666 Advances in Frontier Research on Engineering Structures

A. Cheshmehzangi and H. Bilgin (Eds.)

© 2023 The Authors.
This article is published online with Open Access by IOS Press and distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License 4.0 (CC BY-NC 4.0).
doi:10.3233/ATDE230259

Stability Study on Super Large Section

Tunnel Crossing Fault Zone
Dan MIAO1,a,b, Fucheng WUa,b, Jianxin YEa,b, Qiqi ZENGa,b, Yang CHENa,b,
Douhui LIANGa,b, Quan LIUa,b
a
Guangzhou Guangjian Construction Engineering Testing Center Co., Ltd. Guangzhou
510405, China
b
GuangDong Engineering Technology Research Cencer of Building Health Monitoring
and Security Early Warning, Guangzhou 510405, China

Abstract. The existence of fault zone always intends to bring about potential
engineering risks to mountain tunnel construction. Due to the large excavation area
and the low flattening rate, it is necessary to pay special attention to the stability of
super large section tunnels while constructing across a fault zone. 2 tunnel
displacement indexes of super large cross section tunnel are defined: SR1, based on
arch crown settlement and SR2, based on tunnel convergence. By the finite
difference software FLAC3D, numerical calculation models of a practical three-lane
super large section tunnel is established. Corresponding data of the models with and
without a fault zone are picked out and the values of SR1 and SR2 are calculated and
compared, thus, the influence zone of the tunnel is determined. Further, based on
the above analysis method, SR1 and SR2 are used to analyze the influence of the
inclination and thickness variation of the fault on the stability of the tunnel. The
results show that: as the inclination of the fault changes from 75° to 30°, the
influence length increases by 3.7 times along the axial direction of the tunnel; as the
fault thickness increases from 6m to 12m, the influence length increases 2 times
along the axial direction of the tunnel. The above-mentioned quantitative influence
range would be adopted as a reference value for the precise design and construction
in similar super large section tunnel.

Keywords. Fault zone, influence range, super large section tunnel, construction,
displacement index

1. Introduction

With the rapid growth in mountain road amounts and the arisen of the road levels, more
tunnels are built to overcome the difficulties in elevation variation according to landscape
and to improve road alignment [1-3].
As linear subsurface structure, it is inevitable for tunnels to cross fault zone in
excavation. Fault zone could bring plenty of difficulties in construction due to its poor
performance of strength, deformation ability and water-resistance. And defects may lead
to the collapse or leakage of tunnels: the right line of tunnel 1 of Cimu mountain
collapsed when crossing fault zone [4]; the right line of Guangfu tunnel collapsed without

1
Corresponding Author, Dan MIAO, Guangzhou Guangjian Construction Engineering Testing Center
Co., Ltd. Guangzhou 510405, China; GuangDong Engineering Technology Research Cencer of Building
Health Monitoring and Security Early Warning, Guangzhou 510405, China; E-Mail: 61790367@qq.com
 D. Miao et al. / Stability Study on Super Large Section Tunnel Crossing Fault Zone 667

