GLOSSARY OF COMMON TUNNELING TERMS

Adit. A short tunnel from a shaft or from the surface to a main tunnel or connecting two main tunnels.

Advance rate. The distance excavated during a given time (feet/shift) in tunneling, drifting, or in raising
or sinking a shaft.
Agitator cars. Concrete rail transporting equipment which mixes concrete by rotation of a drum-type car
body with helical shaped fins attached to the interior of the car.
Air locks. Pressure chambers located in the bulkhead of a tunnel or shaft driven under air pressure.
Men, material, and equipment pass in and out of the tunnel through these locks.
Arch. The configuration of the upper portion of a tunnel section above the springline; the crown, roof, or
back of a tunnel.
Arching tendency. Tendency of incompetent or moderately competent rocks to form an arch above an
underground opening by caving. Commonly the arch assumes the shape of a Gothic arch in
cross-section.

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Back. Also called the crown or roof. The highest portion of a tunnel.
Bar (bar down). Remove loose or insecurely attached rock fragments or slabs from arch of tunnel
immediately after blasting and before placing supports.
Bench. Part of the lower tunnel section left temporarily unexcavated as excavation of a heading is
advanced on top of it.

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Blocking. Wood blocks or other structural material installed between the rock surface and the steel sets
and lagging of a tunnel to transfer load to the supports.

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Blocky rock. Interlocked, partially disturbed rock mass with multi-faceted angular blocks formed by
natural joint sets and fractures.
Borehole. The hole resulting from a soil or rock exploratory boring.
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Boring. An exploratory process involving the drilling of a hole into the earth to obtain samples and other
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information regarding the soil and rock properties, groundwater conditions, and geology at that
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location.
Bottom heading. The excavation of the bottom half of a tunnel after the top half has been excavated for
the full tunnel length.
Breastboards. Partial or complete braced supports across the tunnel face which holds back soft ground
during tunnel driving.
Bulkhead form. A concrete form which establishes the termination of a concrete placement. After
removal of the bulkhead form, concrete during subsequent placement is placed against the
construction joint formed by the bulkhead.
Bulkhead. A barrier placed at a tunnel heading to prevent inflow of water or shattered rock into the
tunnel.
Cage. An enclosed frame platform used in hoisting men and materials in a vertical shaft.

California switch. A movable double-track assemblage with switches at ends that enables passing of
muck cars in a tunnel.

Center core method. A method of tunneling whereby the center of the tunnel is the last section to be
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excavated.
Centerline. The line that is equidistant to the sides of a tunnel.
Chemical grout. A combination of chemicals (typically sodium silicate or polyurethane) that gel into a
semi-solid after they are injected into soils or fractured rock to decrease permeability.
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Closed shield. A tunneling machine that includes an excavation chamber that is isolated.
Collar brace. Wood or steel brace placed between or on top of steel sets to maintain spacing and
alignment.
Competent rock. Rock that stands without support in underground openings.
Concrete form. The structure or surface that supports and contains fluid concrete and establishes the
shape of the cured concrete.
Cover. Overburden of rock or soil in feet or meters over the arch of a tunnel.
Crown bar. Steel rod or rail or wood plank placed on top of or suspended below steel set or sets nearest
heading and projecting forward to tunnel heading. Provides temporary support in arch until
additional steel sets and lagging can be installed closer to the heading.
Crown. The highest part of a circular- or horseshoe shaped tunnel. Also called the “roof” or “back”.

Cut and cover. The process of excavating a trench from the surface and then decking it over, so that
traffic can be maintained during the construction of the excavation below.
Cutterhead. A mechanical excavator with a rotating wheel with picks at the front of the machine, which
actually cuts through rock or soft rock.
Digger shield. A tunnel excavation machine composed of a fabricated, open-ended steel cylinder fitted
with an excavator, breasting system, muck apron, muck conveyor, and thrusting system.
Dowel. Rock reinforcement usually consisting of a steel bar that is inserted and fully grouted in place in a
borehole. Dowels are not tensioned.
Drift. A small tunnel driven ahead of the main tunnel bore.
Drill-and-blast tunneling. A construction method in which the tunnel is advanced by a repetitive
sequence of drilling and packing drill holes with explosives, blasting, and removing the blasted

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rock. Initial supports are installed after mucking and before drilling operations.
Drive. To excavate horizontally, or at an inclination as in a drift, tunnel, adit, or entry; distinguished from
sinking or raising.
Dry-packing. Pea gravel or other cementitious material forced in between the lagging and the excavated
surface to fill voids and furnish support.

