Front. Struct. Civ. Eng.

2020, 14(1): 82–93

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11709-019-0575-x

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Comparative study on foundation treatment methods of

immersed tunnels in China
Shaochun WANG, Xuehui ZHANG* , Yun BAI
Department of Geotechnical Engineering, College of Civil Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China
*
Corresponding author. E-mail: zhangxhsh@aliyun.com

© Higher Education Press and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2019
ABSTRACT Based on engineering practices of four typical traffic immersed tunnels built in China, this paper details
the features of the four dominant foundation treatment methods for immersed tunnel construction: pile foundation, sand
flow foundation, grouting foundation, and gravel bedding foundation. Subsoil stress time-history of different method are
specified first, plus a summary of settlement assessment method for foundation quality control. Further, a comprehensive
comparison of settlement and cost of these four foundation treatment methods is conducted to highlights the specific
merits, disadvantages and conditions encountered in each foundation treatment method, based on real projects
information. The findings of this article could henceforth be applied to foundation treatment work in immersed tube
tunnel construction.

KEYWORDS foundation treatment method, immersed tunnel, subsoil stress, settlement

1 Introduction example, in the Netherlands alone, more than 30 immersed

Immersed tunnels refer to tunnels built with special
immersion method. They are usually under waterways
and considered better than other crossings like bridges or
bored tunnels. Tunnels are superior to bridges mainly in
that they do not disturb ship navigation, especially for busy
water channels. Technically, bored tunnels must have a
minimum safety-buried-depth and thus are usually con-
structed at a certain depth below the river bed, which
inevitably increase the whole tunnel length under limited
longitudinal slop. Immersed tunnel structurally consists of
factory-made elements (usually about 100 m long) which
are connected underwater with special rubber gaskets.
Notably, immersed tunnel can be directly placed at a pre-
excavated trench on the shallow river bed, and no need for
minimum burial depth (unlike bored tunnel), so when at
the same construction site, the total length of an immersed
tunnel generally can be shorter than that of a bored tunnel
[1]. Immersed tunnels are mostly constructed under canals
and waterways, especially where no ship navigation
interference is allowed. Until the end of 2018, there are
more than 200 immersed tunnels in the world, and most of
them are in the North America, Europe, and Asia. For
Article history: Received Feb 3, 2019; Accepted Feb 25, 2019
tunnels are in-service. What’s more, more immersed tunnel
projects, including the 6.7 km Shenzhen-Zhongshan
Bridge Tunnel, the 18 km Fehmarnbelt fixed road and
rail link, et al. are being constructed or designed for fixed
links beneath waterways [2].
Although immersed tunnel has a quite long history of
over 100 years, the relevant techniques were first
introduced into mainland China in the late 1980s, and
the recent 30-year has witnessed a series of immersed
tunnels being finished, some even marked the milestone in
tunnel history. The first immersed tube tunnel in China
mainland was completed in 1993. Figure 1 presents the
overviews of the cross section, usage, dimension and
maximum depth of 11 immersed tunnels finished in China.
Generally, immersed tunnel construction will first
excavate a trench on riverbed and a specially prepared
foundation is made before tunnel body is finally placed on.
Foundation treatment always plays an important role in the
construction of immersed tunnels because dredging always
tends to leave an uneven bottom with unacceptable
tolerance for the accuracy of tunnel alignment. With so
many tunnels being built, it is important to have a
comprehensive understanding of foundation treatment
methods based on comparative study of past engineering
practices. Although some researchers have studied the
 Shaochun WANG et al. Comparative study on foundation treatment methods of immersed tunnels in China 83