any omen under the influence of fault zone [5]. Yuan Yunhai [6] summarized some cases
of preliminary bracing’s deformation, crack and collapse in crossing fault zone tunnels.
He Zhenning [7] collected the construction documents of 30 tunnels and concluded water
inrush, sand boil and large deformation in fault zone area into one of the fifteen
engineering problems. So deformation and collapse are the key issues in tunneling
through fault zone. Super large section tunnels emerged one after another at present, and
according to the categorization of International Tunneling Association, if the clearance
of tunnel is more than 100m2, it would be defined as super large section tunnel. On
account of the large span of tunnel, the large disturbance in construction as well as the
poor stability of surrounding rock, water burst and collapse might be easily triggered in
the construction of super large section tunnels. Wu Hengbin [8] analyzed the maximum
displacement of Chaoyangsi super large section tunnel after excavation using numerical
simulation method. In order to optimize the construction method of super large section
tunnel, Chen Zhenaci [9] and Wang Mingming [10] established a series of numerical
models, extracted contours of displacement in each direction and compared the
maximum displacement. By analyzing arch crown settlement, Shi Yufeng [11] studied
the deformation of surrounding rock when super large section tunnel was close to
breakthrough. Thus, deformation and collapse are also the key issues of super large
section tunnels. In foregoing discussion, large deformation in tunnels might be found
when cross fault zone, and it could also be found in super large section tunnels
construction due to the low flattening rate. So, more attention should be paid to the
deformation of super large section tunnels crossing fault zone. Researchers who studied
super large section tunnels through fault zone before mostly used arch crown settlement
and horizontal convergence to show their deformation characteristics. For example,
Yang Jinhu [12] analyzed the arch crown settlement and horizontal convergence of the
monitoring section of super large section tunnel through fault zone, illustrated the
reasonability of support parameters in construction. Shu Lei [13] analyzed the arch crown
settlement and horizontal convergence of super large section tunnel through fault zone,
and found that the influence region caused by displacement change was about 10m. Li
Fengguo [14] used three-step method in Dayaoshan super large section tunnel project,
by extracting the monitoring data of arch crown settlement and horizontal convergence,
the superiority of construction method was proved. Deformation is the sufficient
condition for tunnel instability, so more attention should be paid to the arch crown
settlement and convergence in super large section tunnels through fault zone research.
Considering the low flattening rate and the large excavation area of super large section
tunnels, integrated displacement indexes based on the arch crown settlement of a specific
range and convergence are more comprehensive than those only take absolute arch crown
settlement and absolute horizontal convergence into account. Two displacement indexes
aiming at the deformation of super large section tunnels have been defined in this paper:
SR1, based on arch crown settlement and SR2, based on tunnel convergence. These
indexes could take both arch crown settlement and convergence into integrated
consideration. In the construction of super large section tunnels cross fault, these two
indexes could be used to analyze the affected area of fault zone in surrounding rock
stability and study the effect of the change of fault dip and fault thickness on this affected
area. After the confirmation of this influence range, pointed engineering measures could
be taken in design and construction of tunnels cross fault zone.
668 D. Miao et al. / Stability Study on Super Large Section Tunnel Crossing Fault Zone

2. Displacement Indexes

In tunnel construction, ground depression, displacement of surrounding rock, arch crown

settlement and convergence are the main targets of displacement monitoring. Ground
depression and displacement of surrounding rock, caused by tunnel excavation, reflect
the change of stability of surrounding rock only in shallow tunnels. But arch crown
settlement and convergence could directly reflect the variation trend of stability of
surrounding rock and security status of tunnel not only in shallow tunnels, but also in
deep tunnels. Therefore arch crown settlement and convergence are the two main
indicators in displacement evaluation of super large section tunnels. In order to fully
reflect arch crown settlement in three-lane super large section flat tunnel, 3 monitoring
points are set in the center of vault and 1.5m away from two sides, as shown in Figure 1.
Because of the low flattening rate of super large section tunnels, surrounding
displacement should also be monitored to fully reflect the deformation, as shown in
Figure 2.

Figure 1. Monitoring points on arch crown. Figure 2. Convergence monitoring points.

Define the index of arch crown settlement of super large section tunnel SR 1

s1 s1  s2 2 s1  s3 2 s3  s2 2
SR1 ( ) ( ) ( ) (1)
L s s s

s1  s2  s3
s (2)
s

Where s1 , s2 and s3 are the settlement of monitoring point in the vault; s is the mean
s1
settlement of arch crown, and L is the span of tunnel. is the absolute settlement of
L
s1  s2 2 s1  s3 2 s3  s2 2
arch crown, and ( ) ( ) ( ) is the absolute differential
s s s
settlement of arch crown. The product of the two Formulas 1 and 2, SR1 represents the
effect of arch crown settlement on the stability of super large section tunnels. It can be
seen that SR1 mainly reflect the effect of settlement on the vertical instead of the
horizontal. With a view to the effect of convergence on the horizontal and other direction,
it is necessary to take convergence into account of the evaluation indicators of super large
tunnel stability. In the construction of super large tunnels, 3 measuring lines are set to
 D. Miao et al. / Stability Study on Super Large Section Tunnel Crossing Fault Zone 669

monitor the periphery convergence (Figure 2), which reflects the different convergence
condition in different directions. According to Formula 3, the SR 2 is:

