Underground Excavations &

Excavation Methods

DR. SOHAIL AKRAM

Assistant Professor
Institute of Geology
University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan

Types of Underground Excavations

y Tunnel
Horizontal or inclined excavation through rock or soil mass
which is open at both ends.
y Adit
Horizontal or inclined excavation through rock/ soil mass
open at surface from one end.
y Shafts
Vertical Excavations through rock/ soil mass open at
surface from one end
y Caverns
Large excavation Chambers for underground powerhouses,
storage, nuclear waste depositories, community centers.
2

1
 Why Underground Excavations........
y Mining Engineering – Operations
y Shafts, Tunnels, Adits
y Civil Engineering Projects
y Tunnels for roads and highways, power channels, drainage, sewage, electric
facilities etc.
y Adits for exploration, access adits to tunnels and caverns, etc.
y Shafts for ventilation to tunnels, in hydropower projects i.e. pressure shaft,
surge shafts etc.
y Caverns for underground power houses, storage, etc.
y Civil Engineering Projects
y Benefits
y Access to and exploitation of minable resources
y To avoid limited Space and obstacles such as hills, bridges
y Replacement of long bridges
y Hydropower generation in Dams and Hydropower projects

Basic Terminology
{ Tunnel
{ Adit
{ Shaft
{ Crown
{ Walls
{ Invert
{ Spring line
{ Ground
{ Portal
{ Muck
{ Illumination
{ Ventilation
{ Support
4

2
 Tunnels Types
{ Tunnel Types….purpose based.

Tunnels Types

D- TYPE
SEMI CIRCLE HORSE SHOE
TYPE Circular
TYPE

Caverns

3
Geological Factors influencing
Underground Excavations
y Intact Rock Strength – (lab determined)
• Strength
y Ground Stresses • Deformability
y Rock Mass Strength • Excavatability
y Discontinuities (all planes of weaknesses)
y Bedding planes/ Foliation
y Joints/ fractures
y Faults/ Shear zones
y folds
Discontinuity Parameters
y Orientation
y Persistence
y Spacing/ frequency
y Aperture
y Seepage
y Discontinuity Conditions

Geological Factors influencing

Underground Excavations
y Ground Response to Underground Excavations

4
 Geological Considerations
{ Ground Factors

{ Excavation Induced Factors

Geological Considerations
{ Soft Grounds
{ Raveling Ground:

Fall of rock blocks from roof and walls

{ Running Ground:
Clean sand flows inward
{ Flowing Ground
Mudflow/ earth flow or heavy water inflow
{ Squeezing Ground
Plastic flow of ground under stresses or with high moisture content
{ Swelling Ground
Having clayey minerals that gives volume change while in contact with water
{ Hard/ Block Ground
{ Intact Ground

{ Blocky Ground based on rock characterization

5
 Effects of discontinuities, Strike and Dip
orientation in Tunneling
• Case1 : The Tunnel axis is
perpendicular to the strike of
beds and the dip of beds is
45o to 90o , the tunnel driving
shall be very favourable
and if the dip is 20o to 45o
the tunneling shall be
favourable
• Case2 : The Tunnel axis is
parallel to the strike of beds
and the dip of beds is 45o to
90o , the tunnel driving shall
be very unfavourable

Effects of discontinuities, Strike and Dip

orientation in Tunneling

• And if the dip is 20o to 45o the

tunneling shall just be fair.

• Irrespective of strike, if the dip is

0o to 20o the tunnel driving should

also be fair.
• Case3: In this case if the bedding of

rock encountered in the tunnel is

horizontal, the excavation is also

considered favourable

12

6
 Effects of discontinuities, Strike and Dip
orientation in Tunneling

Overbreaking

13

Effects of discontinuities, Strike and Dip

orientation in Tunneling
Rock Structures
y FOLDS
y FAULTS
y Multiple weak zones
y Strength
y Permeability

14

7
 Hydrogeological Considerations
Affect of Ground water on Rock Mass

15

In-situ Stresses
Affect of Insitu Stresses on
Underground excavations
y Rock Bursting – Hard Rocks
Brittle-elastic behaviour when UCS of rock
is less than insitu stresses hard rocks.

y Spalling or Squeezing Ground _ Soft

Rocks
Ductile/ plastic behaviour when UCS of
rock is less than insitu stresses.

y Affect of Stress Orientation

Favourable Conditions
Fair Conditions
Unfavourable Conditions
16

8
Rock Mass Characterization &
Support Assessment
y Barton’ Q Method (Rock Quality Tunnelling Index)
y RMR (Rock Mass Rating)
y GSI (Geological Strength Index)

