Underground Space – the 4th Dimension of Metropolises – Barták, Hrdina, Romancov & Zlámal (eds)

© 2007 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-40807-3

Analyses of underground structures crossing an active fault

in Coronado, California

T. Gregor & B. Garrod

Hatch Mott MacDonald, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada

D. Young
Hatch Mott MacDonald, Pleasanton, California, USA

ABSTRACT: The City of Coronado, California, has initiated the design for the State Route 75/282 Trans-
portation Corridor Project. This project includes the design of approximately 5700 feet (1740 m) long twin road
tunnels. The shallow, 32 –6 (9.9 m) finished diameter, tunnels will be crossing the seismically active Coronado
Fault. A cut-and-cover box structure or twin bored tunnels lined with precast segmental concrete linings, have
been considered as options in the area of the fault crossing. Assessment of the structural behaviour of these
options during fault rupture consisted of the development of finite difference (bored tunnels) and finite ele-
ment (cut-and-cover boxes) analytical models. Both types of models reflected non-linear stress-strain ground
behaviour. The results of the design analyses have shown that it is possible to assess the structural behaviour of
underground structures under severe ground displacement conditions using numerical analysis and to develop
structural solutions.

1 INTRODUCTION

The City of Coronado has initiated the State Route

75/282 Transportation Corridor Project to improve
traffic flow between the San Diego-Coronado Bay
Bridge and the Naval Air Station North Island, a
distance of approximately 1.4 miles (Figure 1). The
project is in the Project Report / Environmental Doc-
ument (PR/ED) phase. Several alternative alignments
and associated construction methods are under consid-
eration, including both cut-and-cover and twin bored
tunnel options.
The tunnel length is approximately 5700 feet
(1740 m). For the twin bored tunnels alternative, pres-
surized face tunnel boring machines (TBMs) will be
used to install a single-pass lining system consisting Figure 1. Project area.
of gasketed, precast concrete segmental rings concur-
rent with TBM advance. These rings are referred to 2 GEOTECHNCIAL AND SEISMIC
as a Precast Concrete Tunnel Lining (PCTL) system. CONDITIONS
PCTL systems have been extensively used in seismi-
cally active locations in the United States and around The excavations will be in soils, consisting of interbed-
the world (Dean, et. al. 2006). ded clays and sands of the Quaternary-age Bay Point
In order to complete the PR/ED phase of the project, Formation overlain by younger deposits of dune sand
preliminary designs are required as a basis for estimat- and fill. Bed thickness in the Bay Point Formation
ing, and feasibility of designing fault crossings must typically varies from a few inches to tens of feet.
be confirmed. The natural water contents for these materials are

445
Table 1. Design ground motion levels. Table 2. Maximum fault rupture design parameters in the
main zone.
Designation FEE SEE
Lateral (Along Strike) Sub-vertical
Return period 150 years Not Displacement (Along Dip)
applicable Scenario (1 inch = 25.4 mm) displacement
PGA 0.17 g 0.57 g
PPV 7.8–8.3 inches/ 26.3 inches/ Right lateral 22 inches 11.75 inches
second second Left lateral 14 inches 11.75 inches
Free field shear strain 0.04% 0.28%

Notes: PGA: Peak Ground Acceleration, PPV: Peak Particle Table 3. Maximum displacements in secondary zone –
Velocity, 1 inch = 25.4 mm footwall (hanging wall similar).