features of each foundation treatment method, relevant
summary remains very limited. For example, development
of foundation treatment methods in Holland since the Mass
tunnel is summarized and explained in detail [3]. As a main
factor of tunnel settlement, the method of tunnel founda-
tion construction is discussed based on 15 tunnel projects
in history, but no detailed of project geological conditions
are provided, nor is the comparison study between
different method specified [4,5]. With a 30-year develop-
ment, immersed tunnel projects in China have provided
very good cases for such an important comparison study.
Table 1 summarizes the foundation treatment methods of
the built 11 immersed tunnels in China. Four typical
foundation treatment methods have been applied in these
tunnels (pile, grouting, sand flow, and gravel bedding), and
these four methods represent the typical immersed tunnel
foundation treatment methods currently widely used
around the world. In China, all these foundation treatment
methods have been explored and applied in real projects,
which provide valuable experience and reference for
tunnel engineering.
This paper first summarizes and compares the selected
four foundation treatment methods, including analysis and
explanation of foundation settlement from soil stress time-
history perspective, and the settlement calculation method.
Secondly, each method is further explained with a specific
tunnel project in China, from aspects of geotechnical
conditions, foundation design, construction techniques,
settlement performance, and other issues. With the aim of
providing reference value for future immersed tunnels,
experiences and lessons of these methods concluded from
engineering practices in China are finally discussed in this
paper.
2 Development of foundation treatment
method
2.1 An overview of the applications of foundation treatment
methods
By reviewing the foundation treatment methods for
immersed tube tunnels in the world, there has been a
tendency historically to associate gravel bedding founda-

Fig. 1 Overview of built immersed tunnels in China.

Table 1 Foundation treatment method of built immersed tunnels in China

number project length (m) elements foundation treatment
1 HZMB Tunnel 5990 33 gravel bed and pile
2 Zhujiang Tunnel 457 5 sand flow
3 Yongjiang Tunnel 420 5 grouting
4 Changhong Tunnel 395 4 pile and grouting
5 Outer Ring Tunnel 736 7 sand flow
6 Zhoutouzui Tunnel 340 4 sand flow
7 Haihe Tunnel 255 4 grouting and gravel bed
8 Shenjiamen Harbor Tunnel 218 3 grouting
9 Luntou-Shengwudao Tunnel 277 4 sand flow
10 Shengwudao-Daxuecheng 214 3 sand flow
Tunnel
11 Foshan Immersed Tunnel 445 4 sand flow
84 Front. Struct. Civ. Eng. 2020, 14(1): 82–93