(Portal) Ventilation, Illumination & Concrete lining

Drilling and Grouting Cavern

9
 METHODS OF UNDERGROUND EXCAVATIONS

y Digging y Decision Factors

Excavation with mechanical tools y Geological Conditions
y Ripping y Rock type

Loosening of rock and excavation with y Intact rock Strength

mechanical tools y Block size/ spacing/
persistence
y Rock Cutting
y Economy/ Resources
Cutting of rocks with latest mechanized
equipment i.e. TBM, Road headers, etc. y Viability/ time frame
y Project significance
y Blasting
y Long term benefits
Drilling and blasting

METHODS OF EXCAVATIONS
(Franklin et al., 1972)
y Excavation Method Assessment

20

10
 METHODS OF EXCAVATIONS
y Excavation Method Assessment (Franklin 1974)

y Direct Method
y Pint Load Index (Is50)
Point load test

y Fracture/ Joint Spacing

Scanline survey
Discontinuity survey

21

METHODS OF EXCAVATIONS
y Excavation Method Assessment
y Indirect Method
y Seismic Velocity
Seismic refraction surveys

22

11
 METHODS OF EXCAVATIONS
y Digging
Intact Rock Strength very low to
extremely low, highly fractured and
jointed rock, sheared zones, etc.
RMR=1~30
Means: Excavators

23

METHODS OF EXCAVATIONS
y Ripping
Assessing the rippability is also an important aspect of
excavation. Even stronger rocks such as limestones
and sandstones, when closely jointed or bedded, are
removed by heavy rippers to at least the limit of
weathering and surfacial stress relief.
RMR=30~60
Seismic Velocity< 2500km/s
y Sedimentary rocks are usually easily ripped.
y Rippability of metamorphic rocks, such as gneisses,
quartzites, schists, and slates, depends on their degree
of lamination and mica content.
y Igneous rocks are often not possible to rip, unless
they are very thinly laminated as in some volcanic lava
flows.

24

12
 METHODS OF EXCAVATIONS
y Ripping
Excavatbility Index

Rippability Index

25

METHODS OF EXCAVATIONS
y Rippers
y Introduce energy for fracturing/ fragmentation

26

13
 METHODS OF EXCAVATIONS
y Rock Cutting- Full Face
y Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM)
y Road Headers
y Rock Cutters

27

METHODS OF EXCAVATIONS
y Rock Cutting- Full Face
y Tunnel Boring Machine
(TBM)

28

14
 METHODS OF EXCAVATIONS
y Rock Cutting- Full Face
y Road Headers

29

Drill and Blast

30

15
 Drill and Blast
y Drilling

31

Drill and Blast

y Drilling Bits

32

16
 Drill and Blast
y Drilling, Handheld Machines

33

Drill and Blast

y Drilling- Jumbo Drilling Machines- Multiple drilling booms

34

17
 Drill and Blast
y Blasting- Explosives

35

Drill and Blast

y Blasting- Mechanism

36

18
 Drill and Blast
y Blasting- Mechanism

37

Drill and Blast

y Blasting Pattern
y Uncontrolled Blasting
Irregular Excavation, over-breakage,
rock disturbance, expensive
y Controlled Blasting
Regular well controlled uniform
excavation, less disturbance to
surrounding rock mass, no over
grouting or sealing

38

19
 Drill and Blast
y Relation of Rock Quality and Over Blasting

39

Drill and Blast

y Detonators
After the holes are drilled in the tunnel face according to certain
pattern, by the use of drill machines or with jumbo, under which
controlled blasting shall be done, the holes are then charged with the
explosive and delay detonators. The quantity of explosive varies from
rock to rock but is generally 1.5 – 2.0 Kgs per cubic meter of rock .
The delay detonators are numbered. They are generally of two types,
with 25 millisecond and half second delays. Each number from 01 to 20
has a delay of 25 milli seconds and the half second have 01 to 10
delays. When blasted with the help of a blasting machine, the
detonators having smaller number get blasted first and the others get
blasted turn wise.
The last are blasted having the highest number. It is due to the size of
fuse in all the detonators. No 1 detonator has the fuse size which
immediately blasts on the pressing of button, while all others blast turn
wise according to size of fuse, though the button is pressed only once.
In this way the tunnel center gets blasted first and the cavity thus
formed keeps on getting larger and eventually the whole tunnel face is

40formed without any blasting effect outside the face

20
 Staging: Top Heading & Benching
Method

41

Staging: Top Heading & Benching

Method

42

21
 Support for Underground Excavations

43

22