###### Abstract
During the shield-receiving process, the inner space of the steel sleeve connects with the external stratum because the final shield segments were not installed. Construction safety is determined by the pressure balance between the steel sleeve's filler and the external stratum. When the pressure balance is mishandled, engineering risks, such as water bursts, sand inrush, and collapse, can more easily occur [26; 27; 28]. In conventional steel sleeve-receiving technology, the only part of the water and earth pressure in the stratum is passively balanced by filler pressure in the steel sleeve. During portal demolition, the soil and water of the stratum flow into the steel sleeve until complete pressure balance. Recently, studies on shield receiving with steel sleeves have focused mainly on project construction technologies and construction risks. [PERSON] (2021) [29] studied the key technologies for steel sleeve-receiving of a large-diameter slurry shield in highly permeable silty-fine sand strata in coastal areas. [PERSON] (2020) [30] and [PERSON] (2020) [31] analyzed the possible risk in steel sleeve receiving for metro shields and proposed a corresponding preventive measure to control construction risks. [PERSON] et al. (2020) and [PERSON] (2019) [32; 33] introduced the detailed construction procedures of shield receiving by encapsulated steel sleeves and prefreezing. [PERSON] et al. (2020) [34] studied the torsion resistance of steel sleeves in a case study of the Canapuri River tunnel in Bangladesh. [PERSON] et al. (2019) [35] studied the combined scheme  
Figure 1: Receiving of shield machine by steel sleeve. of a cement system and vertical ground freezing for shield receiving and summarized the main construction parameters of the receiving stages. [PERSON] et al. (2020) [PERSON] et al. (2020) introduced a combined technology of plain concrete diaphragm reinforcement and steel sleeves in shield-receiving construction, solving the problems of secondary reinforcement without working space. [PERSON] (2017) [PERSON] (2017) described the construction technology of a short sleeve for shield receiving to save construction costs. [PERSON] (2015) [PERSON] (2015) described a technical receiving technology of steel sleeves to solve the problem of hoisting steel sleeves without subsurface sites. However, studies on the stress-bearing and deformation laws of shield-receiving steel sleeves are rare. [PERSON] (2016) [PERSON] (2016) analyzed the rules of stress and deformation of steel sleeves by numerical methods and field tests. [PERSON] (2018) [PERSON] (2018) studied the mechanical properties of steel sleeves and the soil disturbance patterns during the launching process through field monitoring tests and numerical simulations. However, few scholars have explored proactive control technology. In this study, the conventional steel sleeve structure was improved. Specifically, the fixed cover plate of the original steel sleeve was first enhanced using a piston-type cover plate. Subsequently, two methods (i.e., the hydraulic and mechanical pressure regulation methods) that regulate the filler pressure in the sleeve were developed. The hydraulic pressure regulation method regulates filler pressure by setting an external hydraulic pressure regulation device on the sleeve body. The mechanical pressure regulation method applies a mechanical thruster onto the movable cover plate, which allows the surface pressure to act upon the internal filler to regulate filler pressure. To verify the feasibility of these two methods, various filler pressure regulation processes were tested, including pressurization by water injection, depressurization by water discharge, mechanical pressurization under low and high internal pressure levels, and mechanical depressurization. Finally, equations for the filler pressure in response to external hydraulic pressure, mechanical thrust and their action mechanisms were obtained, as well as the deformation equations of the steel sleeve body.