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The study of foaming agent concentration choice in EPB shield soil conditioning

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Abstract
Foam is widely used in soil conditioning during EPB shield tunnelling to ensure the efficiency and safety of face support and muck flow. Currently, the concentration of the foaming agent solution is chosen based on the recommendations of foaming agent suppliers, the half-life time of foam or the properties of the foam-soil mixture. This paper studies the foaming agent concentration (Cf) choice taking surface tension into consideration. Test results show that the Cf should be higher than the critical micelle concentration (CMC) to offset the influence of the expanding surface area during foam generation in shield tunnelling. The comparison between the capillary rise method and the platinum plate method shows that this offset can almost be accomplished when Cf is higher than 1% and fully accomplished when Cf is higher than 3%. Foam generation tests show that despite the differences in foam generation methods, the foaming ability of foaming agent solution and the stability of the generated foam are close to optimum at Cf of 1% and reach optimum at Cf of 3%. Slump tests show that foam with Cf lower than 1% is not stable enough in the foam-sand mixture for shield tunnelling. Both slump tests and field validation show that when Cf is higher than 3%, the increase of Cf has limited influence on soil conditioning performance.
Keywords
EPB shield, Foaming agent concentration, Soil conditioning, Surface tension, Slump tests, CRITICAL MICELLE CONCENTRATION, SURFACE-TENSION, PRESSURE, ADHESION, ROCK

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MLA
Chen, Zhongtian, et al. “The Study of Foaming Agent Concentration Choice in EPB Shield Soil Conditioning.” ACTA GEOTECHNICA, 2025, doi:10.1007/s11440-024-02445-2.
APA
Chen, Z., Bezuijen, A., Fang, Y., Thewes, M., & Zheng, D. (2025). The study of foaming agent concentration choice in EPB shield soil conditioning. ACTA GEOTECHNICA. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11440-024-02445-2
Chicago author-date
Chen, Zhongtian, Adam Bezuijen, Yong Fang, Markus Thewes, and Dongzhu Zheng. 2025. “The Study of Foaming Agent Concentration Choice in EPB Shield Soil Conditioning.” ACTA GEOTECHNICA. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11440-024-02445-2.
Chicago author-date (all authors)
Chen, Zhongtian, Adam Bezuijen, Yong Fang, Markus Thewes, and Dongzhu Zheng. 2025. “The Study of Foaming Agent Concentration Choice in EPB Shield Soil Conditioning.” ACTA GEOTECHNICA. doi:10.1007/s11440-024-02445-2.
Vancouver
1.
Chen Z, Bezuijen A, Fang Y, Thewes M, Zheng D. The study of foaming agent concentration choice in EPB shield soil conditioning. ACTA GEOTECHNICA. 2025;
IEEE
[1]
Z. Chen, A. Bezuijen, Y. Fang, M. Thewes, and D. Zheng, “The study of foaming agent concentration choice in EPB shield soil conditioning,” ACTA GEOTECHNICA, 2025.
@article{01JCNEK64G017HAW37ZP57HFRM,
  abstract     = {{Foam is widely used in soil conditioning during EPB shield tunnelling to ensure the efficiency and safety of face support and muck flow. Currently, the concentration of the foaming agent solution is chosen based on the recommendations of foaming agent suppliers, the half-life time of foam or the properties of the foam-soil mixture. This paper studies the foaming agent concentration (Cf) choice taking surface tension into consideration. Test results show that the Cf should be higher than the critical micelle concentration (CMC) to offset the influence of the expanding surface area during foam generation in shield tunnelling. The comparison between the capillary rise method and the platinum plate method shows that this offset can almost be accomplished when Cf is higher than 1% and fully accomplished when Cf is higher than 3%. Foam generation tests show that despite the differences in foam generation methods, the foaming ability of foaming agent solution and the stability of the generated foam are close to optimum at Cf of 1% and reach optimum at Cf of 3%. Slump tests show that foam with Cf lower than 1% is not stable enough in the foam-sand mixture for shield tunnelling. Both slump tests and field validation show that when Cf is higher than 3%, the increase of Cf has limited influence on soil conditioning performance.}},
  author       = {{Chen, Zhongtian and Bezuijen, Adam and Fang, Yong and Thewes, Markus and Zheng, Dongzhu}},
  issn         = {{1861-1125}},
  journal      = {{ACTA GEOTECHNICA}},
  keywords     = {{EPB shield,Foaming agent concentration,Soil conditioning,Surface tension,Slump tests,CRITICAL MICELLE CONCENTRATION,SURFACE-TENSION,PRESSURE,ADHESION,ROCK}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{16}},
  title        = {{The study of foaming agent concentration choice in EPB shield soil conditioning}},
  url          = {{http://doi.org/10.1007/s11440-024-02445-2}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}

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