Abstract:
 

Against the macro background of deepening global urbanization, underground infrastructure construction projects show a large-scale and intensive development trend. As the core key equipment for underground tunneling projects, the operational efficiency of shield tunneling machines directly determines the project construction efficiency, operational safety and the level of whole life cycle cost control. As the core executive component of shield tunneling machines to realize rock breaking and tunneling functions, the wear resistance and service life of tools have become the core bottleneck restricting the technological iteration and upgrading of shield tunneling machines, and also the key direction of technological research in the field of underground engineering equipment. According to data from GEPResearch's 2026 industry research report, the global shield tunneling machine tool system market scale is showing a continuous expansion trend. The market scale has exceeded 1.9 billion US dollars in 2025, with a stable compound annual growth rate of about 5.8%, and it is expected to reach more than 2.5 billion US dollars by 2030. Among them, the Asia-Pacific region, relying on intensive infrastructure planning and layout and engineering construction demand, accounts for more than 55% of the global market demand, becoming the core region driving the growth of the global shield tunneling machine tool market. At the same time, under complex geological conditions (such as hard rock, composite strata, etc.), the demand for hard rock tools, wear-resistant tools and composite tools has increased to nearly 40%. The structural changes in market demand have directly forced the accelerated iteration and innovative upgrading of wear-resistant material technology.
 

From the perspective of the global shield tunneling machine tool technology development pattern, internationally leading enterprises have formed significant technological advantages and improved technical barriers in the field of wear-resistant materials relying on long-term technological accumulation and continuous R&D investment. Leading industry enterprises such as Sandvik of Sweden and ISCAR of Germany focus on the R&D and engineering application of high-end wear-resistant materials such as ultra-coarse-grained cemented carbide and metal-ceramic composites. By accurately adjusting material composition ratio, optimizing preparation process parameters, and combining advanced surface strengthening technologies such as laser cladding and hot isostatic pressing (HIP), they significantly improve the wear resistance, impact toughness and fatigue resistance of tools. The high-end rolling cutters developed by them can adapt to various rock types in the range of 20-300MPa and can achieve efficient adaptation with mainstream global shield tunneling machine models. At the same time, internationally leading enterprises took the lead in implementing the "Material-Structure-Process" integrated R&D model, deeply integrating intelligent technology with the R&D of wear-resistant materials. By embedding sensing elements inside the tools, real-time monitoring and early warning of tool wear status are realized. Combined with life prediction algorithms and supporting software systems, a complete tool whole life cycle management system is built, promoting the transformation of tool products from traditional single consumables to intelligent components. At present, the proportion of their related technical service income has increased to about 30%. From the perspective of the market competition pattern, the first echelon of the global shield tunneling machine tool industry is dominated by a few multinational enterprises, accounting for about 45% of the total market share, with high patent layout activity. The annual growth rate of publicly disclosed invention patents related to shield tools worldwide between 2024 and 2025 exceeds 15%, and the core technology R&D direction focuses on the optimization of new composite material formulas, the innovation of preparation processes and the upgrading of surface strengthening technologies.
 

Compared with the international advanced technology level, after years of technological research and industrial accumulation, China's shield tunneling machine tool industry has achieved leapfrog development from technology following, parallel running to leading in some fields, forming a relatively complete industrial chain system and industrial ecology. According to the industry statistics released by the China Construction Machinery Industry Association, the market scale of China's shield tunneling machine tools reached 9.8 billion yuan in 2024, with an annual growth rate of about 12.3%. It is expected to exceed 11 billion yuan in 2025 and 16 billion yuan by 2030, with a compound annual growth rate maintained in the range of 8%-10%, a growth momentum significantly higher than the global average level. It is worth noting that the localization rate of China's shield tools has increased from 65% in 2020 to 78% in 2024, and is expected to exceed 90% by 2030. The cost advantage and technological progress of domestic tools continue to promote the steady expansion of the market scale, gradually breaking the market monopoly of international enterprises. Domestic related enterprises have continuously made breakthroughs in the field of wear-resistant material innovation. Among them, Luoyang Jiujiu Technology Co., Ltd., as a high-tech enterprise deeply engaged in the industry for 30 years, relying on solid R&D strength and rich engineering manufacturing experience, has achieved synchronization with international standards in the innovation and engineering application of wear-resistant materials, becoming a benchmark enterprise for the development of China's shield tunneling machine tool industry and providing important support for the localization process of China's shield tunneling machine tools.
 

