Tunnelling Methods: Soft Ground

Conditions

Prof.Dr. M. Zubair Abu Bakar

 Soft Ground
• Clays, gravels, sands, weathered rocks in various
states of decomposition are generally classified as
materials presenting ease of excavation.
• Their position in relation to the water table and the
occurrence of significant quantities of water may
result in mud and other unconsolidated material
inflow conditions.
• These conditions pose special difficulties in ground
control and tunnel excavation.
 How to Tunnel in Soft Ground?
• Tunnelling in soft ground conditions generally employs a
shield as standard practice for the purpose of providing a safe
working environment, and for achieving more effective and
efficient tunnel excavation.
• Tunnelling shield designs vary according to the method
employed, but the basic function of the shield remains the
same.
• Some minor tunnels in soft ground, many tunnels in mining
and other strong rock conditions are driven without shields as
the conditions may not warrant the use of a shield.
• The basic tunnelling operation is essentially that of ground
excavation coupled with immediate control of the tunnel face
and ground around the tunnel periphery by effective support,
followed by removal of the excavated ground and erection of
the permanent support system.
 Advantages of Shield Tunnelling
• Tunnel construction can be performed as one step
at its full dimensions.
• Constant support is provided to the advancing
tunnel even though it takes the form of a moving
system.
• Omission of temporary support is compensated for
by virtue of the immediate installation of the
permanent lining.
• Development of high rock loading effects is reduced
due to speeding up of the construction work as
offered by shield tunnelling.
 Open Shield: Basic Structural Features
• Shield body, Shield tail, Cutting edge.
• Shield is constructed to have the same shape as the
tunnel section although the later is slightly larger.
• Shields are mostly circular which allows convenience of
erection of the lining segments.
• Circular shape, however, exhibits a tendency for rolling
during advance, whereas the arch or horseshoe shaped
shields prevent such a rotational tendency.
• The open working face of the shield may include some
partition bracing for strengthening the structure and
for ground control.
• Applications: Where ground is sufficiently firm to be
free standing or where a measure of lateral support is
required at the tunnel face by means of breast boards.
These can be operated in free or compressed air.
• Shield Body
– Steel cylindrical shell appropriately stiffened with ribs and
bracing members.
– It houses the equipment such as hydraulic rams and pumping
equipment for pushing the shield forward relative to lining.
– Typical length of shield body is 2 m, although it is dependent
upon the diameter of excavation.
• Shield Tail
– Extends behind the shield body and serves the purpose of
providing space within which the lining segments are
erected.
– Tail width is one and a half times the unit lining width.
– There is a necessary clearance of the order of 25 mm
between the tail and lining to avoid operational seizure when
correcting for alignment.
• Cutting Edge
– This is the leading edge and requires to be heavily
reinforced with steel plating.
– Also frequently coated with an abrasion-resistant
material to assist cutting in harder ground.
– A hood forming the upper half of the shield cutting edge
gives protection to operators when adjusting and
advancing the breast boards.
– Not all cutting edges incorporate a hood feature in shield
tunnelling projects.
• In soft clays, silt or
Closed Shields
running sand, it is
fairly common
practice to
employ a closed
or blind shield.
• A steel bulk head
closes off the
shield front face
although it
incorporates spoil
removal ports to
conveniently
allow the
excavated soil to •These ports usually include a door assembly.
be removed
during tunnelling.
• Used occasionally
Half Shields
during tunnel
construction in
relatively favorable
conditions such as
exist with dry or
de-watered ground.
• Shallow depth
conditions usually
exist when
adopting the half
shield technique as
it needs to be
carried on
temporary steel
beams located on
steel props or
concrete sidewalls.
 Special Features of Shield Tunnelling
• Shield is pushed forward by hydraulic rams
mounted at the tunnel periphery.
• Rams should have a thrust capacity of at least 72
t/m2 of tunnel face.
• Breasting jacks are normally used for securing
breast boards against the face.
• Table jacks are used for providing working platform,
where tunnel size calls for it.
• Erector arm is used for raising and placing the lining
segments in position.
• Shafts provide a common starting point for shield
tunnelling, especially for subaqueous tunnels.
 Special Shield Tunnelling Methods
• Slurry Shield Tunnelling
• Earth Pressure Balance Shield
• Slime Shields
• Pipe Jacking
 Slurry Shield Tunnelling
• The basic principle is of injecting a pressurized slurry
mixture (usually bentonite clay) into a chamber
enclosing the working face.
• As a consequence soils exposed at the tunnel face are
penetrated by the slurry and become sufficiently
solidified as to be suitable for excavation by the
cutterhead of the machine.
• The cut material collects in the invert where agitation
causes liquefaction sufficient for pumping out of the
tunnel together with soil particles and cobbles etc.
• The bentonite is returned to the face after separation.
• Thixotropic clays may also be employed, in which case
only the water might be recovered.
• Slurry shields are suitable for water saturated sand
and sandy gravel.
• May also be equipped with a stone box and
discharger for removal of cobbles from the slurry.
• Special seals are incorporated between the
cutterhead and machine body for the purpose of
sealing mud and water.
• Hard cutting picks/bits (usually of WC) are normally
used on the cutterhead.
• Sensors for detecting face collapse are also
installed.
 Earth Pressure Balance Shield (EPB)
• Pioneered in Japan.
• Operates without the injection of slurry.
• A rotating cutterhead equipped with drag picks forms the
front of the machine.
• Excavated debris collects and compacts in a special chamber
immediately behind the cutterhead and forms a plug which
provides support to the face; this also controls groundwater
ingress effects on the stability of the face.
• The compressed debris passes through the bulkhead via
screw conveyor followed by discharge onto disposal system.
• The cutting head is always filled with earth during its normal
operation, and consequently builds up a pressure at the
tunnel face which prevents ground collapse which promotes
stability at the face.
 Slime Shields
• To increase the range of ground conditions in which
EPB could be applied, the EPB concept has been
extended by including slime (mud) injection to the
earth pressure chamber.
• Significant advantage of slime is to reduce the torque
requirements and thus allowing large diameters of
tunnel to be excavated.
• Sandy soils with relatively minor amounts of silt and
clay content are made more plastic by injecting slime
and hence facilitate EPB operation.
• In conditions of high groundwater pressure, the effect
of poorly controlled running sand and water through
the screw conveyor can lead to collapses of the face.
Slime addition helps in this case by increased face
stability.
 Pipe Jacking
• Pipe jacking involves the transmission of horizontal pushing
forces against a vertical backstop to propel concrete or steel
pipes simultaneously with excavation within a shield.
• Large capacity hydraulic jacks push the pipes forward.
• Excavation is either by machine or manual.
• The pipe jacking shield also has directional control facilities.
• Advantages:
– Strength of structure
– Provision of watertight features
– Existence of fewer joints
– Flexibility of the system
– Decreased risk of surface settlement
– No requirement of secondary lining
– Provision of good flow characteristics.
• Scope of Application:
– New sewer construction
– Sewer replacement and relining
– Gas and water mains
– Oil pipelines
– Electrical and telecom services
– Culverts
– Pedestrian subways
– Road and bridge abutments
– Under motorways, railways, canals, buildings and
airfields
– Rectangular sections can also be jacked.
 References
• Whittaker, B.N. and Frith, R.C., “Tunnelling:
Design, Stability and Construction,” The
Institution of Mining and Metallurgy, England,
p. 460, 1990.