'BC 'AC 'AB 2 'AC 'BC 2 'AB 'BC 2

SR2 (  ) (  ) (  ) (3)
LBC LAC LAB LAC LBC LAB LBC

Where 'AC , 'AB , 'BC are the displacement convergence of line AC, AB, BC,
and length of these three lines. SR1 represents the region of arch crown deformation; SR2
considers the deformation around the tunnel. Because of the dimensionless method on
these two indexes, when evaluating the stability of surrounding rock, they are also
universal to the other kind of section form of super large section tunnels.

3. Background

3.1. Project Profile

Based on a certain tunnel in Guiyang, which is two-way six-lane separation tunnel with
design speed of 100km/h. The length of the tunnel is 760m, the clear width of building
line is 17.6m, clear height is 5m, and the maximum excavation span is 19.6m. The tunnel
support form is composite lining structure. The stratum of tunnel site area is consisting
of clay and detritus. The surrounding rock grades are III and IV. The geological survey
report showed that the dip of fault was 24° and the thickness was 10m. The cross section
size of tunnel is plotted in Figure 3, the positional relationship between the longitudinal
section of tunnel and fault is plotted in Figure 4.

Figure 3. Tunnel cross section profiles.

Figure 4. Longitudinal profile of the tunnel.

670 D. Miao et al. / Stability Study on Super Large Section Tunnel Crossing Fault Zone

3.2. Project Profile Numerical Model

Build the numerical simulation model in FLAC3D, with full face excavation and unlined
tunnel. The dip angle and thickness of the fault is 24° and 10m. According to the
requirement of numerical calculation, the length, width and height of numerical model
are 180m, 180m and 93m. Considering the computational efficiency, the practical 80m
overlying rock is simplified as 40m overlying rock with a uniformly distributed load with
the equivalent height of 40m overlying rock on the top of model (Figure 5). The vertical
displacement of lower boundary is fixed and the horizontal displacement of other
directions are fixed except the top. Figure 6 is the longitudinal profile of the numerical
model. Regarded rock as isotropic elastic-plastic body, MC model is given to the rock.
After equilibration of ground stress, full face excavation is carried out on a footage of
3m. Table 1 shows the parameters of surrounding rock.

Figure 5. Numerical simulation model. Figure 6. Longitudinal profile of the numerical

model.

Table 1. Computation parameters

Elasticity
Poisson Density Cohesion Firction
Material modulus
ration (kg/m3) (MP) angle (°)
(GP)
IV rock 0.80 0.30 2000 0.20 27

V rock
0.10 0.35 1800 0.05 23
(the fault zone)

4. Affected Area of Fault

To prove the effectiveness of the indexes in super large section tunnels cross fault and
obtain the affected area of fault, two kinds of numerical models have been made: with
and without fault. A total of 31 monitoring sections have been laid along the longitudinal
direction of the tunnel, which have a distance of 6m between each section. Arrangements
of monitoring point of each section are shown in Figure 1 and Figure 2. After the passing
through of tunnel, the displacement of each monitoring points have been extracted to
calculate SR1 and SR2 in both models. Figure 7 and 8 show plots of the variation of SR1
and SR2 and the comparison of two models apacity, can also be owned by MPCSW
system, which will be discussed in the following sections.
 D. Miao et al. / Stability Study on Super Large Section Tunnel Crossing Fault Zone 671

Figure 7. Variation curve of SR1.

Figure 8. Variation curve of SR2.