tion method with steel tunnels in America, sand flow from each other. By injecting the mixture point by point, a
foundation method or sand jet foundation method in pattern of overlapped sand pancake is gradually formed to
Europe and grouting foundation method in Japan. How- fully fill the gap and make a firmly foundation beneath the
ever, this association is not fully valid. In each particular tubes.
case, the foundation treatment method should be chosen
with fully consideration of the local geology, environment 2.2.2 Pile foundation
and other specific conditions. A summary of the selected
four typical foundation treatment methods together with a The first application of pile foundation treatment method
method comparison table (Table 2) are provided below. can be traced back to 1912 with the completion of La Salle
St. Tunnel [7]. Pile foundation method is mainly used in
2.2 Four types of foundation treatment methods special cases when a direct foundation on the subsoil will
be impossible in practice with regards to the settlement and
2.2.1 Sand flow foundation bearing capacity. For example, Rotterdam Metro Tunnel
which is completed in 1966 applied this method due to
Sand flow method was developed from sand jetting large dynamic train load and varied stiffness of the subsoil.
method and then first used in Vlake Tunnel of Holland in The Changhong Tunnel built in 2002 first applied pile
1975 [6]. Compared with sand jetting method, the slowly- foundation in China with the aim of reducing settlements
moving gantry which is the main disadvantage in the sand in serious siltation condition.
jetting system is eliminated in this new method so that When applying a pile foundation, the most important
there is no hindrance to navigation at all. To shorten the work is to fill the gap between the pile top and the tunnel
supply pipes in long tunnels, the sand flow method was bottom, since it is impossible to keep all the pile heads at
then improved in the Hemspoor Railway tunnel (1980) the same level. To eliminate the gap between the pile head
which feeds the sand-water mix through the pre-embedded and the bottom of the tubes, several adjustment methods
pipe in the floor slab from the outside floating equipment. have been developed in the tunneling history. These
However, the sand flow method was applied for the first methods could be divided into two types: ‘adjustable pile
time at the Zhujiang Immersed Tunnel (1995) in China. head method’ and ‘pile capping beam method’. The first
Sand flow method is used to create a sand foundation by type is usually applied with an adjustable head consisting
pumping the sand-water mix into the gap between the of a separate concrete part connected to the rest of the pile
underside of tubes and the bottom of trench through a pipe by a nylon sleeve. After the tube is immersed, the
system with opening on the bottom of the tubes. As the adjustable pile head will be uplifted to the bottom of the
velocity of the mix decreases after pumped out of the tubes by grouting into the nylon sleeve. The adjustable pile
injection point, sand settled forming a circular pancake head method is first applied in the foundation construction
around the injection point. These injections points are of the Rotterdam Metro Tunnel. The second method is
usually designed at an approximately distance of 10–15 m usually applied with concrete or steel pile capping beams
Table 2 Method comparison
method advantages and applications disadvantages
pile foundation small settlement even in soft foundation and high siltation high cost
conditions difficult to adjust the pile heads to the same level
reduce uneven settlement when stiffness of the subsoil varied
considerably along the tunnel line
reduce settlement under the long-term vibration situation
caused by large dynamic load
sand flow no interference with navigation strict restriction with siltation
immune to the hydrogeology and meteorology lifting of elements caused by high water pressure
lower requirement of the sand particle size compared to sand
jetting method
grouting no interference with navigation high requirement of mortar properties
foundation immune to the hydrogeology and meteorology require real-time inspection of the grouting status
simple equipment with small investment
easier to control grouting pressure and amount than sand flow
method
can be used in earthquake risky area
gravel bedding no damage to concrete elements interfere with navigation
need no temporary supports in the trench high requirement and large investment in the equipment
smaller level tolerance can be achieved on the bed fabrication
can be used in earthquake risky area strict construction precision