Sub-vertical
typically at or near the plastic limit, and the over con-
Lateral (Along Strike) (Along Dip)
solidation ratio of these materials is typically in the Scenario displacement displacement
range of 2.5 to 2.9.
The Bay Point Formation sands are medium dense Right lateral 11 inches 5.9 inches
to very dense, with an effective friction angle typcally Left lateral 7 inches 5.9 inches
ranging from 33 to 38 degrees.
Groundwater exists 10 to 15 feet (3.0 to 4.5 m)
below ground surface, and depth to invert varies from
40 feet (12 m) for the cut-and-cover option to 100 feet
(30 m) for the bored tunnel option.
Site seismicity and geologic hazards were assessed
by Kleinfelder (2006). Three faults, the Coronado,
Silver Strand, and Spanish Bight Faults, have been
identified in and around the project area but only the
Coronado fault crosses the proposed tunnel structures,
as shown on Figure 1.
The project is being designed for a Functional
Evaluation Earthquake (FEE) event and a Safety Eval-
Figure 2. Hanging wall and Foot wall.
uation Earthquake (SEE) event. As the anticipated
lifetime of the project is on the order of 100 years, The lateral design offsets were estimated by deter-
the FEE will conform to the 150-year return period ministic methods. The two fault rupture lateral and
event. The SEE event is similar to the maximum cred- vertical displacements for the SEE are outlined on
ible earthquake. The maximum moment magnitude for Table 2 below for the main zone and in Table 3 for
the SEE is 7.0. A summary of proposed design seis- the secondary zones. A graphic depicting a hanging
mic ground motion levels for the SR75/282 Project is wall and foot wall is shown on Figure 2.
provided on Table 1. Return period and peak ground Lateral displacements occur in the same direction
acceleration (PGA) values are provided in the table as the strike of the fault which intersects the tunnel at
as well as peak particle velocity (PPV) and free field an angle of 78 degrees. The dip of the Coronado Fault
shear strains that consider near source effects. was observed to be 70 degrees. (Kleinfelder, 2006).

3 CORONADO FAULT 4 BORED TUNNELS

The fault is only expected to rupture in the SEE event.
It will rupture through the soil to the ground surface
in an oblique sense of movement, with displacement
spread over a fault zone thickness of 2 feet (600 mm).
Displacement values for design are described in terms
of vector components along strike and down dip.
The primary fault rupture occurs along the 2 foot
(600 mm) wide zone that can occur anywhere within a
70 foot (20 m) wide zone along the alignment. In addi-
tion to primary rupture, secondary fault rupture would
occur within a zone 50 feet (15 m) in each direction
outside of the primary zone.
4.1 Tunnel structure properties and geometry
Geometry of the planned tunnels and assumptions that
were built into the analytical models were as follows:
• External tunnel diameter: 36.5 feet (11.12 m)
• Lining thickness: 1.5 feet (457 mm)
• Ring length 5 feet (1.52 m)
• Number of segments in a ring: 6 + a key
• Spacing between the twin tunnels 62.5 feet
(19.05 m) center-to-center
• Lining modulus of elasticity 4354 ksi (30000 MPa)
(uncracked concrete)

446
 150 feet
300 feet
60 feet
100 feet
Figure 3. FLAC3D model.
• Closure of the convergence gap between the extra-
dos of the lining and the soil was assumed to be
0.25 (6 mm) before grouting.
• The friction angle between the extrados of the lining
and soil/grout was assumed to be 15◦ , reflecting the
smooth surface of the extrados and presence of the
tail seal grease from the TBM.
4.2 FLAC 3D
model size
The block of ground represented in the models is 300
feet (91.4 m) wide 150 feet (45.7 m) long and 160 feet
(48.8 m) deep with the tunnels located with their hori-
zontal axis 60 feet (18.3 m) below the ground surface.
See Figure 3.
Only the primary slip zone displacements were
modeled for the bored tunnels, since the gradient of
displacement is much more severe in the primary rup-
ture zone in comparison to the secondary zone and
it seems to be reasonable to assume that if the struc-
ture can withstand the primary zone displacement it
can withstand the secondary zone displacements at the
same time.
4.3 Lining ring stiffness
The precast lining is a segmental lining therefore its
flexural stiffness in the hoop direction will be less
than that of a solid tube. Muir Wood (1975) pro-
posed that the stiffness of the segmental lining can
be approximated by:
With Ie ≤ I , n > 4
Where Ie is equivalent moment of inertia, Ij is the
moment of inertia of the joint (assumed 0 in this case)
447
and n is the number of radial joints and I is the moment
of inertia of the solid section of the lining. The formula
has been derived under the assumption that the radial
joints are uniformly distributed along the ring circum-
ference. Typically, with the key segment being much
smaller than the rest of the segments the radial joints
adjacent to the key are much closely spaced than the
rest of the radial joints and thus the two joints adjacent
to the key were conservatively considered as one joint.
In order to preserve the true axial load stiffness of
the lining the following calculations had to be per-
formed where tm is the lining thickness in the model,
t is the actual thickness of the lining, Em is the modulus
of elasticity of the lining in the model, E is the actual
modulus elasticity of the lining and A is the actual
lining area per unit length:
4.4 Lining ring connectivity
Precast rings are connected along the circumferential
joints by bolts or dowels. In addition, the thrust of
the TBM on the lining during the tunnel construction
results in locked in compression along the circumfer-
ential joint interface between adjacent rings. There-
fore, the relative displacement (slip) between adjacent
rings is difficult to estimate. To capture the limits of
behaviour we have assumed three extreme cases:
Case 1. Adjacent rings cannot slip relatively to each
other along the circumferential joints but the joint can
open and only compression force can be transmitted
across the joint.
Case 2. Adjacent rings behave independently of
each other, where no force (axial or shear) is trans-
ferred from ring to ring across the circumferen-
tial joint.
Case 3. Adjacent rings are fully connected to each
other, the tunnel is a continuous structure. This would
approximate a structure with special provisions to pre-
vent joint opening and transfer forces across the joint.
4.5 Modeling process
• In-situ stresses including pore pressures from the
water table were generated in the soil block.
• Soil in the tunnel void was removed and a stress free
linear elastic lining, was installed. A 0.25 (6 mm)
gap (corresponding to the 0.23% volume loss) was
left between the lining and the soil.
• The gap was pressurized to the level of the water
table head.
Figure 4. Case 2 tunnel ring displacements (x10). Figure 6. Case 3 soil block displacements (x10).