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Erector arm. Swing arm on tunnel boring machine or shield, used for lifting supports and setting them in
position.

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Extensometer. A spring loaded metal tape device for precisely measuring the convergence or
divergence of reference points anchored in the lining.
Face. Vertical wall at the farthest advance of the excavation in a tunnel.
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False set. A steel or timber set placed temporarily to expedite a tunneling operation, as, for example, a
spiling operation.
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Fault. A fracture or fracture zone in soil or rock along which there has been relative displacement of the
adjacent sides. In rock, fault zones are frequently, though not always, associated with increased
jointing and additional support requirements.
Final Support. Tunnel support or lining installed following initial support and independent of excavation
to complete lining installation.
Firm ground. Refers to consolidated sediments or soft sedimentary rock in which the tunnel heading is
advanced without any, or with only minimal roof support, and the permanent lining can be
constructed before the ground begins to move or ravel.
Floor. The rock underlying a stratified or almost horizontal deposit, corresponding to the footwall of more
steeply dipping deposits; or that part of any underground opening upon which one walks.
Flowing ground. Ground located below the groundwater table composed of non-cohesive soils such as
silty sands, sands and gravels that behave like a viscous fluid.
Footblocks. Blocks of wood, sacked concrete, steel, or precast concrete placed under ribs or posts in
non-circular tunnels to provide bearing.
Forepoling. Driving wood or steel members into soft or incompetent rock in the arch of the tunnel over
the top of supports to provide roof support beyond the tunnel heading. See spiling.
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Formation. The primary unit of geologic mapping, which is defined on the basis of distinctive lithologic
features.
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French drains. Excavated trenches filled with porous gravel and designed to control water flows.
Full-face heading. An excavation of the whole tunnel face in one operation.
Geophysical testing. Subsurface exploration that uses energy sources to infer soil and rock structure
and properties. Common types of testing include seismic refraction techniques, cross-hole and
down-hole measurement of seismic velocities, and electric resistivity methods.
Graveling. The process of forcing pea gravel into the tail void created by a shield to prevent ground
settlement. Cement grouting always follows the process.
Grommet. An annulus of material placed under a washer and compressed by nut tightening to impede
water passage along the bolt in a joint.
Ground arch. The ground located immediately above a tunnel which transfers the overburden load onto
ground located on both sides of the tunnel.
Ground. The material through which a tunnel is driven, whether it is rock or soil.
Ground Loss. Volume of soil or rock that moves into the advancing tunnel heading in excess of
theoretical excavation volume that eventually may result in ground surface settlement. Usually
represented as a percentage of the tunnel face volume.
Grout. A mixture of water, cement, sand, and admixtures.
Grouting. Injection of grout through drilled holes under pressure.
Rock Grouting. Injection of grout into seams, fractures, or joints to seal off water inflows or consolidate
fractured rock.
Contact grouting is the pressure injection of grout into voids between a monolithic or segmental lining
and the excavated surface of the adjacent ground.
Permeation grouting is the pressure injection of grout into voids of a loose soil matrix.
Gunite. Pneumatically placed mixture of water, sand, and cement, often used to prevent air slaking of a
tunnel’s excavated surface; also applied as a support either directly on the excavated surface or
over other supports to strengthen them.