 Shaochun WANG et al. Comparative study on foundation treatment methods of immersed tunnels in China
constructed underwater to hold a group of piles together.
The gap between the capping beams and the tubes will be
usually filled with cushion material and cement grout. It’s
worth mentioning that a grouting bag method was
developed and applied in the Changhong Tunnel which
would be further explained in Section 3.2.2.
2.2.3 Grouting foundation
Grouting foundation method is first applied in the Tokyo
Port Dainikoro Tunnel in 1976. This method was then
widely used in Japan characterized by solving the
liquefaction problem of foundation constructions in
seismic area. This method was applied in China in three
tunnels: Yongjiang Tunnel (1995), Haihe Tunnel (2011),
and Shenjiamen Harbor Tunnel (2014).
Grouting foundation method is developed from filled
bag method with the advantages of eliminating the need of
costly bags and avoiding the complicated fixing technique
requiring diving and water-borne manipulation. After the
excavation of the trench, a layer of crushed stone should be
laid on the bottom of the foundation trench. After the
element is immersed on the temporary support, a riprap of
approximately one meter in height should be placed along
the element’s side wall and rear bulkhead to seal off the
bottom of the element. From embedded grouting holes
within the element’s bottom slab, grout is then injected into
the voids between element and its gravel bedding to form a
good support foundation.
2.2.4 Gravel bedding foundation
The traditional gravel bedding foundation is first applied in
the Detroit Windsor Tunnel in 1930. Since then, this
traditional gravel bedding foundation method is typically
used in steel immersed tunnels with octagon or circular
cross-sections. However, the traditional gravel bedding
foundation method is not suitable for the concrete
immersed tunnel with wide rectangular cross-section
because of the great difficulties in construction. To deal
with the complex off-shore condition and achieve higher
accuracy of leveling tolerances, the Øresund Tunnel
Contractors (ØTC) successfully applied an improved
gravel bedding foundation method in the Øresund Tunnel
built in 2000 [8,9]. After the application of Øresund
Tunnel, this improved gravel bedding foundation method
has been further applied in more off-shore immersed
tunnels, such as the Busan-Geoje Tunnel and the HZMB
Tunnel [10].
The basic concept of the improved gravel bedding
foundation method is to construct a rubble stone of an
intermittent pattern of identical berms alternated by
grooves instead of a closed plane [8]. Gravel was
transported down to the trench through a fallpipe which
is attached to a special designed vessel. The lower end of
85
the fallpipe is equipped with a screeding plate so that
placing and screeding of the gravel is executed at the same
time. The lower end of the fallpipe is fixed at a constant
level to placing the gravel to required level, while moving
horizontally. With different kinds of measuring systems
and compensation measures, the accuracy of the level
tolerances can be achieved within centimeters.
2.3 Subsoil stress time-history and settlement assessment of
different foundation treatment methods
As settlement control is an important factor in deciding the
best foundation treatment, it is meaningful to analyze the
subsoil stress time-history during the immersed tunnel
construction and service periods. According to the
published settlement data of over 30 immersed tunnels, it
is reasonable to divide the total settlement into two parts:
settlement in construction period and settlement in service
period. The former is mainly related to the soil property
and construction procedures, while the latter is mainly
related to consolidation of subsoil and additional loading
effects from riverbed sedimentation. Figure 2 shows the
subsoil stress time-history through the whole tunnel
construction stage. First stress decrease of Δp1 (shown
by oa) is due to the trench excavation before foundation
treatment, this leads to a significant unloading on the
subsoil. It should be noted that this trenching process
usually causes relatively big bounce-back on the trench
bottom, especially for immersed tunnel with large bury
depth, for example, the trenching depth of Hong Kong-
Zhuhai-Macao Immersed Tunnel is designed to be as high
as 40 m. After trenching, usually the excavated trench
bottom will be paved with a sand or gravel layer for
primary levelling, then re-loading effects will come out
along the preceding construction schedules.
Different foundation treatment methods will display
different re-loading curve. For gravel bedding, see the