Lining M - N and Load Case 2 Linear Elastic Lining Hoop

Direction

Moment [lbsf.ft/ft]

-1200000

-1000000

-800000
Axial Force [lbsf/ft]

18" #8@8
-600000
My Ny
-400000

-200000
-400000 -200000 0 200000 400000
0

200000

Figure 5. Case 3 tunnel ring displacements (x10).
• The system was brought to equilibrium, while the
gap was allowed to close.
• In the next phase, the fault offset displacement
pressures have been gradually applied to the bound-
aries of the model while concurrent solving of the
model towards equilibrium was performed. Once
the prescribed displacements at the model bound-
aries were reached the model was brought into the
final equilibrium.
• A similar gradual loading process was applied to
model the SEE shaking. A free field strain of 0.34%
was applied gradually along the boundaries of the
model, perpendicularly to the tunnel direction thus
imposing ovaling deformations.
• Non-linear material simulation of the concrete lin-
ing was performed.
4.6 Observations from the analyses
Figure 4 shows that for Case 2 the tunnel dis-
placements follow the ground displacements. Fig-
ure 5 shows that for Case 3, however, the tunnel
Figure 7. Capacity and loads, linear elastic lining hoop
direction, case 2.
displacement is gradual, extending beyond the model
limits and smoothes out the abrupt ground displace-
ment. Case 1 results were intermediate between these
two extremes.
4.6.1 Post processing
A moment-axial force interaction curve was developed
for the precast lining assuming the reinforcement of
about 1% in each direction. Values of axial loads and
corresponding moments were read from all elements
representing the tunnel lining in the model and plotted
against the capacity curves.
4.6.2 Lining as linear elastic material
As the first step in the evaluation, the lining rings were
conservatively assumed to be a linear elastic material.
This would correspond to uncracked lining. Figure 7
shows the critical curve for Case 2 connectivity
assumption.

448
 Lining M - N and Load Case 2 with Concrete/Steel Non-
linearity Hoop Direction

Moment [lbsf.ft/ft]

-1200000

-1000000

-800000
Axial Force [lbsf/ft]

18" #8@8
-600000
My Ny
-400000
Figure 9. Box geometry.
-200000
-400000 -200000 0 200000 400000
0

200000

Figure 8. Capacity and loads, non-linear lining hoop direc-

tion case 2.

As it can be seen, the lining capacity appears to be

insufficient in the hoop flexure for Case 2 when the
lining is considered to be linear elastic material.