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Hard ground. Material that responds to excavation in a rock-like manner, generally characterized by
strength and resiliency that requires special cutting, ripping, and/or drill-and-blast techniques for
excavation.
Heading and bench. A method of tunneling in which a top heading is excavated first, followed by
excavation of the horizontal bench left behind under cover of the ground support provided in the

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heading.
Heading. A smaller tunnel excavated ahead (and above the bench) of the main tunnel or a general term

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used to refer to the tunnel face.
Hog rod. A steel turnbuckle rod set horizontally across a shield-driven tunnel to keep the initial support
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from distorting. It is removed when gravelling and contact grouting are completed and the
tendency of the initial support to distort has ceased.
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Holing through. That point in excavation when a tunnel daylights at a portal or meets another face,
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which gives a continuous tunnel.

Inclinometer. An instrument for measuring angles or slope (or tilt), elevation or depression of an object
with respect to gravity. Typically used in a slotted casing installed in a borehole. A tilt
inclinometer is commonly fixed on a structure.
Incompetent ground. Ground that requires support when a tunnel is excavated through it.
Initial support. Tunnel support placed at the heading following excavation to maintain stability and
safety of the opening and to minimize ground movement.
Invert. In a circular-shaped tunnel, this is the bottom portion of the arc. In a horseshoe-shaped tunnel,
this is the flat bottom.
Jetting. The process of applying water or air under pressure to remove debris or laitance from structural
surfaces.
Joint. A discontinuity in rock or soil. Also a contact surface or separation between adjacent segments of
a tunnel lining.
Jumbo Drill. Drilling equipment that includes multiple drilling masts and a basket.
Jumbo Platform. The movable platform which supports the drilling equipment used at the tunnel
heading.
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Jump set. Steel or timber set placed between existing sets to provide additional support.

Laitance The crust that forms a slight sheen on the surface of shotcrete or concrete as water evaporates.
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Lagging. Structural material consisting, installed between ribs.

Liner plates. Metal plates which are fastened together to support the arch, sides, and in some cases,
the invert.
Mixed face. The situation when the tunnel passes through both rock and unconsolidated material and
both are exposed simultaneously at the face.
Mole. A tunnel boring machine which excavates a tunnel of circular cross-section.
Monolithic lining. A tunnel lining that is cast in place and continuous.
Muck. Broken rock or other material produced at the face of a tunnel by the excavation process.
Mucking machine. The machine used to load broken rock for haulage out of underground openings.
Open cut. A trench excavated from the surface and left uncovered until completion of the work within.
Open shield. The shield normally used in soft ground tunneling.
Overbreak. Rock removed from outside of pay line as defined in the specifications
Panning. A water deflecting or channeling device, usually made of sheet metal, which is attached to the
tunnel walls or arch to direst ground water infiltration to a sump or pipe to protect the fluid
concrete from water percolating through it.
Payline. The line at the periphery of a tunnel which defines the limits of tunnel section for which payment
will be made for excavation under the terms of a contract.
Permanent support. The concrete or shotcrete lining of the tunnel. Steel and timber supports generally
are regarded as temporary supports.
Piezometer. An instrument used to monitor groundwater levels and water pressures.
Pilot tunnel. An exploratory tunnel of a smaller tunnel driven ahead of a large tunnel, being
subsequently enlarged to the full cross-section.
Piping. An unbalanced hydrostatic condition that causes erosion and heave within the soil mass. A

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system of pipes or hoses firmly fixed on the tunnel periphery, prior to placing the concrete lining,
to collect and direct ground water by gravity flow through forms and bulkheads.
Popping rock. Stressed rock that fails with explosive violence and ejects large and small rock fragments
with high velocity.
Portal. The entrance to a tunnel. Commonly located in weathered rock or unconsolidated deposits

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requiring special provisions for protection and support of the tunnel entrance and approach.
Posts. The vertical members of a steel rib or timber support system.

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Primary lining. The tunnel lining placed to support the ground as the excavation proceeds.
Probe hole. Hole drilled from tunnel heading or elsewhere to test geologic conditions beyond heading or
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in rocks adjacent to an underground opening.
Progress. A measure of the speed and efficiency with which construction of any kind proceeds.
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Pumping test. A field test conducted by pumping water into or out of selected geologic zones in
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boreholes to obtain information about groundwater conditions and permeability.