dotted line abcde in Fig. 2, the gravel bed is formed once
so as to trigger a gradual loading (line ab) in subsoil, then
tunnel element is directly immersed underwater and put on
the prepared gravel bed layer, this further increase the
subsoil stress, as shown by line bc. After that locking
backfill on both sides and protection backfill on the top
continues the loading effects, and riverbed sedimentation
in service period generally further causes subsoil loading,
as shown by the line cde. For grouting and sand flow
foundation treatment, the re-loading process present some
differences shown in the solid line afmnps, and this is due
to the quite different construction procedures. After trench
excavation, the bed is first paved with a thin fine-gravel
cushion layer, which cause a minor loading (shown by line
af), then the tunnel element is placed on a temporary
support (piles) above the cushion layer, and then the gap
between them are filled by sand (in sand flow method) or
by cementitious grouting (in grouting method), as shown
by fm. after that element is placed on the sand or grouted
86 Front. Struct. Civ. Eng. 2020, 14(1): 82–93
Fig. 2 Subsoil stress time-history during immersed tunnel
construction.
layer (mn), and finally, much similar to the gravel bedding,
backfilling and riverbed sedimentation further increase the
loading effects. It should be pointed out that riverbed
sedimentation is the main cause of excessive settlement in
many in-service immersed tunnels.
The foundation settlement can generally be calculated
based on the e-logp plot method (Fig. 3). The subsoil
should be carefully investigated and sampled, so as to get
the detailed consolidation property. The subsoil is modeled
as over-consolidated soil, and unloading-reloading should
be reflected for higher accuracy. The ground is usually
subdivided into several distinguished layers with largely
different parameters, and final settlement is calculated by
layer-wise summation method as below,
Xn
Δei Hi
s¼ , (1)
i¼1
1 þ e0i
where Hi is the thickness of soil layer i, e0i is the initial void
ration of soil layer i, Δe0i is the void ration change of soil
layer i.
When Δp2i þ Δp3i þ Δp4i ³pci – poi , then
pci ðp þ Δp2i þ Δp3i þ Δp4i Þ
Δei ¼ Csi log þ Cci log 0i : (2)
p0i pci
And when Δp2i þ Δp3i þ Δp4i < pci – poi , then
ðp0i þ Δp2i þ Δp3i þ Δp4i Þ
Δei ¼ Csi log , (3)
pci
where Cci , Csi are the compression index and expansion
index of soil layer i, respectively; poi is the average vertical
effective stress (the overburden stress) of soil layer i; pci is
the average pre-consolidation stress of soil layer
i; Δp2i /Δp3i /Δp4i are the increase of effective stress in
soil layer i during foundation treatment, tunnel element
placement and backfilling.
It should be noted a careful geological investigation
work is critical to obtain necessary parameters for
foundation quality evaluation and for settlement assess-
ment. Sometimes uncertainties in soil parameters should be
considered for better analysis.
Fig. 3 e-logp plot for compression analysis of over-consolidated
soil.
3 Case histories of foundation treatment
methods in China
3.1 Shanghai Outer Ring Tunnel Project
3.1.1 Introduction
Shanghai Outer Ring Tunnel is built by seven concrete
elements with a wide rectangular cross-section of 43 m
9.55 m each. This 2882 m long highway tunnel consists of
three tubes for eight lanes and two service galleries for
rescue and cable shown in Fig. 4. The immersed section
part of this tunnel is 736 m. Figure 5 shows the
geotechnical and geomorphic profile along the tunnel
alignment. The terrain of the tunnel site slopes abruptly in
the west and gently in the east. The subsoil along the tunnel
alignment is mainly composed by mucky soil, silt clay, and
silt clay with sand. There is a deep trough beneath the river
at a depth of 23.6 m making the riverbed an asymmetry V
type. The seismic intensity at this tunnel site is 7.0 in
accordance to Chinese design criteria.
3.1.2 Construction techniques of sand flow foundation
Sand flow foundation method is applied in Shanghai Outer
Ring Tunnel. Geological condition and sand-water mixture
supply system of Shanghai Outer Ring Tunnel are two
distinguished aspects compared with the Zhujiang Tunnel
which is the first immersed tunnel applying the sand flow
foundation method in China. Shanghai Outer Ring is
mainly placed on a soft foundation, while Zhujiang Tunnel
is mainly placed on an intermediary weather rock
foundation. Furthermore, the sand-water mixture is
supplied not from inside but from outside sand filling
ship through pipelines pre-embedded in the slab of
 Shaochun WANG et al. Comparative study on foundation treatment methods of immersed tunnels in China 87

