Abrasivity & Excavatability

The research focus "Abrasivity & Excavatability" has been worked on at the Chair of Engineering Geology within the framework of several doctoral and diploma theses since 1989 as well as bachelor and master theses (since 2006). The general objective is the practice-oriented investigation of the abrasiveness of rocks as well as the drillability, millability and blastability of the rock mass during tunnel advances. 

The focus is on the performance of tunnel advances (especially drilling speed, milling performance and penetration) and tool wearing (e.g. drill bit, round shank bit & disc bit consumption). There are several close collaborations with partners from research (e.g. Prof. E. Schneider, I3B, University of Innsbruck), industry (Herrenknecht AG, Atlas Copco) and construction (e.g. Bauer Spezialtiefbau).

The engineering geological and geotechnical investigations on this complex of issues include:

• Further development of the current abrasivity tests according to Cerchar and LCPC as well as the investigation of their influencing factors (test conditions)
• Engineering geological-geotechnical data collection of tunnel advance performance and tool wearing for ongoing tunneling projects.
• Field and laboratory investigations of the respective engineering geological-geotechnical conditions.
• Model tests and numerical modeling of cutting, milling and drilling operations.

For a list of all publications published so far, ordered by year of publication, please refer to this link.