Preliminary identification of potential failure modes of a disc cutter in soil-rock compound strata: Interaction analysis and case verification

•The interaction between a disc cutter and the soil-rock interface is analyzed considering geotechnical mechanics.•The cutting coefficient is separated into two stages at the interface of soil and rock.•Potential failure modes of a disc cutter could be identified by the load of TBM.•The failure modes of disc cutters in field focus on the non-uniform wear and the cutter ring fracture due to existence of the soil-rock interface.