Raise. A mine shaft driven from below upward; an opening, similar to a shaft, made in the back of a level
to reach a level above.
Raveling ground. Poorly consolidated or cemented materials that can stand up for several minutes to
several hours in a heading, but then start to slough, slake, or scale off due to loosening or to
overstress and “brittle” fracture.
Rib. A part of the tunnel support, usually of steel or timber, curved to suit the shape of the tunnel section.
In addition, section of tunnel between the spring line and back.
Roadheader. A partial face tunnel boring machine, which excavates by means of boom-mounted system
of rotating picks.
Rock bolts. Steel rods equipped with mechanical, resin-grouted, or other form of anchorage at one end
and a nut and washer at the other. Installed in drilled holes to tie rock together, they may be
tensioned or untensioned; they may also be fully encapsulated with resin or grout. Also known as
roof bolts.
Rock dowel. See Dowel.
Rock reinforcement. Elements of final or initial tunnel support including rock dowels, rock bolts, and
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accessories, welded wire fabric, and spiling.

Rockburst. A sudden explosive detachment of rock slab or rock debris from the arch, wall, or invert of a
tunnel.
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Rockcrete. A nearly dry mixture of sand, crushed rock, and cement sprayed on the arch and walls of a
tunnel to provide support.
Roof bolt. Steel bolt split at one end or with an expansible head inserted into a drilled hole in rock to
support the rock. Head of the bolt is forced against a steel plate next to the rock or expansible
head is spread by a screw action.
Roof. The upper portion of a tunnel, especially the portion of the tunnel immediately above the
centerline. Also called the back or crown.
Run-ins. Flow of materials into the tunnel from the tunnel face or from the tunnel circumference.
Running ground. Granular materials without cohesion or unstable at a slope greater than their angle of
repose. When exposed at steeper slopes, they run like granulated sugar or dune sand until the
slope flattens to the angle of repose.
Sand hog. A miner who works in a tunnel drive.
Secondary lining. A permanent tunnel lining of concrete that is usually placed after mining operations
have been completed.
Segmental lining. Tunnel lining made of sections which fit together to form a ring; commonly of steel,
cast iron or precast concrete. Segments may be bolted together, or keyed together without bolts.
Set. One structural support for the sides and roof of a tunnel; used more when tunnel supports were built
up with wood members, post and crown ( see Rib).
Shaft. A vertical excavation to gain access from the surface to tunnels or mines, or to perform in situ
exploration and testing.
Shield tail (or skirt). An extension to the rear of the shield skin which supports soft ground enabling the
tunnel primary lining to be erected within its protection.
Shield. A steel tube shaped to fit the excavation line of a tunnel in soft ground and used to provide
support for the tunnel, provide space within its tail for erecting supports, protect the men

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excavating and erecting supports, and if breastboards are required, provide supports for them.
The outer surface of the shield is called the skin.
Shotcrete. A method used to place concrete at sufficient velocity to achieve proper compaction; wet-mix
process adds compressed air at the nozzle and dry-mix process adds water at the nozzle.
Accelerating admixtures may be added to speed hardening of the concrete in overhead

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applications.
Shove. The act of advancing a mole or shield with hydraulic jacks, typically far enough to permit the

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installation of a ring of segments or ribs and boards.
Slick line. A pipe through which concrete or grout is placed in the annular space between a form and the
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interior of the excavated section of the tunnel.
Slickenside. A polished and striated surface within soil or rock resulting from relative displacement along
the surface.
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Slump. A measure of workability or “dryness” of concrete during placement. Determined by measuring