elements (Figs. 6(a) and 6(b)). This supply system is of
advantage to shorten the length of supply pipelines and
eliminate the one-way ball valves.
The injection holes are arranged at distances of 10 m in
the slab, 4 in each row horizontally. Cement clinker is
added to the sand at a ratio of 0.05:1 to prevent the
liquidation under the seismic intensity of 7 degree. The
radius of the sand deposit is designed as 7.5 m. Other
relevant construction parameters are also shown in Table 3.
For the convenience of siltation removal, the injection
should start longitudinally from the first row to the
penultimate row of each element leaving the last row
non-injected and the last element should be injected in the
opposite sequence to elements ahead. Within each row, the

Fig. 4 Cross-section of Shanghai Outer Ring Tunnel (unit: mm).

Fig. 5 Geotechnical and geomorphic profile of Shanghai Outer Ring Tunnel.

Fig. 6 (a) Sand filling ship; (b) construction of pre-embeded pipelines.

88 Front. Struct. Civ. Eng. 2020, 14(1): 82–93
Table 3 Values of construction parameters
parameters values
pump power 37 kW
motor rotation speed 100–1375 m/s
injection rate 5 m3/s
diameter of pipe at entrance 8 inch
diameter of pipe at exit 6 inch
sand: water ratio 1:9–1:8
sand: cement clinker ratio 1:0.05
radius of sand deposit (minimum) 7.5 m
injection should start from the central holes and proceed
toward to both sides. After the process of sand-water
mixture injection is finished in each element, the injection
holes are grouted by pressure again to fill up craters and
other small Interstices.
The quality of sand deposits was verified through sand
quantity control, pressure analysis, diving investigation
and element elevation monitoring. To calculate the sand
quantity for injection, the depth of the trench must be
surveyed before immersion. The pump discharge pressure
should not exceed 0.1 MPa. To prevent the element uplift,
the injection would be stopped as soon as the uplift value
of the element exceeded 5 mm or the single jack pressure
of temporary foundation reduced to 1400 kN.
3.1.3 Settlement Analysis
The accumulated settlement curve of the tunnel since 2003
is shown in Fig. 7. From these measuring results, the
largest settlement occurred at the joint between E5 and E6
reaching to 230 mm. The annual accumulated settlement at
the joint between E5 and E6 in 2004 reached to 120 mm
accounted for 50% of the total settlement. The central part
of E7 experienced a relatively large settlement of 40 mm in
2007. The largest differential settlement between both ends
of the element occurred at E6 reaching to 172 mm. By
grouting into foundation under the E5/E6 joint and E7 in
2005 and 2007, respectively, the settlements at these
critical locations have been controlled.
Fig. 7 Accumulated settlement measured from north hole points (compared with original data in October 2003).
3.2 Ningbo Changhong Tunnel
3.2.1 Introduction
Ningbo Changhong Tunnel built in 2002 is composed of
four concrete elements with a rectangular cross-section of
22.8 m 8.45 m each. The total length of this tunnel is
3541.15 m consisting of the 897.24 m long north section,
the 395 m long immersed section and the 2248.91 m long
south section. Figure 8 shows the geotechnical and
geomorphic profile along the tunnel alignment. The
minimum of overburden and largest gradient of this tunnel
is 1.5 m and 4%, respectively. The subsoil is mainly
composed of mucky clay, silt clay, and silt clay with sand
belonging to the Quaternary system. The seismic intensity
at this tunnel site is 7.0 in accordance to Chinese design
criteria.
3.2.2 Construction techniques of pile foundation
Considering the serious siltation of approximately three
meters per month in thickness on such soft subsoil, pile
foundation method was applied in this tunnel. The tunnel
was supported by 204 driven 600 mm  600 mm piles and
16 bored piles at distances ranging from 5 to 8.65 m. These
piles were arranged four in each row (Fig. 9(a)). The
clearance between the bottom of tube and the top of the
pile is filled up by using grouting bags. The fully-filled
grouting bag is 400 mm in thickness and 1.5 m in diameter.
The grouting bag together with the grouting pipes is pre-
imbedded inside the tube bottom at the position of its
corresponding pile. For the convenience of chopping piles
underwater, the upper 3 m section of the pile is made of
steel at a diameter of 750 mm, which is connected to the
below pre-stressed RC pile through flanges. A steel plate
which is 800 mm in diameter is then welded on the top of
pile (Fig. 9(b)).
After immersion of the tube, a clearance of approxi-
mately 200 mm between the bottom of the tube and the top
of the pile would be left. After fully injected, these
grouting bags filled the gap and connected the element and
piles so that the upper load could transmit to the pile
 Shaochun WANG et al. Comparative study on foundation treatment methods of immersed tunnels in China 89

Fig. 8 Geotechnical and geomorphic profile of Ningbo Changhong Tunnel.

Fig. 9 (a) General foundation treatment design of Changhong Tunnel; (b) sketch of grouting bag method.

