Shield Tunneling Machine Tilt and Attitude Monitoring with Vigor Inclinometers

The shield machine, the full name is the shield tunneling machine, is a special engineering machine for tunneling. The modern shield tunneling machine integrates light, machine, electricity, liquid, sensing and information technology, and has excavation, cutting soil, conveying soil, assembling tunnel lining, measuring and correcting orientation, etc., involving geology, civil engineering, mechanics, mechanics, hydraulics, electrical, control, measurement and other multi-disciplinary technologies, etc. It is necessary to carry out the "tailor-made" design and manufacture according to different geology, and the reliability requirements are extremely high. Shield tunneling machines have been widely used in subway, railway, highway, municipal, hydropower and other tunnel projects.

Working Principle of Shield Tunneling Machine

The basic working principle of the shield machine is that a cylindrical steel component is pushed forward along the axis of the tunnel to excavate the soil. The housing of the cylindrical assembly is a shield that temporarily supports the excavated unlined tunnel section, withstands the pressure of the surrounding soil layer, and sometimes withstands groundwater pressure and blocks the groundwater. Excavation, earthmoving, lining and other operations are carried out under the cover of the shield.

However, in the working process of the shield machine, it is very difficult to ensure that it is excavated along a defined trajectory. The control system integrates light collecting, machine, electricity, liquid, sensing and information technology. Among them, the inclination sensor is an important part of the control system.

Application of Inclination Sensor in the Shield Tunneling Machine

The inclination sensor can not only measure the absolute tilt angle of the shield machine body, but also calculate the deviation distance and other data by the tilt angle, which plays an irreplaceable role in correcting the guide. The attitude measurement of each static mechanism and moving parts of the shield machine is used for control or attitude warning. The Vigor static inclination sensor and the dynamic inclination sensor can meet such requirements.

The Vigor SST400 static tilt sensor can achieve full-range measurement accuracy of ±0.005°. Each tilt sensor is precisely compensated by linearity, sensitivity and temperature characteristics to ensure stable performance within the operating temperature range of -40° to 85°. The performance under long working conditions is stable. These inclination sensors are suitable for attitude measurement, early warning of fixed position and structural parts of shield tunneling machine.

Vigor's SST810 dynamic tilt sensor can achieve ±0.1° dynamic measurement accuracy and ±0.01° static measurement accuracy over the full-scale measuring range, suitable for attitude feedback and structural control. Each Vigor dynamic tilt sensor has undergone strict calibration of six-axis data calibration compensation, temperature compensation and orthogonality horizontal axis coupling error to ensure stable measurement performance and good environmental stability. The Vigor tilt sensor is IP67 rated and can be customized to IP69 protection, making it ideal for installation in wet environments.

In addition, the control system consisting of the tilt sensor together with other sensors and motors makes the shield machine more automated, saves labor, faster construction, is not only affected by the weather. It can control the ground settlement and reduce the impact on the ground buildings during excavation, and underground digging does not affect the ground transportation. In the case of a long tunnel hole with a large buried depth, it is more economical and reasonable to use a shield tunneling machine.