grooves mutually separated by a rock rib in a first cutting operation, removing the cutting device from the two parallel grooves, vertically pivoting the cantilever arm, and 0 placing the cutting device against the working face in a position vertically offset relative to the first cutting operation, cutting a break-in by advancing the cantilever arm in the longitudinal direction of the machine, and subsequently cutting two parallel grooves by laterally pivoting the 25 cantilever arm in a second cutting operation, wherein the two parallel grooves cut in the second cutting operation are offset relative to the parallel grooves cut in the first cutting operation in such a manner that the rock rib left in the first cutting operation is cut off. 30

In the following, the invention will be explained in more detail by way of exemplary embodiments schematically illustrated in the drawing. Therein, Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the tunnelling machine according to the invention; Fig. 2 illustrates the 8 2011325847 08 Nov 2016 cutting tools of the cutting device of the tunnelling machine according to Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a detailed view of the cutting tools according to Fig. 2; and Figs. 4a and 4b respectively illustrate the mining process in top views of the road. 5

Fig. 1 depicts a tunnelling machine 1 comprising a base frame 2 including a crawler mechanism 3. The cantilever arm is denoted by 4 and guided on the base frame 2 so as to be displaceable in the longitudinal direction of the machine in the sense of double 0 arrow 5. The cantilever arm 4 is mounted so as to be pivotable about a vertical axis 6 by a horizontal pivoting mechanism not illustrated in detail. The forward portion of the cantilever arm 4 is mounted so as to be pivotable about a horizontal axis 7 by a vertical pivoting mechanism not illustrated in detail. In this 5 manner, the cantilever arm 4 can be pivoted relative to the base frame 2 both in the horizontal and in the vertical directions. On the cantilever arm 4 is mounted a cutting device 8 so as to be rotatable about a pivot axis 9, with a rotation drive assembly not illustrated in detail driving the cutting device 8 0 for rotation about the axis 9. The cutting device 8 comprises two tool carriers 10 and 11 each comprising a plurality of cutting tools 12 on their circumferences. The cutting tools 12 will be described in more detail with reference to Figs. 3 and 4. 25

From Fig. 1, it is apparent that the tool carriers 10 and 11 are disc-shaped with an at least partially disc-shaped end 13 of the cantilever arm 4 comprising the bearing of the tool carriers 10 and 11. The end portion 13 of the cantilever arm 4 is disposed 30 between the two tool carriers 10 and 11 in such a manner as to leave a distance 14 between the tools 12 of the tool carriers 10 and 11. When cutting the rock, the cutting tools 12 attached to the tool carriers 10 and 11 thus produce two parallelly 9 2011325847 08 Nov 2016 extending grooves between which a rock rib will remain in the region 14.

From Fig. 1, it is further apparent that a loading device 15 is 5 fastened to the base frame 2 of the tunnelling machine 1, by which the excavated rock is collected and transferred to a hauling device extending in the longitudinal direction of the machine. The tunnelling machine 1, on its rear end, comprises a projecting transfer conveyor 16 for transferring the excavated 0 rock onto a trailing unit 17. The trailing unit 17 has its own crawler mechanism 18 and, for instance, serves to accommodate schematically indicated energy generators 29. From the rear end of the trailing unit 17 projects a hauling means 19 to deliver the excavated rock onto a road conveyor. The trailing unit 17 5 further comprises a loading table 20, via which excavated rock that has not been taken up by the main loading device 15 can be collected.

Due to the horizontal arrangement of the disc-shaped tool 0 carriers 10 and 11, an extremely low structural height of the tunnelling machine 1 is achieved, and it is, in particular, apparent that the structural height of the tunnelling machine 1 is not more than 1.2 to 1.5 times the extension measured in the direction of the axis of rotation 9, of the cutting device 8. 25