the difference in height of a representative sample, as contained in a standard aluminum form of
truncated conical shape, and the sample’s height after the form has been removed vertically from
around it. The form is open on both ends and must be placed on a smooth flat base with the
concrete sample introduced through the top, rodded to a uniform consistency in three layers, then
struck off to the top of the form.
Slurry. A pumpable suspension, usually of bentonite clay minerals and water, used to stabilize borehole
sidewalls, tunneling face in slurry tunneling machines, and open trenches.
Soft ground. Material that responds to excavation in a soil-like manner, generally characterized by
raveling, sloughing, and occasional running or flowing behavior. The material usually requires
rapid support and can be excavated with scraping, digging, and pneumatic spade equipment.
Spalling rock. A rock mass under stress that yields thin slabs or wedges of rock by rapid failure. Slabs
commonly form parallel to walls or arch of an opening rock.
Spiling. Pointed steel rods, rails, channel iron, or wood planks or logs driven into the tunnel heading to
support incompetent rock until supports can be placed. Usually the spiling is driven above and
beyond the supports nearest the heading or on top of and beyond a false set.
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Spitting rock. A rock mass under stress that breaks and ejects small fragments with considerable
velocity.
Spoil. See muck.
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Spreader. Timber or steel member installed between structural steel supports, capable of taking
compression (see collar bracing). Spreader is placed between the flanges of the structural steel
supports.
Spring line. The line across or parallel to the tunnel above which the steel ribs are bent to radius of
curvature different from that below it. Longest horizontal dimension between steel ribs. May or
may not coincide with centerline.
Squeezing ground. Ground that squeezes or extrudes plastically into tunnel without visible fracture or
loss of continuity and without perceptible increase in water content. Ductile, plastic yield and flow
due to overstress.
Stand-up time. The amount of time after excavation that the ground can remain unsupported without
local or general failure.
Strap. A long flat plate or crimped mat typically steel held in place by rock dowels to provide ground
support between adjacent rock dowels.
Stringer. In mining, a narrow vein. Also a longitudinal construction member in tunnel supports.
Struts. Compression supports placed acorss tunnel ribs in the invert; includes structural members
placed transversely across the tunnel centerline near the invert to prevent inward movement of
the ribs (posts).
Sump Low space that collects unwanted or undesirable liquids. Typically a pump will remove liquid from
sump.
Superplasticizer. Water reducing agent composed of polymers that increases the workability of wet
concrete without increasing water content or that sustains workability with a reduced amount of
water.

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Support. Materials such as steel, wood, concrete, shotcrete, rockbolts, etc. placed to prevent failure of
ground around underground openings.
Swelling ground. Soil or decomposed rock that undergoes a volumetric expansion resulting from the
lack of confinement and addition of water after being exposed by excavation. Swelling ground
may appear to be stable when exposed, with the swelling developing later.

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Tail void. The annular space between the outside diameter of the shield and the outside of the primary
lining.

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Temporary support. Materials placed to support ground until permanent elements can be installed.
Tie rod. Steel rod threaded at both ends. Used as a connection between adjacent steel sets to hold sets
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in place and provide strength in the direction of the tunnel.
Top heading. The upper section of the tunnel. Also, a tunnel excavation method where the complete
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top one-half of the tunnel is excavated before the bottom section is started.
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Tunnel boring machine (TBM). A machine that excavates the heading to full size in one operation and
often called a mole.
Tunnel face. The tunnel heading.
Tunnel section. Outline of tunnel as measured at right angles to centerline. In addition, any portion of
the tunnel measured parallel to the direction of the tunnel.
Tunnel. An underground structure of relatively uniform cross-section and significant length used for
purposes of transportation, shelter, or storage.
Tunneling machine. A continuously excavating machine utilizing one or more rotating cutter heads
which are rotated under pressure against the tunnel face.
Vibrators. Mechanical vibrating devices that are immersed in fluid concrete or attached to the concrete
forms causing the concrete to give up entrapped free air and yield a uniform dense product.
Wallplate. Continuous horizontal structural steel supports installed along the sides of the tunnel at or
near the springline when a top heading or multiple heading is driven. After excavating the bottom
heading, posts, or supports are erected to support the wallplate from the invert.
Water stop. A rubber elastomeric or rigid device placed and anchored across a joint cast in concrete to
impede passage of water through the joint.
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Weeper (Weep hole). A pipe or drilled hole in rock or concrete designed to relieve groundwater pressure
through the tunnel lining.
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