Disc cutters plane layout design of the full-face rock tunnel boring machine (TBM) based on different layout patterns

The quality of plane layout design of the disc cutters for the full-face rock tunnel boring machine (TBM) directly affects the balance of force distribution on the cutter head during the excavating. Various layout patterns have been adopted in practice during the layout design of the disc cutters. Considering the engineering technical requirements and the corresponding structure design requirements of the cutter head, this study formulates a nonlinear multi-objective mathematical model with multiple constraints for the disc cutters plane layout design, and analyses the characteristics of a multi-spiral layout pattern, a dynamic star layout pattern and a stochastic layout pattern. And then a genetic algorithm is employed to solve a disc cutters’ multi-spiral layout problem, and a cooperative co-evolutionary genetic algorithm (CCGA) is utilized to solve a disc cutters’ star or stochastic layout problems. The emphasis was put on the study of superiority of three different layout patterns. Finally, an instance of the disc cutters’ plane layout design was solved by the proposed methods using three different kinds of layout patterns. Experimental results showed the effectiveness of the method of combining the mathematical model with the algorithms, and the pros and cons of the three layout patterns.