4.6.3 Lining as non-linear material

The loading on the lining rings has been applied by pre-
scribed ground displacements rather than by applied
forces, which would remain constant throughout the
loading process. If the flexibility of the structure
increases (say by cracking) the forces in the lining will
decrease. The key is to ensure that there is a sufficient
ductility in the lining ring structure and that with addi-
tional small displacements the internal forces in the
structure decrease.
The reinforced concrete material has been simulated
using a HMM developed FISH function (FLAC3D
internal programming language). The method takes
each lining model element and divides it into 10 layers.
Strain in each layer is evaluated. Based on a parabolic
and no-tension stress-strain relationship for concrete
and elasto-plastic relationship for rebars, stresses in
each layer are calculated. Stresses are summed into
sectional forces and added into the equilibrium equa-
tions which are rebalanced in the solving process.
Figure 8 shows the lining capacity curves for the
same case and direction as in Figure 7 but with the
lining as non-linear material. Strains in the rebars in
no case exceed 6%, the typical rebar rupture limit. The
results clearly show that the lining strength is sufficient
once the non-linearity of the lining is considered. This
was true for all configuration cases.
5 CUT AND COVER BOXES
5.1 Boxes properties and geometry
A 3-D model of the cut-and-cover box was built using
StaadPro software. The model represented a 294 feet
Figure 10. Box layout.
(89.6 m) long section of the concrete box. The box
geometry is outlined in Figure 9. The box is assembled
from rectangular linear elastic plate elements.
The soil was represented by compression-only
springs that were placed at every exposed model node
of the structure. The springs act perpendicularly to
the corresponding face of the box and are capable
of transmitting axial compression only. These springs
have variable stiffness and are defined by multi-linear
curves.
In order to simulate the long tunnel, elastic springs
were assumed at both ends of the box. In trial runs we
found that a seamless continuous box would produce
very high compressive and tensile forces along the box
length that required heavy reinforcing. For that reason
shear key joints were introduced in the structure so that
axial stresses are relieved during fault rupture event.
A conceptual sketch of shear key joint is presented in
Figure 10. Box A is the box crossing the main rupture
zone, boxes type B are adjacent boxes. In the model
these joints are simple hinges that are only capable
of carrying in-plane shear forces only along the joint
edges. The two shear key joints were placed 102 feet
(31.1 m) apart so that fault rupture plane is at equal
distance from each joint.

449

Y
X
Z Load 4 : Displacement
Figure 11. Box displacements.
Figure 12. Circumferential joint opening control.
5.2 Modeling sequence in StaadPro
A two stage modeling sequence was used to cir-
cumvent some of the StaadPro loading modeling
limitations.
Soil shear strains causes by ground shaking were
applied as an additional, racking, displacement derived
from the calculated soil shear strain and the ratio of the
ground and structure stiffness.
Consideration has been given to using compressible
material around the box structure to reduce the forces
on the structure due to ground movements.
450
5.3 Analyses results
Figure 11 shows the resulting box displacement. The
results also showed that with providing the special
joints the effect of the fault rupture was actually
secondary to the effects of the ground shaking.
6 CONCLUSIONS
From application of numerical analyses tools to assess
the effects of a rupture of the Coronado fault on under-
ground structures crossing the fault it can be concluded
that:
• It is feasible to design a structure crossing the fault
that would withstand the SEE and rupture event
without a structural collapse.
• Both bored tunnels and cut-and-cover boxes can be
used for this purpose.
• Both structures would show some degree of post-
rupture damage (concrete cracks, large deforma-
tions).
• Bored tunnels constructed using segmental lining
are more prone to inundation by water and soil
during and after the fault rupture event. However,
providing longitudinal ties connecting the rings
and/or soil treatment around the tunnels over the
tunnel length affected by the fault rupture could mit-
igate this issue. Some type of circumferential joint
opening control is required, an example of which is
shown in Figure 12.
REFERENCES
Dean,A.,Young D.J., and Kramer G.E. 2006.The Use and Per-
formance of Precast Concrete Tunnel Linings in Seismic
Areas. Proceedings of the 10th IAEG Congress, Notting-
ham, United Kingdom: Paper No 679, Geological Society
Publishing House
Kleinfelder, Inc., 2006. Final Preliminary Engineering
Geotechnical Investigation, Volume I&II, State Route
75 and 282 Transportation Corridor Project Report,
Coronado, California.
Muir Wood, A M. 1975. The circular tunnel in elastic ground.
Geotechnique 25 No 1:115–127.
USGS 2000, The web site of the U.S. Geological Survey,
http://www.usgs.gov/