Comparing the two curve in Figure 7, the region between point A and point B is
defined as the affected area due to the rapid increase in value of SR1. The maximum
value of SR1 in the model with fault is 9.6 times than the model without fault. The region
between point C and point D in Figure 8 is also defined as the affected area when
analyzing the index of convergence. In that region, the maximum value of SR2 in the
model with fault is 21.1 times than the model without fault. The maximum value of SR1
on curve appears at 6m from the center of fault when the maximum value of SR2 appears
at 12m from the center of fault because of that arch crown is the closest area to the fault.
The affected area getting from the curve of SR1 is 72m long which is shorter than the
area getting from SR2. This might because SR2 fully considers the change of
displacement from each direction. So the overlapping area of these two indexes are
defined as the key area in tunnel construction which is from -60m to 12m along the
longitudinal direction of the tunnel. Supplementary measures should be taken in the
affected area especially in the key area when tunneling. Meanwhile the influence of fault
on tunnel could be neglected outside the affected area. The affected area and key area
could provide a quantifiable reference value to the design of super large section tunnels
cross fault and give some guidance to the actual construction.
672 D. Miao et al. / Stability Study on Super Large Section Tunnel Crossing Fault Zone

5. Affected of the fault Dip on Affected Area

By analyzing the displacement indexes, the effect of the fault dip on affected area has
been discussed in this chapter. Models with four conditions of fault dip (30°, 45°, 60°,
75°) and a model without fault have been built, and the two displacement indexes of each
section have been calculated and compared after the passing through of tunnels. The
details of these five models are listed in Table 2. Figure 9 and 10 show the plots of the
variation of two indexes in each model.
Table 2. Numerical models with different fault dip
Condition number Dip (°) Thickness (m)
Condition 1 / /
Condition 2 30 10
Condition 3 45 10
Condition 4 60 10
Condition 5 75 10

The model in condition 1 was same as the model without fault in chapter 3.2. Full
face excavations were used in all conditions.

Figure 9. Variation curve of SR1 under different fault dip.

Figure 10. Variation curve of SR2 under different fault dip.

 D. Miao et al. / Stability Study on Super Large Section Tunnel Crossing Fault Zone 673

As can be seen from the two plots, the effect of the change of fault dip on the
displacement obviously shows a strong regularity. In Figure 9, the influence of fault on
the displacement index SR1 is significant when the dip of fault are 30° and 45°, while the
influence could be neglected in other models. Sorting the influence level by the
maximum value of SR1: SR1max(30°) 㸼 SR1max(45°) 㸼 SR1max(60°) Ү SR1max(75°) Ү
SR1max(without fault), and the maximum value of SR1 appears at a distance of 6m from
the center of fault in condition 2 and condition 3. Figure 10 shows that with the increase
of the dip, the influence of fault on the convergence is gradually reduced. Sorting the
influence level by the maximum value of SR2: SR2max(30°)㸼SR2max(45°)㸼SR2max(60°)
㸼SR2max(75°)㸼SR2max(without fault), and the maximum value of SR2 appears at a
distance of 6m from the center of fault in each condition. The affected areas under
different fault dip which determined by Figure 9 and Figure 10 are listed in Table 3.
When the fault dip change from 75° to 30°, the affected area along the longitudinal
direction of the tunnel extended by 3.7 times.
Table 3. Affected area with different fault dip

Condition Affected area Affected area

Key area
number determined by SR 1 determined by SR 2
Condition 2 -36m to 12m -48m to 18m -36m to 12m
Condition 3 -24m to 12m -30m to 12m -24m to 12m
Condition 4 / -18m to 6m /
Condition 5 / -12m to 6m /

The effect of fault dip on affected area is related to the bearing capacity of
surrounding rock. As shown in Figure 11, the smaller the dip is, the closer the distance
is from arch crown to fault. That would reduce the thickness of overlying stable rock
which determine the formation of pressure-arch. Based on the theory of pressure-arch,
the bearing capacity of surrounding rock largely depends on the completeness of
pressure-arch. Then the drop of the bearing capacity of surrounding rock results in large
deformation of tunnels. In summary, the reduction of fault dip would cause the
elongation of affected area of fault zone and the increase of the deformation of tunnels.

