SOFT GROUND TUNNELLING

Siti Norafida binti Jusoh, PhD

Faculty of Civil Engineering
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
 LEARNING OUTCOMES
✓Understand what is tunnel
✓Benefits and issues of tunnel
• Tunnel Terminology
• Tunnel Design Philosophy
• Tunnel Design Process
• Load Design in Tunnel
• Safety Features in Tunnel
SOFT GROUND HARD GROUND
TUNNELLING TUNNELLING
• Shallow tunnel (cover less or equal to 2 • Deeper depth of tunnel
times diameter of tunnel)
• Complex due to rock conditions
• Complex due to ground water level
• Rock-structure interaction
• Soil-structure interaction
• More stable, long stand up time
• More settlement especially for shallow
depth
• Excavation stages must be sufficiently short,
both in terms of dimensions and duration.
• Erection of the ‘full ring’ of initial ground
support must be completed immediately
after excavation.
 TUNNEL TERMINOLOGY

• Crown: The uppermost part of Crown

the tunnel
Springline/
• Invert : The bottom (floor) of Wall Inner
the tunnel diameter

Outer
• Wall : The side of the tunnel diameter

• Springline : The line at which Invert

the tunnel wall breaks from Figure 1 Cross section of rounded Figure 2 Cross section of
horseshoe shape tunnel
sloping outward to sloping shape tunnel

inward toward the crown Transportation tunnel cross-sections

Crown Top heading

Core (strozze) Springline Bench

Wall
Invert Bottom

Circular Horseshoe Vertical walls arch roof

TUNNEL TERMINOLOGY

• Portal : The tunnel entrance

• Drift : A horizontal
excavation
• Heading : The excavated
face of the tunnel
• Station : The distance
measured from the portal
(chainage)
• Chainage : distance along
the axis of tunnel defined
from a fixed reference point
to another point

Tunnelling and Tunnel Mechanics

TUNNEL TERMINOLOGY (TBM)
• TBM: Tunnel Boring Machine
• Segment: a tunnel liner (support) in
tunnel boring machine (TBM)
• Ring: Consist of several segment
• Staggered segmented tunnel : Tunnel
that have different alignment of segment
in different rings (more effective to
reduce bending moment)
• Key segment : The last segment laid in a
ring
TUNNEL DESIGN PROCESS
Geomorphology
Feasibili Geology
ty Site Investigation(Borehole, GWT)
Risk Management
Study
Other Technical Studies

Eg. Comparable study

https://www.tunneltalk.com/TunnelTECH-
Mined/Mechanised/Cut & Cover
Tunnelling Methods Comparable Jan2015-Slurry-or-EPB-selection-process-
for-Bangalore.php
Cost Estimation Studies
Value Engineering
Value engineering:
The cost related to
production, design,
maintenance, and Conceptual And Preliminary Design
replacement are included
in the analysis Final Design And Support Services
Design Water Proof Design
Ventilation
Emergency Evacuation Design
TUNNEL DESIGN
• Consider a few different factors

Geological

The use of scientific methods to plan and build

Hydrologi Geotech structures) that is concerned with rocks and soil
cal nical

Geomorphology

The study of the physical features of the surface of the earth and
their relation to its geological structures.
 Factors
• Eg: how mountain effect the tunnel alignment design (ill
– varies defined load; seepage condition, cohesion, water
bearing) (ventilation?; tunnel phobia?)

VENTILATION LOAD

WATER (Pressure) VENTILATION

SEEPAGE
TUNNEL SHAPE, PROPOSED TUNNEL
DIAMETER
TUNNEL LENGTH, TUNNEL ALLIGNMENT

- Nyctophobia adalah phobia atau ketakutan berlebihan terhadap kegelapan.

