Earth pressure multipoint forecasts and optimal control for EPB shield

This article discusses multipoint earth pressure prediction issue for EPB (Earth Pressure Balance) shield chamber´s pressure field. Based on advance rate, rotating speed of the cutter head, screw conveyor speed, and the earth pressure measurements, four forecasting models are established for shield chamber pressure points with the adaptive neuro-fuzzy(ANFIS) by minimizing deviation between the corresponding point´s predicted pressures and the settings. Then, use the genetic algorithm to get the optimal screw conveyor speed to control the earth pressure balance tunneling process. Simulation results show that the proposed prediction and the optimal control method give better performance with small tracking error and fast tracking speed.