Figure 11. The relative position of the fault and the tunnel.

6. Effect of the Thickness of Fault on Affected Area

By analyzing the displacement indexes, the effect of the thickness of fault on affected
area has been discussed in this chapter. Models with four conditions of thickness of fault
(6m, 8m, 10m, 12m) have been built, and the two displacement indexes of each section
674 D. Miao et al. / Stability Study on Super Large Section Tunnel Crossing Fault Zone

have been calculated and compared after the passing through of tunnels. The details of
these models are the same as those in Table 4. Figure 12 and 13 show the plots of the
variation of two indexes in each model.
Table 4. Numerical models with different fault thickness
Condition number Dip (°) Thickness (m)
Condition 1 / /
Condition 6 24 6
Condition 7 24 8
Condition 8 24 10
Condition 9 24 12

The model in condition 1 was same as the model without fault in chapter 3.2. Full
face excavations were used in all conditions

Figure 12. Variation curve of SR1 under different fault thickness.

Figure 13. Variation curve of SR2 under different fault thickness.

As shown in the two plots, the influence of fault on the settlement of arch crown and
convergence is growing with the increase of the thickness of fault. This might be
attributed to the reduction of the clamping effect of surrounding rock on fault. Sorting
 D. Miao et al. / Stability Study on Super Large Section Tunnel Crossing Fault Zone 675

the influence level by the maximum value of SR1: SR1max(12m) 㸼 SR1max(10m) 㸼

SR1max(8m)㸼SR1max(6m)㸼SR1max(without fault), and by the maximum value of SR2:
SR2max(12m)㸼SR2max(10m)㸼SR2max(8m)㸼SR2max(6m)㸼SR2max(without fault).
The affected areas under different thickness of fault which determined by Figure 12
and 13 are listed in Table 5. When the thickness of fault dip change from 6m to 12m, the
affected area along the longitudinal direction of the tunnel increased by 2 times.
Table 5. Affected area with different fault zone thickness

Affected area Affected area

Condition number Key area
determined by SR1 determined by SR2

Condition 6 -30m to 6m -36m to 18m -30m to 6m

Condition 7 -30m to 6m -42m to 24m -30m to 6m
Condition 8 -60m to 12m -60m to 48m -60m to 12m
Condition 9 -60m to 12m -60m to 48m -60m to 12m

The affected area would be extended when the thickness of fault increases, and the
deformation of tunnel is also enlarged at the same time. Considering the sudden growth
of these indexes value in the model with a 12m thick fault compared with the model with
a 10m thick fault, special support measurements should be taken in construction when
the thickness of fault is more than 10m.

7. Conclusion

Based on the analyzing of displacement of super large section tunnels, two displacement
indexes were defined, including the index of arch crown settlement SR1 and the index of
convergence SR2. Then the affected area was discussed using these two indexes, and the
following conclusions were obtained:

x These two displacement indexes could reflect the influence of fault on the
stability of super large section tunnels and precisely define the affected area
caused by fault. The displacement indexes divided the tunnel into two regions:
no affected area and affected area. Then the overlapping area of the affected
areas was defined as the key area.
x As a bad geology, the fault would influence the formation of pressure-arch, then
result in the reduction of the stability of surrounding rock, which would cause
a large deformation of tunnels. The range of affected area expands and the
deformation of tunnel increases with the declination of fault dip. When the fault
dip is greater than 60°, the affected area is small enough to be neglected.
x When the thickness of fault ranged from 6m to 12m, the affected area was
expanding and the deformation of tunnels was increasing. And special support
measurements should be taken when the thickness of fault is more than 10m.
x As dimensionless indexes, SR1 and SR2 are universal to all kinds of section
form of super large section tunnels. And the affected area and key area could
provide a quantifiable reference value to the design of super large section
tunnels cross fault and give some guidance to the actual construction.
676 D. Miao et al. / Stability Study on Super Large Section Tunnel Crossing Fault Zone

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