foundation. The gap between the bottom of the tube and
trench should be finally grouted to form an overall
foundation together with these square piles.
To control the quality of the grouting bags, the grouting
bags should always be completely injected. The grouting
pressure should not exceed 0.05 MPa than the water
pressure at this position with a suggested range of 0.02–
0.04 MPa. Besides, upon the completion of the grouting
bag injection, divers should be appointed to verify the bags
are solidly connected to the top of the piles.
Compared with the adjustable pile head method and pile
capping beam method, the grouting bag method is featured
by simple fabrication, steel or concrete material saving and
diving work reducing. However, the accuracy requirement
for pile driving and tube immersion is higher than the two
previous methods.
3.2.3 Settlement analysis
Pile foundation method effectively reduces the accumu-
lated settlement of the Changhong Tunnel. The accumu-
lated settlement of this tunnel is only 20 mm after two
years operation. Table 4 shows that the largest accumulated
settlement is only 6.7 mm within period from September
2006 to December 2009 (Table 4).
3.3 Ningbo Yongjiang Tunnel
3.3.1 Introduction
The Ningbo Yongjiang Tunnel is built in 1995 by five
elements with a rectangular cross-section of 11.9 m  7.65
m. The immersed tube section of this 1020 m long tunnel is
90 Front. Struct. Civ. Eng. 2020, 14(1): 82–93
Table 4 Accumulated settlements of Changhong Tunnel
element 1 2 3 4
accumulated settlements left-6.2 left-6.7 left-4.3
from September 2006 to
October 2009 (mm) right-5.8 right-3.0 right-2.3
420 m in length. Figure 10 shows the geotechnical and
geomorphic profile along the tunnel alignment. The subsoil
at this tunnel site is mainly composed of loose sediments
belonging to the Quaternary system which is very similar
to the Changhong Tunnel. The tunnel is mainly located in
the upper saturated mucky soil layer which is about 20 m in
thickness. The measured standard penetration value of this
mucky soil layer is only 1–2.
3.3.2 Construction techniques of grouting foundation
Grouting foundation treatment method is applied in the
Yongjiang Tunnel. The trench was excavated by 8 m3 grab
dredger. During the trench dredging, two grade slopes were
set up to ensure their stabilities and the gradients from the
bottom to top are 1:3 and 1:4. Before the immersion of the
element, a 60 cm-thick gravel layer was placed on the
surface of the trench. After immersion, the element was
supported on temporary foundation and 1.5 m lock fillings
were installed at both sides of the tunnel. The grouting was
then injected to fill up the 40 cm gap between the element
and its gravel bedding (Fig. 11).
Based on the large-scale simulation tests, the distance
between injecting holes was designed as 5.5 m and the
grouting pressure was designed as 0.05 MPa higher than
the local water pressure. Based on the indoor and in-site
material tests, three types of additives were added to the
mix proportion (water: cement: bentonite: fly ash: sand =
2:1:0.2:0.8:4.5) to improve the performance of grouting
Fig. 10 Geotechnical and geomorphic profile of Ningbo Yongjiang Tunnel.
material on stability, uniformity, and pump ability. The
quality of the grouting results was checked out by grouting
left-5.1 amount statistics, observation holes, and non-destructive
investigation method.
right-2.9
3.3.3 Settlement analysis
A total amount of 1807 m3 was finally grouted in this
project. The accumulated settlement of this tunnel and the
measuring points are shown in Fig. 12. The settlements at
J1 and J6 are relatively small because the two ends of the
tunnel are placed on caisson and pile foundation,
respectively. Except J1 and J6, the measured data of
J2–J5 shows that the tunnel settlement increased quickly
especially in early operation stage. Regular dredging has
been started to remove the deposition on the top of the
tunnel since 1998. After 5 years’ operation, it showed that
the tunnel settlement finally became steady since 2001.
The largest settlement occurred at J5 reached to 88.38 mm.
3.4 Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao-Bridge (HZMB) Immersed
Tunnel
3.4.1 Introduction
The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB)
Immersed Tunnel is composed of 33 rectangular concrete
elements, with a standard length of 180 m each. The cross-
section of this tunnel is 37.95 m  11.40 m comprising two
traffic tubes and one central service gallery for ventilation
and rescue. This 5990 m long tunnel consists of one
5664 m long immersed section and two 326 m long cut and
over sections. Figure 13 shows the geotechnical and
geomorphic profile along the tunnel alignment. The
bedrock is mainly composed by mixed granite and schist
 Shaochun WANG et al. Comparative study on foundation treatment methods of immersed tunnels in China 91

Fig. 11 Foundation treatment design of Ningbo Yongjiang Tunnel.

Fig. 12 Curves of settlements of sections of Yongjiang Tunnel (Data based on Ref. [11].).

Fig. 13 Geotechnical and geomorphic profile of HZMB Immersed Tunnel.

