AW-17

During TBM tunneling in high-strength rock formations, excessive wear of excavation tools can damage the cutterhead and significantly reduce excavation efficiency. For this reason, the condition of the cutterhead must be periodically inspected and cutting tools replaced through Cutter Head Intervention (CHI). Since the time and cost required for CHI have a major impact on the overall construction schedule and project cost, extending the cutter replacement cycle is critical for efficient TBM operation. To address this challenge, AW-17 is developed as a cutterhead anti-wear additive, designed to reduce cutter wear and extend the service life of disc cutters, thereby helping to optimize CHI intervals and improve tunneling productivity.

Product Features

1

Reduces wear with an application concentration of approximately 0.7%.
2

An eco-friendly water-soluble substance that is non-toxic and harmless.
3

Applicable to all tunneling methods, including EPB shield and Open TBM operations.
4

Reduces heat generated by frictional wear, thereby decreasing the amount of cooling water required.

Package

18L Steel Can / IBC Tank

Field Tests and Research Applications

Evaluation of additives for cutter wear reduction

Project

3,308 m tunnel length · EPB TBM
AW-17 Application Section

Test section length: 69 m Hard rock composed of gneiss (Rock Class I-II) with typically high cutter wear rates.

Evaluation Method

The performance was evaluated by analyzing cutter wear records from the downstream tunnel section excavated under the same conditions.
Application

• AW-17 is injected through the existing foam line.

• The additive concentrate is supplied to the Agent tank.

• A 0.7% solution is prepared by mixing with water in the mixture tank.

• Using the foam generator, the solution is injected through eight cutterhead nozzles at a flow rate of 427 L/min.