An electro-hydraulic servo position and pressure compound control method was investigated considering the working principle of a hydraulic stepping motor of a shield machine gripper shoe and its practical working characteristics in the supporting process. The control targets were to improve the support efficiency and reduce the disturbance of gripper shoes on the surrounding rock. In this method, a fuzzy switching controller was used to switch between electro-hydraulic position control and electro-hydraulic pressure control. Numerical and prototype simulation experiments were conducted on the control method. The theoretical analysis and experimental results showed that the control method could effectively convert the gripper shoes from an unsupported state to a supported state in a short amount of time, as well as realize surge-free switching between position control and pressure control. Thus, disturbance of the gripper shoes on the surrounding rock could be reduced. The results of this study provide a theoretical basis for research on control strategies of hydraulic stepping propulsion of shield machines.
Stable Switching Control Strategy of the Support Pressure and Velocity of Shield Machine Gripper Shoes