- Bathophobia juga dialami oleh orang-orang yang merasakan cemas dan ketakutan berlebihan akan sebuah kedalaman
TUNNEL DESIGN PHILOSOPHY
TUNNEL DESIGN
• Things that we need to understand first in
tunnelling before constructing a tunnel look for
STABILITY & SOIL-STRUCTURE
REACTION
COMMON CONSTRUCTION DESIGN
(BUILDING, HOUSE,HIGH RISE ETC)
Allow for deformation Incorporate soil stress
(movement) redistribution

look for
Segment lining

MAXIMUM STRENGTH lined together

Jointed with curved bolts

Forming a tunnel’s ring

TUNNEL PHILOSOPHY
➢ Not merely focus on strength, but on how much it is allow to
move
➢ Design of tunnel lining is not a structural problem, but a ground-
structure interaction problem, with the emphasis on the
ground
➢ Tunnel structure behavior is governed by the properties of
surrounding ground
GROUND-TUNNEL INTERACTION:
ZONE OF INFLUENCE
TUNNEL PHILOSOPHY
➢ Understand ground-structure interaction
➢ Not an independent structure acted upon by well-defined
loads, its deformation is not governed by its own elastic
resistance
➢ Load on tunnel is ill defined
➢ Ground condition at tunnel heading involve both transverse
arching and longitudinal arching or cantilevering from the
unexcavated face
➢ It is not solely compression but need to address both
compression and tension problem
➢ Excavated ground and tunnel structure will finds their stability
together (soil stress redistribution in elastic-plastic condition vs
tunnel liner hardened/reach upmost support)
SOFT GROUND TUNNEL BEHAVIOR
Settlement trough
Settled surface

Soil movement

Tunnel
lining Grout or
gravel fill
 Volume of settlement trough, Vs

Smax
Relaxation of soil
in-situ stress

Initial ground
condition
Volume loss, Vl

Deformation occur
Excavate the ground

Settlement Settlement

Support
Tunnel
impose
Distortion

Tunnel-soil finds equilibrium and

reach stability Tunnel lining
installation
Tunnel induced ground movement
(greenfield condition)
Single tunnel Twins tunnel
3D of Settlement Trough

Longitudinal
settlement trough
Transverse settlement
Svmax trough

Direction of excavation

Tunnel face
TUNNEL DESIGN PHILOSOPHY
➢Tunnel lining design – imprecise art
➢Joint – Joints
capable to resist moment and allow movement
will highly affect the TUNNEL GLOBAL BEHAVIOR results (Klappers et al., 2006)
➢Tunnel lining behavior is four-dimensional problem
➢ arch, face pressure, transverse/longitudinal
pressure and time dependent
➢All ground properties are time-dependent; have stand-
up time
Load design in Tunnel
• Earth loads should be based on known soil
properties, where possible.
• Account for current soil conditions at the time of
load rating.
• If time differential soil conditions affect the loading
to the tunnel structure (such as settlement
friction), these effects shall be appropriately
accounted for.
Load design in Tunnel
• Vertical earth load (EV): EV shall be considered for
cut-and-cover tunnels and immersed tunnels for
backfill placed directly over the structure.
• Vertical earth loads for mined (except mined soft
ground tunnels) and bored tunnels can generally be
considered part of the dead load grouping.
Terzhagi’s recommendations for
load on tunnels (1946)
Loads acting on tunnel (Zhang et al., 2017)
TUNNEL DESIGN: RULE OF THUMB
• Minimum cover over crown of tunnel ~ 1 diameter
• Minimum separation of bored twin tunnels ~ 0.5
diameter
• Minimum radius of horizontal curvature ~ 15
diameters
• Maximum external water pressure on TBM ~ 7 bar
(100psi)
• Average advance rate in soft ground ~30 feet/day
• Average advance rate in hard rock ~ 50 feet/day
• Average advance rate in soft rock ~100-200
feet/day
SAFETY FFEATURES IN TUNNEL
REVISION
• What is the different between hard and soft ground tunnelling? Do
you know about shallow tunnelling?
• Does tunnel only need to bear compression form soil/ground?
• State at least three measures to enhance tunnel safety.
• TRUE OR FALSE:
• Tunnel is four dimensional problem (arch, face pressure,
transverse, longitudinal pressure).
• Excavated ground and tunnel structure will finds their stability
together.
• Joint between tunnel segments is introduce to allow
movement
• Tunnel is design to reach maximum strength
Assignment

Will be assigned at end of Topic 2