From Figs. 2 and 3, it is apparent that a plurality of cutting tools 12 are arranged about the circumferences of the tool carriers 10 and 11, respectively, wherein all of the cutting tools are comprised of disc packs on whose circumferences a 30 multitude of projecting cutting inserts 21 are arranged, and that the cutting inserts are arranged in parallel rows extending in the circumferential direction. The disc packs are mounted in brackets 22 so as to be rotatable about axes 27 and 28, respectively, wherein cutting tools 12a having axes of rotation 10 2011325847 08 Nov 2016 27 in parallel with the axis of rotation 9 of the tool carriers 10 and 11, respectively, and cutting tools 12b and 12c having axes of rotation 28 inclined in different directions are provided. The cutting tools 12b are directed obliquely outwards, 5 the cutting tools 12c are directed obliquely inwards, wherein it is apparent from the detailed illustration according to Fig. 4 that such an arrangement enables the cutting tools to act over the entire height of the disc-shaped tool carriers 10 and 11 by their cutting inserts 21. The cutting tools 12a, 12b, 12c are 0 alternately arranged with different orientations of their rotational axes, thus avoiding that two cutting tools 12 having the same orientation of their rotational axes are arranged one directly behind the other. 5 The mode of functioning of the tunnelling machine 1 according to the invention will now be described in more detail with reference to Figs. 4a and 4b. At the beginning of the cutting operation (Fig. 4a), a break-in is cut on the lateral face 23 of the road profile by advancing the cantilever arm in the 0 direction towards the working face in the sense of arrow 24 such that the cutting device 8 penetrates into the working face 25, for instance, by 50 cm. The maximum break-in depth is reached when the disc-shaped end portion 13 of the cantilever arm comes to lie on the rock rib formed in the region 14. After this (Fig. 25 4b) , the cutting device 8 is pivoted over the working face by the cantilever arm 9 being pivoted in the sense of arrow 26, thus forming two parallelly extending grooves in the rock. The described procedure is subsequently repeated, yet with the cutting device 8 being used in a vertically offset manner so as 30 to remove the rib left in the first cutting operation.

Throughout the specification and the claims that follow, unless the context requires otherwise, the words "comprise" and "include" and variations such as "comprising" and "including" 2011325847 08 Nov 2016 11 will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or group of integers, but not the exclusion of any other integer or group of integers. 5 The reference to any prior art in this specification is not, and should not be taken as, an acknowledgement of any form of suggestion that such prior art forms part of the common general knowledge . 0 It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the invention is not restricted in its use to the particular application described. Neither is the present invention restricted in its preferred embodiment with regard to the particular elements and/or features described or depicted 5 herein. It will be appreciated that the invention is not limited to the embodiment or embodiments disclosed, but is capable of numerous rearrangements, modifications and substitutions without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims

Claims

1. A tunnelling machine comprising a base frame having a chassis, a cantilever arm, and a longitudinal direction, and wherein the cantilever arm is pivotable in horizontal and vertical directions and provided with a cutting device comprising at least two parallelly arranged disc-shaped tool carriers which are rotatably mounted on an at least a partially disc-shaped end portion of the cantilever arm located between the tool carriers, each tool carrier being rotatably drivable and having a circumference carrying a plurality of cutting tools thereon, wherein the cutting tools comprise disc packs or drums which are each rotatably mounted in a bearing rigidly fastened to a respective tool carrier, wherein the disk packs or drums have a circumference and carry a plurality of cutting inserts on the circumference thereof.
2. The tunnelling machine according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of cutting inserts is arranged in rows extending about the circumference of a respective tool carrier.
3. The tunnelling machine according to claim 2, wherein each tool carrier comprises a plurality of disc packs or drums having an axis of rotation extending in parallel with an axis of rotation of the tool carrier, and a plurality of disc packs or drums having an axis of rotation extending in a manner inclined relative to the axis of rotation of the tool carrier.
4. The tunnelling machine according to claim 3, wherein the disc packs or drums having inclined axes of rotation have frustoconical peripheral or enveloping surfaces.
5. The tunnelling machine according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a cutting thickness of each disc-shaped tool carrier is defined by the cutting tools, and is equally large for each of the at least two tool carriers, and is larger than a thickness of the end portion of the cantilever arm located between the two tool carriers.
6. The tunnelling machine according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the tool carriers are mounted on the cantilever arm so as to be rotatable about an axis of rotation extending perpendicularly to a horizontal pivot axis of the cantilever arm and transversely to the longitudinal direction of the tunnelling machine .
7. The tunnelling machine according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the cantilever arm is mounted on a carriage that is displaceably guided relative to the base frame in the longitudinal direction of the tunnelling machine.
8. The tunnelling machine according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the base frame comprises props that can be extended against a roof and a floor in order to brace the tunnelling machine within a tunnel.
9. A method for forming an underground tunnel using the tunnelling machine according to any one of claims 1 to 8, the method comprising the steps of placing the cutting device against a working face, to cut a break-in by advancing the cantilever arm in the longitudinal direction of the tunnelling machine, subsequently laterally pivoting the cantilever arm to cut two parallel grooves mutually separated by a rock rib in a first cutting operation, removing the cutting device from the two parallel grooves, vertically pivoting the cantilever arm, and placing the cutting device against the working face in a position vertically offset relative to the first cutting operation, cutting a break-in by advancing the cantilever arm in the longitudinal direction of the machine, and subsequently cutting two parallel grooves by laterally pivoting the cantilever arm in a second cutting operation, wherein the two parallel grooves cut in the second cutting operation are offset relative to the parallel grooves cut in the first cutting operation in such a manner that the rock rib left in the first cutting operation is cut off.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein the working face is a lateral face .