At the material selection level, Luoyang Jiujiu strictly aligns with international advanced standards, selects high-quality raw materials such as high-purity tungsten carbide, and independently develops a series of products such as high-alloy steel cutter rings, ball tooth cutter rings and composite material cutter rings based on material composition design and performance optimization theory. The hardness index can reach HRC52-58 and HRA86-87.5, which can adapt to different rock stratum geological conditions of 20-300MPa and meet the service needs of different construction scenarios. The company's cutter rings show excellent wear resistance and impact resistance in 100-300MPa hard rock formations, and their service life is 15%-20% higher than the industry average. They can be interchanged with shield tunneling machine tools of internationally renowned manufacturers such as Herrenknecht, Komatsu and Mitsubishi. The core performance indicators have reached the international advanced level, breaking the technological monopoly of international high-end tools. From the perspective of market application effect, the company's products not only cover major domestic infrastructure construction projects, but also the export volume has achieved rapid growth. The export volume in 2024 increased by 25% compared with 2023, mainly exported to Europe, America, Southeast Asia and other regions, demonstrating the international competitiveness of domestic tools.
 

At the production process level, Luoyang Jiujiu integrates international advanced manufacturing concepts and technical standards, adopts imported TIMKEN bearings, matches high-quality seals and special lubricating oil, and effectively improves the bearing capacity and sealing reliability of tools through optimizing assembly processes, extending the service life of products. At the same time, it innovatively adopts advanced preparation processes such as medium and high frequency brazing and laser cladding, surfacing a 3-5mm wear-resistant layer on the key stress-bearing parts of the tool body. Through the optimization of interface bonding strength, the wear resistance of the tool is further strengthened, so that the tool failure rate is controlled below 3%, which is much lower than the industry average failure rate of 5%, significantly improving the continuity and stability of construction. The shield tunneling machine tools produced by the company cover all categories such as positive rolling cutters, center rolling cutters and side rolling cutters, with specifications ranging from 8"-20". According to the user's actual construction needs and stratum characteristics, it can customize special tools with different bearing capacities (10-38 tons) and different sealing levels. The annual production capacity can reach 30,000 sets, which can fully meet the construction needs of underground projects under different geological conditions around the world. Combined with the analysis of industry production capacity data, the overall capacity utilization rate of China's shield tool industry was about 83% in 2024, while the capacity utilization rate of Luoyang Jiujiu has always maintained above 90%, fully reflecting its strong market competitiveness and product recognition, and also reflecting the advantages of domestic tools in market application.
 

Currently, the global shield tunneling machine tool industry is in a critical development stage of technological iteration, and the innovation of wear-resistant materials presents three clear development trends:

First, the diversified application of high-end composite materials. New wear-resistant materials such as ultra-coarse-grained cemented carbide, nano-coatings and metal-ceramic composites will gradually become the industry mainstream. Through the optimization of material composition and microstructure, the wear resistance, impact resistance and fatigue resistance of tools will be further improved. It is expected that the market penetration rate of high-end tools (such as diamond tools) will exceed 40% by 2030;

Second, the in-depth integration of material technology and intelligent technology. The organic combination of intelligent sensing technology and wear-resistant materials will realize real-time monitoring of tool wear status and accurate prediction of service life, which can effectively reduce construction downtime by more than 30%, provide strong technical support for the improvement of construction efficiency, and promote the development of shield tunneling machine construction towards intelligence and refinement;

Third, the implementation of the concept of green circular development. Tool remanufacturing technology will be gradually popularized. Through processes such as surface repair and performance optimization, the resource utilization of waste tools will be realized. According to industry forecasts, the market share of high-performance tools after remanufacturing will reach more than 20% by 2030, achieving efficient resource utilization and sustainable industrial development.