belonging to the Sinian system, and covered by a
Quaternary soil layer of 60–100 m thickness [12]. The
tunnel is buried mainly on mucky soil or silt clay in both
ends and on sand or silt clay in the middle. The maximum
water depth of tunnel element immersion is 44.5 m.
3.4.2 Construction techniques of gravel bedding foundation
Considering the poor and variable geotechnical conditions
along the tunnel alignment together with over 20 m thick
deposited backfill on the top of the tunnel, several
92 Front. Struct. Civ. Eng. 2020, 14(1): 82–93
foundation treatment methods are applied to reduce the
ultimate settlements and differential settlements of the
tunnel (Table 5). Pre-stressed high-strength concrete
(PHC) pile and high-pressure jet grouting (HJG) pile are
applied in both two island sections, while SCP pile
composite foundation is applied in both two slope sections.
A 1.5 m thick, 31.95 m wide gravel bedding made of
20–75 mm sized stones is installed in the middle section of
the tunnel and a 2 m thick riprap cushion layer is installed
below to ensure the uniformity of the gravel bedding.
The structure and geometry of the gravel bedding
foundation is presented in Fig. 14(a). The gravel is placed
in discrete 1.8 m wide bunds forming a ‘Z’ type pattern in
longitudinal direction. To meet the accuracy requirements
of the gravel bedding construction, a homemade pontoon is
developed for this tunnel (Fig. 14(b)). The specified
pontoon is capable of delivering an overall level accuracy
of 35 mm from the design line throughout immunized to
the complex hydrologic condition at a maximum depth of
approximately of 50 m. HZMB tunnel has been finished
and opened to traffic in the end of 2018. Until now the
tunnel settlement information of this tunnel is unknown.
4 Discussions
Based on above theoretical analysis and engineering
practices in China, experiences and lessons are concluded
and discussed together by a comprehensive comparison in
Table 6. It should be noted that since settlement and other
projects information of HZMB Immersed Tunnel are
unknown at present, another immersed tunnel, Zhujiang
immersed tunnel, is specified here. Some basic conclusions
can be reached as below:
Table 5 Foundation treatment method of different sections of HZMB Immersed Tunnel
section western island section western slope section
elements open and buried section E33-E30/S4
treatment method PHC pile and HJG pile SCP composite
composite foundation foundation
Fig. 14 (a) Geometry design of gravel bedding foundation (unit: mm); (b) construction of gravel bedding foundation.
1) Pile foundation applied in the Changhong Tunnel
achieves the smallest settlement of only 2 cm in very soft
ground with serious trench siltation problem, which proves
better in settlement control than sand flow and grouting
method in similar geological conditions. As in both sand
flow and grouting, muck deposition on the foundation
layer is inevitable, which will cause a major deformation
risk.
2) Pile foundation method has the highest cost in the
short term and lowest cost in the long term. The
foundation/contract ratio (in cost) of pile foundation
sums up to 5% much higher than other two methods
during the construction stage. However, both Yongjiang
Tunnel and Outer Ring Tunnel have encountered many
problems during the operation stage: differential displace-
ment, cracks and leakage. Additional treatment measures
have to be carried out to maintain the normal operation
such as regular dredging and secondary grouting which
increased the total cost of these tunnels in the long term.
3) Subsoil conditions affect the performance of founda-
tion treatment method greatly. For Outer Ring Tunnel and
Zhujiang Tunnel, the sand flow treatment method applied
in different subsoil conditions results in totally different
settlement performance. The largest settlement in the Outer
Ring Tunnel is nearly 8 times higher than that of the
Zhujiang Tunnel. The settlement data of J2–J5 from
Yongjiang Tunnel also indicates that subsoil consisting of
thicker soft layers tends to experience larger settlement.
4) Gravel bedding method has been successfully applied
in the HZMB Immersed Tunnel with an levelling accuracy
of 35 mm from the design line. When dealing with these
long off-shore tunnels, gravel bedding method has the
advantages of preventing liquidation, sparing temporary
foundation, and harmless to concrete elements. The long-
middle section eastern slope section eastern island section
E30/S4-E6/S2 E6/S2-E1 open and buried section
gravel bedding SCP composite PHC pile and HJG pile
foundation foundation composite foundation
 Shaochun WANG et al. Comparative study on foundation treatment methods of immersed tunnels in China 93

Table 6 Comprehensive comparisons of four Chinese immersed tube tunnel foundations

project Outer Ring Tunnel Changhong Tunnel Yongjiang Tunnel Zhujiang Tunnel
purchasing method D&B D&B traditional traditional
construction duration 4 years 2 years 8 years 3 years
hydrogeology serious siltation serious siltation serious siltation intermediary weathered
and soft ground and soft ground and soft ground rock ground
foundation type sand flow pile grouting sand flow
accumulative settlement 23 cm 2 cm 8.84 cm 3 cm
foundation cost 13.5 20 2.29 5
(million RMB Yuan)
contract sum 0.11 0.372 0.16 0.173
(billion RMB Yuan)
foundation/contract ration 1.22% 5% 1.40% 2.89%

term performance of the HZMB Immersed Tunnel remains 48–57

to be observed.
5 Conclusions
This paper makes a detailed comparison of four typical
foundation treatment methods encountered in China so far
in the aspects of both theory and practice. Geotechnical
condition, foundation design, construction technique, and
settlement performance are fully presented in each project
case. Engineering experiences on foundation treatment
method are discussed and concluded in the end. It’s hoped
that these valuable practical experiences in China could
benefit the future foundation construction of immersed
tunnels in the world.
Acknowledgements This work was funded by the China National Basic
Research Program (973 Program: 2015CB057804). The assistance from
graduate students in Tongji University, Detao Jin, Xi Jiang, and Likuan Dong
in this study was also appreciated.
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